[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3702-3731]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. THOMAS (for himself and Mr. Kyl):
  S. 545. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create 
Lifetime Savings Accounts; to the Committee on Finance.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. THOMAS (for himself and Mr. Kyl):
  S. 546. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for retirement savings accounts, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Finance.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. THOMAS (for himself and Mr. Kyl):
  S. 547. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for employer retirement savings accounts, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Savings 
Account Vehicle Enhancement, or ``SAVE,'' initiative, comprised of 
three separate bills to create, respectively, Lifetime Savings 
Accounts, Retirement Savings Accounts, and Employer Retirement Savings 
Accounts.
  Much attention has been focused lately on the retirement security of 
Americans, but the focus thus far has centered primarily on Social 
Security. It is imperative that we remember that Social Security was 
never intended as a primary income source for retirees, but rather as a 
safety net and a supplement to private savings. The bills I introduce 
today focus on private savings, for both pre-retirement expenses and 
retirement security.
  My reasons for introducing these bills are threefold. First of all, 
it is important that we address the appallingly-low personal savings 
rate in this country. Personal savings rates in the United States since 
1960 have reached a new low at less than 2 percent. These bills will 
encourage additional savings and reduce the temptation for individuals 
to tap into retirement savings for other, pre-retirement purposes.
  Secondly, our tax code is entirely too complex and contributes to 
lack of participation in the tax-preferred vehicles that already exist. 
These bills, by allowing individuals to accumulate tax-free interest 
and by streamlining current savings vehicles, represent an important 
step toward fundamental tax reform.
  Finally, as the Social Security system strains under increasing 
pressure, it is even more important that we provide a better, more 
responsive, simpler system for Americans to accumulate personal savings 
for retirement.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bills be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bills were ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 545

       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 ``Lifetime Savings Account Act 
     of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. LIFETIME SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter F of Chapter 1 of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to exempt organizations) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new part:

                  ``PART IX--LIFETIME SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

     ``SEC. 530A. LIFETIME SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

       ``(a) General Rule.--A Lifetime Savings Account shall be 
     exempt from taxation under this subtitle. Notwithstanding the 
     preceding sentence, such account shall be subject to the 
     taxes imposed by section 511 (relating to imposition of tax 
     on unrelated business income of charitable organizations).
       ``(b) Lifetime Savings Account.--For purposes of this 
     section, the term `Lifetime Savings Account' means a trust 
     created or organized in the United States for the exclusive 
     benefit of an individual or his beneficiaries and which is 
     designated (in such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe) 
     at the time of the establishment of the trust as a Lifetime 
     Savings Account, but only if the written governing instrument 
     creating the trust meets the following requirements:
       ``(1) Except in the case of a qualified rollover 
     contribution described in subsection (d)--
       ``(A) no contribution will be accepted unless it is in 
     cash, and
       ``(B) contributions will not be accepted for the calendar 
     year in excess of the contribution limit specified in 
     subsection (c)(1).
       ``(2) The trustee is a bank (as defined in section 408(n)) 
     or another person who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 
     Secretary that the manner in which that person will 
     administer the trust will be consistent with the requirements 
     of this section or who has so demonstrated with respect to 
     any individual retirement plan.
       ``(3) No part of the trust assets will be invested in life 
     insurance contracts.
       ``(4) The interest of an individual in the balance of his 
     account is nonforfeitable.
       ``(5) The assets of the trust shall not be commingled with 
     other property except in a common trust fund or common 
     investment fund.
       ``(c) Treatment of Contributions and Distributions.--
       ``(1) Contribution limit.--
       ``(A) In general.--The aggregate amount of contributions 
     (other than qualified rollover contributions described in 
     subsection (d)) for any calendar year to all Lifetime Savings 
     Accounts maintained for the benefit of an individual shall 
     not exceed $5,000.
       ``(B) Cost-of-living adjustment.--
       ``(i) In general.--In the case of any calendar year after 
     2006, the $5,000 amount under subparagraph (A) shall be 
     increased by an amount equal to--

       ``(I) such dollar amount, multiplied by
       ``(II) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under 
     section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year, determined by 
     substituting `calendar year 2005' for `calendar year 1992' in 
     subparagraph (B) thereof.

       ``(ii) Rounding rules.--If any amount after adjustment 
     under clause (i) is not a multiple of $500, such amount shall 
     be rounded to the next lower multiple of $500.
       ``(2) Distributions.--Any distribution from a Lifetime 
     Savings Account shall not be includible in gross income.
       ``(d) Qualified Rollover Contribution.--For purposes of 
     this section, the term `qualified rollover contribution' 
     means a contribution to a Lifetime Savings Account--
       ``(1) from another such account of the same beneficiary, 
     but only if such amount is contributed not later than the 
     60th day after the distribution from such other account,
       ``(2) from a Lifetime Savings Account of a spouse of the 
     beneficiary of the account to which the contribution is made, 
     but only if such amount is contributed not later than the 
     60th day after the distribution from such other account, and
       ``(3) before January 1, 2007, from--
       ``(A) a qualified tuition program pursuant to section 
     529(c)(3)(E), or
       ``(B) a Coverdell education savings account pursuant to 
     section 530(d)(9).
       ``(e) Loss of Taxation Exemption of Account Where 
     Beneficiary Engages in Prohibited Transaction.--Rules similar 
     to the rules of paragraph (2) of section 408(e) shall apply 
     to any Lifetime Savings Account.
       ``(f) Custodial Accounts.--For purposes of this section, a 
     custodial account or an annuity contract issued by an 
     insurance company qualified to do business in a State shall 
     be treated as a trust under this section if--
       ``(1) the custodial account or annuity contract would, 
     except for the fact that it is not a trust, constitute a 
     trust which meets the requirements of subsection (b), and
       ``(2) in the case of a custodial account, the assets of 
     such account are held by a bank (as defined in section 
     408(n)) or another person who demonstrates, to the 
     satisfaction of the Secretary, that the manner in which he 
     will administer the account will be consistent with the 
     requirements of this section.

     For purposes of this title, in the case of a custodial 
     account or annuity contract treated as a trust by reason of 
     the preceding sentence, the person holding the assets of such 
     account or holding such annuity contract shall be treated as 
     the trustee thereof.
       ``(g) Reports.--The trustee of a Lifetime Savings Account 
     shall make such reports regarding such account to the 
     Secretary and to the beneficiary of the account with respect 
     to contributions, distributions, and such other matters as 
     the Secretary may require. The reports required by this 
     subsection shall be filed at such time and in such manner and 
     furnished to such individuals at such time and in such manner 
     as may be required.''.
       (b) Tax on Excess Contributions.--
       (1) In general.--Subsection (a) of section 4973 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to tax on excess 
     contributions to certain tax-favored accounts and annuities) 
     is amended by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (4), by 
     inserting ``or'' at the end of paragraph (5), and by 
     inserting after paragraph (5) the following new paragraph:
       ``(6) a Lifetime Savings Account (as defined in section 
     530A),''.
       (2) Excess contribution.--Section 4973 of such Code is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(h) Excess Contributions to Lifetime Savings Accounts.--
     For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of Lifetime Savings Accounts 
     (within the meaning of

[[Page 3703]]

     section 530A), the term `excess contributions' means the sum 
     of--
       ``(A) the amount by which the amount contributed for the 
     calendar year to such accounts (other than qualified rollover 
     contributions (as defined in section 530A(d))) exceeds the 
     contribution limit under section 530A(c)(1), and
       ``(B) the amount determined under this subsection for the 
     preceding calendar year, reduced by the excess (if any) of 
     the maximum amount allowable as a contribution under section 
     530A(c)(1) for the calendar year over the amount contributed 
     to the accounts for the calendar year.
       ``(2) Special rule.--A contribution shall not be taken into 
     account under paragraph (1) if such contribution (together 
     with the amount of net income attributable to such 
     contribution) is returned to the beneficiary before July 1 of 
     the year following the year in which the contribution is 
     made.''.
       (c) Failure to Provide Reports on Lifetime Savings 
     Accounts.--Paragraph (2) of section 6693(a) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to failure to provide reports 
     on individual retirement accounts or annuities) is amended by 
     striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (D), by striking 
     the period at the end of subparagraph (E) and inserting ``, 
     and'', and by adding at the end the following new 
     subparagraph:
       ``(F) section 530A(g) (relating to Lifetime Savings 
     Accounts).''.
       (d) Rollovers From Certain Other Tax-Free Accounts.--
       (1) Qualified state tuition plans.--Paragraph (3) of 
     section 529(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 
     to distributions) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(E) Rollovers to lifetime savings accounts.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the 
     qualified portion of any distribution which, before January 
     1, 2007, and within 60 days of such distribution, is 
     transferred to a Lifetime Savings Account (within the meaning 
     of section 530A) of the designated beneficiary. This 
     subparagraph shall only apply to distributions in accordance 
     with the previous sentence from an account which was in 
     existence with respect to such designated beneficiary on 
     December 31, 2004.
       ``(ii) Qualified portion.--For purposes of this 
     subparagraph, the term `qualified portion' means the amount 
     equal to the sum of--

       ``(I) the lesser of $50,000 or the amount which is in the 
     account of the designated beneficiary on December 31, 2004,
       ``(II) any contributions to such account for the taxable 
     year beginning after December 31, 2004, and before January 1, 
     2006, and
       ``(III) any earnings of such account for such year.

       ``(iii) Limitation.--The sum of the amounts taken into 
     account under clause (ii)(II) with respect to all accounts of 
     the designated beneficiary plus any amounts with respect to 
     such designated beneficiary taken into account under section 
     530(d)(9)(B)(ii) shall not exceed the sum of $5,000 plus the 
     earnings attributable to such amounts.''.
       (2) Coverdell education savings accounts.--Subsection (d) 
     of section 530 of such Code (relating to tax treatment of 
     distributions) is amended by inserting at the end the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(9) Rollovers to lifetime savings accounts.--
       ``(A) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the 
     qualified portion of any amount paid or distributed from a 
     Coverdell education savings account to the extent that the 
     amount received is paid, before January 1, 2007, and not 
     later than the 60th day after the date of such payment or 
     distribution, into a Lifetime Savings Account (within the 
     meaning of section 530A) for the benefit of the same 
     beneficiary. This paragraph shall only apply to amounts paid 
     or distributed in accordance with the preceding sentence from 
     an account which was in existence with respect to such 
     beneficiary on December 31, 2004.
       ``(B) Qualified portion.--For purposes of this paragraph, 
     the term `qualified portion' means the amount equal to the 
     sum of--
       ``(i) the amount which is in the account of the beneficiary 
     on December 31, 2004,
       ``(ii) any contributions to such account for the taxable 
     year beginning after December 31, 2004, and before January 1, 
     2006 and
       ``(iii) any earnings of such account for such year.
       ``(C) Limitation.--The sum of the amounts taken into 
     account under subparagraph (B)(ii) with respect to all 
     accounts of the beneficiary plus any amounts with respect to 
     such beneficiary taken into account under section 
     529(c)(3)(E)(ii)(II) shall not exceed the sum of $5,000 plus 
     the earnings attributable to such amounts.''.
       (e) Conforming Amendment.--The table of parts for 
     subchapter F of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

                ``Part IX. Lifetime Savings Accounts''.

       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2005.

                                 S. 546

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, ETC.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Retirement 
     Savings Account Act''.
       (b) Amendment of 1986 Code.--Except as otherwise expressly 
     provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
     expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a 
     section or other provision, the reference shall be considered 
     to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986.

     SEC. 2. RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 408A (relating to Roth IRAs) is 
     amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 408A. RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

       ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in this section, a 
     retirement savings account shall be treated for purposes of 
     this title in the same manner as an individual retirement 
     plan.
       ``(b) Retirement Savings Account.--For purposes of this 
     title, the term `retirement savings account' means an 
     individual retirement plan (as defined in section 
     7701(a)(37)) which--
       ``(1) is designated (in such manner as the Secretary may 
     prescribe) at the time of establishment of the plan as a 
     retirement savings account, and
       ``(2) does not accept any contribution (other than a 
     qualified rollover contribution) which is not in cash.
       ``(c) Treatment of Contributions.--
       ``(1) Contribution limit.--Notwithstanding subsections 
     (a)(1) and (b)(2)(A) of section 408, the aggregate amount of 
     contributions for any taxable year to all retirement savings 
     accounts maintained for the benefit of an individual shall 
     not exceed the lesser of--
       ``(A) $5,000, or
       ``(B) the amount of compensation includible in the 
     individual's gross income for such taxable year.
       ``(2) Special rule for certain married individuals.--In the 
     case of any individual who files a joint return for the 
     taxable year, the amount taken into account under paragraph 
     (1)(B) shall be increased by the excess (if any) of--
       ``(A) the compensation includible in the gross income of 
     such individual's spouse for the taxable year, over
       ``(B) the aggregate amount of contributions for the taxable 
     year to all retirement savings accounts maintained for the 
     benefit of such spouse.
       ``(3) Contributions permitted after age 70\1/2\.--
     Contributions to a retirement savings account may be made 
     even after the individual for whom the account is maintained 
     has attained age 70\1/2\.
       ``(4) Mandatory distribution rules not to apply before 
     death.--Notwithstanding subsections (a)(6) and (b)(3) of 
     section 408 (relating to required distributions), the 
     following provisions shall not apply to any retirement 
     savings account:
       ``(A) Section 401(a)(9)(A).
       ``(B) The incidental death benefit requirements of section 
     401(a).
       ``(5) Rollover contributions.--
       ``(A) In general.--No rollover contribution may be made to 
     a retirement savings account unless it is a qualified 
     rollover contribution.
       ``(B) Coordination with limit.--A qualified rollover 
     contribution shall not be taken into account for purposes of 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(6) Rollovers from plans with taxable distributions.--
       ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 402(c), 
     403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(d)(3), and 457(e)(16), in the case 
     of any contribution to which this paragraph applies--
       ``(i) there shall be included in gross income any amount 
     which would be includible were it not part of a qualified 
     rollover contribution,
       ``(ii) section 72(t) shall not apply, and
       ``(iii) unless the taxpayer elects not to have this clause 
     apply for any taxable year, any amount required to be 
     included in gross income for such taxable year by reason of 
     this paragraph for any contribution before January 1, 2007, 
     shall be so included ratably over the 4-taxable year period 
     beginning with such taxable year.

     Any election under clause (iii) for any contributions during 
     a taxable year may not be changed after the due date 
     (including extensions of time) for filing the taxpayer's 
     return for such taxable year.
       ``(B) Contributions to which paragraph applies.--This 
     paragraph shall apply to any qualified rollover contribution 
     to a retirement savings account (other than a rollover 
     contribution from another such account).
       ``(C) Conversions of iras.--The conversion of an individual 
     retirement plan (other than a retirement savings account) to 
     a retirement savings account shall be treated for purposes of 
     this paragraph as a contribution to which this paragraph 
     applies.
       ``(D) Additional reporting requirements.--Trustees and plan 
     administrators of eligible retirement plans (as defined in 
     section 402(c)(8)(B)) and retirement savings accounts shall 
     report such information as the Secretary may require to 
     ensure that amounts required to be included in gross income 
     under subparagraph (A) are so included. Such reports shall be 
     made at such time and in such form and manner as the 
     Secretary may require. The Secretary may

[[Page 3704]]

     provide that such information be included as additional 
     information in reports required under section 408(i) or 6047.
       ``(E) Special rules for contributions to which a 4-year 
     averaging applies.--In the case of a qualified rollover 
     contribution to which subparagraph (A)(iii) applied, the 
     following rules shall apply:
       ``(i) Acceleration of inclusion.--

       ``(I) In general.--The amount required to be included in 
     gross income for each of the first 3 taxable years in the 4-
     year period under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall be increased by 
     the aggregate distributions from retirement savings accounts 
     for such taxable year which are allocable under subsection 
     (d)(3) to the portion of such qualified rollover contribution 
     required to be included in gross income under subparagraph 
     (A)(i).
       ``(II) Limitation on aggregate amount included.--The amount 
     required to be included in gross income for any taxable year 
     under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall not exceed the aggregate 
     amount required to be included in gross income under 
     subparagraph (A)(iii) for all taxable years in the 4-year 
     period (without regard to subclause (I)) reduced by amounts 
     included for all preceding taxable years.

       ``(ii) Death of distributee.--

       ``(I) In general.--If the individual required to include 
     amounts in gross income under such subparagraph dies before 
     all of such amounts are included, all remaining amounts shall 
     be included in gross income for the taxable year which 
     includes the date of death.
       ``(II) Special rule for surviving spouse.--If the spouse of 
     the individual described in subclause (I) acquires the 
     individual's entire interest in any retirement savings 
     account to which such qualified rollover contribution is 
     properly allocable, the spouse may elect to treat the 
     remaining amounts described in subclause (I) as includible in 
     the spouse's gross income in the taxable years of the spouse 
     ending with or within the taxable years of such individual in 
     which such amounts would otherwise have been includible. Any 
     such election may not be made or changed after the due date 
     (including extensions of time) for filing the spouse's return 
     for the taxable year which includes the date of death.

       ``(F) 5-year holding period rules.--If--
       ``(i) any portion of a distribution from a retirement 
     savings account is properly allocable to a qualified rollover 
     contribution with respect to which an amount is includible in 
     gross income under subparagraph (A)(i),
       ``(ii) such distribution is made during the 5-taxable year 
     period beginning with the taxable year for which such 
     contribution was made, and
       ``(iii) such distribution is not described in clause (i), 
     (ii), or (iii) of subsection (d)(2)(A),

     then section 72(t) shall be applied as if such portion were 
     includible in gross income.
       ``(7) Time when contributions made.--For purposes of this 
     section, a taxpayer shall be deemed to have made a 
     contribution to a retirement savings account on the last day 
     of the preceding taxable year if the contribution is made on 
     account of such taxable year and is made not later than the 
     time prescribed by law for filing the return for such taxable 
     year (not including extensions thereof).
       ``(8) Cost-of-living adjustment.--
       ``(A) In general.--In the case of any taxable year 
     beginning in a calendar year after 2006, the $5,000 amount 
     under paragraph (1)(A) shall be increased by an amount equal 
     to--
       ``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
       ``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under 
     section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable 
     year begins, determined by substituting `calendar year 2005' 
     for `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.
       ``(B) Rounding rules.--If any amount after adjustment under 
     subparagraph (A) is not a multiple of $500, such amount shall 
     be rounded to the next lower multiple of $500.
       ``(d) Distribution Rules.--For purposes of this title--
       ``(1) Exclusion.--Any qualified distribution from a 
     retirement savings account shall not be includible in gross 
     income.
       ``(2) Qualified distribution.--For purposes of this 
     subsection--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified distribution' means 
     any payment or distribution--
       ``(i) made on or after the date on which the individual 
     attains age 58,
       ``(ii) made to a beneficiary (or to the estate of the 
     individual) on or after the death of the individual,
       ``(iii) attributable to the individual's being disabled 
     (within the meaning of section 72(m)(7)), or
       ``(iv) to which section 72(t)(2)(F) applies (if such 
     payment or distribution is made before January 1, 2009).
       ``(B) Distributions of excess contributions and earnings.--
     The term `qualified distribution' shall not include any 
     distribution of any contribution described in section 
     408(d)(4) and any net income allocable to the contribution.
       ``(3) Ordering rules.--For purposes of applying this 
     section and section 72 to any distribution from a retirement 
     savings account, such distribution shall be treated as made--
       ``(A) from contributions to the extent that the amount of 
     such distribution, when added to all previous distributions 
     from the retirement savings account, does not exceed the 
     aggregate contributions to the retirement savings account, 
     and
       ``(B) from such contributions in the following order:
       ``(i) Contributions other than qualified rollover 
     contributions with respect to which an amount is includible 
     in gross income under subsection (c)(6)(A)(i).
       ``(ii) Qualified rollover contributions with respect to 
     which an amount is includible in gross income under 
     subsection (c)(6)(A)(i) on a first-in, first-out basis.

     Any distribution allocated to a qualified rollover 
     contribution under subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be allocated 
     first to the portion of such contribution required to be 
     included in gross income.
       ``(4) Aggregation rules.--Section 408(d)(2) shall be 
     applied separately with respect to retirement savings 
     accounts and other individual retirement plans.
       ``(e) Qualified Rollover Contribution.--
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     `qualified rollover contribution' means--
       ``(A) a rollover contribution to a retirement savings 
     account of an individual from another such account of such 
     individual or such individual's spouse, or from an individual 
     retirement plan of such individual, but only if such rollover 
     contribution meets the requirements of section 408(d)(3), and
       ``(B) a rollover contribution described in section 402(c), 
     402A(c)(3)(A), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 457(e)(16).
       ``(2) Coordination with limitation on ira rollovers.--For 
     purposes of section 408(d)(3)(B), there shall be disregarded 
     any qualified rollover contribution from an individual 
     retirement plan (other than a retirement savings account) to 
     a retirement savings account.
       ``(f) Individual Retirement Plan.--For purposes of this 
     section--
       ``(1) a simplified employee pension or a simple retirement 
     account may not be designated as a retirement savings 
     account, and
       ``(2) contributions to any such pension or account shall 
     not be taken into account for purposes of subsection (c)(1).
       ``(g) Compensation.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     `compensation' includes earned income (as defined in section 
     401(c)(2)). Such term does not include any amount received as 
     a pension or annuity and does not include any amount received 
     as deferred compensation. Such term shall include any amount 
     includible in the individual's gross income under section 71 
     with respect to a divorce or separation instrument described 
     in section 71(b)(2)(A). For purposes of this subsection, 
     section 401(c)(2) shall be applied as if the term trade or 
     business for purposes of section 1402 included service 
     described in section 1402(c)(6).''.
       (b) Roth IRAs Treated as Retirement Savings Accounts.--In 
     the case of any taxable year beginning after December 31, 
     2005, any Roth IRA (as defined in section 408A(b) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as in effect on the day before 
     the date of the enactment of this Act) shall be treated for 
     purposes of such Code as having been designated at the time 
     of the establishment of the plan as a retirement savings 
     account under section 408A(b) of such Code (as amended by 
     this section).
       (c) Contributions to Other Individual Retirement Plans 
     Prohibited.--
       (1) Individual retirement accounts.--Paragraph (1) of 
     section 408(a) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(1) Except in the case of a simplified employee pension, 
     a simple retirement account, or a rollover contribution 
     described in subsection (d)(3) or in section 402(c), 
     403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 457(e)(16), no contribution will be 
     accepted on behalf of any individual for any taxable year 
     beginning after December 31, 2005. In the case of any 
     simplified employee pension or simple retirement account, no 
     contribution will be accepted unless it is in cash and 
     contributions will not be accepted for the taxable year on 
     behalf of any individual in excess of--
       ``(A) in the case of a simplified employee pension, the 
     amount of the limitation in effect under section 
     415(c)(1)(A), and
       ``(B) in the case of a simple retirement account, the sum 
     of the dollar amount in effect under subsection (p)(2)(A)(ii) 
     and the employer contribution required under subparagraph 
     (A)(iii) or (B)(i) of subsection (p)(2).''.
       (2) Individual retirement annuities.--Paragraph (2) of 
     section 408(b) is amended--
       (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as 
     subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), respectively, and by 
     inserting before subparagraph (B), as so redesignated, the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(A) except in the case of a simplified employee pension, 
     a simple retirement account, or a rollover contribution 
     described in subsection (d)(3) or in section 402(c), 
     403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 457(e)(16), a premium shall not be 
     accepted on behalf of any individual for any taxable year 
     beginning after December 31, 2005,'', and

[[Page 3705]]

       (B) by amending subparagraph (C), as redesignated by 
     subparagraph (A), to read as follows:
       ``(C) the annual premium on behalf of any individual will 
     not exceed--
       ``(i) in the case of a simplified employee pension, the 
     amount of the limitation in effect under section 
     415(c)(1)(A), and
       ``(ii) in the case of a simple retirement account, the sum 
     of the dollar amount in effect under subsection (p)(2)(A)(ii) 
     and the employer contribution required under subparagraph 
     (A)(iii) or (B)(i) of subsection (p)(2), and''.
       (d) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1)(A) Section 219 is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 219. CONTRIBUTIONS TO CERTAIN RETIREMENT PLANS 
                   ALLOWING ONLY EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS.

       ``(a) Allowance of Deduction.--In the case of an 
     individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction the amount 
     contributed on behalf of such individual to a plan described 
     in section 501(c)(18).
       ``(b) Maximum Amount of Deduction.--The amount allowable as 
     a deduction under subsection (a) to any individual for any 
     taxable year shall not exceed the lesser of--
       ``(1) $7,000, or
       ``(2) an amount equal to 25 percent of the compensation (as 
     defined in section 415(c)(3)) includible in the individual's 
     gross income for such taxable year.
       ``(c) Beneficiary Must Be Under Age 70\1/2\.--No deduction 
     shall be allowed under this section with respect to any 
     contribution on behalf of an individual if such individual 
     has attained age 70\1/2\ before the close of such 
     individual's taxable year for which the contribution was 
     made.
       ``(d) Special Rules.--
       ``(1) Married individuals.--The maximum deduction under 
     subsection (b) shall be computed separately for each 
     individual, and this section shall be applied without regard 
     to any community property laws.
       ``(2) Reports.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations 
     which prescribe the time and the manner in which reports to 
     the Secretary and plan participants shall be made by the plan 
     administrator of a qualified employer or government plan 
     receiving qualified voluntary employee contributions.
       ``(e) Cross Reference.--For failure to provide required 
     reports, see section 6652(g).''.
       (B) Section 25B(d) is amended--
       (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``(as defined in 
     section 219(e))'', and
       (ii) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Qualified retirement contribution.--The term 
     `qualified retirement contribution' means--
       ``(A) any amount paid in cash for the taxable year by or on 
     behalf of an individual to an individual retirement plan for 
     such individual's benefit, and
       ``(B) any amount contributed on behalf of any individual to 
     a plan described in section 501(c)(18).''.
       (C) Section 86(f)(3) is amended by striking ``section 
     219(f)(1)'' and inserting ``section 408A(g)''.
       (D) Section 132(m)(3) is amended by inserting ``(as in 
     effect on the day before the date of the enactment of the 
     Retirement Savings Account Act)'' after ``section 
     219(g)(5)''.
       (E) Subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 220(d)(4) 
     are each amended by inserting ``, as in effect on the day 
     before the date of the enactment of the Retirement Savings 
     Account Act'' at the end.
       (F) Section 408(b) is amended in the last sentence by 
     striking ``section 219(b)(1)(A)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
     (2)(C)''.
       (G) Section 408(p)(2)(D)(ii) is amended by inserting ``(as 
     in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of the 
     Retirement Savings Account Act)'' after ``section 
     219(g)(5)''.
       (H) Section 409A(d)(2) is amended by inserting ``(as in 
     effect on the day before the date of the enactment of the 
     Retirement Savings Account Act)'' after ``subparagraph 
     (A)(iii))''.
       (I) Section 501(c)(18)(D)(i) is amended by striking 
     ``section 219(b)(3)'' and inserting ``section 219(b)''.
       (J) Section 6652(g) is amended by striking ``section 
     219(f)(4)'' and inserting ``section 219(d)(2)''.
       (K) The table of sections for part VII of subchapter B of 
     chapter 1 is amended by striking the item relating to section 
     219 and inserting the following new item:

``Sec. 219. Contributions to certain retirement plans allowing only 
              employee contributions.''.

       (2)(A) Section 408(d)(4)(B) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(B) no amount is excludable from gross income under 
     subsection (h) or (k) of section 402 with respect to such 
     contribution, and''.
       (B) Section 408(d)(5)(A) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(A) In general.--In the case of any individual, if the 
     aggregate contributions (other than rollover contributions) 
     paid for any taxable year to an individual retirement account 
     or for an individual retirement annuity do not exceed the 
     dollar amount in effect under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(2)(C), 
     as the case may be, paragraph (1) shall not apply to the 
     distribution of any such contribution to the extent that such 
     contribution exceeds the amount which is excludable from 
     gross income under subsection (h) or (k) of section 402, as 
     the case may be, for the taxable year for which the 
     contribution was paid--
       ``(i) if such distribution is received after the date 
     described in paragraph (4),
       ``(ii) but only to the extent that such excess contribution 
     has not been excluded from gross income under subsection (h) 
     or (k) of section 402.''.
       (C) Section 408(d)(5) is amended by striking the last 
     sentence.
       (D) Section 408(d)(7) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(7) Certain transfers from simplified employee pensions 
     prohibited until deferral test met.--Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of this subsection or section 72(t), 
     paragraph (1) and section 72(t)(1) shall apply to the 
     transfer or distribution from a simplified employee pension 
     of any contribution under a salary reduction arrangement 
     described in subsection (k)(6) (or any income allocable 
     thereto) before a determination as to whether the 
     requirements of subsection (k)(6)(A)(iii) are met with 
     respect to such contribution.''.
       (E) Section 408 is amended by striking subsection (j).
       (F)(i) Section 408 is amended by striking subsection (o).
       (ii) Section 6693 is amended by striking subsection (b) and 
     by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (b) 
     and (c), respectively.
       (G) Section 408(p) is amended by striking paragraph (8) and 
     by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10) as paragraphs (8) 
     and (9), respectively.
       (3)(A) Section 4973(a)(1) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(1) an individual retirement plan,''.
       (B) Section 4973(b) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Excess Contributions to Simplified Employee Pensions 
     and Simple Retirement Accounts.--For purposes of this 
     section, in the case of simplified employee pensions or 
     simple retirement accounts, the term `excess contributions' 
     means the sum of--
       ``(1) the excess (if any) of--
       ``(A) the amount contributed for the taxable year to the 
     pension or account, over
       ``(B) the amount applicable to the pension or account under 
     subsection (a)(1) or (b)(2) of section 408, and
       ``(2) the amount determined under this subsection for the 
     preceding taxable year, reduced by the sum of--
       ``(A) the distributions out of the account for the taxable 
     year which were included in the gross income of the payee 
     under section 408(d)(1),
       ``(B) the distributions out of the account for the taxable 
     year to which section 408(d)(5) applies, and
       ``(C) the excess (if any) of the maximum amount excludable 
     from gross income for the taxable year under subsection (h) 
     or (k) of section 402 over the amount contributed to the 
     pension or account for the taxable year.

     For purposes of this subsection, any contribution which is 
     distributed from a simplified employee pension or simple 
     retirement account in a distribution to which section 
     408(d)(4) applies shall be treated as an amount not 
     contributed.''.
       (C) Section 4973 is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(h) Excess Contributions to Certain Individual Retirement 
     Plans.--For purposes of this section, in the case of 
     individual retirement plans (other than retirement savings 
     accounts, simplified employee pensions, and simple retirement 
     accounts), the term `excess contribution' means the sum of--
       ``(1) the aggregate amount contributed for the taxable year 
     to the individual retirement plans, and
       ``(2) the amount determined under this subsection for the 
     preceding taxable year, reduced by the sum of--
       ``(A) the distributions out of the plans which were 
     included in gross income under section 408(d)(1), and
       ``(B) the distributions out of the plans for the taxable 
     year to which section 408(d)(5) applies.

     For purposes of this subsection, any contribution which is 
     distributed from the plan in a distribution to which section 
     408(d)(4) applies shall be treated as an amount not 
     contributed.''.
       (4)(A) Sections 402(c)(8)(B), 402A(c)(3)(A)(ii), 
     1361(c)(2)(A), 3405(e)(1)(B), and 4973(f) are each amended by 
     striking ``Roth IRA'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``retirement savings account''.
       (B) Section 4973(f)(1)(A) is amended by striking ``Roth 
     IRAs'' and inserting ``retirement savings accounts''.
       (C) Paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) of section 4973(f) are 
     each amended by striking ``sections 408A(c)(2) and (c)(3)'' 
     and inserting ``section 408A(c)(1)''.
       (D) Subsection (f) of section 4973 is amended in the 
     heading by striking ``Roth IRAs'' and inserting ``Retirement 
     Savings Accounts''.
       (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2005.

[[Page 3706]]



                                 S. 547

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EMPLOYER RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

       (a) In General.--Subpart A of part 1 of subchapter D of 
     chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
     inserting after section 401 the following new section:

     ``SEC. 401A. EMPLOYER RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

       ``(a) In General.--A defined contribution plan shall not 
     fail to meet the requirements of section 401(a) merely 
     because the plan includes an employer retirement savings 
     account arrangement.
       ``(b) Employer Retirement Savings Account Arrangement.--An 
     employer retirement savings account arrangement is any 
     arrangement which is part of a plan which meets the 
     requirements of section 401(a)--
       ``(1) under which a covered employee may elect to have the 
     employer make payments as contributions to a trust under the 
     plan on behalf of the employee, or to the employee directly 
     in cash,
       ``(2) under which amounts held by the trust which are 
     attributable to employer contributions made pursuant to the 
     employee's election--
       ``(A) may not be distributable to participants or other 
     beneficiaries earlier than--
       ``(i) severance from employment, death, or disability,
       ``(ii) an event described in subsection (g),
       ``(iii) the attainment of age 59\1/2\, or
       ``(iv) upon hardship of the employee, and
       ``(B) will not be distributable merely by reason of the 
     completion of a stated period of participation or the lapse 
     of a fixed number of years,
       ``(3) which provides that an employee's right to the 
     employee's accrued benefit derived from employer 
     contributions made to the trust pursuant to the employee's 
     election is nonforfeitable, and
       ``(4) which does not require, as a condition of 
     participation in the arrangement, that an employee complete a 
     period of service with the employer (or employers) 
     maintaining the plan extending beyond the period permitted 
     under section 410(a)(1) (determined without regard to 
     subparagraph (B)(i) thereof).
       ``(c) Application of Nondiscrimination Standards.--
       ``(1) Contribution percentage requirement.--An arrangement 
     shall not be treated as an employer retirement savings 
     account arrangement for any plan year unless--
       ``(A) the contribution percentage for eligible highly 
     compensated employees for the plan year does not exceed 200 
     percent of such percentage for all other eligible employees 
     for the preceding plan year, or
       ``(B) the contribution percentage of nonhighly compensated 
     employees for the preceding plan year exceeded 6 percent.
       ``(2) Alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination 
     requirements.--
       ``(A) In general.--An arrangement shall be treated as 
     meeting the requirements of paragraph (1)(A) if such 
     arrangement--
       ``(i) meets the contribution requirements of subparagraph 
     (B), and
       ``(ii) meets the notice requirements of subparagraph (D).
       ``(B) Contribution requirement.--The requirements of this 
     subparagraph are met if, under the arrangement, the employer 
     is required to make contributions to a defined contribution 
     plan on behalf of each eligible employee who is not a highly 
     compensated employee in an amount equal to at least 3 percent 
     of the employee's compensation. For purposes of this 
     subparagraph, elective deferrals and employee contributions 
     shall not be taken into account in determining the amount of 
     contributions the employer makes to the plan.
       ``(C) Special rules for matching contributions.--
       ``(i) In general.--If an employer takes matching 
     contributions into account for purposes of subparagraph (B), 
     the requirements of such subparagraph shall be treated as met 
     only if the matching contributions on behalf of each employee 
     who is not a highly compensated employee are equal to 50 
     percent of the elective deferrals of the employee to the 
     extent that such elective deferrals do not exceed 6 percent 
     of the employee's compensation.
       ``(ii) Alternative plan designs.--If the rate of any 
     matching contribution with respect to any rate of elective 
     deferral is not equal to the percentage required under clause 
     (i), an arrangement shall not be treated as failing to meet 
     the requirements of clause (i) if--

       ``(I) the rate of an employer's matching contribution does 
     not increase as an employee's rate of elective contributions 
     increases, and
       ``(II) the aggregate amount of matching contributions at 
     such rate of elective contribution is at least equal to the 
     aggregate amount of matching contributions which would be 
     made if matching contributions were made on the basis of the 
     percentages described in clause (i).

       ``(iii) Rate for highly compensated employees.--The 
     requirements of this subparagraph are not met if, under the 
     arrangement, the rate of matching contribution with respect 
     to any elective deferral of a highly compensated employee at 
     any rate of elective deferral is greater than that with 
     respect to an employee who is not a highly compensated 
     employee.
       ``(D) Notice requirement.--An arrangement meets the 
     requirements of this subparagraph if, under the arrangement, 
     each employee eligible to participate is, within a reasonable 
     period before any year, given written notice of the 
     employee's rights and obligations under the arrangement 
     which--
       ``(i) is sufficiently accurate and comprehensive to apprise 
     the employee of such rights and obligations, and
       ``(ii) is written in a manner calculated to be understood 
     by the average employee eligible to participate.
       ``(E) Other requirements.--
       ``(i) Withdrawal and vesting restrictions.--An arrangement 
     shall not be treated as meeting the requirements of 
     subparagraph (B) unless the requirements of paragraphs (2) 
     and (3) of subsection (b) are met with respect to all 
     employer contributions (including matching contributions) 
     taken into account in determining whether the requirements of 
     subparagraph (B) are met.
       ``(ii) Social security and similar contributions not taken 
     into account.--An arrangement shall not be treated as meeting 
     the requirements of subparagraph (B) unless such requirements 
     are met without regard to section 401(l), and, for purposes 
     of section 401(l), employer contributions under subparagraph 
     (B) shall not be taken into account.
       ``(F) Other plans.--An arrangement shall be treated as 
     meeting the requirements of subparagraph (B) if any other 
     plan maintained by the employer meets such requirements with 
     respect to employees eligible under the arrangement.
       ``(3) Contribution percentage.--For purposes of paragraph 
     (1), the contribution percentage for an eligible employee for 
     a specified group of employees for a plan year shall be the 
     average of the ratios (calculated separately for each 
     employee in such group) of--
       ``(A) the sum of the elective deferrals, matching 
     contributions, employee contributions, and qualified 
     nonelective contributions paid under the plan on behalf of 
     each such employee for such plan year, to
       ``(B) the employee's compensation for such plan year.
       ``(4) Special rules.--For purposes of this subsection--
       ``(A) Multiple arrangements.--If 2 or more plans which 
     include employer retirement savings account arrangements are 
     considered as 1 plan for purposes of section 401(a)(4) or 
     410(b), all such arrangements included in such plans shall be 
     treated as 1 arrangement.
       ``(B) Employees in more than 1 arrangement.--If any highly 
     compensated employee is a participant under 2 or more 
     employer retirement savings account arrangements of the 
     employer, for purposes of determining the contribution 
     percentage with respect to such employee, all such 
     arrangements shall be treated as 1 arrangement.
       ``(C) Use of current year.--An employer may elect to apply 
     paragraph (1) (A) or (B) by using the plan year rather than 
     the preceding plan year. An employer may change such an 
     election only with the consent of the Secretary.
       ``(D) 1st plan year.--In the case of the first plan year of 
     any plan (other than a successor plan), the amount taken into 
     account as the contribution percentage of nonhighly 
     compensated employees for the preceding plan year shall be--
       ``(i) 3 percent, or
       ``(ii) if the employer makes an election under this clause, 
     the contribution percentage of nonhighly compensated 
     employees determined for such first plan year.
       ``(E) Special rule for early participation.--If an employer 
     elects to apply section 410(b)(4)(B) in determining whether 
     an employer retirement savings account arrangement meets the 
     requirements of section 410(b)(1), the employer may, in 
     determining whether the arrangement meets the requirements of 
     this subsection, exclude from consideration all eligible 
     employees (other than highly compensated employees) who have 
     not met the minimum age and service requirements of section 
     410(a)(1)(A).
       ``(5) Exceptions.--
       ``(A) Governmental plans.--A governmental plan (within the 
     meaning of section 414(d)) maintained by a State or local 
     government or political subdivision thereof (or agency or 
     instrumentality thereof) shall be treated as meeting the 
     requirements of this subsection.
       ``(B) Tax exempt plans.--
       ``(i) In general.--A plan not described in subparagraph (A) 
     which is maintained by an organization described in section 
     501(c)(3) shall be treated as meeting the requirements of 
     this subsection for any plan year if the plan provides that 
     all employees of such organization may elect to have the 
     employer make contributions of more than $200 pursuant to a 
     salary reduction agreement if any employee of the 
     organization may elect to have the organization make 
     contributions pursuant to such agreement.
       ``(ii) Exception.--Clause (i) shall not apply to any plan 
     if under the plan--

       ``(I) matching contributions may be made on behalf of any 
     employee, or
       ``(II) an employee may make contributions other than 
     elective deferrals.

[[Page 3707]]

       ``(iii) Exclusion.--For purposes of clause (i), there may 
     be excluded any employee who is--

       ``(I) a participant in another employer retirement savings 
     account arrangement of the organization,
       ``(II) a nonresident alien described in section 
     410(b)(3)(C), or
       ``(III) subject to the conditions applicable under section 
     410(b)(4), a student performing services described in section 
     3121(b)(10) or an employee who normally works less than 20 
     hours per week.

       ``(6) Coordination with subsection (a)(4).--A cash or 
     deferred arrangement shall be treated as meeting the 
     requirements of subsection (a)(4) with respect to 
     contributions if the requirements of paragraph (1) are met.
       ``(d) Other Requirements.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) Benefits (other than matching contributions) must not 
     be contingent on election to defer.--An employer retirement 
     savings account arrangement of any employer shall not be 
     treated as such an arrangement if any other benefit is 
     conditioned (directly or indirectly) on the employee electing 
     to have the employer make or not make contributions under the 
     arrangement in lieu of receiving cash. The preceding sentence 
     shall not apply to any matching contribution made by reason 
     of such an election.
       ``(2) Coordination with other plans.--Any employer 
     contribution made pursuant to an employee's election under an 
     employer retirement savings account arrangement shall not be 
     taken into account for purposes of determining whether any 
     other plan meets the requirements of section 401(a) or 
     410(b). This paragraph shall not apply for purposes of 
     determining whether a plan meets the average benefit 
     requirement of section 410(b)(2)(A)(ii).
       ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) Eligible employee.--The term `eligible employee' 
     means any employee who is eligible to benefit under the 
     employer retirement savings account arrangement.
       ``(2) Highly compensated employee.--For purposes of this 
     subsection, the term `highly compensated employee' has the 
     meaning given such term by section 414(q).
       ``(3) Matching contribution.--The term `matching 
     contribution' means--
       ``(A) any employer contribution made to a defined 
     contribution plan on behalf of an employee on account of an 
     employee contribution made by such employee, and
       ``(B) any employer contribution made to a defined 
     contribution plan on behalf of an employee on account of an 
     employee's elective deferral.
       ``(4) Elective deferral.--The term `elective deferral' 
     means any employer contribution described in section 
     402(g)(3).
       ``(5) Qualified nonelective contributions.--The term 
     `qualified nonelective contribution' means any employer 
     contribution (other than a matching contribution) with 
     respect to which--
       ``(A) the employee may not elect to have the contribution 
     paid to the employee in cash instead of being contributed to 
     the plan, and
       ``(B) the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
     subsection (b) are met.
       ``(6) Compensation.--The term `compensation' has the 
     meaning given such term by section 414(s).
       ``(f) Arrangement Not Disqualified If Excess Contributions 
     Distributed.--
       ``(1) In general.--An employer retirement savings account 
     arrangement shall not be treated as failing to meet the 
     requirements of subsection (c)(1)(A) for any plan year if, 
     before the close of the following plan year--
       ``(A) the amount of the excess contributions for such plan 
     year (and any income allocable to such contributions) is 
     distributed, or
       ``(B) to the extent provided in regulations, the employee 
     elects to treat the amount of the excess contributions as an 
     amount distributed to the employee and then contributed by 
     the employee to the plan.

     Any distribution of excess contributions (and income) may be 
     made without regard to any other provision of law.
       ``(2) Excess contributions.--For purposes of paragraph (1), 
     the term `excess contributions' means, with respect to any 
     plan year, the excess of--
       ``(A) the aggregate amount of employer contributions 
     actually paid over to the trust on behalf of highly 
     compensated employees for such plan year, over
       ``(B) the maximum amount of such contributions permitted 
     under the limitations of subsection (c)(1)(A) (determined by 
     reducing contributions made on behalf of highly compensated 
     employees in order of the contribution percentages beginning 
     with the highest of such percentages).
       ``(3) Method of distributing excess contributions.--Any 
     distribution of the excess contributions for any plan year 
     shall be made to highly compensated employees on the basis of 
     the amount of contributions by, or on behalf of, each of such 
     employees.
       ``(4) Additional tax under section 72(t) not to apply.--No 
     tax shall be imposed under section 72(t) on any amount 
     required to be distributed under this subsection.
       ``(5) Treatment of matching contributions forfeited by 
     reason of excess deferral or contribution.--For purposes of 
     subsection (b)(3), a matching contribution shall not be 
     treated as forfeitable merely because such contribution is 
     forfeitable if the contribution to which the matching 
     contribution relates is treated as an excess contribution 
     under paragraph (2) or an excess deferral under section 
     402(g)(2)(A).
       ``(6) Cross reference.--For excise tax on certain excess 
     contributions, see section 4979.
       ``(g) Distributions Upon Termination of Plan.--
       ``(1) In general.--An event described in this subsection is 
     the termination of the plan without establishment or 
     maintenance of another defined contribution plan (other than 
     an employee stock ownership plan as defined in section 
     4975(e)(7)).
       ``(2) Distributions must be lump sum distributions.--
       ``(A) In general.--A termination shall not be treated as 
     described in paragraph (1) with respect to any employee 
     unless the employee receives a lump sum distribution by 
     reason of the termination.
       ``(B) Lump-sum distribution.--For purposes of this 
     paragraph, the term `lump-sum distribution' has the meaning 
     given such term by section 402(e)(4)(D) (without regard to 
     subclauses (I), (II), (III), and (IV) of clause (i) thereof). 
     Such term includes a distribution of an annuity contract 
     from--
       ``(i) a trust which forms a part of a plan described in 
     section 401(a) and which is exempt from tax under section 
     501(a), or
       ``(ii) an annuity plan described in section 403(a).
       ``(h) Special Rules for Small Employers.--
       ``(1) In general.--An arrangement maintained by an eligible 
     employer shall not fail to meet the requirements of this 
     section merely because contributions under the arrangement on 
     behalf of any employee are made to an individual retirement 
     plan (as defined under section 7701(a)(37)) established on 
     behalf of the employee.
       ``(2) Eligible employer.--For purposes of paragraph (1), 
     the term `eligible employer' means, with respect to any year, 
     an employer which had no more than 10 employees who received 
     at least $5,000 of compensation from the employer for the 
     preceding year. An eligible employer who establishes and 
     maintains an arrangement under this subsection for 1 or more 
     years and who fails to be an eligible employer for any 
     subsequent year shall be treated as an eligible employer for 
     the 2 years following the last year the employer was an 
     eligible employer. If such failure is due to any acquisition, 
     disposition, or similar transaction involving an eligible 
     employer, the preceding sentence shall not apply.
       ``(i) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such 
     regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of 
     this section, including regulations permitting appropriate 
     aggregation of plans and contributions.
       ``(j) Transition Rules.--
       ``(1) Deemed ersas.--Any arrangement which, as of December 
     31, 2005--
       ``(A) is part of a plan meeting the requirements of section 
     401(a), and
       ``(B) is--
       ``(i) a qualified cash or deferred arrangement (as defined 
     in section 401(k)(2)), or
       ``(ii) subject to the requirements of section 401(m),

     shall be treated as an employer retirement savings account 
     arrangement and subject to the requirements of this title 
     applicable to such an arrangement for plan years beginning 
     after December 31, 2005.
       ``(2) Electable ersas.--
       ``(A) In general.--If an employer makes an election under 
     this paragraph with respect to any applicable arrangement, 
     such arrangement shall be treated as an employer retirement 
     savings account arrangement and subject to the requirements 
     of this title applicable to such an arrangement for plan 
     years beginning after December 31, 2005.
       ``(B) Applicable arrangement.--For purposes of subparagraph 
     (A), the term `applicable arrangement' means an arrangement 
     which, as of December 31, 2005, is--
       ``(i) an arrangement under which amounts are contributed by 
     an individual's employer for an annuity contract described in 
     section 403(b),
       ``(ii) an eligible deferred compensation plan (within the 
     meaning of section 457(b)) maintained by an eligible employer 
     described in section 457(e)(1)(A),
       ``(iii) a simplified employee pension (within the meaning 
     of section 408(k)) for which an election is in effect under 
     paragraph (6) thereof, or
       ``(iv) a simple retirement account (within the meaning of 
     section 408(p).''.
       (b) Elective Deferrals.--Section 402 of such Code is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (e)(3), by inserting ``, an employer 
     retirement savings account arrangement (as defined in section 
     401A(b)),'' after ``section 401(k)(2))'' , and
       (2) in subsection (g)(3)(A), by inserting ``, or an 
     employer retirement savings account arrangement (as defined 
     in section 401A(b)),'' before ``to the extent''.
       (c) Termination of Contributions to Other Plans.--

[[Page 3708]]

       (1) 401(k) plans.--Section 401(k) of such Code is amended 
     by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(13) Termination.--This subsection shall not apply to any 
     plan year beginning after December 31, 2005.''.
       (2) 403(b) annuity contracts.--Section 403(b) of such Code 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(14) Termination.--No elective deferral (as defined in 
     section 402(g)(3)) may be contributed under this subsection 
     by an employer, and no amount may be transferred under an 
     eligible rollover, for an annuity contract after December 31, 
     2006.''.
       (3) Governmental 457 plans.--Section 457 of such Code is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(h) Termination.--No amount may be deferred under this 
     subsection under a plan maintained by an eligible employer 
     described in subsection (e)(1)(A), and no amount may be 
     transferred under an eligible rollover to an eligible 
     deferred compensation plan maintained by such an employer, 
     after December 31, 2006.''.
       (4) Sarseps.--Subparagraph (H) of section 408(k)(6) of such 
     Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     sentence: ``No amount may be contributed under this paragraph 
     to a simplified employee pension by an employer, and no 
     amount may be transferred to a simplified employee pension 
     maintained under this paragraph under an eligible rollover, 
     after December 31, 2006.''.
       (5) Simple iras.--Section 408(p) of such Code is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(11) Termination.--No amount may be contributed under 
     this paragraph to a simple retirement account after December 
     31, 2006.''.
       (d) Other Conforming Changes.--
       (1) Section 401 of such Code is amended by striking 
     subsection (m).
       (2) Section 7701(j) of such Code (relating to tax treatment 
     of Federal Thrift Savings Fund) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ``section 
     401(k)(4)(B)'' and inserting ``section 401A(d)(1)'', and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``section 401(k)'' and 
     inserting ``section 401A''.
       (3) The Secretary of the Treasury shall, not later than 90 
     days after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit such 
     technical and other conforming changes as are necessary to 
     carry out the amendments made by this section.
       (e) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart 
     A of part 1 of subchapter D of chapter 1 of such Code is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 401 
     the following new item:

``Sec. 401A. Employer Retirement Savings Accounts.''.

       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to years beginning after December 31, 2005.
       (g) Provisions Relating to Plan Amendments.--
       (1) In general.--If this subsection applies to any plan or 
     contract amendment--
       (A) such plan or contract shall be treated as being 
     operated in accordance with the terms of the plan during the 
     period described in paragraph (2)(C)(i), and
       (B) except as provided by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
     such plan shall not fail to meet the requirements of section 
     401A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by reason of such 
     amendment.
       (2) Amendments to which section applies.--
       (A) In general.--This subsection shall apply to any 
     amendment to any plan or annuity contract which is made--
       (i) pursuant to any amendment made by this section, or 
     pursuant to any regulation issued by the Secretary of the 
     Treasury or the Secretary of Labor under this section, and
       (ii) on or before the last day of the first plan year 
     beginning on or after January 1, 2007.
       (B) Governmental plan.--In the case of a governmental plan 
     (as defined in section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986), subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 
     ``2009'' for ``2007''.
       (C) Conditions.--This subsection shall not apply to any 
     amendment unless--
       (i) during the period--

       (I) beginning on the date the legislative or regulatory 
     amendment described in subparagraph (A)(i) takes effect (or 
     in the case of a plan or contract amendment not required by 
     such legislative or regulatory amendment, the effective date 
     specified by the plan), and
       (II) ending on the date described in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
     (or, if earlier, the date the plan or contract amendment is 
     adopted), the plan or contract is operated as if such plan or 
     contract amendment were in effect; and

       (ii) such plan or contract amendment applies retroactively 
     for such period.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CORZINE (for himself, Mr. Obama, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Bingaman, 
        Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, 
        Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Ms. 
        Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 550. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to 
facilitating the development of microbicides for preventing 
transmission of HIV and other diseases, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation, 
the Microbicides Development Act of 2005. I am very pleased to be 
introducing this bipartisan bill along with my colleagues, Senators 
Snowe, Obama, Bingaman, Cantwell, Clinton, Dodd, Durbin, Feinstein, 
Kennedy, Lautenberg, Leahy, Mikulski, Murray, Schumer, and Smith. I 
thank my colleagues for their support of this important legislation, 
which we believe is vital to the pursuit of combating the global HIV/
AIDS crisis.
  Today we are celebrating International Women's Day. Not only should 
we celebrate the achievements of women nationally and globally today, 
but we should also promise to redouble our efforts to improve the lives 
of women around the globe. I can't think of an issue more deserving of 
our attention in the United States Senate than that of the toll that 
HIV/AIDS is having on women and their children around the world.
  Today, nearly half of the 37 million adults now living with HIV 
worldwide are women. The U.N.'s new Epidemic Update released in late 
2004 shows that women and girls are increasingly affected by the 
disease in each region of the world and the epidemic continues to 
worsen. Women are the new face of AIDS. Approximately 7,000 women are 
infected with HIV everyday. The biggest rise in HIV/AIDS among women is 
occurring in East Asia, which has seen a 56 percent infection rate 
increase, followed by the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
  Notably, these are areas of the world that are not currently included 
in the President's AIDS initiative (PEPFAR). I would like to note that 
later this week I will be introducing legislation to make India 
eligible for PEPFAR assistance. It is estimated that by 2010, India 
could have 20 million HIV infected individuals up from five million 
currently and women are at the center of the rapid growth of the 
disease.
  I would like to quote from a recent news article in USA Today, which 
discusses the HIV/AIDS vulnerabilities that women confront.

       ``In this male-dominated society, ironclad traditions 
     surrounding marriage leave women little say over their sexual 
     or reproductive lives. So many married men bring HIV home to 
     their wives that married women are one of India's highest-
     risk groups. Nearly half of all new HIV infections occur in 
     women, and studies indicate that 90 percent of women with HIV 
     were virgins when they married and remained faithful to their 
     husbands.''

  This statement describes the plight of women in so many societies and 
countries where women simply do not have the economic or political 
power to insist that their husbands use condoms or abstain from having 
sex outside of marriage. The typical woman who gets infected with HIV 
has only one partner--her husband. This trend devastates families and 
puts children at risk.
  This astounding reality bears restating: The single greatest risk 
factor for a woman in the developing world of contracting the HIV virus 
is being married.
  Women need HIV-prevention tools that they can control to safeguard 
their health and that of their families and communities. Unfortunately, 
there exists absolutely no HIV or STD prevention method that is within 
a woman's personal control. Condom use must be negotiated with a 
partner. We are all aware that for too many women, particularly low-
income women in the developing world and many in our own country who 
rely upon a male partner for economic support, there is no power of 
negotiation. We know these women are at risk--yet, we expect them to 
protect themselves without any tools.
  Today we have the opportunity to invest in groundbreaking research 
that can produce these tools, and ultimately, empower women. 
Microbicides

[[Page 3709]]

are self-administered products that women could use to prevent 
transmission of STDs, including HIV/AIDS. I say ``could'', because due 
to insufficient research investments, no microbicides have been brought 
to market. This legislation would expand Federal investments for 
microbicide research at the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United States 
Agency for International Development (USAID).
  In addition to encouraging new investments in microbicide research, 
the Microbicides Development Act will expedite the implementation of 
the NIH's five-year strategic plan for microbicide research, as well as 
expand coordination among federal agencies already involved in this 
research, including NIH, CDC, and the United States Agency on 
International Development (USAID).
  Perhaps most importantly, the legislation calls for the establishment 
of a Microbicide Research and Development Branch within the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
  The National Institutes of Health, principally through the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), spends the 
majority of Federal dollars in this area. However, microbicide research 
at NIH is currently conducted with no single line of administrative 
accountability or specific funding coordination. In addition, other 
Federal agencies such as CDC and USAID undertake microbicides research 
and development activities. Because there is no Federal coordination, 
however, there is the risk that inefficiencies and duplication of 
effort could result. Through a variety of committees Congress has 
requested that NIH and its Office of AIDS Research provide Congress 
with a ``Federal coordination plan'' for research and development in 
this area, but formal submission of this plan has been repeatedly 
delayed.
  A unit dedicated to microbicide research and development at the NIH 
is essential to providing the appropriate staff and funding for the 
coordination of these activities at the NIH and across agencies.
  Microbicides may not be a magic bullet, but they are essential to 
addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis. With leading scientists concluding that 
a vaccine is likely to be at least 10 years away, we need to make a 
strong commitment to developing complementary prevention tools such as 
microbicides.
  Microbicides are a public health good for which the social benefits 
are high but economic incentives to private investment are low. Despite 
the potential market size, neither pharmaceutical nor major biotech 
companies have made large investments in the field because development 
is costly and the likelihood of finding an effective product is 
unknown. Like other public health goods, such as vaccines, public 
funding must fill the gap left by market failure.
  The cost of developing the existing pipeline of microbicide candidate 
products has been estimated at $775 million over five years. This 
investment should generate a number of safe, effective microbicides by 
2010. Currently, however, U.S. Federal funding for microbicides is only 
about $88.8 million annually and is spread across all areas of 
microbicide research, not just product development.
  As for any pharmaceutical or health care product, the key to 
developing safe, effective, affordable and accessible microbicides is 
sufficient investment. If we are to realize the promise of microbicides 
and the lifesaving properties they may provide, then additional public 
funding must be made available for research and development. The 
Microbicide Development Act of 2005 will help us achieve this goal.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of my legislation be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 550

       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 ``Microbicide Development 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Women and girls are the new face of HIV/AIDS, and are 
     increasingly affected by the disease in each region of the 
     world. Women account for nearly \1/2\ of the 37,000,000 
     adults living with HIV and AIDS worldwide as of 2005. 
     Approximately 7,000 women are newly infected with HIV each 
     day.
       (2) Because of their social and biological vulnerabilities, 
     young women are particularly at risk. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 
     76 percent of the young people (between ages 15 and 24) with 
     HIV are girls under 20.
       (3) When women become infected with HIV, they can pass 
     along the infection to their children during pregnancy, labor 
     and delivery, or breast-feeding. The most effective way to 
     halt mother-to-child transmission is to ensure that mothers 
     are not infected in the first place.
       (4) An increasing number of women who become infected with 
     HIV have only 1 sexual partner, their husband. Unfortunately, 
     marriage is not necessarily effective protection against HIV, 
     because to protect themselves from HIV, women have to rely on 
     their male partners to be faithful or to use condoms. Many 
     women in the developing world are unable to insist on mutual 
     monogamy or negotiate condom use, especially in long-term 
     relationships.
       (5) Scientists are working on a promising new prevention 
     tool that could slow down the spread of the HIV/AIDS 
     epidemic, microbicides. Formulated as gels, creams, or rings, 
     microbicides inactivate, block, or otherwise interfere with 
     the transmission of the pathogens that cause AIDS and other 
     sexually transmitted diseases (``STD''s). Microbicides could 
     allow a woman to protect herself from disease.
       (6) Married couples need a method of HIV protection that 
     will allow them to conceive a child and start a family. No 
     existing HIV prevention method also allows conception. 
     Microbicides are being developed to allow women to both 
     conceive children and protect themselves from HIV.
       (7) Households in developing countries often dissolve when 
     a mother dies. In the hardest hit countries, the number of 
     children who are orphaned by AIDS is increasing dramatically.
       (8) Women in the United States also need HIV prevention 
     tools like microbicides. AIDS is now the number 1 cause of 
     death among African-American women between the ages of 25 and 
     34.
       (9) In addition to HIV, other STDs continue to be a major 
     health threat in the United States. The United States has the 
     highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases of any 
     industrialized nation. Nineteen million STD infections occur 
     every year. It is estimated that by age 25, \1/2\ of all 
     sexually active people in the United States can expect to be 
     infected with an STD.
       (10) HIV and AIDS represent a threat to national security 
     and economic well being, with direct medical costs of up to 
     $15,500,000,000 per year. The pandemic undermines armies, 
     foments unrest, and burdens the United States military.
       (11) As the Nation's largest single provider of HIV/AIDS 
     care, the Veterans Affairs health care system spent 
     $359,000,000 to provided care to more than 20,000 American 
     veterans with HIV/AIDS in fiscal year 2004.
       (12) The microbicide field has achieved an extraordinary 
     amount of scientific momentum, with several first-generation 
     candidates now in large scale human trials around the world. 
     At same time, new products, based upon recent advances in HIV 
     treatment, have advanced into early safety trials.
       (13) Microbicides are a classic public health good for 
     which the social benefits are high but the economic incentive 
     to private investment is low. Like other public health goods, 
     such as vaccines, public funding must fill the gap. 
     Microbicide research depends in large part on Government 
     leadership and investment.
       (14) The Federal Government needs to make a strong 
     commitment to microbicide research and development. Three 
     agencies--the National Institutes of Health (``NIH''), the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (``CDC''), and the 
     United States Agency of International Development 
     (``USAID'')--have played important roles in the progress to 
     date, but further strong, well-coordinated, and visible 
     public sector leadership will be essential for the promise of 
     microbicides to be realized.
       (15) As of 2005, microbicide research at NIH is conducted 
     under several institutes with no single line of 
     administrative accountability, no specific funding 
     coordination, and highly variable levels of interest and 
     commitment across institute leadership. Only a few NIH staff 
     can claim microbicides as their sole focus.
       (16) The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
     (``PEPFAR'') recognizes the urgency of developing safe and 
     effective microbicides to prevent HIV. In addition, NIH 
     documents state that ``the US government is firmly committed 
     to accelerating the development of safe and effective 
     microbicides to prevent HIV,'' recognizing that microbicides 
     may provide ``one of the most promising preventative 
     interventions given that could be inexpensive, readily

[[Page 3710]]

     available, and widely acceptable''. But as of 2005, NIH 
     spends barely 2 percent of its HIV/AIDS research budget on 
     microbicides. As more microbicide candidates are advanced 
     into later-stage clinical trials and development costs rise 
     correspondingly, 2005 funding levels are simply inadequate.
       (17) USAID and the CDC have expanded their microbicide 
     portfolios, but without overall Federal coordination, costly 
     inefficiencies and unproductive duplication of effort may 
     result. USAID sustains strong partnerships with public and 
     private organizations working on microbicide research, 
     importantly including clinical trials in developing countries 
     where its experience is extensive. USAID is well positioned 
     to facilitate the introduction of microbicides once they are 
     available. The CDC also engages in critical microbicide 
     research and clinical testing, and has a long history of 
     conducting field trials in developing countries.
       (18) HIV prevention options available as of 2005 are not 
     enough. HIV prevention strategies must recognize women's 
     needs and vulnerabilities. If women are to have a genuine 
     opportunity to protect themselves, their best option is the 
     rapid development of new HIV-prevention technologies like 
     microbicides, which women can initiate and control.

   TITLE I--MICROBICIDE RESEARCH AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

     SEC. 101. OFFICE OF AIDS RESEARCH; PROGRAM REGARDING 
                   MICROBICIDES FOR PREVENTING TRANSMISSION OF HIV 
                   AND OTHER DISEASES.

       Subpart I of part D of title XXIII of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300cc-40 et seq.) is amended by 
     inserting after section 2351 the following:

     ``SEC. 2351A. MICROBICIDES FOR PREVENTING TRANSMISSION OF HIV 
                   AND OTHER DISEASES.

       ``(a) Federal Strategic Plan.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Director of the Office of AIDS 
     Research shall--
       ``(A) expedite the implementation of a Federal strategic 
     plan for the conduct and support of microbicide research and 
     development; and
       ``(B) annually review and, as appropriate, revise such 
     plan, to prioritize funding and activities in terms of their 
     scientific urgency.
       ``(2) Coordination.--In implementing, reviewing, and 
     prioritizing elements of the plan described under paragraph 
     (1), the Director of the Office of AIDS Research shall 
     coordinate with--
       ``(A) other Federal agencies, including the Director of the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 
     Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
     Development, involved in microbicide research;
       ``(B) the microbicide research community; and
       ``(C) health advocates.
       ``(b) Expansion and Coordination of Activities.--The 
     Director of the Office of AIDS Research, acting in 
     coordination with other relevant institutes and offices, 
     shall expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of all 
     appropriate institutes and components of the National 
     Institutes of Health with respect to research and development 
     of microbicides to prevent the transmission of the human 
     immunodeficiency virus (`HIV') and other sexually transmitted 
     diseases.
       ``(c) Microbicide Development Unit.--In carrying out 
     subsection (b), the Director of the National Institute of 
     Allergy and Infectious Diseases shall establish within the 
     Division of AIDS in the Institute, a clearly defined 
     organizational unit charged with carrying out microbicide 
     research and development. In establishing such unit, the 
     Director shall ensure that there are a sufficient number of 
     employees dedicated to carrying out the mission of the unit.
       ``(d) Microbicide Clinical Trials.--In carrying out 
     subsection (c), the Director of the National Institute of 
     Allergy and Infectious Diseases shall assign priority to 
     ensuring adequate funding and support for the integration of 
     basic science and clinical research, with particular emphasis 
     on implementation of trials leading to product licensure.
       ``(e) Reports to Congress.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
     of enactment of the Microbicide Development Act, and annually 
     thereafter, the Director of the Office of AIDS Research shall 
     submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
     that describes the strategies being implemented by the 
     Federal Government regarding microbicide research and 
     development.
       ``(2) Contents of reports.--Each report submitted under 
     paragraph (1) shall include--
       ``(A) a description of activities with respect to 
     microbicide research and development conducted and supported 
     by the Federal Government;
       ``(B) a summary and analysis of the expenditures made by 
     the Director of the Office of AIDS Research during the 
     preceding year for activities with respect to microbicide-
     specific research and development, including basic research, 
     preclinical product development, clinical trials, and process 
     development and production;
       ``(C) a description and evaluation of the progress made, 
     during the preceding year, toward the development of 
     effective and acceptable microbicides; and
       ``(D) a review of scientific and programmatic obstacles to 
     expediting the commercial availability of microbicide 
     products.
       ``(3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
     subsection, the term `appropriate committees of Congress' 
     means the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
     and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
       ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     for each fiscal year to carry out this section.''.

 TITLE II--MICROBICIDE RESEARCH AT THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND 
                               PREVENTION

     SEC. 201. MICROBICIDES FOR PREVENTING TRANSMISSION OF HIV AND 
                   OTHER DISEASES.

       Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by transferring section 317R so as to appear after 
     section 317Q; and
       (2) by inserting after section 317R (as so transferred) the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 371S. MICROBICIDES FOR PREVENTING TRANSMISSION OF HIV 
                   AND OTHER DISEASES.

       ``(a) Development and Implementation of the Microbicide 
     Agenda Supported by the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention.--The Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
     and Prevention shall fully implement such Centers' topical 
     microbicide agenda to support microbicide research and 
     development. Such an agenda shall include--
       ``(1) conducting laboratory research in preparation for, 
     and support of, clinical microbicide trials;
       ``(2) conducting behavioral research in preparation for, 
     and support of, clinical microbicide trials;
       ``(3) developing and characterizing domestic populations 
     and international cohorts appropriate for Phases I, II, and 
     III clinical trials of candidate topical microbicides;
       ``(4) conducting Phases I and II clinical trials to assess 
     the safety and acceptability of candidate microbicides;
       ``(5) conducting Phase III clinical trials to assess the 
     efficacy of candidate microbicides;
       ``(6) providing technical assistance to, and consulting 
     with, a wide variety of domestic and international entities 
     involved in developing and evaluating topical microbicides, 
     including health agencies, extramural researchers, industry, 
     health advocates, and nonprofit organizations; and
       ``(7) developing and evaluating the diffusion and effects 
     of implementation strategies for use of effective topical 
     microbicides.
       ``(b) Personnel.--The Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention shall ensure that there are sufficient numbers of 
     dedicated employees for carrying out the microbicide agenda 
     under subsection (a).
       ``(c) Report to Congress.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of the Microbicide Development Act, and annually 
     thereafter, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
     and Prevention shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
     Congress, a report on the strategies being implemented by the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with respect to 
     microbicide research and development. Such report shall be 
     submitted alone or as part of the overall Federal strategic 
     plan on microbicides compiled annually by the National 
     Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research as required 
     under section 2351A.
       ``(2) Contents of report.--Such report shall include--
       ``(A) a description of activities with respect to 
     microbicides conducted or supported by the Director of the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
       ``(B) a summary and analysis of the expenditures made by 
     such Director during the preceding year, for activities with 
     respect to microbicide-specific research and development, 
     including the number of employees of such Centers involved in 
     such activities;
       ``(C) a description and evaluation of the progress made, 
     during the preceding year, toward the development of 
     effective and acceptable microbicides; and
       ``(D) a review of scientific and programmatic obstacles to 
     expediting the commercial availability of microbicide 
     products.
       ``(3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--For the 
     purposes of this subsection, the term `appropriate committees 
     of Congress' means the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
     and Pensions and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     for each fiscal year to carry out this section.''.

[[Page 3711]]



    TITLE III--MICROBICIDE RESEARCH AT THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR 
                       INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

     SEC. 301. MICROBICIDES FOR PREVENTING TRANSMISSION OF HIV AND 
                   OTHER DISEASES.

       Section 104A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2151b-2) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new subsection:
       ``(h) Microbicides for Preventing Transmission of HIV and 
     Other Diseases.--
       ``(1) Development and implementation of the microbicide 
     agenda.--The head of the Office of HIV/AIDS of the United 
     States Agency for International Development, in conjunction 
     with other offices of such Agency, shall develop and 
     implement a program to support the development of 
     microbicides products for the prevention of the transmission 
     of HIV and other diseases, and facilitate wide-scale 
     availability of such products after such development. The 
     program shall be known as the `microbicide agenda' and shall 
     include--
       ``(A) support for the discovery, development, and 
     preclinical evaluation of topical microbicides;
       ``(B) support for the conduct of clinical studies of 
     candidate microbicides to assess the safety, acceptability, 
     and effectiveness of such microbicides in reducing the 
     transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases;
       ``(C) support for behavioral and social science research 
     relevant to microbicide development, testing, acceptability, 
     and use;
       ``(D) support for preintroductory and introductory studies 
     of safe and effective microbicides in developing countries; 
     and
       ``(E) facilitation of access to microbicides by women at 
     highest risk of contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted 
     diseases, at the earliest possible time.
       ``(2) Staffing.--The head of the Office of HIV/AIDS shall 
     ensure that the Agency has a sufficient number of dedicated 
     employees to carry out the microbicide agenda.
       ``(3) Reports to congress.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of the Microbicide Development Act, and annually 
     thereafter, the Administrator of the Agency shall submit to 
     the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
     activities of the Administrator to carry out the microbicide 
     agenda and on any other activities carried out by the 
     Administrator related to microbicide research and 
     development.
       ``(B) Contents of report.--Each report submitted under 
     subparagraph (A) shall include--
       ``(i) a description of activities with respect to 
     microbicides conducted or supported by the Administrator;
       ``(ii) a summary and analysis of the expenditures made by 
     the Administrator during the preceding year for activities 
     with respect to microbicide-specific research and 
     development, including the number of employees of the Agency 
     who are involved in such activities;
       ``(iii) a description and evaluation of the progress made 
     during the preceding year toward the development of effective 
     and acceptable microbicides;
       ``(iv) a review of scientific and programmatic obstacles to 
     expediting the commercial availability of microbicide 
     products; and
       ``(v) a description of the activities carried out to 
     increase the availability of microbicides approved to prevent 
     the transmission of HIV or other sexually transmitted 
     diseases.
       ``(C) Consultation.--The Administrator shall consult with 
     the Director of the Office of AIDS Research of the National 
     Institutes of Health in preparing a report required by 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(D) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
     paragraph, the term `appropriate committees of Congress' 
     means the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on 
     International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations 
     of the House of Representatives.
       ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     for each fiscal year to carry out this subsection.''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 552. A bill to make technical corrections to the Veterans Benefits 
Improvement Act of 2004; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I introduce a bill that would provide 
a technical correction to the Veterans Benefits Improvements Act of 
2004.
  Last session, the law that allowed severely disabled members of the 
Armed Forces to receive specially adapted housing grants from the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), while still on active duty, was 
inadvertently repealed. This was an oversight that occurred when the 
law was changed that authorized the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
provide specially adapted housing for veterans whose disability is the 
result of the loss, or loss of use, of both upper arms above the elbow.
  Currently, only veterans are statutorily eligible for adapted housing 
grants. Congress originally intended eligibility for both disabled 
veterans and servicemembers, as was the case before the change in law 
last Session.
  The correcting language in my bill would again provide the adapted 
housing benefit to disabled servicemembers in need of accommodations as 
they return to their homes. The adapted housing benefit is essential 
for providing an adequate standard of living for our disabled 
servicemembers. The benefit provides necessary modifications to 
servicemembers' homes to accommodate their disabilities.
  I ask that we continue to make every effort to ensure that those 
servicemembers who have sacrificed to defend Freedom receive the 
benefits that they deserve. We owe it to these great men and women to 
pass this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 552

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO VETERANS BENEFITS 
                   IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2004.

       Section 2101 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by 
     section 401 of the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 
     (Public Law 108-454), is further amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d);
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) a new subsection (c) 
     consisting of the text of subsection (c) of such section 2101 
     as in effect immediately before the enactment of such Act, 
     modified--
       (A) by inserting after ``(c)'' the following: ``Assistance 
     to Members of the Armed Forces.--'';
       (B) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) in the first sentence, by striking ``paragraph (1), 
     (2), or (3)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or 
     (D) of paragraph (2)''; and
       (ii) in the second sentence, by striking ``the second 
     sentence'' and inserting ``paragraph (3)''; and
       (C) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in the first sentence, by striking ``paragraph (1)'' 
     and inserting ``paragraph (2)''; and
       (ii) in the second sentence, by striking ``paragraph (2)'' 
     and inserting ``paragraph (3)''; and
       (3) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``subsection (c)'' in 
     the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting 
     ``subsection (d)''.

     SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by section 1 shall take effect 
     immediately after the enactment of the Veterans Benefits 
     Improvement Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-454).
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Allen):
  S. 553. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to provide for 
HOV-lane exemptions for low-emission and hybrid vehicles; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill with 
Senator Allen that would allow hybrids to access High Occupancy Vehicle 
(HOV) lanes.
  California and other States, such as Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia, 
do not want to risk losing their Federal highway dollars by acting 
without a waiver from the Department of Transportation to implement 
laws permitting hybrid vehicles to use HOV lanes.
  Virginia has decided to take that risk because the benefit of having 
more fuel efficient cars on the roads is greater.
  This bill would allow the Department of Transportation to grant such 
a waiver to States.
  The purpose of this bill is to encourage Americans to buy and drive 
hybrids, which provide an innovative solution to help reduce our thirst 
for gasoline.
  Allowing hybrids into HOV lanes is a low-cost and quick incentive to 
promote the use of hybrids.
  Hybrid vehicles are more fuel efficient than cars powered by internal 
combustion engines and they emit fewer greenhouse gases that lead to 
global warming.
  Burning less gas can also help us to gain independence from foreign 
sources of energy.
  The cost of hybrid technology will decrease by bringing more hybrids 
into the market.

[[Page 3712]]

  And, people can make smarter, more fuel efficient, less polluting 
choices while getting to and from work faster.
  Several States, including my State of California, have acted on their 
own to permit hybrid vehicles to use HOV lanes.
  Current Federal law, however, only grants States the flexibility to 
allow electric or natural gas powered vehicles to drive in the HOV 
lanes with a single passenger.
  Right now, there are approximately 20,000 high-mileage hybrid car 
owners in California waiting to take advantage of a State law that went 
into effect on January 1, 2005. This State law, sponsored by 
assemblywoman Fran Pavley, allows hybrid vehicles that get 45 miles-
per-gallon or better to use diamond or HOV lanes until 2008.
  As California has 40 percent of the Nation's carpool lanes, high-
mileage hybrid owners stand to gain a significant benefit for driving 
these cars.
  Some critics have expressed concerns that HOV lanes will get 
overloaeded, but each State can stop the program if congestion becomes 
a problem.
  Hybrids only account for a fraction of the cars sold today--43,435 
hybrids out of a total of 16.7 million vehicles were sold in 2003!
  If States want to act to encourage their citizens to drive more fuel 
efficient, less polluting vehicles, we need to give them the tools to 
do so.
  It is my hope that Congress will pass this bill quickly so that 
hybrid drivers in California, Georgia, Colorado and elsewhere can take 
advantage of the HOV lanes.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 553

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. HOV-LANE EXEMPTION FOR LOW-EMISSION AND HYBRID 
                   VEHICLES

       Section 102(a)(2) of title 23, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking the first sentence and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a State 
     may permit a vehicle with fewer than 2 occupants to operate 
     in high occupancy vehicle lanes if the vehicle is--
       ``(i)(I) certified as meeting the inherently low-emission 
     vehicle evaporative emission standard under part 88 of title 
     40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation) 
     (including a vehicle produced before or during the 2004 model 
     year that meets that standard); and
       ``(II) labeled in accordance with section 88.312-93(c) of 
     title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
     regulation); or
       ``(ii) a motor vehicle that--

       ``(I) draws propulsion energy from onboard sources of 
     stored energy produced or stored by--

       ``(aa) an internal combustion or heat engine using 
     combustible fuel; and
       ``(bb) a rechargeable energy storage system that provides 
     at least 5 percent of the maximum available power; and

       ``(II) meets such other requirements or criteria as may be 
     specified by the State.''; and

       (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``Such permission'' 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(B) Revocation.--The permission under subparagraph (A)''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Grassley, 
        Mr. Feingold, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Levin, 
        Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Corzine, and Mr. Dayton):
  S. 555. A bill to amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and 
exporting cartels illegal; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my colleagues--
Senators Kohl, Leahy, Grassley, Feingold, Snowe, Schumer, Durbin, 
Levin, Boxer, Wyden, Corzine, and Dayton--to introduce the No Oil 
Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2005 (NOPEC). This legislation 
would give the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission legal 
authority to bring an antitrust case against the Organization of 
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
  Every consumer in America knows that gasoline prices have reached 
record highs recently. Likewise, the price of home heating oil has 
dramatically increased. These price increases have been acutely painful 
to people in my home State of Ohio.
  Moreover, the rise in jet fuel prices is crippling our already weak 
airline industry. One of the main reasons that many U.S. airlines have 
not been able to make a profit has been due to skyrocketing jet fuel 
costs. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2004, Continental 
Airlines' jet fuel costs were $453 million, which was a 48 percent 
increase compared to last year, and Delta's jet fuel costs were $385 
million, which was 76 percent increase compared to last year. No wonder 
so many U.S. airlines are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy or are 
already in bankruptcy.
  What is the cause of these high gas and fuel prices? There are a 
number of factors at play, but there is clear agreement among industry 
experts about the primary cause of high gas and fuel prices--and that 
is the increase in imported crude oil prices. Who sets crude oil 
prices? OPEC does. The unacceptably high price of imported crude oil is 
a direct result of price fixing by the OPEC nations to keep the price 
of oil unnaturally high.
  OPEC's hunger for ill-gotten gains is astounding. It seems its 
appetite can never be satisfied. For example, despite the fact that oil 
prices recently hit the historic high of $55 a barrel, OPEC members met 
in December 2004 and decided to cut the output of oil by another 1 
million barrels. When demand is high and supplies are cut, that means 
prices will increase. Nonetheless, OPEC cut production. This is an 
outrage.
  OPEC is probably the most notorious example of an illegal cartel in 
the world today. It is an affront to the principle that markets should 
be free. Nation after nation has adopted antitrust laws that make it 
illegal to fix prices. In 1998, the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development, then composed of 29 member nations, issued 
a formal recommendation denouncing price fixing. OPEC's continued 
actions, in ongoing defiance of American and international antitrust 
norms, should not be tolerated.
  Until now, however, OPEC has effectively received a ``free pass'' 
from prosecution under U.S. antitrust laws. For over two decades, 
enforcement has been constrained by two related court opinions. In 
1979, a Federal district court found that OPEC's price-setting 
decisions were ``governmental'' acts. As a result, they were given 
sovereign status and protected by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. 
Subsequently, in 1981, a Federal court of appeals declined to consider 
the appeal of that antitrust case based on the so-called ``act of 
state'' doctrine, which holds that a court will not consider a case 
regarding the legality of the acts of a foreign nation.
  Our bill would effectively reverse these decisions. It makes it clear 
that OPEC's activities are not protected by sovereign immunity and that 
the Federal courts should not decline to hear a case against OPEC based 
on the ``act of state'' doctrine. As a result, under NOPEC, the 
Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission could bring an 
antitrust enforcement action against OPEC's member nations. This bill 
would force OPEC to begin pricing in a competitive, free-market manner 
or face the possibility of civil or criminal antitrust prosecution.
  Senator Kohl and I have introduced this bill three times before--in 
2000, 2001, and 2004. We intend to keep fighting for American consumers 
and businesses so that they will not be fleeced by OPEC in the future.
  NOPEC says to OPEC: When you want to do business with America, you 
must abide by our antitrust laws and the rules of the free market. And 
when OPEC, one day, abides by the rules of the free market, we will all 
see lower oil and gas prices.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 555

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

[[Page 3713]]



     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``No Oil Producing and 
     Exporting Cartels Act of 2005'' or ``NOPEC''.

     SEC. 2. SHERMAN ACT.

       The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended by adding 
     after section 7 the following:

     ``SEC. 7A. OIL PRODUCING CARTELS.

       ``(a) In General.--It shall be illegal and a violation of 
     this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality or 
     agent of any foreign state, to act collectively or in 
     combination with any other foreign state, any instrumentality 
     or agent of any other foreign state, or any other person, 
     whether by cartel or any other association or form of 
     cooperation or joint action--
       ``(1) to limit the production or distribution of oil, 
     natural gas, or any other petroleum product;
       ``(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural gas, or 
     any petroleum product; or
       ``(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade 
     for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product;

     when such action, combination, or collective action has a 
     direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the 
     market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, 
     or other petroleum product in the United States.
       ``(b) Sovereign Immunity.--A foreign state engaged in 
     conduct in violation of subsection (a) shall not be immune 
     under the doctrine of sovereign immunity from the 
     jurisdiction or judgments of the courts of the United States 
     in any action brought to enforce this section.
       ``(c) Inapplicability of Act of State Doctrine.--No court 
     of the United States shall decline, based on the act of state 
     doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action 
     brought under this section.
       ``(d) Enforcement.--The Attorney General of the United 
     States and the Federal Trade Commission may bring an action 
     to enforce this section in any district court of the United 
     States as provided under the antitrust laws.''.

     SEC. 3. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

       Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting 
     ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) in which the action is brought under section 7A of 
     the Sherman Act.''.

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce, with Senator 
DeWine and 11 co-sponsors, of the No Oil Producing and Exporting 
Cartels Act of 2005 (``NOPEC''). It is time for the U.S. government to 
fight back on the price of oil and hold OPEC accountable when it acts 
illegally. This bill will hold OPEC member nations to account under 
U.S. antitrust law when they agree to limit supply or fix price in 
violation of the most basic principles of free competition.
  Our bill will authorize the Attorney General and Federal Trade 
Commission to file suit against nations or other entities that 
participate in a conspiracy to limit the supply, or fix the price, of 
oil. In addition, it will expressly specify that the doctrines of 
sovereign immunity and act of state do not exempt nations that 
participate in oil cartels from basic antitrust law. Senator DeWine and 
I have introduced this bill in each of the last three Congresses. This 
legislation was the subject of an extensive hearing at the Antitrust 
Subcommittee last year, and subsequently passed the Judiciary Committee 
without dissent. It is now time, in this new Congress, to finally pass 
this legislation into law and give our nation a long needed tool to 
counteract this pernicious and anti-consumer conspiracy.
  Throughout the last year, consumers all across the Nation have 
watched gas prices rise to previously unimagined levels. As crude oil 
prices exceeded $40, then $50 and then $55 per barrel, retail prices of 
gasoline over $2.00 per gallon became commonplace. While prices 
temporarily receded for short periods, the general trend was 
significantly upwards, and rising even today. We now hear predictions 
that the price of crude oil may soon break the $60 barrier, and oil 
industry analysts even say $80 per barrel is not unthinkable. And one 
fact has remained consistent--any move downwards in price would end as 
soon as OPEC decided to cut production. The price of crude oil danced 
to the tune set by OPEC members. Such blatantly anti-competitive 
conduct by the oil cartel violates the most basic principles of fair 
competition and free markets and should not be tolerated.
  Real people suffer real consequences every day in our nation because 
of OPEC's actions. Rising gas prices are a silent tax that takes hard-
earned money away from Americans every time they visit the gas pump. 
Higher oil prices drive up the cost of transportation, harming 
thousands of companies throughout the economy from trucking to 
aviation. And those costs are passed on to consumers in the form of 
higher prices for manufactured goods. Higher oil prices mean higher 
heating oil and electricity costs. Anyone who has gone through a 
Midwest winter can tell you about the tremendous personal costs 
associated with higher home heating bills.
  We have all heard many explanations offered for rising energy prices. 
Some say that the oil companies are gouging consumers. Some blame 
disruptions in supply. Others point to the EPA requirement mandating 
use of a new and more expensive type of ``reformulated'' gas in the 
Midwest or other ``boutique'' fuels around the country. Some even claim 
that refiners and distributors have illegally fixed prices. On this 
issue, Senator DeWine and I have repeatedly asked the Federal Trade 
Commission to investigate these allegations. As a result of our 
requests, the FTC has put a task force in place to find out if those 
allegations were true. While we continue to urge the FTC to be 
vigilant, the FTC has to date found no evidence of illegal domestic 
price fixing as a cause of higher gas prices. And we conducted our own 
inquiry in the Antitrust Subcommittee last year which found no basis to 
challenge the FTC's conclusions.
  But one cause of these escalating prices is indisputable: the price 
fixing conspiracy of the OPEC nations. For years, this conspiracy has 
unfairly driven up the cost of imported crude oil to satisfy the greed 
of the oil exporters. We have long decried OPEC, but, sadly, no one in 
government has yet tried to take any action. Our bill will, for the 
first time, establish clearly and plainly that when a group of 
competing oil producers like the OPEC nations act together to restrict 
supply or set prices, they are violating U.S. law. The bill will not 
authorize private lawsuits, but it will authorize the Attorney General 
or FTC to file suit under the antitrust laws for redress. Our bill will 
also make plain that the nations of OPEC cannot hide behind the 
doctrines of ``Sovereign Immunity'' or ``Act of State'' to escape the 
reach of American justice. In so doing, our bill will overrule one 
twenty-year old lower court decision which incorrectly failed to 
recognize that the actions of OPEC member nations was commercial 
activity exempt from the protections of sovereign immunity.
  The most fundamental principle of a free market is that competitors 
cannot be permitted to conspire to limit supply or fix price. There can 
be no free market without this foundation. And we should not permit any 
nation to flout this fundamental principle.
  Some critics of this legislation have argued that suing OPEC will not 
work or that threatening suit will hurt more than help. I disagree. Our 
NOPEC legislation will, for the first time, enable our antitrust 
authorities to take legal action to combat the illegitimate price-
fixing conspiracy of the oil cartel. It will, at a minimum, have a real 
deterrent effect on nations that seek to join forces to fix oil prices 
to the detriment of consumers. This legislation will be the first real 
weapon the U.S. government has ever had to deter OPEC from its 
seemingly endless cycle of price increases. There is nothing remarkable 
about applying U.S. antitrust law overseas. Our government has not 
hesitated to do so when faced with clear evidence of anti-competitive 
conduct that harms American consumers. A few years ago, for example, 
the Justice Department secured record fines totaling $725 million 
against German and Swiss companies engaged in a price fixing conspiracy 
to raise and fix the price of vitamins sold in the United States and 
elsewhere. Their behavior harmed consumers by raising the prices 
consumers paid for vitamins every day and plainly needed to be 
addressed. As this and other cases show, the mere fact that the 
conspirators are foreign nations is no basis to shield them from 
violating these most basic standards of fair economic behavior.

[[Page 3714]]

  Even under current law, there is no doubt that the actions of the 
international oil cartel would be in gross violation of antitrust law 
if engaged in by private companies. If OPEC were a group of 
international private companies rather than foreign governments, their 
actions would be nothing more than an illegal price fixing scheme. But 
OPEC members have used the shield of ``sovereign immunity'' to escape 
accountability for their price-fixing. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities 
Act, though, already recognizes that the ``commercial'' activity of 
nations is not protected by sovereign immunity. And it is hard to 
imagine an activity that is more obviously commercial than selling oil 
for profit, as the OPEC nations do. Our legislation will establish that 
the sovereign immunity doctrine will not divest a U.S. court from 
jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit alleging that members of the oil cartel 
are violating antitrust law.
  The suffering of consumers across the Nation in the last year has 
made me more certain than ever that this legislation is necessary. 
Between OPEC's repeated decisions to cut oil production and the FTC's 
conclusion for the last several years that there is no illegal conduct 
by domestic companies responsible for rising gas prices, I am convinced 
that we need to take action, and take action now, before the damage 
spreads too far.
  I urge my colleagues to support our legislation so that our Nation 
will finally have an effective means to combat this price-fixing 
conspiracy of oil-rich nations.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. McCAIN:
  S. 556. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture to jointly conduct a study of certain land 
adjacent to the Walnut Canyon National Monument in the State of 
Arizona; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined today by my 
colleague in the House of Representatives, Congressman Rick Renzi, in 
introducing legislation to authorize a special resources and land 
management study for the Walnut Canyon National Monument in Arizona. 
The study is intended to evaluate a range of management options for 
public lands adjacent to the monument to ensure adequate protection of 
the canyon's cultural and natural resources.
  For several years, local communities adjacent to the Walnut Canyon 
National Monument have debated whether the land surrounding the 
monument would be best protected from future development under 
management of the U.S. Forest Service or the National Park Service. The 
Coconino County Board and the Flagstaff City Council have passed 
resolutions concluding that the preferred method to determine what is 
best for the land surrounding Walnut Canyon National Monument is by 
having a Federal study conducted. The recommendations from such a study 
would help to resolve the question of future management and whether 
expanding the monument's boundaries could compliment current public and 
multiple-use needs.
  The legislation also would direct the Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of Agriculture to provide recommendations for management 
options for maintenance of the public uses and protection of resources 
of the study area.
  Mr. President, this legislation would provide a mechanism for 
determining the management options for one of Arizona's high uses 
scenic areas and protect the natural and cultural resources of this 
incredibly beautiful monument. I urge my colleagues to support its 
passage.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. Biden, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, 
        Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Salazar, 
        Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. 
        Lincoln, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Durbin):
  S. 558. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to permit 
certain additional retired members of the Armed Forces who have a 
service-connected disability to receive both disability compensation 
from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either 
retired pay by reason of their years of military service or Combat-
Related Special compensation and to eliminate the phase-in period under 
current law with respect to such concurrent receipt; to the Committee 
on Armed Services.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to again introduce a bill along 
with my colleagues Mr. Biden, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of 
Florida, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. 
Landrieu, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
Lieberman, and Mr. Durbin.
  Nothing is more important than keeping America safe. The key to our 
security is a professional, well-trained military. And in order to 
attract the dedicated soldiers we need, we must honor our commitment to 
America's veterans. Most everyone in the Senate knows about the ban on 
concurrent receipt . . . and our veterans certainly know about the 
hardship it causes.
  This is the outdated and unfair policy that prevents disabled 
veterans from collecting both their military retirement pay and 
disability compensation at the same time. Under current law, a retired 
disabled veteran must deduct from his retirement pay, dollar for 
dollar, the amount of any disability compensation he receives.
  In many cases, this totally wipes out the veteran's retirement pay. 
The end result is that the disabled military retiree loses all of the 
value of his 20 or more years of service to our Nation. We don't 
subject any other Federal retiree to this kind of offset, only our 
disabled military retirees. So this policy amounts to a special tax on 
our disabled veterans . . . men and women who have already sacrificed 
so much for our Nation.
  When this situation was first brought to my attention a few years ago 
by a veteran from Nevada, I could hardly believe it. It seemed too 
outrageous to be true. And to this day, I can't understand why it has 
taken so long to correct the problem. Because to me, it just goes 
without saying that we should treat our disabled veteran with honor . . 
. with dignity . . . and with respect.
  The members of this Senate share my feelings. For the past years, the 
Senate has passed measures to end the ban on concurrent receipt. I want 
to especially thank Senators Levin and Warner for their support of this 
issue, year after year. Thanks to their strong leadership we have made 
some progress each year.
  In 2003 we passed a measure to allow concurrent receipt for those who 
are 100 percent disabled. Last year we made that change immediate, 
instead of being phased in over 10 years. This will benefit as many as 
50,000 severely disabled veterans. But there are still hundreds of 
thousands of disabled veterans who need our help.
  We would not dream of leaving a soldier behind on the battlefield. 
And we should not walk away from our disabled veterans now, when they 
need our help. Frankly, I can't understand why the administration is 
even debating whether this policy should be changed for veterans whose 
disabilities make them unemployable. The fact is, many veterans with a 
disability rated at less than 100 percent cannot get or hold a job 
because of their disabilities.
  And a 10-year phase-in simply isn't fair for these veterans, because 
many of them will never live to see the benefits. They deserve 
immediate help. We have to take care of these veterans--now. If the 
administration doesn't want to do it, then Congress will be forced to 
legislate the necessary changes. Taking care of veterans is the right 
thing to do because we must never forget the sacrifices they made to 
protect our freedom.
  Taking care of our veterans is also a key to winning the war on 
terror. In our all-volunteer military, it is critical to attract and 
retain professional, dedicated soldiers.
  These people serve because they love America. They don't expect to 
get rich in the military but they do expect that we will honor our 
commitments to provide health care and other benefits for them and 
their families.

[[Page 3715]]

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this 
legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 558

       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 ``Retired Pay Restoration Act 
     of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) For more than 100 years before 1999, all disabled 
     military retirees were required to fund their own veterans' 
     disability compensation by forfeiting one dollar of earned 
     retired pay for each dollar received in veterans' disability 
     compensation.
       (2) Since 1999, Congress has enacted legislation every year 
     to progressively expand eligibility criteria for relief of 
     the retired pay disability offset and further reduce the 
     burden of financial sacrifice on disabled military retirees.
       (3) Absent adequate funding to eliminate the sacrifice for 
     all disabled retirees, Congress has given initial priority to 
     easing financial inequities for the most severely disabled 
     and for combat-disabled retirees.
       (4) In the interest of maximizing eligibility within cost 
     constraints, Congress effectively has authorized full 
     concurrent receipt for all qualifying retirees with 100-
     percent disability ratings and all with combat-related 
     disability ratings, while phasing out the disability offset 
     to retired pay over 10 years for retired members with 
     noncombat-related, service-connected disability ratings of 50 
     percent to 90 percent.
       (5) In pursuing these good-faith efforts, Congress 
     acknowledges the regrettable necessity of creating new 
     thresholds of eligibility that understandably are 
     disappointing to disabled retirees who fall short of meeting 
     those new thresholds.
       (6) Congress is not content with the status quo.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     military retired pay earned by service and sacrifice in 
     defending the Nation should not be reduced because a military 
     retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability 
     compensation awarded for service-connected disability.

     SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF BOTH RETIRED PAY AND 
                   VETERANS' DISABILITY COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN 
                   ADDITIONAL MILITARY RETIREES WITH COMPENSABLE 
                   SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES.

       (a) Extension of Concurrent Receipt Authority to Retirees 
     With Service-connected Disabilities Rated Less Than 50 
     Percent.--Section 1414 of title 10, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking paragraph (2) of subsection (a).
       (b) Repeal of Phase-in of Concurrent Receipt of Retired Pay 
     and Veterans' Disability Compensation.--Such section is 
     further amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking the final sentence of 
     paragraph (1);
       (2) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 
     subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), 
     respectively; and
       (3) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated), by striking 
     subparagraph (4).
       (c) Clerical Amendments.--
       (1) The heading for section 1414 of such title is amended 
     to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also 
       eligible for veterans' disability compensation: concurrent 
       payment of retired pay and disability compensation''.

       (2) The item relating to such section in the table of 
     sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is 
     amended to read as follows:

``1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for 
              veterans' disability compensation: concurrent payment of 
              retired pay and disability compensation.''.

       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect as of January 1, 2006, and shall apply to 
     payments for months beginning on or after that date.

     SEC. 4. COORDINATION OF SERVICE ELIGIBILITY FOR COMBAT-
                   RELATED SPECIAL COMPENSATION AND CONCURRENT 
                   RECEIPT.

       (a) Eligibility for Tera Retirees.--Subsection (c) of 
     section 1413a of title 10, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``entitled to retired pay who--'' and all that 
     follows and inserting ``who--
       ``(1) is entitled to retired pay, other than a member 
     retired under chapter 61 of this title with less than 20 
     years of service creditable under section 1405 of this title 
     and less than 20 years of service computed under section 
     12732 of this title; and
       ``(2) has a combat-related disability''.
       (b) Amendments to Standardize Similar Provisions.--
       (1) Clerical amendment.--The heading for paragraph (3) of 
     section 1413a(b) of such title is amended by striking 
     ``rules'' and inserting ``rule''.
       (2) Specification of qualified retirees for concurrent 
     receipt purposes.--Subsection (a) of section 1414 of such 
     title, as amended by section 2(a), is amended--
       (A) by striking ``a member or'' and all that follows 
     through ``retiree')'' and inserting ``an individual who is a 
     qualified retiree for any month'';
       (B) by inserting ``retired pay and veterans' disability 
     compensation'' after ``both''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Qualified retirees.--For purposes of this section, a 
     qualified retiree, with respect to any month, is a member or 
     former member of the uniformed services who--
       ``(A) is entitled to retired pay, other than in the case of 
     a member retired under chapter 61 of this title with less 
     than 20 years of service creditable under section 1405 of 
     this title and less than 20 years of service computed under 
     section 12732 of this title; and
       ``(B) is also entitled for that month to veterans' 
     disability compensation.''.
       (3) Standardization with crsc rule for chapter 61 
     retirees.--Subsection (b) of section 1414 of such title is 
     amended--
       (A) by striking ``Special rules'' in the subsection heading 
     and all that follows through ``is subject to'' in paragraph 
     (1) and inserting ``Special rule for chapter 61 disability 
     retirees.--In the case of a qualified retiree who is retired 
     under chapter 61 of this title, the retired pay of the member 
     is subject to''; and
       (B) by striking paragraph (2).
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect as of January 1, 2006, and shall apply to 
     payments for months beginning on or after that date.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. Lugar):
  S. 559. A bill to make the protection of vulnerable populations, 
especially women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian 
emergency a priority of the United States Government, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, as we stand here today women and children 
are suffering the ravages and privations of war and natural disasters. 
They are suffering food shortages and lack the most basic necessities 
in so many nations around the world. Five million people have been 
affected by the tsunami. Of that 5 million, 1.5 million are children, 
many alone and parentless, vulnerable to human trafficking, forced 
recruitment into military service or worse.
  We can help. We can do our share by making sure U.S. programs do 
their share.
  Today, I am introducing--along with Senator Lugar--the Protection of 
Vulnerable Populations During Humanitarian Emergencies Act of 2005, to 
make vulnerable people, especially women and children, an absolute 
priority of our foreign assistance programs. As a Nation, as a people, 
we probably should do more, but we certainly can do no less than to 
ensure the international community has a system in place to prevent the 
exploitation of so many lost, vulnerable, suffering women and children 
who are struggling to survive the most God-awful conditions imaginable.
  Over the past fifty years the nature of war has changed dramatically. 
In today's world, 90 percent of the casualties in any war are 
civilians, most of them women and children. Since 1990, more than 2 
million children have been killed, and 6 million maimed or injured as a 
result of a war somewhere in this world.
  It is extraordinary to think that, in what we believe is the most 
sophisticated, technologically advanced period in world history, rape 
has become a routine weapon of war used at will by bands of marauding 
military forces--some of them young boys--everywhere from Burma to 
Bosnia, and from Sierra Leone to Sudan.
  Forced displacement of civilians, rather than being one of the 
unfortunate results of war is now a deliberate tactic of war.
  Look at Darfur in the last 18 months.
  Civilians have been targeted by Khartoum in one of the most horrific 
genocides we have seen in recent years. Homes have been bombed, and 
villages attacked. Government sponsored militia are destroying crops 
and have fouled the water supply. They're burning homes, leaving 
mothers no choice but to flee for their lives and their children's 
lives.
  Civilians forced to flee during war find their way to camps, but 
instead of relative safety what do they find? They find more suffering. 
The camps become virtual prisons. Women and girls are

[[Page 3716]]

beaten and raped if they venture outside the camps for firewood.
  When I recently read a report by a United Nations investigatory team 
which states that a number of U.N. peacekeepers--U.N. peacekeepers, 
mind you--deployed to protect civilians from ethnic violence in the 
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were sexually exploiting girls as 
young as 13 years old, it reinforced my belief that we cannot stand by 
any longer. Something must be done and this bill only begins to do it. 
Let me read you what that report said:

       Interviews with Congolese women and girls confirmed that 
     sexual contact with peacekeepers occurred with regularity, 
     usually in exchange for food or small sums of money . . .''
       . . . ``Many of the contacts involved girls under the age 
     of 18.''

  What's more horrifying to me: the investigators found that the abuse 
was going on while they were there, on the ground, conducting the 
investigation. These incidents as well as allegations of sexual 
exploitation by camp residents and humanitarian workers in refugee 
camps in West Africa and Nepal in 2002 are incredible, real life 
examples of the sad fact that women and children remain vulnerable even 
in the very places they flee for safety.
  This bill seeks to do something about it.
  It enhances the U.S. government's ability to see that women and 
children are protected before, during, and after a complex humanitarian 
emergency. It directs the Secretary of State to designate a special 
coordinator for protection issues who will be charged with making sure 
our embassies and consular posts are made aware of the warning signs 
that an emergency which may put the lives and safety of women and 
children at risk is imminent.
  It directs the coordinator to compile a watch list of such countries 
and regions so that the Agency for International Development can plan 
to meet potential need. It prohibits U.S. funding for relief agencies 
that do not sign a code of conduct that outlaws improper exploitative 
relationships between aid workers and recipients.
  It expresses the Sense of Congress that the U.N. Department of 
Peacekeeping Operations should improve its mechanism to prevent and 
respond to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by 
peacekeepers.
  It establishes a fellowship with the AID for someone with expertise 
and skills in preventing and responding to violence and exploitation of 
those made vulnerable by war.
  It calls upon the United States Executive Director of the 
International Bank of Reconstruction and Development to try to make 
sure World Bank demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration programs 
extend the same benefits that ex-combatants receive to women and 
children who were associated with them.
  As it now stands, women and children who were used as cooks and 
porters and so called ``wives,'' a euphemism for women who were 
kidnaped to serve as sexual slaves, may well not be given a single 
thing through these programs--nothing with which to rebuild their lives 
despite the fact that they were not there by choice. Yet the very 
people who forced them into such conditions receive assistance with no 
qualms or reservations.
  Finally, it amends the Foreign Assistance Act to authorize programs 
and activities specifically aimed at making people--especially women 
and children--who are affected by humanitarian emergencies safer from 
further exploitation and abuse.
  This bill is by no means a panacea, but it is a decent beginning. It 
is the least we can do to mitigate the extraordinary violence against 
women and children in times of war and natural disasters the results of 
which we see all too often in a world that seems to have gone mad.
  To do nothing in the face of it would be sinful, inhumane, and wrong.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 559

       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 ``Protection of Vulnerable 
     Populations During Humanitarian Emergencies Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Findings.

                TITLE I--PROGRAM AND POLICY COORDINATION

Sec. 101. Requirement to develop integrated strategy.
Sec. 102. Designation of coordinator.

                 TITLE II--PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS

Sec. 201. Reporting and monitoring systems.
Sec. 202. Protection training and expertise.

   TITLE III--PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

Sec. 301. Codes of conduct.
Sec. 302. Health services for refugees and displaced persons.
Sec. 303. Economic self-sufficiency of vulnerable populations affected 
              by a humanitarian emergency.
Sec. 304. International military education and training.
Sec. 305. Sense of Congress regarding actions of United Nations 
              peacekepers.

     TITLE IV--PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AFFECTED BY A 
                         HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY

Sec. 401. Report regarding programs to protect vulnerable populations.
Sec. 402. Protection assistance.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Agency.--The term ``Agency'' means the United States 
     Agency for International Development.
       (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
     International Relations of the House of Representatives.
       (3) Children.--The term ``children'' means persons under 
     the age of 18 years.
       (4) Coordinator.--The term ``coordinator'' means the 
     individual designated by the Secretary under section 102(a).
       (5) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
     Department of State.
       (6) Exploitation of children.--The term ``exploitation of 
     children'' includes--
       (A) adult sexual activity with children;
       (B) kidnapping or forcibly separating children from their 
     families;
       (C) subjecting children to forced child labor;
       (D) forcing children to commit or witness acts of violence, 
     including compulsory recruitment into armed forces or as 
     combatants; and
       (E) withholding or obstructing access of children to food, 
     shelter, medicine, and basic human services.
       (7) HIV.--The term ``HIV'' means the human immunodeficiency 
     virus, the virus that causes the acquired immune deficiency 
     syndrome (AIDS).
       (8) Humanitarian emergency.--The term ``humanitarian 
     emergency'' means a situation in which, due to a natural or 
     manmade disaster, civilians, including refugees and 
     internally displaced persons, require basic humanitarian 
     assistance.
       (9) Inter-agency standing committee.--The term ``Inter-
     Agency Standing Committee'' means the Inter-Agency Standing 
     Committee established in response to United Nations General 
     Assembly Resolution 46/182 of December 19, 1991.
       (10) Protection.--The term ``protection'' means all 
     appropriate measures to provide the physical and 
     psychological security of, provide equal access to basic 
     services for, and safeguard the legal and human rights of, 
     individuals.
       (11) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of State.
       (12) Sex trafficking.--The term ``sex trafficking'' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 103 of Trafficking Victims 
     Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
       (13) Sexual exploitation and abuse.--The term ``sexual 
     exploitation and abuse'' means causing harm to a person 
     through--
       (A) rape;
       (B) sexual assault or torture;
       (C) sex trafficking and trafficking in persons;
       (D) demands for sex in exchange for employment, goods, 
     services, or protection; and
       (E) other forms of sexual violence.
       (14) Trafficking in persons.--The term ``trafficking in 
     persons'' has the meaning given the term ``severe forms of 
     trafficking in persons'' in section 103 of Trafficking 
     Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
       (15) Vulnerable populations.--The term ``vulnerable 
     populations'' means those people, such as women, children, 
     the disabled, and the elderly, who by virtue of their status 
     are at a disadvantage in obtaining or accessing goods and 
     services.

     SEC. 4. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:

[[Page 3717]]

       (1) The nature of war has changed dramatically in recent 
     decades, putting civilians, especially women and children, at 
     greater risk of death, disease, displacement, and 
     exploitation.
       (2) In the last decade alone, more than 2,000,000 children 
     have been killed during wars, while more than 4,000,000 have 
     survived physical mutilation, and more than 1,000,000 have 
     been orphaned or separated from their families as a result of 
     war.
       (3) The use of rape, particularly against women and girls, 
     is an increasingly common tactic in modern war.
       (4) Civilians, particularly women and children, account for 
     the vast majority of those adversely affected by humanitarian 
     emergencies, including as refugees and internally displaced 
     persons, and increasingly are targeted by combatants and 
     armed elements for murder, abduction, forced military 
     conscription, involuntary servitude, displacement, sexual 
     abuse and slavery, mutilation, and loss of freedom.
       (5) Large-scale natural disasters, such as the tsunami that 
     struck South East Asia, South Asia, and East Africa on 
     December 26, 2004, and claimed over 200,000 lives, are 
     particularly threatening to children, who are often orphaned 
     or separated from their families.
       (6) Traditionally, the response to such humanitarian 
     emergencies has focused on providing food, medical care, and 
     shelter needs, and has placed less emphasis on the safety and 
     security of those affected by a humanitarian emergency.
       (7) Refugee women and girls face particular threats because 
     of power inequities, including being forced to exchange sex 
     for food and humanitarian supplies, and being at increased 
     risk of rape and sexual exploitation and abuse due to poor 
     security in refugee camps.
       (8) In some circumstances, humanitarian agencies have 
     failed to make individuals affected by a humanitarian 
     emergency, especially women and children, aware of their 
     rights to protection and assistance, to give them access to 
     effective channels of redress, and to make humanitarian 
     workers aware of their duty to respect these rights and 
     provide adequate assistance.
       (9) Refugee and displaced women face heightened risks of 
     developing complications during pregnancy, suffering a 
     miscarriage, dying, being injured during childbirth, becoming 
     infected with HIV or another sexually transmitted infection, 
     or suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.
       (10) Despite the heightened risks for women during a 
     humanitarian emergency, women's needs for specialized health 
     services have often been overlooked by donors and relief 
     organizations, which are focused on providing food, water, 
     and shelter.
       (11) There is a substantial need for the protection of 
     civilians, especially women and children, to be given a high 
     priority during all humanitarian emergencies.

                TITLE I--PROGRAM AND POLICY COORDINATION

     SEC. 101. REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall, in consultation with 
     the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development, develop a comprehensive strategy 
     for the protection of vulnerable populations, especially 
     women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian 
     emergency. The strategy shall include--
       (1) measures to address the specific protection needs of 
     women and children;
       (2) training for personnel to respond to the specific needs 
     of such vulnerable populations; and
       (3) measures taken to comply with section 301.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth 
     the strategy described in subsection (a).

     SEC. 102. DESIGNATION OF COORDINATOR.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall designate an 
     individual within the Department or the Agency as the 
     coordinator to be responsible for the oversight and 
     coordination of efforts by the Department and the Agency to 
     provide protection for vulnerable populations, especially 
     women and children, affected by a humanitarian emergency.
       (b) Consultation Requirement.--The Secretary shall consult 
     with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development in making a designation under 
     subsection (a).
       (c) Notification.--Not later than 5 days after designating 
     an official as a coordinator under subsection (a), the 
     Secretary shall inform the appropriate congressional 
     committees of such designation.

                 TITLE II--PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS

     SEC. 201. REPORTING AND MONITORING SYSTEMS.

       (a) Duties of Coordinator.--The coordinator shall--
       (1) develop and maintain a database of historical 
     information about occurrences of sexual exploitation and 
     abuse, and other exploitation, of children during a 
     humanitarian emergency;
       (2) establish a reporting and monitoring system for United 
     States diplomatic missions to collect and submit to the 
     coordinator information that indicates that vulnerable 
     populations, especially women and children, are being 
     targeted for or are at substantial risk of violence or 
     exploitation in humanitarian emergencies;
       (3) assist United States diplomatic missions in developing 
     responses to situations where there is a substantial risk of 
     sexual exploitation and abuse or exploitation of children 
     that may occur during a humanitarian emergency; and
       (4) develop mechanisms for the receipt and distribution of 
     reports to and from the public and relevant nongovernmental 
     and international organizations of evidence of sexual 
     exploitation and abuse and exploitation of children during a 
     humanitarian emergency.
       (b) Consultation.--In carrying out duties under paragraphs 
     (1) and (2) of subsection (a), the Coordinator shall consult 
     with inter-governmental organizations and nongovernmental 
     organizations.

     SEC. 202. PROTECTION TRAINING AND EXPERTISE.

       (a) Fellowship Program.--The Administrator of the United 
     States Agency for International Development is authorized to 
     establish a fellowship program at the Agency to increase the 
     expertise of the personnel of the Agency in developing 
     programs and policies to carry out activities related to the 
     protection of vulnerable populations, especially women and 
     children, affected by a humanitarian emergency.
       (b) Term of Fellowship.--An individual may participate in a 
     fellowship under this section for a term of not more than 3 
     years.
       (c) Number of Fellows.--The Administrator is authorized to 
     employ up to 10 fellows at any one time under this program.
       (d) Qualification.--An individual is qualified to 
     participate in a fellowship under this section if such 
     individual has the specific expertise required--
       (1) to develop and implement policies and programs related 
     to the protection of vulnerable populations, especially women 
     and children; and
       (2) to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience 
     between the Agency and entities that assist the Agency in 
     carrying out assistance programs.

   TITLE III--PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

     SEC. 301. CODES OF CONDUCT.

       None of the funds made available by the Department or 
     Agency to provide assistance under section 491 of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292) or overseas 
     assistance under section 2 of the Migration and Refugee 
     Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601) may be provided to a 
     primary grantee or contractor for the purpose of providing 
     assistance to refugees or internally displaced persons unless 
     such grantee or contractor has adopted a code of conduct that 
     is consistent with the 6 core principles recommended by the 
     Inter-Agency Standing Committee. To the extent practicable, a 
     grantee or contractor that has adopted such a code of conduct 
     shall ensure that subgrantees and subcontractors of such 
     grantee or contractor have adopted, or agree to act in 
     accordance with, such a code of conduct.

     SEC. 302. HEALTH SERVICES FOR REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS.

       (a) Provision of Health Services to Vulnerable Populations 
     Affected by Humanitarian Emergencies.--The coordinator shall 
     seek to ensure that organizations funded by the Department 
     and the Agency for the purpose of responding to a 
     humanitarian emergency coordinate and implement activities 
     needed to respond to the health needs of vulnerable 
     populations, especially women and children, as soon as 
     practicable and not later than 30 days after the onset of a 
     humanitarian emergency.
       (b) Activities Defined.--The activities referred to in 
     subsection (a) include activities to--
       (1) prevent and manage the consequences of sexual violence;
       (2) reduce transmission of HIV;
       (3) provide obstetric care; and
       (4) develop a plan to integrate women's health services 
     into the primary health care services provided during a 
     humanitarian emergency.

     SEC. 303. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS 
                   AFFECTED BY A HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY.

       (a) Amendments to Microenterprise Act of 2000.--Section 102 
     of the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 (22 
     U.S.C. 2151f note) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) and 
     subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respectively; and
       (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
       ``(B) Women displaced by armed conflict are particularly at 
     risk, lacking access to traditional livelihoods and means for 
     generating income.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (13)--
       (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); 
     and
       (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:

[[Page 3718]]

       ``(B) Particular efforts should be made to expand the 
     availability of microcredit programs to internally displaced 
     persons, who historically have not had access to such 
     programs.''.
       (b) Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act.--Section 
     256(b)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
     2212(b)(3)) is amended by inserting after ``clients'' the 
     following: ``, including women microentrepeneurs,''.

     SEC. 304. INTERNATIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING.

       Section 541 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2347) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or (iv)'' and inserting ``(iv)''; and
       (2) by striking ``rights.'' and inserting ``rights, or (v) 
     improve the protection of civilians, especially women and 
     children, including those who are refugees or displaced 
     persons.''.

     SEC. 305. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ACTIONS OF UNITED 
                   NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the Secretary-General of the United Nations should 
     strengthen the existing ability of the United Nations 
     Department of Peacekeeping Operations to protect civilians, 
     especially women and children, from sexual exploitation and 
     abuse by personnel in peace operation missions by--
       (A) directing the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to 
     identify nongovernmental organizations and local community 
     officials to receive and communicate to senior level mission 
     officials credible reports from civilians of sexual 
     exploitation and abuse;
       (B) ensuring that there is a mechanism in place for all 
     credible allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse to be 
     brought to the attention of senior level mission officials in 
     an expedited fashion;
       (C) developing missions based rapid response teams to 
     investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse;
       (D) improving informational programs for United Nations 
     personnel on their responsibility not to engage in acts of 
     sexual exploitation and abuse and the sanctions for such 
     actions;
       (E) identifying troop contributing countries that refuse to 
     investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by 
     nationals serving in peacekeeping missions;
       (F) permanently excluding individuals found to have engaged 
     in sexual abuse or exploitation, as well as troop contingent 
     commanders and civilian managerial personnel complicit in 
     such behavior, from participating in future United Nations 
     peacekeeping missions; and
       (G) demanding that troop contributing countries--
       (i) thoroughly investigate cases in which their nationals 
     have been alleged to have engaged in sexual abuse or 
     exploitation which on United Nations peacekeeping missions; 
     and
       (ii) punish those found guilty of such misconduct;
       (2) troop contributing states should ensure that their 
     soldiers are properly trained on United Nations guidelines 
     regarding proper conduct towards civilians, in particular 
     those guidelines that address gender-based violence, before 
     participating in United Nations peace operation missions;
       (3) the United Nations should suspend payment of 
     peacekeeping funds to countries when there is credible 
     evidence of sexual exploitation and abuse by troops of such 
     countries that are participating in peacekeeping operations, 
     and the governments of such countries are not investigating 
     or punishing such conduct; and
       (4) the Secretary should consider a suspension of United 
     States military assistance to countries that do not--
       (A) investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and 
     abuse by troops participating in United Nations peacekeeping 
     operations; or
       (B) hold perpetrators of such abuse and exploitation 
     accountable.

     TITLE IV--PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AFFECTED BY A 
                         HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY

     SEC. 401. ACTIONS TO SUPPORT PROTECTION.

       (a) Programs of the International Bank for Reconstruction 
     and Development.--The United States Executive Director of the 
     International Bank for Reconstruction and Development should 
     take steps to ensure that disarmament, demobilization, and 
     reintegration programs developed and funded by the 
     International Bank for Reconstruction and Development provide 
     benefits to former combatants that are comparable to the 
     benefits provided by such programs to other individuals.
       (b) Report Regarding Programs to Assist Civilian Police.--
     Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate 
     congressional committees on all current programs being 
     conducted by the Department or the Agency to assist foreign 
     countries with the enforcement of the laws of such countries 
     that are designed to protect women and children and improve 
     accountability for sexual exploitation and abuse.

     SEC. 402. PROTECTION ASSISTANCE.

       Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
     (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new section:

     ``SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE FOR THE PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE 
                   POPULATIONS DURING HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES.

       ``(a) Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, and subject to the limitations of subsection (b), the 
     President is authorized to provide assistance for programs, 
     projects, and activities to promote the security of, provide 
     equal access to basic services for, and safeguard the legal 
     and human rights of civilians, especially women and children, 
     who are affected by a humanitarian emergency. Such assistance 
     shall include programs--
       ``(1) to build the capacity of nongovernmental 
     organizations to address the special protection needs of 
     vulnerable populations, especially women and children, 
     affected by a humanitarian emergency;
       ``(2) to support local and international nongovernmental 
     initiatives to prevent, detect, and report exploitation of 
     children and sexual exploitation and abuse, including through 
     the provision of training humanitarian protection monitors 
     for refugees and internally displaced persons;
       ``(3) to conduct protection and security assessments for 
     refugees and internally displaced persons in camps or in 
     communities for the purpose of improving the design and 
     security of camps for refugees and internally displaced 
     persons, with special emphasis on the security of women and 
     children;
       ``(4) to provide, when practicable, education during a 
     humanitarian emergency, including structured activities that 
     create safe spaces for children, in particular girls;
       ``(5) to reintegrate and rehabilitate former combatants and 
     survivors of a humanitarian emergency, including through 
     education, psychosocial assistance and trauma counseling, 
     family and community reinsertion, medical assistance, and 
     strengthening community systems to support sustained 
     reintegration;
       ``(6) to establish registries and clearinghouses to trace 
     relatives and begin family reunification, with a specific 
     focus on helping children find their families;
       ``(7) to provide interim care and placement for separated 
     children and orphans, including monitoring and followup 
     services;
       ``(8) to provide legal services for survivors of sexual 
     exploitation, abuse, or torture, including the collection of 
     evidence for war crimes tribunals and advocacy for legal 
     reform; and
       ``(9) to provide to local law enforcement personnel working 
     in areas affected by a humanitarian emergency training in 
     human rights law, particularly as it relates to the 
     protection of women and children.
       ``(b) Availability of Assistance.--Amounts made available 
     to carry out this part and chapter 4 of part II may be made 
     available to carry out this section.''.

  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise to comment on International Women's 
Day and to join Senator Biden in introducing the Protection of 
Vulnerable Populations During Humanitarian Emergencies Act of 2005.
  Today is International Women's Day, a day on which we celebrate the 
progress of women and rededicate ourselves to overcoming the inequities 
facing women around the globe. In many places in the world, 
discrimination continues to deny women and girls full political and 
economic equality. The lives and health of women and girls continue to 
be endangered by violence that is directed at them simply because they 
are female. In recognition of these issues, I co-sponsored a Resolution 
with Senators Biden and Clinton commemorating International Women's Day 
and reaffirming the Senate's commitment to improving the status of 
women worldwide.
  In addition, I am co-sponsoring with Senator Biden the Protection of 
Vulnerable Populations During Humanitarian Emergencies Act of 2005, 
which the Committee on Foreign Relations supported as an amendment to 
our Foreign Affairs Authorization Act for fiscal years 2006 and 2007. 
During humanitarian emergencies, women and children become more 
vulnerable to a range of abuses including sexual exploitation, 
trafficking and gender-based violence. Our bill seeks to ensure that 
U.S. foreign assistance programs are a force for protecting women, 
children, and other vulnerable populations in the wake of military 
conflict and natural disasters.
  The recent tsunami tragedy in the Indian Ocean region has highlighted 
this important issue. Tens of thousands of children have lost family 
members and friends and are coping with unspeakable trauma. Nearly 
35,000 children have been orphaned, and many more have been separated 
from their

[[Page 3719]]

families. These children face the imminent threats of hunger, disease, 
and diarrhea. Beyond these dangers, children are vulnerable to being 
trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labor, or conscription. 
Without their families, the children orphaned by the tsunami lack 
protection from predators who would profit from their tragedy.
  During many of the humanitarian crises that we have witnessed over 
the last decade, including Rwanda, Bosnia, and Sudan, we have learned 
that women and children are uniquely vulnerable to sexual violence and 
exploitation. Over the course of the past year, the world has heard 
accounts of rape at the camps in Darfur in Western Sudan. Our bill aims 
to improve the ability of the United States to protect women and 
children, like those in the tsunami-affected region and in Darfur, from 
the additional dangers they face during a humanitarian emergency. Our 
bill calls for a coordinator for protection issues and a strategy to 
improve our ability to protect and respond to the needs of women and 
children in such crises. Our bill authorizes funding for the specific 
health care needs of women during an emergency, the establishment of 
registries and clearinghouses to trace relatives and help children find 
their families, and legal services for survivors of sexual exploitation 
and abuse. In addition, the bill requires that any organization 
receiving U.S. funds to assist in a humanitarian emergency have in 
place a code of conduct forbidding its employees from sexually abusing 
the victims of the crisis. Finally, our bill urges the United Nations 
to strengthen its policies concerning sexual abuse and exploitation by 
UN personnel involved in UN peacekeeping operations. I am hopeful that 
Senators will join me in backing this legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
  S. 560. A bill to enhance disclosure of automobile safety 
information; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
  S. 561. A bill to improve child safety in motor vehicles; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
  S. 562. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to improve the 
highway safety improvement program and provide for a proportional 
obligation of amounts made available for the highway safety improvement 
program; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
  S. 563. A bill to improve driver licensing and education, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
  S. 564. A bill to improve traffic safety by discouraging the use of 
traffic signal preemption transmitters; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
  S. 565. A bill to direct the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration to establish and carry out traffic safety law 
enforcement and compliance campaigns, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, the number one killer of those between the 
ages of 4 and 34 in this country today is auto fatalities. If you look 
at those between the ages of 16 and 25, the figures are even more 
exaggerated. We all know that in this country over 42,000 Americans 
lose their lives every year in auto accidents. That figure stays fairly 
constant. The last year we have figures for is 2003, and in that year, 
42,643 of our fellow citizens lost their lives.
  In fact, in the next 12 minutes, to be precise, at least one person 
will be killed in an automobile accident in this country, while nearly 
six people will be injured in just the next 60 seconds.
  This is a tragedy that we as a society are much too willing to 
tolerate. If a foreign enemy were doing this to us, we would not 
tolerate it. We would be up in arms. Someone said it is the equivalent 
of a 747 airplane going down every two days in this country. If that 
were happening, of course, it would be on CNN; we would be demanding an 
explanation. Yet, these auto fatalities that occur, hour-by-hour, day-
by-day, just go on, and for some reason, we have become immune to it, 
hardened to it. They just continue.
  I come to the Floor today to discuss five bills--five bills that my 
staff and I have been working on for a few years now--five bills that I 
will be introducing, but hope will be incorporated in the 
transportation bill we will be considering in the next several weeks. 
These bills are commonsense, practical ways to save lives. Each bill is 
built on solid evidence of what will, in fact, make a difference. These 
are bills that will, in fact, save lives.
  Last year, the Senate passed each of these bills as a part of the 
SAFE-TEA transportation bill. I want to thank Senators Inhofe, 
Jeffords, Bond, Reid, and McCain for their assistance in making that 
happen. Our former colleague Senator Hollings was also instrumental in 
clearing these bills. So, what I'm talking about today is a set of 
bills that has already enjoyed the support of the Senate, and I believe 
we ought to pass each and every one of them again this year as a part 
of the transportation reauthorization. In particular, I look forward to 
working with Senators Stevens, Lott, and Inouye on the Commerce 
Committee portion of my transportation safety package.
  I am thankful for the support and assistance of Senator Rockefeller 
as the lead co-sponsor on the first several bills--the vehicle safety 
bills--as well as Senator Lautenberg's leadership as my chief co-
sponsor on the drunk driving prevention campaign bill. Both Senators 
are great leaders on highway safety, and I'm pleased to be working with 
them this year in an effort to get these bills signed into law.
  The first bill we call ``Stars on Cars.'' While its name is cute, its 
focus is quite serious. When you go to buy a new car, there is a large 
label in the window detailing the price, features, gas mileage, and 
other information about the vehicle. This label is referred to in the 
auto industry as the ``Monroney Label'' after a former member of this 
body, Senator Monroney from Oklahoma. We all know what the sticker 
looks like.
  But, what we may not know is that most of the content on that sticker 
is mandated by the Federal Government. The mileage per gallon has been 
on there for a number of years. The Federal government says that your 
city mileage has to be on there and your highway mileage has to be on 
there. It has to tell you whether the vehicle has air-conditioning. It 
has to tell you whether it has a stereo. It has to tell you a whole 
bunch of other stuff.
  One piece of information is not on there--and that is the vehicle's 
safety rating.
  The funny thing is that in the vast majority of cases, you have 
already paid to have the Federal Government--specifically the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)--spend millions of 
dollars to test that very car and others like it. In fact, the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has put that information up on 
the Internet. Nonetheless, the basic fact is that when you go in to buy 
that car, that information is not available to you. It is not available 
to the American consumer in the one place where it would make a 
difference--where you buy the car, at the dealership.
  Doing this right wouldn't cost the taxpayers another dime. The car 
companies are already printing the labels. Under this legislation, we 
would add a new section to the label titled ``Government Safety 
Information.'' The new section would clearly lay out information from 
each of the government crash tests--frontal crash impact, side impact, 
and rollover resistance. For vehicles that haven't been tested yet, the 
label will say so. We would show the ratings pure and simple, as 
graphical star ratings on the label, just like

[[Page 3720]]

many automakers do in their commercials.
  The bill requires that this be done in a manner that can be clearly 
understood by your average car buyer, with short explanations as to 
what each rating means.
  What impact would this have? I happen to believe the consumer is 
better off with more information than less information on whatever we 
are talking about. The consumer ought to know what the Government does. 
The consumer ought to know that type of information. The consumer would 
make better choices. Consumers care about safety. They will make better 
choices, and in all likelihood, they are going to choose safer vehicles 
and more lives will, in fact, be saved.
  It just makes good common sense to do this. We have worked hard to 
fashion a bill that gets this life-saving information to consumers in a 
way that is sensitive to the concerns of automakers, as well as the 
NHTSA. We've reached out to a broad coalition to craft our bill for 
2005, and I look forward to working with interested parties to continue 
to improve and shape the language contained in it. In the end, this 
bill is my number one safety priority for passage into law this year.
  The second bill we call ``Safe Kids and Cars.'' Cars, unfortunately, 
are involved in child deaths at unbelievable rates. According to NHTSA 
data, automobile accidents happen to be the leading cause of death in 
the United States for children age 4 and up, and are right among the 
top causes for those ages 0 to 3.
  More than cancer, more than homicide, more than fire, more than 
drowning, more than anything else, auto accidents are the source of 
child fatalities. We have a problem. And, while I congratulate auto 
manufacturers, safety groups, and NHTSA for working hard on this issue, 
there's more work to be done. Anything we can do to make a car safer 
for our kids, we should be doing it. Complacency is not an option.
  The focus of this bill is to improve data collection and vehicle 
testing with regard to some specific dangers that small children face. 
NHTSA has done an excellent job in terms of working from solid data, 
and this is one area where unfortunately we just don't have enough data 
to move forward. Likewise, we need the tools to perform effective 
vehicle tests once we have those numbers, and my bill contains measures 
to see to it that we develop these tools.
  In terms of testing, child-size dummies are an area where NHTSA needs 
to review its testing and look for areas where increased use of these 
dummies would lead to increased safety, or a better understanding of 
how crash forces impact small children. My bill directs NHTSA to 
conduct a full review of test procedures and incorporate these child 
dummies when and where suitable. We also ask the agency to give a 
status update on the extremely important Hybrid-III 10-year-old child 
test dummy.
  The rest of the bill focuses on an emerging danger for small children 
often referred to as ``non-traffic, non-crash'' accident situations. 
These are incidents in which interaction between an automobile and a 
child leads to injury or death when the vehicle is not on the road, or 
where no actual crash has occurred. Instead, these are incidents that 
happen in parked cars, driveways, parking lots, and other very common 
situations. Unfortunately, these common situations can be deadly under 
the wrong circumstances.
  A prime example of ``non-traffic, non-crash'' dangers to small 
children has to do with dangerous power window switches. In many cases, 
children are left alone in a vehicle and manage to inadvertently 
activate a power window switch--a situation which can lead to the 
window moving up and crushing a limb or other part of the child's body. 
Some children are killed almost instantaneously by the force of the 
rising window. These incidents are not terribly frequent, but they are 
preventable at almost no cost to consumers and manufacturers.
  Power windows are an area where NHTSA has taken action since I last 
introduced the child safety bill, and I want to pause to thank Dr. 
Jeffrey Runge, NHTSA Administrator; Janette Fennel, President of the 
safety advocacy group Kids and Cars; and several other groups for their 
work to make the new power window safety rule possible. The new rule, 
which I helped announce in Columbus late last year, will lead to the 
elimination of unsafe power window switches--switches that can be 
accidentally tripped by children with ease--in every car and light 
truck sold in the United States. It is clearly a step in the right 
direction, and it will save lives.
  Unsafe power window switches show one kind of ``non-traffic, non-
crash'' danger children face today. Were it not for a one-time study of 
death certificates by NHTSA, we would have no government data 
whatsoever on how widespread this problem happens to be. We would not 
know much about other types of ``non-traffic, non-crash'' dangers, such 
as backover incidents and heat exhaustion in closed vehicles. These are 
areas where there is a clear need for better data collection and 
testing. My bill tackles each head-on.
  The ``Safe Kids and Cars'' bill directs NHTSA to continue pushing 
forward on ``non-traffic, non-crash'' incidents by instituting, for the 
first time, regular collection of data on these kinds of accidents. 
With time and some solid data, we may be able to tackle other kinds of 
``non-traffic, non-crash'' problems in the future. Understanding the 
problem is the first step.
  A third bill has to do with dangerous road intersections. Every State 
has them. Most States, fortunately, rank these roads. They keep a list 
of the bad ones. But, amazingly, there are many States that keep this 
information secret and don't tell the public.
  Again, citizens have a right to know this information. What would you 
do with the information? As a parent, I might tell my 16-year-old not 
to go that way to the movie. At least I have the right to have that 
information and would be able to say go another way. It might take 
another 10 minutes, but go that way. Don't go by that intersection. 
Don't go on that curvy road. State Departments of Transportation 
already have that information.
  Each State should provide that information to the public. They 
already know it, and they should provide it. Policymakers need to know 
that to make decisions about how to spend money in that state and what 
roads to fix.
  I would like to briefly talk about a woman by the name of Sandy 
Johnson and her mother Jacqueline. On October 5, 2002, Sandy and 
Jacqueline were killed in a car crash at a dangerous intersection near 
Columbus.
  What they did not know as they drove into that intersection--and what 
countless other area residents who used the roads that cross through it 
did not know at the time--was that this particular intersection was 
known at that time by the Ohio Department of Transportation to be a 
very dangerous area. In fact, ODOT had indeed known that information 
for quite some time. Perhaps if Sandy Johnson had known that she would 
have taken a different route that day. We will never know.
  Following the tragic death of his wife and his mother-in-law, Dean 
Johnson initiated a campaign to tackle the issue of dangerous roads and 
dangerous intersections, not just in Ohio, but across the country. He 
has tried with varying results from state to state to get information 
on dangerous roads and intersection locations out to the public so 
tragedies like the one involving his wife could be prevented.
  As I have in the past, I would like to thank Dean Johnson for his 
dedication to this very important public safety issue and for the 
progress he has made in my home State of Ohio and elsewhere in terms of 
getting critical lifesaving information out to citizens through the 
Sandy Johnson Foundation. His assistance has been an asset in crafting 
this legislation, and I look forward to working with him in the future.
  My bill requires that safety information be disclosed to the public 
as an eligibility requirement for a new Federal safety funding 
program--the Highway Safety Improvement Program. States

[[Page 3721]]

seeking additional Federal dollars for safety construction projects 
will have to take the quick and easy step of identifying their danger 
spots, ranking them according to severity, and then disclosing them to 
the public. I believe this is the least we can ask from States in 
exchange for large chunks of federal aid.
  In some cases, States would like to release the data but fear the 
legal ramifications of doing so. My bill contains a fix for this that 
provides the same kind of protection States already enjoy for other 
types of highway safety data. In other words, no legal harm could come 
to a State for releasing lists of dangerous locations under this bill.
  Further, States need to find ways to get safety experts, law 
enforcement, engineers, transportation officials, and the general 
public working together to identify and correct dangerous locations. 
I've borrowed language in my bill from last year's Senate-passed SAFE-
TEA bill--excellent language drafted and passed by Senator Inhofe and 
the Environment and Public Works Committee that creates incentives for 
States to foster this kind of collaboration. Collaboration between 
these entities is essential to finding quick, effective solutions to 
fatalities arising from dangerous intersections, as well as long 
stretches of roadway that account for high crash rates. I am including 
the Committee's language on Highway Safety Improvement Programs in my 
bill because I strongly believe that it is a step in the right 
direction.
  The fourth bill I am introducing has to do with driver education. 
Teen driving is an area where fatality rates are extremely high and 
unfortunately where programs across the country are not getting the job 
done.
  Above average crash and fatality rates may be inevitable for teenage 
drivers, but they can certainly be reduced substantially from present-
day levels. The Federal Government cannot run driver education. It is 
clearly a State responsibility. But it can play a small, productive 
role.
  For decades, our attempt to address this problem--standard classroom-
based driver education--has been ineffective or worse, inspiring false 
confidence in students and parents alike that graduates are ready to 
drive safely. Fortunately, we've started to move in a new direction as 
a nation, with 41 States adding innovative graduated driver licensing 
(GDL) laws to their ongoing driver education efforts. These new laws 
have been proven to be effective in reducing accident and fatality 
rates. While my bill contains language to raise the bar on GDL laws and 
make them more effective, its real emphasis is on finding a better way 
with respect to driver education.
  Revitalized driver education needs to be data-driven and cognizant of 
the limitations associated with classroom-based instruction. It must 
utilize new ways of inculcating young drivers with the knowledge and 
skills they need to avoid unnecessary high-risk situations, 
particularly in the first six months behind the wheel. Integration of 
driver education with the graduated driver licensing process to 
maximize the safety value of both programs also must be addressed.
  Past failures in our Nation's history with regard to driver education 
are not a reason to abandon these programs. They are a reason to go 
back to the drawing board to re-invent more effective means of 
promoting safe driving.
  A recent study by the National Institutes for Health sheds some light 
on the problem. The study suggests that due to their unique brain 
development, risk tolerance, and other tendencies--teen drivers are 
naturally inclined toward increased danger on the roads. Clearly, some 
methods used in driver education today aren't getting the message 
through, and in some areas, the message may never get through 
independent of who does the teaching.
  NHTSA and its research partners must find ways to tailor the content 
and delivery of driver education so that it recognizes these realities 
and focuses on areas where novice drivers can learn the skills 
necessary to be safer drivers. A NHTSA pilot program is currently under 
way with several states to test out updated ``best practices'' driver 
education models--not mandates, not national standards, but just best 
practices.
  My bill responds to the call for national leadership in driver 
education and licensing made at a recent National Transportation Safety 
Board forum by creating a Driver Education and Licensing Improvement 
Program within NHTSA. The new Improvement Program will provide NHTSA 
with the resources and time it needs to run the pilot program and then 
evaluate the results to see what works and what doesn't.
  Once this pilot program has run its course, my bill provides a modest 
amount of grant funding to supply states with the resources and 
technical expertise necessary to implement the ``best practices'' model 
in a way that fits their specific needs and circumstances. The grants 
will be competitively awarded, and also will be available for 
fulfillment of several other state needs with regard to novice driver 
education and licensing. This grant program is 100 percent voluntary, 
and my bill has been crafted carefully to ensure that the prerogatives 
of States are protected in every manner.
  The areas ripe for improvement are numerous: instructor 
certification, curriculum improvement, outreach to increase parental 
involvement, enforcement of graduated driver licensing laws, and 
follow-up testing to ensure program effectiveness. These are just a few 
examples. By creating a National Driver Education and Licensing 
Improvement Program within NHTSA, and tasking that program to come up 
with best practices, we can help States interested in improving their 
programs do so without having to expend the time and resources 
necessary to ``re-invent the wheel'' on their own.
  I have worked for over a year with NHTSA, the American Driver 
Training and Safety Education Association, the Governors' Highway 
Safety Association, the American Motor Vehicle Administrators' 
Association, AAA, the Driving School Association of America, Advocates 
for Auto and Highway Safety, and several other groups to come up with 
the bill that will be introduced today. Its contents are a compromise 
that reflects significant input from each of these fine organizations, 
and I believe we are now at a point where the road ahead toward safer, 
more effective driver education and licensing programs is clear. The 
goals set by this bill are clear, and the means to achieve them are 
provided for in full. The time has come to take serious action on 
driver education and licensing in this country.
  Lastly, I'd like to introduce the Safe Intersections Act of 2005. 
This bill would criminalize the unauthorized sale or use of mobile 
infrared transmitters, also known as ``MIRTs.''
  A MIRT is a remote control for changing traffic signals. These 
devices have been used for years by ambulances, police cars, and fire 
trucks, and maintenance crews, allowing them to reach emergencies 
faster. As an ambulance approaches an intersection where the light is 
red, the driver engages the transmitter. That transmitter then sends a 
signal to a receiver on the traffic light, which changes to green 
within a few seconds. This is a very useful tool when properly used in 
emergency situations.
  In a 2002 survey, the U.S. Department of Transportation found that in 
the top 78 metropolitan areas, there are 24,683 traffic lights equipped 
with the sensors. In Ohio, there is a joint pilot project underway by 
the Washington Township Fire Department and the Dublin Police 
Department to install these devices. Other areas in Ohio where they are 
in use include Mentor, Twinsburg, Willoughby, and Westerville. Here in 
the District of Columbia, emergency services across the country, law 
enforcement officers, fire departments, and paramedics utilize this 
technology to make communities safer.
  However, recently it has come to light that this technology may be 
sold to unauthorized individuals--individuals who want to use this 
technology to bypass red lights during their commute or during their 
everyday driving. MIRT was never intended for this use.

[[Page 3722]]

MIRT technology--in the hands of unauthorized users--could result in 
traffic problems, like gridlock, or even worse, accidents in which 
people are injured or killed.
  Let me quote from an ad that was posted on the Internet auction site, 
eBay:
  ``Tired of sitting at endless red lights? Frustrated by lights that 
turn from green to red too quickly, trapping you in traffic? The MIRT 
light changer used by police and other emergency vehicles Change the 
Traffic Signal Red to Green [for] only $499.00. Traffic Signal Changing 
Devices--it's every motorist's fantasy to be able to make a red traffic 
light turn green without so much as easing off the accelerator. The 
very technology that has for years allowed fire trucks, ambulances, and 
police cars to get to emergencies faster--a remote control that changes 
traffic signals--is now much cheaper and potentially accessible.''
  This ad demonstrates the extent to which the potential widespread 
sale and possession of MIRT technology by drivers would be a hazard to 
public safety and must be stopped before it starts. The Congressional 
Fire Service Institute, Ohio Fire Alliance, and several other 
organizations have come out in support of this measure. I look forward 
to working with my colleagues to ensure that it becomes law.
  The sixth bill I am introducing today is a bi-partisan bill aimed at 
reducing the number of drinking and driving deaths and injuries on our 
roads. Tragically, our Nation has experienced increases in alcohol-
related traffic fatalities three of the past four years. In 2003--the 
last year for which full statistics are available--17,013 Americans 
died in alcohol-related incidents. This total represents 40 percent of 
the 42,643 people killed in traffic incidents.
  The bill I am introducing today along with Senator Lautenberg--the 
Traffic Safety Law Enforcement Campaign Act--would require states to 
conduct a combined media/law enforcement campaign aimed at reducing 
drunk driving fatalities. Specifically, the law enforcement portion 
consists of sobriety checkpoints in the District of Columbia and in the 
39 States that allow them and saturation patrols in those states that 
do not. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that the sobriety 
checkpoints proposed in the underlying bill may reduce alcohol related 
crashes by as much as 20 percent. Law enforcement officials from across 
the United States underscored this point in a recent conference 
sponsored by MADD, making high visibility enforcement campaigns a top 
priority. More than 75 percent of the public has indicated in NHTSA 
polls their support for sobriety checkpoints. In fact, NHTSA has 
concluded that 62 percent of Americans want sobriety checkpoints to be 
used more often.
  These six bills will go a long way. They are common sense. They will 
make a difference. This is something I have been interested in for many 
years, going back to my time in the Ohio Legislature 20 years ago when 
I introduced the drunk driving bill, and we were able to pass a tough 
drunk driving bill in the Ohio Legislature. I worked for .08. It was 
very controversial in the Senate, but we were able to pass .08. Senator 
Lautenburg and I worked on that.
  Anytime you lose 42,643 Americans every year, highway safety is 
something we all have to be concerned about.
  I know the SAFE-TEA highway bill is not on the Floor yet, but I have 
seen it, and of course was pleased to support it on the Floor last 
year. As passed by the Senate in 2004, the bill goes farther than any 
highway bill regard to safety. This year's bill from the Environment 
and Public Works Committee will enable the same great progress on 
highway safety. I congratulate the authors.
  In the weeks ahead, I look forward to working with the respective 
committees and outside organizations on the bills I have described 
above as amendments to the 2005 SAFE-TEA bill. But, I want to make it 
very clear that these bills and amendments are not in any way critical 
of the underlying bill. In fact, I hope they will be complementary and 
simply add to a good product that is already a good product and will 
help to improve it.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bills be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bills were ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 560

       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 ``Stars on Cars Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF AUTOMOBILE INFORMATION DISCLOSURE ACT.

       (a) Safety Labeling Requirement.--Section 3 of the 
     Automobile Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1232) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (e), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subsection (f)--
       (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``and'' after the 
     semicolon; and
       (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting a 
     semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g) if 1 or more safety ratings for such automobile have 
     been assigned and formally published or released by the 
     National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the New 
     Car Assessment Program, information about safety ratings 
     that--
       ``(1) includes a graphic depiction of the number of stars, 
     or other applicable rating, that corresponds to each such 
     assigned safety rating displayed in a clearly differentiated 
     fashion indicating the maximum possible safety rating;
       ``(2) refers to frontal impact crash tests, side impact 
     crash tests, and rollover resistance tests (whether or not 
     such automobile has been assigned a safety rating for such 
     tests);
       ``(3) contains information describing the nature and 
     meaning of the crash test data presented and a reference to 
     additional vehicle safety resources, including http://
www.safecar.gov; and
       ``(4) is presented in a legible, visible, and prominent 
     fashion and covers at least--
       ``(A) 8 percent of the total area of the label; or
       ``(B) an area with a minimum length of 4\1/2\ inches and a 
     minimum height of 3\1/2\ inches; and
       ``(h) if an automobile has not been tested by the National 
     Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the New Car 
     Assessment Program, or safety ratings for such automobile 
     have not been assigned in one or more rating categories, a 
     statement to that effect.''.
       (b) Regulations.--Not later than January 1, 2006, the 
     Secretary of Transportation shall issue regulations to 
     implement the labeling requirements under subsections (g) and 
     (h) of section 3 of the Automobile Information Disclosure 
     Act, as added by subsection (a).
       (c) Applicability.--The labeling requirements under 
     subsections (g) and (h) of section 3 of such Act (as added by 
     subsection (a)), and the regulations prescribed under 
     subsection (b), shall apply to new automobiles delivered on 
     or after--
       (1) September 1, 2006, if the regulations under subsection 
     (b) are prescribed not later than August 31, 2005; or
       (2) September 1, 2007, if the regulations under subsection 
     (b) are prescribed after August 31, 2005.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
     Transportation, to accelerate the testing processes and 
     increasing the number of vehicles tested under the New Car 
     Assessment Program of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
     Administration--
       (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
       (2) $8,134,065 for fiscal year 2007;
       (3) $8,418,760 for fiscal year 2008;
       (4) $8,713,410 for fiscal year 2009; and
       (5) $9,018,385 for fiscal year 2010.

                                 S. 561

       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 ``Safe Kids and Cars Act of 
     2005''.
       (a) Incorporation of Child Dummies in Safety Tests.--
       (1) Review process required.--Not later than 2 years after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
     the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shall 
     conduct a review process to increase utilization of child 
     dummies, including Hybrid-III child dummies, in motor vehicle 
     safety tests, including crash tests, conducted by the 
     Administration.
       (2) Criteria.--In conducting the review process under 
     subsection (a), the Administrator shall select motor vehicle 
     safety tests in which the inclusion of child dummies will 
     lead to--
       (A) increased understanding of crash dynamics with respect 
     to children; and
       (B) measurably improved child safety.
       (3) Public input.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
     solicit and consider input from the public regarding the 
     review process under paragraph (1).
       (4) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the

[[Page 3723]]

     Secretary shall publish a report regarding the implementation 
     of this section. The report shall include information 
     regarding the current status of the Hybrid-III 10 year old 
     child test dummy.
       (b) Child Safety Information Programs.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
     shall supplement ongoing consumer information programs 
     relating to child safety with information regarding hazards 
     to children in nontraffic, noncrash accident situations.
       (2) Activities to supplement information.--In supplementing 
     such programs, the Secretary shall--
       (A) utilize information collected in the database 
     maintained under subsection (e) regarding nontraffic, 
     noncrash injuries, as well as other relevant data from 
     private organizations, to establish priorities for the 
     program;
       (B) address ways in which parents can mitigate dangers to 
     small children arising from preventable causes, including 
     backover incidents, hyperthermia in closed vehicles, and 
     accidental activation of power windows;
       (C) partner with national child safety research 
     organizations and other interested organizations with respect 
     to the delivery of program information; and
       (D) make information related to child safety available to 
     the public via the Internet and other means.
       (c) Report on Vehicle Visibility.--Not later than 2 years 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
     Transportation shall submit a report to Congress on the 
     extent to which driver visibility of the area immediately 
     surrounding [light passenger vehicles] and obstructions to 
     such visibility affect pedestrian safety, including the 
     safety of infants and small children, in nontraffic, noncrash 
     situations.
       (d) Report on Enhanced Vehicle Safety Technologies.--Not 
     later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress 
     a report that describes, evaluates, and determines the 
     relative effectiveness of--
       (1) currently available and emerging technologies, 
     including auto-reverse functions, that are designed to 
     prevent and reduce the number of injuries and deaths to 
     children left unattended inside parked motor vehicles, 
     including injuries and deaths that result from hyperthermia 
     or are related to power windows or power sunroofs; and
       (2) currently available and emerging technologies that are 
     designed to prevent deaths and injuries to small children 
     resulting from vehicle blind spots and backover incidents.
       (e) Database on Injuries and Deaths in Nontraffic, Noncrash 
     Events.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
     maintain a database of, and regularly collect data regarding, 
     injuries and deaths in nontraffic, noncrash events involving 
     motor vehicles. The database shall include information 
     regarding--
       (A) the number, types, and proximate causes of injuries and 
     deaths resulting from such events;
       (B) the characteristics of motor vehicles involved in such 
     events;
       (C) the characteristics of the motor vehicle operators and 
     victims involved in such events; and
       (D) the presence or absence in motor vehicles involved in 
     such events of advanced technologies designed to prevent such 
     injuries and deaths.
       (2) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations 
     regarding how to structure and compile the database. The 
     Secretary shall solicit and consider input from the public 
     regarding data collection procedures and the structure of the 
     database maintained under paragraph (1).
       (3) Deadlines.--The Secretary shall--
       (A) complete the prescription of regulations and the 
     consideration of public input under paragraph (2) not later 
     than September 1, 2006; and
       (B) commence the collection of data under paragraph (1) not 
     later than January 1, 2007.
       (4) Availability.--The Secretary shall make the database 
     maintained under paragraph (1) available to the public.

                                 S. 562

       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 ``Safe Streets and Highways 
     Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

       (a) Safety Improvement.--
       (1) In general.--Section 148 of title 23, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 148. Highway safety Improvement program

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Driver conditioning.--The term `driver conditioning' 
     means the process by which drivers learn to respond to 
     specific road conditions and traffic patterns that generally 
     remain consistent over time, making the driver susceptible to 
     error when confronted with minor changes in those road 
     conditions or traffic patterns.
       ``(2) Highway safety improvement program.--The term 
     `highway safety improvement program' means the program 
     carried out under this section.
       ``(3) Highway safety improvement project.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `highway safety improvement 
     project' means a project described in the State strategic 
     highway safety plan that--
       ``(i) corrects or improves a hazardous road location or 
     feature; or
       ``(ii) addresses a highway safety problem.
       ``(B) Inclusions.--The term `highway safety improvement 
     project' includes a project for--
       ``(i) an intersection safety improvement;
       ``(ii) pavement and shoulder widening (including addition 
     of a passing lane to remedy an unsafe condition);
       ``(iii) installation of rumble strips or another warning 
     device, if the rumble strips or other warning devices do not 
     adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists and 
     pedestrians;
       ``(iv) installation of a skid-resistant surface at an 
     intersection or other location with a high frequency of 
     accidents;
       ``(v) an improvement for pedestrian or bicyclist safety;
       ``(vi)(I) construction of any project for the elimination 
     of hazards at a railway-highway crossing that is eligible for 
     funding under section 130, including the separation or 
     protection of grades at railway-highway crossings;
       ``(II) construction of a railway-highway crossing safety 
     feature; or
       ``(III) the conduct of a model traffic enforcement activity 
     at a railway-highway crossing;
       ``(vii) construction of a traffic calming feature;
       ``(viii) elimination of a roadside obstacle;
       ``(ix) improvement of highway signage and pavement 
     markings, including improvements designed to implement 
     minimum retroflectivity standards in compliance with section 
     406 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 1993 (106 Stat. 1564), and signage 
     designed to identify high-crash locations or address driver 
     conditioning hazards;
       ``(x) installation of a priority control system for 
     emergency vehicles at signalized intersections;
       ``(xi) installation of a traffic control or other warning 
     device at a location with high accident potential;
       ``(xii) safety-conscious planning;
       ``(xiii) improvement in the collection and analysis of 
     crash data;
       ``(xiv) planning, integrated, interoperable emergency 
     communications, equipment, operational activities, or traffic 
     enforcement activities (including police assistance) relating 
     to workzone safety;
       ``(xv) installation of guardrails, barriers (including 
     barriers between construction work zones and traffic lanes 
     for the safety of motorists and workers), and crash 
     attenuators;
       ``(xvi) the addition or retrofitting of structures or other 
     measures to eliminate or reduce accidents involving vehicles 
     and wildlife; or
       ``(xvii) installation and maintenance of signs (including 
     fluorescent, yellow-green signs) at pedestrian-bicycle 
     crossings and in school zones.
       ``(4) Safety project under any other section.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `safety project under any other 
     section' means a project carried out for the purpose of 
     safety under any other section of this title.
       ``(B) Inclusion.--The term `safety project under any other 
     section' includes a project to--
       ``(i) promote the awareness of the public and educate the 
     public concerning highway safety matters; or
       ``(ii) enforce highway safety laws.
       ``(5) State highway safety improvement program.--The term 
     `State highway safety improvement program' means projects or 
     strategies included in the State strategic highway safety 
     plan carried out as part of the State transportation 
     improvement program under section 135(f).
       ``(6) State strategic highway safety plan.--The term `State 
     strategic highway safety plan' means a plan developed by the 
     State transportation department that--
       ``(A) is developed after consultation with--
       ``(i) a highway safety representative of the Governor of 
     the State;
       ``(ii) regional transportation planning organizations and 
     metropolitan planning organizations, if any;
       ``(iii) representatives of major modes of transportation;
       ``(iv) State and local traffic enforcement officials;
       ``(v) persons responsible for administering section 130 at 
     the State level;
       ``(vi) representatives conducting Operation Lifesaver;
       ``(vii) representatives conducting a motor carrier safety 
     program under section 31104 or 31107 of title 49;
       ``(viii) motor vehicle administration agencies; and
       ``(ix) other major State and local safety stakeholders;
       ``(B) analyzes and makes effective use of State, regional, 
     or local crash data;
       ``(C) addresses engineering, management, operation, 
     education, enforcement, and

[[Page 3724]]

     emergency services elements (including integrated, 
     interoperable emergency communications) of highway safety as 
     key factors in evaluating highway projects;
       ``(D) considers safety needs of, and high-fatality segments 
     of, public roads;
       ``(E) considers the results of State, regional, or local 
     transportation and highway safety planning processes;
       ``(F) describes a program of projects or strategies to 
     reduce or eliminate safety hazards;
       ``(G) is approved by the Governor of the State or a 
     responsible State agency; and
       ``(H) is consistent with the requirements of section 
     135(f).
       ``(b) Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a highway 
     safety improvement program.
       ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the highway safety 
     improvement program shall be to achieve a significant 
     reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on 
     public roads.
       ``(c) Eligibility.--
       ``(1) In general.--To obligate funds apportioned under 
     section 104(b)(5) to carry out this section, a State shall 
     have in effect a State highway safety improvement program 
     under which the State--
       ``(A) develops and implements a State strategic highway 
     safety plan that identifies and analyzes highway safety 
     problems and opportunities as provided in paragraph (2);
       ``(B) produces a program of projects or strategies to 
     reduce identified safety problems;
       ``(C) evaluates the plan on a regular basis to ensure the 
     accuracy of the data and priority of proposed improvements; 
     and
       ``(D) submits to the Secretary an annual report that--
       ``(i) describes, in a clearly understandable fashion, not 
     less than 25 percent of locations determined by the State, 
     using criteria established in accordance with paragraph 
     (2)(B)(ii), as exhibiting the most severe safety needs; and
       ``(ii) contains an assessment of--

       ``(I) potential remedies to hazardous locations identified;
       ``(II) estimated costs associated with those remedies; and
       ``(III) impediments to implementation other than cost 
     associated with those remedies.

       ``(2) Identification and analysis of highway safety 
     problems and opportunities.--As part of the State strategic 
     highway safety plan, a State shall--
       ``(A) have in place a crash data system with the ability to 
     perform safety problem identification and countermeasure 
     analysis;
       ``(B) based on the analysis required by subparagraph (A)--
       ``(i) identify hazardous locations, sections, and elements 
     (including roadside obstacles, railway-highway crossing 
     needs, and unmarked or poorly marked roads) that constitute a 
     danger to motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other 
     highway users; and
       ``(ii) using such criteria as the State determines to be 
     appropriate, establish the relative severity of those 
     locations, in terms of accidents, injuries, deaths, traffic 
     volume levels, and other relevant data;
       ``(C) adopt strategic and performance-based goals that--
       ``(i) address traffic safety, including behavioral and 
     infrastructure problems and opportunities on all public 
     roads;
       ``(ii) focus resources on areas of greatest need; and
       ``(iii) are coordinated with other State highway safety 
     programs;
       ``(D) advance the capabilities of the State for traffic 
     records data collection, analysis, and integration with other 
     sources of safety data (such as road inventories) in a manner 
     that--
       ``(i) complements the State highway safety program under 
     chapter 4 and the commercial vehicle safety plan under 
     section 31102 of title 49;
       ``(ii) includes all public roads;
       ``(iii) identifies hazardous locations, sections, and 
     elements on public roads that constitute a danger to 
     motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other highway users; 
     and
       ``(iv) includes a means of identifying the relative 
     severity of hazardous locations described in clause (iii) in 
     terms of accidents, injuries, deaths, and traffic volume 
     levels;
       ``(E)(i) determine priorities for the correction of 
     hazardous road locations, sections, and elements (including 
     railway-highway crossing improvements), as identified through 
     crash data analysis;
       ``(ii) identify opportunities for preventing the 
     development of such hazardous conditions; and
       ``(iii) establish and implement a schedule of highway 
     safety improvement projects for hazard correction and hazard 
     prevention; and
       ``(F)(i) establish an evaluation process to analyze and 
     assess results achieved by highway safety improvement 
     projects carried out in accordance with procedures and 
     criteria established by this section; and
       ``(ii) use the information obtained under clause (i) in 
     setting priorities for highway safety improvement projects.
       ``(d) Eligible Projects.--
       ``(1) In general.--A State may obligate funds apportioned 
     to the State under section 104(b)(5) to carry out--
       ``(A) any highway safety improvement project on any public 
     road or publicly owned bicycle or pedestrian pathway or 
     trail; or
       ``(B) as provided in subsection (e), for other safety 
     projects.
       ``(2) Use of other funding for safety.--
       ``(A) Effect of section.--Nothing in this section prohibits 
     the use of funds made available under other provisions of 
     this title for highway safety improvement projects.
       ``(B) Use of other funds.--States are encouraged to address 
     the full scope of their safety needs and opportunities by 
     using funds made available under other provisions of this 
     title (except a provision that specifically prohibits that 
     use).
       ``(e) Flexible Funding for States With a Strategic Highway 
     Safety Plan.--
       ``(1) In general.--To further the implementation of a State 
     strategic highway safety plan, a State may use up to 25 
     percent of the amount of funds made available under this 
     section for a fiscal year to carry out safety projects under 
     any other section as provided in the State strategic highway 
     safety plan.
       ``(2) Other transportation and highway safety plans.--
     Nothing in this subsection requires a State to revise any 
     State process, plan, or program in effect on the date of 
     enactment of this section.
       ``(f) Reports.--
       ``(1) In general.--A State shall submit to the Secretary a 
     report that--
       ``(A) describes progress being made to implement highway 
     safety improvement projects under this section;
       ``(B) assesses the effectiveness of those improvements; and
       ``(C) describes the extent to which the improvements funded 
     under this section contribute to the goals of--
       ``(i) reducing the number of fatalities on roadways;
       ``(ii) reducing the number of roadway-related injuries;
       ``(iii) reducing the occurrences of roadway-related 
     crashes;
       ``(iv) mitigating the consequences of roadway-related 
     crashes; and
       ``(v) reducing the occurrences of roadway-railroad grade 
     crossing crashes.
       ``(2) Contents; schedule.--The Secretary shall establish 
     the content and schedule for a report under paragraph (1).
       ``(3) Transparency.--The Secretary shall make reports under 
     subsection (c)(1)(D) available to the public through--
       ``(A) the Internet site of the Department; and
       ``(B) such other means as the Secretary determines to be 
     appropriate.
       ``(4) Discovery and admission into evidence of certain 
     reports, surveys, and information.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, reports, surveys, schedules, lists, or data 
     compiled or collected for any purpose directly relating to 
     paragraph (1) or subsection (c)(1)(D), or published by the 
     Secretary in accordance with paragraph (3), shall not be 
     subject to discovery or admitted into evidence in a Federal 
     or State court proceeding or considered for other purposes in 
     any action for damages arising from any occurrence at a 
     location identified or addressed in such reports, surveys, 
     schedules, lists, or other data.
       ``(g) Federal Share of Highway Safety Improvement 
     Projects.--Except as provided in sections 120 and 130, the 
     Federal share of the cost of a highway safety improvement 
     project carried out with funds made available under this 
     section shall be 90 percent.
       ``(h) Funds for Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety.--A State 
     shall allocate for bicycle and pedestrian improvements in the 
     State a percentage of the funds remaining after 
     implementation of sections 130(e) and 150, in an amount that 
     is equal to or greater than the percentage of all fatal 
     crashes in the States involving bicyclists and pedestrians.
       ``(i) Roadway Safety Improvements for Older Drivers and 
     Pedestrians.--For each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010, 
     $25,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated out of the 
     Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for 
     projects in all States to improve traffic signs and pavement 
     markings in a manner consistent with the recommendations 
     included in the publication of the Federal Highway 
     Administration entitled `Guidelines and Recommendations to 
     Accommodate Older Drivers and Pedestrians (FHWA-RD-01-103)' 
     and dated October 2001.''.
       (2) Allocations of apportioned funds.--Section 133(d) of 
     title 23, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) by striking paragraph (1);
       (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (5) as 
     paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively;
       (C) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated by subparagraph 
     (B))--
       (i) in the first sentence of subparagraph (A)--

       (I) by striking ``subparagraphs (C) and (D)'' and inserting 
     ``subparagraph (C)''; and
       (II) by striking ``80 percent'' and inserting ``90 
     percent'';

       (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``tobe'' and 
     inserting ``to be'';
       (iii) by striking subparagraph (C);
       (iv) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E) as 
     subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
       (v) in subparagraph (C) (as redesignated by clause (iv)), 
     by adding a period at the end; and

[[Page 3725]]

       (D) in paragraph (4)(A) (as redesignated by subparagraph 
     (B)), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
     (1)''.
       (3) Administration.--Section 133(e) of title 23, United 
     States Code, is amended in each of paragraphs (3)(B)(i), 
     (5)(A), and (5)(B) of subsection (e), by striking ``(d)(2)'' 
     each place it appears and inserting ``(d)(1)''.
       (4) Conforming amendments.--
       (A) The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 148 
     and inserting the following:

``148. Highway safety improvement program''.

       (B) Section 104(g) of title 23, United States Code, is 
     amended in the first sentence by striking ``sections 130, 
     144, and 152 of this title'' and inserting ``sections 130 and 
     144''.
       (C) Section 126 of title 23, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (i) in subsection (a), by inserting ``under'' after 
     ``State's apportionment''; and
       (ii) in subsection (b)--

       (I) in the first sentence, by striking ``the last sentence 
     of section 133(d)(1) or to section 104(f) or to section 
     133(d)(3)'' and inserting ``section 104(f) or 133(d)(2)''; 
     and
       (II) in the second sentence, by striking ``or 133(d)(2)''.

       (D) Sections 154, 164, and 409 of title 23, United States 
     Code, are amended by striking ``152'' each place it appears 
     and inserting ``148''.
       (b) Apportionment of Highway Safety Improvement Program 
     Funds.--Section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting 
     after ``Improvement program,'' the following: ``the highway 
     safety improvement program,''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Highway safety improvement program.--
       ``(A) In general.--For the highway safety improvement 
     program, in accordance with the following formula:
       ``(i) 25 percent of the apportionments in the ratio that--

       ``(I) the total lane miles of Federal-aid highways in each 
     State; bears to
       ``(II) the total lane miles of Federal-aid highways in all 
     States.

       ``(ii) 40 percent of the apportionments in the ratio that--

       ``(I) the total vehicle miles traveled on lanes on Federal-
     aid highways in each State; bears to
       ``(II) the total vehicle miles traveled on lanes on 
     Federal-aid highways in all States.

       ``(iii) 35 percent of the apportionments in the ratio 
     that--

       ``(I) the estimated tax payments attributable to highway 
     users in each State paid into the Highway Trust Fund (other 
     than the Mass Transit Account) in the latest fiscal year for 
     which data are available; bears to
       ``(II) the estimated tax payments attributable to highway 
     users in all States paid into the Highway Trust Fund (other 
     than the Mass Transit Account) in the latest fiscal year for 
     which data are available.

       ``(B) Minimum apportionment.--Notwithstanding subparagraph 
     (A), each State shall receive a minimum of \1/2\ of 1 percent 
     of the funds apportioned under this paragraph.''.
       (c) Elimination of Hazards Relating to Railway-Highway 
     Crossings.--
       (1) Funds for railway-highway crossings.--Section 130(e) of 
     title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting before 
     ``At least'' the following: ``For each fiscal year, at least 
     $200,000,000 of the funds authorized and expended under 
     section 148 shall be available for the elimination of hazards 
     and the installation of protective devices at railway-highway 
     crossings.''.
       (2) Biennial reports to congress.--Section 130(g) of title 
     23, United States Code, is amended in the third sentence--
       (A) by inserting ``and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
     and Transportation,'' after ``Public Works''; and
       (B) by striking ``not later than April 1 of each year'' and 
     inserting ``every other year''.
       (3) Expenditure of funds.--Section 130 of title 23, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(k) Expenditure of Funds.--Funds made available to carry 
     out this section shall be--
       ``(1) available for expenditure on compilation and analysis 
     of data in support of activities carried out under subsection 
     (g); and
       ``(2) apportioned in accordance with section 104(b)(5).''.
       (d) Transition.--
       (1) Implementation.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
     the Secretary shall approve obligations of funds apportioned 
     under section 104(b)(5) of title 23, United States Code (as 
     added by subsection (b)) to carry out section 148 of that 
     title, only if, not later than October 1 of the second fiscal 
     year after the date of enactment of this Act, a State has 
     developed and implemented a State strategic highway safety 
     plan as required under section 148(c) of that title.
       (2) Interim period.--
       (A) In general.--Before October 1 of the second fiscal year 
     after the date of enactment of this Act and until the date on 
     which a State develops and implements a State strategic 
     highway safety plan, the Secretary shall apportion funds to a 
     State for the highway safety improvement program and the 
     State may obligate funds apportioned to the State for the 
     highway safety improvement program under section 148 for 
     projects that were eligible for funding under sections 130 
     and 152 of that title, as in effect on the day before the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (B) No strategic highway safety plan.--If a State has not 
     developed a strategic highway safety plan by October 1 of the 
     second fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
     but demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that 
     progress is being made toward developing and implementing 
     such a plan, the Secretary shall continue to apportion funds 
     for 1 additional fiscal year for the highway safety 
     improvement program under section 148 of title 23, United 
     States Code, to the State, and the State may continue to 
     obligate funds apportioned to the State under this section 
     for projects that were eligible for funding under sections 
     130 and 152 of that title, as in effect on the day before the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (C) Penalty.--If a State has not adopted a strategic 
     highway safety plan by the date that is 2 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, funds made available to the 
     State under section 1101(6) shall be redistributed to other 
     States in accordance with section 104(b)(3) of title 23, 
     United States Code.

                                 S. 563

       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 ``Driver Licensing and 
     Education Improvement Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. DRIVER LICENSING AND EDUCATION.

       (a) National Driver Licensing and Education Improvement 
     Program.--Section 105 of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f)(1) There is established, within the National Highway 
     Traffic Safety Administration, the National Driver Licensing 
     and Education Improvement Program.
       ``(2) The National Driver Licensing and Education 
     Improvement Program shall--
       ``(A) provide States with services for coordinating the 
     motor vehicle driver education and licensing programs of the 
     States;
       ``(B) develop, and make available to the States, a 
     cooperatively developed, research-based model for novice 
     driver motor vehicle driver education and graduated licensing 
     that incorporates the best practices in driver education and 
     graduated licensing;
       ``(C) carry out such research and undertake such other 
     activities that the Administrator determines appropriate to 
     develop and continually improve the model described in 
     subparagraph (B);
       ``(D) provide States with voluntary technical assistance 
     for the implementation and deployment of the model described 
     in subparagraph (B) through pilot programs and other means;
       ``(E) develop and recommend to the States methods for 
     harmonizing the presentation of motor vehicle driver 
     education and licensing with the requirements of multistage 
     graduated licensing systems, including systems described in 
     section 410(b)(1)(D) of title 23, and to demonstrate and 
     evaluate the effectiveness of those methods in selected 
     States;
       ``(F) develop programs identifying best practices for the 
     certification of driver education instructors;
       ``(G) provide States with financial assistance under 
     section 412 of title 23 for--
       ``(i) the implementation of the motor vehicle driver 
     education and licensing comprehensive model recommended under 
     subparagraph (B);
       ``(ii) the establishment or improved administration of 
     multistage graduated licensing systems; and
       ``(iii) the support of other improvements in motor vehicle 
     driver education and licensing programs;
       ``(H) evaluate the effectiveness of the comprehensive model 
     recommended under subparagraph (B); and
       ``(I) perform such other functions relating to motor 
     vehicle driver education or licensing as the Secretary may 
     require.
       ``(3) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
     the Driver Licensing and Education Improvement Act of 2005, 
     the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the 
     progress made by the National Driver Licensing and Education 
     with respect to the functions described in paragraph (2).''.
       (b) Grant Program for Improvement of Driver Education and 
     Licensing.--
       (1) Authority.--Chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 412. Driver education and licensing

       ``(a) Authority.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program 
     to provide grants to States to--
       ``(A) improve motor vehicle driver education programs; and
       ``(B) establish and improve the administration of graduated 
     licensing systems, including systems described in section 
     410(b)(1)(D).
       ``(2) Program administration.--The Secretary shall 
     administer the program established under this section through 
     the National Driver Licensing and Education Improvement 
     Program.
       ``(b) Rulemaking.--
       ``(1) Eligibility requirements.--Not later than 18 months 
     after the date of enactment

[[Page 3726]]

     of this section, the Secretary shall issue regulations, which 
     describe the eligibility requirements, application and 
     approval procedures and standards, and authorized uses of 
     grant funds awarded under this section.
       ``(2) Use of funds.--The regulations issued under this 
     subsection shall authorize the use of grant funds--
       ``(A) for quality assurance testing, including followup 
     testing to monitor the effectiveness of--
       ``(i) driver licensing and education programs;
       ``(ii) instructor certification testing; and
       ``(iii) other statistical research designed to evaluate the 
     performance of driver education and licensing programs;
       ``(B) to improve motor vehicle driver education curricula;
       ``(C) to train instructors for motor vehicle driver 
     education programs;
       ``(D) to test and evaluate motor vehicle driver 
     performance;
       ``(E) for public education and outreach regarding motor 
     vehicle driver education and licensing; and
       ``(F) to improve State graduated licensing programs and 
     carry out related enforcement activities.
       ``(3) Consultation requirement.--In prescribing regulations 
     under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with--
       ``(A) the heads of such Federal departments and agencies as 
     the Secretary considers appropriate on the basis of relevant 
     interests or expertise;
       ``(B) appropriate officials of the governments of States 
     and political subdivisions of States; and
       ``(C) other experts and organizations recognized for 
     expertise, with respect to novice drivers, in--
       ``(i) graduated driver licensing;
       ``(ii) publicly administered driver education; or
       ``(iii) privately administered driver education.
       ``(c) Matching Requirement.--The amount of grant funds 
     awarded for a program, project, or activity under this 
     section may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of such 
     program, project, or activity.
       ``(d) Prohibited Activities.--Grant funds provided to 
     States under this section may not be used to finance--
       ``(1) the day-to-day operational expenses, including 
     employee salaries and facilities costs, of publicly or 
     privately administered driver education programs; or
       ``(2) the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through 
     (C) of subsection (b)(2) in fiscal year 2006 or 2007.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``412. Driver education and licensing.''.

       (c) Study of National Driver Education Standards.--
       (1) Requirement for study.--The Secretary of Transportation 
     shall conduct a study to determine whether the establishment 
     and imposition of nationwide minimum standards of motor 
     vehicle driver education would improve national highway 
     traffic safety or the performance and legal compliance of 
     novice drivers.
       (2) Time for completion of study.--The Secretary shall 
     complete the study not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (3) Report.--The Secretary shall publish a report on the 
     results of the study under this section not later than 2 
     years after the study is completed.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010 to 
     carry out section 412 of title 23, United States Code, as 
     added by subsection (b).
       (2) Availability.--Funds appropriated pursuant to paragraph 
     (1) for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 may be used for the 
     National Driver Licensing and Education Improvement Program 
     established under section 105(f) of title 49, United States 
     Code.
       (e) Grants for Support of Alcohol-Impaired Driving 
     Countermeasures.--
       (1) Revised eligibility requirements.--Section 410(b)(1)(D) 
     of title 23, United States Code, is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(D) Graduated licensing system.--A multiple-stage 
     graduated licensing system for young drivers that--
       ``(i) authorizes the issuance of an initial license or 
     learner's permit to a driver on or after the driver's 16th 
     birthday;
       ``(ii) makes it unlawful for a person under age 21 to 
     operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 
     .02 percent or greater;
       ``(iii) provides for a learning stage of at least 6 months 
     and an intermediate stage of at least 6 months; and
       ``(iv) applies the following restrictions and features to 
     the stages described in clause (iii) and to such other stage 
     or stages as may be provided under State law:

       ``(I) A restriction that not more than 2 passengers under 
     age 18 may occupy a vehicle while it is being operated by a 
     young driver.
       ``(II) Nighttime driving restrictions applicable, at a 
     minimum, during the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.
       ``(III) Special penalties (including delays in progression 
     through the stages of the graduated licensing system) for 
     violations of restrictions under the system and violations of 
     other State laws relating to operation of motor vehicles.''.

       (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
     shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.

                                 S. 564

       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 ``Safe Intersections Act of 
     2005''.

     SEC. 2. SAFE INTERSECTIONS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec.  39. Traffic signal preemption transmitters

       ``(a) Offenses.--
       ``(1) Sale.--A person who knowingly sells a traffic signal 
     preemption transmitter in or affecting interstate or foreign 
     commerce to a person who is not acting on behalf of a public 
     agency or private corporation authorized by law to provide 
     fire protection, law enforcement, emergency medical services, 
     transit services, maintenance, or other services for a 
     Federal, State, or local government entity, shall, 
     notwithstanding section 3571(b) of title 18, United States 
     Code, be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned not more 
     than 1 year, or both.
       ``(2) Use.--A person who makes unauthorized use of a 
     traffic signal preemption transmitter in or affecting 
     interstate or foreign commerce shall be fined not more than 
     $10,000, imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section, the following 
     definitions apply:
       ``(1) Traffic signal preemption transmitter.--The term 
     `traffic signal preemption transmitter' means any mechanism 
     that can change or alter a traffic signal's phase time or 
     sequence.
       ``(2) Unauthorized use.--The term `unauthorized use' means 
     use of a traffic signal preemption transmitter by a person 
     who is not acting on behalf of a public agency or private 
     corporation authorized by law to provide fire protection, law 
     enforcement, emergency medical services, transit services, 
     maintenance, or other services for a Federal, State, or local 
     government entity. The term `unauthorized use' does not apply 
     to use of a traffic signal preemption transmitter for 
     classroom or instructional purposes.''.
       (b) Chapter Analysis.--The chapter analysis for chapter 2 
     of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:

``39. Traffic signal preemption transmitters.''.

                                 S. 565

       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 ``Traffic Safety Law 
     Enforcement Campaign Act''.

     SEC. 2. TRAFFIC SAFETY LAW ENFORCEMENT CAMPAIGNS.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Highway 
     Traffic Safety Administration shall establish a program to 
     conduct at least 3 high-visibility traffic safety law 
     enforcement campaigns each year.
       (b) Focus.--The campaigns shall focus on--
       (1) reducing alcohol-impaired driving;
       (2) increasing seat belt use; and
       (3) a combination of reducing alcohol-impaired driving and 
     increasing seat belt use.
       (c) Advertising.--The Administrator may use, or authorize 
     the use of, funds available to carry out this section for the 
     development, production, and use of broadcast and print media 
     advertising in carry out this section.
       (d) Evaluation and Report.--The Administrator shall 
     evaluate the effectiveness of the campaigns at the end of 
     each year and, not later than 90 days after the end of each 
     year, submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
     and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
     Representatives that sets forth the findings, conclusions, 
     and recommendations of the Administrator with respect to the 
     program.

     SEC. 3. FUNDING.

       (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than from the Mass 
     Transit Account) to the Administrator to carry out this Act 
     $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011, of 
     which--
       (1) $48,000,000 shall be used for each fiscal year for 
     nationwide advertising by the Administration;
       (2) $48,000,000 shall be made available each fiscal year by 
     the Administrator to States for advertising;
       (3) $48,000,000 shall be made available each fiscal year by 
     the Administrator to States for traffic safety law 
     enforcement; and
       (4) $6,000,000 shall be available to the Administrator for 
     evaluation of the program under section 2.
       (b) Program Standards.--Within 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall promulgate 
     program

[[Page 3727]]

     standards and criteria for the use of funds under subsection 
     (a)(2) and (3) that will ensure the effective and appropriate 
     use of such funds in accordance with this Act, taking into 
     account State efforts, needs, administrative resources, and 
     priorities.
       (c) Apportionment.--The Administrator shall apportion funds 
     under subsection (a)(2) and (3) among the States on the same 
     basis as funds are apportioned among the States under section 
     402(c) of title 23, United States Code.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Corzine, and 
        Mr. Lautenberg):
  S. 566. A bill to continue State coverage of medicaid prescription 
drug coverage to medicare dual eligible beneficiaries for 6 months 
while still allowing the medicare part D benefit to be implemented as 
scheduled; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, millions of seniors and disabled 
Americans are facing a major disruption in their health care when the 
Medicare prescription drug law goes into effect on January 1, 2006. On 
that singular date, 6.4 million dual eligibles--individuals who are 
eligible for both Medicare and full Medicaid benefits--will lose their 
Medicaid prescription drug coverage regardless of whether they have 
obtained coverage through a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan and 
regardless of whether their Part D plan's coverage is as broad as their 
State's Medicaid coverage. Such a short transition period leaves no 
time to address the inevitable problems that will occur with a 
transition of this magnitude.
  Dual eligibles should have as smooth a transition as possible to 
Medicare prescription drug coverage. Unfortunately, a smooth transition 
is not what will happen under current law. The Medicare prescription 
drug law only requires a six-week transition period for dual eligibles, 
from November 15, 2005, to January 1, 2006. This is the largest 
transition of individuals from one insurance program to another, public 
or private, and it is unrealistic to believe that such a huge 
transition can take place in the span of six weeks.
  Moving a large number of seniors and people with disabilities to an 
entirely new system for prescription drug coverage is a major 
undertaking. Dual eligibles will require adequate outreach, education, 
and time to adjust to a change of this magnitude. The stakes are 
extremely high for this population. Over half are limited in activities 
of daily living. Many live alone or in nursing homes. And, in 
comparison to other Medicare beneficiaries, dual eligibles are much 
more likely to have heart disease, pulmonary disease, diabetes, or 
Alzheimer's. Therefore, it is absolutely critical that we get this 
transition right the first time.
  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken 
several steps to improve the transition of the dual eligibles from 
Medicaid to Medicare. However, I fear these steps do not go far enough. 
Automatic enrollment does not guarantee that beneficiaries will know 
that they have been enrolled in a new Medicare drug plan or know how to 
access necessary prescription drugs using that drug plan. Once 
beneficiaries are enrolled, they are likely to experience ongoing 
confusion about covered drugs, authorized pharmacies, and the Medicare 
appeals process.
  In its June 2004 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory 
Commission (MedPAC) suggested that even large, private employers need 
at least six months to transition their employees' drug coverage from 
one pharmacy benefit manager to another. The two large employers that 
MedPAC studied had 25,000 and 75,000 employees, respectively. The 
states and the federal government are taking on a far more complex task 
with 6.4 million dual eligibles, and should have at least six months to 
transition the duals to Medicare in order prevent major disruptions in 
access to prescription drugs.
  I am pleased to be joined today by my distinguished colleagues in the 
Senate, Senators Kennedy, Corzine, and Lautenberg, as well my 
distinguished co-sponsor in the House of Representatives, Congressman 
Tom Allen of Maine, in introducing the Medicare Dual Eligible 
Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2005. This important legislation 
would extend the dual eligible transition period to six months in order 
to achieve the best possible health outcomes for some of our Nation's 
most vulnerable citizens. An extended timeframe would give states 
enough time to carry out comprehensive education and outreach 
initiatives. It would also give seniors and individuals with 
disabilities time to explore their options and gradually transition to 
Medicare Part D.
  Specifically, the Medicare Dual Eligible Prescription Drug Coverage 
Act of 2005 would extend the availability of Medicaid prescription drug 
coverage for six months while still allowing the Part D benefit to be 
implemented as scheduled. Since states would be temporarily 
supplementing Medicare Part D, they would be fully relieved of any 
``clawback'' responsibilities during the six-month transition. This 
legislation would also provide dedicated resources for education and 
outreach to the dual eligibles, including additional resources for 
State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs). Finally, the 
Medicare Dual Eligible Prescription Drug Coverage Act would require CMS 
to share drug utilization data with state Medicaid programs so that 
states can appropriately coordinate non-prescription drug coverage for 
the duals.
  This is an issue of fundamental fairness. The Medicare law provides 
Medicare beneficiaries who are not dually eligible for Medicaid six 
months to transition to Medicare prescription drug coverage. Dual 
eligibles should not be treated any differently. Medicare's 
universality is something I fought hard for during the Medicare debate. 
I strongly believe low-income seniors and disabled individuals should 
not be excluded from Medicare benefits because of their income levels. 
The Medicare law should not merely support the principle of 
universality in statute. It must also support universality in fact, and 
that means Medicare beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicaid 
must also be given enough time to make a smooth transition to Medicare.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this important 
legislation. I ask that the full text of this bill, be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 566

       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 ``Medicare Dual Eligible 
     Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Senate finds the following:
       (1) Individuals who are dually eligible for benefits under 
     the medicare program and full benefits under the medicaid 
     program--
       (A) are among the most vulnerable populations in our 
     society; and
       (B) require adequate outreach, education, and timing in 
     order to adjust to changes in our health care delivery 
     system.
       (2) The transition of 6,400,000 dual eligibles from 
     prescription drug coverage under the medicaid program to 
     prescription drug coverage under part D of the medicare 
     program is the largest transition ever of individuals from 
     one insurance program to another.
       (3) In its June 2004 report to Congress, the Medicare 
     Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) suggested that large, 
     private employers with 75,000 employees or less need at least 
     6 months to transition their employees' drug coverage from 
     one pharmacy benefit management company to another such 
     company. The States and the Federal Government are taking on 
     a far more complex task with 6,400,000 dual eligibles having 
     to make the transition described in paragraph (2).
       (4) Timely access to prescription drugs leads to higher 
     quality of life and prevents avoidable emergency room visits, 
     hospitalizations, and premature nursing home placements.
       (5) Since even a short-term gap in prescription drug 
     coverage could have serious health consequences for dual 
     eligibles, Congress must work to guarantee as smooth a 
     transition as possible for dual eligibles so that no dual 
     eligible is without prescription drug coverage even for one 
     day.

     SEC. 3. CONTINUING STATE COVERAGE OF MEDICAID PRESCRIPTION 
                   DRUG COVERAGE TO MEDICARE DUAL ELIGIBLE 
                   BENEFICIARIES FOR 6 MONTHS.

       (a) Six-Month Transition.--For prescriptions filled during 
     the period beginning on January 1, 2006, and ending on June 
     30, 2006, section 1935(d) of the Social Security Act (42

[[Page 3728]]

     U.S.C. 1396u-5(d)) shall not apply and, notwithstanding any 
     other provision of law, a State (as defined for purposes of 
     title XIX of such Act) shall continue to provide (and receive 
     Federal financial participation for) medical assistance under 
     such title with respect to prescription drugs as if such 
     section 1935(d) had not been enacted.
       (b) Application.--
       (1) Medicare as primary payer.--Nothing in subsection (a) 
     shall be construed as changing or affecting the primary payer 
     status of a prescription drug plan or an MA-PD plan under 
     part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect 
     to prescription drugs furnished to any full-benefit dual 
     eligible individual (as defined in section 1935(c)(6) of such 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1396u-5(c)(6)) during the 6-month period 
     described in such subsection.
       (2) Third party liability.--Nothing in subsection (a) shall 
     be construed as limiting the authority or responsibility of a 
     State under section 1902(a)(25) of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(25)) to seek reimbursement from a 
     prescription drug plan, an MA-PD plan, or any other third 
     party, of the costs incurred by the State in providing 
     prescription drug coverage described in such subsection.

     SEC. 4. DELAY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDICAID CLAWBACK 
                   PAYMENTS.

       Notwithstanding section 1935(c) of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1396u-5(c)), a State or the District of Columbia 
     shall not be required to provide for a payment under such 
     section to the Secretary of Health and human Services for any 
     month prior to July 1, 2006.

     SEC. 5. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO DUAL ELIGIBLES REGARDING 
                   PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE AND MONITORING OF 
                   THE TRANSITION OF DUAL ELIGIBLES TO 
                   PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE UNDER MEDICARE.

       (a) MMA Amounts.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, of the amounts appropriated for the Centers for Medicare 
     & Medicaid Services under section 1015(a)(1) of the Medicare 
     Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 
     (Public Law 108-173; 117 Stat. 2446), the following rules 
     shall apply:
       (1) Education and outreach to duals.--$100,000,000 shall be 
     used to provide education and outreach, including through 
     one-on-one counseling and application assistance, to full-
     benefit dual eligible individuals (as defined in section 
     1935(c)(6) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396u-
     5(c)(6))) regarding prescription drug coverage under part D 
     of title XVIII of the such Act. Of such amount--
       (A) at least $20,000,000 (but in no case more than 
     $50,000,000) shall be used to award grants to States under 
     section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 
     (42 U.S.C. 1395b-4) to provide such education and outreach; 
     and
       (B) the remaining amount shall be used to provide funding 
     to community-based organizations that work with full-benefit 
     dual eligible individuals (as so defined) in order to provide 
     such education and outreach.
       (2) Monitoring impact on duals.--
       (A) In general.--$50,000,000 shall be used by the Centers 
     for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in consultation with the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
     Administration on Aging, and the Social Security 
     Administration, to develop and implement a standardized 
     protocol to collect data from health departments and other 
     sources in 10 representative urban and rural communities on 
     the impact of the transition of full benefit dual eligible 
     individuals (as so defined) from prescription drug coverage 
     under the medicaid program to prescription drug coverage 
     under part D of the medicare program. Such protocol shall be 
     implemented by not later than July 1, 2005.
       (B) Monitoring.--The protocol developed under subparagraph 
     (A) shall include for the monitoring of the following 
     information with respect to such full benefit dual eligible 
     individuals:
       (i) Emergency room visit rates.
       (ii) Hospitalization rates.
       (iii) Nursing home placement rates.
       (iv) Deaths.
       (C) Collection by pdps and ma-pds.--The protocol developed 
     under subparagraph (A) shall require that such data be 
     collected by the prescription drug plans and the MA-PDs in 
     which the individuals are enrolled and include information on 
     race and ethnicity.
       (D) Reports.--Not later than January 1, 2006, and July 1, 
     2006, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
     Medicaid Services, in consultation with the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration on Aging, 
     and the Social Security Administration, shall submit a report 
     to Congress on the implementation of the protocol under 
     subparagraph (A).
       (b) New Amounts.--There are appropriated to the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services, to be transferred from the 
     Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal 
     Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, for fiscal year 
     2005 and each subsequent fiscal year, an amount not to exceed 
     $50,000,000 (or if greater, an amount equal to $1 multiplied 
     by the number of individuals entitled to benefits under part 
     A of title XVIII of the Social Security Act or enrolled under 
     part B of such title for the year) in order award grants to 
     States under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget 
     Reconciliation Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 1395b-4).
       (c) Extension of Availability of Amounts Appropriated Under 
     MMA.--Section 1015(b) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, 
     Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-
     173; 117 Stat. 2446) is amended by striking ``September 30, 
     2005'' and inserting ``September 30, 2006''.

     SEC. 6. COLLECTION AND SHARING OF DUAL ELIGIBLE DRUG 
                   UTILIZATION DATA.

       (a) In General.--Section 1860D-42 of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-152) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(c) Collection and Sharing of Dual Eligible Drug 
     Utilization Data.--
       ``(1) Plan requirement.--A PDP sponsor of a prescription 
     drug plan and an MA organization offering an MA-PD plan shall 
     submit to the Secretary such information regarding the drug 
     utilization of enrollees in such plans who are full-benefit 
     dual eligible individuals (as defined in section 1935(c)(6)) 
     as the Secretary determines appropriate to carry out 
     paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Collection and sharing of data.--The Secretary shall 
     collect data on the drug utilization of full-benefit dual 
     eligible individuals (as so defined). The Secretary shall 
     share such data with the States and the District of Columbia 
     in as close to a real-time basis as possible.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect as if included in the enactment of section 
     101(a) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 
     Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-173; 117 Stat. 
     2071).

     SEC. 7. GAO STUDY ON THE CLAWBACK FORMULA.

       (a) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall conduct a study on the clawback formula 
     contained in section 1935(c) of the Social Security Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1396u-5(c)), as added by section 103(b) of the 
     Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization 
     Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-173; 117 Stat. 2155).
       (2) Requirements.--The study conducted under paragraph (1) 
     shall include a full examination of--
       (A) disincentives for States to enroll full-benefit dual 
     eligible individuals (as defined in section 1935(c)(6) of the 
     Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396u-5(c)(6))) in the 
     medicaid program or part D of title XVIII of the Social 
     Security Act;
       (B) the 6-month delay in States receiving rebate data;
       (C) the prescription drug cost containment measures 
     implemented by States after 2003; and
       (D) issues relating to States having to pay more for 
     prescription drug coverage for full benefit dual eligible 
     individuals (as so defined) than they otherwise would have if 
     the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 
     Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-173; 117 Stat. 2066 
     et seq.) had not been enacted.
       (b) Report.--Not later than April 1, 2006, the Comptroller 
     General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 
     report on the study conducted under subsection (a) together 
     with such recommendations as the Comptroller General 
     determines appropriate.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. LUGAR:
  S. 567. A bill to provide immunity for nonprofit athletic 
organizations in lawsuits arising from claims of ordinary negligence 
relating to the passage, adoption, or failure to adopt rules of play 
for athletic competitions and practices; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President. Today I rise to introduce the Nonprofit 
Athletic Organization Protection Act of 2005. I am pleased to join with 
my good friend and colleague, Representative Mark Souder, in 
introducing this measure. This legislation is based on a bill that was 
introduced in the last legislative session.
  I believe that this legislation is very important to encouraging 
health promotion in our country. The United States has invested a 
tremendous number of resources in providing our children with the 
ability to promote fitness through sports. In every town in America, 
you will find boys and girls playing America's most popular sports: 
baseball, soccer, football, and, of course, basketball. A recent study 
by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association showed that in 2000 at 
least 36 million American children played on at least one team sport. 
Of those 36 million, 26 million children between the ages of 6 and 17, 
played on an organized team in an organized league. A study by 
Statistical Research, Inc. for the Amateur Athletic Foundation and ESPN 
found that 94 percent American children play some sport during the 
year.

[[Page 3729]]

  The ability for children to participate in sporting events provides 
our society many benefits that government cannot provide. Studies have 
shown that these benefits include betterment to a child's health, 
academic performance, social development and safety. The most obvious 
benefit of organized sports is physical fitness. The National Institute 
of Health Care Maintenance has identified physical activity such as 
sports as a key factor in the maintenance of a healthy body. Lack of 
physical activity, along with unhealthy eating habits, has been 
identified as the leading cause of obesity in children. The center 
notes: ``Physical activity provides numerous mental and physical 
benefits to health, including reduction in the risk of premature 
mortality, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, depression, 
and cancers.'' A Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research study 
indicated, ``Low fitness outranks fatness as a risk factor for 
mortality.'' By encouraging our children to participate in organized 
sports, we increase physical fitness and fight obesity.
  A second benefit in the participation of organized sports is an 
increase in academic performance. The National Institute of Health Care 
Maintenance has highlighted ``a recent large-scale analysis reported by 
the California Department of Education [has shown] that the level of 
physical fitness attained by students was directly related to their 
performance on standardized achievement measures.'' When we encourage 
our children to participate in organized sports, we increase the 
ability for them to achieve academically.
  A third benefit for young people who participate in organized sports 
is that they learn positive social development. Organized sports teach 
values of teamwork, fair play, and friendly competition. Success in 
organized sports is also a vital self-esteem builder in many children.
  These three benefits have been widely discussed on the floor of the 
Senate and we have acted to implement several programs designed to 
reduce obesity and increase fitness, educational standards and the 
social well-being of our children.
  The fourth benefit to participation in organized youth sports, 
providing a safe place to play, is a topic that has not received as 
much attention as the first three. Nonetheless, it is no less 
important. Fewer kids are simply going outside to play, due to the 
attraction of TV, video games, and the Internet, combined with parents' 
safety concerns about letting children run around outside unsupervised. 
As a result, organized sports teams are an increasingly important 
source of safe physical activity in children. The American Academy of 
Pediatrics has stated, ``In contrast to unstructured or free play, 
participation in organized sports provides a greater opportunity to 
develop rules specifically designed for health and safety.''
  One primary reason why organized sports provide such an opportunity 
for safe play is that non-profit, volunteer organizations establish 
rules to provide a safe place to play. These organizations are made up 
of professional people who are in the business of providing children a 
fun and safe avenue for athletic exercise. Organizations like the Boys 
and Girls Club, the National Council of Youth Sports, the National 
Federation of State High School Associations and others exist largely 
to establish rules in order to minimize the risk of injury our children 
face while participating in sports. No matter how well these 
organizations perform their work, however, boys and girls will be 
injured.
  Over the last several years, more and more of these rule making 
bodies have become targets for lawsuits seeking to prove that the rule 
maker was negligent in making the rules of play. These lawsuits claim 
that had a different rule been in place, the injury would not have 
happened. Indeed, these suits place rule makers into a Catch-22. A 
child can be injured in almost any situation no matter how a rule is 
written. The result has been to have more and more lawsuits.
  As a consequence, the insurance premiums of these organizations have 
risen dramatically over the past several years. In his testimony before 
the House Judiciary Committee last year, Robert Kanaby the Executive 
Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations 
testified that:
  ``Over the last three years, the annual liability insurance premiums 
for the National High School Federation have increased three-fold to 
about $1,000,000. We have been advised by experts that given our claims 
experience and the reluctance of insurers to offer such coverage to an 
organization `serving 7,000,000 potential claimants,' the premiums will 
likely increase significantly in years to come. Since we operate on a 
total budget of about $9,000,000, such an increase would be, to put it 
mildly, problematical.''
  The costs have increased to the point where it is possible that these 
organizations will cease from providing age appropriate rules and the 
safety of youth sports will decline.
  Because of this problem, I join, once again, with Representative Mark 
Souder in introducing the Nonprofit Athletic Organization Protection 
Act of 2005. This legislation will eliminate lawsuits based on claims 
that a non-profit rulemaking body is liable for the physical injury 
when the rules was made by a properly licensed rulemaking body that has 
acted within the scope of its authority. Lawsuits may be maintained if 
the rule maker was grossly negligent or engaged in criminal or reckless 
misconduct. This reasonable legislation will help sports rule makers to 
do their job. If we do not pass this legislation, it is likely that 
rule makers will eventually close their doors since they will be unable 
to afford the insurance needed to provide a safe sporting environment.
  No one who has participated in the debate surrounding this problem 
has disagreed that the current lawsuit culture needs reform. Instead, 
concerns have arisen that the remedy was overly broad preventing 
lawsuits against rule makers on other issue.
  To remedy these concerns, the legislation introduced today contains a 
provision that explicitly says that lawsuits involving ``antitrust, 
labor, environmental, defamation, tortuous interference of contract law 
or civil rights law, or any other federal, state, or local law 
providing protection from discrimination'' are not barred by this bill. 
This provision was worked out between the civil rights groups, 
including the National Women's Law Center and the National Federation 
of State High School Associations, in an effort to alleviate this 
concern.
  As many of my colleagues know, I am a runner. I enjoy the activity 
and the positive effect that running and athletics have played in my 
life. I would hope that my nine grandchildren will be able to have an 
opportunity to participate in organized sports and that lawsuits 
against rule makers for allegedly faulty rules will not prevent these 
organizations from functioning properly. I look forward to the 
consideration and passage of the Nonprofit Athletic Organization 
Protection Act of 2005 during the 109th Congress.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Corzine, 
        and Mrs. Boxer):
  S. 569. A bill to improve the health of women through the 
establishment of Offices of Women's Health within the Department of 
Health and Human Services, to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today, on International Women's Day, 
to introduce the Women's Health Office Act with my colleague, Senator 
Barbara Mikulski.
  Historically, women's health care needs have been ignored or poorly 
understood, and women have been systematically excluded from important 
health research. We heard just this week about a landmark example. One 
federally-funded study examined the ability of aspirin to prevent heart 
attacks in 20,000 medical doctors, all of whom were men, despite the 
fact that heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. When 
a benefit was found in men, many physicians assumed that the same 
protective effect applied to women. Just this week, after

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research on women was finally conducted, we learned that the effect of 
aspirin on women appear to be quite different. We are simply not 
protected in the same way men are protected. It is tragic that so much 
of our medicine has been based on such assumptions.
  Today we recognize that both genders should benefit equally from 
medical research and health care services. Yet equity does not yet 
exist in health care, and we have a long way to go. Knowledge about 
differences in women--in symptoms of disease, and in appropriate 
measures for prevention and treatment--frequently lags far behind our 
knowledge of men's health.
  We must also recognize that some diseases--such as ovarian cancer and 
endometriosis--affect only women. Other diseases affect women 
disproportionately--such as osteoporosis. We also see differences in 
health care access between men and women. These simply must be 
reflected in our health policy.
  It is for these reasons that we are again introducing the Women's 
Health Office Act. This legislation provides permanent authorization 
for offices of women's health in five federal agencies: the Department 
of Health and Human Services; the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; the Health 
Resources and Services Administration; and the Food and Drug 
Administration. Currently only two women's health offices in the 
Federal Government have statutory authorization; the Office of Research 
on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health and the Office 
for Women's Services within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration.
  With some offices established, but not authorized, the needs of women 
could be compromised without the consent of Congress. We must create 
statutory authority for these offices, to ensure that health policy 
flows from fact, not assumption. Improving the health of American women 
requires a far greater understanding of women's health needs and 
conditions, and ongoing evaluation in the areas of research, education, 
prevention, treatment and the delivery of services--and this bill will 
ensure that.
  I must also note today, on International Women's Day, that of all the 
disease threats to women, few rival the threat of AIDS. Increasingly, 
the face of the individual with HIV-infection is a woman's. Tragically, 
it is often the woman's husband who places her at risk, yet in many 
societies, the status of women makes her use of prevention difficult. 
One promising way to counter the risk of HIV infection is the 
development of an effective microbicide--a typical product which women 
could use to reduce their risk of contracting HIV. A number of 
scientists are working to develop such a product. If successful, this 
could prevent millions of infections, and would be a practical means of 
prevention in much of the world where options for women are so few. For 
this reason I again join Senator Corzine today in introducing the 
Microbicides Development Act. This legislation will establish a 
coordination of this development at the NIH to reduce the toll of AIDS. 
Just today we read of a promising new microbicide which appears to show 
great promise. We must ensure that the promise of microbicides become 
reality for millions of women. This research is spread over multiple 
Institutes at NIH, and definitely will benefit from the coordination 
and integration which this Act will instill.
  Today, on a day when we recognize both the achievements and 
contributions of women, it is fitting, that we provide the support and 
opportunity to facilitate the continued progress of women, I call on my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, which will ensure 
better health for our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, both here 
and abroad.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. I rise to introduce the Women's Health Office Act with 
my colleague, Senator Olympia Snowe. The Women's Health Office Act 
authorizes and strengthens women's health offices or officers at 
Federal health agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services. 
This legislation will make sure that men and women get equal benefit 
from Federal investments in medical research and health care services.
  Today, doctors, scientists, Members of Congress, and the American 
public know that women and men have different bodies and different 
health care needs. Diseases like ovarian cancer and endometriosis 
affect only women. Women are four times more likely to develop 
osteoporosis than men and according to some estimates, half of all 
women over 50 will fracture a bone because of osteoporosis in her 
lifetime.
  Despite these differences, men's health needs have set the standard 
for our health care system and our health care research agenda. Women 
have been systematically excluded from medical research because 
decision-makers said that our hormone cycles complicated the results. 
One study on heart disease risk factors was conducted on 13,000 men--
and not one women. But the results of studies like these were applied 
to both men and women. This neglect puts women's health and lives at 
risk.
  That's why my colleagues and I took action. More than a decade ago, I 
worked with Olympia Snowe, Ted Kennedy, Tom Harkin, and other women in 
the House to get an Office of Research on Women's Health at the 
National Institutes of Health, NIH. In 1993, I worked with these same 
women and Galahads in Congress to make sure that the women's health 
office would stay at NIH by putting it into law.
  This office at NIH has made a real difference in how women are 
treated for certain illnesses. We now know that men and women often 
have different symptoms before a heart attack. Women's symptoms are 
more subtle, like nausea and back pain. Knowing these symptoms means 
women can get to the hospital sooner and can be treated earlier. That's 
turning women's health research into life-saving information.
  I am proud that there are now women's health offices or officers at 
nearly every federal health agency at the Department of Health and 
Human Services. Like the one at NIH, women's health offices mean that 
women's health needs are always at the table. These offices at the Food 
and Drug Administration, FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, CDC, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
HRSA, make sure women are included in clinical drug trials, reach out 
to low-income and minority women to make sure they are getting vaccines 
and cancer screenings, and work with health care providers to put 
research on women's health into practice. Recent questions about the 
risks and benefits of mammography and hormone replacement therapy 
remind us that women's health offices are as important as ever.
  Right now, many of these offices--and the important work they do--
could be eliminated or cut back without the consent of Congress. That 
is why this bill is so important. This bill would put women's health 
offices into our nation's lawbooks.
  The Women's Health Office Act does more than protect the status quo. 
It keeps us moving forward on women's health. It gives women's health 
offices a clear, consistent framework throughout the department. By 
writing them into law, it gives women's health offices the stature they 
need to be strong, effective advocates for women's health within the 
Federal Government. This legislation coordinates women's health 
activities within each agency, to identify needs and set goals. The 
Women's Health Office Act centralizes overall coordination throughout 
the Department of Health and Human Services, to clarify lines of 
accountability and chart a clear course on women's health. Finally, it 
authorizes funding for these women's health offices or officers, to 
make sure that we put our nation's priorities in the federal checkbook 
as well as the Federal lawbooks.
  I would like to thank Senator Olympia Snowe for leading the way on 
this important legislation. As Dean of the Senate women, I will 
continue to fight to get this bill signed into law and to make progress 
to improve the health of American women.

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