[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 12885-12906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 3588. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize 
capitation grants to increase the number of nursing faculty and 
students, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would request the Chair to inform me 
when I have used 6 minutes of the 10 minutes I have requested.
  We have a lot of bipartisan battles in the Senate. I am going to try 
to bring an issue to the consideration of the Senate and to their 
attention which I believe is very bipartisan. It affects the State of 
Alaska, the State of North Dakota, the State of Illinois, and the State 
of Maine. It affects us all. What I am speaking to is the shortage of 
nurses in America.
  We face a critical shortage of nurses. The U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services looked at all of the licensed nurses and found that 
in the year 2000, this country was 110,000 nurses short of what was 
necessary to provide adequate health care. By 2005, the shortage had 
doubled to 219,000 nurses. By 2020, we will be more than 1 million 
nurses short of what is necessary to maintain quality health care in 
America.
  To avoid this shortage which the Department of Health and Human 
Services projects, we have to substantially increase the number of 
nursing graduates and those entering the workforce each year. Just to 
replace the nurses who are retiring, we need to increase student 
enrollment by at least 40 percent. The baseline supply for nurses--as 
you can see on this chart--in our country, for the current time and 
through the year 2020, is on a steady downward flow, whereas demand 
goes up dramatically. If we had 90 percent more nursing graduates, we 
still would not reach the projected demand in America as baby boomers 
reach the point where they need help and many others need quality 
nursing.
  The problem is that there are not enough teachers at schools of 
nursing. That is what it comes down to. Last year, nursing schools 
across America denied admission to 35,000 qualified students because 
there just weren't enough teachers.
  In my home State of Illinois, schools of nursing are denying 
qualified students admittance because of the shortage of teachers. This 
is an indication here. These are B.A. and graduate nursing programs in 
Illinois. These are the enrollees and these are the numbers turned 
away. As you can see, from the year 2002 to the present time, we are up 
to 2000 potential nursing graduates who are turned away each year 
despite their qualifications because, sadly, we can't keep up with 
teaching them.
  The American Association of Colleges of Nursing surveyed more than 
400 schools of nursing this last year. Two-thirds of the schools, 
represented by the blue part of this pie chart--69 percent reported 
vacancies on their faculty. An additional 15 percent said that they 
were fully staffed but still needed more faculty.
  Statistics paint a bleak picture for the availability of nursing 
faculty now and into the future. Take a look at the age of full-time 
nursing faculty across America. Unfortunately, that reflects an older 
population now teaching in our nursing schools, soon to retire. The 
median age of a doctoral-prepared nursing faculty member in America is 
52. The average age of retirement for faculty is 62. It is expected 
that 200 to 300 doctorally prepared faculty will be eligible for 
retirement each year from 2005 to 2012, reducing even more the faculty 
available to train the nurses we need.
  We think help should be on the way, and it should start in the 
Senate. Our leader on the Democratic side of the aisle is Senator 
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. She has been the strong voice for nurses 
as long as she has served in the Senate. I am happy today to join her 
in introducing the Nurse Education Expansion and Development Act. The 
Act would provide schools of nursing with grants to hire and retain

[[Page 12886]]

new faculty, purchase educational equipment, enhance clinical 
laboratories and expand and repair infrastructure. This bill would also 
require the Government Accountability Office, the GAO, to report on 
ways to increase participation in the nurse faculty profession.
  Nurses care for our kids, our grandkids, our parents--people whom we 
love. We know the difference they make in everyone's life and 
increasingly we are noticing the difference when we do not have enough 
nurses, these dedicated men and women, when we need them the most. We 
must take deliberate action now to solve this critical health care 
problem. I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support 
this Mikulski-Durbin legislation. I think this is an important step in 
the direction toward quality health care for generations to come.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3588

       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 ``Nurse Education, Expansion, 
     and Development Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds as follows:
       (1) While the Nurse Reinvestment Act (Public Law 107-205) 
     helped to increase applications to schools of nursing by 175 
     percent, schools of nursing have been unable to accommodate 
     the influx of interested students because they have an 
     insufficient number of nurse educators. It is estimated 
     that--
       (A) in the 2005-2006 school year--
       (i) 66 percent of schools of nursing had both 1 to 16 
     vacant faculty positions and needed additional faculty; and
       (ii) an additional 15.7 percent of schools of nursing 
     needed additional faculty, but lacked the resources needed to 
     add more positions; and
       (B) 41,683 eligible candidates were denied admission to 
     schools of nursing in 2005, primarily due to an insufficient 
     number of faculty members.
       (2) A growing number of nurses with doctoral degrees are 
     choosing careers outside of education. Over the last few 
     years, there has been a 12 percent increase in doctoral 
     nursing graduates seeking employment outside the education 
     profession.
       (3) The average age of nurse faculty at retirement is 62.5 
     years. With the average age of doctorally-prepared professors 
     currently at 57.5 years, a wave of retirements is expected 
     within the next 10 years.
       (4) Master's and doctoral programs in nursing are not 
     producing a large enough pool of potential nurse educators to 
     meet the projected demand for nurses over the next 10 years. 
     While graduations from master's and doctoral programs in 
     nursing rose by 10.5 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, 
     in the 2005-2006 school year, projections still demonstrate a 
     shortage of nurse faculty. Given current trends, there will 
     be at least 2,616 unfilled faculty positions in 2012.
       (5) According to the November 2005 Monthly Labor Review 
     from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 1,200,000 new 
     and replacement nurses will be needed by 2014.

     SEC. 3. CAPITATION GRANTS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NURSING 
                   FACULTY AND STUDENTS.

       (a) Grants.--Part D of title VIII of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``SEC. 832. CAPITATION GRANTS.

       ``(a) In General.--For the purpose described in subsection 
     (b), the Secretary, acting through the Health Resources and 
     Services Administration, shall award a grant each fiscal year 
     in an amount determined in accordance with subsection (c) to 
     each eligible school of nursing that submits an application 
     in accordance with this section.
       ``(b) Purpose.--A funding agreement for a grant under this 
     section is that the eligible school of nursing involved will 
     expend the grant to increase the number of nursing faculty 
     and students at the school, including by hiring new faculty, 
     retaining current faculty, purchasing educational equipment 
     and audiovisual laboratories, enhancing clinical 
     laboratories, repairing and expanding infrastructure, or 
     recruiting students.
       ``(c) Grant Computation.--
       ``(1) Amount per student.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
     amount of a grant to an eligible school of nursing under this 
     section for a fiscal year shall be the total of the 
     following, as determined by the Secretary:
       ``(A) Not to exceed $1,800 for each full-time or part-time 
     student who is enrolled at the school in a graduate program 
     in nursing that--
       ``(i) leads to a master's degree, a doctoral degree, or an 
     equivalent degree; and
       ``(ii) prepares individuals to serve as faculty through 
     additional course work in education and ensuring competency 
     in an advanced practice area.
       ``(B) Not to exceed $1,405 for each full-time or part-time 
     student who--
       ``(i) is enrolled at the school in a program in nursing 
     leading to a bachelor of science degree, a bachelor of 
     nursing degree, a graduate degree in nursing if such program 
     does not meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), or an 
     equivalent degree; and
       ``(ii) has not more than 3 years of academic credits 
     remaining in the program.
       ``(C) Not to exceed $966 for each full-time or part-time 
     student who is enrolled at the school in a program in nursing 
     leading to an associate degree in nursing or an equivalent 
     degree.
       ``(2) Limitation.--In calculating the amount of a grant to 
     a school under paragraph (1), the Secretary may not make a 
     payment with respect to a particular student--
       ``(A) for more than 2 fiscal years in the case of a student 
     described in paragraph (1)(A) who is enrolled in a graduate 
     program in nursing leading to a master's degree or an 
     equivalent degree;
       ``(B) for more than 4 fiscal years in the case of a student 
     described in paragraph (1)(A) who is enrolled in a graduate 
     program in nursing leading to a doctoral degree or an 
     equivalent degree;
       ``(C) for more than 3 fiscal years in the case of a student 
     described in paragraph (1)(B); or
       ``(D) for more than 2 fiscal years in the case of a student 
     described in paragraph (1)(C).
       ``(d) Eligibility.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     `eligible school of nursing' means a school of nursing that--
       ``(1) is accredited by a nursing accrediting agency 
     recognized by the Secretary of Education;
       ``(2) has a passage rate on the National Council Licensure 
     Examination for Registered Nurses of not less than 80 percent 
     for each of the 3 school years preceding submission of the 
     grant application; and
       ``(3) has a graduation rate (based on the number of 
     students in a class who graduate relative to, for a 
     baccalaureate program, the number of students who were 
     enrolled in the class at the beginning of junior year or, for 
     an associate degree program, the number of students who were 
     enrolled in the class at the end of the first year) of not 
     less than 80 percent for each of the 3 school years preceding 
     submission of the grant application.
       ``(e) Requirements.--The Secretary may award a grant under 
     this section to an eligible school of nursing only if the 
     school gives assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that, 
     for each school year for which the grant is awarded, the 
     school will comply with the following:
       ``(1) The school will maintain a passage rate on the 
     National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses 
     of not less than 80 percent.
       ``(2) The school will maintain a graduation rate (as 
     described in subsection (d)(3)) of not less than 80 percent.
       ``(3)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the first-
     year enrollment of full-time nursing students in the school 
     will exceed such enrollment for the preceding school year by 
     5 percent or 5 students, whichever is greater.
       ``(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the first school 
     year for which a school receives a grant under this section.
       ``(4) Not later than 1 year after receipt of the grant, the 
     school will formulate and implement a plan to accomplish at 
     least 2 of the following:
       ``(A) Establishing or significantly expanding an 
     accelerated baccalaureate degree nursing program designed to 
     graduate new nurses in 12 to 18 months.
       ``(B) Establishing cooperative intradisciplinary education 
     among schools of nursing with a view toward shared use of 
     technological resources, including information technology.
       ``(C) Establishing cooperative interdisciplinary training 
     between schools of nursing and schools of allied health, 
     medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, optometry, podiatry, 
     pharmacy, public health, or veterinary medicine, including 
     training for the use of the interdisciplinary team approach 
     to the delivery of health services.
       ``(D) Integrating core competencies on evidence-based 
     practice, quality improvements, and patient-centered care.
       ``(E) Increasing admissions, enrollment, and retention of 
     qualified individuals who are financially disadvantaged.
       ``(F) Increasing enrollment of minority and diverse student 
     populations.
       ``(G) Increasing enrollment of new graduate baccalaureate 
     nursing students in graduate programs that educate nurse 
     faculty members.
       ``(H) Developing post-baccalaureate residency programs to 
     prepare nurses for practice in specialty areas where nursing 
     shortages are most severe.
       ``(I) Increasing integration of geriatric content into the 
     core curriculum.
       ``(J) Partnering with economically disadvantaged 
     communities to provide nursing education.

[[Page 12887]]

       ``(K) Expanding the ability of nurse managed health centers 
     to provide clinical education training sites to nursing 
     students.
       ``(5) The school will submit an annual report to the 
     Secretary that includes updated information on the school 
     with respect to student enrollment, student retention, 
     graduation rates, passage rates on the National Council 
     Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, the number of 
     graduates employed as nursing faculty or nursing care 
     providers within 12 months of graduation, and the number of 
     students who are accepted into graduate programs for further 
     nursing education.
       ``(6) The school will allow the Secretary to make on-site 
     inspections, and will comply with the Secretary's requests 
     for information, to determine the extent to which the school 
     is complying with the requirements of this section.
       ``(f) Reports to Congress.--The Secretary shall evaluate 
     the results of grants under this section and submit to the 
     Congress--
       ``(1) not later than 18 months after the date of the 
     enactment of this section, an interim report on such results; 
     and
       ``(2) not later than the end of fiscal year 2009, a final 
     report on such results.
       ``(g) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, a 
     school nursing shall submit an application to the Secretary 
     at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
     and assurances as the Secretary may require.
       ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--For the costs of carrying out this 
     section (except the costs described in paragraph (2)), there 
     are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for fiscal year 
     2007, $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and $95,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2009.
       ``(2) Administrative costs.--For the costs of administering 
     this section, including the costs of evaluating the results 
     of grants and submitting reports to the Congress, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     for each of fiscal years 2007, 2008, and 2009.''.
       (b) GAO Study.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
     United States shall conduct a study and submit a report to 
     the Congress on ways to increase participation in the nurse 
     faculty profession.
       (2) Contents of report.--The report required by paragraph 
     (1) shall include the following:
       (A) A discussion of the master's degree and doctoral degree 
     programs that are successful in placing graduates as faculty 
     in schools of nursing.
       (B) An examination of compensation disparities throughout 
     the nursing profession and compensation disparities between 
     higher education instructional faculty generally and higher 
     education instructional nursing faculty.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. 
        Chafee, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
        Lieberman, and Mr. Obama):
  S. 3591. A bill to improve efficiency in the Federal Government 
through the use of high-performance green buildings, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I rise 
today to introduce the High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006. 
This bipartisan bill will go far to further expand Federal green 
building initiatives and ensure our Federal buildings and schools are 
safe, efficient and good for the environment.
  I would like to thank all of the bill's cosponsors for working with 
me in a bipartisan manner to introduce this important legislation and 
implore my colleagues to join us in moving this legislation forward. 
Not only will this bill improve Federal building efficiency and 
employee health and productivity, it also demonstrates the leadership 
of the Federal Government on high-performance green buildings. This 
bill seeks to codify existing green building initiatives outlined in 
memorandums of understanding or executive orders, and further enhances 
ongoing green building programs all across the Federal Government, 
including the White House. I commend the past and current leadership of 
the White House Office of the Federal Environmental Executive for all 
they have done within the administration.
  Preliminary studies are showing that high-performance green buildings 
generate huge savings in utility costs due to their efficient operating 
systems. These studies have also demonstrated that high-performance 
green buildings provide a healthier work environment for the occupants, 
resulting in fewer absences due to illness. This in turn increases 
worker productivity and ensures fewer health related costs. All of 
these savings are generated, while sustaining very little impact on 
surrounding environments.
  According to the Department of Energy, throughout the United States 
buildings account for 39 percent of total energy use, 70 percent of 
electricity consumption, 38.1 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and 
30 percent of raw materials use. The Environmental Protection Agency 
reports that building related construction and demolition debris 
account for nearly 37 percent of the total nonindustrial waste, 
generating 136 million tons of waste in a single year. Building 
occupants also consume 12 percent of potable water consumption. Why not 
build buildings that strive to conserve our precious resources, reduce 
the harmful pollutants that are damaging to the environment and utilize 
recycled building materials?
  In an era of great security concern, green buildings have reduced 
energy requirements and may use renewable sources of energy that are 
off the electricity grid. Green buildings also use less water and some 
even collect rainwater to use throughout the building. Should there be 
a terrorist act that damages or destroys our Nation's resources, these 
buildings could assist in keeping our government up and running.
  There is no downside to utilizing high-performance buildings. This 
initiative is taking off in the private sector. According to the U.S. 
Green Building Council, there are 500 certified green buildings across 
the United States with 3,000 in the pipeline. This legislation would 
ensure that the Federal Government is keeping pace with the real world 
and doing its part to protect the environment and provide a safe 
workplace for its employees.
  In my home State of Vermont, environmental quality and economic 
opportunity are inextricably linked and green buildings are a visible 
representation of this connection. The design, construction, and 
functioning of green buildings will not only enhance environmental 
quality, worker productivity, and student learning, but will also 
contribute to the enhancement of a new economy. Environmental 
technologies and applications represent a new value added area of 
economic growth that is both efficient and effective.
  The Federal Government can learn from progressive policies being 
implemented in the private sector, State government and our Nation's 
universities. For example, the University of Vermont, understanding the 
positive environmental, economic, and human resources benefits, 
recently adopted a green building policy for its campus that would 
ensure that all new construction and major renovations be at the 
certified level of the U.S. Green Building Council's, USGBC, Leadership 
in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED, green building rating system. 
This policy is both responsible and affordable.
  In the 108th Congress, I introduced S. 2620, the High-Performance 
Green Buildings Act of 2004. This new bill updates that earlier version 
and includes a few new provisions. This legislation will coordinate the 
efforts within the Federal Government to promote high-performance green 
buildings, provide public outreach, and expand existing research.
  The General Services Administration, GSA, is the largest civilian 
landlord in the United States, with over 8,900 buildings in their 
current inventory. This legislation creates an office within GSA to 
oversee the green building efforts of agencies within the government. 
The GSA is a natural leader to focus on our Federal buildings and 
ensure that they are safe, healthy, and efficient. The GSA is working 
to provide quality work environments for Federal workers through green 
initiatives and is currently conducting research on how best to 
increase workplace effectiveness and occupant comfort. This bill will 
strengthen what they have already started.
  The bill creates a green building advisory committee to advise the 
office within GSA. The committee will be

[[Page 12888]]

comprised of key representatives from each relevant agency, State, and 
local governments, green building associations, experts within the 
building community, and environmental health experts for both adults 
and children. This committee will enable the Federal Government to stay 
up to date with technology and the latest advancements to ensure that 
high-performance green buildings operate with the maximum efficiency 
and provide a healthier environment for their occupants.
  In addition, research efforts will be expanded to focus on buildings 
and the impact their systems have on human health and worker 
productivity. We just don't know enough about the impact of the built 
environment on its occupants. Take natural daylight for instance. 
Studies are showing that a simple thing like exposure to daylight 
actually makes employees more productive and reduces absences due to 
illness. I would like to pursue this further, as well as an indoor air 
quality program for all Federal facilities. We need to not only ensure 
the safety of working employees for existing buildings, but also during 
construction and renovation of facilities.
  The High-Performance Green Buildings Act also requires that a good 
hard look be taken at the budget process we have used for years and 
explore ways to improve the approval process for government projects. 
We need to grow with the times and ensure that our budget process 
allows us to take full advantage of life-cycle costing. This means that 
we allow our financial experts to factor in savings that green 
buildings generate over time, and not just look at the upfront cost of 
a building. It has been documented that high-performance green 
buildings recover any initial upfront costs from incorporating 
efficient systems within the first few years of operation. The average 
life of a Federal building is over 50 years. In the times of soaring 
budget deficits, it is imperative the Federal Government pursue all 
cost-saving options.
  High-performance green buildings are not just for Federal buildings, 
but involve any type of building, including schools. This legislation 
focuses on providing healthier, more efficient school facilities for 
our children. The Government Accountability Office reported years ago 
that over 14 million children have their health affected by poor 
conditions in schools. The Healthy Schools Network is now reporting 32 
million children are at high risk of getting sick from their school 
facility. It is unacceptable to stand by and let the Nation's children 
become ill from preventable causes. This bill takes a modest step 
forward and provides $10 million in grants to state and local education 
agencies for technical assistance and the implementation of 
Environmental Protection Agency's, EPA, programs to address 
environmental conditions of our schools like the Tools for Schools 
Program and the Healthy Schools Environmental Assessment Tool, Healthy 
SEAT. The bill will help schools develop plans to focus on the design, 
construction, and renovation of school facilities, and look at 
systematic improvements for school siting, indoor air quality, reducing 
contaminants, and other health issues. This legislation also encourages 
research to study the effects these systems are having on student 
health and productivity. Our children deserve to learn in an 
environment that is safe and conducive to learning.
  This bill will also promote leadership within the Federal Government 
by requiring all new construction and acquisition be green, that leases 
for Federal employees be energy efficient facilities and include green 
design features, and that guidelines be issued on how to best 
renegotiate existing leases to adopt these principles. Leadership is 
also promoted through Federal incentives for government agencies to 
build high-performance green buildings, as well as expanding the 
monitoring of each Federal agency's performance in meeting green 
building requirements and initiatives. It also creates a clearinghouse 
to keep individuals and entities, including the Federal Government, 
informed on the information and services that the office would provide.
  Finally, by supporting this legislation, we will advance our 
understanding of green building technologies and implications and 
simultaneously advance our society. We have the capacity. This 
legislation provides the Federal leadership to convert our academic 
buildings to integral components of the curriculum rather than to just 
facilities that house programs. As learning centers and demonstration 
facilities, these green buildings will be an example to all of us to be 
environmentally responsible citizens.
  I strongly encourage your support of the High-Performance Green 
Buildings Act of 2006 and ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006 be printed in the Record, 
as well as the attached letters of support for the bill.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3591

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``High-
     Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.

          TITLE I--OFFICE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS

Sec. 101. Oversight.
Sec. 102. Office of High-Performance Green Buildings.
Sec. 103. Green Building Advisory Committee.
Sec. 104. Public outreach.
Sec. 105. Research and development.
Sec. 106. Budget and life-cycle costing and contracting.
Sec. 107. Authorization of appropriations.

               TITLE II--HEALTHY HIGH-PERFORMANCE SCHOOLS

Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. Grants for healthy school environments.
Sec. 203. Federal guidelines for siting of school facilities.
Sec. 204. Environmental health program.
Sec. 205. Authorization of appropriations.

              TITLE III--STRENGTHENING FEDERAL LEADERSHIP

Sec. 301. Incentives.
Sec. 302. Federal procurement.
Sec. 303. Federal green building performance.

                    TITLE IV--DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Sec. 401. Coordination of goals.
Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of General Services.
       (2) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Green 
     Building Advisory Committee established under section 103(a).
       (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the individual 
     appointed to the position established under section 101(a).
       (4) Federal facility.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``Federal facility'' means any 
     building or facility the intended use of which requires the 
     building or facility to be--
       (i) accessible to the public; and
       (ii) constructed or altered by or on behalf of the United 
     States.
       (B) Exclusions.--The term ``Federal facility'' does not 
     include a privately-owned residential or commercial structure 
     that is not leased by the Federal Government.
       (5) High-performance green building.--The term ``high-
     performance green building'' means a building that, during 
     its life-cycle--
       (A) reduces energy, water, and material resource use;
       (B) improves indoor environmental quality including, 
     reducing indoor pollution, improving thermal comfort, and 
     improving lighting and acoustic environments that affect 
     occupant health and productivity;
       (C) reduces negative impacts on the environment throughout 
     the life-cycle of the building, including air and water 
     pollution and waste generation;
       (D) increases the use of environmentally preferable 
     products, including biobased, recycled content, and nontoxic 
     products with lower life-cycle impacts;
       (E) increases reuse and recycling opportunities;
       (F) integrates systems in the building;
       (G) reduces the environmental and energy impacts of 
     transportation through building location and site design that 
     support a full range of transportation choices for users of 
     the building; and
       (H) considers indoor and outdoor effects of the building on 
     human health and the environment, including--
       (i) improvements in worker productivity;
       (ii) the life-cycle impacts of building materials and 
     operations; and
       (iii) other factors that the Office considers to be 
     appropriate.

[[Page 12889]]

       (6) Life-cycle.--The term ``life-cycle'', with respect to a 
     high-performance green building, means all stages of the 
     useful life of the building (including components, equipment, 
     systems, and controls of the building) beginning at 
     conception of a green building project and continuing through 
     site selection, design, construction, landscaping, 
     commissioning, operation, maintenance, renovation, 
     deconstruction or demolition, removal, and recycling of the 
     green building.
       (7) Life-cycle assessment.--The term ``life-cycle 
     assessment'' means a comprehensive system approach for 
     measuring the environmental performance of a product or 
     service over the life of the product or service, beginning at 
     raw materials acquisition and continuing through 
     manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, reuse, and 
     end-of-life waste management.
       (8) Life-cycle costing.--The term ``life-cycle costing'', 
     with respect to a high-performance green building, means a 
     technique of economic evaluation that--
       (A) sums, over a given study period, the costs of initial 
     investment (less resale value), replacements, operations 
     (including energy use), and maintenance and repair of an 
     investment decision; and
       (B) is expressed--
       (i) in present value terms, in the case of a study period 
     equivalent to the longest useful life of the building, 
     determined by taking into consideration the typical life of 
     such a building in the area in which the building is to be 
     located; or
       (ii) in annual value terms, in the case of any other study 
     period.
       (9) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of High-
     Performance Green Buildings established under section 102(a).

          TITLE I--OFFICE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS

     SEC. 101. OVERSIGHT.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish within 
     the General Services Administration, and appoint an 
     individual to serve as Director in, a position in the career-
     reserved Senior Executive service, to--
       (1) establish and manage the Office in accordance with 
     section 102; and
       (2) carry out other duties as required under this Act.
       (b) Compensation.--The compensation of the Director shall 
     not exceed the maximum rate of basic pay for the Senior 
     Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, United 
     States Code, including any applicable locality-based 
     comparability payment that may be authorized under section 
     5304(h)(2)(C) of that title.

     SEC. 102. OFFICE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS.

       (a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish within the 
     General Services Administration an Office of High-Performance 
     Green Buildings.
       (b) Duties.--The Director shall--
       (1) ensure full coordination of high-performance green 
     building information and activities within the General 
     Services Administration and all relevant agencies, including, 
     at a minimum--
       (A) the Environmental Protection Agency;
       (B) the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive;
       (C) the Office of Federal Procurement Policy;
       (D) the Department of Energy;
       (E) the Department of Health and Human Services;
       (F) the Department of Defense; and
       (G) such other Federal agencies as the Director considers 
     to be appropriate;
       (2) establish a senior-level Federal green building 
     advisory committee, which shall provide advice and 
     recommendations in accordance with section 103;
       (3) identify and biennially reassess improved or higher 
     rating standards recommended by the Committee;
       (4) establish a national high-performance green building 
     clearinghouse in accordance with section 104, which shall 
     provide green building information through--
       (A) outreach;
       (B) education; and
       (C) the provision of technical assistance;
       (5) ensure full coordination of research and development 
     information relating to high-performance green building 
     initiatives under section 105;
       (6) identify and develop green building standards that 
     could be used for all types of Federal facilities in 
     accordance with section 105;
       (7) establish green practices that can be used throughout 
     the life of a Federal facility;
       (8) review and analyze current Federal budget practices and 
     life-cycle costing issues, and make recommendations to 
     Congress, in accordance with section 106; and
       (9) complete and submit the report described in subsection 
     (c).
       (c) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the 
     Director shall submit to Congress a report that--
       (1) describes the status of the green building initiatives 
     under this Act and other Federal programs in effect as of the 
     date of the report, including--
       (A) the extent to which the programs are being carried out 
     in accordance with this Act; and
       (B) the status of funding requests and appropriations for 
     those programs;
       (2) identifies within the planning, budgeting, and 
     construction process all types of Federal facility procedures 
     that inhibit new and existing Federal facilities from 
     becoming high-performance green buildings as measured by--
       (A) a silver rating, as defined by the Leadership in Energy 
     and Environmental Design Building Rating System standard 
     established by the United States Green Building Council (or 
     an equivalent rating); or
       (B) an improved or higher rating standard, as identified by 
     the Committee;
       (3) identifies inconsistencies, as reported to the 
     Committee, in Federal law with respect to product acquisition 
     guidelines and high-performance product guidelines;
       (4) recommends language for uniform standards for use by 
     Federal agencies in environmentally responsible acquisition;
       (5) in coordination with the Office of Management and 
     Budget, reviews the budget process for capital programs with 
     respect to alternatives for--
       (A) restructuring of budgets to require the use of complete 
     energy- and environmental-cost accounting;
       (B) using operations expenditures in budget-related 
     decisions while simultaneously incorporating productivity and 
     health measures (as those measures can be quantified by the 
     Office, with the assistance of universities and national 
     laboratories);
       (C) permitting Federal agencies to retain all identified 
     savings accrued as a result of the use of life-cycle costing 
     for future high-performance green building initiatives; and
       (D) identifying short- and long-term cost savings that 
     accrue from high-performance green buildings, including those 
     relating to health and productivity;
       (6) identifies green, self-sustaining technologies to 
     address the operational needs of Federal facilities in times 
     of national security emergencies, natural disasters, or other 
     dire emergencies;
       (7) summarizes and highlights development, at the State and 
     local level, of green building initiatives, including 
     executive orders, policies, or laws adopted promoting green 
     building (including the status of implementation of those 
     initiatives); and
       (8) includes, for the 2-year period covered by the report, 
     recommendations to address each of the matters, and a plan 
     for implementation of each recommendation, described in 
     paragraphs (1) through (6).
       (d) Implementation.--The Office shall carry out each plan 
     for implementation of recommendations under subsection 
     (c)(7).

     SEC. 103. GREEN BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a 
     committee to be known as the ``Green Building Advisory 
     Committee''.
       (b) Membership.--The Committee shall be composed of 
     representatives of, at a minimum--
       (1) each agency referred to in section 102(b)(1); and
       (2) other relevant entities, as determined by the Director, 
     including at least 1 representative of each of the following:
       (A) State and local governmental green building programs.
       (B) Independent green building associations or councils.
       (C) Building experts, including architects, material 
     suppliers, and construction contractors.
       (D) Security advisors focusing on national security needs, 
     natural disasters, and other dire emergency situations.
       (E) Children and adult environmental health experts.
       (c) Meetings.--The Director shall establish a regular 
     schedule of meetings for the Committee, which shall convene a 
     minimum of 6 times each year.
       (d) Duties.--The Committee shall provide advice and 
     expertise for use by the Director in carrying out the duties 
     under this Act, including such recommendations relating to 
     Federal activities carried out under sections 104 through 106 
     as are agreed to by a majority of the members of the 
     Committee.
       (e) FACA Exemption.--The Committee shall not be subject to 
     the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

     SEC. 104. PUBLIC OUTREACH.

       The Director, in coordination with the Committee, shall 
     carry out public outreach to inform individuals and entities 
     of the information and services available Government-wide 
     by--
       (1) establishing and maintaining a national high-
     performance green building clearinghouse, including on the 
     Internet, that--
       (A) identifies existing similar efforts and coordinates 
     activities of common interest; and
       (B) provides information relating to high-performance green 
     buildings, including hyperlinks to Internet sites that 
     describe the activities, information, and resources of--
       (i) the Federal Government;
       (ii) State and local governments;
       (iii) the private sector (including nongovernmental and 
     nonprofit entities and organizations); and
       (iv) international organizations;
       (2) identifying and recommending educational resources for 
     implementing high-

[[Page 12890]]

     performance green building practices, including security and 
     emergency benefits and practices;
       (3) providing access to technical assistance on using tools 
     and resources to make more cost-effective, energy-efficient, 
     health-protective, and environmentally beneficial decisions 
     for constructing high-performance green buildings, 
     particularly tools available to conduct life-cycle costing 
     and life-cycle assessment;
       (4) providing information on application processes for 
     certifying a high-performance green building, including 
     certification and commissioning; and
       (5) providing technical information, market research, or 
     other forms of assistance or advice that would be useful in 
     planning and constructing high-performance green buildings; 
     and
       (6) using such other methods as are determined by the 
     Director to be appropriate.

     SEC. 105. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) Establishment.--The Director, in coordination with the 
     Committee, shall--
       (1)(A) survey existing research and studies relating to 
     high-performance green buildings; and
       (B) coordinate activities of common interest;
       (2) develop and recommend a high-performance green building 
     research plan that--
       (A) identifies information and research needs, including 
     the relationships between health, occupant productivity, and 
     each of--
       (i) pollutant emissions from materials and products in the 
     building;
       (ii) natural day lighting;
       (iii) ventilation choices and technologies;
       (iv) heating, cooling, and system control choices and 
     technologies;
       (v) moisture control and mold;
       (vi) maintenance, cleaning, and pest control activities;
       (vii) acoustics; and
       (viii) other issues relating to the health, comfort, 
     productivity, and performance of occupants of the building; 
     and
       (B) promotes the development and dissemination of high-
     performance green building measurement tools that, at a 
     minimum, may be used--
       (i) to monitor and assess the life-cycle performance of 
     facilities (including demonstration projects) built as high-
     performance green buildings; and
       (ii) to perform life-cycle assessments;
       (3) assist the budget and life-cycle costing functions of 
     the Office under section 106;
       (4) study and identify potential benefits of green 
     buildings relating to security, natural disaster, and 
     emergency needs of the Federal Government; and
       (5) support other research initiatives determined by the 
     Office.
       (b) Indoor Air Quality.--The Director, in consultation with 
     the Committee, shall develop and implement a comprehensive 
     indoor air quality program for all Federal facilities to 
     ensure the safety of Federal workers and facility occupants--
       (1) during new construction and renovation of facilities; 
     and
       (2) in existing facilities.

     SEC. 106. BUDGET AND LIFE-CYCLE COSTING AND CONTRACTING.

       (a) Establishment.--The Director, in coordination with the 
     Committee, shall--
       (1) identify, review, and analyze current budget and 
     contracting practices that affect achievement of high-
     performance green buildings, including the identification of 
     barriers to green building life-cycle costing and budgetary 
     issues;
       (2) develop guidance and conduct training sessions with 
     budget specialists and contracting personnel from Federal 
     agencies and budget examiners to apply life-cycle cost 
     criteria to actual projects;
       (3) identify tools to aid life-cycle cost decisionmaking; 
     and
       (4) explore the feasibility of incorporating the benefits 
     of green buildings, such as security benefits, into a cost-
     budget analysis to aid in life-cycle costing for budget and 
     decision making processes.

     SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     title $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012, 
     to remain available until expended.

               TITLE II--HEALTHY HIGH-PERFORMANCE SCHOOLS

     SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) High-performance school.--The term ``high-performance 
     school'' has the meaning given the term ``healthy, high-
     performance school building'' in section 5586 of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7277e).
       (2) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
     agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801).
       (3) State educational agency.--The term ``State educational 
     agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801).

     SEC. 202. GRANTS FOR HEALTHY SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, may 
     provide grants to State and local educational agencies for 
     use in--
       (1) providing technical assistance for programs of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency (including the Tools for 
     Schools Program and the Healthy School Environmental 
     Assessment Tool) to schools for use in addressing 
     environmental issues; and
       (2) development of State school environmental quality 
     plans, in partnership with the Environmental Protection 
     Agency, that include--
       (A) standards for healthy high-performance school building 
     design, construction, and renovation;
       (B) identification of ongoing school building environmental 
     problems in the State, including assessment of information on 
     the exposure of children to environmental hazards in school 
     facilities, as provided by the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency;
       (C) proposals for the systematic improvement (including 
     benchmarks and timelines) of environmental conditions in 
     schools throughout the State, including--
       (i) school building siting, construction, and maintenance;
       (ii) indoor air quality;
       (iii) pest control;
       (iv) radon contamination;
       (v) lead contamination;
       (vi) environmentally preferable purchasing of products for 
     classroom instruction and for maintenance;
       (vii) hazard identification and remediation; and
       (viii) modes of transportation available to students and 
     staff;
       (D) recommendations for improvements in the capacity of the 
     State to track child and adult health complaints relating to 
     schools; and
       (E) plans for operation as an emergency, self-sustaining 
     evacuation center.
       (b) Other Grants.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency may provide grants to qualified, nonprofit 
     organizations to assist in community and public education on 
     healthy school environments.
       (c) Cost Sharing.--
       (1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
     project or activity carried out using funds from a grant 
     under subsection (a) shall not exceed 90 percent.
       (2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the cost 
     of a project or activity carried out using funds from a grant 
     under subsection (a) may be provided in the form of cash or 
     in-kind goods and services.
       (d) Grant Priority.--
       (1) In general.--In providing grants under this section for 
     use in carrying out the program referred to in subsection 
     (a)(1), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
     Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, 
     shall give priority to school districts with need for 
     environmental improvement as identified in the school 
     environmental plans described in this section.
       (2) Responsibility of school districts and state 
     educational agencies.--
       (A) School districts.--Not later than 2 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, each 
     school district that receives funds from the Administrator of 
     the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a program 
     described in subsection (a) shall submit to the State 
     educational agency with jurisdiction over the school district 
     a report that includes--
       (i) a list of schools in the districts that, as of the date 
     of the report, have accepted funds or other assistance from 
     the Environmental Protection Agency for use in carrying out 
     this section; and
       (ii) an overview of the impact of the funds, including--

       (I) general data regarding measures of student health and 
     attendance rates before and after grant intervention; and
       (II) descriptions of toxic or hazardous cleaning, 
     maintenance, or instructional products eliminated or reduced 
     in use as part of the promotion or remediation of the indoor 
     air quality of schools within the school district; and

       (iii) basic information on the potential influence of other 
     factors (such as the installation of carpet and HVAC systems 
     and similar activities) on air quality.
       (B) State educational agency reports.--Not later than 180 
     days after the date on which each State educational agency 
     has received the annual reports under subparagraph (A) from 
     all participating school districts, the State educational 
     agency shall submit to the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency and Congress a consolidated report of all 
     information received from the school districts.

     SEC. 203. FEDERAL GUIDELINES FOR SITING OF SCHOOL FACILITIES.

       The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 
     in consultation with the Secretary of Education and the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall develop school 
     site selection guidelines that account for--
       (1) the special vulnerability of children to hazardous 
     substances or pollution exposures in any case in which the 
     potential for contamination at a potential school site 
     exists, as determined by the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Education;

[[Page 12891]]

       (2) modes of transportation available to students and 
     staff; and
       (3) the potential use of a school at the site as an 
     emergency shelter.

     SEC. 204. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Education, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 
     other relevant agencies, shall issue guidelines for use by 
     the State in developing and implementing an environmental 
     health program for schools that--
       (1) takes into account the status and findings of Federal 
     research initiatives established under this Act and other 
     relevant Federal law with respect to school facilities, 
     including relevant updates on trends in the field, such as 
     the impact of school facility environments on student and 
     staff--
       (A) health, safety, and productivity; and
       (B) disabilities or special needs;
       (2) provides research using relevant tools identified or 
     developed in accordance with section 105 to quantify the 
     relationships between--
       (A) human health, occupant productivity, and student 
     performance; and
       (B) with respect to school facilities, each of--
       (i) pollutant emissions from materials and products;
       (ii) natural day lighting;
       (iii) ventilation choices and technologies;
       (iv) heating and cooling choices and technologies;
       (v) moisture control and mold;
       (vi) maintenance, cleaning, and pest control activities;
       (vii) acoustics; and
       (viii) other issues relating to the health, comfort, 
     productivity, and performance of occupants of the school 
     facilities;
       (3) provides technical assistance on siting, design, 
     management, and operation of school facilities, including 
     facilities used by students with disabilities or special 
     needs;
       (4) collaborates with federally funded pediatric 
     environmental health centers to assist in on-site school 
     environmental investigations;
       (5) assists States and the public in better understanding 
     and improving the environmental health of children; and
       (6) provides to the Office a biennial report of all 
     activities carried out under this title, which the Director 
     shall include in the report described in section 102(c).
       (b) Public Outreach.--The Director shall ensure, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, that the public clearinghouse 
     established under section 104 receives and makes available--
       (1) information from the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency that is contained in the report described 
     in subsection (a)(6); and
       (2) information on the exposure of children to 
     environmental hazards in school facilities, as provided by 
     the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

     SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     title $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2007 through 
     2012, to remain available until expended.

              TITLE III--STRENGTHENING FEDERAL LEADERSHIP

     SEC. 301. INCENTIVES.

       As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Director shall identify incentives to encourage the 
     use of green buildings and related technology in the 
     operations of the Federal Government, including through--
       (1) the provision of recognition awards; and
       (2) the maximum feasible retention of financial savings in 
     the annual budgets of Federal agencies for use in reinvesting 
     in future green building initiatives.

     SEC. 302. FEDERAL PROCUREMENT.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Federal 
     Procurement Policy, in consultation with the Director and the 
     Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and 
     Logistics, shall promulgate revisions of the applicable 
     acquisition regulations, to take effect as of the date of 
     promulgation of the revisions--
       (1) to direct any Federal procurement executives involved 
     in the acquisition, construction, or major renovation 
     (including contracting for the construction or major 
     renovation) of any facility--
       (A) to employ integrated design principles;
       (B) to improve site selection for environmental and 
     community benefits;
       (C) to optimize building and systems energy performance;
       (D) to protect and conserve water;
       (E) to enhance indoor environmental quality; and
       (F) to reduce environmental impacts of materials and waste 
     flows; and
       (2) to direct Federal procurement executives involved in 
     leasing buildings, to give preference to the lease of 
     facilities that--
       (A) are energy-efficient; and
       (B) to the maximum extent practicable, have applied 
     contemporary high-performance and sustainable design 
     principles during construction or renovation.
       (b) Guidance.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     promulgation of the revised regulations under subsection (a), 
     the Director shall issue guidance to all Federal procurement 
     executives providing direction and instructions to 
     renegotiate the design of proposed facilities, renovations 
     for existing facilities, and leased facilities to incorporate 
     improvements that are consistent with this section.

     SEC. 303. FEDERAL GREEN BUILDING PERFORMANCE.

       (a) In General.--Not later than October 31 of each of the 2 
     fiscal years following the fiscal year in which this Act is 
     enacted, and at such times thereafter as the Comptroller 
     General of the United States determines to be appropriate, 
     the Comptroller General of the United States shall, with 
     respect to the fiscal years that have passed since the 
     preceding report--
       (1) conduct an audit of the implementation of this Act; and
       (2) submit to the Office, the Committee, the Administrator, 
     and Congress a report describing the results of the audit.
       (b) Contents.--An audit under subsection (a) shall include 
     a review, with respect to the period covered by the report 
     under subsection (a)(2), of--
       (1) budget, life-cycle costing, and contracting issues, 
     using best practices identified by the Comptroller General of 
     the United States and heads of other agencies in accordance 
     with section 106;
       (2) the level of coordination among the Office, the Office 
     of Management and Budget, and relevant agencies;
       (3) the performance of the Office in carrying out the 
     implementation plan;
       (4) the design stage of high-performance green building 
     measures;
       (5) high-performance building data that were collected and 
     reported to the Office; and
       (6) such other matters as the Comptroller General of the 
     United States determines to be appropriate.
       (c) Consultation.--The Director shall consult with the 
     Committee to enhance and assist the implementation of the 
     Environmental Stewardship Scorecard announced at the White 
     House Summit on Federal sustainable buildings in January 
     2006, to measure the implementation by each Federal agency of 
     sustainable design and green building initiatives.

                    TITLE IV--DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

     SEC. 401. COORDINATION OF GOALS.

       (a) In General.--The Director shall establish guidelines to 
     implement a demonstration project to contribute to the 
     research goals of the Office.
       (b) Projects.--In accordance with guidelines established by 
     the Director under subsection (a) and the duties of the 
     Director described in title I, the Director shall carry out--
       (1) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013, 1 
     demonstration project in a Federal building selected by the 
     Director in accordance with relevant agencies and described 
     in subsection (c)(1), that--
       (A) provides for the evaluation of the information obtained 
     through the conduct of projects and activities under this 
     Act; and
       (B) achieves a platinum rating, as defined by the 
     Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building Rating 
     System standard established by the United States Green 
     Building Council (or equivalent rating); and
       (2) no fewer than 4 demonstration projects at 4 
     universities, that, as competitively selected by the Director 
     in accordance with subsection (c)(2), have--
       (A) appropriate research resources and relevant projects to 
     meet the goals of the demonstration project established by 
     the Office; and
       (B) the ability--
       (i) to serve as a model for high-performance green building 
     initiatives, including research and education;
       (ii) to identify the most effective ways to use high-
     performance green building and landscape technologies to 
     engage and educate undergraduate and graduate students;
       (iii) to effectively implement a high-performance green 
     building education program for students and occupants;
       (iv) to demonstrate the effectiveness of various high-
     performance technologies in each of the 4 climatic regions of 
     the United States described in subsection (c)(2)(B); and
       (v) to explore quantifiable and nonquantifiable beneficial 
     impacts on public health and employee and student 
     performance.
       (c) Criteria.--
       (1) Federal facilities.--With respect to the existing or 
     proposed Federal facility at which a demonstration project 
     under this section is conducted, the Federal facility shall--
       (A) be an appropriate model for a project relating to--
       (i) the effectiveness of high-performance technologies;
       (ii) analysis of materials, components, systems, and 
     emergency operations in the building, and the impact of those 
     materials, components, and systems, including the impact on 
     the health of building occupants;
       (iii) life-cycle costing and life-cycle assessment of 
     building materials and systems; and
       (iv) location and design that promote access to the Federal 
     facility through walking, biking, and mass transit; and
       (B) possess sufficient technological and organizational 
     adaptability.

[[Page 12892]]

       (2) Universities.--With respect to the 4 universities at 
     which a demonstration project under this section is 
     conducted--
       (A) the universities should be selected, after careful 
     review of all applications received containing the required 
     information, as determined by the Director, based on--
       (i) successful and established public-private research and 
     development partnerships;
       (ii) demonstrated capabilities to construct or renovate 
     buildings that meet high indoor environmental quality 
     standards;
       (iii) organizational flexibility;
       (iv) technological adaptability;
       (v) the demonstrated capacity of at least 1 university to 
     replicate lessons learned among nearby or sister 
     universities, preferably by participation in groups or 
     consortia that promote sustainability;
       (vi) the demonstrated capacity of at least 1 university to 
     have officially-adopted, institution-wide ``green building'' 
     guidelines for all campus building projects; and
       (vii) the demonstrated capacity of at least 1 university to 
     have been recognized by similar institutions as a national 
     leader in sustainability education and curriculum for 
     students of the university; and
       (B) each university shall be located in a different 
     climatic region of the United States, each of which regions 
     shall have, as determined by the Office--
       (i) a hot, dry climate;
       (ii) a hot, humid climate;
       (iii) a cold climate; or
       (iv) a temperate climate (including a climate with cold 
     winters and humid summers).
       (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter through 
     September 30, 2013--
       (1) the Director shall submit to the Administrator a report 
     that describes the status of the demonstration projects; and
       (2) each University at which a demonstration project under 
     this section is conducted shall submit to the Administrator a 
     report that describes the status of the demonstration 
     projects under this section.

     SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Federal Demonstration Project.--There is authorized to 
     be appropriated to carry out the Federal demonstration 
     project described in section 401(b)(1) $10,000,000 for the 
     period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013, to remain available 
     until expended.
       (b) University Demonstration Projects.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out the university demonstration 
     projects described in section 401(b)(2) $10,000,000 for the 
     period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013, to remain available 
     until expended.

  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                            The American Institute


                                                of Architects,

                                    Washington, DC, June 15, 2006.
     Hon. James M. Jeffords,
     U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Jeffords: The American Institute of Architects 
     has identified ``sustainability'' as the number one issue 
     among our 75,000 members nationwide. We are concerned about 
     the effects that America's pattern of energy use is having on 
     the world's climate. And we are particularly concerned about 
     the adverse effects that thoughtlessly designed buildings can 
     have on the natural environment.
       We believe that it is currently possible to design and 
     operate buildings of all types in ways that conserve 
     resources and drastically reduce their environmental impact. 
     For that reason, we strongly support incentives to create 
     more sustainable architecture.
       The High Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006, which you 
     are sponsoring, is an excellent start toward moving the 
     federal government in the direction of sustainable 
     architecture. The bill will create a specific Office of High 
     Performance Green Buildings within the General Services 
     Administration as well as an Advisory Committee of green 
     building experts to assist that office in advancing the cause 
     of sustainability within the federal government.
       The bill will also mandate the consideration of life-cycle 
     costing in the design and procurement of federal buildings; a 
     concept long supported by the AIA. The bill will create a 
     grants program for high performance and healthy schools, as 
     well as health-based guidelines for school construction. It 
     is a matter of great concern to the AIA that our Nation's 
     school facilities are in a degraded condition and that 
     significant improvement in student health and productivity 
     could be achieved through upgrading the structures that now 
     house our next generations.
       The AIA is particularly supportive of the provisions of the 
     bill that call for revisions to the Federal Acquisition 
     Regulations to incorporate green design criteria into Federal 
     contracting for construction or renovation of Federal 
     buildings.
       The AIA commends you for your leadership in taking on these 
     complex issues that are closely intertwined with the Nation's 
     environmental, energy and educational future. The AIA 
     supports your efforts, supports your bill and would like to 
     work with you to get it passed into law.
           Sincerely,
                                             Christine W. McEntee,
     Executive Vice President/CEO.
                                  ____



                                Healthy Schools Network, Inc.,

                                                    June 23, 2006.
     Re Support for High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006.

     Hon. James Jeffords,
     U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Jeffords: Children do better with a little 
     fresh air and sunshine, indoors and out. The call for 
     healthier schools is a ``back to basics'' drive, recalling 
     neighborhood schools with high ceilings and tall windows that 
     captured natural light and ventilation and with durable 
     floors and walls that were easy to maintain.
       Healthy Schools Network, Inc. is a national environmental 
     health not for profit representing parent, environment, 
     health, and education groups and individuals who are 
     dedicated to ensuring that every child and school employee 
     has an environmentally healthy school. Our reports, 
     informational services, and advocacy have shaped new 
     policies, laws, regulations, and funds for school facilities 
     in New York and Federally, and fostered local and state 
     coalitions Nationwide. We were honored to receive a US EPA 
     Children's Health Protection Award in 2005 for our Healthy 
     Schools/Healthy Kids Clearinghouse that has helped parents, 
     schools, and nonprofits in every state.
       We support the High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006 
     and the creation of an Office of High-Performance Green 
     Buildings. We strongly support the Act's Title II Healthy 
     High Performance Schools provisions to improve our nation's 
     school facilities and our children's health and learning.
       Title II authorizes U.S. EPA, advised by Education and 
     Health and Human Services, to make grants to the states to 
     develop school environmental quality plans, including state 
     standards for school design that incorporate energy 
     efficiency, indoor air quality, and low-emission interior 
     finishes and products, as well as resource conservation. This 
     one step alone will allow each state to adapt design 
     protocols for use by local schools, as well as to consider 
     how best to ``mix and match'' public and private resources 
     for implementation. In addition, the creation of systematic 
     state plans could identify ongoing school environmental 
     problems and propose locally appropriate and system-wide 
     improvements for siting, indoor air quality, lead 
     contamination and pest problems, ``green'' purchasing, and 
     outline plans for using schools as emergency centers.
       The Act also authorizes U.S. EPA to develop Federal 
     guidelines for the siting of schools, taking into account the 
     special vulnerability of children to hazardous substances, 
     modes of transportation, and the potential use of schools as 
     emergency shelters. U.S. EPA and the Agency for Toxic 
     Substances and Disease Registry have collected data on 
     schools sited near or adjacent to hazardous facilities.
       In addition, Title II authorizes US EPA, advised by 
     Education and Health and Human Services, to issue guidelines 
     for use by states in developing and implementing an 
     environmental health program for schools. This program would 
     provide research on children's health and school facilities 
     and provide technical assistance on siting, design, 
     management, and operation of schools; collaborate with the 
     Federally sponsored pediatric environmental health specialty 
     units to assist with any onsite environmental investigations; 
     and assist states and the public in understanding and 
     improving the environmental health of children.
       This Nation has a long way to go to ensure that our 
     children have healthy learning places. In 1996, the US GAO 
     estimated that the poor condition of schools daily eroded the 
     health of 14 million children. US EPA estimates that half of 
     the nation's 120,000 schools have compromised indoor 
     environmental quality. Indoor air pollution is a top-five 
     human health hazard; asthma is the leading cause of 
     absenteeism and the leading occupational disease among 
     teachers. In 2004, the US Department of Education Office of 
     the Under Secretary published its Congressionally mandated 
     National Priority Study A Summary of Scientific Findings on 
     Adverse Effects of Indoor Environments on Students' Health, 
     Academic Peiformance and Attendance (http://www.iehinc.com/
PDF/effects%20on%20students.pdf), finding that the evidence 
     suggested that poor environments adversely influences student 
     health, performance, and attendance. In the national report 
     Lessons Learned (2006), which presents state by state data 
     analyses and stories of sick or injured children, our office 
     and our two dozen organizational collaborators estimated the 
     number of children at high risk at 32 million of the 54 
     million enrolled. (See http://www.healthyschools.org/guides 
     materials.html)
       The need for healthier schools is now. At a time when our 
     nation is demanding a better performance from every child and 
     from every school, we need to ensure that every child has an 
     environmentally healthy school. Healthier school facilities, 
     designed, built, and cleaned and maintained as healthy high 
     performance facilities--often at no additional local cost--
     are known to positively affect children's performance and 
     attendance

[[Page 12893]]

     and teacher productivity. They are also associated with lower 
     suspension rates. Designing more energy efficient facilities 
     or replacing old heating and ventilating systems with up to 
     date efficient systems or systems using renewable energy 
     resources could save schools and their taxpayers billions of 
     dollars annually.
       We commend you for your leadership on these important 
     issues and look forward to working with you and the sponsors 
     towards the timely enactment and funding for this important 
     legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                Claire L. Barnett,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                          Environmental and Energy


                                              Study Institute,

                                    Washington, DC, June 27, 2006.
     Hon. James M. Jeffords,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Jeffords: The Environmental and Energy Study 
     Institute (EESI) strongly supports the High-Performance Green 
     Buildings Act of 2006 you are introducing to advance the 
     development of green building facilities for both federal 
     agencies and schools. This legislation will:
       --increase U.S. competitiveness in the increasingly global 
     green building market
       --accelerate expansion of the green building market within 
     the United States through widespread Federal procurement, 
     expanded research, and establishment of a green building 
     information clearinghouse
       --improve student and worker health and productivity 
     through better indoor air quality
       --increase U.S. energy savings
       --support the growth of domestic recycled and biobased 
     product markets that can help reduce the country's reliance 
     on imported oil and
       --reduce the environmental impacts of the country's built 
     environment.
       The General Services Administration (GSA) owns and operates 
     more than 500,000 buildings with over 3 billion square feet, 
     making it the largest landlord in the United States. With 
     this amount of owned space, the GSA has the influence to 
     ensure that Federal buildings across the country are shining 
     examples of smart building design. Through incentives laid 
     out in this legislation, the Federal Government can lead the 
     country by example in incorporating green building designs 
     that save buildings money in operational costs. That is good 
     government!
       Furthermore, green buildings have improved indoor air 
     quality; this too saves the Federal Government money due to 
     reduced sickness and absenteeism among its workforce. The 
     American Lung Association estimates that indoor air pollution 
     costs businesses more than $100 billion a year due to death, 
     sick days, direct medical costs, loss of productivity, and 
     damage to materials and equipment. The Environmental 
     Protection Agency projects that 3,500 to 6,500 premature 
     deaths per year are the result of the effects of indoor air 
     pollutants.
       Due to the heightened susceptibility of children to 
     airborne pollutants because of their less developed immune 
     systems, EESI applauds your bill's provisions to provide 
     schools grant assistance as well as technical assistance in 
     developing green building design. In fact, 20 percent of the 
     U.S. population, nearly 55 million people, are in U.S. 
     elementary and secondary schools, 110,000 of which were 
     reported to have unsatisfactory indoor air quality in the 
     1990s. Without grants like those outlined in your bill, most 
     school districts would not be able to fund green building 
     projects. EESI's previous work on this topic has found that 
     schools need Federal studies. They need a clearinghouse to 
     provide information, and they need grants to implement these 
     projects and realize their far-reaching benefits.
       EESI strongly supports the use of recycled and biobased 
     products as components of the bill's green building design. 
     Fabricated from renewable domestic crops, biobased products 
     do not ``offgas'' or emit airborne toxins like their 
     petroleum-based counterparts which can aggravate respiratory 
     systems and negatively affect health. Biobased products, 
     along with improvements in ventilation, enhance indoor air 
     quality and improve occupant health. They are also 
     biodegradable and therefore not harmful to the environment. 
     Furthermore, biobased products can be produced domestically; 
     providing evermore economic opportunities to every state's 
     agricultural sector.
       Even as U.S. Federal agencies and schools face tightening 
     budgets, many green building measures can be incorporated 
     with minimal up-front costs while yielding enormous savings 
     during a building's lifetime. Your bill's provision to 
     establish an Office of High Performance Green Buildings would 
     elevate attention to this issue and would play an essential 
     role as provider/distributor of solid information so that 
     agencies can pursue ``greening'' of buildings more easily, 
     efficiently and economically.
       Demonstration projects can engage undergraduate and 
     graduate students--the leaders of tomorrow--who will learn 
     first-hand about these innovations and take the experience 
     with them in their careers. These projects also will 
     incorporate smart siting and planning so that commuters can 
     access them through many modes of transportation including 
     mass transit, biking and walking. By incorporating these 
     concerns, these projects not only address the energy consumed 
     by the buildings themselves but the energy consumed in our 
     transportation sector.
       U.S. buildings consume about 40 percent of the country's 
     annual primary energy use. Because the Federal Government is 
     the country's largest energy consumer, your bill truly helps 
     the Federal Government lead by example.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Carol Werner,
     Executive Director, Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Schumer, 
        Mr. Harkin, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Lieberman):
  S. 3593 A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 
additional support to students; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to join my colleagues 
in introducing the Student Debt Relief Act to lower college expenses 
for millions of families and help ensure that cost is not a barrier to 
a college education.
  Earlier today, my colleagues and I released a report on ``The College 
Cost Crunch,'' which contains detailed information showing that 
students and their families in every State are struggling with 
skyrocketing college costs and rising student loan debt.
  The report makes clear that the American dream is at risk unless 
college becomes more affordable. Parents and students know how 
important a college education is in our rapidly changing world, and 
they're willing to make immense sacrifices in order to afford it. But 
that sacrifice is getting harder and harder as college costs go up and 
as student debt increases as well.
  It is unacceptable in this era when higher education in the United 
States is becoming more important, that it is also becoming more and 
more expensive. As the report shows, the cost of attending a public 4-
year college has increased 32 percent since 2000, while median family 
incomes have increased by only 6 percent over the same time period.
  Today, the cost of attendance is over $12,000 at public colleges and 
over $26,000 at private colleges, and federal student aid has not kept 
pace with these rising costs. The maximum Pell grant covered 51 percent 
of the cost of college in 1986, but it covered only 35 percent of the 
cost last year.
  As a result, families and students are borrowing more than ever from 
the federal government and from private banks to finance higher 
education. Sixty-two percent of undergraduates at 4-year colleges are 
borrowing to finance their educations. The average student graduates 
with over $19,000 in student loan debt.
  We need to solve this debt crisis now before it spirals even farther 
out of control.
  Ensuring access to college is key to our opportunity, our economy, 
and to our values as a nation.
  It affects opportunity, because each year 400,000 qualified students 
do not go to a 4-year college, because they cannot afford to do so.
  It affects our economy, because we need to equip all of our citizens 
with a college education to compete effectively in the global economy.
  It affects our values, because high college costs and high student 
debt are discouraging young Americans from taking lower paying public 
service jobs, from buying homes, and even from getting married and 
starting a family.
  On July 1, to make matters even worse, students and families face one 
of the biggest student loan interest rate hikes in the history of the 
program--almost 2 percentage points in a single year.
  Our bill deals with these issues in several ways.
  First, it provides mandatory funding for an immediate increase in the 
maximum Pell grant from $4,050 to $5,100, with additional increases 
each year.
  The bill also reforms the current student loan programs and uses the 
savings to pay for additional increases in need-based aid. This 
proposal--known as the Student Aid Reward Act, or the STAR Act--
generates $13 billion over

[[Page 12894]]

10 years for new Pell grants--at zero cost to the government and 
taxpayers--by encouraging schools to use the more efficient Direct Loan 
Program instead of the guaranteed loan program.
  The bill cuts student loan interest rates in half--to 3.4 percent for 
students and 4.25 percent for parents. This change will save average 
borrowers nearly $4,000 in interest payments over the life of their 
loans.
  The bill gives borrowers the option to help keep loan payments 
manageable by tying the payments to income level and capping the 
payments at 15 percent of a borrower's income. This provision will 
enable young people to pursue their passions in public service careers 
such as teaching and social work, without worrying about making ends 
meet as they repay their debt.
  The bill also extends and expands a popular college tuition tax 
deduction, which Republicans allowed to expire at the end of last year. 
The IRS estimates that nearly 4.7 million students and families took 
advantage of the deduction in 2004, which allowed them to deduct up to 
$4,000 in tuition expenses from their taxes.
  In Massachusetts, these changes would help thousands of students. If 
the Pell grant is increased to $5,100, Massachusetts would receive $63 
million in new Pell grant aid. 4,700 additional students would receive 
grants, and the average grant would increase by more than $620--from 
$2,329 to $2,950. If student loan interest rates are cut in half, 
students in Massachusetts would save $3,470 over the life of their 
loans.
  With more options to make loan payments contingent on income, new 
teachers in Massachusetts, who earn $34,000 a year, would have a 
reduction of 22 percent in their monthly loan payments, and after 10 
years, their loans would be forgiven.
  Congress needs to act now to make education a priority and do more to 
help struggling students and families.
  But the administration and the Republican Congress have other 
priorities. Earlier this year, they perpetrated the biggest raid on 
student aid in the history of the program--stripping $12 billion from 
the program to offset tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans.
  If we returned tax rates for the wealthiest Americans to their levels 
when President Bush took office, we could pay for this entire proposal, 
and pay for other priorities for struggling middle class families as 
well.
  Some of these proposals pay for themselves by cutting wasteful bank 
subsidies from the student loan programs and directing those funds to 
help students afford college. Report after report has shown that the 
Direct Loan Program saves taxpayer money. It is time for the Republican 
Congress to stand up to their friends in the lending industry and do 
what's right for students and families and the Nation.
  We also need new investments in education if we are serious about 
reviving the American dream of a college education.
  When Congress passed the G.I. bill after World War II, the Nation 
reaped a benefit of $7 for every $1 invested in sending our returning 
troops to college.
  We need that kind of investment again to assure prosperity for our 
families and our Nation in the years ahead. The Student Debt Relief Act 
is a good step in the right direction, and I urge my colleagues to 
support it.
  I ask unanimous consent that our report and the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3593

       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 ``Student Debt Relief Act of 
     2006''.

     SEC. 2. INCREASE IN FEDERAL PELL GRANTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 401(b)(2)(A) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(2)(A)) is amended 
     by striking clauses (i) through (v) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(i) $5,100 for academic year 2007-2008;
       ``(ii) $5,400 for academic year 2008-2009;
       ``(iii) $5,700 for academic year 2009-2010;
       ``(iv) $6,000 for academic year 2010-2011; and
       ``(v) $6,300 for academic year 2011-2012,''.
       (b) Additional Funds.--For an academic year, in the case in 
     which discretionary amounts appropriated to carry out the 
     Federal Pell Grant program under subpart 1 of part A of title 
     IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et 
     seq.) for such academic year are sufficient to fund a maximum 
     Federal Pell Grant award of $4,050, then there are authorized 
     to be appropriated, and there are appropriated, additional 
     amounts to carry out the amendment made by subsection (a) as 
     follows:
       (1) For academic year 2007-2008, $4,310,000,000.
       (2) For academic year 2008-2009, $5,563,000,000.
       (3) For academic year 2009-2010, $6,982,000,000.
       (4) For academic year 2010-2011, $8,398,000,000.
       (5) For academic year 2011-2012, $9,831,000,000.

     SEC. 3. STUDENT AID REWARD PROGRAM.

       Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
     489 the following:

     ``SEC. 489A. STUDENT AID REWARD PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
     Student Aid Reward Program to encourage institutions of 
     higher education to participate in the student loan program 
     under this title that is most cost-effective for taxpayers.
       ``(b) Program Requirements.--In carrying out the Student 
     Aid Reward Program, the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) provide to each institution of higher education 
     participating in the student loan program under this title 
     that is most cost-effective for taxpayers, a Student Aid 
     Reward Payment, in an amount determined in accordance with 
     subsection (c), to encourage the institution to participate 
     in that student loan program;
       ``(2) require each institution of higher education 
     receiving a payment under this section to provide student 
     loans under such student loan program for a period of 5 years 
     after the date the first payment is made under this section;
       ``(3) where appropriate, require that funds paid to 
     institutions of higher education under this section be used 
     to award students a supplement to such students' Federal Pell 
     Grants under subpart 1 of part A;
       ``(4) permit such funds to also be used to award need-based 
     grants to lower- and middle-income graduate students; and
       ``(5) encourage all institutions of higher education to 
     participate in the Student Aid Reward Program under this 
     section.
       ``(c) Amount.--The amount of a Student Aid Reward Payment 
     under this section shall be not less than 50 percent of the 
     savings to the Federal Government generated by the 
     institution of higher education's participation in the 
     student loan program under this title that is most cost-
     effective for taxpayers instead of the institution's 
     participation in the student loan program that is not most 
     cost-effective for taxpayers.
       ``(d) Trigger to Ensure Cost Neutrality.--
       ``(1) Limit to ensure cost neutrality.--Notwithstanding 
     subsection (c), the Secretary shall not distribute Student 
     Aid Reward Payments under the Student Aid Reward Program 
     that, in the aggregate, exceed the Federal savings resulting 
     from the implementation of the Student Aid Reward Program.
       ``(2) Federal savings.--In calculating Federal savings, as 
     used in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine Federal 
     savings on loans made to students at institutions of higher 
     education that participate in the student loan program under 
     this title that is most cost-effective for taxpayers and 
     that, on the date of enactment of this section, participated 
     in the student loan program that is not most cost-effective 
     for taxpayers, resulting from the difference of--
       ``(A) the Federal cost of loan volume made under the 
     student loan program under this title that is most cost-
     effective for taxpayers; and
       ``(B) the Federal cost of an equivalent type and amount of 
     loan volume made, insured, or guaranteed under the student 
     loan program under this title that is not most cost-effective 
     for taxpayers.
       ``(3) Distribution rules.--If the Federal savings 
     determined under paragraph (2) is not sufficient to 
     distribute full Student Aid Reward Payments under the Student 
     Aid Reward Program, the Secretary shall--
       ``(A) first make Student Aid Reward Payments to those 
     institutions of higher education that participated in the 
     student loan program under this title that is not most cost-
     effective for taxpayers on the date of enactment of this 
     section; and
       ``(B) with any remaining Federal savings after making 
     Student Aid Reward Payments under subparagraph (A), make 
     Student Aid Reward Payments to the institutions of higher 
     education eligible for a Student Aid Reward Payment and not 
     described in subparagraph (A) on a pro-rata basis.
       ``(4) Distribution to students.--Any institution of higher 
     education that receives a Student Aid Reward Payment under 
     this section--

[[Page 12895]]

       ``(A) shall distribute, where appropriate, part or all of 
     such payment among the students of such institution who are 
     Federal Pell Grant recipients by awarding such students a 
     supplemental grant; and
       ``(B) may distribute part of such payment as a supplemental 
     grant to graduate students in financial need.
       ``(5) Estimates, adjustments, and carry over.--
       ``(A) Estimates and adjustments.--The Secretary shall make 
     Student Aid Reward Payments to institutions of higher 
     education on the basis of estimates, using the best data 
     available at the beginning of an academic or fiscal year. If 
     the Secretary determines thereafter that loan program costs 
     for that academic or fiscal year were different than such 
     estimate, the Secretary shall adjust by reducing or 
     increasing subsequent Student Aid Reward Payments rewards 
     paid to such institutions of higher education to reflect such 
     difference.
       ``(B) Carry over.--Any institution of higher education that 
     receives a reduced Student Aid Reward Payment under paragraph 
     (3)(B), shall remain eligible for the unpaid portion of such 
     institution's financial reward payment, as well as any 
     additional financial reward payments for which the 
     institution is otherwise eligible, in subsequent academic or 
     fiscal years.
       ``(e) Definition.--In this section:
       ``(1) Student loan program under this title that is most 
     cost-effective for taxpayers.--The term `student loan program 
     under this title that is most cost-effective for taxpayers' 
     means the loan program under part B or D of this title that 
     has the lowest overall cost to the Federal Government 
     (including administrative costs) for the loans authorized by 
     such parts.
       ``(2) Student loan program under this title that is not 
     most cost-effective for taxpayers.--The term `student loan 
     program under this title that is not most cost-effective for 
     taxpayers' means the loan program under part B or D of this 
     title that does not have the lowest overall cost to the 
     Federal Government (including administrative costs) for the 
     loans authorized by such parts.''.

     SEC. 4. REDUCTION IN INTEREST RATES.

       (a) FFEL.--Section 427A(l) of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1077a(l)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``or 428C'' and inserting ``, 428C, or 
     428H'';
       (B) by striking ``6.8 percent'' and inserting ``3.4 
     percent''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding 
     subsection (h), with respect to any loan under section 428H 
     for which the first disbursement is made on or after July 1, 
     2006, the applicable rate of interest shall be 6.8 percent on 
     the unpaid principal balance of the loan.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``8.5 percent'' and 
     inserting ``4.25 percent''.
       (b) Direct Loans.--Section 455(b)(7) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)(7)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)--
       (A) by striking ``and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 
     Loans'';
       (B) by striking ``6.8 percent'' and inserting ``3.4 
     percent''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding 
     the preceding paragraphs of this subsection, for Federal 
     Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for which the first 
     disbursement is made on or after July 1, 2006, the applicable 
     rate of interest shall be 6.8 percent on the unpaid principal 
     balance of the loan.''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``7.9 percent'' and 
     inserting ``4.25 percent''.

     SEC. 5. IN-SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION.

       Section 428(b)(7)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(7)(A)) is amended by striking ``shall 
     begin'' and all that follows through the period and inserting 
     ``shall begin--
       ``(i) the day after 6 months after the date the student 
     ceases to carry at least one-half the normal full-time 
     academic workload (as determined by the institution); or
       ``(ii) on an earlier date if the borrower requests and is 
     granted a repayment schedule that provides for repayment to 
     commence at an earlier date.''.

     SEC. 6. CONSOLIDATION LOAN CHANGES.

       Section 428C(a)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1078-3(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(3) Definition of eligible borrower.--For the purpose of 
     this section, the term `eligible borrower' means a borrower 
     who--
       ``(A) is not subject to a judgment secured through 
     litigation with respect to a loan under this title or to an 
     order for wage garnishment under section 488A; and
       ``(B) at the time of application for a consolidation loan--
       ``(i) is in repayment status as determined under section 
     428(b)(7)(A);
       ``(ii) is in a grace period preceding repayment; or
       ``(iii) is a defaulted borrower who has made arrangements 
     to repay the obligation on the defaulted loans satisfactory 
     to the holders of the defaulted loans.''.

     SEC. 7. REDUCTION OF DIRECT LOAN ORIGINATION FEES.

       Section 455(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1087e(c)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``4.0 percent'' and inserting ``3.0 
     percent''; and
       (B) by striking ``shall'' and inserting ``is authorized 
     to''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ```3.0 percent' for 
     `4.0 percent''' and inserting ```2.0 percent' for `3.0 
     percent''';
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ```2.5 percent' for 
     `4.0 percent''' and inserting ```1.5 percent' for `3.0 
     percent''';
       (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ```2.0 percent' for 
     `4.0 percent''' and inserting ```1.0 percent' for `3.0 
     percent''';
       (D) in subparagraph (D), by striking ```1.5 percent' for 
     `4.0 percent''' and inserting ```0.5 percent' for `3.0 
     percent'''; and
       (E) in subparagraph (E), by striking ```1.0 percent' for 
     `4.0 percent''' and inserting ```0.0 percent' for `3.0 
     percent'''.

     SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMER STATUS FOR 
                   LENDERS.

       (a) Repeal.--Section 428I of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-9) is repealed.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Part A of title IV of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.1070 et seq.) is 
     amended--
       (1) in section 428(c)(1)--
       (A) by striking subparagraph (D); and
       (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) through (H) as 
     subparagraphs (D) and (G), respectively; and
       (2) in section 438(b)(5), by striking the matter following 
     subparagraph (B).

     SEC. 9. SCHOOLS AS LENDERS.

       Section 435(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1085(d)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ``Federal or'' after 
     ``not to supplant,''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7) Eligible lender trustee use by eligible 
     institution.--In the case of an eligible institution that 
     uses an eligible lender trustee for the purpose of qualifying 
     as an eligible lender under paragraph (2), such eligible 
     lender trustee shall be subject to the requirements of 
     paragraphs (2) through (5).''.

     SEC. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNT FOR DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM.

       Section 458 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1087h) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Mandatory funds for fiscal years 2007 through 2011.--
     Each fiscal year there shall be available to the Secretary, 
     from funds not otherwise appropriated, funds to be obligated 
     for--
       ``(A) administrative costs under this part and part B, 
     including the costs of the direct student loan programs under 
     this part; and
       ``(B) account maintenance fees payable to guaranty agencies 
     under part B and calculated in accordance with subsection 
     (b),

     not to exceed (from such funds not otherwise appropriated) 
     $904,000,000 in fiscal year 2007, $943,000,000 in fiscal year 
     2008, $983,000,000 in fiscal year 2009, $1,023,000,000 in 
     fiscal year 2010, $1,064,000,000 in fiscal year 2011, and 
     $1,106,000,000 in fiscal year 2012.'';
       (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 
     (3) and (4), respectively; and
       (C) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated in subparagraph (B)), 
     by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
     (2)''; and
       (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``(a)(3)'' and inserting 
     ``(a)(2)''.

     SEC. 11. INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT FOR PUBLIC SECTOR 
                   EMPLOYEES.

       Section 455(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1087e(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(7) Repayment plan for public sector employees.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall forgive the balance 
     due on any loan made under this part or section 428C(b)(5) 
     for a borrower--
       ``(i) who has made 120 payments on such loan pursuant to 
     income contingent repayment; and
       ``(ii) who is employed, and was employed for the 10-year 
     period in which the borrower made the 120 payments described 
     in clause (i), in a public sector job.
       ``(B) Public sector job.--In this paragraph, the term 
     `public sector job' means a full-time job in emergency 
     management, government, public safety, law enforcement, 
     public health, education (including early childhood 
     education), or public interest legal services (including 
     prosecution or public defense).
       ``(8) Return to standard repayment.--A borrower who is 
     repaying a loan made under this part pursuant to income 
     contingent repayment may choose, at any time, to terminate 
     repayment pursuant to income contingent repayment and repay 
     such loan under the standard repayment plan.''.

     SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS OF PARTIAL FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AND 
                   ECONOMIC HARDSHIP.

       (a) Partial Financial Hardship.--Section 435 of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085) is amended by 
     inserting after subsection (m) the following:
       ``(n) Partial Financial Hardship.--For purposes of this 
     part and part E, the term `partial financial hardship' means 
     the amount by which the borrower's annual Federal educational 
     debt burden exceeds 15 percent of the difference between--

[[Page 12896]]

       ``(1) the borrower's adjusted gross income; and
       ``(2) the poverty line applicable to the borrower's family 
     size as determined under section 673(2) of the Community 
     Services Block Grant Act.''.
       (b) Economic Hardship.--Section 435(o) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(o)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``100 percent of 
     the poverty line for a family of 2'' and inserting ``150 
     percent of the poverty line applicable to the borrower's 
     family size'';
       (B) by striking subparagraph (B); and
       (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B); 
     and
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(1)(C)'' and inserting 
     ``(1)(B)''.

     SEC. 13. DEFERRALS.

       (a) FISL.--Section 427(a)(2)(C) of the Higher Education Act 
     of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1077(a)(2)(C)) is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(C) provides that--
       ``(i) periodic installments of principal need not be paid, 
     but interest shall accrue and be paid, during any period--

       ``(I) during which the borrower--

       ``(aa) is pursuing at least a half-time course of study as 
     determined by an eligible institution; or
       ``(bb) is pursuing a course of study pursuant to a graduate 
     fellowship program approved by the Secretary, or pursuant to 
     a rehabilitation training program for individuals with 
     disabilities approved by the Secretary,

     except that no borrower shall be eligible for a deferment 
     under this clause, or a loan made under this part (other than 
     a loan made under section 428B or 428C), while serving in a 
     medical internship or residency program;
       ``(II) not in excess of 3 years during which the borrower 
     is seeking and unable to find full-time employment; or
       ``(III) during which the borrower has, or will have, an 
     economic hardship described in section 435(o), as determined 
     by the lender in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary under such section; and

       ``(ii) during any period during which a borrower has, or 
     will have, a partial financial hardship defined in section 
     435(n), as determined by the lender in accordance with 
     regulations prescribed by the Secretary under such section, 
     the borrower--

       ``(I) need only pay the portion of the periodic 
     installments of principal and interest that exceeds the 
     borrower's partial financial hardship for such period; and
       ``(II) may defer the remaining amount of principal and 
     interest (which interest shall continue to accrue) for such 
     period,

     and provides that any such period shall not be included in 
     determining the 10-year period described in subparagraph 
     (B);''.
       (b) Interest Subsidies.--Section 428(b)(1)(M) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(M)) is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(M) provides that--
       ``(i) periodic installments of principal need not be paid, 
     but interest shall accrue and be paid by the Secretary, 
     during any period--

       ``(I) during which the borrower--

       ``(aa) is pursuing at least a half-time course of study as 
     determined by an eligible institution, except that no 
     borrower, notwithstanding the provisions of the promissory 
     note, shall be required to borrow an additional loan under 
     this title in order to be eligible to receive a deferment 
     under this clause; or
       ``(bb) is pursuing a course of study pursuant to a graduate 
     fellowship program approved by the Secretary, or pursuant to 
     a rehabilitation training program for disabled individuals 
     approved by the Secretary,

     except that no borrower shall be eligible for a deferment 
     under this clause, or loan made under this part (other than a 
     loan made under 428B or 428C), while serving in a medical 
     internship or residency program;
       ``(II) not in excess of 3 years during which the borrower 
     is seeking and unable to find full-time employment, except 
     that no borrower who provides evidence of eligibility for 
     unemployment benefits shall be required to provide additional 
     paperwork for a deferment under this clause;
       ``(III) not in excess of 3 years during which the 
     borrower--

       ``(aa) is serving on active duty during a war or other 
     military operation or national emergency; or
       ``(bb) is performing qualifying National Guard duty during 
     a war or other military operation or national emergency; or

       ``(IV) during which the borrower has, or will have, an 
     economic hardship described in section 435(o), as determined 
     by the lender in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary under such section; and

       ``(ii) during any period during which a borrower has, or 
     will have, a partial financial hardship defined in section 
     435(n), as determined by the lender in accordance with 
     regulations prescribed by the Secretary under such section, a 
     portion of the periodic installments of principal and 
     interest need not be paid as follows:

       ``(I) the Secretary shall first pay the portion of the 
     periodic installments of interest due that does not exceed 
     the borrower's partial financial hardship for such period, 
     and any amount of interest due in excess of the borrower's 
     partial financial hardship for such period shall be paid by 
     the borrower; and
       ``(II) the borrower shall pay the periodic installments of 
     principal due for such period, reduced by the difference 
     between the partial financial hardship and the amount of 
     interest paid under subclause (I);''.

       (c) Direct Loans.--Section 455(f) of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking ``not in excess of 3 
     years''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Partial financial hardship deferment.--During any 
     period during which a borrower has, or will have, a partial 
     financial hardship defined in section 435(n), as determined 
     by the Secretary in accordance with regulations prescribed 
     under such section, a portion of the periodic installments of 
     principal and interest need not be paid as follows:
       ``(A) In the case of a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a 
     Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that consolidated only 
     Federal Direct Stafford Loans, or a combination of such loans 
     and Federal Stafford Loans for which the student borrower 
     received an interest subsidy under section 428--
       ``(i) the amount of interest for such period that does not 
     exceed the borrower's partial financial hardship shall not 
     accrue, and any amount of interest due in excess of the 
     borrower's partial financial hardship shall be capitalized or 
     be paid by the borrower; and
       ``(ii) the borrower shall pay the periodic installments of 
     principal due for such period, reduced by the difference 
     between the partial financial hardship and the amount of 
     interest paid under clause (i).
       ``(B) In the case of a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, a Federal 
     Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct 
     Consolidation Loan not described in subparagraph (A)--
       ``(i) the amount of interest and principal that equals the 
     borrower's partial financial hardship for such period need 
     not be paid but may be deferred or capitalized by the 
     borrower; and
       ``(ii) any amount of interest or principal due in excess of 
     the borrower's partial financial hardship for such period 
     shall be paid by the borrower.''.
       (d) Perkins.--Section 464(c) of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087dd(c)) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (2)(A)(iv) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(iv) during which the borrower has, or will have, an 
     economic hardship described in section 435(o), as determined 
     by the lender in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary under such section; or''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) Partial financial hardship deferment.--During any 
     period during which a borrower has, or will have, a partial 
     financial hardship defined in section 435(n), as determined 
     by the lender in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary under such section, a portion of the periodic 
     installments of principal and interest need not be paid as 
     follows:
       ``(A) the Secretary shall first pay the periodic 
     installments of interest due for such period that does not 
     exceed the borrower's partial financial hardship, and any 
     amount of interest due in excess of the borrower's partial 
     financial hardship shall be paid by the borrower; and
       ``(B) the borrower shall pay the periodic installments of 
     principal due reduced by the difference between the partial 
     financial hardship and the amount of interest paid under 
     subparagraph (A).''.

     SEC. 14. MAXIMUM REPAYMENT PERIOD.

       Section 455(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1087e(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(7) Maximum repayment period.--In calculating the 
     extended period of time for which an income contingent 
     repayment plan under this subsection may be in effect for a 
     borrower, the Secretary shall include all time periods during 
     which a borrower of loans under part B, part D, or part E--
       ``(A) is not in default on any loan that is included in the 
     income contingent repayment plan; and
       ``(B)(i) qualifies for economic hardship described in 
     section 435(o);
       ``(ii) has a partial financial hardship defined in section 
     435(n);
       ``(iii) makes payments under a standard repayment plan 
     described in section 428(b)(9)(A)(i) or 455(d)(1)(A), or
       ``(iv) makes payments under an extended repayment plan 
     described in section 428(b)(9)(A)(iv) or 455(d)(1)(C).''.

     SEC. 15. INCREASE IN CONSOLIDATION LOAN LENDER FEES.

       (a) Amendment.--Paragraph (2) of section 438(d) (20 U.S.C. 
     1087-1(d)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(2) Amount of loan fees.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     with respect to any loan made under this part for which the 
     first disbursement was made on or after October 1, 1993, the 
     amount of the loan fee that shall be deducted under paragraph 
     (1) shall be equal to 0.50 percent of the principal amount of 
     the loan.
       ``(B) Consolidation loans.--With respect to any loan made 
     under section 428C on or

[[Page 12897]]

     after April 1, 2006, the amount of the loan fee that shall be 
     deducted under paragraph (1) shall be equal to 1.0 percent of 
     the principal amount of the loan.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply with respect to any loan made, insured, or 
     guaranteed under part B of title IV of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.) for which the first 
     disbursement is made on or after April 1, 2006.

     SEC. 16. COLLEGE TUITION DEDUCTION AND CREDIT FOR INTEREST ON 
                   HIGHER EDUCATION LOANS.

       (a) Expansion of Deduction for Higher Education Expenses.--
       (1) Amount of deduction.--Subsection (b) of section 222 of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to deduction for 
     qualified tuition and related expenses) is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(b) Limitations.--
       ``(1) Dollar limitations.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     amount allowed as a deduction under subsection (a) with 
     respect to the taxpayer for any taxable year shall not exceed 
     the applicable dollar limit.
       ``(B) Applicable dollar limit.--The applicable dollar limit 
     for any taxable year shall be determined as follows:

                                                             Applicable
``Taxable year:                                          dollar amount:
  2006......................................................$8,000 ....

  2007 and thereafter......................................$12,000.....

       ``(2) Limitation based on modified adjusted gross income.--
       ``(A) In general.--The amount which would (but for this 
     paragraph) be taken into account under subsection (a) shall 
     be reduced (but not below zero) by the amount determined 
     under subparagraph (B).
       ``(B) Amount of reduction.--The amount determined under 
     this subparagraph equals the amount which bears the same 
     ratio to the amount which would be so taken into account as--
       ``(i) the excess of--

       ``(I) the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income for 
     such taxable year, over
       ``(II) $65,000 ($130,000 in the case of a joint return), 
     bears to

       ``(ii) $15,000 ($30,000 in the case of a joint return).
       ``(C) Modified adjusted gross income.--For purposes of this 
     paragraph, the term `modified adjusted gross income' means 
     the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer for the taxable 
     year determined--
       ``(i) without regard to this section and sections 199, 911, 
     931, and 933, and
       ``(ii) after the application of sections 86, 135, 137, 219, 
     221, and 469.

     For purposes of the sections referred to in clause (ii), 
     adjusted gross income shall be determined without regard to 
     the deduction allowed under this section.
       ``(D) Inflation adjustments.--
       ``(i) In general.--In the case of any taxable year 
     beginning in a calendar year after 2006, both of the dollar 
     amounts in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) 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, by substituting `calendar year 2005' for 
     `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.

       ``(ii) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under clause 
     (i) is not a multiple of $50, such amount shall be rounded to 
     the nearest multiple of $50.''.
       (2) Qualified tuition and related expenses of eligible 
     students.--
       (A) In general.--Section 222(a) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 (relating to allowance of deduction) is amended 
     by inserting ``of eligible students'' after ``expenses''.
       (B) Definition of eligible student.--Section 222(d) of such 
     Code (relating to definitions and special rules) is amended 
     by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) as paragraphs (3) 
     through (7), respectively, and by inserting after paragraph 
     (1) the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Eligible student.--The term `eligible student' has 
     the meaning given such term by section 25A(b)(3).''.
       (3) Deduction made permanent.--Title IX of the Economic 
     Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (relating to 
     sunset of provisions of such Act) shall not apply to the 
     amendments made by section 431 of such Act.
       (4) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
     shall apply to payments made in taxable years beginning after 
     December 31, 2005.
       (b) Credit for Interest on Higher Education Loans.--
       (1) In general.--Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of 
     chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
     nonrefundable personal credits) is amended by inserting after 
     section 25D the following new section:

     ``SEC. 25E. INTEREST ON HIGHER EDUCATION LOANS.

       ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of an individual, 
     there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by 
     this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to the 
     interest paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year on any 
     qualified education loan.
       ``(b) Maximum Credit.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     credit allowed by subsection (a) for the taxable year shall 
     not exceed $1,500.
       ``(2) Limitation based on modified adjusted gross income.--
       ``(A) In general.--If the modified adjusted gross income of 
     the taxpayer for the taxable year exceeds $50,000 ($100,000 
     in the case of a joint return), the amount which would (but 
     for this paragraph) be allowable as a credit under this 
     section shall be reduced (but not below zero) by the amount 
     which bears the same ratio to the amount which would be so 
     allowable as such excess bears to $20,000 ($40,000 in the 
     case of a joint return).
       ``(B) Modified adjusted gross income.--The term `modified 
     adjusted gross income' means adjusted gross income determined 
     without regard to sections 199, 222, 911, 931, and 933.
       ``(C) Inflation adjustment.--In the case of any taxable 
     year beginning after 2006, the $50,000 and $100,000 amounts 
     referred to in 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 in which the taxable 
     year begins, by substituting `2005' for `1992'.
       ``(D) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under 
     subparagraph (C) is not a multiple of $50, such amount shall 
     be rounded to the nearest multiple of $50.
       ``(c) Dependents Not Eligible for Credit.--No credit shall 
     be allowed by this section to an individual for the taxable 
     year if a deduction under section 151 with respect to such 
     individual is allowed to another taxpayer for the taxable 
     year beginning in the calendar year in which such 
     individual's taxable year begins.
       ``(d) Limit on Period Credit Allowed.--A credit shall be 
     allowed under this section only with respect to interest paid 
     on any qualified education loan during the first 60 months 
     (whether or not consecutive) in which interest payments are 
     required. For purposes of this paragraph, any loan and all 
     refinancings of such loan shall be treated as 1 loan.
       ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) Qualified education loan.--The term `qualified 
     education loan' has the meaning given such term by section 
     221(d)(1).
       ``(2) Dependent.--The term `dependent' has the meaning 
     given such term by section 152.
       ``(f) Special Rules.--
       ``(1) Denial of double benefit.--No credit shall be allowed 
     under this section for any amount taken into account for any 
     deduction under any other provision of this chapter.
       ``(2) Married couples must file joint return.--If the 
     taxpayer is married at the close of the taxable year, the 
     credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) only if the 
     taxpayer and the taxpayer's spouse file a joint return for 
     the taxable year.
       ``(3) Marital status.--Marital status shall be determined 
     in accordance with section 7703.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for 
     subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 
     the item relating to section 25D the following new item:

``Sec. 25E. Interest on higher education loans.''.

       (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to any qualified education loan (as defined in 
     section 25E(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 
     added by this section) incurred on, before, or after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, but only with respect to any 
     loan interest payment due after December 31, 2005.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 3594. A bill to help protect the public against the threat of 
attacks targeting nuclear power plants; to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Secure 
Nuclear Facilities Act of 2006, which addresses an unacceptable gap in 
our Nation's homeland security. My bill would hold commercial nuclear 
powerplants to the same high security standards to which government 
nuclear facilities are subject.
  There are currently 104 nuclear powerplants licensed to operate in 
the United States, including two plants, with two reactors each, in my 
home state of California.
  These plants are potential targets for terrorists, and we are not 
doing enough to ensure they are protected. The 9/11 Commission report, 
issued on July 22, 2004, stated that nuclear powerplants were among the 
targets considered in the original plan for the September 11, 2001, 
attacks.
  An attack on a nuclear plant would be disastrous. The meltdown of a 
nuclear powerplant's nuclear reactor

[[Page 12898]]

core, release of the spent nuclear fuel located at the site, removal 
from the site of radioactive materials, or other violation of the 
plant's security would greatly endanger public health and safety. 
Unfortunately, there are reports of nuclear plant operators' failure to 
effectively address vital security issues, and the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission's failure to hold them sufficiently accountable.
  To make matters worse, commercial nuclear plant operators are not 
currently required to defend their plants against theft and diversion 
of nuclear material. Nonweapon nuclear facilities operated by the 
government, on the other hand, are required to defend against not only 
direct attacks, but also theft and diversion of nuclear material. This 
double standard makes no sense.
  Commercial nuclear plants contain materials that terrorists might 
attempt to steal, just like government nuclear facilities. The Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, NRC, concedes that terrorists might use these 
highly radioactive materials in a radiological bomb or, with the right 
equipment, reprocess it into weapons-grade material. But according to 
the NRC, it is not reasonable to expect a private facility to cope with 
this threat, because private facilities do not have the same resources 
as government facilities.
  The NRC's argument is deeply flawed. If nuclear plant owners and 
operators cannot address the full spectrum of terrorist threats they 
face, then they should not be in business. There is too much at stake 
in terms of the dangers posed by these threats for us to allow 
continued low security standards for commercial nuclear plants.
  My bill would require commercial nuclear plants to defend against the 
same potential threats as government nuclear facilities, including 
threat and diversion of nuclear materials. The bill would also 
strengthen State and local responders' ability to aid nuclear plants in 
case of an attack by terrorists. It offers grants to State and local 
responders to facilitate evacuations and medical treatment, as well as 
interoperable communications among first responders and plant 
operators.
  The Secure Nuclear Facilities Act of 2006 would make our country 
safer by ensuring better security at commercial nuclear plants. I urge 
my colleagues to support this important bill.
      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Carper):
  S. 3595. A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 
establish the United States Emergency Management Authority, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3595

       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 ``United States Emergency 
     Management Authority Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. UNITED STATES EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY.

       Title V of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 
     et seq.) is amended by--
       (1) striking the title heading and inserting the following:

            ``TITLE V--NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE'';

       (2) striking sections 501 through 503;
       (3) striking sections 506 and 507;
       (4) redesignating sections 504, 505, 508, and 509 as 
     sections 519, 520, 521, and 522, respectively;
       (5) redesignating section 510 (relating to procurement of 
     security countermeasures for the strategic national 
     stockpile) as section 523;
       (6) redesignating section 510 (relating to urban and other 
     high risk area communications capabilities) as section 524; 
     and
       (7) inserting before section 519, as so redesignated by 
     this section, the following:

     ``SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this title--
       ``(1) the term `all-hazards-plus' means an approach to 
     preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation that 
     emphasizes the development of capabilities that are common to 
     natural and man-made disasters, while also including the 
     development of capabilities that are uniquely relevant to 
     specific types of disasters;
       ``(2) the term `Authority' means the United States 
     Emergency Management Authority established under section 502;
       ``(3) the term `Administrator' means the Administrator of 
     the Authority;
       ``(4) the term `Federal coordinating officer' means a 
     Federal coordinating officer as described in section 302 of 
     the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5143);
       ``(5) the term `National Advisory Council' means the 
     National Advisory Council on Emergency Preparedness and 
     Response established under section 508;
       ``(6) the term `National Incident Management System' means 
     the National Incident Management System as described in the 
     National Response Plan;
       ``(7) the term `National Response Plan' means the National 
     Response Plan prepared under Homeland Security Presidential 
     Directive 5 or any presidential directive meant to replace or 
     augment that directive;
       ``(8) the term `Nuclear Incident Response Team' means a 
     resource that includes--
       ``(A) those entities of the Department of Energy that 
     perform nuclear or radiological emergency support functions 
     (including accident response, search response, advisory, and 
     technical operations functions), radiation exposure functions 
     at the medical assistance facility known as the Radiation 
     Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS), 
     radiological assistance functions, and related functions; and
       ``(B) those entities of the Environmental Protection Agency 
     that perform such support functions (including radiological 
     emergency response functions) and related functions;
       ``(9) the term `Regional Advisory Council' means a Regional 
     Advisory Council on Preparedness and Response established 
     under section 503;
       ``(10) the term `Regional Administrator' means a Regional 
     Administrator for Preparedness and Response appointed under 
     section 507;
       ``(11) the term `Regional Office' means a Regional Office 
     established under section 507; and
       ``(12) the term `surge capacity' means the ability to 
     rapidly and substantially increase the provision of search 
     and rescue capabilities, food, water, medicine, shelter and 
     housing, medical care, evacuation capacity, staffing, 
     including disaster assistance employees, and other resources 
     necessary to save lives and protect property during a 
     catastrophic incident, or other natural or man-made disaster.

     ``SEC. 502. UNITED STATES EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY.

       ``(a) In General.--There is established in the Department 
     the United States Emergency Management Authority, headed by 
     an Administrator.
       ``(b) Mission.--The mission of the Authority is to--
       ``(1) lead the Nation's efforts to prepare for, respond to, 
     recover from, and mitigate the risks of natural and man-made 
     disasters, including catastrophic incidents;
       ``(2) partner with State and local governments and 
     emergency response providers, with other Federal agencies, 
     with the private sector, and with nongovernmental 
     organizations to build a national system of emergency 
     management that can effectively and efficiently utilize the 
     full measure of the Nation's resources to respond to a 
     catastrophic incident or other natural or man-made disaster;
       ``(3) develop a Federal response capability that, when 
     necessary and appropriate, can act effectively, rapidly, and 
     proactively to deliver assistance essential to saving lives 
     or protecting or preserving property or public health and 
     safety in a natural or man-made disaster;
       ``(4) fuse the Department's emergency response, 
     preparedness, recovery, mitigation, and critical 
     infrastructure assets into a new, integrated organization 
     that can effectively confront the challenges of a natural or 
     man-made disaster;
       ``(5) develop and maintain robust Regional Offices that 
     will work with State and local governments and emergency 
     response providers to identify and address regional 
     priorities;
       ``(6) under the leadership of the Secretary, coordinate 
     with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, the Director of 
     Customs and Border Protection, the Director of Immigration 
     and Customs Enforcement, and the National Operations Center, 
     and other agencies and offices in the Department to take full 
     advantage of the substantial range of resources in the 
     Department that can be brought to bear in preparing for and 
     responding to a natural or man-made disaster;
       ``(7) carry out the provisions of the Robert T. Stafford 
     Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 
     et seq.);
       ``(8) provide funding, training, exercises, technical 
     assistance, planning, and other assistance, to build local, 
     State, regional, and national capabilities, including 
     communications capabilities, necessary to respond to a 
     potential natural or man-made disaster;
       ``(9) implement an all-hazards-plus strategy for 
     preparedness that places priority on building those common 
     capabilities necessary to respond to both terrorist attacks

[[Page 12899]]

     and natural disasters while also building the unique 
     capabilities necessary to respond to specific types of 
     incidents that pose the greatest risk to our Nation; and
       ``(10) promote, plan for, and facilitate the security of 
     critical infrastructure and key resources, including cyber 
     infrastructure, against a natural or man-made disaster, and 
     the post-disaster restoration of such critical infrastructure 
     and key resources.
       ``(c) Administrator.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall be appointed by 
     the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
     Senate.
       ``(2) Qualifications.--The Administrator shall have not 
     less than 5 years of executive leadership and management 
     experience in the public or private sector and a demonstrated 
     ability to manage a substantial staff and budget.
       ``(3) Reporting.--The Administrator shall report to the 
     Secretary, without being required to report through any other 
     official of the Department.
       ``(4) Principal advisor on emergency preparedness and 
     response.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Administrator is the principal 
     emergency preparedness and response advisor to the President, 
     the Homeland Security Council, and the Secretary.
       ``(B) Advice and recommendations.--
       ``(i) In general.--In presenting advice with respect to any 
     matter to the President, the Homeland Security Council, or 
     the Secretary, the Administrator shall, as the Administrator 
     considers appropriate, inform the President, the Homeland 
     Security Council, or the Secretary, as the case may be, of 
     the range of emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, 
     and recovery options with respect to that matter.
       ``(ii) Advice on request.--The Administrator, as an 
     emergency preparedness and response advisor, shall provide 
     advice to the President, the Homeland Security Council, or 
     the Secretary on a particular matter when the President, the 
     Homeland Security Council, or the Secretary requests such 
     advice.
       ``(iii) Recommendations to congress.--After informing the 
     Secretary, the Administrator may make such recommendations to 
     Congress relating to emergency preparedness and response as 
     the Administrator considers appropriate.
       ``(C) Retention of authority.--Nothing in this paragraph 
     shall be construed as affecting the authority of the 
     Secretary under this Act.

     ``SEC. 503. AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall provide Federal 
     leadership necessary to prepare for and respond to a natural 
     or man-made disaster, including--
       ``(1) carrying out the mission to reduce the loss of life 
     and property and protect the Nation from all hazards by 
     leading and supporting the Nation in a comprehensive, risk-
     based emergency preparedness and response program of--
       ``(A) mitigation, by taking sustained actions to reduce or 
     eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards 
     and their effects;
       ``(B) preparedness, by planning, training, and building the 
     emergency preparedness and response workforce to prepare 
     effectively for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover 
     from any hazard;
       ``(C) response, by conducting emergency operations to save 
     lives and property through positioning emergency equipment, 
     personnel, and supplies, through evacuating potential 
     victims, through providing food, water, shelter, and medical 
     care to those in need, and through restoring critical public 
     services;
       ``(D) recovery, by rebuilding communities so individuals, 
     businesses, and governments can function on their own, return 
     to normal life, and protect against future hazards; and
       ``(E) critical infrastructure protection, by establishing 
     an inventory of, and protections for, public and private 
     sector critical infrastructure, including cyber and 
     communications assets;
       ``(2) increasing efficiencies, by coordinating efforts 
     relating to mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, and 
     infrastructure protection;
       ``(3) helping to ensure the effectiveness of emergency 
     response providers in responding to a natural or man-made 
     disaster;
       ``(4) providing the Federal Government's response to a 
     natural or man-made disaster, including--
       ``(A) managing such response;
       ``(B) directing the Domestic Emergency Support Team, the 
     National Disaster Medical System, and (when operating as an 
     organizational unit of the Department under this title) the 
     Nuclear Incident Response Team;
       ``(C) overseeing the Metropolitan Medical Response System; 
     and
       ``(D) coordinating other Federal response resources, 
     including requiring deployment of the Strategic National 
     Stockpile, in the event of a natural or man-made disaster;
       ``(5) working with Federal, State, and local government 
     personnel, agencies, and authorities to build a comprehensive 
     national incident management system to respond to a natural 
     or man-made disaster;
       ``(6) with respect to the Nuclear Incident Response Team 
     (regardless of whether it is operating as an organizational 
     unit of the Department under this title)--
       ``(A) establishing standards and certifying when those 
     standards have been met;
       ``(B) conducting joint and other exercises and training and 
     evaluating performance; and
       ``(C) providing funds to the Department of Energy and the 
     Environmental Protection Agency, as appropriate, for homeland 
     security planning, exercises and training, and equipment;
       ``(7) helping to ensure that emergency response providers 
     acquire interoperable and sustainable technology;
       ``(8) assisting the President in carrying out the functions 
     under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.);
       ``(9) administering homeland security emergency management, 
     first responder, and other preparedness grants;
       ``(10) monitoring, evaluating, and ensuring the readiness 
     of each emergency support function under the National 
     Response Plan;
       ``(11) coordinating with the National Advisory Council;
       ``(12) ensuring the protection of critical infrastructure 
     by--
       ``(A) carrying out the responsibilities under paragraphs 
     (2) through (6) of section 201(d);
       ``(B) helping ensure the protection and resiliency of key 
     resources and critical infrastructure, including cyber 
     infrastructure, against a natural or man-made disaster; and
       ``(C) planning for, assisting with, and facilitating, the 
     restoration of key resources and critical infrastructure, 
     including cyber infrastructure, in the event of a natural or 
     man-made disaster;
       ``(13) establishing in each Regional Office a Regional 
     Advisory Council on Preparedness and Response, to advise the 
     Regional Administrator of that Regional Office on emergency 
     preparedness and response issues specific to the region; and
       ``(14) otherwise carrying out the mission of the Authority 
     as described in section 502(b).
       ``(b) Additional Responsibilities Related to Catastrophic 
     Incidents.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with 
     the Secretary and other senior Department officials, shall 
     develop a national emergency management system that is 
     capable of responding to catastrophic incidents.
       ``(2) Identification of resources.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall develop and 
     submit to Congress annually an estimate of the resources of 
     the Authority and other Federal agencies needed for and 
     devoted specifically to developing local, State, and national 
     capabilities necessary to respond to a catastrophic incident.
       ``(B) Contents.--Each estimate under subparagraph (A) shall 
     include the resources both necessary for and devoted to--
       ``(i) planning;
       ``(ii) training and exercises;
       ``(iii) Regional Office enhancements;
       ``(iv) staffing, including for surge capacity during a 
     catastrophic event;
       ``(v) additional logistics capabilities;
       ``(vi) other responsibilities under the Catastrophic 
     Incident Annex of the National Response Plan; and
       ``(vii) State and local catastrophic preparedness.
       ``(c) All-Hazards-Plus Approach.--In carrying out this 
     section, the Administrator shall implement an all-hazards-
     plus strategy that places priority on building those common 
     capabilities necessary to prepare for, respond to, recover 
     from, and mitigate the risks of terrorist attacks and natural 
     disasters, while also building the unique capabilities 
     necessary to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and 
     mitigate the risks of specific types of incidents that pose 
     the greatest risk to the Nation.

     ``SEC. 504. AUTHORITY COMPONENTS.

       ``There are transferred to the Authority the following:
       ``(1) The Federal Emergency Management Agency, including 
     the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency 
     Management relating thereto.
       ``(2) The Directorate of Preparedness, as constituted on 
     June 1, 2006, including the functions of the Under Secretary 
     for Emergency Preparedness relating to the Directorate, as 
     constituted on that date.

     ``SEC. 505. PRESERVING THE UNITED STATES EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 
                   AUTHORITY.

       ``(a) Distinct Entity.--The Authority shall be maintained 
     as a distinct entity within the Department.
       ``(b) Reorganization.--Section 872 shall not apply to the 
     Authority, including any function or organizational unit of 
     the Authority.
       ``(c) Prohibition on Changes to Missions.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may not substantially or 
     significantly reduce the authorities, responsibilities, or 
     functions of the Authority or the capability of the Authority 
     to perform those responsibilities, except as otherwise 
     specifically provided in an Act enacted after the date of 
     enactment of the United States Emergency Management Authority 
     Act of 2006.
       ``(2) Certain transfers prohibited.--No asset, function or 
     mission of the Authority may be diverted to the principal and 
     continuing use of any other organization, unit,

[[Page 12900]]

     or entity of the Department, except for details or 
     assignments that do not reduce the capability of the 
     Authority to perform its missions.

     ``SEC. 506. DIRECTORS.

       ``(a) In General.--There shall be in the Authority a 
     Director for Preparedness and a Director for Response and 
     Recovery, each of whom shall be appointed by the President, 
     by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall 
     report to the Administrator.
       ``(b) Qualifications.--
       ``(1) In general.--A Director shall have--
       ``(A) not less than 5 years of--
       ``(i) executive leadership and management experience in the 
     public or private sector; and
       ``(ii) significant experience in crisis management or 
     another relevant field; and
       ``(B) a demonstrated ability to manage a substantial staff 
     and budget.
       ``(2) Concurrent experience.--Service during any period of 
     time may be used in meeting the requirements under both 
     clause (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A).
       ``(c) Initial Directors.--The individual serving as the 
     Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and the individual 
     serving as the Under Secretary for the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency on the effective date of the United States 
     Emergency Management Authority Act of 2006 may serve as the 
     Director for Preparedness and the Director of Response and 
     Recovery, respectively, until a Director for Preparedness or 
     a Director of Response and Recovery, as the case may be, is 
     appointed under subsection (a).

     ``SEC. 507. REGIONAL OFFICES.

       ``(a) In General.--
       ``(1) Regional offices.--The Administrator shall establish 
     10 Regional Offices of the Authority.
       ``(2) Additional office.--In additon to the Regional 
     Offices established under paragraph (1), the Administrator 
     may designate the Office for National Capital Region 
     Coordination under section 882 as a Regional Office.
       ``(b) Management of Regional Offices.--
       ``(1) Regional administrator.--Each Regional Office shall 
     be headed by a Regional Administrator for Preparedness and 
     Response, who shall be appointed by the Secretary. Each 
     Regional Administrator for Emergency Preparedness and 
     Response shall report directly to the Administrator.
       ``(2) Qualifications.--Each Regional Office shall be headed 
     by an individual in the Senior Executive Service qualified to 
     act as a senior Federal coordinating officer to provide 
     strategic oversight of incident management when needed.
       ``(c) Responsibilities.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Regional Administrator shall work in 
     partnership with State and local governments, emergency 
     managers, emergency response providers, medical providers, 
     the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, 
     multijurisdictional councils of governments, and regional 
     planning commissions and organizations in the geographical 
     area served by the Regional Office to carry out the 
     responsibilities of a Regional Administrator under this 
     section.
       ``(2) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of a Regional 
     Administrator include--
       ``(A) ensuring effective, coordinated, and integrated 
     regional preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery 
     activities and programs for natural and man-made disasters 
     (including planning, training, exercises, and professional 
     development);
       ``(B) coordinating and integrating regional preparedness, 
     mitigation, response, and recovery activities and programs 
     for natural and man-made disasters (including planning, 
     training, exercises, and professional development), which 
     shall include--
       ``(i) providing regional and interstate planning 
     assistance;
       ``(ii) organizing, in consultation with the Administrator, 
     regional training and exercise programs;
       ``(iii) providing support and coordination officers for 
     State and local government training and exercises;
       ``(iv) participating in emergency preparedness and planning 
     activities by State, regional, and local governments;
       ``(v) assisting in the development of regional capabilities 
     needed for a national catastrophic response system; and
       ``(vi) helping to coordinate and develop interstate 
     agreements;
       ``(C) establishing and overseeing 1 or more strike teams 
     within the region under subsection (e), which shall serve as 
     the focal point of the Federal Government's initial response 
     efforts for a natural or man-made disaster within that 
     region, and otherwise building Federal response capabilities 
     to respond to a natural or man-made disaster within that 
     region;
       ``(D) working with the private sector to assess weaknesses 
     in critical infrastructure protection in the region and to 
     design and implement programs to address those weaknesses;
       ``(E) coordinating all activities conducted under this 
     section with other Federal departments and agencies; and
       ``(F) performing such other duties relating to such 
     responsibilities as the Administrator may require.
       ``(d) Area Offices.--The Administrator shall establish an 
     Area Office for the Pacific and an Area Office for the 
     Caribbean, as components in the appropriate Regional Offices.
       ``(e) Regional Office Strike Teams.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--In coordination with other relevant 
     Federal agencies, each Regional Administrator shall establish 
     multi-agency strike teams that shall consist of--
       ``(A) a designated Federal coordinating officer;
       ``(B) personnel trained in incident management;
       ``(C) public affairs, response and recovery, and 
     communications support personnel;
       ``(D) a defense coordinating officer;
       ``(E) liaisons to other Federal agencies;
       ``(F) such other personnel as the Administrator or Regional 
     Administrator determines appropriate; and
       ``(G) individuals from the agencies with primary 
     responsibility for each of the emergency support functions in 
     the National Response Plan, including the following:
       ``(i) Transportation.
       ``(ii) Communications.
       ``(iii) Public works and engineering.
       ``(iv) Emergency management.
       ``(v) Mass care.
       ``(vi) Housing and human services.
       ``(vii) Public health and medical services.
       ``(viii) Urban search and rescue.
       ``(ix) Public safety and security.
       ``(x) External affairs.
       ``(2) Location of members.--The members of each Regional 
     Office strike team, including representatives from agencies 
     other than the Department, shall be based primarily at the 
     Regional Office that corresponds to that strike team.
       ``(3) Coordination.--Each Regional Office strike team shall 
     coordinate the training and exercises of that strike team 
     with the State and local governments and private sector and 
     nongovernmental entities which the strike team shall support 
     when a natural or man-made disaster occurs.
       ``(4) Preparedness.--Each Regional Office strike team shall 
     be trained, equipped, and staffed to be well prepared to 
     respond to natural and man-made disasters, including 
     catastrophic incidents.
       ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to carry 
     out this subsection.

     ``SEC. 508. NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON EMERGENCY 
                   PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE.

       ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
     of enactment of the United States Emergency Management 
     Authority Act of 2006, the Secretary shall establish an 
     advisory body under section 871(a), to be known as the 
     National Advisory Council on Emergency Preparedness and 
     Response.
       ``(b) Responsibilities.--The National Advisory Council 
     shall advise the Administrator on all aspects of emergency 
     preparedness and response.
       ``(c) Membership.--
       ``(1) In general.--The members of the National Advisory 
     Council shall be appointed by the Administrator, and shall, 
     to the extent practicable, represent a geographic (including 
     urban and rural) and substantive cross section of State and 
     local government officials and emergency managers, and 
     emergency response providers, from State and local 
     governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental 
     organizations, including as appropriate--
       ``(A) members selected from the emergency preparedness and 
     response fields, including fire service, law enforcement, 
     hazardous materials response, emergency medical services, and 
     emergency preparedness and response personnel;
       ``(B) health scientists, emergency and inpatient medical 
     providers, and public health professionals;
       ``(C) experts representing standards setting organizations;
       ``(D) State and local government officials with expertise 
     in terrorism preparedness and emergency preparedness and 
     response;
       ``(E) elected State and local government executives;
       ``(F) experts in public and private sector infrastructure 
     protection, cybersecurity, and communications;
       ``(G) representatives of the disabled and other special 
     needs populations; and
       ``(H) such other individuals as the Administrator 
     determines to be appropriate.
       ``(d) Applicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 871(a) and 
     subject to paragraph (2), the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
     (5 U.S.C. App.), including subsections (a), (b), and (d) of 
     section 10 of such Act, and section 552b(c) of title 5, 
     United States Code, shall apply to the Advisory Council.
       ``(2) Termination.--Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal 
     Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 
     Advisory Council.

     ``SEC. 509. NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INTEGRATION 
                   CENTER.

       ``(a) In General.--There is in the Authority a National 
     Incident Management System Integration Center.
       ``(b) Responsibilities.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator, through the National 
     Incident Management System Integration Center, and in 
     consultation with other Federal departments and

[[Page 12901]]

     agencies and the National Advisory Council, shall ensure 
     ongoing management and maintenance of the National Incident 
     Management System, the National Response Plan, any other 
     document or tool in support of Homeland Security Presidential 
     Directive 5, or any other Homeland Security Presidential 
     Directive relating to incident management and response.
       ``(2) Specific responsibilities.--The National Incident 
     Management System Integration Center shall--
       ``(A) periodically review, and revise, as appropriate, the 
     National Incident Management System and the National Response 
     Plan;
       ``(B) review other matters relating to the National 
     Incident Management System and the National Response Plan, as 
     the Administrator may require;
       ``(C) develop and implement a national program for National 
     Incident Management System and National Response Plan 
     education and awareness;
       ``(D) oversee all aspects of the National Incident 
     Management System, including the development of compliance 
     criteria and implementation activities at Federal, State, and 
     local government levels;
       ``(E) provide guidance and assistance to States and local 
     governments and emergency response providers, in adopting the 
     National Incident Management System; and
       ``(F) perform such other duties relating to such 
     responsibilities as the Administrator may require.

     ``SEC. 510. NATIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER.

       ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `situational 
     awareness' means information gathered from a variety of 
     sources that, when communicated to emergency preparedness and 
     response managers and decision makers, can form the basis for 
     incident management decisionmaking.
       ``(b) Establishment.--There is established in the 
     Department a National Operations Center.
       ``(c) Purpose.--The purposes of the National Operations 
     Center are to--
       ``(1) coordinate the national response to any natural or 
     man-made disaster, as determined by the Secretary;
       ``(2) provide situational awareness and a common operating 
     picture for the entire Federal Government, and for State and 
     local governments as appropriate, for an event described in 
     paragraph (1);
       ``(3) collect and analyze information to help deter, 
     detect, and prevent terrorist acts;
       ``(4) disseminate terrorism and disaster-related 
     information to Federal, State, and local governments;
       ``(5) ensure that critical terrorism and disaster-related 
     information reaches government decision-makers; and
       ``(6) perform such other duties as the Secretary may 
     require.
       ``(d) Responsibilities.--The National Operations Center 
     shall carry out the responsibilities of the Homeland Security 
     Operations Center, the National Response Coordination Center, 
     and the Interagency Incident Management Group, as constituted 
     on the date of enactment of the United States Emergency 
     Management Authority Act of 2006.

     ``SEC. 511. CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER.

       ``(a) In General.--There is in the Authority a Chief 
     Medical Officer, who shall be appointed by the President, by 
     and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Chief 
     Medical Officer shall report directly to the Administrator.
       ``(b) Qualifications.--The individual appointed as Chief 
     Medical Officer shall possess a demonstrated ability in and 
     knowledge of medicine and public health.
       ``(c) Responsibilities.--The Chief Medical Officer shall 
     have the primary responsibility within the Department for 
     medical issues related to natural and man-made disasters, 
     including--
       ``(1) serving as the principal advisor to the Secretary and 
     the Administrator on medical and public health issues;
       ``(2) coordinating the biosurveillance and detection 
     activities of the Department;
       ``(3) ensuring internal and external coordination of all 
     medical preparedness and response activities of the 
     Department, including training, exercises, and equipment 
     support;
       ``(4) serving as the Department's primary point of contact 
     with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of 
     Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the 
     Department of Transportation, the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, and other Federal departments or agencies, on 
     medical and public health issues;
       ``(5) serving as the Department's primary point of contact 
     for State and local government, the medical community, and 
     others within and outside the Department, with respect to 
     medical and public health matters;
       ``(6) discharging, in coordination with the Under Secretary 
     for Science and Technology, the responsibilities of the 
     Department related to Project Bioshield;
       ``(7) establishing doctrine and priorities for the National 
     Disaster Medical System, consistent with the National 
     Response Plan and the National Incident Management System, 
     supervising its medical components, and exercising 
     predeployment operational control, including--
       ``(A) determining composition of the teams;
       ``(B) overseeing credentialing of the teams; and
       ``(C) training personnel of the teams;
       ``(8) establishing doctrine and priorities for the 
     Metropolitan Medical Response System, consistent with the 
     National Response Plan and the National Incident Management 
     System;
       ``(9) managing the Metropolitan Medical Response System, 
     including developing and overseeing standards, plans, 
     training, and exercises and coordinating with the Office of 
     Grants and Training on the use and distribution of 
     Metropolitan Medical Response grants;
       ``(10) assessing and monitoring long-term health issues of 
     emergency managers and emergency response providers;
       ``(11) developing and updating, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, guidelines for State 
     and local governments for medical response plans for 
     chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive 
     weapon attacks;
       ``(12) developing, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services, appropriate patient tracking 
     capabilities to execute domestic patient movement and 
     evacuations, including a system that has the capacity of 
     electronically maintaining and transmitting the health 
     information of hospital patients;
       ``(13) establishing and providing oversight for the 
     Department's occupational health and safety program, 
     including workforce health; and
       ``(14) performing such other duties relating to such 
     responsibilities as the Secretary or the Administrator may 
     require.
       ``(d) Long-Term Health Assessment Program.--The Chief 
     Medical Officer, in consultation with the Director of the 
     National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, shall 
     establish a program to assess, monitor, and study the health 
     and safety of emergency managers and emergency response 
     providers, following Incidents of National Significance 
     declared by the Secretary under the National Response Plan.

     ``SEC. 512. PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS.

       ``The Administrator shall promote public and community 
     preparedness.

     ``SEC. 513. SAVER PROGRAM.

       ``(a) In General.--In the Department there is a System 
     Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders Program to 
     provide impartial evaluations of emergency response equipment 
     and systems.
       ``(b) Requirements.--The program established under 
     subsection (a) shall--
       ``(1) provide impartial, practitioner relevant, and 
     operationally oriented assessments and validations of 
     emergency response provider equipment and systems that have 
     not already been third-party certified to a standard adopted 
     by the Department, including--
       ``(A) commercial, off-the-shelf emergency response provider 
     equipment and systems in all equipment list categories of the 
     Standardized Equipment List published by the Interagency 
     Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability; and
       ``(B) such other equipment or systems as the Secretary 
     determines are appropriate;
       ``(2) provide information that enables decision-makers and 
     emergency response providers to better select, procure, use, 
     and maintain emergency response provider equipment or 
     systems;
       ``(3) assess and validate the performance of products 
     within a system and subsystems; and
       ``(4) provide information and feedback to emergency 
     response providers through the Responder Knowledge Base of 
     the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of 
     Terrorism, or other appropriate forum.
       ``(c) Assessment and Validation Process.--The assessment 
     and validation of emergency response provider equipment and 
     systems shall use multiple evaluation techniques, including--
       ``(1) operational assessments of equipment performance on 
     vehicle platforms;
       ``(2) technical assessments on a comparative basis of 
     system component performance across makes and models under 
     controlled conditions; and
       ``(3) integrative assessments on an individual basis of 
     system component interoperability and compatibility with 
     other system components.
       ``(d) Personal Protective Equipment.--To the extent 
     practical, the assessment and validation of personal 
     protective equipment under this section shall be conducted by 
     the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the 
     National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

     ``SEC. 514. NATIONAL SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM.

       ``(a) National Search and Rescue Response System.--There is 
     established in the Authority an emergency response system 
     known as the National Search and Rescue Response System that 
     provides a national network of standardized search and rescue 
     resources to assist State and local governments in responding 
     to any natural or man-made disaster.
       ``(b) Administration of the System.--
       ``(1) Task force participation.--The Administrator shall 
     select eligible search and

[[Page 12902]]

     rescue teams that are sponsored by State and local government 
     entities to participate as task forces in the National Search 
     and Rescue Response System. The Administrator shall determine 
     the criteria for such participation.
       ``(2) Agreements with sponsoring agencies.--The 
     Administrator shall enter into an agreement with the State or 
     local government entity that sponsors each search and rescue 
     team selected under paragraph (1) with respect the team's 
     participation as a task force in the National Search and 
     Rescue Response System.
       ``(3) Management and technical teams.--The Administrator 
     shall maintain such management and other technical teams as 
     are necessary to administer the National Search and Rescue 
     Response System.

     ``SEC. 515. METROPOLITAN MEDICAL RESPONSE SYSTEM.

       ``(a) In General.--There is in the Authority a Metropolitan 
     Medical Response System. Under the Metropolitan Medical 
     Response System, the Assistant Secretary for Grants and 
     Planning, in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer, 
     shall administer grants to develop, maintain, and enhance 
     medical preparedness systems that are capable of responding 
     effectively to a public health crisis or mass-casualty event 
     caused by a natural or man-made disaster.
       ``(b) Use of Funds.--The Metropolitan Medical Response 
     System shall make grants to local governments to enhance any 
     of the following activities:
       ``(1) Medical surge capacity.
       ``(2) Mass prophylaxis.
       ``(3) Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and 
     explosive detection, response, and decontamination 
     capabilities.
       ``(4) Emergency communications capabilities.
       ``(5) Information sharing and collaboration capabilities.
       ``(6) Regional collaboration.
       ``(7) Triage and pre-hospital treatment.
       ``(8) Medical supply management and distribution.
       ``(9) Fatality management.
       ``(10) Such other activities as the Secretary may provide.

     ``SEC. 516. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT 
                   AUTHORIZATION.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the 
     Administrator, may make grants for the purposes of 
     administering and improving the Emergency Management 
     Assistance Compact consented to by the Joint Resolution 
     entitled `Joint Resolution granting the consent of Congress 
     to the Emergency Management Assistance Compact' (Public Law 
     104-321; 110 Stat. 3877).
       ``(b) Uses.--A grant under this section shall be used to--
       ``(1) carry out recommendations identified in after-action 
     reports for the 2004 and 2005 hurricane season issued under 
     the Emergency Management Assistance Compact;
       ``(2) coordinate with the Department and other Federal 
     Government agencies;
       ``(3) coordinate with State and local government entities 
     and their respective national associations;
       ``(4) assist State and local governments with credentialing 
     emergency response providers and the typing of emergency 
     response resources; or
       ``(5) administer the operations of the Emergency Management 
     Assistance Compact.
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out 
     this section $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 
     2010. Amounts appropriated under this section shall remain 
     available for 3 fiscal years after the date on which such 
     funds are appropriated.

     ``SEC. 517. OFFICE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TERRORISM.

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the 
     Department an Office for the Prevention of Terrorism, which 
     shall be headed by a Director.
       ``(b) Director.--
       ``(1) Reporting.--The Director of the Office for the 
     Prevention of Terrorism shall report directly to the 
     Secretary.
       ``(2) Qualifications.--The Director of the Office for the 
     Prevention of Terrorism shall have an appropriate background 
     with experience in law enforcement, intelligence, or other 
     anti-terrorist functions.
       ``(c) Assignment of Personnel.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall assign to the Office 
     for the Prevention of Terrorism permanent staff and other 
     appropriate personnel detailed from other components of the 
     Department to carry out the responsibilities under this 
     section.
       ``(2) Liaisons.--The Secretary shall designate senior 
     employees from each component of the Department that has 
     significant antiterrorism responsibilities to act a liaison 
     between that component and the Office for the Prevention of 
     Terrorism.
       ``(d) Responsibilities.--The Director of the Office for the 
     Prevention of Terrorism shall--
       ``(1) coordinate policy and operations between the 
     Department and State and local government agencies relating 
     to preventing acts of terrorism within the United States;
       ``(2) serve as a liaison between State and local law 
     enforcement agencies and the Department;
       ``(3) in coordination with the Office of Intelligence, 
     develop better methods for the sharing of intelligence with 
     State and local law enforcement agencies;
       ``(4) coordinate with the Office of Grants and Training to 
     ensure that homeland security grants to State and local 
     government agencies are adequately focused on terrorism 
     prevention activities; and
       ``(5) coordinate with the Authority, the Department of 
     Justice, the National Institute of Justice, law enforcement 
     organizations, and other appropriate entities to develop 
     national voluntary consensus standards for training and 
     personal protective equipment to be used in a tactical 
     environment by law enforcement officers.
       ``(e) Pilot Project.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Director of the Office for the 
     Prevention of Terrorism, in coordination with the Director 
     for Response, shall establish a pilot project to determine 
     the efficacy and feasibility of establishing law enforcement 
     deployment teams.
       ``(2) Function.--The law enforcement deployment teams 
     participating in the pilot program under this subsection 
     shall form the basis of a national network of standardized 
     law enforcement resources to assist State and local 
     governments in responding to a natural or man-made disaster.
       ``(f) Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed to effect the roles or responsibilities of the 
     Department of Justice.

     ``SEC. 518. DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS.

       ``(a) Cybersecurity and Telecommunications.--There is in 
     the Department an Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and 
     Telecommunications.
       ``(b) United States Fire Administration.--The Administrator 
     of the United States Fire Administration shall have a rank 
     equivalent to an assistant secretary of the Department.''.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out this Act and the amendments made by 
     this Act.

     SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Executive Schedule.--
       (1) Administrator.--Section 5313 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``Administrator of the United States Emergency Management 
     Authority.''.
       (2) Directors.--Section 5314 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``Directors, United States Emergency Management 
     Authority.''.
       (3) FEMA officers.--
       (A) Federal insurance administrator.--Section 5315 of title 
     5, United States Code, is amended by striking ``Federal 
     Insurance Administrator, Federal Emergency Management 
     Agency.''.
       (B) Inspector general.--Section 5315 of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``Inspector General, 
     Federal Emergency Management Agency.''.
       (C) Chief information officer.--Section 5315 of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``Chief 
     Information Officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency.''.
       (b) Officers of the Department.--Section 103(a) of the 
     Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 113(a)) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:
       ``(5) An Administrator of the United States Emergency 
     Management Authority.'';
       (2) by striking paragraph (2); and
       (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (10) (as 
     amended by this subsection) as paragraphs (2) through (9), 
     respectively.
       (c) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 
     1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et 
     seq.) is amended by striking the items relating to title V 
     and sections 501 through 509 and inserting the following:

             ``TITLE V--NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

       ``Sec. 501. Definitions.
       ``Sec. 502. United States Emergency Management Authority.
       ``Sec. 503. Authorities and responsibilities.
       ``Sec. 504. Authority components.
       ``Sec. 505. Preserving the United States Emergency 
           Management Authority.
       ``Sec. 506. Directors.
       ``Sec. 507. Regional Offices.
       ``Sec. 508. National Advisory Council on Emergency 
           Preparedness and Response.
       ``Sec. 509. National Incident Management System Integration 
           Center.
       ``Sec. 510. National Operations Center.
       ``Sec. 511. Chief Medical Officer.
       ``Sec. 512. Public and community preparedness.
       ``Sec. 513. SAVER Program.
       ``Sec. 514. National Search and Rescue Response System.
       ``Sec. 515. Metropolitan Medical Response System.
       ``Sec. 516. Emergency Management Assistance Compact 
           authorization.
       ``Sec. 517. Office for the Prevention of Terrorism 
           Coordination.

[[Page 12903]]

       ``Sec. 518. Department officials.
       ``Sec. 519. Nuclear incident response.
       ``Sec. 520. Conduct of certain public health-related 
           activities.
       ``Sec. 521. Use of national private sector networks in 
           emergency response.
       ``Sec. 522. Use of commercially available technology, 
           goods, and services.
       ``Sec. 523. Procurement of security countermeasures for 
           strategic national stockpile.
       ``Sec. 524. Urban and other high risk area communications 
           capabilities.''.

     SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take 
     effect on January 1, 2007.

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I thank Chairman Collins who has been 
good enough to allow me to speak for a few moments first because I have 
an engagement I am supposed to be at around noon.
  I am pleased to join with Chairman Collins today to both introduce 
and speak in favor of this legislation to reinvent and rebuild FEMA 
into an agency capable of responding efficiently and effectively to a 
catastrophe the size and scope of Hurricane Katrina, but also to the 
natural disasters that in the normal course of events have affected and 
will affect the American people.
  The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee spent 7 
months last year and into this year investigating the failed Government 
response to Hurricane Katrina. Our report recounts a double tragedy of 
epic proportions, a tragedy caused, in the first instance, by nature, 
and then a tragedy compounded by human folly and the failure of 
leadership, including the failure of preparation.
  We found that government at all levels--from the Federal Government 
to the local government, from the White House to FEMA to the Governor's 
office in Louisiana to the mayor's office in New Orleans--were 
unprepared, even though the hurricane and its effect on the New Orleans 
levee system had long been predicted. Likewise, all levels of 
government were unequipped to deal with the human suffering that 
followed the storm's landfall and galvanized the attention that 
ultimately produced the enormous embarrassment and anger of the 
American people as we watched our fellow Americans suffering in New 
Orleans and throughout the gulf coast without the support and help they 
have a right to expect from their government at all levels in a time of 
disaster.
  These failings were caused by negligence, lack of resources, lack of 
capability, and a lack of leadership. Though we can legislate 
requirements for those in positions of leadership--and we do in the 
legislation we are introducing--we cannot legislate leadership. That is 
a personal quality. But we can legislate bold changes at the Federal 
level that are critical for our Nation to develop the capacity 
necessary to protect our people in times of disaster, whether natural 
or terrorist.
  So in the aftermath of our report, we made a number of 
recommendations about what we believed on a bipartisan basis was needed 
to improve our preparations, response, and recovery the next time 
disaster strikes, as it surely will.
  One of our recommendations--perhaps the key recommendation--is to 
rebuild FEMA into a more powerful, better managed, better integrated, 
better supported organization. Our recommendation was to give the 
reinvented FEMA, probably for the first time in its history, the 
authority and muscle to respond to natural disasters and to 
catastrophes--which is what Katrina was--in the way the American people 
have a right to expect their Government to respond--with speed, with 
efficiency, and with effect.
  Today we introduce legislation that will do that. We call this new 
organization the U.S. Emergency Management Authority, U.S.-EMA. But no 
matter what we call it, this organization, we have concluded, must be 
in the Department of Homeland Security; in fact, must be at the core of 
that Department, just as FEMA was originally intended to do when we 
proposed the new Department in 2002 based on the recommendations of the 
Hart-Rudman Commission which said that the new Department must be 
centered around FEMA.
  The legislation we are introducing today is the first step in this 
process. Chairman Collins and I expect soon to introduce a broader bill 
that will encompass all of our report's key recommendations. But we 
begin today by reaffirming how important it is to keep this critical 
national emergency management function in the Department of Homeland 
Security and how critical it is to strengthen it and rejoin the 
functions of disaster response with disaster preparedness.
  Our investigation of Hurricane Katrina made it clear to us that 
preparedness and response are two sides of the same coin. In the years 
before Katrina, FEMA, the agency charged with coordinating our Nation's 
response to terrorist attacks or natural disasters, too often was out 
of the loop when critical decisions about how to prepare--such as how 
to spend billions of dollars in grants--were made. Exercises were 
designed and held without serious input by FEMA. FEMA's ability to 
respond was crippled because it was not central to preparedness, and 
thus did not have the close relationships needed with state and local 
officials on the front lines. The preparers and the responders need to 
be working hand in hand with State and local officials, other Federal 
agencies, and the private and non-profit sectors if both functions are 
to work as well as we expect them to.
  Our legislation first and foremost will ensure that our preparedness 
efforts are closely linked, inseparable from the capabilities we need 
to respond.
  Our investigation also made clear that part of FEMA's problem during 
Hurricane Katrina was that it was an agency weakened by years of budget 
and staff cuts. At the time the 
hurricane made landfall, FEMA had been operating with a 15-percent 
vacancy rate for over a year. And it had a senior political management 
largely without emergency management experience.
  We address these problems by giving the new authority a special 
status within the Department of Homeland Security--the same special 
status the Coast Guard and Secret Service now have. With this status, 
changes to the agency's functions and assets can only be made through 
statute. Furthermore, we would require that the Administrator and other 
key officials have the necessary experience and qualifications to get 
the job done. U.S.-EMA will not be plagued by unqualified appointees 
like FEMA has been.
  The chairman and I also believe FEMA is too Washington-oriented and 
too disconnected from the real work of preparing for disasters where 
they actually occur, so we envision a rebuilt agency with robust 
regional offices to focus on preparedness and response coordination 
with local and State agencies. Each regional office would house a 
permanent ``strike team'' that would include representatives from other 
Federal agencies involved in emergency response to ensure the feds are 
familiar with regional threats and with state and local emergency 
personnel.
  I know some of my colleagues believe FEMA should be removed from DHS 
and given the full independent status it once had. But Senator Collins 
and I know this is not the solution. Removing the agency from the 
Department will only create additional problems. It would be like 
removing the Army from the Department of Defense.
  The U.S.-EMA, the Government's chief response agency, must have 
access to the vast resources of the Department of Homeland Security and 
it needs to work seamlessly with the other agencies that have critical 
roles to play during catastrophes. The Coast Guard, which performed so 
admirably during Katrina, might need to be activated. The Department's 
communications capabilities, law enforcement, intelligence offices, and 
infrastructure protection will all be needed in response to a 
catastrophe. In other words, the Federal response must be integrated 
and that will occur if all agencies have a history of working together 
within the same Department, if the officials know one another, and if 
they ultimately serve the same Secretary of Homeland Security.
  Furthermore, taking FEMA out of DHS would create more and duplicative

[[Page 12904]]

bureaucracy. DHS would have to develop its own response capabilities. 
FEMA would have to develop its own preparedness capabilities. And both 
would need to have tools for obtaining situational awareness. We do not 
have the resources to waste on that kind of duplication.
  Returning FEMA to an independent agency is not a guarantee that it 
will be competent. Even when it was independent, FEMA never did develop 
the capabilities needed to respond to a catastrophe like Katrina. In 
fact, its response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992--a much smaller storm, 
killing about 50 people compared to Katrina's 1,500--was a disaster in 
itself, leading the Government Accounting Office to conclude that it 
had ``serious doubts about whether FEMA is capable of responding to 
catastrophic disasters.'' The agency did improve subsequent to 
Hurricane Andrew but never had the ability to respond to a storm such 
as Katrina.
  The desperate conditions of gulf coast communities in the week after 
Katrina's landfall shocked the country. There are many other American 
communities that are similarly vulnerable--whether to a natural 
disaster or to terrorist attack. The next catastrophe is coming. We 
know that. We also know there are significant flaws in the Nation's 
readiness. We can't afford another response like the one to Katrina.
  Our proposal is not about fiddling with bureaucratic flow charts or 
re-branding, or rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It is about 
plugging the gash in the hull and building a better deck. It is about 
saving people's lives by bringing together the skills, resources, 
missions, and authority for effective preparedness and response to 
catastrophes when local and State agencies are overwhelmed by a terror 
attack or a natural disaster.
  I ask my colleagues for their support of this legislation.
  Mr. President, I yield to Chairman Collins for the rest of the 
introduction of this legislation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am very pleased to join my friend and 
colleague, Senator Lieberman, in introducing a bill that addresses an 
urgent challenge facing our Nation: the need to ensure a strong and 
effective capability to deal with natural and manmade disasters, 
whether they are hurricanes and ice storms or terrorist attacks and 
pandemic diseases.
  The U.S. Emergency Management Authority Act is intended to remedy 
many of the glaring deficiencies that we all saw in the preparation and 
response to Hurricane Katrina. The U.S.-EMA bill reflects the evidence 
that the Senate Homeland Security Committee examined during the course 
of an exhaustive and bipartisan 7-month investigation. The committee 
convened 22 hearings, heard testimony from 85 witnesses, conducted more 
than 325 formal interviews, and examined more than 838,000 pages of 
documents.
  The result is a 737-page report that contains 88 recommendations for 
improving our emergency management system at all levels of government.
  Our legislation is an important first step toward implementing the 
committee's major recommendations for reforming FEMA. We will, as my 
colleague, Senator Lieberman, indicated, be introducing subsequent 
legislation to implement other recommendations.
  The four key features of the bill that we introduce today will, 
first, give the new authority statutory protection against actions that 
could diminish its capabilities and effectiveness, such as departmental 
reorganizations; second, ensure that the administrator of U.S.-EMA has 
direct access to the President; third, reunite preparedness functions 
with response capabilities while expanding U.S.-EMA's authority over 
other key functions; and fourth, strengthen the authority's regional 
focus with Federal strike teams for faster, more coordinated and 
effective responses.
  Senator Lieberman and I strongly believe that the best way to achieve 
the goal of improving the Federal Government's ability to protect 
American citizens from disaster, to mitigate the impacts, and to 
promote recovery is to strengthen and expand the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, which we have proposed to rename the U.S. Emergency 
Management Authority. As we saw so starkly and so tragically 
demonstrated last year, FEMA simply must be made far more effective.
  We believe FEMA needs special status within the Department of 
Homeland Security. Our bill would extend to the reconstituted FEMA the 
same kinds of statutory protections against departmental 
reorganizations and raids on resources that currently shield the Coast 
Guard and the Secret Service. I acknowledge the critical role played by 
the Senator from Mississippi, Mr. Lott, in helping us draft this 
portion of the bill.
  FEMA would also require more regional focus and closer coordination 
with local State entities, as well as with our nongovernmental 
partners. They are the first line of response in a disaster. Our 
legislation bolsters the role of FEMA's regional centers by authorizing 
the creation of multiagency strike teams to ensure rapid and effective 
cooperation with first responders and public officials in disaster 
areas. These strike teams would comprise representatives from all of 
the Federal agencies that play a role in responding to the disasters. 
They would train and exercise with their State and local counterparts.
  I was struck by the fact that during our investigation, we learned 
that FEMA sent officials from region I--New England--down to help out 
in New Orleans. Often they were the lead officials. These were trained 
and dedicated people, but just think how much more effective they could 
have been if they had been stationed in the region and working 
regularly with the public officials in that region and with the first 
responders.
  We believe FEMA needs top-level access and visibility. The 
administrator of the new U.S. Emergency Management Authority would be 
designated by our bill as the principal adviser to the President on 
matters of emergency management and would have direct access to the 
President. This would establish the administrator in a capacity that is 
analogous to that of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 
addition, the administrator would be authorized to communicate any 
recommendations, any needs and requirements directly to Congress.
  Our intention to keep the strengthened FEMA as part of DHS has 
stirred more debate than perhaps any other of our recommendations 
emerging from the Katrina investigation. Some Members of this Chamber, 
as well as proponents of a bill introduced in the House, insist that 
FEMA must be extracted from the Department of Homeland Security and 
restored to independent status. We share the view that the actions of 
both FEMA and DHS officials before and during the Katrina disaster 
revealed troubling and, at times, shocking lapses in awareness, 
agility, and judgment. But we also believe that both logic and 
practical realities point to reform, not amputation, as the best 
approach to improved protection for our citizens.
  Please recall that it was only 5 years ago--before the 9/11 terror 
attacks--that the distinguished panel chaired by two of our former 
colleagues, Senator Hart and Senator Rudman, recommended that America 
establish a single agency to plan, coordinate, and integrate homeland 
security operations. The Commission correctly deduced that FEMA was the 
``necessary core'' of that new department, and Congress agreed. The 
logic of that decision stands intact. The Department of Homeland 
Security's mission extends to all types of hazards and to preparation 
and mitigation as well as to response. DHS needs FEMA's capabilities 
and would have to re-create many of them at great cost and with great 
duplication of effort if FEMA were to be removed from the Department.
  Even if that re-creation could somehow be done economically--and the 
evidence is that it would cost billions of dollars--the result would be 
new problems for State and local officials who direct first responders. 
Bifurcated, competing preparedness systems would

[[Page 12905]]

force State and local officials to engage one system to prepare for 
natural disasters and another to prepare for terrorist attacks. That 
does not make sense. Many of the response capabilities are exactly the 
same whether the catastrophe is caused by a natural disaster such as a 
hurricane or whether it is the result of a terrorist attack. We know 
planning and response capabilities are already far too weak in many 
States. DHS's recent survey of the States proves that. We should not 
make the problem worse.
  For those who argue that FEMA simply cannot thrive, cannot be 
successful within DHS, an obvious and telling question arises: How, 
then, did the U.S. Coast Guard, also a unit within DHS, emerge as the 
universally acclaimed hero of the Katrina response? Everyone believes 
the Coast Guard was the stellar performer, yet the Coast Guard is part 
of the Department of Homeland Security. So clearly FEMA's problem does 
not lie in its placement within DHS. Unlike FEMA, however, the Coast 
Guard has congressionally mandated protections, and our legislation 
would extend that exact same protection to FEMA's successor agency.
  The temptation to think that the answer is simply to remove FEMA is 
strong, but it is wrong. Just as not all motion is forward, not every 
change is progress. Emergency management expert Professor Donald Kettl 
of the University of Pennsylvania put it well when he told our 
committee:

       It is tempting to send a strong signal by pulling FEMA out 
     of DHS. But that would only undermine its ability to 
     accomplish its mission. Breaking these pieces apart--
     separating response to terrorism from response to natural 
     disasters, separating preparedness from response, separating 
     FEMA from DHS--would inevitably bring problems.

  I would suggest these are just a few of the serious implications that 
severing FEMA from DHS would cause.
  First, coordination and reaction time would suffer. David Paulison, 
the new Director of FEMA, says that he closely coordinates with the 
Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, and 
the Secret Service through weekly meetings. In times of disaster, he 
can simply make a request to these fellow DHS units; he doesn't have to 
go through a bureaucratic, formal process. They are all parts of the 
same department.
  Second, training and preparedness would suffer. ADM Thad Allen of the 
Coast Guard testified before the committee that having FEMA within DHS 
has allowed much closer working ties and a 350-percent increase in 
joint training exercises.
  Third, DHS's mission capability would suffer. The Homeland Security 
Act specifies that part of DHS's mission was to act as the focal point 
for natural and manmade emergencies and for emergency planning. As the 
Comptroller General has said:

       Removing FEMA from DHS might impact the ability of the 
     department and its remaining components and FEMA itself in 
     fully addressing the close links between preparedness, 
     prevention, response, and recovery from all hazards.

  Fourth, State and local governments would suffer. If preparedness 
functions for natural disasters and terrorist attacks were divided, 
State and local governments would have to deal with two primary points 
of contact, two sets of regulations, two sources of funding, and two 
sets of officials. It greatly complicates their tasks.
  Fifth, I strongly believe that FEMA would suffer. Removed from DHS, 
FEMA would lose many of the working relationships I have already 
described as well as the direct access to the information-gathering and 
analysis capabilities of other DHS agencies. This would degrade FEMA's 
ability to plan and train for both natural and manmade disasters and to 
make efficient use of grant-making authority.
  To me, it is clear that a strengthened--a much strengthened--FEMA 
still belongs in DHS, that the necessary reforms can be carried out 
while it remains in DHS, and that severing FEMA from DHS would create a 
host of new problems, resulting in considerable extra expense and 
duplication, without securing any significant benefits. It is worth 
noting that America's largest group of first responders has come to the 
same conclusion. The president of the 274,000-member International 
Association of Firefighters has written us to say:

       Removing FEMA would hinder--rather than help--efforts to 
     reform our Nation's emergency response system. Having both a 
     DHS and an independent FEMA would create confusion among 
     local response personnel and lead to an unproductive 
     duplication of efforts and turf battles.

  Having summarized what I see as compelling arguments for 
strengthening and protecting FEMA as a component of DHS, let me outline 
some of the key provisions of our U.S.-EMA bill.
  First, the bill establishes a strong position for the Administrator 
of the U.S. Emergency Management Authority. Once nominated by the 
President and confirmed by the Senate, the Administrator will have the 
standing of a Deputy Secretary, and will operate on a reporting and 
chain of command model like that of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff. Day to day, the Administrator will report to the DHS Secretary, 
but the bill explicitly provides a direct line of communication between 
the President and the Administrator during a catastrophe. In addition, 
the Administrator may make whatever recommendations to Congress that he 
or she deems appropriate.
  The bill provides for directors, nominated by the President and 
confirmed by the Senate, to provide the Administrator with highly 
qualified professionals in Preparedness and Mitigation, Response, and 
Recovery. Apart from bolstering the organization, authorizing these 
posts would send a clear signal to the Nation's Governors and mayors 
that they will have people of stature with whom to work and confer.
  Besides providing the Administrator of U.S.-EMA with an advisory link 
to the President, the bill specifically tasks the Administrator with 
providing the federal leadership necessary to prepare for and respond 
to a disaster, whether man-made or natural. It gives the Administrator 
responsibility for administering preparedness grant programs, and for 
monitoring and evaluating the readiness of each of the emergency 
support functions under the national response plan. These are critical 
steps for ensuring close cooperation and oversight of preparedness at 
all levels of government.
  The bill specifies that U.S.-EMA is a distinct entity and protects it 
from reorganization without explicit Congressional approval. This gives 
U.S.-EMA security identical to that of the Coast Guard.
  Another critical element of the bill authorizes a strong regional 
structure for U.S.-EMA and creates regionally based federal strike 
teams for rapid response. This will ensure that U.S.-EMA officials are 
familiar with the people, the vulnerabilities, and the resources of the 
regions they protect, and will not be introducing themselves to 
strangers on unfamiliar ground when disaster strikes.
  Further recognizing the importance of mult-level government 
coordination, the bill creates a national advisory council on emergency 
preparedness and response--made up of State and local officials and 
emergency management professionals from public, private and NGO 
sectors--to advise the Administrator of U.S.-EMA.
  Our bill provides a statutory basis for chief medical officer to 
advise the DHS Secretary on medical and public-health issues. Other 
sections promote public and community preparedness; evaluate the 
effectiveness of equipment for first responders; reauthorize and expand 
the emergency management assistance compact; and create an office of 
terrorism prevention at DHS.
  Mr. President, the U.S. Emergency Management Authority Act is not a 
symbolic gesture, or a quick fix for our problems. It is a thoroughly 
researched, carefully drafted collection of reforms that will lay the 
foundation for years of hard work.
  The result, we firmly believe, will be a significantly more effective 
national system of preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery 
against natural disasters and terror attacks. Building on the insights 
of the Hart-Rudman Commission and on the important advances embodied in 
the Homeland Security Act, the U.S.-EMA bill will

[[Page 12906]]

greatly improve the protections that American citizens need, and 
deserve.
  Mr. President, my statement has outlined the reforms we are making to 
this new agency. They are considerable. They are going to make a real 
difference, and I hope we can pass legislation before the end of this 
year to greatly strengthen and improve FEMA and our emergency response 
system and preparedness on all levels of government.

                          ____________________