[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 5980-5984]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Smith, and Mr. 
        Inouye):
  S. 2858. A bill to establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission 
to provide independent counsel to Congress and the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services on policy issues associated with recruitment, 
retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, in honor of World Social Work Day, I 
rise today to introduce the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. 
Social Work Reinvestment Act. I am proud to sponsor this legislation 
that will improve the shortage of social workers as we move into an era 
of unprecedented healthcare and social service needs. Social workers 
play a critical role combating the social problems facing our Nation. 
We must have the workforce in place to make sure that our returning 
soldiers have access to mental health services, our elderly maintain 
their independence in the communities they live in, and abused children 
are placed in safe homes. This bill reinvests in social workers by 
providing grants to social workers, reviewing the current social 
workforce challenges, and determining how this shortage will affect the 
communities social workers serve. I am honored to introduce this bill 
named after two social visionaries, Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. 
Young. Dorothy Height, a pioneer of the civil rights movement, like me 
began her career as a case worker and continued to fight for social 
justice. Whitney Young, another trailblazer of the civil rights 
movement, also began his career transforming our social landscape as a 
social worker. He helped create President Johnson's War on Poverty and 
has served as President of the National Association of Social Workers. 
Congressman Towns introduced the companion bill in the House of 
Representatives last month.
  As a social worker, I understand the critical role social workers 
place in the overall care of our populations. Social workers can be 
found in every facet of community life--in hospitals, mental health 
clinics, senior centers, and private agencies that serve individuals 
and families in need. Social workers are there to help struggling 
students, returning soldiers, and chronically ill. Oftentimes, social 
workers are the only available option for mental health care in rural 
and underserved urban areas. The number of adults over the age of 65 
will double by the year 2030 and social workers will be at the 
forefront of providing compassionate care to this burgeoning community. 
Yet there will not be enough social workers to meet these needs. Today 
30,000 social workers specialize in gerontology, but we will need 
70,000 of these social workers by 2010. I want to make sure that when 
the aging tsunami hits us, we have the workforce in place to care for 
our aging family members, the Alzheimer patients, the disabled.
  This bill is about reinvesting in social work. It provides grants 
that invest in social work education, research, and training. These 
grants will fund community based programs of excellence and provide 
scholarships to train the next generation of social workers. The bill 
also addresses how to recruit and retain new social workers, research 
the impact of social services, and foster ways to improve social 
workplace safety. This bill establishes a national coordination center 
that will allow social education, advocacy and research institutions to 
collaborate and work together. It will facilitate gathering and 
distributing social work research to make the most effective use of the 
information we have on how social work service can improve our social 
fabric. This bill also gives social work the attention is deserves. It 
creates a media campaign that will promote social work, and recognizes 
March as Social Work Awareness Month.
  As a social worker, I have been on the frontlines of helping people 
cope with issues in their everyday lives. I started off fighting for 
abused children, making sure they were placed in safe homes. Today I am 
a social worker with power. I am proud to continue to fight every day 
for the long range needs of the Nation, on the floor of the United 
States Senate and as the Chairwoman of the Aging Subcommittee of the 
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
  I believe that social work is full of great opportunities, both to 
serve and to lead. Social work is about putting our values into action. 
Social workers are our best and brightest, our most committed and 
compassionate. They are at the frontlines of providing care, often 
putting themselves in dangerous and violent situations. Social workers 
have the ability to provide psychological, emotional, and social 
support--quite simply, the ability to change lives. That is why we must 
reinvest in social work--we must recruit, retain and research. I think 
we can do better by our Nation's troops, seniors, and children, by 
making sure we have the social workforce in place to meet their needs. 
I'm fighting to make sure we do.
  The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work 
Reinvestment Act is strongly supported by the National Association of 
Social Workers and the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work 
Research. I want to thank Senators Stabenow, Smith, and Inouye for 
their cosponsorship of this bill.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this important 
piece of legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that letters of support be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be placed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                           National Association of


                                               Social Workers,

                                                   Washington, DC.
       We, the undersigned professional social work organizations, 
     join with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) 
     in showing our full support for the Dorothy I. Height and 
     Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act. Social 
     workers provide indispensible services in nearly every 
     community nationwide and to millions of Americans including 
     aging baby boomers, wounded veterans, former prisoners, at-
     risk students, abused and neglected children, and those 
     diagnosed with cancer, serious mental illness, and those with 
     HIV and AIDS. These essential services have a positive impact 
     on the mental, social, and psychosocial functioning of 
     clients across the country. While professional social workers 
     are more necessary today than at any other time in our 
     history, they are also facing barriers that challenge the 
     profession including insurmountable education debt, 
     insufficient salaries, and serious safety concerns.
       The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work 
     Reinvestment Act takes important steps to ensure the future 
     viability of the social work profession. The legislation 
     explores the many successful efforts already undertaken by 
     our nation's social workers, while examining the persistent

[[Page 5981]]

     challenges to these efforts. A Social Work Reinvestment 
     Commission will provide a comprehensive analysis of current 
     workforce trends and develop long-term recommendations and 
     strategies to maximize the ability of America's social 
     workers to serve their clients with expertise and care. 
     Demonstration programs will be funded in the areas of 
     workplace improvements, research, education and training, and 
     community-based programs of excellence. This investment will 
     be returned many times over both in support for effective 
     social service solutions and in direct services to client 
     populations.
       The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work 
     Reinvestment Act is a commitment to ensure that social 
     workers can provide indispensable services for years to come. 
     The future of the profession depends on the measures that are 
     taken toward reinvestment today. We thank Senator Mikulski 
     for her dedication to and leadership of the social work 
     profession and urge every member of the Senate to show their 
     support for professional social workers as well as the 
     individuals, groups, and communities they serve.
           Sincerely,
         Action Network for Social Work Education and Research, 
           Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program 
           Directors, Association of Oncology Social Work, 
           Clinical Social Work Association, Council on Social 
           Work Education, Group for the Advancement of Doctoral 
           Education in Social Work, Institute for the Advancement 
           of Social Work Research, National Association of Deans 
           and Directors of Schools of Social Work, Social Welfare 
           Action Alliance, Society for Social Work and Research.
                                  ____

                                     Institute for the Advancement


                                      of Social Work Research,

                                   Washington, DC, April 12, 2008.
     Hon. Barbara Mikulski,
     U.S. Senate, Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Mikulski: As the Institute for the Advancement 
     of Social Work Research (IASWR) celebrates its 15th 
     anniversary, this is an important opportunity to recognize 
     the strides that have been made in knowledge development and 
     research infrastructure development in social work over the 
     past decade and one half. However, the growing demands for 
     social work services, the focus on implementation of 
     evidence-based practices, and the need to address both 
     recruitment and retention of professional social workers, 
     requires that there be enhanced federal investments in the 
     social work profession. As the number of children in foster 
     care rises, as our population ages, as school drop-out rates 
     increase, and as deployed soldiers and returning veterans 
     require expanded access to health, mental health and social 
     services, the need for professional social workers at all 
     levels of practice and in all fields of practice has never 
     been greater.
       IASWR would like to thank you for standing with your 
     profession in introducing the Dorothy I. Height/Whitney M. 
     Young Social Work Reinvestment Act in the Senate. This Act is 
     one important step in addressing workplace and workforce 
     issues faced by social workers. It will also provide 
     discretionary grants to implement best practice models in 
     social agencies and it provides incentive programs to attract 
     the next generation of social work practitioners and social 
     work researchers. Of particular importance will be the Social 
     Work Reinvestment Commission that will examine critical 
     issues and potential solutions facing the profession today.
       As a social worker, I know that you recognize the 
     challenges faced by the social work profession, including low 
     salaries, high caseloads, lack of access to the latest 
     technology to facilitate service delivery, shrinking 
     availability of services, and concerns about safety. The 
     Social Work Reinvestment Act begins to address these 
     concerns.
       Thank you for all of your leadership and commitment to 
     social work and to the millions of vulnerable individuals, 
     families and communities that we work with daily. IASWR and 
     the social work research community stands ready to work with 
     you. If you have questions or need additional information, 
     please do not hesitate to contact me.
           Sincerely,
                                                Joan Levy Zlotnik,
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today, on World Social Work Day, to 
introduce the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work 
Reinvestment Act. I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues Senator 
Barbara Mikulski and Senator Debbie Stabenow in supporting this 
important legislation to help ensure the sustainability of the social 
work field. I look forward to continuing our collaboration on this bill 
and other efforts to support the tremendous work of our nation's social 
workers as they ensure the safety and welfare of our citizens in need 
of guidance and protection.
  Social workers in America face an array of issues that impact their 
ability to stay in the profession. We know that as the U.S. population 
increases and ages, caseworkers' caseloads continue to increase, 
causing greater pressure to perform with ever decreasing resources. 
Further, relatively low wages make it difficult for social workers to 
stay in their profession long-term. These are just a few of the many 
challenges they face. Those in the social work field need our support 
in creating innovative ways to keep them in the profession they love 
and therefore help the people in our communities who need their 
expertise and compassion.
  Unfortunately, my home State of Oregon is not immune to these 
problems. We all know of the wonderful work that social workers do to 
protect children from abuse and neglect. Particularly in parts of 
Oregon where Methamphetamine abuse has caused widespread suffering, 
social workers have risen to the occasion to ensure children get the 
help that they need. However, less recognized is the work that they do 
on behalf of our elderly. About 13 percent of Oregon's population is 
persons over the age of 65, which is above the national average of 
about 12.4 percent. This number is expected to increase dramatically in 
coming years as our population continues to age, our seniors live 
longer and we see more of our elderly with multiple chronic conditions. 
Many of these elderly will depend on the help and guidance of social 
workers to ensure their well being.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to join me, Senator Mikulski and 
Senator Stabenow in championing this legislation to support the needs 
of our social workers. I look forward to its swift passage.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. WEBB (for himself and Mr. Warner):
  S. 2859. A bill to amend the Family Educational Rights and Privacy 
Act of 1974 to clarify limits on disclosure of student health records, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. WEBB. 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. 2859

         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 ``Family Educational Rights 
     and Privacy Act Amendments of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

         Congress finds the following:
         (1) Federal authorities charged with examining the tragic 
     shootings at Virginia Tech in April 2007 found that confusion 
     and overly-restrictive interpretations of Federal privacy 
     laws, State medical confidentiality laws, and regulations 
     unnecessarily impede the effective transfer of information 
     that could prove useful in averting tragedies. Some school 
     administrators are unaware of exceptions to Federal privacy 
     laws that could allow relevant information about a student's 
     mental health to be appropriately shared.
         (2) The purpose of this Act is to eliminate ambiguity in 
     Federal education privacy law to ensure that the Family 
     Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is not 
     interpreted as prohibiting information sharing between on-
     campus and off-campus health care providers when both are 
     involved in treating a student. Such ``consults'' are 
     generally permitted by State medical confidentiality law, and 
     FERPA should not be interpreted as posing an additional 
     obstacle. The Virginia Tech Review Panel recommended that 
     changes to ``FERPA should explicitly explain how it applies 
     to medical records held for treatment purposes''. The panel 
     reported that misinterpretation of how student treatment 
     records are handled under FERPA as the main source of 
     confusion. FERPA protects the privacy of both student 
     education records and student treatment records from being 
     disclosed generally.
         (3) The Virginia Tech Review Panel recommended that 
     Federal privacy laws should be amended to include ``safe 
     harbor'' provisions that would insulate a person or 
     organization from the loss of Federal education funding for 
     making a disclosure with a good faith belief that the 
     disclosure was necessary to protect the health or safety of a 
     student or member of the public at large. The Commission 
     further recommended that the Federal Educational Rights and 
     Privacy Act of

[[Page 5982]]

     1974 (FERPA) be amended to clarify the ability of educational 
     institutions to disclose information in emergency situations 
     and to facilitate treatment of students at off-campus 
     facilities.
         (4) Mental disorders frequently begin during youth. 
     Research supported by the National Institute of Mental Health 
     found that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin 
     by age 14; three quarters have begun by age 24.
         (5) In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention reported 4,316 suicides among young adults aged 
     15-24, making it the third leading cause of death in this age 
     group. There were an additional 5,074 suicides among those 
     aged 25-34, making it the second leading cause of death in 
     this age group.
         (6) Depression, mental illness, and suicide are problems 
     on college campuses. In 2006, 44 percent of college students 
     reported feeling so depressed it was difficult to function 
     and 9 percent seriously considered suicide, according to a 
     2006 national survey conducted by the American College Health 
     Association.
         (7) While most people in the United States with a mental 
     disorder eventually seek treatment, a National Institute of 
     Mental Health study found pervasive and lengthy delays in 
     getting treatment, with the median delay across disorders 
     being nearly a decade. Over a 12-month period, 60 percent of 
     those with a mental disorder got no treatment at all.
         (8) A 2006 survey sponsored by the American College 
     Counseling Association found that 9 percent of enrolled 
     students sought counseling last year and 92 percent of 
     counseling center directors reported an increase in the 
     number of students with severe psychological disorders.
         (9) Recent events, including the campus shootings at the 
     Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois universities, have 
     further highlighted the deadly problems of mental illness and 
     violence in American schools. The Northern Illinois shooting 
     resulted in 6 deaths while the Virginia Tech killings left 32 
     people dead, making it the most lethal school shooting in 
     United States history.

     SEC. 3. STUDENT HEALTH RECORDS.

         The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 
     U.S.C. 1232g) is amended by adding at the end the following:
         ``(k) Consultation With Off Campus Medical 
     Professionals.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit a 
     physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized 
     healthcare professional or paraprofessional acting in the 
     individual's professional or paraprofessional capacity, or 
     assisting in that capacity, from consulting with or 
     disclosing records described in subsection (a)(4)(B)(iv) with 
     respect to a student, to a physician, psychiatrist, 
     psychologist, or other recognized healthcare professional or 
     paraprofessional acting in the individual's professional or 
     paraprofessional capacity, or assisting in that capacity, 
     outside the educational agency or institution in connection 
     with the provision of treatment to the student.''.

     SEC. 4. SAFE HARBOR PROVISION.

         The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 
     U.S.C. 1232g) is amended in subsection (f) by adding at the 
     end the following: ``The release by an educational agency or 
     institution of education records or personally identifiable 
     information contained in such records in the good faith 
     belief that such release is necessary to protect against a 
     potential threat to the health or safety of the student or 
     other persons, shall not be deemed a failure to comply with 
     this section regardless of whether it is subsequently 
     determined that the specified conditions for such release did 
     not exist.''.

     SEC. 5. EMERGENCY EXCEPTION AMENDMENT.

         The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 
     U.S.C. 1232g) is amended in subsection (b)(1)(I) by striking 
     ``is necessary'' and all that follows and inserting ``is 
     necessary, according to the good faith belief of the 
     educational agency or institution or persons to whom such 
     disclosure is made, to protect against a potential threat to 
     the health or safety of the student or other persons; and''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 2864. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to include 
improvement in quality of life in the objectives of training and 
rehabilitation for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I am introducing today the proposed 
Training and Rehabilitation for Disabled Veterans Enhancement Act of 
2008. This measure would make two small but, I believe, necessary 
changes in the Department of Veterans' Affairs program of Independent 
Living services conducted under the authority of chapter 31 of title 
38, United States Code.
  VA's IL Program was first established in 1980 by Public Law 96-466, 
the Veterans Rehabilitation and Education Amendments of 1980. 
Initially, that law provided for the establishment of a 4-year pilot 
program designed to provide independent living services for severely 
disabled veterans for whom the achievement of a vocational goal was not 
reasonably feasible. The number of veterans who could be accepted 
annually into the pilot program was capped at 500. In 1986, the program 
was extended through 1989 and then, in 1989, it was made in Public Law 
101-237, the Veterans' Benefits Amendments of 1989. In 2001, the 500 
annual cap on enrollees was increased to 2,500.
  The measure I am introducing would remove any cap on the number of 
enrollees in any year. In earlier years, as a pilot project, the cap 
may have been appropriate in order to give VA an opportunity to manage 
the program in the most effective manner possible and in 2001, it made 
sense to increase that cap in light of the increased demand and need 
for the program.
  Now, however, it makes sense to lift the cap altogether. This is 
especially so since this important program is designed to meet the 
needs of the most severely service-connected disabled veterans and more 
and more of those returning from combat have suffered the kind of 
devastating injuries that may make employment not reasonably feasible 
for extended periods of time.
  The VA's Inspector General found, in a report issued in December of 
last year, that ``the effect of the statutory cap has been to delay IL 
services to severely disabled veterans.'' This delay happens because VA 
has developed a procedure that holds veterans in a planning and 
evaluation stage when the statutory cap may be in danger of being 
exceeded.
  The bill I am introducing today would eliminate the cap entirely as 
recommended by VA's IG. It would also make the program mandatory rather 
than a discretionary pilot effort and would include improvement in 
quality of life an objective of training and rehabilitation for 
veterans with service-connected disability who are participating in 
programs of IL services. For these veterans--with respect to whom it 
has been determined that employment is not a present, reasonably 
feasible option but one that may be feasible in the future--it seems 
appropriate to look not only at future employment prospects but also 
toward improving the individual's quality of life. Such an approach may 
very well lead to bettering an individual's chances of rehabilitation 
and future employment.
  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 
placed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2864

       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 ``Training and Rehabilitation 
     for Disabled Veterans Enhancement Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE AS 
                   OBJECTIVE OF TRAINING AND REHABILITATION FOR 
                   VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES.

       (a) Inclusion in Services and Assistance Under Training and 
     Rehabilitation.--Section 3104(a)(15) of title 38, United 
     States Code, is amended by inserting before the period at the 
     end the following: ``and to improve a veteran's quality of 
     life''.
       (b) Independent Living Services and Assistance.--
       (1) Entitlement of certain veterans.--Section 3109 of such 
     title is amended by inserting before the period at the end 
     the following: ``and to improve such veteran's quality of 
     life''.
       (2) Program of services and assistance.--Section 3120 of 
     such title is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``may'' and inserting 
     ``shall''; and
       (B) in subsection (d), by inserting before the period at 
     the end of the first sentence the following: ``and to improve 
     such veteran's quality of life''.

     SEC. 3. REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF VETERANS ENROLLED 
                   IN PROGRAMS OF INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES AND 
                   ASSISTANCE.

       Section 3120 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by 
     section 2 of this Act, is further amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (e); and
       (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (e).

[[Page 5983]]


                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lieberman, 
        Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 2865. A bill to permit qualified withdrawals from a capital 
construction fund account under chapter 535 of title 46, United States 
Code, for gear or equipment required for fishery conservation or safety 
of life at sea without regard to the minimum cost requirement 
established by regulation; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Fisheries 
Capital Construction Fund Enhancement Act of 2008. This bill will help 
alleviate the potentially devastating economic impacts of recent 
regulations on the lobster industry issued by the National Marine 
Fisheries Service, and simultaneously encourage conservation in our 
Nation's fisheries and enhance the safety of the men and women who make 
their living at America's most dangerous profession.
  On October 5, 2007, the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS, 
issued new regulations that will require ``fixed gear'' fishermen along 
the Atlantic Seaboard, including lobstermen, to use sinking groundline 
to connect their traps in large areas of the Gulf of Maine beginning 
next fall. The rules are intended to prevent entanglements of 
endangered whales in fishing gear. By NMFS's own estimates, this rule 
will impose annual costs of approximately $14 million on our fisheries, 
over 90 percent of which will be borne by the lobster industry. But a 
report issued by the Government Accountability Office in August 2007 
found the agency's economic analysis to be insufficient, and that it 
could not estimate the extent to which these costly measures would 
protect whales. While we must protect our endangered species, it is 
senseless to impose ineffective measures on an already struggling 
industry.
  These regulations are particularly concerning given the additional 
hardships our fishing communities currently face, especially down east 
where lobster plays an integral role in the regional economy. The 
groundfish industry, once the lifeblood of this region, is now 
virtually non-existent, with just one active permit remaining east of 
Penobscot Bay. Lobster has been the lone bright spot in recent years, 
with annual landings throughout the state in the neighborhood of $300 
million. Unfortunately, early returns for 2007 have declined by more 
than 20 percent from the record highs of 2005 and 2006, and with fuel 
and bait prices at record highs, the harvest numbers already are 
leading to tightening budgets and dwindling profits. The bottom line is 
that it is no exaggeration to say that these rules could put many 
lobstermen out of business. The effect on fishing families, and even on 
entire fishing communities, could be devastating.
  Furthermore, these rules bring additional safety concerns to the 
lobster industry. Many offshore areas in Maine have extremely rocky sea 
floors. Sinking rope vastly increases the likelihood that the line will 
chaff and snag, wearing the rope to the point that it can suddenly 
snap, or pulling the boat's rail towards the waterline where it can 
more easily be swamped and capsized by a large wave.
  Passage of this bill would be a step toward alleviating the economic 
and safety impacts of these rules by opening fishermen's individually 
held Capital Construction Funds, or CCF's, to purchases of fishing gear 
required to meet conservation measures required within a fishery or for 
purchase of equipment to increase the safety of life at sea. Currently, 
fishermen can deposit a portion of their pre-tax income into a CCF, and 
that money can then be withdrawn for purchase or reconstruction of 
fishing boats. Expanding the qualified withdrawals from these accounts 
would reduce the safety and economic impacts of these and other fishing 
regulations. Furthermore, this bill would provide an additional outlet 
for the $221 million currently held in CCF's nationwide, limiting the 
expansion of fishing capacity and enhancing conservation efforts by 
reducing incentives to buy or upgrade existing vessels.
  Our fisheries are the only remaining commercial wild capture 
industries in the Nation; fishermen are the last commercial hunters. As 
such, they must strike a unique balance between plying their trade and 
protecting the resource and the environment that supports it. The 
Nation's managers thus strive to balance the two parallel goals of 
sustaining our fish stocks and the viability of our fishing industries. 
The bill I introduce today will help achieve that balance by making 
fishing gear required for conservation or safety purposes more 
affordable for America's hard-working fishermen.
  I want to thank my colleagues, Senators Reed, Kerry, Lieberman, 
Whitehouse, Collins, and Kennedy for co-sponsoring this legislation.
  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. 2865

       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 ``Fisheries Capital 
     Construction Fund Enhancement Act of 2008''.

     SECTION 2. CERTAIN QUALIFIED CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION FUND 
                   WITHDRAWALS.

       Section 53509 of title 46, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' after the semicolon in paragraph (1) 
     of subsection (a);
       (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) of subsection (a) as 
     paragraph (3);
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) of subsection (a) the 
     following:
       ``(2) the acquisition of gear or equipment required for 
     safety of life at sea or to comply with conservation measures 
     within a fishery; or''; and
       (4) by inserting after ``withdrawal.'' in subsection (c) 
     the following: ``The minimum cost requirements established by 
     such regulations (50 C.F.R. 259.31) shall not apply to a 
     withdrawal described in subsection (a)(2).''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mrs. Hutchison):
  S. 2867. A bill to authorize additional resources to identify and 
eliminate illicit sources of firearms smuggled into Mexico for use by 
violent drug trafficking organizations, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Southwest 
Border Violence Reduction Act. This legislation is aimed at addressing 
the drug-related violence that has plagued parts of Mexico and ensuring 
that we dedicate the resources necessary to stop the flow of weapons 
that help fuel this violence.
  In the Mexican state of Chihuahua, which shares a border with New 
Mexico, there have been over 200 killings since the beginning of 2008, 
an increase of about 100 percent over the previous year. This violence, 
which is mostly perpetrated by international drug trafficking 
organizations, impacts the well-being and safety of communities on both 
sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
  Recently it was reported that the entire police force in Palomas, a 
Mexican town just across the border from Columbus, New Mexico, resigned 
after repeated threats from drug traffickers. The Chief of Police fled 
to the United States to seek asylum. On another recent occasion, the 
Columbus Port of Entry was shut down after there were several killings 
nearby. As a result, American school children who commute back and 
forth over the border had to receive a police escort. And just 
yesterday, the Department of State renewed a travel advisory warning of 
the ongoing violence.
  I have met with Mexico's Ambassador, Foreign Minister, and Attorney 
General to raise serious concerns about the level of violence in the 
region and to discuss ways to address this problem. I am pleased that 
the Government of Mexico understands the gravity of this situation and 
I appreciate Mexico's response in sending 2,000 troops to Chihuahua to 
bring it under control. However, both Mexican and U.S. law enforcement 
officials have stressed the need to more aggressively target the 
criminal enterprises that are supplying weapons to drug cartels. 
According to ATF, about 90 percent of the firearms recovered in Mexico 
are trafficked from the United States because high-

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powered weapons are much easier to purchase in the U.S. than in Mexico.
  The drug cartels operating along the border smuggle illegal narcotics 
into the United States and use revenue derived from the drug trade to 
purchase the firearms they need to maintain control over drug 
trafficking routes. According to ATF, about 90 percent of the firearms 
recovered in Mexico originate from sources within the United States 
because high-powered weapons, such as M-50s, are much easier to 
purchase in the United States than in Mexico. The ability to fight drug 
traffickers is significantly hampered by the fact that these violent 
groups use smuggled weapons to assassinate military and police 
officials, murder rival members of drug organizations, and kill 
innocent civilians.
  In order to reduce violence in the region and disrupt the drug trade, 
it is essential that we aggressively work to prevent drug trafficking 
organizations operating in Mexico from obtaining these weapons. This 
effort requires that additional resources be allocated to target 
weapons trafficking networks supplying these arms and enhanced 
international cooperation in tracing the sources of weapons seized in 
Mexico.
  To this end, the legislation I am introducing today would authorize 
additional resources to expand a successful ATF initiative, Project 
Gunrunner, which is aimed at combating arms smuggling. The bill would 
also increase the training and support of Mexican law enforcement in 
investigating firearms trafficking cases.
  Specifically, the legislation would enable ATF to hire, train, and 
deploy an additional 80 special agents to establish and support seven 
more Project Gunrunner Teams that are solely devoted to disrupting 
firearm trafficking organizations smuggling weapons into Mexico. The 
bill also would make it possible for ATF to place at least 12 
additional special agents in Mexico to support Mexican law enforcement 
in tracing seized firearms. Two Special Agents could be assigned to 
U.S. Consulates throughout the border region, Guadalajara, Chihuahua, 
Matamoros, Hermosillo, Tijuana, and Mazatlan, in conjunction with 
existing DEA offices. Funds would cover salaries, protective and 
investigative equipment, and other costs associated with maintaining a 
foreign presence. And lastly, the legislation would significantly 
increase ATF efforts to assist and train Mexican law enforcement 
officers with weapons trafficking investigations. The bill authorizes 
$24.5 million for each fiscal year 2009 and 2010 to implement this Act.
  I strongly believe that it is essential that the U.S. enhance its 
efforts to stop the flow of weapons being trafficked into Mexico, and I 
hope my colleagues will join me in this effort.

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