[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14454-14458]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SCHOOL CERTIFICATION

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, on Thursday this country will 
commemorate the 13th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
  We learned many lessons from that day. One key lesson was that 
terrorists can and will exploit our immigration system and policies to 
enter and remain in the United States and now and into the future 
potentially harm Americans.
  The 9/11 attacks were carried out by 19 hijackers, some of whom 
entered on student visas and trained in flight schools in the United 
States. The 19 individuals applied for 23 visas. They lied on their 
applications. They failed to abide by the terms of their visas. This 
was a wake-up call that we needed better oversight of our visa 
programs, especially student visas. But this wasn't our first wake-up 
call.
  In 1993 the American people were confronted with the first terrorist 
attack on the World Trade Center. One of the instigators of that attack 
was on an expired student visa.
  Since 1993 we have mandated the tracking of foreign students and gave 
schools and universities a responsibility to help us monitor these 
programs while these students are on U.S. soil. Unfortunately, while 
this tracking system is up and running today, it is still antiquated 
and the Federal Government remains incapable of ensuring that those 
students who enter the country are truly attending our educational 
institutions.
  Today nearly 10,000 schools across the country accept foreign 
students, and those schools are responsible for communicating with our 
government about the whereabouts of these students. Enrollment of 
foreign students is increasing.
  According to the Brookings Institution, the number of foreign 
students on F-1 visas in U.S. colleges and universities grew from 
110,000 in 2001 to 524,000 in 2012. Despite this overwhelming increase, 
the technology and oversight of the student visa program has 
insufficiently improved.
  Now, 13 years after 9/11, we have sham schools setting up in strip 
malls with no real classrooms. We have foreign nationals entering the 
United States with the intent to study but then disappear and never 
attend a class. I will give just two examples of sham schools.
  In 2011, Tri-Valley University reported that they would bring in less 
than 100 students but actually brought in over 1,500. Tri-Valley 
University officials were caught giving F-1 visas to undercover agents 
posing as foreign nationals who explicitly professed no intention of 
ever attending classes. Students paid $5,400 per semester in tuition to 
the school to obtain those student visas until that school was shut 
down.
  On May 29 this year, the Micropower Career Institute in New York was 
raided by Federal officials. Its top officials were arrested on student 
visa fraud. Allegedly, school officials did not report foreign 
nationals when they didn't attend classes, and they falsified those 
student records so the school could continue to collect Federal 
education dollars for those students. But despite the indictment of 
officials at this so-called school, it still remains open for business.
  The Government Accountability Office reported to Congress in 2012 
that sham schools posed a problem. We put a lot of faith in the work of 
the Government Accountability Office. The GAO said the Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement does not have a process to identify and analyze 
risks across schools. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has 
overlooked major indicators of fraud, and they cannot follow trends or 
predict abuse. Two years later the problems continue to exist and the 
Obama administration just fiddles while the problem burns.
  ABC News investigated the student visa program and made it public 
last week. They said 6,000 foreign nationals on student visas have 
disappeared. An ICE official acknowledged that they had ``blended into 
the landscape somewhere.'' Yet this number of 6,000 is not the total 
number of student visa overstays. This is the number of students that 
the Immigration and Customs Enforcement is trying to locate. That ought 
to be alarming news that it is only 6,000.
  It is time to close the loopholes and clamp down on schools that have 
a poor track record with regard to foreign students. So this week I am 
introducing legislation that requires schools to be certified in order 
to bring in foreign students, and it would suspend schools if there are 
noncompliance issues. My bill would increase penalties for those who 
perpetrate fraud and require background checks and training for school 
officials. It would also put an immediate end to a flight school's 
participation in the foreign student program if they are not FAA 
approved.
  Finally, it would require the Department of Homeland Security to 
deploy an upgrade to the existing tracking system. This upgrade can be 
paid for by using fees from student visas and the schools that 
participate.
  What I just said aren't new ideas. These are provisions that were 
taken from a 2012 bipartisan bill led by the senior Senator from New 
York. That bill never passed the Senate. When the Gang of 8 wrote their 
misguided immigration bill, they failed to include these reforms. So I 
offered an amendment during committee consideration of the immigration 
bill last summer and it was included in the bill that passed the 
Senate.
  The bill I am introducing today is the exact same language. It has 
been debated. It was accepted by unanimous consent in the Judiciary 
Committee.
  I hope my colleagues will seriously consider the bill I am 
introducing. It is well past time that we close loopholes and be more 
vigilant in the foreign student visa program, especially with the 
growing terrorist threat we face.


                     Remembering James M. Jeffords

  Madam President, I wish to pay tribute to Senator Jeffords of 
Vermont, who passed away last month.
  Senator Jeffords died this last August while the Senate was in 
recess. Yesterday, the Senate appropriately adopted a resolution 
commemorating the former Senator.
  Senator Jeffords is probably best known for switching parties, from 
being a Republican to an Independent and caucusing with the Democrats 
back in 2001. As much as that switch hurt at the time, I always held 
Jim in very high regard and I knew him to be a very honorable man.
  Jim and I were both so-called Watergate babies--two of the very few 
new Republican House Members who survived the 1974 election after 
Nixon's resignation and subsequent pardon. So we joined the House of 
Representatives together and became friends then.
  It wasn't only a tough political environment back then, it was also a 
physical challenge for us. During that campaign year I had surgery on 
my leg and was walking on crutches. Jim had been in a car accident and 
had a neck brace as a result of that accident.
  An amusing story has been reported about the two of us. I didn't hear 
it myself, but it had been brought up in a report on the funeral. The 
amusing story is about the two of us walking down the aisle of the 
House to be sworn in as freshmen after that devastating election for 
Republicans--this Senator on crutches and Jim with his neck brace.
  Somewhere in the Chamber, a Democratic Member yelled out, ``There's 
two more that we almost got!''
  The two of us laughed for years about that because of course we had 
the last laugh, serving for many years and being elected to the Senate 
and both becoming chairmen of committees in this body.
  One of the most honorable things Jim did for me and, I believe, for 
the country was in regard to the 2001 tax relief bill that was by some 
measures the largest tax cut in history. Not many know the history of 
that bill. I was chairman of the Finance Committee and so was in charge 
of putting the bill together and getting it passed in the Senate. The 
process started with a budget resolution with reconciliation 
instructions to our Finance Committee.

[[Page 14455]]

  The Bush administration pressed that year for a $1.6 trillion tax 
cut. Senator Jeffords and others insisted that the number had to be cut 
by $300 billion because they feared the money wouldn't be there in the 
end. Of course, as we now know from history, they ended up being right 
on that point a few years later when we sank into years of deficit 
spending, but we needed their votes. I made it clear to President Bush 
and our leadership that if we wanted to get something done and have a 
historic tax cut, we had to lower our sights some and still get most of 
what we wanted.
  Unfortunately, I took a lot of criticism from my side for supporting 
Senator Jeffords and others, but I knew where the votes were and where 
the votes weren't. I remember a bunch of House Members even had a press 
conference saying some not-so-nice things about me and the idea of only 
accepting a $1.3 trillion tax package. But our Senate Republican 
leadership wanted a good result, and they agreed to compromise in order 
to get it. That is not something you see nowadays around here on very 
big bills. If the majority cannot have their way, they just file 
cloture and let the bill die, which is why we don't get much done 
around here anymore.
  But the pivotal point on the 2001 tax bill came right before the time 
Senator Jeffords switched political parties. I could never really blame 
Jim for his decision. I didn't agree with that decision, but I know he 
felt he had been mistreated by some in our party and had strong 
disagreements with some of us on issues.
  During floor consideration of the tax bill that year, we were near 
the end, and the Democratic minority at that time was offering 
amendment after amendment to stall the bill. We had gotten to the point 
where they were just changing a few words in an amendment and offering 
the same amendment again.
  At that point I walked over to then-minority whip--who happens to be 
the current majority leader--Senator Reid and asked what was going on. 
He said: Well, we think things may be changing around here very soon. 
Of course, I didn't know what he was talking about and I assumed that 
some votes were going to change. But of course he was talking about the 
impending party switch that none of us knew anything about involving 
Senator Jeffords. Remember, at that time we were split 50/50. Of 
course, what that meant was the Senate leadership would change and 
presumably the new Democratic leadership would pull the tax bill from 
the floor and kill it. So it was important for the Democrats to stall 
as long as they could on the bill, anticipating the Jeffords switch. 
But to his great credit, Senator Jeffords came to me and told me that 
out of respect for me and the way I worked with him on this tax bill, 
he would not officially change parties until after the tax bill was 
passed. So we were able to finish that historic bill and get it signed 
into law.
  This little-known episode demonstrates what an honorable man and true 
friend Jim Jeffords was. He didn't let politics dictate whatever he was 
determined to do, and he stood by his word. I only wish we could see 
more of that now in today's Senate. If we did, we would all certainly 
be better off, it would be a better place, our policies would be a lot 
better, and we would be more productive.
  I commemorate Senator Jeffords in his death. My sympathies are with 
his family. I will miss him, and I wish him Godspeed.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Thank you, Madam President.


                        Facing Great Challenges

  As I come to the floor today, the Senate is debating a plan by which 
Washington Democrats seek to restrict the First Amendment rights of 
American citizens--part of the Constitution. Under this proposal 
certain people would no longer enjoy the same right to free speech and 
the same right to express themselves.
  I believe this amendment is a terrible idea, and it really has no 
chance of becoming law. Majority Leader Reid wants the vote anyway. He 
thinks this outrageous amendment that he dreamed up will somehow help 
Democrats win elections this November. The majority leader has come to 
the floor repeatedly to criticize and to demonize American citizens who 
don't share his views. It is nothing but political grandstanding and 
showboating.
  President Obama was on ``Meet the Press'' last Sunday. The President 
talked about what is going on in Washington. The President said that 
``people want to get stuff done.'' That is what he says the American 
people want from their representatives in Congress. So if the American 
people want us to get stuff done, why are the Democrats in the Senate 
so determined to do nothing? Why are they wasting time on political 
show votes? Why are they not allowing amendments and debate on 
important bills? Why are they blocking legislation that has passed the 
House of Representatives with bipartisan support and is right now 
sitting on Senator Reid's desk waiting for a vote?
  Our Nation faces great challenges, and many Americans are hurting. 
Republicans have solutions that will create jobs while strengthening 
our energy security, improving our health care, and cutting government 
redtape. New numbers came out just last week that show America's labor 
force participation rate is at about the lowest level it has been in 
decades. The House of Representatives--where Republicans are in charge 
of the schedule--has passed more than 40 bills to help get Americans 
back to work. Those bills are sitting in the Senate waiting for a vote. 
Is that what the President means when he says people want to get stuff 
done?
  There was a headline in Politico on Tuesday morning that read 
``Majority say that President Obama a failure.'' A new poll found that 
52 percent of Americans think the Obama Presidency has been a failure. 
So what do Washington Democrats do in response? Absolutely nothing.
  People want Washington to deal with the challenges that matter most 
in their individual lives. We could start by doing something about the 
President's health care law that is causing so much harm to people 
across the country.
  A bipartisan plan has already passed the House that would stop the 
employer mandate that businesses provide expensive Washington-mandated 
health insurance. That part of the President's health care law forces 
small businesses to cut hours--therefore cutting paychecks--for the 
workers and is also holding back hiring. We should take up that 
legislation here in the Senate.
  We should restore people's freedom to buy health insurance that 
actually works for them and their families because people know what 
works best for them. They don't need Washington to tell them. We should 
replace the President's health care law with reforms that actually get 
people the care they need from a doctor they choose at lower costs.
  The people I talk with back at home in Wyoming are also worried about 
energy costs--especially since it is starting to get colder in much of 
the country. Washington should be looking for ways to help Americans 
produce more affordable, reliable, and efficient energy right here at 
home. The opportunity is there. That would mean jobs for American 
families, and it would also mean energy security for our Nation.
  We could start right now by approving the Keystone XL Pipeline. For 6 
years the application has been sitting waiting for action. A bill to do 
that passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. Why 
aren't we voting on that today in the Senate? The Obama administration 
admits the pipeline would actually support thousands of good American 
jobs. The application to build the Keystone Pipeline has been stalled 
for 6 years. The administration should demand action today. If the 
President won't do it, Congress still could and should.
  Congress should pass legislation to speed up exports of liquefied 
natural gas. Our Nation has abundant supplies of natural gas, and 
producers want to

[[Page 14456]]

export it to customers around the world who are seeking it. The Obama 
administration has delayed the permits to let them do it. Democrats 
right here in the Senate have delayed the bipartisan solution that has 
already passed the House. We should take a vote on that bill today and 
pass it.
  We should pass a bill that would reform the regulations blocking 
energy production on Federal lands.
  We should end the Obama administration's pointless and destructive 
war on coal and let the men and women across this country who work in 
that industry get their jobs and their lives back.
  American businesses are waiting to create jobs. The only thing 
standing in the way is the Senate majority leader. Senate Democrats 
don't want to vote. They don't want to vote to help the millions of 
Americans who are out of the labor force. They would rather protect the 
Washington bureaucracy--a bureaucracy that slows down and stifles 
economic growth.
  Cutting through the redtape to help Americans get back to work is one 
of the top priorities of Republicans, and it should be the top priority 
of every Senator in this body. We could do it by passing a bill--one 
that has already passed the House--that would rein in excessive 
regulations that make it tougher for small businesses to invest, to 
grow, and to hire.
  We could pass another bill from the House that helps businesses 
defend themselves against abusive patent lawsuits. That is going to 
help small businesses hire more people and help them grow. There were 
130 Democrats in the House who voted in favor of it. Why aren't we 
voting on that today? We cannot get a simple up-or-down vote in the 
Senate. The majority leader will not bring it to the floor. Why won't 
he allow it?
  There is one bill after another that Republicans have offered, 
Republicans have passed in the House of Representatives--bipartisan 
bills--and the Senate Democrats don't want to talk about them. They 
don't want to talk about Republican ideas for tax reform that would 
lower tax rates and make the whole tax system simpler, more fair. They 
don't want to talk about Republican ideas to strengthen and stabilize 
the entitlement programs--such as Social Security and Medicare--to make 
sure they are there for future generations. They certainly don't want 
to talk about Republican ideas to address Washington's out-of-control 
debt.
  Those are the kinds of measures we should be talking about today on 
the floor of the Senate. That is the legislation which Republicans have 
introduced and which we are going to keep fighting for in the Senate. 
That is what the American people are talking about when they say they 
want Washington to get stuff done. They don't mean more terrible ideas 
like the President's health care law and its multiple damaging side 
effects. They don't mean job-killing redtape and Washington mandates. 
They don't mean political show votes that would restrict Americans' 
free speech.
  President Obama and Democrats in the Senate have turned their backs 
on middle-class families who are desperately in need of jobs. Democrats 
want to waste time while they are trying to salvage their political 
careers. Republicans want to help get Americans back to work.
  Thank you, Madam President.
  I yield the floor, and I note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                      Tribute to Priscilla A. Ross

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, one of the joys of being an elected 
member of Congress is getting to hire and know and work with dedicated 
public servants who toil behind the scenes--our staffs. One of those 
individuals is my policy director Priscilla Ross, who first joined my 
staff over 16 years ago when I was serving in the House of 
Representatives.
  I rise this afternoon in a bittersweet moment to thank Priscilla for 
her service to me, the citizens of Maryland, and all Americans on the 
occasion of her departure from the Senate.
  Starting next week she will be the senior associate director for 
Federal relations at the American Hospital Association, AHA, which is 
the national organization that represents and serves all types of 
hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities. 
The AHA is comprised of nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, 
networks, other care providers, and has over 43,000 individual members.
  Priscilla Ross is a consummate Senate staffer. She is extremely 
intelligent. She has mastered her subject areas, which include health 
care and budget. She works hard. She is both a pragmatist and an 
original creative thinker. She works well with her colleagues across 
the aisle and across the Hill. She is a problem solver. She sees the 
big picture but pays attention to detail.
  Her political acumen and sense of timing are first rate. She tells me 
what I need to know and, more importantly, what I need to hear--even 
when I don't want to hear it. Above all, Priscilla has been driven by a 
passion to help people and make things better for Americans, especially 
the disadvantaged and vulnerable among us. The disparity of health 
outcomes between different communities and racial groups in this 
Nation--I know--continues to concern Priscilla, who has made me more 
aware of the problem.
  Members of Congress, especially Senators, depend on their senior 
staff to sort through the innumerable demands on our time and to help 
us concentrate our time on the most important opportunities and 
priorities. To do that as well as Priscilla has done for 16 years 
requires not only deep policy expertise but a shrewd understanding of 
the Senate and a comprehensive familiarity with the people and the 
institutions of Maryland. It also demands a willingness to bring a 
seasoned, respectful skepticism to the scores of requests every Senate 
office receives every week to support this or that legislative 
initiative and to have the judgment to sort out the strong policy cases 
from the powerful interests. In that, Priscilla has excelled. I am 
grateful for the high standard she has met.
  Priscilla came to Capitol Hill to improve people's lives. She has 
succeeded in that regard--far beyond what most of us are able to 
accomplish. She has had an extraordinary career.
  While I am sad that she is leaving the Senate, I take solace in the 
fact that she is not leaving ``the arena.'' She will continue to find 
ways to make health care better, more accessible, and more affordable 
for all Americans in her new post at the AHA.
  Priscilla is a proud native of the District of Columbia--born and 
raised in the shadow of the Capitol building, so to speak. She likes to 
reminisce about taking the number 30 bus along Independence Avenue to 
her school at Tenley Circle every day. She said that as a child she 
never imagined she would some day work in the Capitol building she 
passed on her way to and from school.
  Fortunately, at some point, she did get that idea and pursued it. 
Fortunately for me, I was the one who hired her. Before that happened, 
Priscilla went to Boston University before finishing her college career 
at American University, where she received a B.A. in political science. 
She held a summer internship in the office of Yvonne Braithwaite in 
California.
  She was an outstanding student. She was inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha, 
which is a national political science honor society, and the Golden Key 
National Honor Society. She is also a member of the Zeta Phi Beta 
sorority, a national sorority founded nearly 95 years ago at Howard 
University here in the District.
  Before Priscilla joined my staff, she was the political affairs 
manager for the American Association of Health Plans, the trade 
association for more than 1,000 managed care plans across the country. 
Priscilla also represented the investor-owned hospital industry as an 
assistant vice president for legislation at the Federation of American

[[Page 14457]]

Health Systems where she lobbied Congress on issues important to 1,400 
hospitals and health care systems with a specific focus on Medicaid and 
Medicare reimbursement.
  In that position she also represented the association in various 
Washington-based health care coalitions, prepared congressional 
testimony for association members, designed and coordinated the FAHA 
grassroots program, staffed the legislative steering and PPS-exempt 
hospital committees, and drafted comments to proposed Health Care 
Financing Administration regulations affecting hospital reimbursement.
  Priscilla has also worked in health care delivery settings as a new 
member representative for the Harvard Community Health Plan in Boston, 
as administrative services coordinator at the Psychiatric Institute of 
Washington, a private 201-bed acute-care facility, and as an 
information assistant with Blue Cross Blue Shield of the national 
capital area. She came to me with some experience, and she used that to 
help people.
  With regard to Priscilla's accomplishments while working on my staff, 
the list is so long and comprehensive, I will only be able to comment 
on a few items.
  Priscilla has staffed my efforts to repeal arbitrary and unfair 
outpatient physical, occupational, speech-language therapy caps for 
Medicare beneficiaries since they were enacted in 1997--first in the 
House and now in the Senate. Because of Priscilla's efforts we have 
been able to prevent the caps from being implemented.
  With Priscilla's help, the legislation I authored to expand Medicare 
to include preventive benefits, such as colorectal, prostate, 
mammogram, and osteoporosis screening was enacted into law.
  Thanks to Priscilla's persistence, Congress finally passed the 
Patients' Bill of Rights, which means that individuals with private 
health care plans will have the right to choose their primary health 
care provider, that women will have direct access to obstetrics and 
gynecology services and be able to pick their own providers, and that 
patients with medical emergencies will be guaranteed coverage for 
necessary emergency room visits in accordance with the ``prudent lay 
person's standard.'' Because of Priscilla's work, we were able to move 
forward in these areas.
  Because of the work of Priscilla Ross, tens of thousands of retired 
veterans and their spouses have access to the health care benefits to 
which they are entitled, including Medicare Part B, without being 
penalized for signing up too late. So let me explain.
  Under current law, people who do not enroll in Medicare Part B when 
they are first eligible, to do so must pay a 10-percent penalty for 
every year they have not participated. But 10 years ago, military 
retirees could not have anticipated the rules changes that have 
occurred in military health systems since 1996 when the Department of 
Defense replaced CHAMPUS with TRICARE, nor could they have known that 
participation in TRICARE after 1965 would eventually require Medicare 
enrollment. In some cases, the military advised retirees that Medicare 
coverage was duplicative, recommending that they do not enroll. We 
fixed that. I would note that a couple from Oklahoma--not Maryland--
brought this problem to Priscilla's attention and the result was we 
were able to get it done.
  While Priscilla has spent most of her time working on health care, 
she has aptly demonstrated her ability to get things done on other 
issues. Let me speak for a moment about the fiscal year 2012 
consolidated appropriations bill that contained $919 million for the 
Small Business Administration--$189 million more than previous years. 
This was the first time in many years that the SBA got a bump-up in 
their appropriation. I was on the Budget Committee at the time.
  The Disaster Loan Program received an increase of $72 million. With 
Priscilla's help, I authored an amendment to the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act that increased the surety bond limits from $2 million 
to $5 million to help small businesses. Each of these initiatives was 
started by Priscilla Ross. She marshaled them carefully through the 
committee and through the process, and the end result is they became 
law.
  A moment ago, I mentioned that my and Priscilla's concern is about 
health disparities. The United States spends nearly $1 trillion in 
excess health care costs due to racial and ethnic health disparities. 
Priscilla has taken the lead in fashioning policies to close the gap. 
It is not just about economics; it is a social justice that strikes at 
the heart of who we are as a nation. At Priscilla's suggestion, I 
authored provisions that establish in statute Offices of Minority 
Health in the key agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the 
Food and Drug Administration, and the Agency for Healthcare Research 
and Quality. Without the basic research needed to discover the causes 
of disparities and develop new treatments, we will not be able to make 
significant progress in closing the gaps, so Priscilla successfully 
advocated to elevate the National Center for Minority Health and Health 
Disparities to the newest institute at the National Institutes of 
Health. We now have a National Institute on Minority Health and Health 
Disparities, thanks to Priscilla Ross.
  In 2007, shortly after I became a Senator, 12-year-old Marylander 
Deamonte Driver died of a toothache just a few miles from this 
building. As the Washington Post recounted:

       A routine, $80 tooth extraction may have saved him. If his 
     mother had been insured. If this family had not lost 
     Medicaid. If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find . . . 
     By the time his aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria 
     from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After 
     two operations and more than six weeks in the hospital, the 
     Prince George's County boy died.

  Priscilla was determined to turn this terrible tragedy into something 
positive. She immediately began working to expand access to health care 
for all Americans, regardless of their income. Thanks to Priscilla we 
were able to secure guaranteed dental benefits for children in the 
reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, along with 
a dental education program for parents of newborns, and a new HHS Web 
site and toll-free number with information about the State's dental 
coverage, and a list of participating providers. We were able to secure 
funding for a mobile dental health care lab dedicated in 2010 that now 
carries Deamonte's name. To encourage public service activities that 
promote oral health, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act includes 
the provision ensuring that activities assisting individuals in 
obtaining dental services can qualify for funding.
  Each of these accomplishments was initiated by Priscilla Ross.
  These are just a few of Priscilla's accomplishments. Suffice it to 
say that young children across America too numerous to count now have 
access to dental care, thanks to Priscilla Ross, although they will 
never know her name. Suffice it to say that seniors across America will 
be saved from premature death by preventive health screenings, thanks 
to Priscilla Ross, although they will never know her name. Because of 
Priscilla, we are closer to a more perfect union, which is the 
birthright of each and every American, regardless of race, color, 
creed, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status.
  When Thomas Jefferson followed Benjamin Franklin to Paris as Minister 
of America, he remarked that no one could replace Franklin. He, 
Jefferson, was merely a successor. I feel the same way about Priscilla: 
There may be a successor, but no one will be able to replace her.
  I thank her for her wise counsel, indomitable spirit, outstanding 
public service, and enduring friendship, and I wish her the best of 
luck in her new career.
  Thank you, Madam President. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

[[Page 14458]]


  Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                         Paycheck Fairness Act

  Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I rise today to support the Paycheck 
Fairness Act. Equal pay for equal work is the law of the land. It has 
been for over 50 years. Yet the law is one thing and the reality is 
quite another. Women still get paid far less than men for the same 
work.
  Last year Hawaii News Now, a TV station in Hawaii, shared the story 
of a woman in Honolulu. She had been asking for a raise for over a 
year, to no avail. Her employers acknowledged that she was underpaid, 
but they didn't do anything about it. Then she found out a new male 
hire with less experience would be paid $5,000 more to do the same job.
  She is not alone. In Hawaii a woman makes, on average, 83 cents for 
every dollar a man makes. While that is better than the national 
average, it is still not equal pay for equal work.
  Research shows that the gender gap in pay begins with a woman's first 
job and widens from there. So when a young woman graduates and takes 
her place in the workplace, her starting line is already behind that of 
her male colleagues. That makes it harder for her to catch up, no 
matter how hard she works.
  The women I know work incredibly hard. Many of them are heads of 
households and sole breadwinners, which makes the pay inequality that 
much tougher for them.
  The gender pay gap persists even for workers with the same level of 
experience and education. The gap is even wider for older women.
  Congress passed the Equal Pay Act over 50 years ago. As I said 
earlier, this is the law of the land. Yet the pay gap persists. While 
the gap has shrunk--not by much--women only earn 77 cents on the dollar 
nationally. As Senator Mikulski often says, in 50 years, women have 
only gained a few cents.
  In 2009, I was proud to support and vote for the Lilly Ledbetter Act 
which President Obama signed into law. It was the very first bill he 
signed into law after his election. Without this law, women had only 
180 days after their first discriminatory paycheck to challenge it, 
even if they only found out about it years and years later. After all, 
Lilly's employer did not announce they were discriminating against her 
in pay. So in her case it took many years, and she was far beyond the 
180 days the Supreme Court said would be the timeframe in which she 
could try and get redress.
  While the Lilly Ledbetter Act addressed one part of the equal pay 
problem, if we are going to make sure all women get a fair shot, we 
need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. This bill would require 
employers to prove that pay gaps between men and women are based only 
on a business reason and not on gender.
  The Paycheck Fairness Act will make it easier for workers to compare 
their salaries and figure out whether they are victims of 
discrimination. Right now, without this act, employers can still fire 
workers for sharing the basic information about how much they are 
getting paid. This bill strengthens penalties for companies that 
discriminate against women. It would bring class action protection for 
women in line with other civil rights laws.
  The bill includes an exemption for small businesses and a phased-in 
time for businesses to learn what they are required to do.
  In addition, the Paycheck Fairness Act would help prevent pay 
discrimination in the first place by providing training for both 
management and workers. This past April 8 was Equal Pay Day. That is 
the day when women's earnings in this country caught up with men's 
earnings from the previous year. In other words, it took women 16 
months to catch up with what their male counterparts were making in 12 
months.
  The very next day, here on the Senate floor, every single Republican 
Senator voted to filibuster the Paycheck Fairness Act, which failed on 
a procedural vote. I hope our Republican friends will reconsider their 
position on this important issue this time around.
  This year President Obama signed an Executive order to implement 
parts of the Paycheck Fairness Act for Federal contractors. That is a 
major step forward for thousands of women. But there are millions more 
who are not covered by this executive action. Today in the Senate we 
have another chance to give the women of our country a fair shot, 
another chance for us to live up to a law that we passed 50 years ago.
  I urge my colleagues to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act without delay. 
Fifty years is long enough to wait.
  I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coons). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Under the previous order, all postcloture time on the motion to 
proceed to S.J. Res. 19 is expired.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion to proceed.
  The motion was agreed to.

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