[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15810-15811]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
        Franken, and Ms. Warren):
  S. 2161. A bill to provide for the adjustment of status of certain 
nationals of Liberia to that of lawful permanent residents and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am pleased to reintroduce the 
Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act along with Senators 
Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Warren, and Franken. 
  This bill, which I have introduced every Congress since 1999, seeks 
to provide a path to citizenship for qualifying Liberian refugees who 
came here decades ago to escape Liberia's civil wars. Since this time, 
they have been in our country legally through short term extensions of 
Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure. After years 
of uncertainty about whether they will be able to stay in their 
communities or whether their families will be split up, this bill give 
eligible Liberians the chance to apply

[[Page 15811]]

for legal permanent residency, and begin the process of finally 
becoming citizens.
  Similar safeguards were included in the last Comprehensive 
Immigration Reform bill that the Senate passed, and I look forward to 
working with my colleagues to provide this critical and long overdue 
support for our Liberian community.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. Daines, and Mr. Gardner):
  S. 2163. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the 
Secretary of Transportation to require that broadband conduits be 
installed as a part of certain highway construction projects, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, as a fifth generation Montanan, I have 
seen firsthand the struggles rural America faces when it comes to 
broadband connectivity. I worked in the cloud computing industry for 13 
years, so I also know the opportunities created by technology and 
connectivity.
  Not only does access to broadband connect rural Americans and tribal 
communities to the rest of the world, but there are many farming 
applications that will enable farmers in Montana to be more efficient 
and equip them to feed the growing population. Despite the importance 
of connecting these communities, Montana remains ranked among the worst 
States for broadband connectivity and there are too many instances 
where the Federal Government stands in the way of broadband 
infrastructure deployment. This is especially important for States like 
Montana where 29 percent of the State is federally owned. Every Federal 
agency has their own set of requirements for siting infrastructure on 
Federal lands, and the process can take up to 10 years in some cases. 
This burdensome, bureaucratic process is driving industry away from 
serving rural America and tribal lands.
  That is why I am proud to introduce the bipartisan Streamlining and 
Investing in Broadband Infrastructure act with my colleagues Senator 
Klobuchar and Senator Gardner. The bill implements a dig once policy 
that incorporates broadband conduit installation into new highway 
projects. It also directs the Federal Government to further consolidate 
and streamline siting on Federal lands by establishing a fee schedule 
for the grant of property interests and by developing a master 
application form for communications construction on all Federal lands. 
Making effective use of existing resources and streamlining these 
processes are essential to continue broadband deployment in rural 
America. By making it easier for providers to lay the groundwork for 
broadband, we take an important step toward connecting our unserved 
communities.

                          ____________________