[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18605-18608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. Wicker):
  S. 2307. A bill to promote the strengthening of the private sector in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, on November 21, the world will mark the 
20th anniversary of the Dayton Agreement, which ended the conflict in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina that began in April 1992.
  Last July, the Senator from New Hampshire and I had the privilege and 
distinct honor of being part of a delegation of House and Senate 
Members to visit Srebrenica as part of the official U.S. delegation to 
remember the genocide in Srebrenica on its 20th anniversary. So a few 
months later in November, we commemorate a happy occasion, a positive 
development in the history of Europe and in international relations, 
the Dayton Accords.
  I commend a bipartisan duo for securing approval within the United 
States. President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and Speaker Newt Gingrich, 
a Republican, were both instrumental--along with a host of others--in 
persuading on a nonpartisan basis Americans and American Congressmen to 
support this agreement, which involved a bit of risk for the United 
States. It involved troops of the United States going into this area 
and risking their safety in order to make this accord work. So I 
appreciate this, and on the 20th anniversary of that agreement and 
their leadership, I commend them.
  The Dayton Agreement was part of a response to a conflict that helped 
the international community transition from a world divided between 
East and West in order to meet post-Cold War challenges.
  I wish to mention three accomplishments of the Dayton Accords and 
then Senator Shaheen will speak for a few moments about that aspect. 
Then we will talk about some legislation that she and I have had the 
honor and privilege of working on together as a result of this trip 
that she and I took, along with others, to commemorate this tragedy in 
Srebrenica.
  Back to the Dayton Accords, among the accomplishments is a successful 
and robust peacekeeping force under NATO, which actually replaced the 
U.N. peacekeeping group with a NATO command group. It was deployed for 
the first time, and NATO also intervened out of area for the first time 
to make peace.
  Secondly, persons were held accountable for war crimes on an 
international basis--crimes against humanity and genocide. This is the 
first time this had happened since World War II.
  Third, international cooperation on demining and a concerted search 
for missing persons became essential parts of post-conflict recovery.
  Dayton also put the OSCE on center stage--the Organization for 
Security and Co-operation in Europe, of which I am a committee chair 
representing the United States of America. The Accord mandated that the 
OSCE oversee arms control efforts and develop confidence-building 
measures within Bosnia and regionally and make it possible for a 
country divided and almost destroyed by war to hold elections in a 
reasonably Democratic manner.
  So let's celebrate that accomplishment, and I am sure the Senator 
from New Hampshire will have some more important insights to offer at 
this point.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am very pleased to be on the floor 
with my friend and colleague from Mississippi to talk about Bosnia-
Herzegovina and about our trip to commemorate the horrible massacre in 
Srebrenica that occurred in 1995. As Senator Wicker has said, that was 
a very moving trip for us.
  One of the things that was very particular to New Hampshire that I 
found hopeful was listening to the very young mayor from Srebrenica, 
the current mayor, whose name is Camil Durakovic. He had actually spent 
a number of years in New Hampshire and had gone to Southern New 
Hampshire University. His family had fled after the massacre in Bosnia 
and came to New Hampshire. He went back in 2005 and was elected mayor. 
One of the things he talked about was the need to work with Serbia, to 
work across the ethnic and religious lines in Bosnia to achieve peace. 
It was, as Senator Wicker said, so heartening to think that we were 
actually able to get these Dayton Accords that ended that long conflict 
in Bosnia--very bitter and bloody--and see some real progress.
  One of the things we talked about on the flight back with President 
Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was what we 
could do to help Bosnia continue to progress and move forward, because 
one of their

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challenges is economic. This is a country that has a very high level of 
education, and it has a lot of young people who need opportunities for 
the future. So we talked about whether there was a way that we in 
Congress could look at trying to provide some economic help for Bosnia 
in the future.
  We came back and looked at how we could work together to come up with 
an idea that might be successful. What we came up with--and it was 
another tremendous bipartisan effort--was to look at the enterprise 
funds that were done after the fall of the Soviet Union and some of the 
Eastern European countries. Enterprise funds were funds passed by 
Congress with bipartisan support that helped those fledgling private 
sector economies begin to recover after the fall of the Soviet Union.
  So we took that model--a U.S. enterprise fund--and focused on Bosnia-
Herzegovina, and this is the legislation that we are going to be 
introducing. I don't know how Senator Wicker feels about it, but I 
think this offers real opportunity to Bosnia because we can leverage a 
very small amount of public resources through the private sector, 
through other local funds that might be available in Bosnia, and see 
real progress on the economic front that will help create jobs that 
will help those young people stay in the country and build a strong 
country.
  So for my friend from Mississippi, I think this is a very good way to 
provide some of the assistance they are going to need. Would the 
Senator agree?
  Mr. WICKER. I certainly agree with my colleague from New Hampshire, 
and I commend her for her leadership in getting this legislation 
drafted.
  It is an opportunity to provide a very meaningful chance for Bosnians 
and Herzegovinians to live the good life and remain in the area, but it 
is also in the absolute national security interests of the United 
States of America. We can't tend to everything, but we saw 20 years 
ago--25 years ago and forward--with the war in the Balkans what could 
happen and what almost happened to security in all of Europe. We know 
this has been a flash point down through the decades and even the 
centuries. To the extent that we can address some things that we didn't 
get done at Dayton, this will help people in the region and the former 
Yugoslavia and also help the United States of America.
  The Dayton Agreement was a crowning achievement, but it didn't 
provide Bosnia with a constitutional framework and political structures 
that could effectively govern on into the 21st century. And the Senator 
from New Hampshire and I certainly saw that. We were meeting with the 
tripartite head of the government after the ceremony we attended.
  Dan Serwer of Johns Hopkins University recently observed:

       We imposed the Dayton Accords, but we imposed what the 
     ethic nationalist warring parties told us they could live 
     with. It is therefore unsurprising that one way or another, 
     ethnic nationalists have dominated Bosnia almost 
     continuously, making it ungovernable, since 1995.

  So we are hoping the Bosnians and Herzegovinians can address this 
issue, and while they are doing that, our legislation would establish 
an enterprise fund directed by a board of American investment 
professionals capable of leveraging both public and private funding to 
provide entrepreneurs access to the same kinds of loans and investment 
opportunities afforded to small- and medium-sized businesses here in 
the United States.
  By strengthening the private sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this 
legislation would help create space to continue moving forward on the 
political reforms I just alluded to. As the Senator said, it would 
establish an enterprise fund modeled after U.S. programs that supported 
central and eastern European economies after the fall of the Berlin 
Wall, with approximately $10 billion of public and private funding.
  I would also point out that this legislation doesn't score as an 
expense. I think we are being very frugal with the authorization we are 
providing to the Congress to build on this, if our legislation passes.
  Per capita income in Bosnia and Herzegovina averages less than $5,000 
annually. And that is a shame 20 years after the Dayton Accords. 
Compare this $5,000-a-year per capita to $13,000 a year right across 
the border in neighboring Croatia. The unemployment rate stands at 40 
percent.
  Things are at a critical juncture in this country, and that is why I 
think our trip over there with former President Clinton and with former 
Secretary Albright and Members from the House of Representatives came 
at such an important time and prompted us to work together on 
legislation to help make the situation better for individuals over 
there but also help make our national security stronger and more 
reliable here in America.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, as my colleague from Mississippi points 
out, this really is critical not just to Bosnia and its future, but 
this is also about the national security of the United States.
  My colleague talked about the Balkans. We know World War I began in 
the Balkans. We know it has continued to be a part of Europe where 
Russian aggression and Russian efforts to subvert the governments there 
continue, they continue their activity. It is a place where we have a 
number of different ethnic groups and where different religions 
converge. So it is a place we need to keep supporting--Bosnia and 
Herzegovina. We need to look at how we can help them ensure their 
continued progress toward the West and Europe and also toward economic 
prosperity.
  I traveled there in 2010 with former Senator Voinovich from Ohio, who 
had done a lot of work on the Balkans when he was in the Senate. I will 
never forget a lunch we had with a number of young people there, mostly 
college students or recent graduates. We talked to them about what they 
saw for the future of the country, and there was so much hopelessness 
in that conversation because they didn't see the kinds of opportunities 
we want young people to see as they are thinking about their futures 
and their children and what is going to happen in their country. So I 
think this is a partial answer to how we can help them provide that 
economic prosperity they are looking forward to.
  Finally, I think what has happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the 
Dayton Accords--for all of its flaws, it is a model we can look to as 
we are looking at the challenges we face in Syria. The Bosniaks, the 
Serbs, the Croatians, the Muslims, the Orthodox Christians, and the 
Roman Catholics all came together and they agreed to end the conflict 
in Bosnia. They agreed to try to build a successful democracy and a 
strong economy to create a successful multiethnic, multisectarian state 
under very difficult circumstances. And while we need to continue to 
look at how the Dayton Accords should change, it is still a milestone 
in what happened with that conflict and I think serves as a model for 
so many other regions in the world where there is conflict.
  Mr. WICKER. The Senator from New Hampshire makes two very salient 
points I do want to underscore. And it pains me that we have to be on 
the floor of the Senate this afternoon talking about an aggressive 
Russia. Russia was trying to help 20 years ago in the Dayton Accords. 
They were trying to be part of getting things done. This is no longer 
the case. Russia and some of the few countries aligned with their 
interests now seem to be trying more to block effective responses to 
the international problems.
  In addition, some of the aggression of Russia in Ukraine, for 
example, is eerily, troublingly reminiscent of some language in 
previous decades--talk of violating a neighbor's sovereignty, 
territory, and claiming they are doing nothing more than defending a 
threatened local ethnic population. That is troubling and familiar 
rhetoric from a very dangerous past time. So I would underscore the 
Senator's point there about Russia.
  Before I toss this back to her to close, I would simply say this 
about her comments about American leadership. No one could have made 
this work except the United States of America in the early 1990s and in 
the mid-1990s. There was one people on the face of the

[[Page 18607]]

Earth, and that was the Americans. The world turned to us, and we 
stopped a conflagration in Europe that was about to get out of hand.
  With regard to Syria, I am so glad my friend mentioned this. The 
United States is being looked to internationally for leadership. No one 
else can provide that leadership. Again, it is incumbent on us to help 
people who are suffering in other locations, and we want to do that if 
we can, to the extent we can afford it. But we need to act with 
leadership on behalf of the United States of America, on behalf of our 
own citizens, on behalf of our own national defense interests and the 
interest of every American to live in the absence of fear from 
terrorism and the attacks and ill wishes of those who would cause us 
injury, if they possibly could.
  I very much appreciate her point about American leadership, and I 
know this will not be done unless we do it across the aisle. It is why 
it means so much to me to take the floor this afternoon in this 
colloquy, with a Democratic Senator from New Hampshire and I, a 
Republican Senator from Mississippi, pushing in the same direction and 
asking for American leadership.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank my colleague. As you point out, we represent 
two very different parts of the country.
  Mr. WICKER. Although we both are Ole Miss graduates.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. We are. We share that. The fact is, this is a 
bipartisan issue. As my colleague points out, the United States 
brokered that historic agreement in Dayton. We were the only country 
that could really take that leadership, and we need to continue that 
role in the world.
  I look forward to working with Senator Wicker as we try to move this 
bipartisan bill to support Bosnia and Herzegovina and continuing to be 
vigilant on efforts to undermine democratic values wherever they exist 
in the world, and certainly this is one place where we can provide help 
in a way that is very important.
  I thank my colleague.
  Mr. WICKER. And I thank the Senator from New Hampshire.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Lee, Mr. 
        Rubio, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Vitter, and Mr. Johnson):
  S. 2310. A bill to allow a State to submit a declaration of intent to 
the Secretary of Education to combine certain funds to improve the 
academic achievement of students; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, as a fifth-generation Montanan and product 
of Montana public schools, I understand how important a first rate 
education is to our kids' future. By increasing local control of our 
schools and lessening the influence Washington bureaucrats, we can 
provide States with the flexibility needed to meet the unique needs of 
our students and communities. That is why I am introducing the Academic 
Partnerships Lead Us to Success, or A-PLUS, Act. By shifting control 
back to the states, individual and effective solutions can be created 
to address the multitude of unique challenges facing schools across the 
country. Through these ``laboratories of democracy,'' Americans can 
watch and learn how students can benefit when innovative reforms are 
implemented on the local level. The A-PLUS Act would give states 
greater flexibility in allocating federal education funding and 
ensuring academic achievement in their schools. With A-PLUS, States 
would be freed from unworkable teacher standards, Washington-knows-best 
performance metrics, and onerous Federal testing requirements that have 
failed to bring about promised improvements in academic achievement. 
States would be held accountable by parents and teachers because a 
bright light would shine directly on the decisions made by State 
capitals and local school districts. With freedom from Federal mandates 
comes more responsibility, transparency, and accountability on States. 
States would need to adhere to all civil rights laws and work towards 
advancing educational opportunities for disadvantaged children as well. 
This legislation would go a long ways towards returning the 
responsibility for our kids' education closer to home and reduces the 
influence of the Federal Government over our classrooms. I want to 
thank Senators Grassley, Cruz, Lee, Rubio, Lankford, and Perdue for 
being original cosponsors of this bill and I ask my other Senate 
colleagues to join us in support of this legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Booker, and Ms. 
        Hirono):
  S. 2323. A bill to clarify the definition of nonimmigrant for 
purposes of chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DURBIN. 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. 2323

       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 ``Visa Waiver Program Firearms 
     Clarification Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. NONIMMIGRANT CLARIFICATION.

       Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (d)(5)(B), by inserting ``or pursuant to 
     the Visa Waiver Program established under section 217 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187)'' before the 
     semicolon at the end;
       (2) in subsection (g)(5)(B), by inserting ``or pursuant to 
     the Visa Waiver Program established under section 217 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187)'' before the 
     semicolon at the end; and
       (3) in subsection (y)--
       (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``or Pursuant 
     to the Visa Waiver Program'' after ``Visas'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
     (A), by inserting ``or pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program 
     established under section 217 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187)'' after ``visa''; and
       (C) in paragraph (3)(A), in the matter preceding clause 
     (i), by inserting ``or pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program 
     established under section 217 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187)'' after ``visa''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. CANTWELL:
  S. 2326. A bill to designate the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, 
located in the State of Washington, as the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually 
National Wildlife Refuge, to establish the Medicine Creek Treaty 
National Memorial within the wildlife refuge, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, last year the Pacific Northwest, and the 
Nation lost one of our greatest civil rights heroes with the passing of 
Billy Frank, Jr. It is clear a great leader has been lost when an 
entire community shows up to commemorate his life and celebrate his 
spirit. I attended Billy's memorial, along with Senator Murray and 
6,000 others, and was honored to have the chance to pay tribute to the 
man who fought for the civil rights of Native Americans, the principles 
of environmental stewardship, and the importance of salmon recovery and 
preservation in the Pacific Northwest.
  Today, I am introducing the Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act, 
which would change the name of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge 
to the ``Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.'' In 
addition, this legislation would create a national memorial to 
commemorate the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty, the treaty that 
Billy Frank fought so hard to enforce, within the refuge. The wildlife 
refuge sits adjacent to the Nisqually Reservation where Billy grew up 
and lived, and contains the estuary and salmon that Billy devoted his 
life to protecting.
  Billy Frank, Jr. just wanted to fish. He was a fisherman to his core, 
and that's how he wanted history to remember him. Everyone who knew 
Billy would want us to remember him as the legend that walked and 
fished among us. Given his life, his legacy, and the way he changed 
Washington State and the Nation, it is only right that we honor his 
legacy by forever linking his name to the Nisqually National Wildlife 
Refuge.
  Along with his advocacy for protecting Tribal treaty rights, Billy

[[Page 18608]]

Frank changed the way we look at the environment. Because of his 
advocacy, we now have environmental restoration efforts throughout the 
Puget Sound, including at the Nisqually River Delta, the largest tidal 
marsh rehabilitation in the Northwest. Additionally, we have the Puget 
Sound Partnership, a Tribal and public-private partnership dedicated to 
improve the health of our Puget Sound. Billy understood that we have a 
sacred responsibility to be stewards of our environment, and that we 
must leave it for future generations in better condition than it was 
left to us.
  The Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act has the support of the 
Nisqually Tribe and the neighboring Puyallup Tribe, along with the 
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, the National Congress of 
American Indians, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. A 
companion bill introduced by Congressman Denny Heck has been approved 
by the House Natural Resources Committee and is awaiting consideration 
by the House. I urge its passage in the Senate, especially given the 
recent decision by President Obama to posthumously award Billy the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  Billy grew up listening to the stories of his father and others 
belonging to the Nisqually and other tribes. Routinely harassed for 
fishing his tribe's namesake Nisqually River with nets, Willie Frank, 
Sr. recalled a warden telling him, ``Your treaty isn't worth the paper 
it's printed on.'' Billy's father always told him, ``Just keep fishing. 
Even if they arrested you, just keep fishing. Even if they beat you 
just keep fishing. Keep fishing and claim what was promised in the in 
the Medicine Creek Treaty.'' By changing the name of the Nisqually 
wildlife refuge, we will not only honor the fisherman that fought to 
protect the land and its people, but we will make this land better than 
it was left to us, just like Billy Frank, Jr. would have wanted.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. Graham):
  S. 2331. A bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to make 
invalid and unenforceable predispute arbitration agreements with 
respect to controversies arising under provisions of such Act and to 
preserve the rights of servicemembers to bring class actions under such 
Act, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, our Nation has a strong tradition of 
ensuring that our service members are protected while they serve to 
keep us safe. As the challenges facing our service members change, we 
must work to ensure that our laws continue to keep pace. In this 
regard, I have worked with my colleagues over the years to strengthen 
the protections for service members and their families under the 
Servicemember Civil Relief Act, SCRA.
  Today, I am joined by Senator Graham in introducing on a bipartisan 
basis legislation to further enhance SCRA protections. The SCRA Rights 
Protection Act seeks to protect service members from being forced to 
accept mandatory arbitration clauses as part of everyday transactions, 
such as those relating to mortgage origination, automobile leases, and 
student loans. Often service members sign contracts that include 
arbitration clauses buried in the fine print, and this eliminates their 
access to the courts, which can limit their ability to assert their 
rights and reach a fair resolution. In disputes involving SCRA rights, 
this bill would make arbitration clauses unenforceable unless all 
parties consent to arbitration after the dispute arises, and would also 
ensure that service members retain their right to join with other 
service members to file a case together as a class.
  I urge our colleagues to join us in supporting this improvement to 
the SCRA, which will better protect our military families while the men 
and women of our Armed Forces protect our nation.

                          ____________________