Wayne Allard

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. I thank the Senator from Texas for his question, and, yes, I am very much aware of that. Those States are disproportionately affected because of the overpopulation they have within their boundaries.

Mr. ALLARD. That is one of the problems we are facing today and one of the problems that Secretary Chertoff of Homeland Security pointed out. It is vital that we be able to identify duplicate uses of Social Security numbers because a number of the terrorists that were here on 9/11, attacking this country, were here under fraudulent IDs. It is an important aspect of law enforcement, and particularly homeland security, to be able to carry on their responsibilities.

Mr. ALLARD. Well, it is the very thing the 9/11 Commission was pointing out that is a problem with protecting the citizens of this country, the stovepiping of information among the various agencies and where there is no passing of information back and forth. This is a classic example where one agency, in this case the Social Security Administration, has a number, and they know it is being used more than once throughout the country, yet nobody gets notified; it stays within the Social Security Administration. Even those law enforcement agencies within Homeland Security cannot get that information to act on it. Secretary Chertoff said an important part of being able to carry out our function to ensure the security of this country is to get that information. Yet right now, the law explicitly prohibits the Social Security Administration from sharing that information with Homeland Security. I think it is a problem that needs to be corrected, and the sooner we can correct that, the better.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, let me summarize my comments by saying I think it is important, in ensuring the security of this country, that we pass this amendment. Without the sharing of that information between the various agencies, it is going to be possible for anybody who comes into this country illegally, terrorists especially, to stay within this country and operate in a way where they are not discovered. We want to have law enforcement become aware of the presence of somebody here illegally, particularly if they are a terrorist. If their intention is to either destroy a building or to lay a bomb out somewhere, they are a real threat to this country. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I appreciate the Senator from Colorado allowing me an opportunity to call my own amendment. The way I understand it now, we are going to give 2\1/2\ minutes to the Senator from Louisiana, and I will have 2\1/2\ minutes on this side; is that correct? How are we allocating time? I want to clarify.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to lay aside the pending amendment and call up amendment No. 272.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, this amendment deals with identity theft. As we heard from the 9/11 Commission, being able to secure our identity process is extremely important for the national security of this country. The 9/11 Commission suggested that we needed to do more to protect against identity theft and that was part of the problem with the terrorists who were coming into this country. So my amendment is very pertinent to the subject of this particular piece of legislation. One of the key items in that report is that we break down the stovepipe between the agencies so we can have some enforcement. This amendment tries to break down the stovepipe between Social Security and Homeland Security. Homeland Security, in checking for identity theft, is not able to get that information from Social Security; Social Security is not able to provide it because of a current law. This amendment addresses that problem. So it is my hope we can get this adopted. I have called it up, and I have made previous statements on this particular amendment. It is important. If we have somebody who is using the same name and Social Security number, we do not have any way of finding out about it unless it shows up on the Social Security side. So we need to be sure we can break down that stovepipe so we can have better security for this country. That is what my amendment is all about. Mr. President, I yield the remainder of my time.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, today I come to the floor to discuss an important piece of legislation that I am introducing to address a major public health need. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Hagel, Brownback, and Baucus. Today, I am introducing the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act, to address the growing shortage of veterinarians in the public health sector. Over the past decade, the world has faced a significant increase of newly emerging infectious disease outbreaks, including West Nile virus; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS; monkeypox; and avian influenza. In addition to their ability to cause severe illness, and even death, these diseases share another important characteristic: they are all transmitted from animals to man. Veterinary medicine is an integral and indispensable component of our Nation's public health system. Veterinarians protect human health by preventing and controlling infectious diseases, ensuring the safety and security of the Nation's food supply, promoting healthy environments, and providing health care for animals. Veterinarians are essential for early detection and response to unusual disease events that could be linked to newly emerging infectious diseases, or other biothreat agents of concern. In fact, it was a veterinarian who first diagnosed West Nile virus in the United States and a veterinarian who first notified health authonties of the introduction of monkeypox to the United States. A veterinarian's prompt diagnosis and reporting of screwworm infestation prevent this disease from becoming reestablished in the United States, thus saving hundreds of millions of dollars in expensive eradication programs. There is a need to build national capacity in research and training in the prevention, surveillance, diagnosis, and control of newly emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Veterinarians are uniquely qualified to address these high-priority public health issues because of their extensive professional training in basic biomedical sciences, population medicine, and broad, multi- species, comparative medical approach to disease prevention and control. There is a shortage of veterinarians working in public health practice. As used in the preceding sentence, the term ``public health practice'' includes bioterrorism and emergency preparedness, environmental health, food safety and food security, regulatory medicine, diagnostic laboratory medicine, and biomedical research. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects there to be 28,000 job openings in the veterinary medical profession by 2012 due to growth and net replacements, a turnover of nearly 38 percent. The Nation's veterinary medical colleges do not have the capacity to satisfy the current and future demand for veterinarians and veterinary expertise that is vital to maintain public health preparedness. Veterinary colleges also provide a broad, multi-species, comparative medical approach to disease prevention and control, which is fundamental to understanding the transmission and life cycle of infectious disease agents, especially those that are shared with animals. Veterinarians have special expertise in preventing and controlling these types of diseases, but there is a critical shortage of veterinarians working in public health practice, and the Nation's veterinary medical colleges do not have enough capacity to meet the demand. In order to meet the critical shortages of veterinarians today I am introducing the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act, which will allow veterinary medical colleges to expand their training programs for veterinary public health professionals. The Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act will create a new competitive grant program for capital improvements to allow veterinary medical colleges to expand their training programs for public health professionals. There are critical shortages of veterinarians across the United States, and the Nation's veterinary medical colleges do not have enough capacity to meet the demand. The Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act will build infrastructure, research laboratories, and classroom space to provide training for veterinary students in public health, food safety, infectious diseases, global health, and environmental quality.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, today I come to the floor to discuss an important piece of legislation that I am introducing to address a major public health need. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Hagel, Brownback, and Baucus. Today, I am introducing the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act, to address the growing shortage of veterinarians in the public health sector. Over the past decade, the world has faced a significant increase of newly emerging infectious disease outbreaks, including West Nile virus; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS; monkeypox; and avian influenza. In addition to their ability to cause severe illness, and even death, these diseases share another important characteristic: they are all transmitted from animals to man. Veterinary medicine is an integral and indispensable component of our Nation's public health system. Veterinarians protect human health by preventing and controlling infectious diseases, ensuring the safety and security of the Nation's food supply, promoting healthy environments, and providing health care for animals. Veterinarians are essential for early detection and response to unusual disease events that could be linked to newly emerging infectious diseases, or other biothreat agents of concern. In fact, it was a veterinarian who first diagnosed West Nile virus in the United States and a veterinarian who first notified health authonties of the introduction of monkeypox to the United States. A veterinarian's prompt diagnosis and reporting of screwworm infestation prevent this disease from becoming reestablished in the United States, thus saving hundreds of millions of dollars in expensive eradication programs. There is a need to build national capacity in research and training in the prevention, surveillance, diagnosis, and control of newly emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Veterinarians are uniquely qualified to address these high-priority public health issues because of their extensive professional training in basic biomedical sciences, population medicine, and broad, multi- species, comparative medical approach to disease prevention and control. There is a shortage of veterinarians working in public health practice. As used in the preceding sentence, the term ``public health practice'' includes bioterrorism and emergency preparedness, environmental health, food safety and food security, regulatory medicine, diagnostic laboratory medicine, and biomedical research. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects there to be 28,000 job openings in the veterinary medical profession by 2012 due to growth and net replacements, a turnover of nearly 38 percent. The Nation's veterinary medical colleges do not have the capacity to satisfy the current and future demand for veterinarians and veterinary expertise that is vital to maintain public health preparedness. Veterinary colleges also provide a broad, multi-species, comparative medical approach to disease prevention and control, which is fundamental to understanding the transmission and life cycle of infectious disease agents, especially those that are shared with animals. Veterinarians have special expertise in preventing and controlling these types of diseases, but there is a critical shortage of veterinarians working in public health practice, and the Nation's veterinary medical colleges do not have enough capacity to meet the demand. In order to meet the critical shortages of veterinarians today I am introducing the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act, which will allow veterinary medical colleges to expand their training programs for veterinary public health professionals. The Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act will create a new competitive grant program for capital improvements to allow veterinary medical colleges to expand their training programs for public health professionals. There are critical shortages of veterinarians across the United States, and the Nation's veterinary medical colleges do not have enough capacity to meet the demand. The Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act will build infrastructure, research laboratories, and classroom space to provide training for veterinary students in public health, food safety, infectious diseases, global health, and environmental quality.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. I thank the majority leader for that opportunity. I have a bill I would like to introduce briefly this morning and talk about it for a few minutes. If somebody shows up from his side, I will yield.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask unanimous consent that time under the quorum call be charged equally to both sides.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I will be introducing a piece of legislation today which is a bill to cut at the heart of a rampant problem in this country; that is, identity theft. Last month, a bipartisan group of Senators and I met with Secretary Chertoff on this very issue. Secretary Chertoff explained that under current law, Government agencies are prevented from sharing information with one another that, if shared, could expose cases of identity theft. My bill tears down the wall that prevents the sharing of existing information among Government agencies. It permits the Commissioner of Social Security to secure information with the Secretary of Homeland Security where such information is likely to assist in discovering identity theft, Social Security number misuse, or violations of immigration law. Specifically, it requires the Commissioner to inform the Secretary of Homeland Security upon discovery of a Social Security account number being used with multiple names or where an individual has more than one person reporting earnings for him or her during a single tax year. It seems logical that we would already be doing this, but we are not. In the meantime, identity theft is plaguing innocent victims all across the country. We were reminded of the pervasiveness of this problem by the recent ICE raids of six Swift and Company meat-packing plants across the country last December. In total, agents apprehended 1,282 illegal alien workers on administrative immigration violations. Of these, 65 have also been charged with criminal violations related to identity theft or other violations. Unfortunately, for the victims of identity theft, by the time the identity theft is discovered, the damage has already been done. Ranked fifth in the Nation for identity theft, citizens of Colorado are no strangers to identity theft. For instance, an 84-year-old Grand Junction woman was deemed ineligible for Federal housing assistance because her Social Security number was being used at a variety of jobs in Denver, making her income too high to qualify. A 10-year-old child in Douglas County had his identity stolen, and his Social Security number was being used at 17 different jobs. Others get stuck with big tax bills for wages they never earned. Clearly, identity theft is an issue that affects people of all ages and walks of life. Yet when the Social Security Administration has reason to believe that a Social Security number is being used fraudulently, they are prevented from sharing it with the Department of Homeland Security. Withholding this information effectively enables thieves to continue to perpetrate the crime of identity theft against innocent victims. By simply sharing this information, cases of identity theft could be discovered much sooner. Victims of identity theft deserve to have this existing information acted on, and my bill allows for this to happen. I urge colleagues to support this commonsense legislation. Later on, when we are on S. 4, called Improving America's Security Act, which deals with implementation of more of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, I plan on offering an amendment that has similar language to this bill. This is an issue which is extremely important to victims. It is something we should address. I will give the Senate plenty of opportunity to deal with this issue.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I will be introducing a piece of legislation today which is a bill to cut at the heart of a rampant problem in this country; that is, identity theft. Last month, a bipartisan group of Senators and I met with Secretary Chertoff on this very issue. Secretary Chertoff explained that under current law, Government agencies are prevented from sharing information with one another that, if shared, could expose cases of identity theft. My bill tears down the wall that prevents the sharing of existing information among Government agencies. It permits the Commissioner of Social Security to secure information with the Secretary of Homeland Security where such information is likely to assist in discovering identity theft, Social Security number misuse, or violations of immigration law. Specifically, it requires the Commissioner to inform the Secretary of Homeland Security upon discovery of a Social Security account number being used with multiple names or where an individual has more than one person reporting earnings for him or her during a single tax year. It seems logical that we would already be doing this, but we are not. In the meantime, identity theft is plaguing innocent victims all across the country. We were reminded of the pervasiveness of this problem by the recent ICE raids of six Swift and Company meat-packing plants across the country last December. In total, agents apprehended 1,282 illegal alien workers on administrative immigration violations. Of these, 65 have also been charged with criminal violations related to identity theft or other violations. Unfortunately, for the victims of identity theft, by the time the identity theft is discovered, the damage has already been done. Ranked fifth in the Nation for identity theft, citizens of Colorado are no strangers to identity theft. For instance, an 84-year-old Grand Junction woman was deemed ineligible for Federal housing assistance because her Social Security number was being used at a variety of jobs in Denver, making her income too high to qualify. A 10-year-old child in Douglas County had his identity stolen, and his Social Security number was being used at 17 different jobs. Others get stuck with big tax bills for wages they never earned. Clearly, identity theft is an issue that affects people of all ages and walks of life. Yet when the Social Security Administration has reason to believe that a Social Security number is being used fraudulently, they are prevented from sharing it with the Department of Homeland Security. Withholding this information effectively enables thieves to continue to perpetrate the crime of identity theft against innocent victims. By simply sharing this information, cases of identity theft could be discovered much sooner. Victims of identity theft deserve to have this existing information acted on, and my bill allows for this to happen. I urge colleagues to support this commonsense legislation. Later on, when we are on S. 4, called Improving America's Security Act, which deals with implementation of more of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, I plan on offering an amendment that has similar language to this bill. This is an issue which is extremely important to victims. It is something we should address. I will give the Senate plenty of opportunity to deal with this issue.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, as a veterinarian, I often have animal issues called to my attention by people who--rightly--assume that my background gives me a deeper appreciation of the matter. One such animal issue that goes largely unnoticed is the problem of homeless cats in urban areas. There are an estimated 125,000 such cats in the Denver metro area that never make it to a shelter. These cats, unowned and unsocialized, continue to breed and suffer in feral colonies. I am pleased to recognize today Spay Day USA, an event designed to manage feral cat colonies through spaying and neutering. On February 26, the Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance is cohosting Spay a Stray Day with the Cat Care Society and the Dumb Friends League. A host of veterinarians and other volunteers hope to spay and neuter 120 cats that day, thus preventing the births of hundreds of unwanted kittens. The Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance was founded in 1991. They work with volunteers, veterinarians, and citizens to prevent feral and stray kittens from being born on the street and to improve the lives of those already born and abandoned. They are the only local organization that specializes in nonlethal population control and hands on assistance with feral and stray cats. Last year, the alliance spayed or neutered over 2,000 feral and stray cats, preventing an estimated 50,000 homeless kittens from being born. They treat injuries and illnesses wherever possible and find homes for abandoned cats and kittens. Unmanaged feral cat colonies experience the worst forms of suffering, yet they are the most underserved segment of companion animal overpopulation. I am grateful for the alliance's contribution to our society and the good they will do on the 26th with their partners. I wish them continued success.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, before we do that, I was under the impression I might be able to speak for about 5 minutes or so at around 4:15. If I could add another 5 minutes at the end of that so we each have 5 minutes.

Mr. ALLARD. Meaning we have time? OK.

Mr. ALLARD. Thank you, Madam President.

Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I may make some introductory remarks on S. 589, which is at the desk.

Mr. ALLARD. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce important legislation in support of America's Paralympic programs. The Paralympics are an important facet of our modern Olympic tradition and serve as an integral part of the rehabilitation of the mind, body, and soul. Training programs provided by Paralympic organizations enable disabled athletes to overcome obstacles on and off the field. Through training, performance, and competition, these athletes regain independence and renew their spirit. The roots of the Paralympic movement originally stem from disabled veteran's returning from war. After World War II, British soldiers began participating in Paralympic games. These games provided a way for disabled soldiers to compete competitively in athletics. This practice quickly spread to the United States, and this country is now leading the way in advancing the movement. Today thousands of athletes with physical disabilities compete internationally, proudly representing their countries. Tremendous advancements in modern medicine and the adaptation of athletic equipment have allowed Para-lympic athletes to physically compete in a variety of sports and live the Olympic dream. By continuing to support the development of the Para-lympic movement at all levels, as this bill does, we are able to take advantage of these numerous scientific and medical advancements to truly improve quality of life for our wounded veterans. Today I am introducing legislation to facilitate the transfer of unused Federal property in Colorado Springs, CO, to the United States Olympic Committee and specifically Paralympics Incorporated. The transfer of this property allows the current United States Olympic Committee complex in Colorado Springs to expand and provides the U.S. Paralympic Team with further room to grow their programs. To a large degree, this expansion will afford greater opportunities to Para-lympics athletes, especially our Nation's military veterans. Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region are unique. Home to a robust veteran's population, this region also serves as the national headquarters of the Unites States Olympic Committee. This makes the area a natural fit for championing and advancing the Paralympic movement. Proponents for the disabled estimate that approximately 10 percent of the more than 500-person U.S. team to the Paralympics in 2012 will be comprised of veteran's of the global war on terrorism. This is a tremendous increase considering there were no war veterans participating in either the 2004 or 2006 games. Providing for the transfer of this property will give the United States Olympic Commitee the necessary facilities to work with local and national veteran's service organizations, the Department of Defense, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to allow for greater opportunities for disabled veterans to participate in the Paralympics, particularly those returning home from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am not alone. National and local organizations recognize the importance of these programs and vocally support my efforts, including: the Colorado American Legion, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, the National Sports Center for the Disabled, and the Pikes Peak Chapter of Military Officers Association of America. I ask my colleagues to join me in cheering on the Olympic spirit that lives in all of us by supporting our Nation's disabled veterans and Para-lympic athletes. I ask unanimous consent to print the following letters in the Record.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.