Jeff Bingaman

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. I withhold that suggestion.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Warner amendment No. 1566 is offered and reported by number, the amendment be temporarily set aside and that the Klobuchar amendment No. 1557 be called, and once reported by number, the amendment be set aside and we return to the Warner amendment No. 1566.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, could I ask my colleague from Virginia to suspend for a moment while the clerk calls up the Klobuchar amendment, as provided for?

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Virginia, and please proceed.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I perhaps can clarify for the Senator from California, there is a definition of Atlantic coastal States on the second page of Senator Warner's amendment. But the definition, as I read the amendment, is there for the purpose of defining which States are eligible to comment on a petition the Governor of Virginia would make or submit. Only the Governor of Virginia and only the State of Virginia is affected by it, except to the extent these other States have a right to comment.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time until 5:20 today be for debate with respect to the Warner amendment, No. 1566, and the Menendez amendment, No. 1578, with the time to run concurrently and be equally divided and controlled between Senators Warner and Menendez or their designees; that the Menendez amendment be modified to be a first-degree amendment; that no amendment be in order to either amendment prior to the vote; that each amendment must receive 60 affirmative votes to be agreed to; and that if each amendment fails to receive 60 affirmative votes, it will be withdrawn; provided further that the first vote occur with respect to the Warner amendment; that if the Warner amendment does not receive 60 votes, then the Menendez amendment, as modified, be withdrawn; that at 5:20 today, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the Warner amendment without further intervening action or debate; provided further that Senator Lautenberg control up to 5 minutes.

Mr. BINGAMAN. I ask if I may use 1 minute of the time of the Senator from New Jersey.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Let me speak very briefly to oppose the amendment by my friend and colleague from Virginia. In my view there are two reasons why we do not have drilling off the coast of Virginia. No. 1 is that the President, by executive order, has put a moratorium on any drilling off the coast of Virginia or the mid-Atlantic. Second, every year when we pass the Interior appropriations bill, we include in it boilerplate language. We have done it for a couple decades now. It says: No funds provided in this title may be expended by the Department of Interior to conduct oil and natural gas preleasing, leasing, or related activities in the middle Atlantic and south Atlantic planning areas. If the Senator from Virginia wants to see drilling off the coast of Virginia, he should change this provision when we get to the Interior appropriations bill in 3 or 4 weeks. That is the place to get that changed. If that is not changed, I would say even if the Senator's amendment today were enacted, it would have no force and effect, because no funds could be spent to carry it out. In my view, it should be changed in that respect.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, my colleague from New Mexico wishes to make a statement for some of his colleagues before they leave.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I underscore the point that my colleague has made. If Senators do have amendments they want to have seriously considered, they need to get them to us. We will be trying to consider or at least organize amendments tomorrow. We are not having rollcall votes, I have been informed by the majority leader, either tomorrow or Monday, but we are going to try to process any amendments we can get agreements to move ahead with. We urge Senators to get those amendments to us and get those amendments filed. I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, one amendment that was offered today by Senator Salazar on behalf of himself, Senator Bayh, Senator Cantwell, Senator Lincoln, Senator Clinton, Senator Brownback, Senator Lieberman, Senator Coleman, Senator Biden is an amendment related to plug-in hybrids. It is amendment No. 1572, as modified. We have now cleared this with all interested parties on both sides of the aisle. It is my information that it is ready for a vote. I will send the modification to the desk.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. BINGAMAN. I thank my colleague from Alaska for her courtesy in yielding me time to do this. I yield the floor.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation with my colleagues, Senator Coleman, Senator Lincoln, Senator Ben Nelson, Senator Kerry, and Senator Collins, that will help to address the critical shortage of nurse faculty and physical therapists that is facing our Nation. The nationwide nursing shortage is growing rapidly, because the average age of the nursing workforce is near retirement and because the aging population has increasing health care needs. And the shortage is one that affects the entire Nation. A 2006 Health Resources and Services Administration report estimated that the national nursing shortage would more than triple, to more than 1 million nurses, by the year 2020. The report also predicts that all 50 States will experience nursing shortages by 2015. Quite simply, we need to educate more nurses, or we, as a Nation, will not have enough trained nurses to meet the needs of our aging society. One of the biggest constraints to educating more nurses is a shortage of nursing faculty. Almost three-quarters of nursing programs surveyed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing cited faculty shortages as a reason for turning away qualified applicants. Although applications to nursing programs have surged 59 percent over the past decade, the National League for Nursing estimates that 147,000 qualified applications were turned away in 2004. This represents a 27 percent decrease in admissions over the previous year, indicating the need to scale up capacity in nursing programs is more critical than ever. I know that in my home state of New Mexico, nursing programs turned down almost half of qualified applicants, even though the Health Resources and Services Administration predicts that New Mexico will only be able to meet 64 percent of its demand for nurses by 2020. With a national nurse faculty workforce that averages 53.5 years of age, and an average nurse faculty retirement age of 62.5 years, we cannot and must not wait any longer to address nurse faculty shortages. Nursing faculty are not the only segment of the population that is aging. As the baby boom generation ages, there will be an increased need for nurses to care for the elderly. However, less than 1 percent of practicing nurses have a certification in geriatrics. The Nurse Faculty and Physical Therapist Education Act will amend the Public Health Service Act, to help alleviate the faculty shortage by providing funds to help nursing schools increase enrollment and graduation from nursing doctoral programs. The act will increase partnering opportunities between academic institutions and medical practices, enhance cooperative education, support marketing outreach, and strengthen mentoring programs. The bill will increase the number of nurses who complete nursing doctoral programs and seek employment as faculty members and nursing leaders in academic institutions. In addition, the bill authorizes awards to train nursing faculty in clinical geriatrics, so that more nursing students will be equipped for our aging population. By addressing the faculty shortage, we are addressing the nursing shortage. The aging population will also require additional health workers in other fields. Physical therapy was listed as one of the fastest growing occupations by the U.S. Department of Labor, with a projected job growth of greater than 36 percent between 2004 and 2014. The need for physical therapists is particularly acute in rural and urban underserved areas, which have three to four times fewer physical therapists per capita than suburban areas. To address this need, the bill also authorizes a distance education pilot program to improve access to educational opportunity for both nursing and physical therapy students. Finally, the bill calls for a study by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences which will recommend how to balance education, labor, and immigration policies to meet the demand for qualified nurses and physical therapists. The provisions of the Nurse Faculty and Physical Therapist Education Act are vital to overcoming workforce challenges. By addressing nurse faculty and physical therapist shortages, we will enhance both access to care and the quality of care. I would like to thank my colleagues, Senator Coleman, Senator Lincoln, and Senator Ben Nelson, for their leadership and hard work on this important issue. I ask unanimous consent that the text of bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation with my colleagues, Senator Coleman, Senator Lincoln, Senator Ben Nelson, Senator Kerry, and Senator Collins, that will help to address the critical shortage of nurse faculty and physical therapists that is facing our Nation. The nationwide nursing shortage is growing rapidly, because the average age of the nursing workforce is near retirement and because the aging population has increasing health care needs. And the shortage is one that affects the entire Nation. A 2006 Health Resources and Services Administration report estimated that the national nursing shortage would more than triple, to more than 1 million nurses, by the year 2020. The report also predicts that all 50 States will experience nursing shortages by 2015. Quite simply, we need to educate more nurses, or we, as a Nation, will not have enough trained nurses to meet the needs of our aging society. One of the biggest constraints to educating more nurses is a shortage of nursing faculty. Almost three-quarters of nursing programs surveyed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing cited faculty shortages as a reason for turning away qualified applicants. Although applications to nursing programs have surged 59 percent over the past decade, the National League for Nursing estimates that 147,000 qualified applications were turned away in 2004. This represents a 27 percent decrease in admissions over the previous year, indicating the need to scale up capacity in nursing programs is more critical than ever. I know that in my home state of New Mexico, nursing programs turned down almost half of qualified applicants, even though the Health Resources and Services Administration predicts that New Mexico will only be able to meet 64 percent of its demand for nurses by 2020. With a national nurse faculty workforce that averages 53.5 years of age, and an average nurse faculty retirement age of 62.5 years, we cannot and must not wait any longer to address nurse faculty shortages. Nursing faculty are not the only segment of the population that is aging. As the baby boom generation ages, there will be an increased need for nurses to care for the elderly. However, less than 1 percent of practicing nurses have a certification in geriatrics. The Nurse Faculty and Physical Therapist Education Act will amend the Public Health Service Act, to help alleviate the faculty shortage by providing funds to help nursing schools increase enrollment and graduation from nursing doctoral programs. The act will increase partnering opportunities between academic institutions and medical practices, enhance cooperative education, support marketing outreach, and strengthen mentoring programs. The bill will increase the number of nurses who complete nursing doctoral programs and seek employment as faculty members and nursing leaders in academic institutions. In addition, the bill authorizes awards to train nursing faculty in clinical geriatrics, so that more nursing students will be equipped for our aging population. By addressing the faculty shortage, we are addressing the nursing shortage. The aging population will also require additional health workers in other fields. Physical therapy was listed as one of the fastest growing occupations by the U.S. Department of Labor, with a projected job growth of greater than 36 percent between 2004 and 2014. The need for physical therapists is particularly acute in rural and urban underserved areas, which have three to four times fewer physical therapists per capita than suburban areas. To address this need, the bill also authorizes a distance education pilot program to improve access to educational opportunity for both nursing and physical therapy students. Finally, the bill calls for a study by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences which will recommend how to balance education, labor, and immigration policies to meet the demand for qualified nurses and physical therapists. The provisions of the Nurse Faculty and Physical Therapist Education Act are vital to overcoming workforce challenges. By addressing nurse faculty and physical therapist shortages, we will enhance both access to care and the quality of care. I would like to thank my colleagues, Senator Coleman, Senator Lincoln, and Senator Ben Nelson, for their leadership and hard work on this important issue. I ask unanimous consent that the text of bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Kusai Merchant, who is a fellow in the office of the majority leader, be granted floor privileges during the consideration of H.R. 6 and any votes thereon.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 14, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in open session to mark up the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 14, 2007, at 10 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The hearing will focus on communications policy issues implicated by the upcoming auction of frequencies in the 700 Megahertz band.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, June 14, 2007, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226. Agenda I. Committee Authorization Authorization of Subpoena in Connection with Investigation of Legal Basis for Warrantless Wiretap Program II. Bills: S.535--Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act (Dodd, Leahy, Schumer, Kennedy, Hatch, Specter, Cardin, Durbin, Whitehouse); S.456--Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007 (Feinstein, Hatch, Schumer, Specter, Biden, Kyl, Cornyn, Kohl); and S.1145--Patent Reform Act of 2007 (Leahy, Hatch, Schumer, Cornyn, Whitehouse). III. Nominations: Leslie Southwick to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. IV. Resolutions: S. Res. 105--Designating September 2007 as Campus Fire Safety Month (Biden, Kennedy). S. Res. 215--Designating Sept. 25, 2007 as National First Responder Appreciation Day (Allard, Graham).

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``The impact of rising gas prices on America's small businesses,'' on Thursday, June 14, 2007, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. BINGAMAN. I ask unanimous consent that the Joint Economic Committee be authorized to conduct a hearing entitled ``Importing Success: Why work-family policies from abroad make economic sense for the U.S.'', in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, Thursday, June 14, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 14, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.