Kit Bond

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I stand before you today to pay tribute to a truly outstanding University in my home State of Missouri, Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU). SMSU was one of 135 schools in 42 states selected to the John Templeton Foundation Honor Roll, ``a designation recognizing colleges and universities that emphasize character building as an integral part of the college experience.'' Being the only public institution in Missouri to earn the 1997-98 Honor Roll distinction, SMSU is also one of the eight state-funded schools to receive the award nationwide. Schools competing for the Honor Roll were judged on five criteria and out of 2,208 four-year accredited undergraduate institutions only the top few were chosen. One of the categories where SMSU stood out was in community service. During the 1996-97 school year the SMSU campus, including the faculty and students, volunteered more than 69,500 hours. It is an honor for the entire State of Missouri to have a University like SMSU, whose service and character-building programs have earned it this distinguished award. I commend SMSU's President, Dr. John Kaiser, for his commitment to excellence and hope for continued success in the future.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the Hispanic American population during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Every year, from September 15 through October 15, Hispanic Americans celebrate their Heritage and are honored for their many civic contributions and achievements throughout the Nation. In the spirit of Hispanic Heritage Month, I recognize two individuals, Rafael Garcia and Octavio Viveros, Jr., whom I nominated to represent my home State of Missouri on the United States Senate Task Force on Hispanic Affairs. Rafael Garcia is president and owner of Rafael Architects, Inc. (RAI). Honored with many architectural awards, Rafael has also received numerous Community Service awards. In 1997, Rafael earned ``Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist'' to add to his Hispanic Leadership award, and his ``Top 25 Hispanic Leaders in Kansas City'' honor given by Dos Mundos Newspaper. He is a member of several Charity and Community Boards of Directors including Heart of America United Way, Starlight Theater and the Kansas City Art Institute. Rafael volunteers for FOCUS/Odyssey 2000 West as a facilitator and for Project HOPE (Hope, Opportunity, Performance, Education through Entrepreneurship) and has been written up in several prominent magazines for his many accomplishments and contributions. He personifies everything positive in the Kansas City Metropolitan area and I am excited to have him working on this important cause for Hispanic communities across the United States. Octavio Viveros, Jr. is a Founder and Partner of Viveros & Barrera L.C. Law Firm and is Founder and President of LatAm Trading, Inc. Octavio has been appointed to the Board of Indigent's Defense a Gubernatorial Appointment for the State of Kansas and the Key Commission a Mayoral Appointment for the City of Kansas City, MO. He is the founder of the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, a former President of the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City and a member of the Kansas City Centurious Leadership Program, to name a few of his civic accomplishments. Octavio has earned many awards including recognition as one of the ``25 Most Influential Hispanics in Kansas City'' in 1993 by Dos Mundos Newspaper. Most recently he attended United States Senate Republican Conference as a member of the Task Force on Hispanic Affairs here in Washington, DC. His continuing commitment to not only the Kansas City Community, but also the entire Hispanic American Community is a positive example for all and I am extremely pleased to have him on my team. I believe that Rafael and Octavio will be able to help the Hispanic community by encouraging growth and opportunity. Each year exemplary leadership in the Hispanic Community is evidenced by achievement in the work force and community involvement. It is impressive to watch this expansion and I congratulate all Hispanic Americans, especially Rafael and Octavio, during this important month of Heritage. I commend them on their present success and hope for even more in the years to come.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, today I stand before you to pay tribute to the Saint Monica Catholic Church in Creve Coeur, Missouri. On Sunday, September 28, 1997, the St. Monica Catholic Church will celebrate its 125th anniversary with Archbishop Justin Rigali. Among the several outstanding aspects of St. Monica Catholic Church is a school which has contributed to the community in service and education. The St. Monica Parish Family is the center of the Creve Coeur community and has always prided themselves in their family oriented approach in faith. I commend the St. Monica Catholic Church staff and members for their spirit and energy throughout their many years of existence and hope they continue to enrich the Creve Coeur community for years to come.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, there may not be many things in life on which there is a consensus but I think we all can agree on the vital importance of ensuring the safety of abused and neglected children and moving them out of the foster care system more rapidly and into permanent homes. I am proud to join with my colleagues in this bipartisan effort to develop the new, consensus legislation called the Promotion of Adoption, Safety, and Support for Abused and Neglected Children [PASS] Act. The reality is that all too often children simply languish in the foster care system. Nationwide, there are more than 500,000 children in foster care. In Missouri, there are 10,361 children in the foster care system. Since 1975, the number of reported incidents of abuse and neglect has increased from less than 10,000 to 52,964 in 1995, an all- time high and frightening statistic. Federal law has hindered State child welfare agencies from moving more quickly to place children who are in foster care because of abuse and neglect into permanent homes. The PASS Act will provide incentives to increase adoptions and reduce by one third the amount of time a child lingers in foster care waiting for a permanency plan, with a review required every six months so that foster care is truly viewed as a temporary care system for our most vulnerable children. The bill clarifies ``reasonable efforts'' and establishes a federal standard so that the health and safety of the child is the primary concern, above family reunification interest. There are some parents for whom reunification with their children is not reasonable--certainly sustained abuse or neglect or danger of physical harm would fit that category. In those cases, we need to move swiftly to get the children out of harm's way and then quickly to get them into permanent homes. Just count the number of cases of child abuse and neglect that has been reported over the past few months. One too many! A little, five- year old Kansas City girl named Angel Hart was beaten and drowned to death by her mother's boyfriend because she could not recite the alphabet. Under the PASS Act, States are encouraged to enact laws that would make it easier to terminate parental rights in abusive cases and prevent abused and neglected children from returning to homes in which their health and safety are at risk. In addition, this legislation promotes adoption of all special needs children and ensures health coverage for special needs children who are adopted. I am very optimistic that Congress will move this bill forward this year. There are far too many innocent lives at stake and no child should be denied a loving home. Unfortunately, for thousands of kids now caught in permanent limbo in the foster care system, that is exactly what is happening. The PASS Act will improve child safety and permanency, enabling some children to return home safely and others to move to adoptive families more quickly.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, there may not be many things in life on which there is a consensus but I think we all can agree on the vital importance of ensuring the safety of abused and neglected children and moving them out of the foster care system more rapidly and into permanent homes. I am proud to join with my colleagues in this bipartisan effort to develop the new, consensus legislation called the Promotion of Adoption, Safety, and Support for Abused and Neglected Children [PASS] Act. The reality is that all too often children simply languish in the foster care system. Nationwide, there are more than 500,000 children in foster care. In Missouri, there are 10,361 children in the foster care system. Since 1975, the number of reported incidents of abuse and neglect has increased from less than 10,000 to 52,964 in 1995, an all- time high and frightening statistic. Federal law has hindered State child welfare agencies from moving more quickly to place children who are in foster care because of abuse and neglect into permanent homes. The PASS Act will provide incentives to increase adoptions and reduce by one third the amount of time a child lingers in foster care waiting for a permanency plan, with a review required every six months so that foster care is truly viewed as a temporary care system for our most vulnerable children. The bill clarifies ``reasonable efforts'' and establishes a federal standard so that the health and safety of the child is the primary concern, above family reunification interest. There are some parents for whom reunification with their children is not reasonable--certainly sustained abuse or neglect or danger of physical harm would fit that category. In those cases, we need to move swiftly to get the children out of harm's way and then quickly to get them into permanent homes. Just count the number of cases of child abuse and neglect that has been reported over the past few months. One too many! A little, five- year old Kansas City girl named Angel Hart was beaten and drowned to death by her mother's boyfriend because she could not recite the alphabet. Under the PASS Act, States are encouraged to enact laws that would make it easier to terminate parental rights in abusive cases and prevent abused and neglected children from returning to homes in which their health and safety are at risk. In addition, this legislation promotes adoption of all special needs children and ensures health coverage for special needs children who are adopted. I am very optimistic that Congress will move this bill forward this year. There are far too many innocent lives at stake and no child should be denied a loving home. Unfortunately, for thousands of kids now caught in permanent limbo in the foster care system, that is exactly what is happening. The PASS Act will improve child safety and permanency, enabling some children to return home safely and others to move to adoptive families more quickly.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today to commend my colleague Senator Gorton on his amendment to provide kindergarten through 12th grade education funding directly to local educational agencies. Last month, I traveled through my home State of Missouri to discuss education and the importance of parent involvement in their child's education. I strongly believe that parents are the key to educational progress. As I visited with parents, educators, and local school officials, they were in full agreement concerning the education of our children; they need the flexibility to improve the quality of education at the local level without federal intrusion. As responsible parents and educators, the need for our children to be properly educated was a top priority. Over the last 30 years, federal involvement in education has burgeoned and I am disturbed by the growth of federal involvement in what is constitutionally the right of states: to provide for high- quality, public education. This growth has been a wolf in sheep's clothing: states and localities have been offered additional funding in exchange for adhering to federal rules and regulations. The result has been that local school officials, who are directly accountable to parents, have experienced increasingly less control over education. The Gorton amendment gives local schools and States what they have been requesting for years: the flexibility to develop challenging academic standards and programs that works in each locality. States and communities are where the action should be in designing standards and programs. It is at those levels that disputes are most likely to be resolved and important local priorities recognized. We must return to the traditional role of education and reduce federal control. States and local school districts are making great strides in educating our young people; however, the federal government cannot continue to impede their ability to provide a high-quality education which they are perfectly capable of doing. The Gorton amendment sends us in the right direction, allowing both parents and educators to work together for quality education. It is bringing education back where it belongs: at the local level. We have lost too much already by the impositions of the federal government, and it is time to remedy this problem to prepare our children for the 21st century. This amendment will ease regulations that prevent teachers, school administrators, and parents from doing what is best to improve their schools. Our goal is to ensure that our children are equipped with solid academic basics, which is learning to read, write, compute, think, and speak. There is no need to reinvent the wheel because we know what works and that is parents, teachers, and local communities working together to find local solutions to local problems to educate our children. We know that our children could be doing better and I want to ensure that local schools have every possible resource to make that happen. Mr. President, the Gorton amendment will help strengthen our educational system by increasing local school district's flexibility and funding to improve the quality of education for our children. I am proud to support this amendment and urge my colleagues to adopt this provision in conference.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank the managers of the bill, particularly my good friend from Washington. I have good news that an amendment that I had proposed to offer I will not have to offer on this bill. On behalf of the people of Seneca, MO, and really people all across southwest Missouri, I, along with my colleagues Senator Ashcroft and Congressman Roy Blunt, have been fighting against an effort by an Oklahoma Indian tribe, the Eastern Shawnee, to move into southwest Missouri and establish a gambling casino in Seneca. In truth, it is a New Jersey gaming operation that is behind this operation. They have claimed that they provided $25 million to the tribe because they felt that a gambling casino in the heart of the family entertainment vacation area of southwest Missouri would be extremely profitable for the corporation and its shareholders. Over the last several months, I have presented to the Secretary of the Interior what I thought were good legal arguments that the tribe is not entitled to use an exception in the statute that would permit them automatically to move across the border from Oklahoma into Missouri. The people of southwest Missouri finally have some good news. Last night Secretary Babbitt called me to say that the tribe cannot automatically move across the border and build a casino in Missouri. This means that other tribes with land bordering on our State will not be able to come in. They would have to go through the process of getting approval of the Governor and support of the local residents. I think this is a huge victory for the overwhelming majority of local residents who are concerned that gambling would destroy the family environment and the quality of life for which southwest Missouri is so well known. I assure my constituents and my colleagues that I intend to continue to fight to ensure that the entire State is protected from the invasion of unwanted gambling. I assure those people who are behind the efforts, the gambling interests, if they find or think they find another loophole, I will do my best to close it. So, Mr. President, more authorizing legislation may well be needed in this. I express my thanks to the Secretary of the Interior, who has advised me orally, although I have not seen the written opinion, that the tribe does not qualify for the exception, and under the circumstances that avenue is no longer open to bring a gambling casino into Seneca, MO. Mr. President, I thank the Chair and yield the floor. Mr. MURKOWSKI addressed the Chair.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, with sincere thanks to my colleague from Washington, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. 1139.

Mr. BOND. I thank the Chair, and I express my gratitude to the distinguished Senator from Washington. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.

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

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today in support of S. 1139, the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997. This bill is the product of the hard work of the members of the Committee on Small Business. In particular, Senator John Kerry, the committee's ranking member, has been extremely helpful and supportive in our joint efforts to produce this legislation. The Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 reauthorizes most of the credit and noncredit programs at the Small Business Administration. On June 26, 1997, the committee conducted a markup of this bill and voted 18 to 0 to report the bill favorably to the full Senate. In addition to reauthorizing the SBA programs that we are most familiar with, S. 1139 addresses two significant issues: Federal contract bundling and the HUBZone Program. The bundling of Federal Government contracts requirements is a trend that is increasing in the Federal procurement system. Small business owners have testified before the Committee on Small Business about the negative impact contract bundling is having on their ability to bid on Government contracts. The manager's amendment to the bill includes an amended version of the contract bundling section that was worked out in close consultation with Senator Thompson and Senator Glenn, the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. The manager's amendment clears up any misunderstanding over what is a bundled contract. The legislation makes clear that a bundled contract solicitation is one in which ``two or more procurement requirements for goods or services previously provided or performed under separate smaller contracts'' are consolidated into one larger, bundled contract. This language covers contracts that were previously performed by a small business and those that were suitable for award to small business concerns. The amended contract bundling section builds on the authority of the Small Business Administration to challenge a Federal agency's decision to consolidate or bundle two or more contracts into a large contract. In 1989, Congress gave specific authority to SBA's procurement center representatives to challenge a decision to bundle multiple contract actions. Importantly, under the 1989 law, the SBA Administrator was given the authority to appeal a decision to bundle contract actions directly to a Cabinet Secretary or agency head if the SBA representative and the contracting agency are not able to resolve their differences. The manager's amendment to S. 1139 adds some additional features and procedures, and today's legislation does not weaken or displace the fundamental authority of SBA. I thank both Senator Thompson and Senator Glenn and their staffs for their cooperation in helping us to address certain issues within the jurisdiction of the Governmental Affairs Committee relating to the Federal procurement system and governmentwide acquisition policy. I believe the contract bundling section included in the manager's amendment will help our efforts to be fair to small businesses by limiting contract bundling where it is unnecessary and unjustified. S. 1139 also includes the full text of S. 208, the HUBZone Act of 1997, in the form in which it was approved by a unanimous 18 to 0 committee vote. This initiative is designed to stimulate economic development in America's most disadvantaged urban and rural communities and make welfare to work a reality. The HUBZone provisions will make it easier for small businesses located in and hiring employees from economically distressed regions across the country to obtain Government contracts. The measure will benefit entire communities by creating meaningful incentives for small businesses to operate and provide employment within our Nation's most disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods and rural areas. To be eligible for special Federal contract consideration, a business must be small, must be located in a historically underutilized business zone [HUBZone], and must hire not less than 35 percent of its work force from a HUBZone. For these distressed areas, HUBZones would result in the immediate infusion of sorely needed capital as more and more businesses--both startups and existing enterprises--relocate into HUBZone areas in order to improve their chances of receiving Federal contract awards. Importantly, the HUBZone Program will help accomplish an important objective of welfare reform by providing jobs for individuals who want to move from welfare to work in the very neighborhoods where many public aid recipients currently live. The Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 is the culmination of hearings held by the Committee on Small Business beginning in early l995, and continuing into June 1996, just prior to the committee markup. The bill includes new authorization ceilings for the credit programs, including the 7(a) Business Loan Program, the Small Business Investment Company [SBIC] Program, and the 504 Certified Development Company Program. In addition, the bill makes the Microloan Program permanent, while extending the guaranteed loan pilot for 3 years. S. 1139 will make important changes in the SBIC Program to permit manageable program growth while strengthening SBA's oversight of the program. The bill gives SBA the option to make 5 year leverage commitments, which would conform the program to typical investment strategy patterns. In addition, the bill permits SBA to use fees collected from SBICs for licensing and examinations to offset the agency's costs to perform these necessary functions. The bill also sets fees to be paid by borrowers and lenders under the 504 Development Company Program. These fees are paid in lieu of Congress appropriating public funds to compensate for the Government's loss exposure as determined by the credit subsidy rate. S. 1139 provides that the fees paid by the borrowers will be reduced should the credit subsidy rate decline. The committee's report addresses some of the operational problems confronting the popular 7(a) Guaranteed Business Loan Program. Since I became chairman of the Committee on Small Business over 2\1/2\ years ago, the credit subsidy rate, which determines the level of Government loss exposure for loans guaranteed under this program, has fluctuated widely. Information and calculations which determine the subsidy rate are often not provided to Congress, the Congressional Budget Office [CBO], or the public. SBA and the Office of Management and Budget must do a more thorough and accurate job in determining subsidy rate estimates. With this improved flow of documentation, CBO needs to become much more engaged early in the process when SBA and OMB make initial subsidy rate estimates in order that Congress can be assured that the annual estimates submitted with each fiscal year's budget request are accurate and reflect that best available data and assumptions. S. 1139 recognizes the growing contributions women-owned small businesses are making in our economy. Testimony before the Committee on Small Business has highlighted the importance of business loans and venture capital to ensure the growth of women-owned businesses. Additionally, testimony and evidence brought to the attention of the committee also indicates the failure of the Federal Government to meet the annual 5 percent goal for awarding prime contracts to women-owned small businesses. In fact, over the past 2 fiscal years, the volume of these contracts has decreased. The Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 strengthens the role of key Federal organizations that are supposed to help women business owners: SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership, the National Women's Business Council, and the Interagency Committee on Women's Business Enterprise. The bill expands the list of Federal agencies and departments that serve on the Interagency Committee, and each agency's designee to the committee is required to report directly to the agency head on the committee's activities. The bill seeks to reinvigorate the role of the Women's Business Council, which is designed to advise Congress and the executive branch, by involving more closely the Senate and House of Representatives in the activities of the council. The number of members on the council is expanded to 14 members from 9 members, with attention placed on rural as well as urban representation on the council. Most significantly, the bill adopts the text of S. 888, the Women's Business Centers Act of 1997, introduced by Senator Domenici and of which I was a principal cosponsor, along with Senator Kerry. The bill increases the program authorization level for creating new Women's Business Centers to $8 million per year from $4 million per year. In addition, it will permit grantees receiving funds under the program to remain in the program for 5 years, an increase of two years over the existing program. In adopting this program, the committee recognized there are many states with Women's Business Center sites, and the expanded program is designed to give SBA the flexibility to fund sites in those states. The bill recognizes the central role played by SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership in overseeing and coordinating Government support for women-owned small businesses. In addition to overseeing the expanded Women's Business Centers grant program, the OWBO and staff in each district and branch office within SBA serve critical roles in focusing on the problems confronted by women business owners. The bill recognizes the expanding role of the Small Business Development Center program by increasing its responsibilities to assist small businesses to understand better how to deal with regulatory questions and problems. In addition, the bill provides increases in the base funding levels for SBDCs and sets a minimum floor for Federal funding of $500,000 annually for each SBDC. S. 1139 also extends other important SBA programs, such as SCORE, which provides counseling opportunities for small businesses by retired executives, the Small Business Technology Transfer [STTR] Program, the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program, the Preferred Surety Bond Program, and SBA's cosponsorship authority. Mr. President, this is an important bill for all our small businesses in the United States, and I urge my colleagues' strong support for its final passage.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, as amended; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, on behalf of myself and Senator Kerry, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak on the bill and not have the time charged to either side on this amendment.

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

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank the acting manager of the bill.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thought, as children are going back to school across the country and in our States, we ought to take a few moments to think about the education they are receiving and how we as parents, not just in our role as legislators, can make a real difference in how our children develop. The truth is, we have come to know the foundations of learning begin long before a child ever gets to school. Babies from birth to age 3 years old are learning fundamental language skills at this time. Research tells us that 50 percent of a child's mature learning intelligence develops by the time that child is 3 years old. We can play a very large role in determining how successful that learning function is. We do this by reading to children even before they are old enough to hold a book. We do this by talking to them. We do this by interacting with them. Over the August recess I traveled around the State of Missouri, focusing on the issue of literacy and working with young children who were in preschool classes or, in Missouri, in our Parents as Teachers Program. I found it to be a very exciting, a very interesting, and a rewarding experience, and one that I hope we can show--all of us, as colleagues, as others who are concerned--is a very rewarding activity for the parents. We have always thought that early childhood was a key learning time. That is common sense. But now we have seen it validated by science. The development of children's learning skills depends upon the child's exposure to language in the earliest years. What we do to encourage and stimulate literacy, reading ability, communicating ability, in very young children, is going to provide the basis of their success later in life. When you come to think about it, reading is the basic skill. Learning to understand, to read and communicate is absolutely essential, particularly as we live in a complex society. Most of us think about reading and learning as part of the economic process of getting a job. I can tell you that my experiences in job training in the years when I was Governor reemphasized the importance of that. In my second term as Governor we had an on-the-job training program for industries expanding in Missouri and creating new jobs. I will never forget visiting one facility where they were installing sophisticated computer-assisted manufacturing systems. They were very complicated. You had to understand a lot of science to do the job well. And these jobs were extremely high-paying jobs. As a matter of fact, one of the workers in one of those jobs, working a 2,000-hour year, would earn more than the Governor of Missouri would have at that time. The science had all developed since I last opened a science textbook in college. They had a 6-week training program for these workers. Four of the weeks were devoted to teaching these workers to read, because so many of them had not learned the basic reading and understanding skills in school. The prize there was demonstrable; the prize was visible. If you could read and understand, you could operate one of these machines and earn more than the Governor of Missouri was earning. And there is no question, as I talked to employers around the State, they are looking for and begging for workers. But the workers have to be able to read and understand complicated instructions, because the tasks that the workers will be called on to perform, now and in the years ahead, are rapidly changing. They are changing with technology. And the people who are doing the work have to learn to read and understand the changed instructions. So, reading is a fundamental skill, an absolutely essential skill to get ahead economically. But we ought not to focus ourselves just on the economic side. To be an informed citizen, to participate in our democratic form of government, requires that people read, be able to understand all the messages that are coming to them. Reading provides the basis for communicating and getting along in the world in many other ways--in social activities, in community activities. So, literacy really is the fundamental basis, the foundation for knowledge and for development of well-informed, well-attuned children in our communities, in our States and in our Nation. Former First Lady Barbara Bush has made literacy her top priority, and I take my hat off to her. I think, as I see more and more of the challenges we face in this country, the more I understand that Mrs. Bush is right. Where people do not have the fundamental reading skills, they have significant problems. One of the reasons I have been closely associated with this literacy project is following up on the Parents as Teachers program we have in Missouri. Parents as Teachers begins by providing assistance, on a voluntary basis, to parents of children from birth to 3 years old. We have found that parents who participate in this program with their children--No. 1, are able to avoid many of the serious learning problems that affect children today and require that they be put in remedial or special education; but we are also finding that in every measure of scientific testing, these children are scoring higher than their peers. When I talk to kindergarten teachers and elementary schoolteachers and administrators, they can see the difference in these children who have worked in the program where literacy is emphasized, where parents reading to their children is emphasized. I spent the month of August trying to encourage more and more families in Missouri--parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, caregivers--to read to their children to show that it is fun, but also to tell them that it is vitally important. Also, we want to expand--and this bill does provide expansion of the opportunities for more States to participate in the Parents as Teachers Program. At my request, the chairman of the committee and the ranking member included $30 million to expand Parents as Teachers programs to other States around the country and to improve on the program. Already, 47 States participate, to some degree, in the program. Early childhood learning and development is important, and we can do a much better job. The Parents as Teachers Program is one that has had tremendous success. Mr. President, 150,000 Missouri families voluntarily participate in that program every year, and if you want to know if the program works, I can refer you to any one of those 150,000 families, because they see it is working, they know it is working, and, Mr. President, this bill provides more resources to help start these programs in every school district in the country. I hope there will be a time when we find that families, wherever they are, who want help developing the child's learning skills will be able to get the kind of assistance that is now available in Missouri. It can make a difference, and it will make a difference in our children's education, their preparation for the work force but, most of all, their preparation to take the role in society as responsible adults, as responsible parents themselves. I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting and keeping in the money for early childhood development. I hope to work with Senator Kerry and others to provide authorizing legislation in this session to expand on the opportunities to support early childhood development. Government programs are fine, but it all comes down to the responsibility of the parents, and that responsibility is very easy to outline, because the starting point is reading to children, relating to them and showing them the excitement and the wonders that are opened through reading of books and other materials. I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today in support of H.R. 2014, the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1997. This conference report is the product of months of effort by Members of the Senate as well as our colleagues in the other body and representatives of the administration. This legislation also represents the first real tax cut for the American people in over a decade. Today, Americans are bearing an enormous burden when it comes to income taxes. According to a recent study by the Tax Foundation, the per capita Federal tax burden has increased 36.5 percent since 1992 and 57.5 percent since 1988, largely because of the severity of the administration's 1993 tax increase. In simple terms, the tax burden on Americans today is too high. Many Americans now pay more in taxes than they do for food, clothing, and housing combined. This bill takes a positive step toward easing that burden in an effort to let the hard-working men and women in this country keep more of the money they earn. While the provisions of this bill reduces taxes in a variety of ways, I want to focus on two important groups who will benefit the most from this legislation--our American families and the millions of small businesses across the Nation. family tax relief Family tax relief is a critical part of the conference report that we consider today. The child tax credit has long been a Republican priority, and as a result of this bill, it is now a reality. Beginning in 1998, families will be able to claim a $400 credit per child, which will increase to $500 beginning in 1999. In addition, by making the credit available for children under age 17, we help many families when they need it the most. As a parent, I can attest to the fact that the costs of raising a child explode during the teenage years, and through this bill millions of parents will not have to struggle so much to meet those higher expenses. The availability of this credit will benefit more than 43 million children and their families. In fact, the Joint Economic Committee estimates that a married couple in my State of Missouri who earn $30,000 a year and have two children will see their Federal tax burden cut in half. That means that those families will be able to keep significantly more of their hard-earned income and use it to put food on the table rather than subsidizing the huge Federal bureaucracy. On the education front, the Revenue Reconciliation Act provides relief for millions of students seeking to better themselves and learn a trade or other profession. The bill establishes the Hope Scholarship and the Lifetime Learning tax credits, which will offset some of the high costs that families must bear to continue their children's education after high school. In addition, this legislation will benefit nearly 5 million students through tuition tax relief in the form of State-sponsored prepaid tuition programs and new educational IRA's. These programs will allow parents to contribute to education savings accounts for a child beginning at an early age. As those contributions grow tax-free, a fund will be created to pay for tuition, room and board, and related expenses when the child goes to a qualifying college or vocational school. For many students, however, higher education is only possible if they finance all or part of the expense through student loans. Unfortunately, after accumulating 4 years of such loans, these students often graduate into starting positions and large monthly loan payments. I am very pleased that this bill will assist over 7 million students in this situation by restoring a tax deduction for interest paid on student loans. This provision will help today's student who will not have had the benefit of the long-term educational savings accounts created under the bill, and it will recognize the responsibility and commitment that they undertook to achieve their higher education goals. While this bill provides important tax relief for families with children and for young adults expanding their education, it also helps those planning for their retirement years. The bill reduces the limitations on individual retirement accounts and will enable more Americans to use IRA's to save for their retirement. The legislation will also encourage both spouses to save for retirement by permitting a nonworking spouse to contribute to an IRA regardless of whether the working spouse participates in a pension plan. These changes will not only ensure greater retirement security, but will also bolster our national savings rate, which is now one of the lowest among industrialized nations. small business tax relief Mr. President, as the chairman of the Committee on Small Business, I am very pleased that this legislation makes great strides for reducing the enormous tax burdens on the small businesses in this country. According to the Small Business Administration, small firms in this country employ 53 percent of the private work force, contribute 47 percent of all sales in the country, and are responsible for 50 percent of the private gross domestic product. In addition, industries dominated by small businesses produced an estimated 75 percent of the 2.5 million new jobs created in 1995. In recognition of the important role that small entrepreneurs play in this country today, the Revenue Reconciliation Act contains several provisions that will help level the playing field for small businesses and encourage their continued growth and development. First and most important, the bill increases the deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed to 100 percent. This is truly a landmark victory for small entrepreneurs. For the first time, this legislation recognizes that self-employed business owners are entitled to the same tax treatment with respect to the deductibility of their health insurance costs as their large competitors have received for many years. Earlier this year, I introduced legislation that would provide full deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed beginning this year. While I am disappointed that it will take 10 years under this bill to reach full deductibility, we are finally on the right path. Now we can turn our attention to realizing that 100 percent level at the earliest possible date. Greater deductibility will help the 5.1 million uninsured self-employed individuals and their 1.4 million children to have greater access to health insurance. It will also help the self- employed who are already insured to maintain the cost of a single person health-insurance policy, which in most cases is substantially more expensive than a group insurance policy. A second major victory for home-based businesses is the restoration of the home-office deduction, which is a major goal of the Home-Based Business Act that I introduced earlier this year. For too long home- based businesses have borne the inequality created by the Soliman decision, which radically limited the home-based businesses that could claim the deduction. Even more troubling is the fact that many home-based businesses that would arguably meet the current criteria for the deduction never claim it for fear of triggering an IRS audit. This bill puts home-based businesses on an equal footing with their larger competitors and clears the way for the continued success of these important entrepreneurs. I am also pleased that we are able to provide a significant reduction in the estate tax for family owned businesses and farms. With less than one-third of family owned businesses currently being passed on to a second generation, and only about one-eighth passed to a third generation, estate tax reform for family owned businesses and farms is urgently needed. This legislation will provide a $1.3 million exclusion from estate tax for these family owned enterprises. In addition, the bill will increase the individual estate tax credit to $1 million by 2006. The result will not only be the preservation of many successful family owned businesses and farms that would otherwise have to be sold in order to pay the Federal Government, but it will also preserve the millions of jobs that these enterprises contribute to our local communities. Small businesses will also benefit from the capital gains provisions in the bill. My committee has heard on many occasions that small businesses need greater access to capital. I can think of no better way to address that need than by opening up the billions of dollars of built-in gains that currently exists in our economy, which the capital gains tax reduction is expected to unleash. Small companies will also have greater capital access through the provisions in the bill that will allow tax-free rollover of gains from an investment in qualified small business stock into an investment in another qualified small business. This provision will foster investments in small businesses and encourage existing investors to repeat their success stories by rolling over their gains into new start-up companies. Additionally, millions of limited partners, many of whom work in small limited partnerships and limited liability companies, can rest easy as a result of the moratorium included in the bill that will prevent the IRS from finalizing its proposed stealth tax regulation before July 1, 1998. This proposed regulation purports merely to define who is a limited partner. But in reality, the rule will raise taxes on millions of limited partners by regulatory fiat. The Constitution vests the power to impose taxes in Congress, and Congress alone. The moratorium included in this bill will stop the IRS from usurping that power and give Congress an opportunity to exercise its authority to find a statutory solution. Finally, small business will have extended protection from IRS penalties under this legislation as a result of the 6-month extension of the penalty-free period for small businesses subject to the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System [EFTPS]. This past June, the IRS agreed to waive penalties through December 31, 1997, on small businesses who are required to pay their taxes electronically starting on July 1, 1997. The bill extends the penalty-free period through June 30, 1998, and will ensure that small firms will not be penalized if errors or problems occur. In addition, it will give Congress time to enact the legislation, which Senator Nickles introduced and I have cosponsored, that would make EFTPS voluntary for most small businesses. Mr. President, despite the many positive provisions in this bill for small business, there is one glaring omission--a safe harbor for independent contractors. The need for such a provisions was made clear by the 2,000 delegates to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business who named it the most important issue for the President and the Congress to address. For too long millions of entrepreneurs and businesses that hire them have lived in constant fear that the IRS will use its now infamous 20-factor test to find that a worker was misclassified to the tune of thousands of dollars in back taxes, interest, and penalties, not to mention the enormous costs of accountants and attorneys necessary to fight the IRS. No one disputes that the IRS has a duty to collect Federal revenues and to enforce the tax laws. The problem in this case is that the IRS is using a procedure that is patently unfair and is doing so on an increasingly frequent basis. It is time for companies, workers, and most especially the IRS, to have clear rules for determining the status of workers. The legislation that I introduced earlier this year reaches that goal through a general safe harbor based on clear, objective criteria and a bar against retroactive reclassification of workers by the IRS. I remain committed to working with those on all sides of this issue to find an answer to this critical problem, and I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join with me in that endeavor. Let's end the environment of fear in which small businesses and self-employed individuals now must live. They should be able to spend less time looking over their shoulder for an IRS audit, and more time doing what they do best--contributing to the growth and strength of our economy and creating much-needed jobs. Mr. President, the Revenue Reconciliation Act that we consider today will help Americans in so many ways, from raising children and educating them to helping small businesses continue to be the economic engine of this country. In addition, it is the culmination of so many of the efforts that we began more than 2 years ago to bring meaningful tax relief to hard-working Americans across this country. I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a friend and outstanding member of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who is retiring after many years of dedicated service. You have heard the expression, ``you can bet your life on it.'' That was more than an expression for me during the 8 years my family and I depended on the Governor's security team. We literally bet our lives on Gary Hurt and his colleagues, just as all Missourians bet their lives on other members of the highway patrol every day. Gary Hurt has devoted 28 years of service to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Of this tenure, 18 years has been spent on the Governor's security division, where Gary has served as assistant director for 14 years. He learned his craft in the time-honored way, as a road trooper for a full decade. Gary fought back several years ago from an injury that threatened to end his career with the patrol. An injury to his ``gun arm'' required two operations, extensive physical rehabilitation and tremendous grit to overcome but overcome it he did. As Governor, I became very close to my security team members sharing every event and most waking hours. I am particularly grateful for their patience during the endless hours that, while driving to events, I read bedtime stories into a tape recorder for my son, Sam, for those nights I could not be home in time to read to him in person. Gary and I have shared floods, tornadoes, prison riots, hangings in effigy, election night victories and defeats, births, deaths, weddings, budget crises, and fiscal triumph. As an aside, one of the weddings we most recently shared occurred when Gary's son married a caseworker in my office of constituent services. I regret that Missouri will no longer have Gary Hurt among its law enforcement members, but I am counting on him to continue to share his humor, insight, and experience through different avenues. Thank you, Gary, and best of luck in your retirement. You have earned the chance to do things you want to do for a change.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, Today I stand before you to recognize a truly unique individual and personal friend for her exemplary service to my home State of Missouri at the time of her retirement. Betty Gregoire, has lived in Kansas City, Missouri for the past 24 years during which she has been a wife and mother, a volunteer and a public servant. Betty has shown the kind of lifelong devotion to her State that make it an honor to commend her for her many years of civic contribution. After receiving a B.S. Degree from State University of New York, she taught in Long Island Elementary Schools and in Rochester, New York High School System. Betty came to Weatherby Lake, a community near Kansas City, in 1973 and by 1980 had established a position as Manager of the Prosecuting Attorney's office. Later she became the Administrative Assistant to the County Commission. In addition to her service on the Weatherby Lake Improvement Board, as secretary, Legislative Committee, Missouri Assessor's Association, she was appointed by Governor John Ashcroft to fill the term of Assessor in 1985 and continued to serve for three terms. Now part of the Finance Committee of St. Teresa Catholic church in Parkville, Betty is also a member of the Mid American Regional Council (MARC) Board and has held the position of Treasurer and 2nd Vice- President. Betty was appointed by the Governor in 1986 to the Missouri Job & Employment Council then reappointed in 1992, and was District 3 Director of Missouri Association of Counties from 1991-94. As an active member of several other civic organizations, Betty is an example for her fellow Missourians. I commend Betty for her many years of service and I am glad to say that the State of Missouri is enriched with her wisdom and leadership.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, let me express my appreciation to-- I ask unanimous consent that I may proceed for 2 minutes.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Colorado for withdrawing the amendment. He has described some of the very difficult challenges which face both this committee and the housing subcommittee. We have a difficulty of ensuring that those people who are in public housing and do not have an option or some place to go with a section 8 certificate do not have their services cut. So we have people who are in significant numbers in public housing. We have to care for them as we look for better ways. We have worked on public housing reform and look forward to working with the Senator from Colorado on these reforms and other measures. I thank him for raising the question with us.