Sherrod Brown

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 130, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask the President of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join a like committee on the part of the House of Representatives to escort Her Excellency Park Geun-hye, the President of South Korea, into the House Chamber for the joint meeting at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 8, 2013.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business until 10 a.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees; further, that at 10 a.m. the Senate recess for the joint meeting of Congress with the President of the Republic of Korea until 11:30 a.m.; that when the Senate reconvenes, the Senate resume consideration of S. 601, the Water Resources Development Act, under the previous order.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Senators should gather in the Senate Chamber at 10 a.m. tomorrow to proceed as a body to the House for the joint meeting of Congress. There will be three rollcall votes at 2 o'clock in relation to amendments to WRDA.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I understand there is a bill at the desk. I ask for its first reading.

Mr. BROWN. I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, on April 22, 1970--after years of planning--Earth Day activities stretched from college campuses, to city parks, to community halls across the country. The landscape has changed since students, activists, and environmentalists celebrated the first Earth Day. That citizen call to action spurred a new season of environmental protections that have improved the health of our Nation's air, lands, rivers, and the Great Lakes. Just several decades ago, polluted air and water threatened the public health and safety of our Nation. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland had caught on fire and oil spills marred the beaches of Santa Barbara. These catastrophic events served as catalysts that established the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, passed the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and formed a public and political consciousness of the need to safeguard our environment. Today, the Cuyahoga River--44 years after the fire--is cleaner and healthier, more than 60 different fish species are thriving, and countless families are again enjoying its natural beauty. Today, Earth Day is celebrated around the world. Now communities across Ohio and the Nation are spurring on the next generation of environmental innovation. Seeds planted in places such as Oregon, OH--a city just east of Toledo in northwest Ohio--are beginning to grow. To reduce energy costs, the Oregon City School District partnered with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to transition away from traditional electricity to wind and solar power. Oregon City Schools set up wind turbines at Clay High School and Eisenhower Middle School. They installed solar panels on the roofs of Jerusalem and Starr Elementary Schools. And these innovative investments have paid off. In just 10 days in October, Clay Campus's wind turbine, Power Wind 56, produced 149 percent of campus energy needs. All computers, all lights, all kitchen activity, and fans on Clay Campus are now wind-powered. This includes the administration building, bus garage, and maintenance building at the stadium. Besides saving on energy costs, as of March 21, the school district is producing 800 fewer tons of carbon dioxide. This means less acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide going into the air. This innovation and activism marks tremendous progress toward a more sustainable environment. If we fail to protect our natural resources, we risk the health of citizens, the viability of our coastal areas, and the productivity of our State's farms, forests, and fisheries. We risk our long-term economic and national security. Yet we know that choosing between economic growth and environmental protections is a false choice. Despite our population growing by 50 percent in the past 40 years and the number of cars on the road having doubled over that same time, our air is now 60 percent cleaner than at the time of the first Earth Day in 1970. Done right, our Nation can become energy independent, improve its global competitiveness, and create new jobs and technologies for our workforce. As we plant the seeds for economic growth--for new jobs in new industries--we are also planting the seeds for a cleaner, more sustainable environment. The students and parents of the Oregon City School District are a reminder that taking steps to protect our air and water is something that we do every day, not just on April 22. Earth Day reminds us of our ability and our history of innovation and perseverance to protect our environment for current and future generations.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Enzi, the senior Senator from Wyoming, for his good work on this legislation and for his always courteous demeanor. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for up to 8 minutes.

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, this week Senator Durbin and I are introducing the Working Families Tax Relief Act with a majority of my Democratic colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee. For a number of years, one area of bipartisan agreement in Washington has been on the need for comprehensive tax reform. Tax reform can clear the Code of wasteful carve-outs and special interest loopholes. Senator Enzi was part of a bipartisan meeting that the Finance Committee is wont to do, sitting around a table talking about these issues, just last week. We understand that comprehensive tax reform can place American companies on an even footing with foreign competitors. It can reduce the deficit. It can provide a shot in the arm to economic competitiveness and growth. On that there is agreement. What comprehensive reform should not do--and there is general agreement on this also--is undermine the earned-income tax credit and the child tax credit. These credits are the single most effective incentive to increase low-income parents participating in the workforce and reward work and promote family formation--all goals which we, I believe, all seek. That is why support for these programs in the past has been broad-based and bipartisan. President Reagan and former Representative Jack Kemp--the former running mate of Senator Dole in a Presidential election--were champions of the modern earned-income tax credit. When it was expanded in 1986, President Reagan said it is ``the best antipoverty, the best pro- family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.'' He was right. In Ohio some 1 million households received the EITC--the earned- income tax credit--and 665,000 households received the CTC--the child tax credit--on average in the 3 years of 2009, 2010, and 2011. That is why this week Senator Durbin and I, along with most of our Democratic colleagues, are introducing the Working Families Tax Relief Act. Our bill would make permanent the 2009 levels for the earned- income tax credit and the child tax credit. It would index the child tax credit for inflation. It would allow workers without children to access the full earned-income tax credit. It would reduce the full earned-income tax credit access age to 21. It would simplify the filing process to reduce fraud because there is some acknowledged fraud in this program, as there is throughout the tax system. And I have pledged to many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, as this bill moves forward, to work to reduce that fraud. The Recovery Act of 4 years ago expanded access and refundability for both the EITC and CTC. It was meant to respond to the great recession but also to ensure the country's finest antipoverty programs keep up with the times. Making these credits permanent at the current level is critical to fighting poverty. In 2011, the EITC and CTC lifted 10 million people, including 5 million children, out of poverty. The EITC has helped nearly half a million single mothers enter the workforce. These credits do not just reward work, they provide lifelong benefits to children. We know from studies that it improves health outcomes, it increases earning potential for children in low-income families, because those families pulled out of poverty can give advantages to those children that pay off later in life they could not give to those children in those families if their incomes were below the poverty line. Expectant mothers who receive the EITC are more likely to receive prenatal care. These are not opinions; they are fact. Newborns are more likely to experience birth indicators, such as low weight and premature birth. Behind all of these statistics are real people, people whose lives and opportunities are improved because of these credits. Let me share a story. Michelle Eddy, a Cleveland native, is a single mother who works hard to support her two daughters. One is 9, the younger is 4. This year the Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland helped Ms. Eddy prepare her tax return. She was able to use the credits she received from Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit to pay for school supplies, uniforms, and daycare for her two daughters. She has worked in a retail store as a shift manager for 5 years. She recently, though, started a new job as a restaurant server so she can spend evenings and weekends with her daughters. Without EITC, without CTC, she would almost certainly have to work a second job to make ends meet, leaving her children at home without her far too often. The EITC and the CTC are not what make Michele Eddy a good mother, but they enable her to be there with her children when they need her most. Right now, some 30 percent of children under the age of 3 are in families with too little earnings to qualify for full CTC. Even worse, nearly 13 percent of children under 3 are in families with no earnings, and as such get into CTC or EITC. We know the Child Tax Credit is not indexed for inflation. By the end of the decade another 1 million children will be forced to grow up in poverty. The CTC needs to be more robust. We need to reform the Tax Code now. I am very hopeful that Senator Baucus in his last year and a half in the Senate, with Ranking Member Hatch and leaders from that committee such as Senator Wyden and Senator Enzi and others, can reform the Tax Code, can put measures in place to prevent fraud. As we introduce the Working Families Tax Relief Act, I remain hopeful our colleagues across the aisle will work with us to make these credits a part of tax reform. I yield the floor.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask to speak as in morning business for up to 6 minutes.

Mr. BROWN. Seventy-five years ago, President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. This legislation, proposed by Senator Hugo Black in 1932, ultimately ensured American workers would receive a minimum wage, reasonable work hours, and an end to child labor. President Roosevelt led our country out of the worst economic climate we have ever faced. He led us to decades of prosperity by ensuring hard work in our Nation is met with two fundamental American rights--fair wages and decent working conditions. In the 20th century, the minimum wage lifted millions of Americans from poverty and allowed them to begin the step toward joining the middle class. In the 21st century a fair livable minimum wage can continue moving our country forward. Even as corporate executives and Wall Street banks are earning record profits, too many families are struggling. Americans who work hard and play by the rules should be able to take care of their families. Too many people in my home State, in places such as Youngstown, Lorain, Portsmouth, and Norwood are working harder than ever and barely getting by. Nearly 1.3 million Ohioans in places such as Chillicothe and Mansfield work in a minimum wage job. Working full time in a minimum wage job in Ohio pays about $16,000 per year because our minimum wage is a bit higher. The Federal minimum wage today pays only $15,000 per year, $3,000 below the poverty level for a family of three. It is not much to live on for families trying to put food on the table, fill a gas tank, send their children to school or provide a safe place for them to live. The minimum wage in this country should be a livable wage. This is why I am fighting to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act. It would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour in three 95-cent increments, then provide for automatic annual increases linked to changes in the cost of living. The bill would also gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers for the first time in 20 years. The tip minimum wage now stands at $2.13 an hour. This bill would increase it to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage. More than 1.2 million people in Ohio would receive a raise because of our bill. Millions of people around the country in places such as Helena, Butte, and Billings would have an increase in their standard of living. The vast majority of minimum wage earners, despite what some in this body say--some 88 percent--are adult workers. They are not 16- and 17- year-old high school students. They are 18 and above, with many of them supporting families. More than half are women. Eighteen million children, nearly one-quarter of all American children, have parents who would receive a raise. Over the past 2 weeks, I have met with people in my home State who earn low wages, and I listened to their stories. Ms. Walter, a server from Youngstown in northeast Ohio, struggled to raise three boys as a single mother. Ms. Day, a cake decorator from Bowling Green, works two jobs because the salary of one isn't enough to provide for her two children. She says she doesn't need a lot but just a little more. This bill matters. It matters for the grandmother who works an evening shift at a restaurant to enable her to care for her grandchildren during the day. It matters for the elder care worker who takes two buses to work, and it matters for all of the working-class families who work hard and play by the rules. It is not only about the families who will be directly affected. Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour will also help the economy. It will increase GDP by more than $30 billion over the course of 3 years as workers spend their raises in local businesses and communities. Opponents to the increase in minimum wage say people will not hire; it will cost jobs. It is actually the opposite. This economic activity created by more spending in communities as a result of more money in minimum wage earners' pockets would generate 140,000 new jobs over these 3 years. This is why business owners support raising the minimum wage. The owners of Brothers Printing and Synergistic Systems in the Cleveland area both pay their workers more than the minimum wage. It means they have less turnover. It means their workers have a better standard of living, and it helps their community. They do this because it is the right thing to do. It helps them keep their best employees and strengthens their businesses and their commitment. Plain and simple, ensuring a fair wage is good for America's families. It is good for America's economy. I note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I rise to commemorate Geraldine Mitchell of Toledo, OH. Ms. Mitchell saved a woman's life during her work day as a bus driver in Ohio's fourth most populous city. Every day, hundreds of Toledoans take public transit to work, to the doctor's office, to school. As a driver for the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority with some 16 years of experience, Ms. Mitchell keeps a watchful eye--for children chasing balls into the street, for passersby crossing busy roads in front of on-coming traffic. So, on an afternoon in March, Ms. Mitchell did not hesitate to act as she witnessed a woman attempting to commit suicide along the bus route. Ms. Mitchell immediately stopped her bus and ran to the woman's aid. Bus passengers and Corey Bush, an off-duty police officer from a neighboring jurisdiction, also ran to help as Ms. Mitchell performed CPR to keep the woman alive before emergency responders arrived. According to the Toledo Police Department, the victim would have died if not for Ms. Mitchell's quick actions. A police officer responding to the incident entered the woman's home and found a man unconscious. Both individuals were taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center--and they are alive today. Ms. Mitchell and her fellow citizens are heroes whose actions saved a life, potentially two. They didn't give any thought to their own safety. They did what many of us hope we would do by acting swiftly when a fellow citizen was in danger. Together, they exhibited the courage worthy of recognition here today. In addition to receiving the Toledo Police Department's Meritorious Public Service Award, it is my honor to commend Ms. Mitchell on the Senate Floor.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise in recognition of General Electric's famed Nela Park, which is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year. Nela Park was built in 1913, but its roots go back even further. In 1879, American hero and one of Ohio's great luminaries, Thomas Edison, invented the carbon filament lamp. This invention led to the founding of Edison Electric, which in 1892 would merge with a competitor to become General Electric. GE had many competitors by the turn of the century. When the National Electric Lamp Company, NELA, was acquired by GE, it prompted the development of Nela Park in East Cleveland. The 92 acre campus was completed 2 years later and was the world's first industrial park, another example of Ohio's leadership and trailblazing spirit. Nela Park is famous for its Georgian Revival architecture and every year features a world-renowned Christmas lighting display, modeled after the lighting display in Washington, DC. By 1975, the park earned the recognition it deserved and was listed as a Historic Place in the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register. Today, Nela Park is the national headquarters of GE's Lighting & Electrical Institute and serves as a source of innovation and a testament to Ohio's manufacturing strength. In an age of environmental and efficiency conscientiousness, GE lighting still illuminates the world, advancing new technologies such as fluorescents and light- emitting diodes. For more than a century GE has employed Ohioans--at all levels of the company--and has been a significant part of our State and our Nation's economy. I commend GE for its positive impact on Ohio, the United States, and the world. I am proud that GE Lighting calls Ohio its home, and I look forward to its continued production and innovation in the Buckeye state.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, over 60 years ago, the Young Audiences organization was founded with a mission to promote arts- integrated education. Each year the Young Audiences Arts for Learning impacts more than 5 million students in over 8,000 schools and communities. In honor of its commendable work around arts education, through its 30 affiliates across the United States, I am pleased to recognize the week of March 24, 2013 as National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week. I would especially like to highlight the work of the Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio, YANEO, which reaches more than 240,000 students across 18 counties in my home State. YANEO's 120 professional artists assist young Ohioans by teaching dance, theater, music, visual arts, literary, and media arts. Additionally, the Young Audiences Artworks in Cleveland successfully pairs Ohio teenagers with local artists to mentor students and provide them with college and career advice. Art programs help keep students engaged in their schools and communities. Music and visual arts not only serve as a form of personal expression, but enable dynamic collaboration. Learning to dance, sing, and perform in front of a group can instill confidence in children. Learning to edit a film, record a song, or create a graphic design can provide individuals with an invaluable set of skills which are transferable to the workplace. Contributing to local communities through the arts--from outdoor murals to large theatrical performances--offers young people a new sense of belonging, purpose, and achievement. The arts help to look at the world, and themselves, anew. Including arts and music in a student's curriculum may also greatly improve his or her grasp of math and scientific problems. It has been demonstrated exposure to the arts endows children with insight, reason, and technical proficiency. Art education improves communication skills, academic achievement, encourages discipline, and discourages high-risk behavior. Students' ability to innovate and utilize new technologies through arts activities will not only better prepare students for 21st century jobs, but is also key to our Nation's competiveness in the global economy. I commend both the students who participate in Young Audiences and the hard-working parents, teachers, volunteers, and artists of Young Audiences who inspire future generations of artists and musicians. Your passion and commitment should be celebrated.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, we ask support for the Vitter-Brown-Corker- Pryor amendment. The community banks of America support it because they know the playing field isn't level. One real quick statistic. Eighteen years ago, the six biggest U.S. banks had assets equal to 18 percent of GDP. Today it is 65 percent of GDP. I ask for your support of the amendment.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I rise and join with Senator Blunt in a bipartisan amendment, No. 455, in support of a national network for manufacturing innovation. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record letters from the National Association of Manufacturers, Semiconductor Industry Association, United Auto Workers, and others.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, this amendment--the NNMI--offers one commonsense approach by partnering with private industry to bring together companies, small businesses, research institutions, and community colleges so we can outinnovate the rest of the world. I ask for its support and yield the remainder of my time to Senator Blunt.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 2 minutes. After my remarks, I ask that the senior Senator from Arizona be recognized.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I don't yet want to call up my amendment--I have been working with Chairman Mikulski on this--until they get an agreement. However, I will discuss for a moment amendment No. 83, which I am cosponsoring with Senator Isakson of Georgia. It does help us restore what Senator Mikulski has been working toward, which is regular order in this Chamber. This is an amendment having to do with some language dealing with a pilot project with customs and privatization that Senator Landrieu has supported. I have spoken to Senator Landrieu about this issue, and we need to talk through some other things. If we are going to do regular order the way we need to, this language should come in front of the Finance Committee to work out these issues, where Senator Isakson and I sit. I think we should not succumb to the temptation to legislate through appropriations, and this would be one way of doing that. Later I will ask my colleagues to support amendment No. 83, sponsored by me and Senator Isakson. I appreciate the forbearance of Senator McCain.

Mr. BROWN. I yield the floor.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up amendment No. 83.