Sam Brownback

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, while we are in this morning business period, I want to take a few minutes to advise the body about a bill that has cleared through the House and we have held two hearings on in the Foreign Relations Committee and one I hope we are going to be able to clear through here and pass into law during this session. It is a bill dealing with one of the darker sides of the globalization of the world's economy that has occurred around us. Globalization of the world's economy has been, by and large, a very good thing, a positive thing for growth and opportunity, but it also has a seamier side to it. One of the seamier issues that is coming to light now is the international trafficking of primarily young girls in the sex trade, or as its known, international sex trafficking. One is astounded by the level at which this is occurring today around the world. By our own Government's numbers, approximately 600,000 primarily young girls are trafficked from one country to the next for the business of prostitution. There are about 50,000 girls who are, against their will, trafficked into the United States each year into this terrible sort of activity. In January of this year, I was in Nepal and visited a home where girls who have returned from this terrible trafficking of human individuals live. What I saw there was a ghastly sight. There were young girls, 16, 17, 18 years of age, most of whom had been tricked out of their villages in Nepal and promised a job at a carpet factory or a job as a housekeeper in Katmandu--sometimes in Bombay, India these girls took the job offered, not having any other economic opportunities available to them. Once taking the job and moving out of their villages and away from their families they were forced into a brothel. They were locked in a room, beaten, starved, and submitted to the sex trade, at times being subjected to as many as 30 clients a night. I saw them after they had escaped. Or in this case, there was a nongovernmental organization, private sector group that was actually organized to try to return the young girls to Nepal. Once they were freed and got back to Nepal, most of these girls returned only to die. Two-thirds of them come back with such things as AIDS or tuberculosis. They are coming back to die. It is a disgusting, terrible thing that is taking place. We held two hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We have had witnesses before the committee who had been forced into this trade, tricked into it, deceived into it, or thought they were going to do something else, and were ultimately trafficked into different places around the world. Dr. Laura Lederer of Johns Hopkins University has spent several years tracking this flow. The committee heard from women from Eastern Europe and Europe who had been trafficked into Israel, people who had been trafficked throughout Asia and then into the United States from Mexico. Most of the trafficking into the United States occurs from Asia. They described the conditions surrounding their being bought and sold. After they are forced into one brothel, if the brothel owner wants somebody else, they will sell this person to another brothel. They told us $7,000, $8,000 will exchange hands for the sale of human flesh from one place to another--all against this person's will. They hated the conditions that they were in, and yet they found themselves unable to escape. This bill that I mention has passed the House of Representatives. It is a bipartisan bill that Congressmen Chris Smith and Sam Gejdenson have pushed to get passed through the House of Representatives. Senator Wellstone and I have the Senate version of this bill. While ours is a different bill, there are a lot of similarities with the House bill--which is at the desk. We are seeking to get it passed, we hope by unanimous consent, by this body because the issue is so terrible, so disgusting, and awful. We need to put some focus on this and have some remedies to it. Increasingly, you are seeing international organized crime groups getting involved in the trafficking of human flesh. Apparently, they believe this is a business they can be successful at, that unlike drugs, it does not involve as many criminal activities because much of this has not been criminalized. They are saying it is a situation where they can resell their ``property.'' Unlike drugs they sell once, they can sell human flesh multiple times. It is just a ghastly, terrible thing that is taking place. Organized crime is increasing its activity in this arena, trafficking. We need to step up and address it. The bill we have put forward would allow the prosecution of people who traffic in human flesh and increase the criminal penalties for doing such. It would provide visas for people who are trafficked into this country, so they can stay and provide evidence, testifying against those who have trafficked them into this country. This bill would provide some help to the countries they come from by providing educational assistance to work with those governments, to work with people that are in-country to work against this sort of activity, and to provide more information to people that sex trafficking is going on on an expanded, global scale. Nearly some 600,000 people a year are trafficked in human flesh. Much of this happens in the United States, 50,000 people are trafficked into the United States on an annual basis. I will happily provide to any offices interested in this issue the hearing record Senator Wellstone and I have compiled on this bill, so Members can look into this issue. If they seek to make modifications to improve the bill, our office will be open to work with any office so we can reach unanimous consent on this important issue. It is something we need to and can address. The Administration wants this addressed as well and is working with us to make that happen. The focus on this issue is increasing. In fact, you may have seen one of the recent news reports about this hideous practice. I am hopeful the time is coming where this body will address this, that it will not get held hostage to any other legislative matter that might be having problems. I am hopeful that we see this as clearly something we can address and that needs to be addressed. I will be bringing to the Senate individual stories of people who have been trafficked because they really tell the terrible plight. One lady testified in our committee who was trafficked out of Mexico who thought she was going to get a job washing dishes at a restaurant in Florida. She agreed to having somebody take her across the border illegally. Once in the United States, she was their hostage, she was their slave, if we want to put it in those gross types of terms. They said: Instead of being a dishwasher, you will be a prostitute for us. We are going to move you around in trailers to use, and we will subject you to 30 clients a day and, after that is done, to the owners of this brothel as well. This was the testimony of a witness who reported on activities occurring in this country within the past several years. It is occurring on a large scale. We need to address it; we need to deal with it.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, another issue I am hopeful of getting in front of the Senate this year is a bill to ban gambling on intercollegiate athletics. Yesterday the House held a hearing in the Commerce Committee and a markup on a bill to ban gambling on intercollegiate athletics in the United States. There is only one State in which that can occur today. It is in Nevada. There is clearly a problem we need to address. We have had more points shaving scandals in collegiate sports in the decade of the 1990s than all prior decades combined. There is about $1 billion a year bet on our student athletes. It has been a big problem on our college campuses and is growing. We have one State where it is still legal. In all the rest of the States, this is illegal. In order to deal with the problem of collegiate gambling, we need to make the gambling on our kids illegal. Again, currently it is legal in only one State, and that is Nevada. The NCAA is a strong supporter of banning gambling on college sports as are all the coaches. Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee heard from Tubby Smith from the University of Kentucky and Lou Holtz, football coach. Both testified strongly in favor of this bill. They want to get this gambling influence contained at the collegiate level. I am hopeful we will reach agreement to have a vote on this issue sometime before the legislative year expires.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise to recognize a significant minority enterprise in my home state of Kansas. The venture is Best Harvest Bakery, and its founders are two highly capable and energetic African-American businessmen, Bob Beavers, Jr. and Ed Honesty. Best Harvest is supplying hamburger buns to 560 McDonald's restaurants throughout the Midwest and will supply a new type of soft roll to the U.S. military. As minority suppliers to McDonald's, Bob and Ed join a growing force that last year provided over $3 billion in goods and services to the system. Bob and Ed got their start as McDonald's employees and rose through the ranks to senior positions. Bob started as crew and attained the rank of senior vice president and a position on McDonald's board of directors. Ed joined the company right out of law school and became managing counsel for the Great Lakes Region. Last year, the two left their secure positions to become independent entrepreneurs and suppliers to the company. Bob and Ed chose to locate in Kansas City, Kansas because, as they said, it is ``the heart of the bread basket.'' I along with many others in my home state welcome them and Best Harvest's contribution to our thriving economy. Mr. PRESIDENT, I ask that this article on Bob Beavers and Ed Honesty, published in the April 2000, issue of Franchise Times, be placed in the Record, and I encourage my colleagues to read the account of these two outstanding African-Americans and their evolving relationship with McDonald's, which has again demonstrated its commitment to diversity. [From the Franchise Times, Apr. 2000] Former Execs Switch To Supply Side (By Nancy Weingartner) Robert M. Beavers Jr. Started as a part-time McDonald's worker earning $1 an hour. At his girlfriend's suggestion, he took the job during his junior year at George Washington University, because it was close to where she lived. He became an intricate part of the franchisee's business and when it was sold, corporate asked him to come to Oak Brook. In his 36-year career with McDonald's, he climbed the ladder to a senior vice president position and was responsible for bringing hundreds of minority franchisees into the system. He was also the first African American on the hamburger giant's board of directors. Edward Honesty Jr. joined McDonald's right out of law school. He worked his way up to managing counsel for the Great Lakes Region, helped start the Business Counsel Program and was a frequent attendee and speaker at the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising and the International Franchise Association's Legal Symposium. So why would two men who were at the top of their game decide to give up their expense accounts and their impressive titles to become suppliers? In one word--entrepreneurship. It was because of their contacts at McDonald's and the fact that they knew the system so well, they were able to put together a deal where everyone could rise to the top. ``We look at the McDonald's system as a three-legged stool,'' Beavers said. Each leg--corporate, franchisees and suppliers--are necessary in order to keep the stool on its feet. ``No one has been all three,'' Beavers said. Until now. Beavers is part of an investment group, including Berkshire Partners, that purchased Fresh Start Bakeries from the Campbell Soup Company in 1999. Fresh Start's 14 bakeries worldwide supply 24 percent of McDonald's restaurants in the U.S., 64 percent of the Latin America restaurants and 14 percent of those in Europe. Beavers will serve as a director of Fresh Start. In addition, Beavers and Honesty purchased a majority interest in the Kansas City bakery and formed a joint venture with Fresh Start. Honesty is president and chief operating officer and Beavers is chairman and CEO. They chose buns because it's a core product that McDonald's uses in large quantities, and the Kansas City location because it's in ``the heart of the bread basket'' and close to the McDonald's restaurants they supply. While McDonald's is their largest customer, they don't have a written contract. All arrangements with suppliers at McDonald's are by a handshake, Beavers said. That's the way Ray Kroc started doing business in 1955 and the way the company still does it, he said. ``We (suppliers) have to do our part, they (corporate) have to do their part. It makes for a powerful relationship,'' he said. Structuring the deal with a handshake has served McDonald's well, Beavers said, and ``that's the spirit (in which) I want to grow our business.'' Leaving Corporate Part of the reason Honesty was able to join Beavers in the endeavor with a minimum amount of trepidation was that they were able to get McDonald's ``blessing'' before leaping. Both knew that being a supplier to McDonald's was a win-win deal. Honesty had put together a blue binder with his mission statement, attributes and financials and took it to McDonald's purchasing department a couple of years before the Fresh Start deal materialized. He let it be known, he said, that he was interested in becoming a supplier for McDonald's. Meanwhile, Beavers was also looking for a change of pace. When he heard about the bakery opportunity, he spoke to the head of McDonald's, Jack Greenberg, who Beavers said thought it was a great opportunity. It was a great opportunity for Honesty also, who invested his life's savings and stock options in his quest for the entrepreneurial life. He moved his family, a son, 15, and a daughter, 11, from the Chicago area to Kansas City, necessitating his wife to give up her prestigious job as a medical director for Advocate Health Care. Was he nervous? ``I didn't dwell on the nervousness or the `what ifs,' '' he said. ``I hope to remain nervous forever, I don't want to get complacent; I need to maximize my potential. I'm just where I want to be--slightly over my head,'' he said. Because of their positive experiences with McDonald's both men knew they wanted to remain in the family. Their training at McDonald's, including sweeping the floors and learning how to make a hamburger, prepared them to build their company based on McDonald's winning recipe. Beavers' experience on the board for 19 years gave him a ``good understanding of how a public company is run and great insight into developing a brand.'' Honesty's dealing with the legal side of the business taught him about fairness and how to settle problems at the business table rather than in court. In business, he said, you're in it for the long haul, and the ones you met on the way up are the same ones you'll meet on the way down,'' he contends. While McDonald's will always be their No. 1 customer-- ``Always dance with the one who brung you.'' Honesty quips-- Great Harvest has room in its production schedule to develop other business. One contract they've won is with the U.S. military to develop a soft roll that can be used as rations during the military's war games. ``It's an exotic, tough bun to make,'' Honesty said, but could prove to be a lucrative one now that they've got the military specs down pat. They're also looking into doing private labeling for supermarkets, Beavers said. One thing the pair wants to ensure down the road is that the bakery remains a minority venture, Honesty said. Beavers welcomes the opportunity to bring two of his four grown children into the company. And even though they've left their corporate jobs, they still consider themselves a part of McDonald's extended family. A very important leg on that three-legged stool that keeps McDonald's centered. ``We've got a passion for McDonald's,'' Honesty said. the bun part of the business Name: Best Harvest Bakeries Location: Kansas City, Kansas Production capacity: 3,000 dozen buns an hour, 17 million dozen buns, or soft rolls, a year Shifts: Five days a week for three shifts Size: 32,000 square feet Employees: about 47 Customers: 560 McDonald's restaurants, the U.S. Military, which just awarded Best Harvest a contract to make a bun that serves as rations during military ``war games'' (all the oxygen is taken out of the package so the bun stays fresh for three years). Goal: ``To become the premier supplier of grain-based products having outstanding quality in a service environment that exceeds our customers' expectations while ensuring that our customers receive unsurpassed value from our relationship.''

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 319, submitted by myself and others. I believe it is at the desk.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I am delighted we were able to pass S. Res. 319. We are going to build some houses. I yield the floor.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, we have 55 cosponsors in the Senate on this bill. My understanding is it has been cleared by both sides of the aisle, that there is no objection. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and, finally, any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Dan Hodges from my staff be allowed floor privileges.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, today the Senate has resolved to embark upon a unique partnership with Habitat for Humanity International. That is what I want to speak about this morning. In honor of National Homeownership Week, which concludes tomorrow, the Senate will resolve today to lend its support and its elbow grease to a project we call ``The House the Senate Built.'' The idea of this project is to bring Members of the Senate, their staffs, local Habitat affiliates, volunteers, and sponsors together to build simple and decent, affordable housing for low-income families in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, and to do this by the end of 2001. The project will begin with a ``model build'' right here in Washington, DC, slated to begin before National Homeownership Week in 2001. Following this event, Habitat for Humanity International will link Senators with local Habitat affiliates in their respective States. The Senators will then work with these local affiliates to build at least one Habitat house in their States during 2001. So we are going to have 51 houses built by the Senate before the end of 2001. For over 24 years, Habitat for Humanity International has been at the forefront of turning the American dream of owning a home into a reality. Founded by Millard Fuller in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian housing organization to eliminate poverty housing, end homelessness worldwide, and make a decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Since its inception, Habitat has built over 80,000 homes that have housed over 400,000 people worldwide. This September, Habitat will build its 100,000th home, and they seek to build another 100,000 by 2005. So they started 24 years ago. By September they will have built their first 100,000. In the next 5 years, they hope and anticipate building their next 100,000 homes. I have talked personally and visited a number of times with Millard Fuller. I have had him out to Kansas and hosted him there. He is quite a dynamic individual. He has a great heart and wants to see people around the world living in good housing. And he is getting there, one home at a time, but they are building up fast. Habitat for Humanity relies solely on volunteer labor to build their homes. The remarkable success of Habitat is in large part attributed to the tireless efforts of its founder, Millard Fuller, to continually bring new building partners on board. Over the years, Millard has enlisted the services of foreign Ambassadors, former Presidents--President Carter probably being the most noteworthy and most frequent builder--and even the House of Representatives has helped to aid in building homes at various sites across the country. This year, Millard Fuller has turned to the Senate to build some houses. I ran into Millard as I was waiting to catch my flight back home at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, this past January. Sitting there in a small waiting room, thousands of miles away from home, Millard shared with me the vision he had for bringing the Senate together with Habitat for Humanity International. He was in Nepal, building houses and announcing a program there, but at the same time he was also thinking, what could he do to build some through the Senate? That is where we discussed this program. The ``House the Senate Built'' project that was born out of this vision will undoubtedly be a successful one. We will build the houses. I think we will build a lot more than 51 houses. That is our target. Benjamin Franklin once wrote: ``Well done is better than well said.'' I think that may particularly apply to the Senate. We talk frequently about things. Here is a chance for us to do something about homeownership. I think it is going to be a great project for us to be able to put people in homes. I can come to the floor today in the middle of National Homeownership Week and tell you that we should be committed to end homelessness across the country and eliminate poverty housing, but instead of telling you that, I would rather show you. I would rather pick up a hammer and demonstrate my commitment to affordable housing, nail by nail. I am proud to come to the floor today and discuss this important initiative. This Senate is saying that words of support are not enough. Nothing less than the sweat of our brows will do in expressing how committed the Senate is in making the American dream of homeownership a true reality. I thank the Chair and hope we are going to be able to adopt this resolution yet today. I believe it has been cleared.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, earlier this week, the Senate passed Concurrent Resolution 116, commending Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. The resolution notes the original reason Israel was forced to occupy a narrow security strip in southern Lebanon--constant attacks on Israeli civilians from Lebanon-based terror groups. Israel had no designs on Lebanese territory; the Jerusalem government was forced to do the job that the central Lebanese authorities were unable or unwilling to perform. Lebanon is in a sad situation. It is a nation torn by sectarian strife, occupied by tens of thousands of Syrian troops, and overrun with terrorists. In the final analysis, however, the government of Lebanon must be called to account. For more than two decades, the international community has bemoaned Lebanon's fate without demanding responsible leadership. That era is now over. There are Christians and Muslins in southern Lebanon whose fate hangs in the balance. They have been under the protection of Israel for more than two decades. What will happen to them? Will they be subject to the whims of yet another Lebanese militia, a Hezbollah state within a state? Will Christians be forced to flee, as they have from the West Bank and from so many other states? Or will the Lebanese central government and the Lebanese Army, as required under United Nations Security Council resolutions, take control of southern Lebanon and ensure safety and security for all? Will the Lebanese government allow the United Nations and UNIFIL to do its job and deployment throughout the South? Or will Lebanon remain a pawn in the hands of terrorists, a puppet state in the hands of Syria and Iran? This is the test. The President and the Congress have demanded that Lebanon secure its southern border and reintegrate southern Lebanese into the country. Hezbollah must be disarmed. The Syrian military must be evicted. The world is watching and the time is now. The citizens of northern Israel--indeed all Israelis--deserve to live within secure borders in peace. If they cannot, it is the solemn obligation of the Israeli government to secure those borders and to hunt down those who violate it and eliminate them. For my part as a United States Senator, I intend to do all that I can to support Israel in that aim, and to ensure that the means and the political, diplomatic and material support are at hand for the Israeli government to do just that. This month could be a turning point for Lebanon, for Syria and for Israel. Or it could be the beginning of a new cycle of conflict. I pray that the Lebanese and the Syrians will be smart enough to seize the opportunity for real peace in the Middle East.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be placed in the Record at the appropriate place as if read.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 562, H.R. 371.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the Senate will be in a period of morning business on Monday. It is anticipated that the Senate will proceed to executive session to begin debate on three judicial nominees. If those judges are debated, any votes ordered on Monday will be scheduled to occur on Tuesday, May 23, at 9:30 a.m. Therefore, all Senators should be prepared to vote early on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, it is hoped that the Senate can begin consideration of the Agriculture appropriations bill. A vote on final passage of this important appropriations bill is expected prior to the Memorial Day recess.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate concur in the House amendment to the title.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S.J. Res. 44, and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Hatch be added as a cosponsor.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the joint resolution be read a third time and passed, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 11 a.m. on Monday, May 22. I further ask consent that on Monday, immediately following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate begin a period of morning business with Senators speaking for up to 5 minutes each, with the following exceptions: Senator Durbin, or his designee, from 11 a.m. until noon; Senator Thomas, or his designee, from noon to 1 p.m.

Mr. BROWNBACK

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

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3629 just received from the House.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the Injunction of Secrecy be removed from the following treaty transmitted to the Senate on May 18, 2000, by the President, that being the Extradition Treaty with South Africa, Treaty Document No. 106-24. I further ask that the treaty be considered as having been read the first time, that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed, and that the President's message be printed in the Record.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask unanimous consent the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Vermont for his thoughtful comments on the need to work together, which I think is critically important. As I understood it, the distinguished Democratic leader and the majority leader were getting pretty close to getting something done and then it fell apart at the end. So I am hopeful that maybe come tomorrow, or the first of next week, those can move forward. I agree that we ought to work together in a calmness for the betterment of the country. I think we can get that done. This has been a tough week, and I have enjoyed working with my colleague.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 526, S. 1509.