Sam Brownback

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. I will ask for the yeas and nays at the appropriate time on this amendment.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, Narcotics and Terrorism be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 12, 1999 at 3:00 p.m. to hold a hearing.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information of the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to hold an Executive Business Meeting during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 12, 1999 at 10:00 a.m., in room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Science, Technology, and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be allowed to meet on Wednesday, May 12, 1999 at 2:30 p.m. on emerging technologies.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 12, 1999, to conduct a hearing on ``The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.''

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Immigration, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 12, 1999 at 2:00 p.m. to hold a hearing in room 226, Senate Dirksen Office Building, on: ``Meeting the Workforce Needs of American Agriculture, Farm Workers, and the U.S. Economy''.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise to make a few remarks concerning Senate Amendment 308 to S. 900, the Financial Services Modernization bill. Unfortunately, I was unable to vote on this amendment because I was out in Wichita with Vice President Gore and FEMA director James Lee Witt surveying the enormous damage that was caused by the tragic tornadoes that passed through Kansas on Monday. These fatal tornadoes that swept through the Wichita area on Monday caused 5 Kansans to lose their lives and injured more than 70 people. More than 500 homes have been damaged or destroyed, leaving many people homeless and without power. In the town of Haysville, 27 businesses have been wiped out, virtually eliminating the business district of this Wichita suburb. I am pleased that federal relief for the Wichita area is on the way and I will continue to assist federal, state, and local authorities as they help the people of Wichita recover from this natural disaster. I support Senate Amendment 308 and would have voted for it if I had been present. This amendment was passed in the Senate by a vote of 95-2 and I believe that it will strengthen an already strong financial modernization bill. The Financing Corporation bonds (FICO) provision in the Financial Modernization bill would require Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) institutions, or thrifts, to pay premiums at a rate five times higher than that paid by banks in the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) for three more years before merging both funds. Under the Funds Act of 1996, these funds were supposed to merge on January 1, 2000 and all FDIC institutions were to pay an equal amount. This amendment would strike the FICO provisions in S. 900 and equalize the deposit insurance premiums of bank and thrift institutions. I hope we now can move forward with the passage of the Financial Services Modernization bill. S. 900 would permit banking, securities, and insurance companies to exist within a single corporate structure. This could lead to greater competition and more innovative and consumer-responsive services. Competition would not only benefit consumers, but will help America's employers by making it easier and cheaper for them to raise the capital they need for growth. I am especially pleased that S. 900 would modernize the Federal Home Loan Bank System (FHLB) by banks. Under S. 900, the FHLB System would be easily accessible as an important source of liquidity for community lenders and would enable community banks to post different types of collateral for various kinds of lending. Community banks are finding it increasingly tough to meet deposit and withdrawal demands as customers shift their deposits into higher- yielding investments like mutual funds. With less liquidity, there isn't as much money available for lending as the community demands. A reduction in community lending will hurt the economies of these small communities. This bill will facilitate more small business, agriculture, rural development, and low-income community development lending in rural communities.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the fifth grade class at Christ the King Catholic School in Wichita, Kansas. On May 6, 1999, these students will attend the Drug Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program's graduation ceremony. These students, under the guidance of Officer John Crane and their teacher Ms. Sylvia Eckberg, completed the D.A.R.E. program's 17 week course. At a time when our students are bombarded daily with temptations and harmful messages, it is refreshing to know that there are many students willing to serve as role models for others by leading drug free lives. Unfortunately, there are many young people in our country addicted to illegal drugs. Programs such as the Safe and Drug Free School program and D.A.R.E. help to encourage students to stay off drugs. However, this is not enough. In order to win the battle over illegal drug use, it will take courageous students, such as this fifth grade class, to make the commitment to live drug free lives despite pressure from other individuals. Therefore, I am proud to recognize the students of Ms. Eckberg's class at Christ the King Catholic School for their commitment to living drug free and serving as role models for young people in Kansas and throughout the nation.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize an outstanding educator from Kansas. Carol Strickland was selected as the Kansas Teacher of the Year for 1999. It is hard to overestimate the importance of caring and dedicated teachers such as Carol. Teachers invest their time, talent and knowledge into our nation's students, thereby shaping the minds of our future leaders. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge Carol's extraordinary work in education. I congratulate Carol and wish her continued success.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, the State of Kansas was also hit by the same system that hit Oklahoma which caused so much tragedy and damage. I would like to speak for a few minutes on that. We had a number of families that had homes destroyed. We had five people killed in Kansas, hundreds were injured, and thousands of people lost their homes and businesses. I know they are in the hearts and minds of all Americans today, and we will stand ready to assist in that in any way we can. The devastation that these tornadoes left in their paths is just shocking. I want to show you a picture of the aftermath. This was actually taken of the damage that took place in Moore, OK. You can just see the devastating power that is in one of these systems that can rise up so fast and cause so much destruction. In Wichita, the trail of destruction was 15 miles long and 5 miles wide. As I mentioned previously, five Kansans lost their lives, and more than 70 people were injured from the fatal twisters. More than 500 homes have been damaged or destroyed, leaving many people homeless. I have the second picture that I wanted to show people, a view of what has taken place. This is an aerial view of the Lake Shore Trailer Park in South Wichita. You can see where the path of the tornado was, where it was the most intense going through with just absolute destruction in the wake of that path of where it went through. More than 50,000 people have been left without power. Sedgwick County, KS, where Wichita is located, has reported that over 1,100 structures were destroyed, and more than 7,100 structures were damaged. In the town of Haysville, right next to Wichita, 27 businesses have been wiped out, and virtually eliminating the business district of this Wichita suburb. The father of one of my staffers--the person who is actually my scheduler--is the principal of Chisolm Life Skills Center in Wichita. His entire school was demolished by this tornado. We are very proud of the rapid response of people who have reached out to help us through this terrible tragedy--the State and local authorities in Kansas, the rescue personnel, the Kansas National Guard, FEMA, and citizens of the Wichita area. They have really reached out in that typical Midwestern tradition of helping others when they are having difficulty. I am also pleased to report that the President has responded quickly to the situation in both Kansas and Oklahoma by ordering Federal relief to those counties hit by these devastating tornadoes. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army have provided 800 numbers for those wishing to help victims of these disasters. I have pictures of a couple of victims. This apartment complex was destroyed in the wake of the path of the tornado. This is a picture of Suzie Dooley and her daughter, Sarah, who is 13, and their family dog, Wilma, trying to gather themselves after losing their mobile home near 55th Street, South, in Wichita. Their faces show the destruction they have been through, but also the hope and thanks they are alive and were not injured in the process. The Red Cross and Salvation Army are offering shelter for people in Wichita who need help. The Red Cross has an 800 number, 800-HELP-NOW, to contact to provide help. We can provide a local phone number. They are on the Internet at www.DisasterRelief.org. Funds can be sent to the American Red Cross in Wichita. The Salvation Army has an 800 number as well. I know the nature of Kansans and Americans is to help one another in a time of need. I will work with Federal and State authorities to provide fast and effective relief to families and communities harmed by this natural disaster. I know I speak for my Senate colleague, my fellow Senator from Kansas, Senator Pat Roberts, in saying we will continue to keep the victims and their families in our actions, thoughts, and prayers as we hope much of the rest of the country will in this very difficult time. I yield the floor.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for a period of up to 5 minutes.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, thank you very much for allowing me to speak tonight. I recognize my distinguished colleague from Arizona for all he has done on this issue but, more than that, for what he has given to his country. He chairs the Commerce Committee, which I serve on with him, but I have enormous respect for what he has already given to his Nation, the sacrifice where he put his life on the line in a previous war. Actions speak louder than words, and he spoke with his actions many times. I am enormously proud to know and be associated with him in this body. Mr. President, the situation in Kosovo is clearly a very serious one deserving of our deliberation and vigorous debate. To this point in time, though, the administration, for my satisfaction, has certainly not provided the Members of the full Senate body with the information needed to make an informed decision on this matter. Therefore, I will vote to table the resolution. One month ago, I wrote to the President asking that he respond to certain fundamental questions regarding the objectives and the implementation of the NATO mission in Kosovo. To date, I have not received a response to those questions. What is the objective, I put forward? They have been responding and defining some of that as we have gone along, but more specifically, how do we define success? Is there a coherent and achievable plan of action in place? What price would we pay for this in terms of potential loss of lives? What about the monetary cost? Is escalation in the true national interest of the United States? Those simple, basic questions that I have put forward have not been answered. Not until we understand the objective of NATO and how that objective will be attained can we make an informed determination with respect to S.J. Res. 20. The administration must provide the answers to these questions, with clarity, with satisfaction, and to the satisfaction of all Members of the Senate. Until that happens, I cannot give my support to the administration in this broad, open resolution. At such time that it is shown how granting the President the authority to use all necessary force and other means will bring us to a resolution more quickly, or at less expense or other means, then we would be able to consider this proposal in some context. I note, Mr. President, that I fully support our troops. I appreciate the sacrifices that they are being asked to make to stop Milosevic and the atrocities he has perpetrated against the people of Kosovo. It was several weeks ago that I was in Wichita at the McConnell Air Base meeting with some of the troops and their families before they were shipping off. You could see in their eyes their willingness, their commitment to see this action on through. They asked a number of the same questions that I continue to ask of the President, that I continue not to get satisfactory answers. Until those are answered, I cannot give my support to this type of authority. It is appreciation for these troops that makes it impossible for me to support this resolution, until we understand the full plan. Once we know it, then we can debate its merits and determine how best to support the President and our troops. Without that and in clarity of what that plan is, we are making a decision in a vacuum. The situation merits more attention than that. Again, I note, as I did at the outset, my enormous respect for my colleague from Arizona who has put forward this resolution and his wisdom. His support of this makes me give much more pause to my statement. But these questions have not been answered to my satisfaction. While I respect that and I respect enormously the Senator from Arizona, I cannot in good conscience vote for this resolution at this time. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise to address the body today on another aspect of our culture. I have spoken several times this week about different aspects of our culture in areas that I think need desperate reform, which certainly has been highlighted by what took place in Colorado. Today, I want to speak of video games. I have examples to show people in this body and I hope around the country of what is being marketed to our children, what is being put out there, what they are receiving. I have kids who are in this age range. My oldest daughter is 12, my son is 11, and my youngest daughter is 9. They have some exposure to some of these notions. I rise to address one aspect of our society that I think demands attention, particularly in the wake of these tragic events. Yesterday, I addressed the rise in popularity of music with hyperviolent, often misogynistic lyrics. More and more kids are tuning in to music which glorifies and glamorizes violence and viciousness. As the popularity and profitability of music depicting murder, torture, and rape grows, the music industry is making a killing off our kids. The problem is not unique to the music industry. It is found in many entertainment fields. This coming Tuesday, we will hold a hearing in the Commerce Committee to examine marketing violence. Today, I will talk about another equally troubling trend in pop entertainment, the rising popularity of gory, graphic video games. The video game industry has received far less attention than television or movies but is among the fastest growing entertainment media in the country. Last year, the video game industry was worth more than $6 billion. Its profitability is climbing steadily and rapidly. The rise in profitability is fueled by the rise in popularity of these games. Video games are being played more often by more people and particularly more kids. Even industry executives acknowledge that video games are a growing part of the cultural landscape. I want to put this in the context of the cultural landscape. One executive of the industry went so far as to assert in a recent Wall Street Journal article that: Games are a primary vehicle for popular culture. These games are. As a father with a young son who plays a lot of video games, I can tell you, they get to spend more time with him a lot of times than anybody else does, as he plays the video games. Although many video games are nonviolent, a growing number of companies are producing and promoting unimaginable gory, interactive video games. They are gory and they are interactive. Consider these few examples. ``Carmaggedon'' is a highly popular video game put out by Interplay, which debuted a little over a year ago. The purpose of the game is for the player, who controls a race car, to mow down as many pedestrians as he possibly can. That is the purpose of the game, ``Carmaggedon.'' You are in the car mowing down people. Points are awarded for each pedestrian killed, and the more gruesome, the better. Unlike some games where the player aims to kill villains, such as monsters or aliens, the targets in this game are innocent people. The game player is no longer cast in the role of vigilante but simply a cold-blooded killer. The video game ``Quake,'' put out by Midway Games and ID Software, the same companies as producers of ``Doom,'' consists of a lone gunman confronting a variety of monsters. For every kill, he gets points. As he advances in the game, the weapons he uses grow more powerful and more gory. He trades in a shotgun for an automatic, and later he gets to use a chain saw on his enemies. The more skilled the player, the gorier the weapons he gets to use. Bloodshed is his reward. ``Quake'' sold more than 1.7 million copies its first year out. Here are some other examples of popular games. I want to show you some of these ads, because I think they are particularly troubling in the advertisement that they use. These are ads that were all taken from a recent gaming magazine, again, aimed at a teenage audience. These are generally aimed at people under the age of 18. And I can see some of our interns and pages up front. I rather imagine they will recognize some of this advertising that I am going to show. But I want you to look at some. Here is ``Quake.'' Just look how this is advertised, if you would, Mr. President. Blowing your friends to pieces with a rocket launcher is only the beginning . . . . Sound familiar? Whether you are in search of the ultimate online frag-fest or looking for the latest Quake news, information player ranks, or skins--the Imagine Games Network has it all. It talks about ``[b]lowing your friends to pieces with a rocket launcher is only the beginning. . ..'' Unfortunately, does that sound like a news headline? Let's look at the next one we have up here. And I want to point out, before I get to the real graphics of it, it is rated 14. So there is actually a rating system on video games. So this one is supposed to be purchased by people under the age of 18. It is rated to do so. Listen to the title of this one. Look at how this one is advertised at the very top. ``Kill Your Friends Guilt Free'' is the advertising. ``Kill Your Friends Guilt Free.'' If you consider yourself a fighter kind of surg, Guilty Gear comes highly recommended. No true fan can be-- This is online here. What else do we have of this one? ``Fighting games.'' You can see the rest of it, and the gory details. It is rated for teens. This is rated for kids under the age of 18. ``Kill Your Friends Guilt Free.'' Does that sound horrible? This is an actual game screen, really. This is of a very popular game. It is built on the revolutionary Quake II engine kingpin. Life of crime. Includes a multiple player gang bang deathmatch for up to 16 thugs. I think you can see the blood splattering here at the side in which different people are blown away. One other point I want to make about this is that we will have people testify at our hearing about the desensitization that this does to people to allow and even empower them to do things to people that are not even imaginable, but after you spend so much time looking at and studying the screen and shooting at and blowing up people, the desensitization process happens. We will have an expert witness testifying that that allows you to do things that you would otherwise have an internal mechanism in you saying, no, you cannot do that; no, you do not do that. But after hour after hour of the blood and guts, it has a desensitization to it. These are advertisements. Look at this one. Look at this one: ``Deploy. Destroy. Then relax over a cold one.'' ``Deploy. Destroy.'' And ``[t]hen relax over a cold one.'' On this one you can see the little teen label. This is marketed and this is for teens to purchase. They actually are for teens to purchase. Can you really sit there and say that the consumption of this on and on and on does not have some impact on a young mind, on a young soul? ``Deploy. Destroy. Then relax over a cold one.'' Look at this one. This one goes further than even death. Destroying your enemies isn't enough. * * * You must devour their souls [in this one]. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. As a result, stalk the shadows of Nosgoth, hunting your vampire brethren. Impale them with spears, incite them with torches, down them in water. No matter how you must destroy them, you must feed on their souls to sustain your quest, the ruin of your creator, Kain. [Y]ou must feed on their souls to sustain your quest, the ruin of your creator, Kain. Dark Gothic story, shift real time between material and special planes. Morph. Those are being marketed to our kids. The video game industry has not only deemed some of these acceptable for teens and parental consent unnecessary, but they market them to teens as well. This may seem over the top, but they are among the more popular games around. One survey of 900 fourth to eighth graders found that almost half of the children said their favorite electronic games involved violence. Columnist John Leo put it this way: We are now a society in which the chief form of play for millions of youngsters is making large numbers of people die. Hurting and maiming others is the central fun activity in video games played so addictively by the young. Can it be that all this constant training in make-believe killing has no social effects? One would think that some of these games are so violent that they are out on the fringe somewhere snubbed by respectable companies, cringing somewhere in the electronic redlight district. Not so. They are backed and distributed by some of the biggest names in the business. GT Interactive distributes ``Quake.'' Sony Corporation is developing the ``Doom'' game, which so inspired the two young killers in Littleton, into a movie. They are making this into a movie and are in the process of negotiating with its own game division's ``Twisted Metal'' car game, where the object is to mow down innocent pedestrians. In these games, the goal is death. Success is determined by the body count. Others' pain is your gain. Moreover, almost all of these games are sold in toy stores. Reports indicate that they are typically arranged in alphabetical order, not by rating or age level. It seems pretty apparent to me that toy stores are designed to appeal to children. Children are the targeted audience. Parents do not enter toy stores to buy toys for themselves. But right there on the shelves are products that are supposedly unsuitable for children. Defenders of these games say they are mere fantasy and harmless role- playing. But is it really the best thing for our children to play the role of murderous psychopaths? Is it truly harmless to fantasize about mass murder? Is it? We need to do better than this. I am not saying that companies do not have a right to peddle this, but it is not right to make a killing off peddling violence to our children. Raising children is a precious duty and a precarious task. It requires nurturing, sacrifice, and lots of love. But even the most devoted parents may find it impossible to shield their child from these images and messages that surround them at school, at the mall, at a friend's house, through music, TV, movies, and video games. We can no more shield our children from a polluted culture than we can shield them from polluted air. Just as a polluted physical ecosystem is poisoned by several sources, so our cultural ecosystem has many points of source pollution. And this is one. We all need to do our part in cleaning up our cultural ecosystem--or else we shall all be poisoned by it. Mr. President, I am willing to share these graphics with other offices for them to look at as well. I simply ask them to look and to examine and to think as we start to explore more in this area of cultural renewal and the need for renewal of what we are actually dealing with today--how do we move forward to get to a better and a brighter day, so our children can live in a culture of life rather than a culture of violence and a culture of death? What are they receiving today versus what we want them to receive tomorrow? Can we really sit here and say that these have no impact on our children? I don't think we can. I think we need to examine and push, each of us individually, and start down this line of saying, what is it that is being received? What sort of cultural pollution is getting to our children, and how do we improve that ecosystem? How do we get it renewed? We can, and we have to start about this task, not by a series of censorship but first by knowledge and, by that, spreading and getting away from a culture of doom and death to a culture of life. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for a period of up to 15 minutes.

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

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. It is time we address this. It is time we address it strongly. It is time we address it clearly and ask two questions: How did we get here, and how do we get out? This is not the culture we were raised in and this is not the culture we want our kids to be in, as one of our colleagues, Senator Lieberman, put it. I hope we can start the change and renew our culture and start to do that by renewing ourselves. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Mr. BAUCUS addressed the Chair.

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I have some comments I will make today following what has happened in Colorado, the Columbine tragedy that occurred this last week which has caused all of us really to reflect on the causes and the cures. As we mourn the loss of so many precious young lives, we really have to ask ourselves, how did we get to this place? Why do so many young people with so much going for them in their lives have such despair and so much hate? Obviously, there are no easy answers and certainly no silver bullets. There are many factors which led those two young men to don trench coats and kill, just as there were many factors that resulted in the shootings in Jonesboro, Paducah, Pearl, and Springfield, communities the names of which have become all too familiar to us via school tragedies where a child has killed other children. But there are enough common factors that I believe we can start to pull together some ideas as to what is causing this and some solutions. One of the most obvious conclusions is this: The immersion of troubled kids in a violence-glorifying culture is a recipe for disaster. Monday, I addressed this body on the need for a commission on cultural renewal. Today, I would like to address the importance of one of the most important elements that makes up our culture, and that is our music. In many ways the music industry is more influential than anything that happens here in Washington. Most people spend far more time listening to music than watching C-SPAN or reading the newspaper. They are more likely to recognize musicians than Senators--I guess maybe unless the Senators sing. And they spend more time thinking about music than about government. All of those can seem to be some fairly trite statements, but when you look at what we are putting out in the music and then ask that question, it takes on a different color. Of course, no one spends more time listening to music than the young people. In fact, one recent study conducted by the Carnegie Foundation concluded that the average teenager listens to music around 4 hours a day--about 4 hours a day. In contrast, they spend less than an hour a day on homework or reading, less than 20 minutes a day talking with mom, and less than 5 minutes a day talking with dad. If this study is true, there are thousands, perhaps even tens or hundreds of thousands, of teens who spend more time listening to the music of such artists as Marilyn Manson or Master P than mom or dad. In fact, Marilyn Manson himself said this: Music is such a powerful medium now. The kids don't even know who the President is, but they know what's on TV. I think if anyone like Hitler or Mussolini were alive now, they'd have to be rock stars. Over the past few years, I have grown increasingly concerned with the popularity of some lyrics, lyrics which glorify violence and devalue life. Some recent best selling albums have included graphic descriptions of murder, torture, and rape. Women are objectified, often in the most degrading ways. Songs such as Prodigy's ``Smack My B. . . Up'' or ``Don't Trust a B. . .'' by the group Mo' Thugs actively encourage animosity or even violence towards women. A few years ago, the alternative group ``Nine Inch Nails'' enjoyed critical and commercial success with their song ``Big Man With a Gun,'' which described forcing a woman into oral sex and shooting her in the head at point-blank range. I brought along a few examples of the kind of music I am talking about. Each of the Marilyn Manson songs shown here are from his 1996 album ``Anti-Christ Superstar,'' an album which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. These are some of the song lyrics that you can look at. I want to point it out because it is about the culture of violence and the culture of death, and they may be unpleasant words for us to look at, but when these debut at No. 3 on the Billboard charts, when that song wraps itself around one's inside, when it wraps around a person's soul, it has an impact just as significant as when we might listen to John Philip Sousa's music and it makes us feel patriotic and uplifted or a love song makes us loving. Violent, hateful, misogynistic music encourages that in us as will violence come from hate music. Look at this: Marilyn Manson, ``Irresponsible Hate Anthem'' (Anti-Christ Superstar) on Nothing/Interscope Records I'm so all-American, I'd sell you suicide I am totalitarian, I've got abortions in my eyes I hate the hater, I'd rape the raper I am the animal who will not be himself F*** it Hey victim, should I black your eyes again? Hey victim, you were the one who put the stick in my hand I am the ism, my hate's a prism Let's just kill everyone and let your god sort them out F*** it Everybody's someone else's n**ger/I know you are so am I I wasn't born with enough middle fingers/I don't need to choose a side.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. I thank the distinguished Senator from Kansas very much for the recognition.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. I thank the Chair.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, today the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 12 noon. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 96, the Y2K bill. A cloture motion on the pending McCain amendment was filed on Tuesday. Therefore, that cloture vote will take place on Thursday at a time to be determined by the two leaders. All Senators will be notified when that time has been decided. Votes are possible today on any legislative or executive items cleared for action. I thank my colleagues for their attention.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, today the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 3:30 p.m. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 96, the Y2K bill. A cloture motion on that legislation was filed on Thursday, and by unanimous consent that vote will take place today at 5:30 p.m. Members are encouraged to come to the floor to debate this important legislation. I thank my colleagues for their attention. Mr. President, I wish to address the body today on another matter during morning business. It is about the situation that has taken place in Colorado.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Broadband Internet Regulatory Relief Act of 1999 on behalf of myself, Senator Nickles, and Senator Craig. This bill is intended to speed up the deployment of broadband networks throughout the United States and to make residential high-speed Internet access a widely-available service. Mr. President, the Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, conduct business, shop, and learn. The Internet presents us with the opportunity to remove distance as an obstacle to employment and education. But while tens of millions of Americans now log onto the Internet every day, narrowband connections to the Internet make using the Net a slow and cumbersome process. Broadband connections, on the other hand, provide ultra-fast access to the Internet. With a broadband connection, users may download and upload data from and to the Internet at substantially greater speeds than with a narrowband connection. From downloading full-motion video to uploading an architect's plans, broadband permits consumers to utilize many more applications that will increase the value of the Internet as a communications medium. The technology to provide broadband connections to the Internet is a reality. Cable companies are deploying hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) networks that will enable cable modems to provide high-speed Internet access. In addition, telephone companies have discovered a way to provide high- speed Internet access over their copper-based telephone loops. With the addition of a digital switch in a telephone company's central office, a digital modem at a customer's premises, and the conditioning of a copper loop, consumers may obtain access to the Internet at more than ten time the speed of narrowband connections. The most promising technology employed by telephone companies for residential high-speed Internet access is digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. The family of DSL services, especially asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service, have the greatest potential to ensure that all consumers throughout the United States obtain high-speed Internet access. Cable service has penetration rates approaching telephone service in urban and densely-populated suburban areas. However, cable penetration is much lower in rural areas whereas the ubiquity of the telephone network makes telephone penetration rates close to one hundred percent even in rural areas. Thus, for many rural consumers, including those in Kansas, high-speed Internet access may only be available in the next several years through the telephone network. As a result, Congress needs to ensure that high-speed Internet access is being made available over the public telephone network as rapidly as possible. While ADSL service is being rolled out in may urban and densely-populated suburban areas, most rural consumers do not have access to it. I am introducing the Broadband Internet Regulatory Relief Act to ensure that high-speed Internet access is available to my rural constituents as soon as possible. To accomplish this goal, I am proposing to provide regulatory relief to telephone companies willing to deliver broadband connections to rural areas. My proposal has several components. First, incumbent local exchange carriers that make seventy percent of their loops ready to support high-speed Internet access will not have to resell their advanced services to competitors and will not have to make the network elements used exclusively for the provision of advanced services available to competitors. Second, the prices for advanced services offered by incumbent local exchange carriers that face competition in the provision of such services will be deregulated. Third, where incumbent local exchange carriers are offering advanced services but do not face competition, the companies will receive pricing flexibility. Fourth, competitive local exchange carriers will not be required to resell their advanced services. Mr. President, the ubiquity of our nation's telephone network presents us with a tremendous opportunity to deliver high-speed Internet access to our rural constituents at a pace comparable with the rate at which urban and suburban consumers will be offered such service. But to realize this goal, we must remove unnecessary regulation that has impeded the rapid deployment of broadband networks. Advanced services should not be regulated in the same manner as basic telephone service. Broadband services are an entirely new market, one in which no company can exercise market power. In the absence of market power, the incumbents should not have to resell their advanced services or provide competitors with access to unbundled advanced service elements. And pricing regulations applied to telephone service should not be applied to advanced services. In addition, a competitive local exchange carrier willing to deploy the facilities necessary to provide broadband services should not be forced to resell its service. Mr. President, I am confident that we can ensure the rapid deployment of broadband networks to rural areas. But to do so, we must be willing to provide companies with an incentive to build out their broadband networks in rural areas. The Broadband Internet Regulatory Relief Act would provide companies with such incentives, and I hope that my colleagues will support this crucial legislation.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Broadband Internet Regulatory Relief Act of 1999 on behalf of myself, Senator Nickles, and Senator Craig. This bill is intended to speed up the deployment of broadband networks throughout the United States and to make residential high-speed Internet access a widely-available service. Mr. President, the Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, conduct business, shop, and learn. The Internet presents us with the opportunity to remove distance as an obstacle to employment and education. But while tens of millions of Americans now log onto the Internet every day, narrowband connections to the Internet make using the Net a slow and cumbersome process. Broadband connections, on the other hand, provide ultra-fast access to the Internet. With a broadband connection, users may download and upload data from and to the Internet at substantially greater speeds than with a narrowband connection. From downloading full-motion video to uploading an architect's plans, broadband permits consumers to utilize many more applications that will increase the value of the Internet as a communications medium. The technology to provide broadband connections to the Internet is a reality. Cable companies are deploying hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) networks that will enable cable modems to provide high-speed Internet access. In addition, telephone companies have discovered a way to provide high- speed Internet access over their copper-based telephone loops. With the addition of a digital switch in a telephone company's central office, a digital modem at a customer's premises, and the conditioning of a copper loop, consumers may obtain access to the Internet at more than ten time the speed of narrowband connections. The most promising technology employed by telephone companies for residential high-speed Internet access is digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. The family of DSL services, especially asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service, have the greatest potential to ensure that all consumers throughout the United States obtain high-speed Internet access. Cable service has penetration rates approaching telephone service in urban and densely-populated suburban areas. However, cable penetration is much lower in rural areas whereas the ubiquity of the telephone network makes telephone penetration rates close to one hundred percent even in rural areas. Thus, for many rural consumers, including those in Kansas, high-speed Internet access may only be available in the next several years through the telephone network. As a result, Congress needs to ensure that high-speed Internet access is being made available over the public telephone network as rapidly as possible. While ADSL service is being rolled out in may urban and densely-populated suburban areas, most rural consumers do not have access to it. I am introducing the Broadband Internet Regulatory Relief Act to ensure that high-speed Internet access is available to my rural constituents as soon as possible. To accomplish this goal, I am proposing to provide regulatory relief to telephone companies willing to deliver broadband connections to rural areas. My proposal has several components. First, incumbent local exchange carriers that make seventy percent of their loops ready to support high-speed Internet access will not have to resell their advanced services to competitors and will not have to make the network elements used exclusively for the provision of advanced services available to competitors. Second, the prices for advanced services offered by incumbent local exchange carriers that face competition in the provision of such services will be deregulated. Third, where incumbent local exchange carriers are offering advanced services but do not face competition, the companies will receive pricing flexibility. Fourth, competitive local exchange carriers will not be required to resell their advanced services. Mr. President, the ubiquity of our nation's telephone network presents us with a tremendous opportunity to deliver high-speed Internet access to our rural constituents at a pace comparable with the rate at which urban and suburban consumers will be offered such service. But to realize this goal, we must remove unnecessary regulation that has impeded the rapid deployment of broadband networks. Advanced services should not be regulated in the same manner as basic telephone service. Broadband services are an entirely new market, one in which no company can exercise market power. In the absence of market power, the incumbents should not have to resell their advanced services or provide competitors with access to unbundled advanced service elements. And pricing regulations applied to telephone service should not be applied to advanced services. In addition, a competitive local exchange carrier willing to deploy the facilities necessary to provide broadband services should not be forced to resell its service. Mr. President, I am confident that we can ensure the rapid deployment of broadband networks to rural areas. But to do so, we must be willing to provide companies with an incentive to build out their broadband networks in rural areas. The Broadband Internet Regulatory Relief Act would provide companies with such incentives, and I hope that my colleagues will support this crucial legislation.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. I thank the Chair.

Mr. BROWNBACK

Mr. BROWNBACK. I thank the Chair. Certainly, all of our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Colorado, across this country and across the world, who have been touched by the terrible tragedies in the shootings. We cannot ignore the shootings that took place in Littleton, CO. I think we really must say that this time we will address these problems that are in our culture. They are here. We have a culture that glorifies violence and killing, where perverse things are put on television as normal. Ours is a culture that has far too much darkness in it. Just listen to some of the words of the writers in various newspapers across this country when they have discussed today's culture. This was in last Thursday's Washington Post in the Style Section, mind you. Its headline: ``When Death Imitates Art.'' It says: Before Teenagers Commit Violence, They Witness It in American Culture. Here is how the writer starts: In what used to be the dark corners of our culture, there is now a prime time cartoon with a neo-Nazi character, comics that traffic in bestiality, movies that leave teenagers gutted like game, fashion designers who peddle black leather masks and doomsday visions. It's all in the open now, mass produced, widely available. Even celebrated. On countless PCs, killing is a sport. And there's Marilyn Manson, a popular singer who named himself after a mass murderer and proclaims he is the Antichrist. Film, television, music, dress, technology, games: They've become one giant playground filled with accessible evil, darker than ever before. Listen to this: Consider: Of the last 11 major movies released on video since April 6, seven of them have violent themes. Among them, ``Art Pupil,'' about a high school kid obsessed with Nazism; ``American History X'' about the rise and fall of a skinhead; and ``I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,'' a teen slasher sequel. ``There is no question in my mind that film and society interrelate,'' said Douglas Brode, a professor of film at Syracuse University and author of 18 books on the movies. ``And not just films but music, video games, all of it. There is a connection. It may be tangential, it may be tight. Nobody knows for sure.'' And so caution and perspective are urged. It is surely one of the great debates of this decade: Does the culture simply reflect the dark, decadent times in which we live or is society this way because the cultural proprietors have run amok. Listen to this from the Wall Street Journal, written by Peggy Noonan, a columnist. This was in last Thursday's Wall Street Journal. She writes this: What walked into Columbine High School Tuesday was the culture of death. This time it wore black trench coats. Last time it was children's hunting gear. Next time it will be some other costume, but it will still be the culture of death. That is the Pope's phrase; it is how he describes the world we live in. The boys who did the killing, the famous Trench Coat Mafia, inhaled too deep the ocean in which they swam. Think of it this way. Your child is an intelligent little fish. He swims in deep water. Waves of sound and sight, of thought and fact, come invisibly through that water, like radar; they go through him again and again, from this direction and that. The sound from the television is a wave, and the sound from the radio; the headlines on the newsstand, on the magazines, on the ad on the bus as it whizzes by--all are waves. The fish--your child--is bombarded and barely knows it. But the waves contain words like this, which I will limit to only one source, the news. Then she goes through and lists: . . . was found strangled and is believed to have been sexually molested. . . . There are a number of headlines, and they finish this portion by saying: This is the ocean in which our children swim. This is the sound of our culture. It comes from all parts of our culture and reaches all parts of our culture, and all the people in it, which is everybody. Listen to this from the New York Times today: By producing increasingly violent media, the entertainment industry has for decades engaged in a lucrative dance with the devil. That was in the New York Times today. It goes on to describe a process that our young people are going through, that a former Army officer talked about being desensitization, conditioning of people, being able to do heinous violent acts that they are taking culture conditioning through a movie, music, the Internet that just constantly bombard them and it desensitizes them to the humanness surrounding them. Dave Grossman, a former Army officer and professor at West Point and also the University of Arkansas, says that these are the same techniques that were used to great effect during the Vietnam War to increase the ``firing rate''--that is, the percentage of soldiers who would actually fire a weapon during an encounter from the 15 to 20 percent range in World War II to as much as 95 percent in Vietnam. Grossman has written ``On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society,'' in which he discusses how conditioning techniques were used to teach Vietnam-bound soldiers. And then it goes on and he says many of these same techniques are involved in our culture today. Mr. President, we have got to address this. It is time to do something. I think we in the Senate have to say we are not powerless to address this. We can fight back, and we must fight back. We know this is going on in the culture today. We know it is out there. We know what is happening. We know what happened in Columbine. We also know, most of us across the country, it is likely to happen again somewhere else, in some other good high school, in some other place where this never should happen, as it has happened in the past in Paducah, KY; Pearl, MS; other places; Jonesboro, AR; across this country. We can and we must fight back, and now is the time to do it. I suggest two solutions. No. 1, anybody listening or watching, let's all pledge that we will change our culture, our individual culture we are involved in right now, what is it that is going on in our family, in our community, in our school, wherever we are within our culture that is part of this, and let's change it. We are not helpless to changing this. What is coming into your home right now? Do you have things coming into your home right now that are violent, that are of a nature with which you wouldn't agree, or over the Internet, magazines, video games, movies, television? We are not powerless to stop it coming into our homes. Let us all pledge to stop it. I hope that many people across this country will start societies for cultural renewal within their communities where people can come together and say we are going to change the culture in our community; we are not going to wait on producers out of California; we are not going to wait on Washington to do this; we are going to change the culture here, now; we are going to bind together and we are going to say, what can we do in our community to reduce teen suicide, to reduce child abuse, to reduce out-of-wedlock births, to reduce the violence, the drug use, to reduce those sorts of things in our culture. Let's not wait until it comes to us. Let's start binding together as people and forming societies to do this now. We can do it. If 10 people in any community of a limited size, say, of a quarter million, would come together and say, we are going to change the culture in our community, they could start this in their community and they could get it done. With passion, with prayer, with people of commitment, they could do it. It could happen. They could move forward. They can change their culture. We can each change our culture. Let us open our eyes and see what is happening. The second thing I think we in the Senate need to do is create a special commission on cultural renewal. We need to address this topic. We in the Senate should have a high-level commission of people from multiple walks of life searching for the answers to two questions: One, what made this culture the way it is? How did we get to this point we are today? What made us this way? Second, and more important, how do we change it? I will be hosting a hearing on May 4, asking about the marketing of violence, in the Commerce Committee. There we are going to be asking people to address the point about the marketing of violence in our society and how it is being used to sell various products and what we can do to stop it. I want to be clear, too. We obviously have limits in government, and government is part of the culture, but it is not the total culture. Government is limited. This is much more about all of us joining together to say we can change these sorts of things. We want to highlight some problems such as what is taking place in the marketing of violence. Why are companies doing this? What is their mode of operation? How can we dissuade them from doing this? Because it has a profound effect throughout this culture, as the people in Littleton, CO, know all too well, as we know all the rest of the way across this Nation. Cultures change, and we must determinedly change ours, not so much by laws as by changing our thinking about what we consume. We can do it. We must do it. We will do it. It is time we do it. I am afraid people are getting to the point of wondering if we can. Yes, we can. As the culture moved in this direction, it can assuredly move away from it. But it is going to take a determined effort. It is going to take an effort not just of saying OK, Washington is going to solve it, or Hollywood is going to solve it, or New York is going to solve it. We each have to dig in and try to solve it in our own community, and we need to address it from here, too. I will be pressing this on the leadership of the Senate, that we do have such a high-level special commission so we can get at these issues: How did we get to where we are? How do we get away from this? How do we solve it? And we can. I thank the Chair, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.