Benjamin Cardin

Mr. CARDIN

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. CARDIN. I thank my colleague for his leadership on this issue. I know he has been working for many years to get this accomplished, and I hope this is the vehicle on which we will get it done. I had the chance to chair the Maryland Legal Services Corporation and chaired a commission in Maryland looking to services for our population, and there are not enough attorneys who will handle poverty law. There are not enough attorneys who will handle public defender cases. It is difficult to get experienced prosecutors today because you can go into a private law firm and make a lot of money, much more than you can as a public defender or legal aid attorney or as a prosecutor. The Senator's legislation gives us a chance to say we want to make sure every citizen in our State has equal access to justice in our State. I applaud him for it. I think this is what we need to do. We have a chance in this bill to get it done. I thank the Senator for bringing it to the floor, and I support his amendment.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a business meeting to consider pending business, to be followed immediately by a hearing on discussion draft legislation to amend and reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Military's Role in Disaster Response: Progress Since Hurricane Katrina.''

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on Iraq.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 2:15 p.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``Aviation Financing: Industry Perspectives.''

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a business meeting during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 2:30 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The purpose of this meeting will be to consider and approve the following bills: S. 1492, S. 1769, S. 1780, S. 1582, S. 1771, S. 1778, and to consider nominations for promotion in the United States Coast Guard (PN 609 and PN 610).

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia be authorized to meet on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in order to conduct a hearing entitled, Great Expectations: Assessment, Assurances, and Accountability of the Mayor's Proposal to Reform the District of Columbia Public School System.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen room 226. Agenda I. Bills: S. 1145, Patent Reform Act of 2007 (Leahy, Hatch, Schumer, Cornyn, Whitehouse), S. _, School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvements Act (Chairman's mark); S. 1060, Recidivism Reduction & Second Chance Act of 2007 (Biden, Specter, Brownback, Leahy, Kennedy, Schumer, Whitehouse, Durbin). II. Nominations: William Lindsay Osteen, Jr. to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina; Martin Karl Reidinger to be United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina; Timothy D. DeGiusti to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma; Janis Lynn Sammartino to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California; Roslynn Renee Mauskopf to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York; Joe W. Stecher to be United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska; and Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez to be United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. III. Resolutions: S. Res. 248, Honoring the life and achievements of Dame Lois Browne Evans (Brown); S. Res. 236, Supporting the goals and ideals of the National Anthem Project (Bayh, Craig, Kennedy, Cardin, Durbin); S. Res. 261, Honoring the educational contributions of Donald Jeffrey Herbert, ``Mr. Wizard'' (Coleman, Klobuchar, Feingold, Durbin).

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 19, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Judicial Nominations'' on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 2:45 p.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building room 226. Witness list Panel I: The Honorable Thad Cochran, United States Senator [R-MS]; The Honorable Trent Lott, United States Senator [R-MS]; The Honorable Patty Murray, United States Senator [D-WA]; The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, United States Senator [R-TX]; and The Honorable John Cornyn, United States Senator [R-TX]. Panel II: Jennifer Walker Elrod to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. Panel III: Richard A. Jones to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; Sharion Aycock to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2007, at 9:45 a.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1634, a bill to implement further the act approving the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 19, 2007, immediately following the first rollcall vote at 12 p.m., to conduct a vote on the nominations of the Honorable Bijan Rafiekian, of California, to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; Ms. Diane G. Farrell, of Connecticut, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; Mr. William Herbert Heyman, of New York, to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; Mr. William S. Jaisen, of Virginia, to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; and Mr. Mark S. Shelton, of Kansas, to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 19, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a vote on the nominations of the Honorable Bijan Rafiekian, of California, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; Ms. Diane G. Farrell, of Connecticut, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; Mr. William Herbert Heyman, of New York, to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; Mr. William S. Jasien, of Virginia, to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; and Mr. Mark S. Shelton, of Kansas, to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Immediately following the vote, the Committee will conduct a hearing on ``The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.''

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I also thank Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi for their extraordinary leadership in bringing forward the Higher Education Access Act. I think this is one of the most important bits of legislation that we will be considering during this term of Congress. To me, it speaks to one of the highest priorities of our country, and that is making education--quality education--available to all of our families. Affordability of higher education is a critically important issue affecting families throughout our Nation. In 1965, we made a commitment in the Higher Education Act that every family--every family in this country--should be able to send their children to college and that the financial considerations should not prevent a family from allowing their children to get the benefits of higher education in America. We enacted the Pell grants, which was a huge program at the time, opening opportunities to many families who had never had it before. Over the last 20 years, we have seen a considerable erosion of the affordability of higher education to families in the United States. In the last 20 years, college costs have increased threefold. Yet the buying power of Pell grants has actually declined during the past 20 years. Madam President, 20 years ago, 55 percent of the cost of a public 4-year college could have been financed through Pell grants. Today, it is less than one-third. It is estimated that 400,000-- 400,000--children in our country each year see the doors of higher education barred to them because they just can't afford to pay the tuition and costs of going to a postsecondary school. This is important to our country. When I graduated from college, 15 percent of the new jobs required some form of postsecondary education. Today, that number is in excess of 60 percent. This is important for the individual, in order to benefit from the opportunities of America, but it is important for our country. If we are going to be competitive internationally, we need to have an educated workforce. So this is a public investment. It is not just for the individual. It benefits our Nation by allowing it to continue to grow economically so that our standard of living can increase. The cost of higher education can determine what school an individual will attend because the cost affects many families who may say: Gee, I know you could benefit from going to this particular college or university, but we just can't afford it, so we will try this college or university. That second choice may work and it may not. The cost of higher education also affects the careers that graduates choose because they have these huge loans they have to repay. We have students who would like to become teachers or would like to become nurses or go into law enforcement or some other field they feel a talent for or are committed to, but they take a look at their college loans and they have to opt out in order to repay those loans. So we lose out on the creativity of those college graduates. Finally, the cost of higher education may also affect when a graduate starts a family or whether he or she can buy a home. This financial burden truly has affected much of this Nation--the type of country that we are--and that is why this legislation, to me, is one of the most important that we will be considering during this term in Congress. Fifteen years ago, about half the students in colleges took out loans. Today, that number is over two-thirds. The average debt for a college graduate is $19,000. We have a chance to do something about it in this legislation. I might point out to my colleagues that, along with Senator Snowe, I have introduced the Master Teachers Act of 2007, which provides a Federal tax incentive for teachers who go into careers to help underserved areas, such as our rural areas and those areas where the schools are not meeting the expectations of No Child Left Behind--high poverty areas. That is an important bill that will help. But we have an opportunity in this legislation to make a major difference in the affordability of higher education. I was proud to be a part of the Budget Committee, and I congratulate the leadership of our Budget Committee, Senator Conrad, for finding a way in which we could consider this legislation and to say that our priority is in higher education and making quality higher education affordable to American families. Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi have taken up that charge in bipartisan legislation that we have before us. It clearly moves us in the right direction to help families in this country and to help our Nation become more competitive. This legislation provides $17 billion of additional college aid to students, the biggest increase since the GI bill. Pell grants that currently max out at a little over $4,300 will be increased to $5,100. It also increases income levels, making more students qualified to receive Pell grants, and caps the monthly loan payment at 15 percent of discretionary income. This is a huge improvement on affordability for families. College graduates now know they will be able to work after they graduate and can go into careers they want to go into, knowing there will be a limit as to how much they have to repay on an annual basis from their discretionary income on their college loans. That is a major policy statement we are making, that we want college graduates to go into fields where they can best contribute to our society. It does a lot more. It protects working students. They are not penalized because they are working. That is an important policy. It encourages public service, with a loan forgiveness program for those who go into public service and commit to a 10-year requirement. I think that, again, is a policy that is important for our country--to say, yes, we do want young people to go into public service. It is fiscally responsible. There are offsets to make sure we are not adding to the deficit. It holds colleges accountable. If the cost of a college exceeds its peers', there are ways the public can put on pressure to keep college costs down. This bill is very important. It helps families in Maryland. This bill will provide $32 million in new grants next year to families in my State of Maryland, and, over the 5-year period, $273 million in new grants. For the historically Black colleges and universities, it will provide $5 million in new grants next year, and $40 million in new grants over the 5 years of this legislation. The bottom line: More families in Maryland are going to be able to afford to send their children to college. More children will be able to go to their first preference, as far as the school they want to attend, which college or university, and will not be prohibited because of the costs. There will be more opportunities for so many families that have been left out of the American dream in my State of Maryland and more Marylanders will be able to choose the type of career where they can best add to their own self-fulfillment and to help our community. This is an important bill. To me it speaks to the priorities of what this Nation should stand for. I am proud to urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield the floor.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I welcome the debate on the U.S. role in Iraq, and I urge my colleagues to allow us to vote on the issue. I think each of us was elected to cast our votes and this is the most critical issue that is facing this Nation and we should be able to cast a vote on this issue, hopefully tonight. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment offered by Senators Levin and Reed to the Defense authorization legislation. It is similar to the provisions Congress originally passed on the emergency supplemental appropriations bill that President Bush vetoed. We now have more information than we did 3 months ago when we acted on the supplemental appropriations bill. We know the President's surge policy has not worked. By the President's own assessment, the Iraqis have failed to meet the most important interim benchmarks required for stability in Iraq. The Levin-Reed amendment would change our mission in Iraq to limit U.S. involvement to conducting counterterrorism operations, protecting U.S. forces and military infrastructure during redeployment, and training Iraqi forces. It would set a deadline of April 30, 2008, for all U.S. combat troops to be removed from attempting to quell the civil war in Iraq. We should not wait a single additional day in changing the U.S. mission in Iraq. I have opposed the war from the inception. In October 2002, I voted against giving President Bush the authority to use U.S. troops in Iraq. I have likewise opposed the President's management of this war. The administration misrepresented or ignored intelligence about Iraq. The administration's effort to garner international support for the war was totally inadequate. Our troops went to Iraq without adequate equipment. The President failed to prepare for the insurgency. The leadership in the White House wrongfully ordered the dismantling of the internal Iraqi police, putting the local communities at the mercy of the insurgents. Our Nation and the Iraqis have paid a heavy price for the administration's mistakes. To date, over 3,600 U.S. soldiers have died and over 23,000 have been wounded, many sustaining life-changing injuries. Seventy-seven of the brave men and women who have lost their lives have been from Maryland. U.S. taxpayers have spent at least $320 billion so far. According to the Congressional Research Service, the war in Iraq currently costs $10 billion per month. These expenditures represent lost opportunities in our own country. Tragically, we have lost our focus in the war against terrorism. Afghanistan is not secure, and Osama bin Laden is still at large. For over a year, there has been a significant increase in the level of violence in Iraq. The main reason for this escalation has been sectarian violence. U.S. military commanders have confirmed that the Sunni-Shiite conflict is the greatest source of violence in Iraq. Iraq is in the midst of a civil war, and the presence of American troops in the middle of a civil war is counterproductive. In fact, there is not one civil war raging in Iraq, there are many civil wars in Iraq. In Baghdad, Sunnis are fighting Shias. In Anbar and Diyala, Sunnis are fighting each other. In southern Iraq, Shiites are fighting each other. And around Kirkuik and Mosul Kurds are fighting Sunnis. Our first priority should be to remove our troops from the middle of these civil wars. The Levin-Reed amendment will do just that. In order to bolster our military and refocus its attention on the global terrorism threat, this Congress has attempted, on more than one occasion, to redeploy U.S. forces and change the mission of our operations in Iraq. President Bush and a minority in Congress have rebuffed this effort. Instead, President Bush proposes a strategy he claimed would improve the situation in Iraq: increasing the number of troops deployed, and stepping up traditional counterinsurgent operations. According to President Bush, increased U.S. troops would stabilize the country so that its national leaders could operate in a safe environment in which to reach political agreement on oil and revenue sharing laws and amend their constitution. Furthermore, so the theory went, increased U.S. troop levels would enable us to accelerate training initiatives so that the Iraqi Army and police force could assume control over all security in the country by November 2007. President Bush sent over 28,000 more soldiers into Iraq with the hope of fulfilling the goals of his plan. President Bush insists on continuing this surge policy. But the so-called surge is not working. Some of the most brutal acts of sectarian violence have occurred during the surge. For example, in March of this year, a truck bomb in a Shia neighborhood killed 150 people. The Shia-controlled police units responded by systematically kidnapping and murdering 70 Sunnis. This is not an isolated episode. Approximately 600 U.S. soldiers have died during the surge, and more than 3,000 have been wounded. Violence in many sectors of Iraq has increased. Despite the valiant effort of our troops, terrorist attacks in Iraq and around the world continue to rise. Tensions between countries in the Middle East region are growing. Middle East autocrats have an even firmer grip on power. The Arab- Israeli conflict has deteriorated. Our military is stretched thin. And the most recent intelligence analysis reports that the al-Qaida group that attacked our Nation, the al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is stronger now than at any time since September 11, 2001. The 2007 emergency supplemental appropriations bill required President Bush to report to Congress and the American people on the progress Iraqis are making in achieving certain benchmarks. These benchmarks were established so there could be a new way forward in Iraq with regard to securing civilian populations, establishing the Iraqi security force's capacity, and supporting an Iraqi Government that would have credibility and confidence at the national and provincial levels. We now have received the first report from the administration. This assessment confirms the failures of the President's policies in Iraq by his own objectives. The Iraqis have failed to make satisfactory progress in key areas. For example, it is critical, critical for the Iraqi Parliament to pass legislation ensuring equitable distribution of the hydrocarbon oil revenues. Without such legislation, it is difficult to believe that the ethnic communities will have confidence in their central government. The Bush administration's assessment on this benchmark: not satisfactory. Another benchmark concerns disarmament of the militias. We have heard about the militias and how they run their own affairs and take over ethnic communities. It is necessary that the Iraqi security forces be the national military. Eliminating militia control of local security is an additional benchmark. The Bush administration's assessment on those key benchmarks: not satisfactory and unsatisfactory. Our goal has always been for the Iraqi commanders being able to make tactical and operational decisions without political intervention to uncover and pursue all extremists on all sides. The Iraqi security forces provide even-handed enforcement of the law. That is critical if the Government is going to have the confidence of its people. The Bush administration's own assessment on these benchmarks: unsatisfactory. It is critical that the Iraqi security forces be able to operate independently. This benchmark is particularly important if we are going to be able to draw down on the U.S. troops in Iraq. The Bush administration's assessment on this benchmark: not satisfactory. The interim report the administration released last week confirms that Iraqi security forces still cannot be trusted to enforce the law fairly. Some have taken part in sectarian violence, and some even have turned on American troops. In order to have national reconciliation and the political elements for stability in Iraq, it is necessary to enact and implement debaathification reforms; another critical benchmark that was established with the United States and the Iraqis. The Bush administration's assessment on this benchmark: not satisfactory. Most troubling, the Iraqi Government is seriously weakened, and many predict its collapse. The major Sunni party is currently boycotting the Government. Without Sunni participation, meaningful progress on any key political benchmarks is impossible. Whatever progress the President's interim report claims, it is clear that our military has not curbed sectarian violence, nor has the troop escalation provided sectarian influence over and infiltration of the Iraqi security forces, or forced Iraqi political leaders to make the tough decisions necessary to move forward toward peace. I think it is time to acknowledge that President Bush's troop escalation has failed. It has failed to make Iraq more secure. The Iraqi Government remains incapable of organizing its security forces or its legislature to achieve a semblance of stability or political reconciliation. It is time to change the mission in Iraq. The cost of further delays in lives, material, treasure, standing in the world, is just too great. President Bush's strategy has put this Nation at greater risk, a risk that metastasizes each day that we sit by and wait. Wait for what? For new evidence of failure to accumulate, for news that more American soldiers have died and Iraqi civilians have been killed? It is critical for the United States to change policy in Iraq, and it starts by removing our troops from the middle of a civil war. The Levin-Reed amendment would do that. Our new mission must recognize that the opportunity for sweeping regional change, if it ever existed, has passed. Instead, we need to focus on realistic objectives which include preventing the conflict in Iraq from igniting a broader regional war and preventing genocide. Unfortunately, we cannot rewrite history. The United States does have a responsibility toward assisting the Iraqis and working for peace in that region. It is in the interests of our country to do that. There is no easy path to achieve the objectives of stability in Iraq and protection of all of its ethnic communities. As the bipartisan Iraq Study Group noted: There is no action the American military can take that by itself can bring about success in Iraq. The efforts will most certainly include stepped-up diplomatic efforts. Iraq's neighbors have a stake in Iraqi stability. The war in Iraq has produced hundreds of thousands of refugees. An escalation of the conflict will mean even more refugees, which is a major concern to Iraq's neighbors. An escalation in the conflict means the spread of fundamentalism and sectarian violence, and an increase in basic crime and lawlessness, not just to Iraq but to the region. We must support and broaden efforts made to create the International Compact for Iraq, a 5-year plan launched this past April under the auspices of the United Nations with benchmarks for Iraq's national reconciliation and economic reconstruction. That compact includes formal commitments of support from the international community. But we must begin to have a broader diplomatic and economic vision in the Middle East that includes engaging both the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, in Iraq and Afghanistan. The various agencies of the United Nations are best suited to tackle the myriad problems plaguing Iraq. Matters of security, training, economics, and community development and providing electricity, water, and sanitation service are all areas where the United Nations has expertise. Just as important, the United States should request OSCE to assist Iraq as a partner for cooperation. There is precedent for this. Afghanistan has already moved in that direction. Afghanistan has begun participation in OSCE proceedings under this program. This status could allow OSCE to assist Iraq with collective border security, police training--which is desperately needed--immigration and religious tolerance efforts. Engaging the UN and OSCE could help initiate much needed multilateral and bilateral engagement with both friendly nations such as Turkey and with hostile nations such as Iran and Syria. Engagement of the international community to deal with Iran and Syria's destabilizing regional policies is a critical factor that is needed and a renewed effort to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. Iraq should request assistance from the United Nations and other international forces to help prevent continued ethnic cleansing. According to the United Nations 2005 World Summit, a high-level plenary meeting of the 60th session of the General Assembly, states have a responsibility to protect their population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. This is an international responsibility, not solely a U.S. responsibility. I believe the strategy I have just outlined presents the best chance of helping the Iraqis negotiate a government and a governmental structure that has the confidence of its people, that protects the rights of all of its citizens, and builds the democratic institutions such as an independent judiciary and a market-based economy that are so vital to a successful country. There is a difference between being resolute and being stubborn. We can no longer ignore overwhelming evidence or recoil from the cold reality the facts on the ground reveal. President Bush's policies have failed. The world has an interest in a safe and secure Iraq. I believe efforts to rebuild the country must be a shared responsibility among nations. There is no more time for delay. It is time to change the mission, redeploy our troops currently stationed in Iraq, and internationalize the effort to bring stability to that country and to the Middle East. Such a strategy could give the Iraqis a real hope for peace and give Americans the best chance to achieve our objectives in that region of the world. Our soldiers have honored our country by their incredible service. We owe it to our soldiers to change our mission now so we have the best chance to achieve these objectives. I yield the floor.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, today I wish to honor the exemplary service of a group of my constituents from Catonsville, MD, who have recently returned from their week-long volunteer trip to Kiln, MS. Led by high school seniors Justin Holmes and Sarah Dobson, ``Catonsville Goes Coastal'' coordinated six work teams to rebuild homes that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Working with the local Camp Coastal Outpost, the group's 59 students and 14 adults worked on eight works sites in Hancock County, where 80 percent of the structures were destroyed by the storm. Through student-organized fundraisers and donations from the local community, the volunteers raised over $55,000 throughout the year to fund their trip and to buy $12,000 worth of donations for Camp Coastal and for the families with whom they worked. ``Catonsville Goes Coastal's'' efforts embody the global awareness, community spirit, and civic responsibility that we as Americans should all strive to achieve. I hope that my Senate colleagues will join me in recognizing ``Catonsville Goes Coastal'' for their generosity and dedication to their fellow Americans.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. CARDIN. I will be glad to yield.

Mr. CARDIN. The Senator is absolutely right. To bring home the reason this is needed today, 53 percent of workers would like to have a union in their employment. Only 12 percent today have union opportunities. The will of the worker today is not being adhered to because of the tactics used by some employers to prevent a fair and open process for employees to choose a union. Just to underscore one more time, this is allowing the employees to have the freedom of choice. We will never be able to get to a full debate unless we get the opportunity to proceed with this legislation, and that is what this vote is about. I think the point of the Senator is very well taken. This is not taking away private, secret ballots. That is still an option which is available to the employees. But it allows the employees to have a level playing field, which in many cases today is not true.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, first, let me thank my colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy, for yielding me this time and for his leadership on behalf of working families and among the poor American workers. I listened with great interest to the Republican leader talk about the concerns of protecting workers' rights to a secret ballot. He had one complaint. It seems this legislation is lopsided in taking away the right of a secret ballot. The Republican leader then said, well, we are going to not be quiet about this. We are going to talk about this and make sure people understand exactly what this bill does. What I don't understand, and I think people listening to the debate will not understand and be somewhat confused about, is if you read H.R. 800, you will see the protection for a secret ballot is preserved. It is an option the workers have to be able to have a supervised election. It is still in this law. I think they are going to be more confused because we have a vote tomorrow where we are going to have a chance to bring this bill before this body where we can have a full debate and consider amendments. Quite frankly, I have heard from a lot of my constituents about this legislation--some for, some against. Workers are concerned about the tactics being used by some employers to prevent unions from being able to collectively bargain. There are worker intimidations, where workers are fired; there are threats made that plants are going to be relocated if they dare choose to be represented by a union; there is propaganda put out by employers that is downright intimidating. Those things do happen and they deny workers the real freedom of choice. Some employers have expressed concerns about the arbitration provisions in this legislation and about making sure they do preserve an equal opportunity to be able to talk to their employees. These are matters we can debate, if the Republican leader will allow us to bring this issue to the floor. After all, he said he wanted an open debate on this subject. Let us have an open debate. There are troubling concerns in this country. Nothing is more American than an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. America's great economic strength has been created because of fairness in the workplace, because of collective bargaining, because of the importance of workers in our economy, and effective collective bargaining. But as Senator Kennedy pointed out a few minutes ago, we have some very troubling economic trends in this country--very troubling. Real wages for U.S. workers are lower today than they were in 1973, even though productivity has increased by 80 percent. We do pride ourselves that each generation of Americans will live a more prosperous life than in previous generations. That will not be true for a large number of Americans. Today, wages are not keeping up with productivity. There is a problem in the workforce, and it affects all of us in this country. We need to do something about it. Real median household income in my own State of Maryland has declined by 2.1 percent from 2000 to 2005. We find a widening of the income gap in America, a widening of the wealth gap in America. We should be moving to narrow that gap, not to see it continue to increase. We have a problem we need to deal with, and this legislation, H.R. 800, gives us an opportunity to debate these issues and determine whether the decline of unionization is one of the factors in contributing to these difficult economic trends. CEOs are now paid 411 times what workers are paid in America--411 times. In 1990, it was bad enough at 107 times--once again, a widening of the gap. I remember when I was in college talking about the strength of America. The strength of America was that in all the western economic powers we had the narrowest gap between wealth and income. Now we have the widest. We need to do something about it. Unionization helps bridge that gap. What has happened to unionization? In 1973, 24 percent of Maryland workers worked in a company that offered union representation. In 2006, that number dropped to 13 percent. The United States has exercised international leadership. I listened as my colleagues talked about the letters we have written to other governments. We have been the leader in saying that workers rights is an international human rights issue. It is. America should be exercising leadership internationally on these issues. Some of us have argued on trade legislation that we should be doing a better job in protecting international workers' rights. But it also starts with what we do here at home, and we should be troubled that nationwide only 12 percent of U.S. workers have a union in the workplace. Surveys show that 53 percent want to have unions in the workplace. I listened again to what the Republican leader said about secret ballots, and I know there is a disconnect here, because, again, this legislation doesn't get rid of that. What this legislation tries to say is we want workers rights to be adhered to. If the majority wants to have a union, they should be able to have a union without intimidation from the employer. And if the majority does not want to have a union, they should be able to do that without intimidation from the union. Both are true. But in today's workplace, it is not balanced. H.R. 800 gives us the opportunity to debate this issue and, hopefully, act on this matter. Why do we need this? As I have pointed out, we already have documented examples. Senator Kennedy pointed out how many back wages have had to be paid because of wrongful firings. We can go through the list, but it is clear it is not effective today--not effectively giving workers a real freedom of choice. This bill increases the penalties for illegal activities; allows the majority will of employees in joining a union; gives the framework for achieving negotiated contracts. It is a comprehensive bill. It is a bill that deals with more than just one subject, as the Republican leader keeps mentioning. It is a bill that tries to say, let us do a better job so that workers rights are protected in our economy and that workers who want to join a union are able to join that union and those who do not are equally protected. We will never be able to get into that debate unless 60 Senators join us tomorrow to vote to bring up this issue. As the Republican leader said, this is an issue that shouldn't be kept quiet. Everybody should know where people stand on it. Tomorrow, Senators will have a right to do that by voting to bring this issue forward so we can have this debate in this body and in this Nation. We should take every opportunity we can to act on behalf of protecting the rights of workers and working families here in this Nation. The statistics tell us we are not doing what is necessary for the growth of our economy. We need to make sure everyone prospers by our economy and we are not doing everything we need to do in that regard. That is why this Senator will vote to allow us to move forward to consider H.R. 800 when this issue is before us tomorrow. I thank Senator Kennedy for his leadership over so many years on these issues. He has been truly our leader in trying to speak up for what this Nation should be standing for. We are proud of the economic growth of America. Let us make sure all families can prosper in that growth. Senator Kennedy has been our champion on those matters. I urge my colleagues to support the effort to consider this legislation.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today, on the 57th anniversary of the start of the Korean war, to introduce legislation to help honor American veterans who served our Nation during that war by granting a Federal charter to the Korean War Veterans Association, KWVA, a nonprofit fraternal veterans' organization. A companion measure is being introduced in the House by the distinguished majority leader, Steny Hoyer, and Representative Sam Johnson, who have led this effort in previous Congresses along with my predecessor, Senator Paul Sarbanes. The Korean war is sometimes referred to as the ``Forgotten War,'' because it has been overshadowed by World War II and the Vietnam war, and its importance has often been overlooked in American history. But for the nearly 1.2 million American veterans of the Korean war still alive today, the war is anything but forgotten. During the 3-year course of the war, some 5.7 million Americans were called to serve, under some of the most adverse and trying circumstances ever faced in wartime, for the cause of freedom. Alongside Korean and United Nations allies, our forces fought with extraordinary courage and valor. By the time the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953, more than 36,000 Americans had died, 103,284 had been wounded, 7,140 were captured, and 664 were missing. Granting a Federal charter to the Korean War Veterans Association would give our Nation an opportunity to honor veterans who served in that war, as well as those who have served subsequently in defense of the Republic of Korea. The KWVA is the only fraternal veterans' organization in the United States devoted exclusively to Korean war veterans and the only U.S. member of the International Federation of Korean War Veterans Associations. Incorporated in 1985, the 20,000-member charitable association is also one of the few veterans' service organizations in America that has not been recognized with a Federal charter. These veterans are a source of strength and pride for our country. While we cannot repay the debt we owe them for the sacrifices they made, we can and should acknowledge and commemorate their service and help the association to expand its mission and further its charitable and benevolent causes. This recognition for the KWVA is long overdue, and I am hopeful that this year, Congress will act swiftly to approve this measure. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today, on the 57th anniversary of the start of the Korean war, to introduce legislation to help honor American veterans who served our Nation during that war by granting a Federal charter to the Korean War Veterans Association, KWVA, a nonprofit fraternal veterans' organization. A companion measure is being introduced in the House by the distinguished majority leader, Steny Hoyer, and Representative Sam Johnson, who have led this effort in previous Congresses along with my predecessor, Senator Paul Sarbanes. The Korean war is sometimes referred to as the ``Forgotten War,'' because it has been overshadowed by World War II and the Vietnam war, and its importance has often been overlooked in American history. But for the nearly 1.2 million American veterans of the Korean war still alive today, the war is anything but forgotten. During the 3-year course of the war, some 5.7 million Americans were called to serve, under some of the most adverse and trying circumstances ever faced in wartime, for the cause of freedom. Alongside Korean and United Nations allies, our forces fought with extraordinary courage and valor. By the time the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953, more than 36,000 Americans had died, 103,284 had been wounded, 7,140 were captured, and 664 were missing. Granting a Federal charter to the Korean War Veterans Association would give our Nation an opportunity to honor veterans who served in that war, as well as those who have served subsequently in defense of the Republic of Korea. The KWVA is the only fraternal veterans' organization in the United States devoted exclusively to Korean war veterans and the only U.S. member of the International Federation of Korean War Veterans Associations. Incorporated in 1985, the 20,000-member charitable association is also one of the few veterans' service organizations in America that has not been recognized with a Federal charter. These veterans are a source of strength and pride for our country. While we cannot repay the debt we owe them for the sacrifices they made, we can and should acknowledge and commemorate their service and help the association to expand its mission and further its charitable and benevolent causes. This recognition for the KWVA is long overdue, and I am hopeful that this year, Congress will act swiftly to approve this measure. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Monday, June 25, 2007, at 11 a.m., in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Excessive Speculation In The Natural Gas Market.''