Bill Cassidy

Mr. CASSIDY

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, today I wish to celebrate April 17 as World Hemophilia Day where we recognize the serious challenges of the 20,000 Americans who suffer each day from hemophilia and where we raise awareness to fight for a cure. Hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder that prevents an individual's ability to form a proper blood clot. Patients with hemophilia need immediate access to care and lifesaving therapies. There is currently an enormous discrepancy in the level of care available to patients with hemophilia. While some are diagnosed very young and have medical care throughout their life, most do not or do not have the access to diagnosis and treatment they need. As a physician, I have treated patients with hemophilia, and I know how debilitating the health problems endured by those living with hemophilia can be. If left untreated, a bleeding episode can lead to terrible pain, chronic joint and muscle damage, serious injury, or even death. I am hopeful that through attention, diligence, and raised awareness we might prevent more complications, unnecessary procedures, and disabilities so often caused by these diseases. As we increase our understanding and awareness of hemophilia, we also increase our ability to find treatments and eventually, a cure for this disease. I'm proud to stand today in support of all Americans with hemophilia on World Hemophilia Day.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I rise in support of designating the Shreveport Federal Building as the ``Tom Stagg Federal Building and United States Courthouse.'' The Honorable Thomas or ``Tom'' Eaton Stagg, Jr., of Shreveport passed away last June. He was an inspirational figure. He graduated from Byrd High School in Shreveport and joined the U.S. Army preparing for World War II. He rose to the rank of captain, earning the Combat Infantryman Badge, a Bronze Star for valor, another Bronze Star for meritorious service, the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster. At one point, he was saved from death when a German bullet was stopped by a Bible he carried in his pocket. It was as if he was fated to live. After World War II, Tom attended Cambridge and then LSU Law Center and then served in private practice. Tom's reputation was described as a combination of ``intelligence, spirit, patriotism, wisdom and wit'' and resulted in his nomination to serve on the Federal bench for the Western District of Louisiana in 1974. He was named chief judge in 1984, a position he held until 1991. Many testimonials, one of which a close colleague said of Judge Stagg: Without a doubt he was the finest trial judge I have ever met. Without ever knowing it, he had served as my silent mentor, a role model. . . . To have served the job with Judge Tom Staff on the federal bench for 12 years is a singular honor. A giant has fallen . . . this remarkable man left a legacy of love of family, of duty and honor and love of this nation, its judicial system and the rule of law. The colleague continues: Tom Stagg loved being a federal judge. We will all miss him. Judge Stagg assumed senior status on the court in 1992, but he didn't retire. He maintained a full caseload, serving on Federal circuit courts of appeals panels. Judge Stagg loved being a judge, but his love for the job also came second after his love for his family. Judge Stagg married the former Mary Margaret O'Brien in 1946 and is survived by her and their two grandchildren, Julie and Margaret Mary. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss several provisions in an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill that is currently before the Senate and that specifically benefits my home State of Louisiana. There are more than 253 air traffic control towers throughout the country operating through a successful public-private partnership called the Federal Contract Tower Program. This program is especially critical to rural areas--as I have in Louisiana and as does the Presiding Officer--to ensure that America's airspace and the traveling public are safe. However, there are currently 30 towers awaiting the FAA to finalize an internal agency formula called the benefit-cost analysis, referred to as the BCA, which will allow eligible towers to enter the Federal Contract Tower Program. One of these airports is the Hammond Northshore Regional Airport in Hammond, LA. The Federal Contract Tower Program has been in place for more than 30 years and is a prime example of an effective public-private partnership between government and the private sector. Contract towers handle approximately 28 percent of the Nation's air traffic control tower operations but account for only 14 percent of the FAA's total tower operations budget. Repeated studies by the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general have shown that the Contract Tower Program increases aviation safety while reducing costs to taxpayers and the Federal Government. It is also important to note that approximately 80 percent of the contract controller workforce are veterans. Congress has demonstrated numerous times in bipartisan fashion the merit and need for the Federal Contract Tower Program. Given the success of the program and the increasing likelihood of further FAA delays, I am pleased the Commerce Committee included language in the FAA reauthorization bill to strengthen and improve the Federal Contract Tower Program. Senators Cornyn, Vitter, Portman, and Wicker have been leaders on this issue, and their work is greatly appreciated. Currently, America's trade and economy are being hampered because many cargo planes from other countries are prohibited from flying into U.S. airports because they have not been upgraded to newer types of technology. Some aircraft are what is called ``Stage 2 aircraft.'' These aircraft were phased out following the passage of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990, which mandated the phaseout for Stage 2 aircraft over 75,000 pounds. I have introduced an amendment that would permit flights to a small number of airports under limited circumstances for revenue and nonrevenue flights of Stage 2 aircraft over 75,000 pounds. One of the airports that meets the criteria is the Acadiana Regional Airport in New Iberia, LA. This airport is located in a heavy industrial complex and surrounded by agricultural land. The Acadiana Regional Airport has an advantage over other types of airports because it is surrounded by land use compatible with airport operations. Additionally, it is situated near the Port of Iberia, which is home to more than 100 companies employing close to 5,000 people in industries such as construction, energy, equipment rental, and trucking. This would bolster Louisiana's economy, help working families, and improve America's ability to trade with the world. Louisiana's economy relies on the thriving maritime industry. In 2014 a study from the Transportation Institute showed that 54,850 maritime- related jobs contribute more than $11 billion annually to Louisiana's economy. One in every 83 Louisiana jobs is connected to the domestic maritime industry, nearly twice that of any other State. With ports along the Mississippi and Red Rivers, our State sees vessels of varying sizes and types. While loading cargo, these ships must drain ballast water that they have taken on to maintain the balance of the ship. This can have varying degrees of environmental effects, with costly and confusing State and Federal regulations making compliance difficult. Senator Rubio is sponsoring the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, which creates a uniform, enforceable, and scientifically based national standard on ballast water discharges. This is needed in order to simplify the highly complicated and overly burdensome patchwork of State and Federal regulations that are in place today. Everyone I talk to in Louisiana's maritime industry and also in the inland marine, which would take the agriculture products from States such as the State the Presiding Officer represents, says it is necessary for these regulations to be harmonized, and they emphasize the importance of passing this bill. I am a cosponsor of this bill, and I am glad to see that Senator Rubio has filed the amendment to the bill we are considering on the floor today. The FAA Reauthorization Act contains many measures that will protect Americans, improve our economy, and protect our environment. I urge all my fellow Senators to support the bill and these amendments. I yield the floor. Amendment No. 3512, as Modified

Mr. CASSIDY. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, today I am honored to acknowledge the National Food and Beverage Foundation, an institute based in New Orleans and one that portrays the distinctive culture of Louisiana through its food and drink. Louisiana is known for many things: its bald cypress swamps, Mardi Gras, and its delicious food. Louisiana's cuisine is as unique as the people who make it. From beignets to etouffee and jambalaya to gumbo, food is one of the many characteristics that make Louisiana culture so remarkable. The New Orleans branch of the National Food and Beverage Foundation, or NFBF celebrates that culture through education and is home to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, praised by CNN as one of the top 11 food museums in the entire world. The National Food and Beverage Foundation is a tremendous example of a group of people using culinary practices to highlight Louisiana's culture while simultaneously enhancing the lives of the people around them. The NFBF has dedicated $5 million for a project to develop one of New Orleans' communities. The project is designed to reestablish sections of New Orleans as a hub of culinary commerce and aid the community in reaching their economic potential. NFBF is also dedicated to education, as evidenced by the John & Bonnie Hospitality and Culinary Library, and to providing free cooking classes for children. The library contains over 17,000 volumes and houses culinary and mixology literature from across the globe. The foundation's Culinary Entrepreneurship Program, a program that aids small businesses, restaurant startups, and product manufacturers, helps young businesses get off the ground. This program and programs like them are invaluable to small businesses throughout Louisiana. The National Food and Beverage Foundation celebrates and encourages Louisiana culture, but it also celebrates cultures through cuisine nationwide. The NFBF is rapidly expanding across the country; Pacific Food and Beverage is based in Los Angeles and celebrates the culture of food and drink of the Pacific coast and the American West. Specifically, Pacific Food and Beverage focuses on contributions made by immigrants who have shaped our Nation's cuisine. Knowing firsthand how important food is to our culture, the preservation of culinary practices and history throughout our country is a crucial endeavor. I want to thank the National Food and Beverage Foundation for all the work it has done with communities in my State and throughout the Nation to preserve and enhance the idea of culture through culinary means. From free children's cooking classes that teach the heritage and nutritional aspects of healthy food, to the Culinary Entrepreneurship Program, NFBF has made a tremendous contribution to Louisiana and the culture loved by so many. I am proud to have such a tremendous initiative in my State, one that explores something so embedded in the Louisiana culture and gives back to the community while doing so. I wish the National Food and Beverage Foundation nothing but successes now and in the future.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, for the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I went down to the Lower Ninth Ward. President Obama had a little convocation which I was privileged to be part of. I pointed out that his budget that year attempted to take the money that the Federal Government had committed, voted on by a majority of this Chamber, to share in the offshore revenue from Louisiana's coast, Texas's coast, and other Gulf Coast States, with those States. I said: Mr. President, your budget is taking this money away. If you look at the devastation wrought by Katrina, it was wrought because we lost our wetlands, which was a loss directly connected to the Federal Government's decision to channel the Mississippi River for the benefit of the rest of the country's economy, and also because the Army Corps of Engineers failed to build--and this has been established in court--levees to the degree that would protect the city of New Orleans. The President clearly agreed. He said so. He looked at his budget man, Shaun Donovan, and said: Why would this be? We need this State to have that money. I paraphrase, but it was essentially that. And he committed to taking care of that issue so that our State would not be confronted with the kind of disaster Katrina was. He did not want this to happen again. On Tuesday the President released his fiscal year 2017 budget. Once more, despite his words, he proposed repealing existing revenue-sharing law, which would deny Louisiana and other Gulf Coast States billions. Louisiana will use this money on critical coastal restoration. By doing this, the President betrays the commitment he made in the Lower Ninth Ward. The President and some in this Chamber want to repeal a law that received bipartisan support, with over 70 Senators supporting the original legislation in 2006. By the way, it is also a law that anti- poverty and environmental organizations support. I hold up a letter from Oxfam. Oxfam America states in this letter that ``America's Gulf Coast is home to some of our nation's highest rates of poverty and greatest risks of natural hazards like sea level rise, hurricanes, flooding and coastal land loss.'' Passage of amendment No. 3192--which, by the way, is my amendment to the Energy bill which brings more equity and revenue sharing--will provide new resources to address the glaring inequities facing these communities. In response to the President's fiscal year 2016 budget, the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Audubon Society, and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation stated: But we are disappointed by the budget's proposed diversion of critically needed and currently dedicated funding for coastal Louisiana and the Mississippi River Delta. This proposed budget undercuts the Administration's previous commitments to restore critical economic infrastructure and ecosystems in the Mississippi River Delta, where we are losing 16 square miles of critical wetlands every year--a preventable coastal erosion crisis. So if you are pro-environment and pro helping poverty-stricken communities, how can you not support revenue sharing for coastal States? Coastal restoration is critical to Louisiana's economy and safety but also to America's economy. Every 38 minutes, Louisiana loses about a football field-sized chunk of land. I am presiding next. At the bottom of the hour, Louisiana will have lost another football field of land. This revenue sharing helps reverse that. By the way, in Louisiana, our Constitution dedicates 100 percent of revenue from offshore energy production to restoring and rebuilding our coastal wetlands. A strong coast protects families and businesses against storm surge. It prevents posters like this: ``Why New Orleans Still Isn't Safe,'' and posters like this, and many other posters. With our coasts so degraded--it puts Louisiana's economy in jeopardy, but it also puts America's energy and trade infrastructure in jeopardy. Most importantly, loss of coastal wetlands puts American lives in jeopardy. Not only do we need to protect this revenue sharing as promised, but I and others feel we must increase that revenue sharing amount if we are to truly protect our coast. Royalties to States from energy produced offshore is a fraction of what States that produce energy onshore receive. In fiscal year 2014, the Federal Government received $4.6 billion--with a ``b''--in royalties from energy production in the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal States that provide the energy infrastructure received $3.4 million-- with an ``m''--so 0.7 percent of the royalties. In comparison, States that produce energy onshore--and I think the Presiding Officer's State is such--get 50 percent of those royalties. So 0.7; 50 percent--there is no equity there. I have introduced a bipartisan amendment to the Senate's Energy bill that I hope we can keep working on to provide greater equity and revenue sharing for States that do host offshore energy production. For decades, energy activities in the Gulf of Mexico have produced billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. Gulf of Mexico offshore oil production accounts for close to 20 percent of the U.S. crude oil production. Over 45 percent of total petroleum refining capacity in the United States is located along the gulf coast, as well as 51 percent of total natural gas processing plant capacity. The Gulf States provide the docks, roads, railroads, refineries, and other infrastructure that makes energy production possible to fuel America's economy. On top of this, our waterways support trade throughout the country. Farm crops produced in the Upper Midwest pass through the lower Mississippi on their way to international markets. We need equitable revenue sharing to continue hosting these industries, ensuring that America continues to have a resilient domestic energy supply and access to the goods and services we need. If the President is serious about protecting families, our environment, enhancing the resiliency of the gulf coast and improving the Nation's economic infrastructure, he should have worked with Congress to ensure that this never happens again. I yield to the Senator from Texas.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of my remarks, the Senator from Texas, Mr. Cornyn, be recognized.

Mr. CASSIDY

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

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I speak on amendment No. 3192, which is revolutionary. At some point I will yield to my colleague the Senator from Louisiana to further discuss this amendment. Mr. President, the amendment I filed today is a byproduct of the work and bipartisan agreement of members representing the gulf, the Atlantic, and the Arctic regions of our country. I specifically thank Senators Murkowski, Warner, Scott, Vitter, Kaine, and Tillis for their contributions in our efforts to bring greater equity revenue sharing from funds derived from offshore energy production. For years, energy activities in coastal gulf States and adjacent offshore waters have produced billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas for American energy consumers. The States along the gulf coast and the Arctic, et cetera, have supported offshore energy development for the rest of the country, providing the support for and paying for the infrastructure needed to bring this energy to market. With all of this development, as you might guess, there have been increased costs associated with supporting this increased traffic, additional use of local and State resources, as well as transportation corridors--such as pipelines, vessels, and trucks--to get this energy delivered to those consumers driving vehicles all across the United States. Maybe most importantly, in addition to the critical areas that support this energy supply, in my State in particular we are experiencing unparalleled land loss due to Federal decisions as to how the lower Mississippi River will be channeled for the benefit of the inland country as well as those efforts associated with this oil and gas development. We can see the effects of this unparalleled land loss. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit our coast, there was no longer the wetlands that buffered the impact of tidal action. Those wetlands eroded, so those hurricanes hit with greater force, causing greater damage to our State. After Hurricane Katrina, you only have to remember those news reports from New Orleans to understand how devastating that could be--all related to decisions made by the Federal Government. Addressing these historic costs of hosting a capital-intensive industry, while ensuring resilient domestic energy supply, can be obtained only through equitable revenue sharing. What Louisiana does under our State constitution with any revenue that is shared from the Federal Government related to drilling off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico--100 percent is dedicated to coastal restoration; 100 percent is dedicated to restoring the wetlands that would prevent another Hurricane Katrina from devastating New Orleans or any other coastal community in our State. There are other benefits for the rest of the country. This amendment that we have filed would increase funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund by over $600 million, so the rest of the country benefits as well. This amendment brings greater equity in revenue sharing with the gulf States by lifting the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, or the GOMESA revenue sharing cap, while allowing mid-Atlantic States and Alaska to share in future revenue from offshore energy production. All energy- producing States deserve to share the revenue derived from energy developed both onshore and offshore. Responsible revenue sharing allows States hosting energy production to mitigate for the historic and prospective infrastructure demands of energy production and allows States to make strategic investments ensuring future generations of resiliency for this vital infrastructure and natural resources. Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from Louisiana, Senator Vitter, for his thoughts on this issue.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, today I am honored to have the opportunity to acknowledge and express gratitude to the Louisiana Municipal Association, LMA, in recognition of their 90th anniversary. Founded in 1926, the Louisiana Conference of Mayors was created with the purpose of providing a forum for mutual consultation and discussion of various topics affecting municipal government. The organization also aided the growth and development of each municipality through education about best practices problem solving. Shortly after the Louisiana Conference of Mayors was created, the Great Depression swept the Nation. In 1937, a handful of resilient mayors met to revive the organization, giving it new life as the Louisiana Municipal Association. They may not have foreseen that their tenacity in overcoming adversity during the Great Depression and taking proactive steps to keep Louisiana municipalities united and strong would form the basis for the core values to which the LMA still adheres today. From its inception, the LMA has focused on helping local elected leaders create and maintain efficient and effective municipal governments. In 1987, the nonprofit, nonpartisan LMA created Risk Management, Inc., RMI, to address the insurance and liability demands of member municipalities through its inter-local risk pool. In 1999, the Louisiana Municipal Advisory and Technical Services Bureau, Inc., LaMATS, was created with the purpose of providing essential services to assist municipalities in their day-to-day operations. In addition to these wholly owned subsidiaries, the LMA has three political subdivisions--Louisiana Municipal Gas Authority, Unemployment Compensation Fund, and Louisiana Community Development Authority; four advisory organizations--Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police, Louisiana Rural Water Association, Louisiana Conference of Mayors, and Louisiana Municipal Black Caucus Association; and nine affiliate organizations--Municipal Employees Retirement System, Louisiana City Attorneys Association, Louisiana Association of Municipal Secretaries and Assistants, Louisiana Recreation and Parks Association, Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators, Louisiana Municipal Clerks Association, Building Officials Association of Louisiana, Louisiana Airport Managers and Associates, and Louisiana Fire Chiefs Association. For decades, the LMA has had tremendous success engaging with its State and Federal partners. In the Louisiana Legislature, the LMA has been a strong voice in the efforts to fight blight, promote law enforcement, and enhance economic growth. On the Federal level, the LMA joined forces with the National League of Cities and other coastal State municipal leagues to lead the charge in petitioning Congress to enact the Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, which enacted critical reforms to the Biggert Waters Act of 2012. I was proud to work with the LMA on the inclusion of the Grimm-Cassidy amendment to this legislation, thereby facilitating affordable homeowner flood insurance in Louisiana and across the country. For 90 years, the LMA has worked to strengthen Louisiana through support and empowerment of municipal government. The organization has launched a yearlong celebration of this anniversary by naming 2016 the ``Year of Education.'' Opening festivities for this theme will commence in February under the auspices of the 2016 LMA executive board officers--President Mayor Carroll Breaux of Springhill, First Vice President Mayor Barney Arceneaux of Gonzales, Second Vice President Mayor Lawrence Henagan of DeQuincy, Immediate Past President Mayor David Camardelle of Grand Isle, and District A Vice President Mayor Jimmy Williams of Sibley. The executive director of LMA is Ronnie Harris, former 28-year mayor of Gretna. What started out as a collection of 29 forward-thinking mayors seeking to empower their communities has evolved into a praiseworthy organization that has earned the esteem and trust of local, State, and Federal elected officials, as well as fellow municipal leagues. I would like to congratulate the LMA on its 90th anniversary and wish them many more years of strength and excellence.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, in this Energy bill we are considering, we are going to offer an amendment regarding the renewable fuel standard--also called the RFS. The RFS requires that fuel sold in the United States contain a minimal amount of renewable fuels. You know it because when you go to the gas pump, it says: contains 10 percent ethanol. The RFS is outdated. It was created in 2005--a time when American energy consumption relied heavily upon foreign imports. It was thought that the renewable fuel standard will be good for the environment by decreasing the carbon footprint, but in the last 10 years our energy landscape has changed dramatically. We now have more domestic oil than almost ever before, and the drawbacks of the RFS greatly outweigh its benefits. For example, the Congressional Budget Office projects that Americans will be forced to pay $0.13 to $0.26 more per gallon if the RFS is not repealed. For a mom and dad with two teenage sons, this would be $400 a year, but it doesn't stop at the pump. Over the last 10 years, the price of corn has drastically fluctuated. Corn costs have approximately doubled since before the RFS began. The corn price increasing has increased the cost of food as much as 7 percent to 26 percent it is estimated per year. It also raises costs all the way down. For example, your chain restaurants are estimated to spend $3.2 billion more for the food they purchase and serve to their customers because of the RFS. Perhaps paying more at the pump, paying more at the grocery store and more at the restaurant will be worth it if there are environmental benefits. Unfortunately, there is not only no environmental benefit, there is tremendous environmental harm. To begin with, an increase in corn production means that there is an increase in fertilizer use across the Midwest. That fertilizer runs into the rivers, goes down into the Mississippi River, hits the Gulf of Mexico, and causes algae blooms because of the high nitrogen and phosphorous, and that decreases the oxygen in the water, thereby devastating the fish population. If you look at maps of the dead zone in the Mississippi River, they have continuously increased in size since the RFS was put into law. But it is not just about our water quality. Let's talk about carbon footprint. One of the original rationales as to why we should have renewable fuels: The Union of Concerned Scientists state that certain types of ethanol have a worse carbon footprint than gasoline. So now we have something that not only increases the cost of food and hurts the water quality in the Gulf of Mexico and the rivers that feed it but also has a higher carbon footprint than the gasoline it dilutes. By the way, it is not just the Union of Concerned Scientists; the National Academy of Sciences says that the renewable fuel standard has little or no environmental benefit and actually increases the particulate matter and sulfur that is in the atmosphere and harms water quality. Let's just say that with the abundance of our domestic oil and increased vehicular efficiency standards, there is no need for the RFS. It is time to repeal the renewable fuel standard so that our farmers, anglers, ranchers, and consumers can reap the benefit. In addition to this, I wish to mention another amendment I am offering with Senator Markey. This amendment would save taxpayer dollars and preserve oil reservoirs in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is located in my home State, in Harahan, LA. This amendment gives the Secretary of Energy the ability to sell Strategic Petroleum Reserve quantities of crude oil when the price goes up. Right now, he has been instructed to sell the oil to raise $5 billion but without regard to price. We clearly don't want to sell it when the price of oil is at $30. We want to wait until the price of oil goes back up and sell it then so we can reap multiple benefits. It will allow for more supply so consumers will have lower prices at the pump, and it will also get more money for the oil we do sell, which will be good for taxpayers who bought the oil in the first place. America is blessed with an abundance of oil. Taxpayers invested in this emergency oil stockpile. Yet some must be sold, and it should be sold at the highest price possible to get the best deal for the taxpayers. I urge my fellow Senators to support both of these amendments. They are important to American families, critical to America's energy security, and in the case of the RFS, it is critical to our environmental hopes. I yield back.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. I say to Senator Alexander, one of the ironies of this is that it was promoted as a way to help lower income families make ends meet better. But if you require employers to provide insurance to low-wage workers, the predictable response of an employer who has thin margins is to actually convert those full-time workers to part-time workers. This doesn't happen for the CEO or for the CEO's lieutenants, and it doesn't happen for middle management. The folks it happens most to are those lower paid workers. I once went grocery shopping in Baton Rouge, and a woman rung me up. The next day my wife sent me to another store to get something else at another store. The same woman was ringing me up. I said: I just saw you at that store, but now I see you at this store. She said--I am paraphrasing--my first employer reduced my hours, so now I have had to take a second job to make ends meet. Now, that is the personal story. But what the labor statistics show is that since the recession has technically ended, the hours worked per week have recovered for higher income workers, but as for the lower income workers, they have continued to suffer. The most vulnerable have been the most affected in terms of hours worked, but it is not just the most vulnerable, it is also the middle class. The New York Times wrote an article 2 weeks ago. The headline says it all: ``Many Say High Deductibles Make Their Health Law Insurance All But Useless.'' They quote a gentleman, David Reines from New Jersey. He is 60 years old. He said: The deductible, $3,000 a year, makes it impossible to actually go to the doctor. . . . We have insurance, but can't afford to use it. So it is the middle-income worker who also has a policy which previously would have allowed him or her to go to the doctor. Now they can't because the way ObamaCare is so structured is that it is too expensive for that out-of-pocket first exposure.

Mr. CASSIDY. When it comes to insurance premiums, you can't make this up. This is a fellow from Homewood, LA. His first name is Mark; we scratched out his last name. This is his letter from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana informing him that his policy, which had previously been $207 per month, was going up in 2016 to $961 per month. His policy, which had been roughly $2,400 a year, is going up to $11,500 a year. And this is because of the Affordable Care Act--the Unaffordable Care Act.

Mr. CASSIDY. There is a fellow who started a medical device startup in New Orleans, and he was saying that he had an offer to move his business to Panama because a major portion of his market is overseas. So the medical device tax is, of course, a tax upon the gross of a business. If he moves overseas to Panama, taking those jobs with him, and continues to sell internationally and not pay tax on that but is taxed only on that which he brings back to the United States, then he is obviously reducing his tax burden. Those are high-paying, white- collar jobs in New Orleans, a city recovering from Katrina. If the power to tax is the power to destroy, this tax has the power to destroy the ability of this gentleman to continue to expand in New Orleans.

Mr. CASSIDY. The way the market has responded, in order to make insurance affordable despite the mandates, is there are so-called narrow networks. So someone signs up for the most affordable policy they can get. It turns out that the doctor they previously saw is not on this plan. So the narrow network is going to be just a small set of doctors. The specialists may be in another town; one hospital, not all hospitals. And patients are unfamiliar with this. They did not expect it. But that was their only affordable option. The mandates have driven up the costs so much. By the way, going back to the letter you got about the mandated benefits, in my recent campaign, I had a woman walk up to me, and she said: My name is Tina, and I am angry. I had a hysterectomy. I am 56 years old and I have no children. My husband and I are paying $500 more per month for insurance, which we cannot afford, and I am paying for pediatric dentistry, and I am paying for obstetrical services. She had had a hysterectomy, was 56 years old, and had no children. Another woman--she was 58 and her husband was 57--told me: The only reason I would need obstetrical services, which I am forced to buy, is if my name is Sarah and my husband is Abraham, but that is not the case.

Mr. CASSIDY. Louisiana's co-op failed. It attempted to lower costs with a skinny network, but ultimately it still could not compete. If I may point out, we have talked about how the low-wage worker has had her opportunity diminished by the law. We discussed how the middle- class family, who oftentimes had insurance they were told they could keep, lost it, and now they have a deductible of $3,000, which they say makes the insurance something they cannot afford. We are speaking about the U.S. taxpayer. The U.S. taxpayer has put billions of dollars toward these co-ops. There is some evidence that the administration continued to put money into them even when they knew they were going to fail, and yet now they are failing--over half and supposedly more slated to do so. It isn't just the low-wage worker and the middle-class family; it is all the taxpayers who have taken a hit for promises made but promises broken.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I rise today in support of S. 310, the Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act, or the EGO Act. I would like to thank my colleagues, Chairman Ron Johnson and Ranking Member Tom Carper of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Their committee considered the EGO Act in its business meeting of June 24, 2015, and reported it favorably without amendment. The Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act is commonsense legislation that bans the Federal Government from spending taxpayer dollars on oil paintings of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Secretaries, or Members of Congress. These paintings can cost as much as $40,000 and are often placed in a back hall of a government bureaucracy, never to be seen by the public. I will note that $40,000 is the same as the average annual wage of a worker in Louisiana. Think about it--that worker worked a whole year, and what she earned is what the Federal Government will spend on the painting of a Cabinet Secretary who serves for 6 months, and then the painting is put in the back of a building, never to be seen. With trillions in debt, there is more to do in our obligation to spend taxpayers' money wisely, but this is a start. I offer my strong support for the EGO Act and urge its passage. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 165, S. 310; I further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I have no clue why the esteemed Democratic leader objects. All I can say is that is an incredible insensitivity to working families. I have no clue. There is a family out there right now struggling, not sure if they can pay their rent or their mortgage. They are going to lose their car. Their children will go to school in old clothes and maybe hungry because the amount of money they earn per year is not enough. They look at people in Washington like a new version of ``The Hunger Games''--it is the Capital of this country, and all the riches of this country are brought here to the Capital for paintings of government officials, to be hidden away, while they struggle to make their mortgage, their car note, and to make sure their child is properly fed. That people in government would be insensitive to those families shows the problem. That people in Washington would be insufficiently aware that the average family is making $40,000 a year--the same as what one of these paintings can cost--and not care is an indictment of those who do not care. I regret that there is objection to this, but we will bring it up later. I yield the floor.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, in commemoration, celebration, and honor of Veterans Day, I would like to share the stories of two Louisiana heroes who served in World War II: Lucius Forsyth and Robert ``Emmett'' Stanley--two Louisianans who answered the call to serve and did so most honorably. Lucius Forsyth left his home in Paulina, LA, to serve in World War II in his late teens as a U.S. Navy seaman aboard the USS Saratoga. On February 21, 1945, Lucius and the crew of the Saratoga experienced the most concentrated assault of World War II against a warship. The Saratoga and her 3,500 sailors fought bravely as the Japanese forces attacked the ship for 3 hours. Bombs were dropped and five Japanese kamikazes crashed their aircraft into the Saratoga. Seven levels below the main deck, Lucius knew that the impact of a bomb or a kamikaze near his location would mean certain death. Ignoring the danger, Lucius continued to work in the compartments adjacent to the ammunition stockpiles. Mr. President, 125 members of the Saratoga lost their lives that day. Lucius remained aboard the Saratoga for the rest of the war. After the Japanese surrendered, he returned home, married Rita Bourgeois of Gonzales, LA, raised 5 children, and today is blessed with 21 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. The other Louisiana veteran I would like to recognize is Robert ``Emmett'' Stanley. Born in New Orleans in 1923, Emmett left home shortly after graduating from high school to serve the United States. He enlisted in the Navy Reserve in 1943 and served as a seaman first class on the USS Luce. On the morning of May 4, 1945, 1 day after Emmett's 22nd birthday, Japanese kamikaze pilots attacked the USS Luce. Emmett was knocked to the deck as shrapnel pierced his scalp through his steel helmet and fragmented pieces went into his legs. He still feels pain from those injuries today. Emmett and the other crew members were soon given orders to abandon the USS Luce after more kamikazes struck. Emmett swam 40 yards away from the sinking ship to avoid being sucked under by the waves, but a second explosion forced more shrapnel into his stomach. Out of the 312 men on the USS Luce, 126 were killed in the attack. Although eligible then, Emmett did not receive his Purple Heart until October 17 of this year, when he was the honoree at the U.S. Navy Birthday Ball. He was thrilled to be surrounded by his entire family. These are two stories about heroism and valor, but there are many more. Let me brag a little bit about a couple of young men who work on my staff. One young man, Chris Anderson, enlisted in the Army after completing his college education. He could have pursued business or graduate school, but Chris wanted to serve our country in the War on Terror. He did so bravely and honorably in Afghanistan clearing ordnance. Imagine what his mother thought every night, knowing the job he had. Now he is a tireless advocate for VA reform so that those he served with can get the care they need and deserve. Another member of my staff back in Baton Rouge, Michael Eby, served in the Louisiana National Guard for 9 years and was awarded the National Defense Medal and the Louisiana War Cross. To Lucius, Emmett, Chris, and Michael and all who served and serve now, thank you for your service. This Veterans Day and every day, we remember your sacrifices, courage, and dedication to ensuring that our children, their children, and we all can live in freedom in the greatest Nation in the world. May God bless you, your families, and the United States of America. I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I wish to celebrate and congratulate the recent accomplishments of Ms. Ashley Mitchell. At only 4-foot-9-inches tall and 94 pounds, Ashley holds the title of Weight Lifting World Champion. The daughter of Anticia S. Mitchell and a native of Alexandria, LA, Ashley is a hard-working honor roll senior with a 3.0 GPA at Alexandria Senior High School, ASH. In addition to her academic triumphs, Ashley is also a dynamic athlete. During Ashley's freshman year of high school, ASH powerlifting coach Duane Urbina introduced her to the sport. With her mother's encouragement to take a risk and to try something new, Ashley embraced the opportunity wholeheartedly. Ashley has achieved several impressive titles as a result of her hard work. Ashley is a three-time first place North Regional Champion, as well as the North Regional Most Outstanding Lifter on the light-weight platform. Additionally, Ashley broke the bench and deadlift records at North Regionals. Moreover, Ashley is a three-time first place Louisiana State Champion. Ashley has earned the Billy Jack Talton Award for Best Lifter in the State of Louisiana and has placed second at both the national meet in Killeen, TX, for 2013-2014 and the national meet in Milwaukee, WI, for 2014-2015. On May 15, 2015, Ashley earned first place at the Men's and Women's Powerlifting National Meet in San Antonio, TX; Ashley's first place award qualified her to join TEAM USA and to compete at the International Powerlifting Federation, IPF, Championship held in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 28-September 6, 2015. Talented competitors from 28 nations competed at the IPF Championship. Ashley rose to the challenge, receiving the gold medal in the 94.5 pound weight class for the Sub-Junior and Junior USA Team. Ashley earned the second place silver medal for squatting 275 pounds, the first place gold medal for benching 159.5 pounds, and the first place gold medal for deadlifting 326.5 pounds. Each lift event included three attempts. On Ashley's second attempt for the deadlift, she broke the world record by lifting 309.1 pounds; Ashley immediately broke this record on her third attempt by lifting 326.5 pounds, now the new world record. Ashley also set the new world record for total weight lifted, by lifting a combined 761 pounds during the squat, bench, and deadlift events. Powerlifting is both physically and mentally demanding, but not insurmountable for Ashley, who finds support in God, her family, her coach, and her powerlifting team. Through blood, sweat, and tears, Ashley welcomes the challenges and celebrates how the sport teaches her about how to overcome life's obstacles. Ashley Mitchell makes our community, State, and country very proud. Today I join my colleagues in honoring this young woman's tremendous effort and dedication.

Mr. CASSIDY

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, for 25 years I have worked in the Louisiana public hospital system. You cannot help but notice when you work in a public hospital system, but also in private hospitals, how often mental health issues are directly a part of a patient who comes to see you. It does not just have to be a physician seeing patients in the emergency room. Each of our families, mine included, has a family member or a friend with serious mental illness. It is nonpartisan. It cuts across demographic lines. If I go before a group anywhere in my State, indeed anywhere in the Nation, and bring up the need to address serious mental illness, all heads nod yes. It is true of my family. It is true of yours. It is true of almost everybody watching today. I am old enough to remember when people would not speak of cancer. There was a stigma associated with having cancer. That is long gone, much to our advantage, but for some reason, there continues to be a stigma, a shame, associated with mental illness. I will argue that stigma and sense of shame has retarded what we can do. This is something that we have to address, we have to discuss, and we have to go forward. The discussion right now, frankly, is being driven by tragedy: Lafayette, Louisiana; Newtown; Charleston; Oregon; Tennessee. We have heard stories and they are beyond heartbreaking, but what is not spoken of are the broken families, the parents that know there is something wrong with their child but do not know where to go to receive help, ending up in an overcrowded emergency room or with their child in a jail or prison when a more appropriate setting would be elsewhere. It is in the midst of these terrible tragedies that at least we can hope they can serve as a catalyst for society and Congress to begin to fix America's broken mental health system. Maybe something good can happen, even from tragedies as horrific as these. The question is, If one of the roles of Congress is to respond to societal needs that justify Federal involvement, should we not ask ourselves why has there been such a failure to address the issue of serious mental illness? I am pleased to say that my colleague, Senator Chris Murphy, and I wish to change that. We have introduced the bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act, which now has 10 cosponsors, both Republican and Democrat. Our bill begins to fix our mental health system and attempts to address the root cause of mass violence, which is recognized but untreated mental illness. How does our bill begin to do so? First, patients too often cannot get the care they need and too often have a long delay between diagnosis and treatment. Access delayed is access denied. Access is hampered by a shortage of mental health providers and too few beds for those with serious mental illness who truly need to be hospitalized. Related to this, right now people with major mental illness tend to die from physical illness as much as 20 years younger than someone who does not have serious mental illness. As a physician, I know if we treat the whole patient, if we integrate care, it is better. Medicaid, though, by policy, will not pay for a patient to see two physicians on the same day. So imagine this: A family practitioner sees a patient who clearly has major mental illness and, because the patient is right there, would like him to walk down the hallway to see her friend the psychiatrist, to have both addressed immediately while the patient is there. Medicaid will not pay the psychiatrist. On the other hand, the patient might be seeing a psychiatrist and have seriously high blood pressure or evidence for diabetes out of control, but the psychiatrist cannot say: Wait a second. Let me walk you down the hallway to see my colleague, the family practitioner, because Medicaid will not pay for that. By the way, private health insurance will. This is a policy change we need for public health insurance. Our bill would allow patients to use both mental and physical health services the same day. Secondly, most people have their first episode of serious mental illness between the ages of 15 and 25, starting down a path that ends with their life and their family's lives tragically altered. This bill attempts to identify those young folks, stopping that path from ever opening up, and preventing the first episode of serious mental illness or, if it does occur, leading them on a path of wholeness, a path towards wellness. Another thing our bill does is it establishes a grant program focused on intensive early intervention for children who demonstrate those first signs that can evolve into serious mental illness that may only occur in adolescence or adulthood. A second grant program supports pediatricians who are consulting with mental health teams. This program has already been successful in States such as Massachusetts and Connecticut. Third, without appropriate treatment options, prisons, jails, and emergency rooms have become the de facto mental health care providers. More than three times as many mentally ill are housed in prisons and jails than in hospitals, according to the National Sheriffs' Association. Overcrowded U.S. emergency rooms have become the treatment source of last resort for psychiatric patients. We incentivize States to create alternatives where patients may be seen, treated, and supervised in outpatient settings, as opposed to being incarcerated. Our bill creates an Under Secretary for Mental Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This Under Secretary's responsibility would be to coordinate mental health services across the Federal system to help identify and implement effective and promising models of care. It reauthorizes successful programs, such as the community mental health block grant and State-based data collection. The bill also increases funding for critical biomedical research on mental health. On top of this, it strengthens the transparency and enforcement of mental health parity by requiring the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury to audit the implementation of the mental health parity movement to determine the parity between mental and physical health services. Our bill does other things, but the most important thing it does is it helps prevent tragedies. It helps families, and it helps those broken individuals affected by mental illness become whole. In 2006, William Bruce of Maine was a 24-year-old who needed help. He suffered with schizophrenia and had been hospitalized. Without contacting his parents, our broken health care system allowed William to be released--even though his doctors said he was ``very dangerous indeed for release to the community.'' Sadly, 2 months later he murdered his mother at home with a hatchet. This story is tragic and heartbreaking, and even worse, it could possibly have been prevented if we had worked then to fix our broken mental health system. We wish to fix it now so there is not another such episode in the future. The time for mental health reform is now. If not now, when? If not us, who? If not now and not us, there will be more Lafayettes, Newtowns, Charlestons, Tennessees, Oregons, and more broken families. This bill does not wave a magic wand, but it puts us on a path where we can say these things that once occurred perhaps no longer will. Thank you. I yield back the remainder of my time.