Rod Grams

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives on the bill (S. 2943). The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 2943) entitled ``An Act to authorize additional assistance for international malaria control, and to provide for coordination and consultation in providing assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with respect to malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis'', do pass with the following amendments: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it recess until the hour of 12 noon on Friday, December 15. I further ask consent that on Friday, immediately following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business until 1 o'clock, with Senators speaking for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided in the usual form.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Byrd of West Virginia.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the Senate will convene at noon tomorrow. Following approximately an hour of morning business, the Senate will begin consideration of the final appropriations bill if it has been received from the House. A vote is expected on the bill shortly after the morning hour, with the sine die adjournment to occur shortly after that.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to, the bill be considered read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, Senator Durbin has an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1023, and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the amendment be agreed to, the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended, be agreed to, the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements referring to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMS. I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. GRAMS. Also, Mr. President, Senator Collins has an amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 919, S. 870.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the Post Office naming bills, H.R. 5210 and H.R. 5016, en bloc.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read the third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to these bills be printed in the Record, with the above all occurring en bloc.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I would like to have the honor of concluding some business items.

Mr. GRAMS

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

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of H.R. 1653, which is at the desk.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. I thank the very honored and respected man in the Senate, the Senator from West Virginia, for his kind words.

Mr. GRAMS. I graciously yield to the Senator from West Virginia.

Mr. GRAMS. I thank very much the Senator from Virginia.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, in conclusion, I appreciate their service to my office and to the people of Minnesota. I hope they understand that they have all helped to make a difference. Also, I return to Minnesota a little bit older, hopefully a little bit wiser, and feeling mightily blessed for all the opportunities that have come my way. In conception and execution, the American Government--and the Senate in particular--is an institution that has never been equaled anywhere else in the world. I have been honored to be a part of it. I yield the floor. Exhibit I minnesota staff Erik Aamoth, Andrea Andrews, Donna Bauer, Maryann Carl, Jennifer Casanova, Dave Chura, Karyn Diehl, Tim Engstrom, Eric Felton, Josh Gackle, Joe Isaacs. Pat Johnson, Jessica Knowles, Michelle Koke, Rich Kunst, Dave Ladd, Kim Lichy, Jack Meeks, Mark Neuville, Mike Nikkel, Annie Paruccini, Rob Patterson. Merna Pease, Tara Pryde, Matt Quinn, Erik Rosedahl, Noah Rouen, Barb Sykora, Jack Tomczak, Randy Wanke, Hayley Wesp, Linda Westrom, Kurt Zellers. washington staff Perry Aaness, Bertt Adams, Mike Amery, Steve Behm, Jeff Bloemker, Eric Bearse, Dave Berson, Jami Bjorndahl, Brian Bowman, Morgan Brown, Alan Brubaker, Krista Canty, Barbara Cohen, Nicole Converse, Anne Crowther. Chris Cylke, Joseph Dworak, Jason Einertson, Erik Einertson, Don Erickson, Pat Eveland, Jensine Frost, Chris Gunhus, Lianchao Han, Elizabeth Heir, Peter Hong, Todd Hower, Eric Huebeck, Jay Jackson, Dan Kauppi. Jason Kelley, Pat Kenny, Anthony King, Adam Knapp, Ray Livengood, Diane Lochner, Careen Martin, Darrell McKigney, Andrea Miles, Brent Moore, Tim Morrison, Gretchen Muehlberg, Vaughn Murphy, Joe Natalicchio, Amy Novak. Matt O'Donnell, Mark Olson, Merna Pease, Linda Pope, Heidi Rasmussen, Anthony Reed, John Revier, Jill Rode, Erik Rudeen, Gary Russell, Fritz Schick, Mark Sherid, Maggie Smith, Tim Stout, Michael Tavernier. Braden Tempas, Herb Terry, Pam Thiessen, Joe Trauger, Kiel Weaver, Jeffery Weekly, Linda Westrom, Krista Winter, Tom Yedinak. interns Jerry Aanerud, Brandon Adams, Margery Amundsen, Kent Anderson, Gulzar Babaeva, Joel Brusewitz, Cheryl Budewitz, Kate Busby, Steve Chappell, Cristi Cota, Amanda Daeges, Brad Davis, Michelle Dhein, Ryan Ellis, Jenny Erickson, Julie Fishman, Charlie Fox, Tom Goetz, Kristen Gross, Kevin Gustafson. Jennifer Halko, Chris Hansen, Nancy Hartwell, Elicia Heir, Christian Heitzman, Dan Herrboldt, Jon Herzog, Michael Hiltner, Kelly Huebner, Jessica Inda, Andy Irber, Tom Johnson, Jay Johnston, Kari Klassen, Rob Kloek, Mark Knapp, Jason Kohler, Tim Kohls, Joey Kramlinger. Margo Larson, Brad Lein, Jeff Love, Melissa Maranda, Brian McCarty, Jennifer McWilliams, Stephanie Moore, Ed Moreland, Jon Nelson, Hue Nguyen, Loc Nguyen, Ben Nicka, Jared Nordlund, Olga O'Hanlon, Gabe Perkins, Gretchen Printy, Jessica Qually, Allison Rajala, Stephanie Richard, Oscar Rodriguez. Miranda Rollins, Julie Schellhase, Patrick Schott, Meghan Shea, Anne Sigler, Valerie Sims, Matt Skaret, Tanetha Smith, Pat Spieker, Andrea Staebler, Tom Starshak, Amy Thorson, Kristian Vieru, Christine Vix, David Webb, Benjamen Wilson, Kristy Wolske, Ryan Wood.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today on what is a somewhat bittersweet occasion to reflect on my time in the Senate, and to look ahead to the future. Next to being a husband, a father, and a grandfather, these past 6 years have provided without a doubt the most exciting and also the most inspiring moments in my life. To serve as a Member of the greatest deliberative body in the world--entrusted with fulfilling the hopes and wishes of the people across the United States as well as the people of Minnesota--has been humbling beyond words. When your view out the front window is of the U.S. Capitol, and when your daily travels take you down the same halls once walked by John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and Daniel Webster, and you spend your hours working for people who ask nothing more of you than to make government work a little bit better, well, going to the office to work each day is a real pleasure. I am going to miss the Senate, not at all because of the prestige it is said to represent, but because this relatively small group of people is instilled with the power to accomplish so much good. And every day in this Chamber, my colleagues plow their passions into doing that. Yes, we routinely disagree. We have our partisan battles. And as men and women with strong ideas about what is right for America, we can be as stubborn as any creature God ever put onto this Earth. But there is never any doubt that as Senators, my colleagues act out of a deeply held belief that they are doing the right thing for the people who sent them here. I have had the opportunity to serve with many remarkable individuals. They have taught me a great deal, not just about being a Senator, although there was certainly a major part of that, but they also helped me to recognize that compromise does not have to mean compromising one's beliefs, that a small victory is often better than no victory at all, that ``obstacle'' is just another word for opportunity, and that sometimes the best way to get past a mountain is to go around it, and not necessarily tunnel right through it. The majority leader, Trent Lott, has been a good friend, and I have appreciated his counsel and his willingness to listen to even the most junior members of this chamber. I'll say the same of his predecessor, Senator Bob Dole, who was in so many ways a mentor to this Senator, and I truly admire him as a wonderful and caring leader and man. The assistant majority leader, Don Nickles, has been a tremendous example to my colleagues and me, and I want to thank him for his guidance and friendship. I consider it my great fortune, and a great honor, to have been able to work closely with so many other good people on both sides of the aisle, such as Democrat Leader Tom Daschle and Assistant Democratic Leader Harry Reid. I have learned from you daily; and, from our most senior and respected Members of this body, Senator Robert Byrd and Senator Strom Thurmond; my committee chairmen, Jesse Helms of Foreign Relations, Phil Gramm of Banking, Pete Domenici of Budget, and Frank Murkowski of the Energy Committee. Before I got to the Senate, I never would have guessed that every question would have exactly one hundred different answers. But each of our exchanges forced me to look at old ideas in new ways, and I'm a better person for every challenge you posed. These years with you have been like watching a history book come to life. I want to recognize my colleagues who are also leaving the Senate at the conclusion of this Congress. The distinguished chairman of the Finance Committee, Bill Roth, has been one of this Chamber's greatest champions of the taxpayers, and a Senator of whom I have the highest regard. John Ashcroft and Spence Abraham continually set the highest standard of public service; we came into the Senate together, and I was honored to work closely with them during the past six years. Connie Mack, a colleague on the Banking Committee, has served this Senate with great distinction, as has the Senator from Washington, Slade Gorton. On the other side of the aisle, the Senate is losing one of its most respected voices with the retirement of Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He represents to me the ideal of the character of a public servant. The same can be said of Bob Kerrey. I also wish the very best to Richard Bryan, Frank Lautenberg, and Chuck Robb, all of whom earned my admiration. As to the rest of my colleagues, I won't try to thank you individually here, but I will do so privately, and know that you each have my respect and my gratitude. Not only have I served with exceptional colleagues, but I was elected to serve here during remarkable times. We've been confronted with moments that tested America's resolve in the world, such as the war in the Balkans and the bombings of our U.S. embassies abroad. Other events, like the Oklahoma City tragedy and the recent uncertainty over the presidential election, have tested us domestically. Despite a strong economy, the challenges posed early on in my term by unending deficits and high taxes threatened families and job creators. These have been hard times in my home state as well, with problems on the farm and a series of natural disasters that challenged our citizens with floods and tornadoes. We accepted these challenges because the American people expected us to, and at the end of the day, I'm proud to say that we've left things a little better than we found them. Deficits are a thing of the past, taxes are still a crushing blow for families, but a little less so, welfare is no longer a prison sentence, and trade opportunities have opened up around the world for American products. Is it enough? Of course not, because it's never enough. There's always one more person needing a helping hand, one more bridge to build or road to pave, one more bill to introduce. But I'm confident that we've made the government work a little better for the folks who sent us here, and for the moment, that's enough for this Senator. I leave here with a few more wrinkles and maybe a gray hair or two, but no regrets. I wish my colleagues the very best as you struggle with the challenges that lie ahead. With a fifty-fifty split between the parties come January, you'll undoubtedly be tested in ways you haven't imagined. The Senate will adapt, though, as the Senate always has throughout its history, because the people will be counting on you. Senator-elect Dayton will be in my prayers, and I know the people of Minnesota will stand behind him as they've stood behind me. On every level, this Senate is a family, and it wouldn't feel right to leave here without expressing my thanks to not just my fellow Senators, but everyone who helps this body go about its daily work. Whether it's the food service workers, pages, officers of the Capitol Police force, elevator operators, parliamentarians, and the others who have become such familiar presences, I've enjoyed getting to know you and I appreciate your professionalism. The dedication to this institution extends far beyond those privileged to stand in the well of the Senate to all of its employees. In a Senate office, where the ink on the employee roster is barely dry before somebody leaves for a better opportunity and someone else steps in to fill his or her place, I've been blessed to have as loyal and as caring a staff as any Senator could ask for. Going all the way back to my service in the U.S. House, they've stood by me through good times and the most difficult of days. As staffers do, they worked anonymously. They spent long hours at their jobs. They didn't come to work for me expecting to get rich and besides, a paycheck cannot reward that kind of loyalty. So all I can offer them today is my humble thanks and some well-deserved public recognition by inserting their names in the Record. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent their names be printed in the Record at an appropriate place.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 12:30.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, highway safety, especially concerning long- haul trucks tends to be a contentious issue. It is generally understood that the long-haul truck driver faces a tedious and fatiguing task. Anyone trying to get to Florida from Minnesota in one day knows that. Government regulations on commercial truck drivers set parameters on hours of operation in the hope necessary rest can be achieved, thus preventing tired drivers from undertaking their critical duty. How can a government mandate for rest produce results? Anyone in the business knows that the Administration's proposed regulations governing truck drivers have gone from bad to worse. We recently passed legislation delaying the implementation of a new proposed regulation. However, there is a solution. But first, some background. Prescriptive Hours of Service regulations, HOS, have been unchanged for more than sixty years. After ten hours driving, a driver may not drive for eight hours. A driver may not drive more than seventy hours in eight days. Supposedly the non-driving time is intended to provide opportunity for sleep and other necessary activities. However, long- haul drivers may end a ten-hour driving period at a time of day when their physiological alerting system, or body clock, will not permit sleep. At the end of the non-driving period they may be tired but may legally drive. In many instances, they must drive fatigued in order to make timely delivery. There is consensus in the scientific community that any system of prescriptive hours of service regulation will result in drivers occasionally being prohibited from driving when they are alert and compelled to drive when they are tired. It has come to my attention that a logical and creative alternative is at hand. One that offers the promise of not only improved highway truck safety, but improvement in the life-styles of the participants-- the truck drivers--and in the efficiencies of the companies who employ them. The alternative is in managing fatigue. The problem of operator inattention related to sleep deprivation has been the subject of medical, scientific and regulatory inquiry for many years. It is the consensus of the medical and scientific communities that the time has come to apply the knowledge gained by applying it in real operational conditions. That possibility is upon us. Thanks in part to the efforts of one of my constituents, Mr. Donald G. Oren, President of Dart Transit Company of Eagan, Minnesota, a feasibility test has been successfully concluded. This is an exciting development. Recently, the Safety Research Center, Bethesda, Maryland, under the direction of its President, Tony McMahon, together with Stanford University's Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center undertook a scientific experiment. William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and the director of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center, a long-time student of and author on sleep disorders, developed a two-phase approach to developing a solution to driver fatigue. The first is to test and treat individuals for sleep disorders and the second is to teach them how to manage fatigue. Doctors and scientists researching sleep have found that drowsiness results from sleep debt, which is cumulative. There are only two ways to build up a sleep debt: inadequate amounts of sleep and excessively frequent interruption of sleep as occurs in the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and the restless legs syndrome. According to the December 1996 Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study commissioned by the Federal Highway Administration, the two most important factors in driver fatigue are time of day and the amount and quality of sleep received. At the Stanford Sleep Center, drivers from two trucking companies were screened, treated for sleep disorders and trained in how to recognize sleep debt and fatigue and what to do about it. On October 18, 2000, Dr. Dement announced the results of that feasibility study involving nine drivers from Dart Transit, of Eagan, Minnesota, and Star Transport, of Morton, Illinois. The drivers spent two separate sessions of three days each at the sleep research facility at Stanford. Dr. Dement's findings are that effective training will cause behavior change and fatigue avoidance. The next step is to develop a pilot program, which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, FMCSA, will be asked to undertake. FMCSA possesses the authority to conduct such a pilot program. It will be conducted under strictly controlled exemptions to hours of service regulations. I am told that Clyde Hart, Acting Administrator of FMCSA, believes the idea has merit and is willing to entertain a pilot program proposal. The program will be undertaken by the Safety Research Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and the Stanford Sleep Research Center. It will begin with approximately 40 drivers each from Dart and Star. Screened, treated and trained, they would be exempted from the hours of service regulations (but not total hours that can be driven) to provide maximum flexibility to the trained drivers in managing their time. These drivers would be compared to a control group operating under current hours of service regulations. Assuming that the operations generate positive data, the program would be expanded to other companies. Progress would be evaluated on an ongoing basis and at the end of the three-year program it should be apparent that fatigue management should be a regulatory alternative to current hours of service regulation. This is a most welcome and exciting development. To bear out this conclusion, I ask unanimous consent that two items be included in the Record: Dr. Dement's remarks to the media and a recent article from Traffic World. There being no objection the material was ordered to be printed in the Record. Remarks by William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Stanford University Sleep Disorders & Research Center join the safe team: the point of the lance for a safer and more alert america At a press conference on Capitol Hill in January 1993, I had the privilege of reporting the results of the two-year study of Sleep in America by the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research. The Commission had determined that there were two gigantic problems in our society, pervasive and severe sleep deprivation in every component of society, and a pandemic of undiagnosed and untreated or misdiagnosed and mistreated sleep disorders. The Commission also emphasized vigorously that the root cause of these problems was a total lack of effective public and professional awareness about sleep. Indeed, one of the most urgent recommendations of the Commission to the U.S. Congress was to launch an effective and broad based national awareness campaign. Sadly, this did not happen for several reasons including the budget deficit. During the period of the Commission study and in many of the years since, I have learned that attempting to alleviate the societal problems relating to sleep has a special difficulty. The absence of prior exposure to sleep education allows inappropriate skepticism about the facts of sleep, retention of erroneous mythologies about sleep, and extreme difficulty in mobilizing an adequately large community of advocates. In the aftermath of the failure to launch an effective National Awareness Campaign, we have persisted in attempting to develop an alternative strategy. The main thrust has been to identify a much smaller community, which, if adequately educated and trained, might be a catalyst for a larger societal change. Efforts have been made by me and others to educate primary care physicians, high school students, airline personnel, railroad personnel, and a variety of other specific groups such as Olympic athletes, shift workers, and so on. None of the efforts to date have been adequately successful, particularly as a catalyst. All of this is by way of introducing what I will report in today's conference. I believe we have the absolutely best group from every point of view. This is not entirely new because this group has been the focus of much attention in recent years, a fair amount of it entirely unwonted. The group in question is long haul truck drivers. We are here to announce the success of a feasibility trial and the intention to submit a fatigue management pilot program to the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. In summarizing the continuing lack of effective education and awareness in America about sleep in 1993, I said that 100 or so sleep disorders centers are islands of awareness in a vast sea of ignorance; too small in number and too dispersed to constitute a catalytic educational force. That situation is only slightly changed today. There are more islands, but the vast sea of ignorance remains. As exemplified on the October 16, 2000, cover of US News and World Report in an article titled, ``Sleepless in America,'' our nation is carrying the largest sleep debt in history. Nearly every citizen has a bigger or smaller sleep debt. The question is why don't they know it. The reasons are as follows. Most people don't know their personal sleep requirement. Most people know nothing about sleep debt. Most people don't understand the function of their circadian system (biological clock). Most people don't know the significance of being tired all the time. Most people know nothing about sleep disorders. An extremely important principle is that there are two ways and only two ways to build up a sleep debt; inadequate amounts of sleep and excessively frequent interruption of sleep as occurs in the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and the restless legs syndrome. Sleep scientists have known these facts for more than two decades and have tried and tried to bring them effectively to the attention of key communities. One would think that learning these things would be a core part of many professional training programs, and if nowhere else, certainly in the transportation industry. Airline personnel need to know the principles of fatigue management, railroad personnel, maritime personnel, and the vast community of automobile drivers, but we have learned in our feasibility trial and I am now convinced, that the highest priority for intensive professional training regarding fatigue management should be long haul truck drivers. Of course, all drivers must have the ability to maintain attentive alertness while driving. However, the highest educational priority should be bestowed upon the community of long haul truck drivers who sit astride 40 tons of highly evolved and intricate machinery. In other modes of transportation, attentiveness every second is not required. Thus, we propose a special program that involves (a) training to behavioral change and commitment and (b) screening for sleep disorders and ease of access for definitive diagnosis and effective treatment. Long haul drivers who are successful in completing this program will be transformed by sleep debt reduction and improved personal health, and they will become disciples seeking to recruit their fellow truckers. Today, instead of what we are proposing, we have prescriptive hours of service which guarantee that there will be times when a driver must stop driving although he or she is fully alert. This may not be dangerous, but it is certainly frustrating. Unfortunately, the Hours of Service regulations also guarantee that there will be times when dangerously fatigued truck drivers can keep driving, sometimes for many hours. A typical scenario is that a driver must stop at a time when clock dependent alerting will not allow sleep. At the end of this period with very little rest, the driver is very tired but can now go for another 10 hours. If he chose instead to sleep, the rest period would be extended to 16 hours and his productivity would be greatly reduced. Personally, I have wanted to carry out this type of intensive training with targeted personnel for more than 10 years. In 1990 and 91, we completed a study of 200 drivers and found that 75% of them had obstructive sleep apnea and that in interviews of more than 600, 82% said the signal to stop driving was ``falling asleep.'' Now, two visionary companies, Dart and Star, have stepped forward and have supported such a program with their own resources. We have completed a feasibility study with nine drivers and in my more than 30 years as an educator, this was one of the best teaching experiences we have ever had. Initially, I was uncertain that we could accomplish the desired result in this community. I insisted on an adequate opportunity, which consisted of an initial three full days of education and training together with sleep disorders screening, diagnosis, and most importantly, treatment. Then three full days of additional education, review, and evaluation one month later. In brief, at the second session we learned that the prior training and screening had been successful beyond our wildest dreams. The fatigue of this group was greatly reduced; the success of CPAP treatment had a double impact because spouses experienced great relief. Finally, I believe that our initial group of drivers is now completely safe, feel much better, and have substantially improved cardiovascular health. They are the vanguard of a new breed of long haul trucker, and on their own initiative, they have named themselves ``The SAFE TEAM'' which stands for Sleep and Fatigue Experienced Truckers Educating America's Motorcarriers. I also believe that long-haul truckers will be the vanguard of educating our entire society. We are ready and eager to go forward with a formal pilot project and will seek approval of the Office of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. We will put in place technology to monitor SAFE TEAM drivers and to insure that waiver of hours of service and the essential flexibility is not abused. I see no likelihood of the latter because of the commitment of these drivers to safety, but political issues make it necessary. The intense interaction of the Stanford group which includes SleepQuest and the School of Sleep Medicine as partners in the Stanford University Center of Excellence, the Safety Research Institute, and above all, the pioneering group of drivers revealed and clarified what will surely become the theme of the pilot project and beyond. Fatigue management education is the missing piece in the training of professional drivers. This is why the sleep training was embraced by the drivers and their companies and why we can predict that it will eventually be enthusiastically embraced throughout the entire long haul trucking industry.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, the following speech was given recently to honor the Minnesota Teacher of the Year. I believe it is important that my colleagues become aware of Ms. Koch-Laveen's accomplishment, and ask to print in the Record my comments to her as she was honored for the information of my fellow Senators. The speech follows: October 18, 2000 Statement of Senator Rod Grams Honoring Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Katie Koch-Laveen, at Apple Valley High School, Apple Valley, Minnesota I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to honor Ms. Katherine Koch-Laveen as Minnesota's Teacher of the Year for the year 2000. This is certainly a high honor, as I note that 98 Minnesota educators were nominated for this award, and their accomplishments were reviewed by 18 judges. It is all the more impressive considering Minnesota's public schools reputation for academic excellence. I also commend the 98 nominees for this honor, 28 of whom were chosen as ``teachers of excellence,'' and 10 of whom were further chosen for an ``honor roll'' of teachers. School teachers that excel at their craft are critically important to the intellectual development of their students, and help shape the student's vision for what they can accomplish in their lives. I still can vividly remember the excellent educators that taught me at Zion Lutheran Christian Day School in Crown. Excellent teachers motivate, show enthusiasm for inquiry, and instill in their students a passion for learning that often continues for a lifetime. A great educator gives the student a core foundation of knowledge about a subject, and a curiosity about the topic that drives a student to study and research more extensively long after they have left that particular class. Great teachers also make sacrifices for their students. It's no secret that in today's high-tech, knowledge-based economy, Ms. Koch-Laveen could probably find a more financially rewarding profession, especially with her science background. And our great teachers need to be rewarded financially, so that we do not lose too many to industry. But ultimately, I have to believe that what keeps them in the classroom is the intangible reward of seeing their students excel, and having a group of students come in to a class with little knowledge about a topic and have them leave with a firm grasp of core concepts, a desire to learn much more, and an excitement to apply what they have learned in ``real world'' situations. And I hesitate to use the term ``real world,'' because these days there is probably nothing more real world than a high school classroom. So congratulations and thank you, Ms. Koch-Laveen, for your commitment to excellence and dedicated service to your students, your community, and to Minnesota. Thanks also to the other hardworking Apple Valley teachers here today that strive for excellence in the classroom and shoulder so much responsibility for Minnesota's future. It has been a pleasure to be here.