Ted Kennedy

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to call the attention of my colleagues to the serious dangers that exist for human rights today in Kenya. I particularly express my concern about the death threats being made against Paul Muite, a distinguished human rights attorney in that country. Mr. Muite is a native of Kenya who has been an outspoken critic of the hundreds of extrajudicial killings that have taken place in Kenya since 2006, and he has sought an investigation by the International Criminal Court of these killings. The threats against him have escalated in recent weeks. This week, I learned that someone had thrust an AK-47 in Mr. Muite's face. I urge the Government of Kenya to give high priority to this alarming situation, and to take all necessary steps to protect the safety of Mr. Muite and others struggling to defend the fundamental human rights of the people of Kenya. The world is watching and I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join in calling attention to this basic issue.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, 37 years ago, a Republican President and Democratic Congress came together in a new commitment to find a cure for cancer. At the time, a cancer diagnosis meant almost certain death. In 1971, we took action against this deadly disease and passed the National Cancer Act with broad bipartisan support, and it marked the beginning of the War on Cancer. Since then, significant progress has been made. Amazing scientific research has led to methods to prevent cancer, and treatments that give us more beneficial and humane ways to deal with the illness. The discoveries of basic research, the use of large scale clinical trials, the development of new drugs, and the special focus on prevention and early detection have led to breakthroughs unimaginable only a generation ago. As a result, cancer today is no longer the automatic death sentence that it was when the war began. But despite the advances we have made against cancer, other changes such as aging of the population, emerging environmental issues, and unhealthy behavior, have allowed cancer to persist. The lives of vast numbers of Americans have been touched by the disease. In 2008, over 1.4 million Americans were diagnosed with some form of cancer, and more than half a million lost their lives to the disease. The solution is not easy but there are steps we can and must take now, if we hope to see the diagnosis rate decline substantially and the survival rate increase in the years ahead. The immediate challenge we face is to reduce the barriers that obstruct progress in cancer research and treatment by integrating our current fragmented and piecemeal system of addressing the disease. Last year, my colleague Senator Hutchison and I agreed that to build on what the nation has accomplished, we must launch a new and more urgent war on cancer. The 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act we are introducing today will accelerate our progress by using a better approach to fighting this relentless disease. Our goal is to break down the many barriers that impede cancer research and prevent patients from obtaining the treatment that can save their lives. We must do more to prevent cancer, by emphasizing scientifically proven methods such as tobacco cessation, healthy eating, and exercise. Healthy families and communities that have access to nutritious foods and high quality preventive health care will be our best defense against the disease. I am confident that swift action on national health reform will make our vision of a healthier Nation a reality. Obviously, we cannot prevent all cancers, so it is also essential that the cancers that do arise be diagnosed at an initial, curable stage, with all Americans receiving the best possible care to achieve that goal. We cannot overemphasize the value of the rigorous scientific efforts that have produced the progress we have made so far. To enhance these efforts, our bill invests in two key aspects of cancer research-- infrastructure and collaboration of the researchers. We include programs that will bring resources to the types of cancer we least understand. We invest in scientists who are committed to translating basic research into clinical practice, so that new knowledge will be brought to the patients who will most benefit from it. One of the most promising new breakthroughs is in identifying and monitoring the biomarkers that leave enough evidence in the body to alert clinicians to subtle signs that cancer may be developing. Biomarkers are the new frontier for improving the lives of cancer patients because they can lead to the earliest possible detection of cancer, and the Cancer ALERT Act will support the development of this revolutionary biomarker technology. In addition, we give new focus to clinical trials, which have been the cornerstones of our progress in treating cancer in recent decades. Only through clinical trials are we able to discover which treatments truly work. Today, however, less than 5 percent of cancer patients currently are enrolled in clinical trials, because of the many barriers exist that prevent both providers and patients from participating in these trials. A primary goal of our bill is to begin removing these barriers and expanding access to clinical trials for many more patients. Further, since many cancer survivors are now living longer lives, our health systems must be able to accommodate these men and women who are successfully fighting against this deadly disease. It is imperative for health professionals to have the support they need to care for these survivors. To bring good lifelong care to cancer survivors, we must invest more in research to understand the later effects of cancer and how treatments affect survivors' health and the quality of their lives. We stand today on the threshold of unprecedented new advances in this era of extraordinary discoveries in the life sciences, especially in personalized medicine, early diagnosis of cancer at the molecular level, and astonishing new treatments based on a patient's own DNA. To make the remarkable promise of this new era a reality, we must make sure that patients can take DNA tests, free of the fear that their genetic information will somehow be used to discriminate against them. We took a major step toward unlocking the potential of this new era by approving strong protections against genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment when the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act was signed into law last year. In sum, we need a new model for research, prevention and treatment of cancer, and we are here today to start that debate in Congress. We must move from a magic bullet approach to a broad mosaic of care, in which survivorship is also a key part of our approach to cancer. By doing so, we can take a giant step toward reducing or even eliminating the burden of cancer in our Nation and the world. It is no longer an impossible dream, but a real possibility for the future. Mr. President, I ask by unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, 37 years ago, a Republican President and Democratic Congress came together in a new commitment to find a cure for cancer. At the time, a cancer diagnosis meant almost certain death. In 1971, we took action against this deadly disease and passed the National Cancer Act with broad bipartisan support, and it marked the beginning of the War on Cancer. Since then, significant progress has been made. Amazing scientific research has led to methods to prevent cancer, and treatments that give us more beneficial and humane ways to deal with the illness. The discoveries of basic research, the use of large scale clinical trials, the development of new drugs, and the special focus on prevention and early detection have led to breakthroughs unimaginable only a generation ago. As a result, cancer today is no longer the automatic death sentence that it was when the war began. But despite the advances we have made against cancer, other changes such as aging of the population, emerging environmental issues, and unhealthy behavior, have allowed cancer to persist. The lives of vast numbers of Americans have been touched by the disease. In 2008, over 1.4 million Americans were diagnosed with some form of cancer, and more than half a million lost their lives to the disease. The solution is not easy but there are steps we can and must take now, if we hope to see the diagnosis rate decline substantially and the survival rate increase in the years ahead. The immediate challenge we face is to reduce the barriers that obstruct progress in cancer research and treatment by integrating our current fragmented and piecemeal system of addressing the disease. Last year, my colleague Senator Hutchison and I agreed that to build on what the nation has accomplished, we must launch a new and more urgent war on cancer. The 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act we are introducing today will accelerate our progress by using a better approach to fighting this relentless disease. Our goal is to break down the many barriers that impede cancer research and prevent patients from obtaining the treatment that can save their lives. We must do more to prevent cancer, by emphasizing scientifically proven methods such as tobacco cessation, healthy eating, and exercise. Healthy families and communities that have access to nutritious foods and high quality preventive health care will be our best defense against the disease. I am confident that swift action on national health reform will make our vision of a healthier Nation a reality. Obviously, we cannot prevent all cancers, so it is also essential that the cancers that do arise be diagnosed at an initial, curable stage, with all Americans receiving the best possible care to achieve that goal. We cannot overemphasize the value of the rigorous scientific efforts that have produced the progress we have made so far. To enhance these efforts, our bill invests in two key aspects of cancer research-- infrastructure and collaboration of the researchers. We include programs that will bring resources to the types of cancer we least understand. We invest in scientists who are committed to translating basic research into clinical practice, so that new knowledge will be brought to the patients who will most benefit from it. One of the most promising new breakthroughs is in identifying and monitoring the biomarkers that leave enough evidence in the body to alert clinicians to subtle signs that cancer may be developing. Biomarkers are the new frontier for improving the lives of cancer patients because they can lead to the earliest possible detection of cancer, and the Cancer ALERT Act will support the development of this revolutionary biomarker technology. In addition, we give new focus to clinical trials, which have been the cornerstones of our progress in treating cancer in recent decades. Only through clinical trials are we able to discover which treatments truly work. Today, however, less than 5 percent of cancer patients currently are enrolled in clinical trials, because of the many barriers exist that prevent both providers and patients from participating in these trials. A primary goal of our bill is to begin removing these barriers and expanding access to clinical trials for many more patients. Further, since many cancer survivors are now living longer lives, our health systems must be able to accommodate these men and women who are successfully fighting against this deadly disease. It is imperative for health professionals to have the support they need to care for these survivors. To bring good lifelong care to cancer survivors, we must invest more in research to understand the later effects of cancer and how treatments affect survivors' health and the quality of their lives. We stand today on the threshold of unprecedented new advances in this era of extraordinary discoveries in the life sciences, especially in personalized medicine, early diagnosis of cancer at the molecular level, and astonishing new treatments based on a patient's own DNA. To make the remarkable promise of this new era a reality, we must make sure that patients can take DNA tests, free of the fear that their genetic information will somehow be used to discriminate against them. We took a major step toward unlocking the potential of this new era by approving strong protections against genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment when the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act was signed into law last year. In sum, we need a new model for research, prevention and treatment of cancer, and we are here today to start that debate in Congress. We must move from a magic bullet approach to a broad mosaic of care, in which survivorship is also a key part of our approach to cancer. By doing so, we can take a giant step toward reducing or even eliminating the burden of cancer in our Nation and the world. It is no longer an impossible dream, but a real possibility for the future. Mr. President, I ask by unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, today the Senate has taken a significant step toward engaging many more Americans in national and community service. Imagine how much stronger America will be if millions more people of all ages answer this legislation's--and our President's--call to serve. The challenges facing the Nation are among the most serious in our history. Our families, our businesses, and our communities are suffering from unparalleled economic challenges. Jobs are disappearing. Homes are being foreclosed. Debts are soaring. Our health care system is in crisis. Our schools are in trouble. State and local budgets are being forced to make severe cutbacks. Each of these challenges is daunting, but all of them can be met more effectively if we devote ourselves to the task together. We must overcome the illusion that America's problems are the responsibilities of others to solve. Fortunately, there are signs of hope. The excitement generated on both sides of the aisle by last year's Presidential campaign showed that Americans young and old want to be more involved in the world in which they live. President Obama's call to service has inspired new interest in doing so. And if there is any silver lining to the economic crisis, it is the fact that the crisis, for all its harsh effects, has also strengthened Americans' desire to do their part. The greed and selfishness displayed on Wall Street in recent weeks is not America. This desire to help is America. Applications to City Year are up 180 percent. Teach for America received 35,000 applications for just 4,000 positions. Online AmeriCorps applications--which don't represent all AmeriCorps applications--are three to four times what they were last year. As they always do, the American people are stepping up just when we need them most, and this legislation will help them do even more. For the past year, there has been little to agree on in Washington. Last year's political campaigns led to partisan bickering in Congress and beyond. But throughout the year, Senator Hatch felt it was essential to work on this legislation. We heard from Americans old and young. We received ideas from across the ideological spectrum. It wasn't easy, but we were able to reach agreement on the need to make room for more full-time volunteers to give a year of service, and to help small organizations use more part-time volunteers who are the lifeblood of the service army. I know some of my colleagues are concerned about any increase in spending because of the growing budget deficits. But at a time when all our communities are struggling, this bill is a responsible investment that will pay itself back many times over--in service, in volunteer hours, in private and local investments. The cornerstone of our success as a Nation has always been the drive of the American people. Their ingenuity in mastering any challenge; their compassion for those around them; their strength to see us through the hard times. This bill relies on all of these qualities. The Serve America Act is fundamentally about strengthening our future, but it draws on lessons from the past. In the past two decades, we have learned a great deal about the power of service. We have learned that it can make a dramatic difference in meeting complex challenges--from improving our schools to conserving our precious natural resources. We have learned that it contributes both to the communities in which individuals serve and to the individuals themselves. We have learned that even skilled professionals with established careers and retiring senior citizens with a lifetime of experience are eager to dedicate their skills to giving back to others. They are more than willing to take their skills and their experience and turn them into something useful for our country. Most of all, we have learned that Americans want to serve and that all we have to do is ask. Our bill draws on these lessons to establish the next generation of service. It increases the number of AmeriCorps members from the current level of 75,000 to 250,000 over the next 8 years. We know the demand exists among participants and organizations, and we need to make this investment to increase the supply of opportunities. The bill will also focus existing AmeriCorps programs on areas which its members are best equipped to handle, so we can measure the impact these members are having. An Education Corps will serve disadvantaged youth through tutoring, mentoring, and connecting schools and parents. A Clean Energy Corps will weatherize homes to increase energy efficiency, teach the Nation's youth about energy use, and serve in our national parks. A Healthy Futures Corps will give low-income Americans greater access to health care and improve their health literacy. As the cost of college has skyrocketed, the Eli Segal Educational Award has remained stagnant for 16 years, at $4,725. Our bill will finally change that by increasing the award to the same as the maximum Pell grant, $5,350, and link it to that grant in the future to ensure that it never becomes stagnant again. For younger Americans, the legislation expands the existing Learn and Serve program, which supports service-learning activities for students that place them on a path to a lifetime of service. Learn and Serve was one of the most important experiments we have undertaken in service in the past, and it is still an important investment. Last year, 1.1 million students served through Learn and Serve. This legislation will do more, creating Summer of Service positions for middle and high school students, in return for an education award that will remind them of their own ability to go to college. It will also create Youth Engagement Zones to bring more service-learning to low-income communities with high dropout rates, so that more students will stay in school. As we focus on the very young through Learn and Serve, and on our youth through AmeriCorps, the next generation of service must do more for adults as well. The largest generation in American history--the baby boom generation--is retiring, with the energy and desire to do more for their communities and more for the Nation. This legislation will draw on that desire and on their skills and experience, and direct them to the nonprofit sector through Encore Fellowships to help them make the transition into long term public service. Further, since the AmeriCorps education award is not a realistic incentive for adults who have completed their education, the bill makes the award transferable to a child or a grandchild. With the cost of college rising, and the award finally increasing, this provision will make a major difference to these families. In addition, the bill expands and updates the three existing Senior Corps programs--RSVP, Senior Companions, and Foster Grandparents. These programs have been successful for decades, and will continue to be the backbone for service by persons who are 55 or older. The bill also creates a social innovation fund, to invest in outcome- focused, effective nonprofit organizations. We should never underestimate the power of a committed young person with a good idea. Social entrepreneurs like those who started City Year, Citizen Schools, and YouthBuild are doing remarkable work, and we should help them expand. It is our role to do so. To help organizations manage the influx of new volunteers and provide a better experience for occasional volunteers, the legislation creates a Volunteer Generation Fund to improve volunteer management and increase capacity in organizations that rely on volunteers. Finally, the bill authorizes and focuses the Volunteers for Prosperity program created under President Bush in 2003. For decades, the Peace Corps has been demonstrating the potential of international volunteering for solving practical problems and developing the human ties that are the building blocks of diplomacy. Volunteers for Prosperity offers opportunities for skilled professionals to engage in short-term international service in developing countries to address specific areas of need, from clean water to girls' education. Much of this bill--and much of what we know about service more broadly--draws on the lessons we have learned from leaders in Massachusetts. City Year began in Boston. Its volunteers show us that they can focus on a specific problem, such as the dropout rate in our schools, and make a real difference. Last year, almost 2,200 AmeriCorps members served in Massachusetts, in schools, communities, and health centers. This legislation will triple their numbers. It will also support the work of the Massachusetts Service Alliance, which has been an effective leader in coordinating service opportunities across our State. Service is a cause with champions too numerous to count in Congress and beyond. Invoking the power of service isn't a partisan issue. It is a way to help our country in the current crisis. Leaders on both sides of the aisle agree that part of solving our greatest challenges is to rely on the strength, ingenuity, and compassion of our people to serve their fellow Americans. Nineteen years ago, the original National and Community Service Act was a bipartisan bill, and so is this one. I commend all of those who have worked on this legislation. We all owe our colleague Senator Mikulski immense gratitude for steering this bill across the finish line. Senator Enzi, as always, has been an amazing partner. His input made the bill stronger, and it made the Corporation for National and Community Service stronger as well, and better able to carry out the new responsibilities we are placing on it. We also owe an immense debt to Senator Hatch, whose idea this legislation was. I know when we work together, our friends on both sides of the aisle get suspicious, but as always, we came up with a bipartisan product the Senate can be proud of, and we made it stronger by working through our disagreements. I particularly commend President Obama as well. From his own experiences over the years, he knows the power of service both to the individual and to the community. He has made clear that his own path in life has been shaped by his early service, and for that we can all be grateful. There are also many staff members who made this legislation possible. Senator Hatch's staff--Chris Campbell, Bryan Hickman, and Jace Johnson--has been invaluable. On Senator Enzi's staff, I particularly thank Beth Buehlmann, Adam Briddell, and Frank Macchiarola. On Senator Mikulski's staff, Julia Frifield, Ben Gruenbaum, and Mario Cardona have worked hard to bring this legislation to the Senate and get it through. I also thank Senate Legislative Counsel Liz King, Kristin Romero, and Amy Gaynor, and for his technical assistance, the Corporation's General Counsel, Frank Trinity. Finally, I thank the members of my staff who worked so long and hard and well on this legislation--Sarah Whitton, Thomas Showalter, Brian Carter, Christine Leonard, Charlotte Burrows, Janice Kaguyutan, Melissa Wagoner, Jay McCarthy, Portia Wu and Michael Myers. Most of all, I thank Emma Vadehra, my senior education counsel, who has worked skillfully and tirelessly on this bill since the beginning. Her leadership was indispensable in bringing us to this successful conclusion. Now the real work begins: to implement this new vision of service and make it as effective as it can be in the years ahead. It has been 16 long years since Congress last looked fully at these programs. More and more of us believe that the time has come to do much more. And now we will. President Kennedy's call to service still echoes today, and I am proud we have renewed that call for our day and generation by passing this important legislation.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. I thank my colleague from New Mexico and also my colleague from Ohio. I certainly agree that government service is public service. I also agree that we need to do more to encourage talented young men and women to serve in the government and make it financially possible for them to do so. We took a significant step to do so in the last Congress, with the public service loan forgiveness program in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. I would be pleased to work with the Senator and our colleagues in the HELP Committee to see that the proposed Roosevelt Scholars Act and its emphasis on building new pipelines to bring talent into government service receive a full hearing and consideration by the committee.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the Employee Free Choice Act is vital legislation for achieving fairness in the workplace for hardworking men and women across America, and for strengthening the Nation's middle class. I have the deepest respect for my colleague from Pennsylvania, Senator Specter, and I welcome his recognition of the need for labor law reform. But I am also disappointed that my friend feels he cannot support the bill in its current form. I remain deeply committed to moving this important bill forward. Millions of Americans are looking to us to make their workplaces fairer and safer, and their jobs more secure. They deserve better than they have today, and we can't leave them behind. The Senator from Pennsylvania says that we should not take up the Employee Free Choice Act now because of the challenges facing our economy. I disagree. It is precisely because of the economic crisis that we must take new action to strengthen workers' rights. Working Americans are suffering in ways we have not seen since the Great Depression. Wages are falling and benefits are disappearing. Workers are losing their jobs, their homes, and their hopes. Now more than ever, workers deserve a voice in the hugely important decisions that will affect their jobs and their families in the years ahead. Unions were fundamental in building America's middle class, and have a vital role today in preserving the American dream. History shows us that strong unions mean strong economic growth that both businesses and employees can share. Protecting the right to form a union today will help countless working families achieve greater economic security and build a better and brighter future. I hope very much that all of us on both sides of the aisle can work together to pass the best possible bill to put working families back on track.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. We are facing a profound economic crisis, the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression. Countless working families who were already living on the edge of financial disaster have been hit hard, and they have nothing to fall back on. Their faith in the American dream has been replaced by fear for their families and their future. We have already taken some much-needed actions to put our country back on track, but more needs to be done. In these perilous times, working families need security. They need new skills and new opportunities. And they need a voice in the decisions that will affect their families and their futures. Now more than ever, workers need someone on their side, fighting for them. Now more than ever, they need unions. Unions were fundamental in building America's middle class, and they have a vital role to play today in restoring the American dream for working families. First and foremost, unions enable workers to obtain their fair share of the benefits that their hard work creates. Union wages are 30 percent higher than nonunion wages. Eighty percent of union workers have health insurance, compared to only 49 percent of their nonunion counterparts. Union members are four times more likely to have a guaranteed pension. Equally important in this crisis, unions provide greater security and greater promise of fair treatment. At a time when workers who lose their jobs can remain unemployed for a year or more, those who are represented by a union have better job security and the assurance of knowing they will have a voice at the table when difficult decisions are made. It is little wonder that so many Americans want a union on their side. In a recent survey, more than half of all nonunion workers-- nearly 60 million men and women--say they would join a union if they could. The problem is that most workers who want a union can't get one. Those who attempt to exercise this fundamental right often find that the current system is rigged against them. Unscrupulous employers routinely break the law to keep unions out. They fire union supporters. They intimidate workers, harass them, and discriminate against them. They close down whole departments--or even entire plants--to avoid a union. A recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that union supporters are fired in more than one quarter of all union organizing campaigns. Even when workers prevail in a union election, employers can steal the victory by refusing to bargain fairly for the first union contract. They drag their feet, delay bargaining, and use a variety of other tactics to prevent an agreement. One study found that in more than a third of hard-won union elections, workers are denied a contract because of employers' delaying tactics. Many of these abuses by employers are illegal, but employers have no incentive to change their behavior. The penalties for violating workers' rights are so weak that they simply become a minor cost of doing business. Obviously, not all employers see unions as the enemy. Many successful companies have allowed their workers to organize without threats or dirty tricks. They have formed strong partnerships with their employees, and they have prospered. But these individual good examples are not enough to solve the problem. We need to deal with the bad actors. We need to stop the lawbreaking that has become alarmingly common and provide stronger protections for workers' rights. That is why we need the Employee Free Choice Act. This important legislation will give American workers the real freedom to choose a union without fear of threats or intimidation. First, the bill gives workers two possible ways to choose whether they want a union. They can rely on an election, or--if they fear intimidation from their employer during the election process--they can use a process called majority sign-up, which enables workers to choose whether they want a union by deciding whether to sign their name on a card calling for a union. Majority sign-up has always been a valid way to form a union. Since 2003, more than half a million private sector workers have formed a union through this efficient and democratic process. The problem is that under current law, workers may use the majority sign-up process only if their employer agrees. That is not fair. Workers--not their bosses--should get to choose how they make the important decision about whether they want union representation. The Employee Free Choice Act puts this choice in workers' hands. Second, the bill ensures that workers who choose a union will have a fair process for getting a first contract. It provides that if the union and the employer don't reach a contract within 90 days, either side can seek mediation from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The agency has provided collective bargaining mediation services--including mediation of first contract negotiations--for more than 50 years, and it has an 86 percent success rate. In the rare instance when the mediation process fails, the bill provides for binding arbitration, which will be handled by a panel of highly qualified arbitrators who have long experience in developing contract provisions that are fair to both sides. This type of arbitration is a tried-and-true method of resolving contract disputes that is already used in the rail and airline industries, and for public sector workers in at least 25 States. Finally, the Employee Free Choice Act improves remedies for workers who face discrimination or retaliation when they seek to organize or obtain a first contract. Under the bill, employers will no longer be able to violate the law with impunity and write off the insignificant penalties as a minor cost of doing business. The act takes away these perverse incentives for employers to break the law by increasing the remedies for workers, and by imposing new penalties on employers who act illegally during organizing campaigns or first-contract bargaining. These important changes will put real teeth in the law, and give employers a financial reason to respect workers' rights. With these basic reforms, the Employee Free Choice Act will fix the current broken system and level the economic playing field for millions of American workers. It will help them obtain real, tangible benefits that will make a difference in their lives and in the lives of their families. By restoring fairness to the American workplace, and strengthening the voice of American workers, we can rebuild the land of opportunity-- a land with good jobs, fair wages, and fair benefits that can support a family. We can revitalize the American middle class and restore the American dream. I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation and help put working families back on the path to prosperity.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. We are facing a profound economic crisis, the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression. Countless working families who were already living on the edge of financial disaster have been hit hard, and they have nothing to fall back on. Their faith in the American dream has been replaced by fear for their families and their future. We have already taken some much-needed actions to put our country back on track, but more needs to be done. In these perilous times, working families need security. They need new skills and new opportunities. And they need a voice in the decisions that will affect their families and their futures. Now more than ever, workers need someone on their side, fighting for them. Now more than ever, they need unions. Unions were fundamental in building America's middle class, and they have a vital role to play today in restoring the American dream for working families. First and foremost, unions enable workers to obtain their fair share of the benefits that their hard work creates. Union wages are 30 percent higher than nonunion wages. Eighty percent of union workers have health insurance, compared to only 49 percent of their nonunion counterparts. Union members are four times more likely to have a guaranteed pension. Equally important in this crisis, unions provide greater security and greater promise of fair treatment. At a time when workers who lose their jobs can remain unemployed for a year or more, those who are represented by a union have better job security and the assurance of knowing they will have a voice at the table when difficult decisions are made. It is little wonder that so many Americans want a union on their side. In a recent survey, more than half of all nonunion workers-- nearly 60 million men and women--say they would join a union if they could. The problem is that most workers who want a union can't get one. Those who attempt to exercise this fundamental right often find that the current system is rigged against them. Unscrupulous employers routinely break the law to keep unions out. They fire union supporters. They intimidate workers, harass them, and discriminate against them. They close down whole departments--or even entire plants--to avoid a union. A recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that union supporters are fired in more than one quarter of all union organizing campaigns. Even when workers prevail in a union election, employers can steal the victory by refusing to bargain fairly for the first union contract. They drag their feet, delay bargaining, and use a variety of other tactics to prevent an agreement. One study found that in more than a third of hard-won union elections, workers are denied a contract because of employers' delaying tactics. Many of these abuses by employers are illegal, but employers have no incentive to change their behavior. The penalties for violating workers' rights are so weak that they simply become a minor cost of doing business. Obviously, not all employers see unions as the enemy. Many successful companies have allowed their workers to organize without threats or dirty tricks. They have formed strong partnerships with their employees, and they have prospered. But these individual good examples are not enough to solve the problem. We need to deal with the bad actors. We need to stop the lawbreaking that has become alarmingly common and provide stronger protections for workers' rights. That is why we need the Employee Free Choice Act. This important legislation will give American workers the real freedom to choose a union without fear of threats or intimidation. First, the bill gives workers two possible ways to choose whether they want a union. They can rely on an election, or--if they fear intimidation from their employer during the election process--they can use a process called majority sign-up, which enables workers to choose whether they want a union by deciding whether to sign their name on a card calling for a union. Majority sign-up has always been a valid way to form a union. Since 2003, more than half a million private sector workers have formed a union through this efficient and democratic process. The problem is that under current law, workers may use the majority sign-up process only if their employer agrees. That is not fair. Workers--not their bosses--should get to choose how they make the important decision about whether they want union representation. The Employee Free Choice Act puts this choice in workers' hands. Second, the bill ensures that workers who choose a union will have a fair process for getting a first contract. It provides that if the union and the employer don't reach a contract within 90 days, either side can seek mediation from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The agency has provided collective bargaining mediation services--including mediation of first contract negotiations--for more than 50 years, and it has an 86 percent success rate. In the rare instance when the mediation process fails, the bill provides for binding arbitration, which will be handled by a panel of highly qualified arbitrators who have long experience in developing contract provisions that are fair to both sides. This type of arbitration is a tried-and-true method of resolving contract disputes that is already used in the rail and airline industries, and for public sector workers in at least 25 States. Finally, the Employee Free Choice Act improves remedies for workers who face discrimination or retaliation when they seek to organize or obtain a first contract. Under the bill, employers will no longer be able to violate the law with impunity and write off the insignificant penalties as a minor cost of doing business. The act takes away these perverse incentives for employers to break the law by increasing the remedies for workers, and by imposing new penalties on employers who act illegally during organizing campaigns or first-contract bargaining. These important changes will put real teeth in the law, and give employers a financial reason to respect workers' rights. With these basic reforms, the Employee Free Choice Act will fix the current broken system and level the economic playing field for millions of American workers. It will help them obtain real, tangible benefits that will make a difference in their lives and in the lives of their families. By restoring fairness to the American workplace, and strengthening the voice of American workers, we can rebuild the land of opportunity-- a land with good jobs, fair wages, and fair benefits that can support a family. We can revitalize the American middle class and restore the American dream. I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation and help put working families back on the path to prosperity.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, in accordance with rule XXVI.2. of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I submit for publication in the Record the rules of procedure for the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, as unanimously adopted by the committee on February 26, 2009. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the rules of procedure be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased and proud that the Senate today is taking up the nomination of Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor. Representative Solis is an extraordinary person, with an impressive background in public service. Anyone familiar with her work and her many accomplishments can attest that she is a truly inspirational leader. In the face of the current, unprecedented economic crisis, her confirmation to this important position is especially significant. Each day, the headlines contain troubling new economic reports. Americans lost 3 million jobs last year. Mr. President, 2.6 million have been looking for work for more than 6 months, 2.3 million have lost their homes, 31 million rely on food stamps to put food on the table. But this economic crisis is not just about numbers on a page or a lead story on the evening news. It is about what is happening to millions of working families. They are enduring tremendous hardships, and they know their friends and neighbors are suffering as well. The recovery bill passed under President Obama's leadership is a significant step in the right direction, but we still have an enormous challenge ahead of us. To rebuild our economy, we must restore security for working people. They need to know that they can get up and go to work in the morning without worrying about a pink slip, that they will earn a fair day's pay for a fair day's work so they can support their families, and that they can provide a better future for their children and a secure retirement for themselves. Most of all, they want leaders in government who understand how important these basic necessities are. That is why Hilda Solis is the right choice for Secretary of Labor. Representative Solis is from a hard-working American family. Her father was a farmworker, a railroad worker, and a laborer in a battery recycling plant. Her mother worked for 22 years on the assembly line in a toy factory. She watched her parents sacrifice all their lives to build a better future for her and their other children. Because of their struggles, Hilda became the first person in her family to go to college. Hilda Solis knows from deeply personal experience the challenges that American families face, because she has lived these challenges herself. And she has brought the lessons she learned from those years to her career in public service. Since her earliest days in public life, Hilda has put working families first. Whether it's fighting to keep toxic waste out of poor communities, championing legislation to protect victims of domestic violence, or leading efforts to train our workforce for the ``green collar'' jobs of the 21st century, she has never turned away from a challenge. She has never hesitated to stand up for what is right. In 2000, she became the first woman to receive the Profile in Courage Award for her remarkable work as a California State senator. The award is given each year to those people who have demonstrated the political courage that President Kennedy so admired, and Hilda Solis exemplifies these outstanding qualities. As I said at the time she received the award, ``The extraordinary successes of Hilda Solis as a member of the California legislature show the power of one person with vision, ability, dedication, and courage to overcome even the most powerful forces of oppression and resistance.'' Now, again, Hilda has powerful forces to overcome, and tremendous challenges ahead. I have every confidence that she is the right person for the job. She is exactly who we need at the helm of such an important agency at this critical time for out country. America's workers are the best in the world, and they deserve our best efforts to help them through these difficult times. And they deserve to have the best possible advocate on their side. Today, we will do them a great service by confirming Hilda Solis. She is a true hero for working families, and we are fortunate to have someone of her tremendous talents at the Department. I look forward to working closely with our new Secretary of Labor to tackle the immense challenges facing America's workers, and to bring job security and real opportunity for all Americans.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, our vote today affects one of the core issues of our democracy--the right to vote. It is a fundamental American principle that every citizen should have the right to vote and to participate in our democracy. Yet the nearly 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia have no voting representative in Congress. Americans give up their right to vote for Members of Congress when they move to the Nation's Capital. It is long past time for us to finally correct this basic wrong, and I commend Senators Lieberman and Hatch for their strong leadership on this legislation. The basic injustice is clear. Already this year, District of Columbia residents have paid over $500 million in Federal taxes. Annually, they have the second highest per capita tax burden in the Nation. But they are denied the basic right of congressional representation taken for granted by other taxpaying Americans. DC residents have fought and died to protect our Nation in every war in which America has participated since our Nation was founded. Since World War I, over 192,000 residents of the District of Columbia have served in our Armed Forces, and more than 1,600 DC residents have given their lives in service to our Nation. Since the start of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nearly 3,000 DC residents have been deployed in those countries and dozens of DC residents have been wounded or killed. There is no reason to deny representation in Congress to these patriotic veterans. I have long been a strong supporter of DC representation in Congress. In 1978, the District's nonvoting Delegate in the House, Walter Fauntroy, our Senate majority leader, Robert Byrd, and I worked with many others to pass a constitutional amendment to extend full voting rights to Americans living in the Nation's Capital. Congress passed that constitutional amendment, but too few States ratified it, and it never took effect. Although I strongly supported that constitutional amendment, I do not believe that a constitutional amendment is the only valid option. In 1978, we were following the precedent of the 23rd amendment, which was approved by Congress in June 1960 and was ratified by the States in March 1961 and which gave citizens of the District of Columbia the right to vote in Presidential elections. At the time, there was little opposition in the House to the amendment giving the District congressional representation, and the Republican leaders in the Senate actively supported it. It passed the House by a vote of 289 to 127. The Senate passed it by a vote of 67 to 32, narrowly above the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. Needless to say, we were deeply disappointed by the failure of the States to ratify the amendment, and that failure planted the seeds for the serious consideration now of the statutory option for achieving the goal. As the House and Senate hearings on the current bill make abundantly clear, the Constitution's District clause provides a valid means for acting by statute to grant citizens of the District of Columbia the right to vote in the House of Representatives. In testimony on the bill, numerous constitutional scholars have explained that article I, section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority ``to exercise exclusive Legislation, in all Cases whatsoever, over'' the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress's exclusive authority over the District of Columbia is broad and ``national in the highest sense.'' O'Donoghue v. United States, 289 U.S. 516, 539-40, 1933. Madam President, at this very moment as the Senate debates whether DC citizens deserve a vote in Congress, many brave Americans born in the District of Columbia are fighting for democracy in Iraq. If we are for democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, we cannot oppose democracy in the District of Columbia. If we believe in the principles of ``one person, one vote'' and government by the consent of the governed on which our Nation was founded, we must support this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to this long overdue legislation and to support final passage of the bill so that we can finally correct this historic wrong.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, this is a truly historic moment. We are taking a bold step to meet the greatest challenge to our Nation's continued prosperity in a generation. Thanks to visionary leadership from our new President and from our leaders here in Congress, we can offer new hope for working families throughout the Nation. America is mired in a crisis unlike any we have seen since the Great Depression. Trillions of dollars of hard-earned wealth have been wiped out. Families are losing their homes, their jobs, their health care, their life savings, and their hopes for the future. At the heart of this economic turmoil is the collapse of the jobs market. We lost 2.6 million jobs last year. Over 11 million Americans are unemployed--that is more than four unemployed workers for every job opening in the country. We recently learned that there were 626,000 new jobless claims in the past week and that 4.8 million Americans are collecting unemployment compensation--the highest number on record. The monthly job numbers released last Friday show that the national unemployment rate has reached 7.6 percent. In many States, unemployment has already reached 8, 9, or even 10 percent. Getting laid off can start a devastating downward spiral. It often means the loss of health insurance, leaving families with exorbitant medical bills when they can least afford them. It means more parents can no longer afford to send their children to college or even put food on the table or heat their homes. We need to turn our economy around, and we need to do it now. Economists agree that only ambitious and aggressive job creation policies--and strong government investment in our nation's future can spark a revival of our economy. In November, Americans voted overwhelmingly for change--for action over gridlock, for practical solutions over ideology, and for a government that has a role to play in advancing our common prosperity. President Obama has called on us to pass a bold economic recovery bill that embraces these priorities and the bill before us will do that. First and foremost, this legislation would create good new jobs by repairing and replacing aging infrastructure. The funding included for water infrastructure--both for wastewater and for drinking water--is long overdue. In New England, we have some of the oldest sewer infrastructure in the Nation. Much of it was built in bygone years when excess sewage was dumped into public waterways. These funds are a good start, but much more must be done to replace these so-called combined sewer systems. Similarly, the bill's investments in roads, bridges, and transit are absolutely essential to putting people back to work, and to avoiding some of the catastrophes we have seen, such as the I-35 bridge collapse in Minnesota. I commend the bill's managers for recognizing how essential these projects are for the Nation's future. In all, the Congressional Budget Office reports that economic recovery legislation could save or create up to 2.4 million new jobs this year, up to 3.9 million jobs in 2010, and up to 1.9 million jobs in 2011. These jobs will make a tremendous difference in revitalizing our economy. But in the meantime, millions of Americans still need help to weather the storm. That is why this bill extends and temporarily increases unemployment insurance benefits. These extra dollars will give a strong boost to economic growth, while putting more money in the pockets of millions of Americans facing the worst job market in a quarter century. Unfortunately, there are millions of hard-working Americans who have contributed to this vital program, but who don't benefit from it. Only 37 percent of unemployed workers receive benefits. These rules are particularly unfair to the most vulnerable Americans--including low- wage workers and the many women who juggle work and childcare responsibilities. There is no better time to strengthen this vital safety net and extend it to Americans who have funded it with their hard-earned dollars. That is why I am pleased that this legislation includes provisions from the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill which I have worked on with Senators Baucus, Snowe, Stabenow, Rockefeller, and many others. These provisions will immediately improve coverage for more than 500,000 workers unable to qualify for these benefits now. It will also provide needed funds to States to keep their unemployment offices open and running smoothly, even under the overwhelming flood of applications from workers who have lost their jobs. The recovery package also strengthens the safety net by making other important investments in the health and wellbeing of children and low- income families. It provides major increases for the School Lunch Program, food stamps, Meals on Wheels, food bank aid, and low-income weatherization assistance. These programs are particularly vital today, when family budgets are being stripped to the bone. I am especially pleased by the increase in food stamp aid. More than half a million residents in Massachusetts rely on food stamps to buy food each month. Nearly 70 percent of the assistance goes to households with children, and 20 percent goes to households with an elderly person. These investments are essential to meet the needs of our most vulnerable citizens. In fact, increased spending on food stamps is among the most effective ways to stimulate the economy, and I commend the leadership for bringing forward a bill that makes this kind of wise and compassionate investment. The legislation will also immediately help Americans to stay healthy, thus making them more productive and successful. It provides job support in medical research. It promotes a primary care workforce. It helps unemployed workers protect their health while looking for new jobs and opportunities. To create a healthier America, we need greater emphasis on prevention. Citizens need access to primary care providers and preventive screenings, communities need vigorous prevention initiatives, and the nation needs a strong national public health infrastructure and workforce. In our ongoing discussions and work on health reform, it is vital for us to address how best to support prevention and wellness and revitalize our public health system. Funds provided in the bill are also an important first step in increasing the nation's ability to conduct comparative effectiveness research and achieve the important goal of helping Americans obtain the right care, in the right place, at the right time, every time. It makes no sense to hamstring such research by placing unnecessary restrictions on what may and may not be studied. Limiting studies only to the clinical practice of medicine could inadvertently prohibit research comparing reforms in health services. One of the best examples of comparative effectiveness research is a study of patients with pneumonia, which has helped us understand who should be hospitalized and who can be cared for at home. That is important science, and we need to encourage it. Obviously, this stimulus funding is by no means the end of the comparative effectiveness research movement. It is just the beginning. The debate over what research should be conducted, how it should be governed, and how it should be used should be reserved for the ongoing policy discussion. The legislation also includes important investments in health information technology. Use of electronic medical records will enable our health care system to provide the highest possible quality of care, and also benefit from the improved efficiency that other industries have already achieved through IT. This investment will help develop a high-tech infrastructure for our health care system, and it will also create high paying jobs today. IT industry experts estimate that every $10 billion spent on health information will create more than 200,000 jobs in manufacturing, software development and information technology services. Finally, the recovery package before us also takes important steps to strengthen education as a key strategy to revitalize the economy and move America forward. It includes important investments at every point in the education pipeline. It will help to prevent harmful teacher layoffs and cuts in school budgets, expand access to child care and preschool programs, and strengthen Pell grants to provide a lifeline of assistance to needy college students. American education is severely affected by the economic downturn. This package responds directly to that challenge by beginning to revive America's preschool classrooms, its elementary, middle, and high schools, and colleges. Resources devoted to education and to the future of America's youth are among the most important investments proposed in this legislation, and this assistance couldn't come at a better time. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 34 States have implemented or proposed cuts in K-12 education. It is part of the economic crunch of rising unemployment, declining consumer spending, and home foreclosures. Per pupil spending has been reduced, school breakfast programs have been eliminated, training for teachers and principals has been cut off, and in some cases schools have been forced to reduce hours in the school day or shorten the school year. Across the Nation, school superintendents have implemented or plan to implement staff reductions. Many school districts facing shrinking budgets are planning cuts in math and science classes, in new teacher programming, and in teacher mentoring--and they are also increasing class sizes. We must not force America's students to bear these high costs of our economic crisis. I am especially pleased, therefore, that this legislation includes $39 billion in emergency basic aid to states to prevent harsh cutbacks and reduce budget shortfalls in early childhood education, K-12 education, and higher education. Such aid is a lifeline of support for America's preschools, classrooms, and college campuses. The bill also makes a significant commitment toward meeting the needs of low-income children, by providing $12.4 billion under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and provides an unprecedented $13.5 billion to assist schools in meeting their commitment to students with special needs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The increase in funding for title I immediately demonstrates our commitment to prevent harmful cuts and deliver the support and solutions needed for schools to close achievement gaps and meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. The investment in IDEA is a down payment towards finally meeting the Federal Government's 33-year old promise to fund 40 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure for every child in special education. The Federal Government now funds less than half of this commitment, because of the economic shortfall at the local level that is being exacerbated by the current crisis. I am also pleased that this legislation makes a key investment in upgrading schools for the 21st century by investing in the education technology program under the No Child Left Behind Act. For low-income college students across the country, the bill increases the maximum Pell grant by $281 for the next school year, and by $400 for the year after that. College costs have risen by more than 400 percent over the past 20 years, but the size of the Pell grant has fallen far behind. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act we passed in the last Congress was a downpayment on this challenge, and this bill is another step in the right direction. In the current economic climate, this support is more important than ever. As in recessions past, Americans are entering or returning to college in record numbers. Over 6 million citizens have applied for Pell grants this year, an increase of over 10 percent compared to last year. With more and more low-income families and fewer and fewer jobs to go around, opening the doors of college to more students is a sensible response to this economic challenge. It will help us weather the crisis and better prepare our Nation to compete in the future. Our recovery won't be fair unless it also includes our Nation's youngest and most vulnerable children. This bill delivers over $1 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which will allow about 50,000 more children to participate in these programs. The size of Early Head Start will be increased by half, creating almost 30,000 jobs. Investments in high-quality early learning programs like Head Start produce excellent returns for later economic growth and job development. Currently, Head Start serves only half of eligible preschoolers, and Early Head Start serves less than 3 percent of eligible infants and toddlers. These programs have been struggling, because operating costs associated with providing high-quality early childhood education are soaring, yet staff, program hours, transportation, and other services have been declining in order to deal with a 13-percent decrease in funds. The funding in this recovery package will help Head Start Centers across the country get back on their feet and back on track serving our youngest children. The legislation also invests in essential child care assistance for children and parents. It provides an increase of $2 billion in the child care development block grant, so that States can serve an additional 480,000 needy children, and paid work opportunities are created for 190,000 caregivers. Quality child care produces long-term benefits in children's learning and development. It also allows parents to continue working productively. The licensed child care sector enables parents to earn more than $100 billion annually, generating nearly $580 billion in direct and indirect labor income and more than 15 million jobs. We know that child care is one of the largest expenses for low-income families. Between 2006 and 2007, the average cost of full-time infant child care rose by 6.5 percent, and child care costs for four-year olds rose by 5.3 percent. Yet funding for the child care development block grant has been nearly flat since 2002. As a result, nearly 140,000 fewer children are receiving Federal assistance under this program than in 2002. Only one out of every seven children eligible for assistance under this program now receives it. There is no question that the challenges we face as a nation are daunting. But they are challenges we must face together. Following the President's lead, we must ask more Americans to be part of the solution. This legislation makes that possible by including $200 million for national service programs and infrastructure, an important investment for these difficult times. With the crisis hitting community after community, the demand for services and assistance is sharply increasing. In response, more Americans, young and old, are answering the President's call to serve. They are looking for ways to help. Applications to service organizations are up. AmeriCorps members across the country are already performing this needed role, from mentoring youth whose families are struggling, to ensuring low-income individuals have a place to go home to. The increased funding for national service opportunities in this bill will enable more Americans to help those in need, and will also provide support and assistance for nonprofit organizations doing some of the most important work in our neediest communities. Much more can be done to expand these opportunities and encourage more Americans to put their skills and ingenuity to work for others in their hard-hit communities. This legislation is a significant step toward this goal. This package makes many critical investments in our infrastructure and in our future. Never has action been more urgently needed to jumpstart our economy. This recovery legislation is an indispensible and long-overdue step toward putting our economy back to work for American families. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support these strong measures and to save and create jobs. Together, we can turn our economy around and begin a new era of prosperity for all our Nation's families.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. No, it does not. Nothing in this bill should be interpreted as requiring those who do not use medical care to have an electronic health record, or requiring any individual to have an electronic record. The intention is that the national coordinator will work towards the goal of having all patients that utilize the services of ``health care providers,'' as defined in this act, to have available to them records in an interoperable electronic format instead of merely in paper form by the year 2014. Those who do not receive care and services from ``health care providers'' will not be required to have an electronic health record, nor will any individual be required to have an electronic medical record. This bill does not require the use of electronic medical records, but seeks to make such records more broadly available. Direct and Guaranteed Farm Ownership and Operating Loans

Mr. KENNEDY. That is correct. There are a few provisions in the legislation that address this issue directly. Subsection 3001(c)(3)(A)(ii) of the bill tasks the national coordinator with updating the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan to include specific objectives, milestones, and metrics with respect to ``the utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014.'' Subsection 3001(c)(6)(E) requires the national coordinator to ``estimate and publish resources required annually to reach the goal of utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014, including the required level of Federal funding, expectations for regional, State, and private investment, and the expected contributions by volunteers to activities for the utilization of such records.'' In addition, subsection 3002(b)(2)(B)(iii) of the bill designates the Health Information Technology Policy Committee with the task of making recommendations to the national coordinator for the ``utilization of a certified electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014.''

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as we consider the provisions of this legislation that provide significant incentives for the adoption of health information technology I would like to take this opportunity to explain a seemingly technical element of the language. The term ``qualified electronic health record,'' as defined in section 3000 of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section 13101 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is intended to include computerized provider order entry systems. Such systems are electronic records of health information on an individual. They include patient demographic data and health information, such as medical history and problem lists, including patient age, gender and allergy information as well as laboratory reports. Computerized provider order entry systems also have the capacity to provide clinical decision support such as medication dosing and interaction alerts, to capture and query information related to health care quality such as changes in laboratory values, and responses and reaction to medications, and to exchange electronic health information with, and integrate such information from other sources such as medication lists from a pharmacy or clinical information from a provider practice. Of course, the end goal is development and implementation of comprehensive, integrated electronic health records, and computerized provider order entry systems are an important intermediate step.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce a resolution acknowledging the outstanding achievement of an extraordinary high school athletic coach. On January 21 this year, Larry Tremblay achieved his 500th career victory as coach of the wrestling team at Winchester High School in Winchester, MA. After 29 years of success, Coach Tremblay's outstanding career reached that milestone, with his victory over Carver High School. Mr. Tremblay is one of only three Massachusetts coaches who have ever accomplished this feat. Coming off two back-to-back State championship years, and his induction to the National High School Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, the Winchester High Wrestling team is riding high under the remarkable leadership of Coach Tremblay. Appropriately the nickname of the school's beloved coach is ``Larry legend'' for his latest incredible milestone, and I commend Coach Tremblay for his skill and dedication and hard work throughout his years as Winchester High Wrestling Coach. A recent article will be of interest to all my colleagues in the Senate, and I ask unanimous consent that it may be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to support consumer advocates across the country in encouraging the new administration to restore the White House Office of Consumer Affairs. For the past 8 years, the safety and rights of consumers have taken a back seat to special interests. We are all aware of troubling reports about unsafe toys for our children, unsafe household products for our families, and even unsafe food. With a new administration focused on bringing needed change to the Nation, a new focus on consumer safety should be part of this change. During the Clinton administration, consumers had an effective advocate with a long record of commitment to protection in Ann Brown, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. But staff cutbacks in the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have further undermined effective efforts to protect consumers. Bipartisan legislation has attempted to address these challenges, but more progress is needed. Now is the time for action. The new administration can go a long way in restoring the trust of Americans in the safety of the products they use by restoring the Office of Consumer Affairs to its rightful place in the White House. I urge the administration to do so, and I ask that the editorial from the January 4 New York Times may be printed in the Record. The editorial follows. [From the New York Times, Jan. 4, 2009] A Voice for the Consumer The time has come to give the American consumer a much stronger voice in Washington. President-elect Barack Obama has already named what amounts to an energy and environmental czar in the White House, and America's beleaguered consumers deserve no less. Mr. Obama should restore the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, which vanished during the Clinton years, and appoint a director who has both the president's ear and the authority to rebuild the consumer protection agencies that were undercut or hollowed out by the fiercely anti-regulatory Bush administration. There is no shortage of agencies ostensibly designed to protect consumers. But without an emergency like killer spinach or lead in children's toys, the Bush administration has mostly failed to hear customers' complaints. The consumer safety net is simply far too weak. The Food and Drug Administration has suffered cutbacks in expert personnel, and still relies too heavily on industry to police itself. Credit-card holders who have been subject to all kinds of Dickensian tricks and traps were finally told by the Federal Reserve that relief is in sight--in 2011. Not so long ago, there was only one official toy tester at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and oversight generally was so weak that Congress was forced to step in with new protections, which still could be strengthened. It will be up to the Obama administration to bring these agencies back to life. In part this means restoring the morale of government workers who have too often been stymied by the anti-regulators at the top. It will also mean stronger consumer protection policies and hiring more skilled people. It will mean giving one official responsibility for coordinating the entire apparatus. Presidents Johnson and Carter both recognized the need for a strong person to do that job. Both chose Esther Peterson, who during about eight years in office pushed for then- radical ideas like nutritional labeling on food and truth in advertising. As the Reagan anti-government era began, the consumer protection job steadily lost clout until it was shuttered in the late 1990s. During his campaign, Mr. Obama promised consumers that he would help them get a fairer deal. As the victims of lead toys and predatory lenders can attest, they certainly need one. Restoring the Office of Consumer Affairs and appointing a director as strong and capable as Mrs. Peterson would be an encouraging first step.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, equal pay for equal work is a fundamental civil right. This principle is at the heart of our Nation's commitment to fairness. When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, he reminded us that protection against pay discrimination is ``basic to democracy.'' Those words ring even truer today. When we inaugurated Barack Obama as our new President this week, our country strongly reaffirmed its commitment to a fairer, more just American society. My good friend Senator Mikulski has taken an important step toward achieving this fairer, more just society by leading the debate in the Senate on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and I thank her for her inspired leadership. She has truly been a passionate advocate for women and others who have suffered the injustice of discrimination. I also commend Senator Harkin for the work he has done on this bill and on the Fair Pay Act. Senator Clinton has also been a champion for pay equity, and we pledge to continue her good work. We must pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It will give American workers who are victims of pay discrimination based on race, age, gender, national origin, religion, or disability a fair chance to enforce their rights. As a nation, we have often acted in recent years to expand and strengthen our civil rights laws in order to end discrimination, and we have always done so with bipartisan support. The result has been great progress towards increasing equal opportunity and equal justice for all our people, and we will never abandon this basic goal. Despite our past efforts to end pay discrimination, too many of our citizens still put in a fair day's work, but go home with less than a fair day's pay. Women, for example, bring home only 78 cents for each dollar earned by men. African American workers make only 80 percent of what White workers make and Latino workers make only 68 percent. Many qualified older workers and workers with disabilities also bear the burden of an unlawful pay gap. They are paid less than their coworkers for reasons that have nothing to do with their performance on the job. Confronting pay discrimination is about addressing the real challenges faced by real Americans to make ends meet. These challenges have been mounting in recent months, as millions of American workers struggle even harder each day to provide for their families in this troubled economy. Pay discrimination makes their struggle even harder. In these dire economic times, workers and their families can't afford to lose more economic ground--but that is just what is happening to thousands of Americans who still face pay discrimination. With the economy in a severe recession, we cannot afford to wait to fix this problem. With women and minorities still making less than White men for the same work, we can't be complacent. With thousands of workers facing discrimination because of their race, their sex, their national origin, their age, their religion, and their disability every year, we must continue the battle to end this national disgrace. Lilly Ledbetter's own case demonstrates the financial toll that pay discrimination can take. Lilly made 20 percent less than her lowest paid, least experienced male colleague and almost 40 percent less than her highest paid male colleague. For Lilly and other victims like her, the cost of pay discrimination over time is large. A recent study estimates that women lose an average of $434,000 over the course of their career because of the pay gap. Not only that, but their lower wages also mean their pension benefits and their Social Security benefits are lower as well. Unless we act, thousands of American workers will continue to face the same injustice that Lilly Ledbetter has endured. It is our common responsibility to attack this problem with every tool at our disposal. Unfortunately, the challenge has been made more difficult because of the Supreme Court's decision last May that pulled the rug out from under victims of pay discrimination by making it harder for them to stand up for their rights. In Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the Supreme Court reversed decades of established law by reinterpreting existing law on equal pay and ruling that workers must file claims of pay discrimination within 180 days after an employer first acts to discriminate. Never mind that many workers, such as Ms. Ledbetter, do not know at first that they are being discriminated against. Never mind that workers often have no way to learn of the discrimination against them or gather evidence to support their suspicions because employers keep salary information confidential. Never mind that the discrimination continues each and every time an employee receives an unfair paycheck. The Ledbetter decision means that many workers across our country will be forced to live without any reasonable way to hold employers accountable when they violate the law. Employers will have free rein to continue their illegal activity, and the workers who are unfairly discriminated against will have no remedy. This result defies both justice and common sense. The American people have made clear that they are yearning for a government that promotes, not defies, justice and common sense. We can answer this call for change by quickly passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and restoring a clear and reasonable rule addressing how pay discrimination actually occurs in the workplace. The 180-day time period for filing a pay discrimination claim begins again on each date when a worker receives a discriminatory paycheck. By doing so, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ensures that employers can actually be held accountable when they break the law. Under this bill, workers can challenge ongoing discrimination as long as it continues. As long as the injustice and the damage of the discrimination continue, the right to challenge it should continue too. The bill before us restores the rules that employers and workers had lived with for decades, until the Supreme Court upended the law in the Ledbetter case. We know these rules are fair and workable. They were the law in most of the land and had the support of the EEOC under both Democratic and Republican administrations until the Ledbetter decision. There won't be any surprises after this bill passes. As the Congressional Budget Office has stated, the bill will not increase litigation costs. Congress must stand with American workers to reverse the Supreme Court's Ledbetter decision. Civil rights groups, labor unions, disability advocates, and religious groups from across the country support this legislation. Many responsible business owners also support it, especially, the members of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. The American people want us to act. In her stirring dissent in the Ledbetter case, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that ``Once again, the ball is in Congress's court.'' Nearly 2 years after she wrote those words, the ball is still in Congress's court. The House passed this important legislation last year, but the Senate dropped the ball. Now we have a new Congress and a new opportunity to master the challenge that Justice Ginsburg put to us, and we have a new President who is strongly committed to equal pay and to ending pay discrimination. I ask my colleagues to enable the march of progress on civil rights to continue. Together, let us stand with working people. Let us pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased to voice enthusiastic support for the nomination of Arne Duncan to serve as Secretary of Education, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting his nomination. Mr. Duncan brings inspiration, dedication, and ability to the field of education, and I am confident that his leadership will help move America forward to tackle the challenges present in our educational system. Last week, Mr. Duncan appeared before our Education Committee for his confirmation hearing. He was met with broad bipartisan support from members across our committee for his vision and his commitment to move American education forward at all levels--from early education through college. Mr. Duncan shared with us his very personal connection to the field of education, which first developed with his work alongside his mother in an afterschool tutoring program for needy students. Since then, he has worked to confront challenges and advance reforms as head of Chicago's schools. We are all aware of the demands on superintendents of large city school systems, which is why the average tenure of an urban school chief is less than 3 years. In Chicago, Arne Duncan has given 7. In each of those years, he focused with relentless determination on closing achievement gaps, improving teacher quality, reducing dropout rates, and better engaging communities in schools. Throughout his career, Arne Duncan has brought an impressive, can-do pragmatism to the complex challenges present in our education system. He is a leader who will bring people together, put children first, support teachers and focus on results. Each of those traits will serve all of us well as he takes the helm of the U.S. Department of Education. Today's nomination should also remind us all of the importance of education to America's future. Education is the key to opportunity and a strong economy, and America's schools and teachers are the catalysts for change. The ability of each of our young people to compete and succeed in this new, global economy depends on our ability to ensure that they receive a high-quality education. Education is also key to our national security. Skills and knowledge are the pathway to protecting America and maintaining our progress in the world. Most of all, education is key to maintaining America's greatest ideals and values, and to ensuring the vitality of our democracy. My friend and colleague, the late Claiborne Pell, used to say that the real strength and security of our nation lies in the education and character of our people. Our Founding Fathers agreed, and so did many school reformers after them, from John Dewey to Horace Mann. As Americans, we have an obligation to provide everyone--regardless of their background, economic means, disability, or language skills--with the best possible education that enables them to develop their talents and participate fully and actively in their communities and in their country. In order to achieve this goal, we need a new, major effort to confront and address the persistent challenges that are present in our educational system. This effort must span from the early years through high school, into college and beyond, and it must focus on building outstanding schools and institutions that deliver opportunity for every American to learn and succeed. Today's inauguration of our President- Elect marks our chance to write a new and better chapter in American education--one that will harness innovation, cultivate solutions, and invest wisely toward reaching our goals. Our work must begin in the early years, by recognizing that what we do for our children in their first years has a profound impact on their later learning and success. The healthy development of children depends on the relationships they build with those around them--in any early learning setting. Today, 38 States support prekindergarten programs for children, and invest more than $3.7 billion in such programs. More than a million children attend State-funded preschool, comprising 22 percent of all 4- year-olds in the Nation. Nearly 1 million more low-income children are served by the Federal Head Start and Early Head Start programs. And 12 million children under the age of 5 are in some form of child care every week--1.7 million of which receive Federal assistance to attend such programs. We must focus each of our early learning investments--at the Federal, State, and local level--on a shared goal of school readiness and quality, regardless of the child care center, preschool classroom, or early learning program in which a child participates. In the early years, quality is the key. We need a new effort to build an early education system that provides opportunities for every child to arrive at school ready with the skills necessary to succeed in kindergarten, and with a strong foundation from which to build and grow in their later academic experiences. In elementary and secondary education, we must strengthen and modernize our public schools, and move quickly to address the inequities in our system that enable persistent achievement and opportunity gaps. No Child Left Behind started us down the road of accountability and high expectations for all students. But we need a new, national strategy to implement the changes needed to better achieve the law's goals. Any effort at improving public education must begin by supporting and strengthening America's teachers, who reside on the front line of school reform. We need new avenues to attract talented individuals into the teaching profession, and better supports to ensure that they remain in the classroom. We need new ways to encourage our best teachers to serve in the neediest schools, new mechanisms for recognizing and rewarding teacher successes, greater chances for teachers to develop and share their practice, and better opportunities for teachers to become leaders and decisionmakers in their own schools. We cannot afford for America's students to be outcompeted and outpaced in this 21st century economy. We must support new efforts to increase the rigor and relevance of the school curriculum, more efficient and effective methods of testing and using school data, greater supports for disabled students and English learners, and a better-organized school schedule that maximizes learning time and provides new connections for students to develop knowledge and skills in their communities. Unlocking the doors of higher education is more important today than ever before, and the dream of a college education should be available to any student with the talent, desire, and commitment to pursue it. Yet many of America's students still lack the help and assistance they need to prepare for college. A dollar sign still bars the doors of college opportunity for too many. For others, the path to college is blocked by heavy student loan debt and unmet financial need. In the 110th Congress, we responded to these challenges by enacting the College Cost Reduction and Access Act and the Higher Education Opportunity Act. We committed to provide an unprecedented lifeline of need-based grant aid to students, to upgrade essential programs that prepare students for college, to reforming our student loan programs, and to simplifying the application process for college aid. Yet far more remains to be done to address college access and affordability, and to bring the promise of a college degree to many more students. We must make greater strides in expanding the Pell grant for America's neediest students. We need new efforts to ensure that our Federal student aid programs protect students and taxpayers from risk, new mechanisms to contain and reduce soaring college costs, and new efforts to bolster the educational pipeline by strengthening community colleges and investing in college persistence and completion. In each of these areas--early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, and higher education--there are great challenges to be met. We must forge ahead with an urgency to confront each of them head on, and improve educational opportunities for all Americans. Today is a great day that reminds us of all that's possible in the days ahead. Our work to help others achieve the American dream begins by improving education across our country. We should each dedicate ourselves to that goal, with a renewed spirit of innovation and a resolve for change. And I believe that Arne Duncan is just the person to lead us forward as our next Secretary of Education.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to pay tribute to the life of Dr. Shukri F. Khuri who, until he passed away last September 26 from a brain tumor, was one of Massachusetts' foremost physicians and a true public servant, contributing especially to the health care of our veterans. Dr. Khuri was born in Jerusalem in 1943, and fled with his parents in 1948 to Syria, later settling in Lebanon. He graduated from American University of Beirut, where he met his wife Randa, and also completed medical school at the university. He then completed his surgical training at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Khuri was remembered for the extraordinary way he answered the call to public service. He refused lucrative offers to join private surgical practices, and chose instead to combine his passion for research with his commitment to patient care. He joined the Surgical Service of the Veteran's Affairs Boston Healthcare System in 1976, where he spent the rest of his career. He rose to become Chief of Surgery at the West Roxbury VA Medical Center in 1984, Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1992, and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School in 1987. Early in his tenure at the VA, Dr. Khuri realized the need for a methodology to assist surgeons in managing the health of the heart during cardiothoracic surgery. In his quest to identify a metabolic indicator of intra-operative myocardial ischemia, Dr. Khuri invented and patented a probe that would measure the pH of the heart muscle, a device currently in the final stages of research and development. In addition to his work in surgical heart protection, Dr. Khuri was deeply interested in improving the quality of care for all surgical patients. In 1978, at West Roxbury VA Medical Center, he established the first automated data management system in a surgical intensive care unit in the Northeast. Today, the electronic patient record in the VA is by far the most advanced and comprehensive electronic medical records system in the world. Dr. Khuri also led a unique national effort within the VA which established the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program in 1994. The program is now recognized by the surgical community as the standard for the comparative assessment of quality of surgical care and for continuous improvement in surgery. This program has now become the model for a joint effort between the VA and the American College of Surgeons to incorporate data in the private sector to see that all patients receive the best care possible. In the course of his outstanding career, Dr. Khuri achieved national and international prominence. His research laboratory at West Roxbury has been continuously funded for 24 years and has trained more than 60 residents and postgraduate students in applied research. He was a member of numerous professional organizations, including the prestigious American Surgical Association, and he served on and chaired many regional and national committees, including a 3-year term as president of the Massachusetts Affiliate of the American Heart Association. Dr. Khuri was the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. He was also a regular reviewer for more than ten scientific journals, and served on the editorial board of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He was the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the 1998 Frank Brown Berry Prize, which honors an outstanding physician in the federal health care system each year. Just days after his death, Dr. Khuri was named the recipient of the 2008 Ernest Amory Codman Award for improvements in the safety of care to the public. As a Palestinian American, he felt the pain of the conflict in the Middle East firsthand, and he devoted much of his life to seeking peace in the region. He worked with groups in the Boston area to create and sustain dialogue between Israelis, Palestinians, and Jewish and Arab Americans. Dr. Khuri embodied the American story of hope, opportunity and service. He built a remarkably successful professional life as a public servant, and he also built a beautiful and loving home. His hobbies ranged from carpentry to photography to actively serving in his church. His love of life, his profound humility, his steadfast faith, and his eternally optimistic outlook will continue to inspire all those whose lives he touched. He is deeply missed by his wife and three children, his four grandchildren, his mother and brother, his many loving family members, his friends and patients, and the community he loved to serve and served so well.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I'm proud to join Senator Mikulski in introducing this legislation. Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental civil right. Over the past 4 decades, America has made enormous progress toward ensuring that all its people have an equal chance to enjoy the benefits of this great Nation. Bipartisan civil rights bills have been enacted to expand and strengthen the law to ensure fair pay for all workers. Despite these advances, civil rights is still America's unfinished business. It is therefore fitting that we open the 111th Congress with introduction of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This bill will restore the basic right of all workers, regardless of their race, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability, to be paid fairly, free from discrimination. It will restore workers' rights to challenge ongoing discrimination and hold unscrupulous employers accountable. This legislation is needed because the Supreme Court turned back our Nation's progress on equal pay with its Ledbetter decision, which undermined a core protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and overturned decades of precedent that had established a fair, workable rule for challenging pay discrimination claims. This needed bill will restore the long-standing rule that each discriminatory paycheck is a separate wrong that may be challenged by workers within the required period after receiving the check. In the Ledbetter case, a jury had found that Lilly Ledbetter was paid less than her male coworkers because she was a woman. The jury awarded back pay to Ms. Ledbetter, but the Supreme Court reversed that award, holding that she had waited too long and should have filed her lawsuit within a short time after Goodyear first began discriminating against her. Never mind that the company discriminated against her for decades, and that the discrimination continued with each new paycheck she received. Far too often, workers like Lilly Ledbetter put in a fair day's work, but go home with less than a fair day's pay. Women, African-American, and Latino workers all earn a fraction of what white male workers make. Many qualified older workers and workers with disabilities also are paid less than their coworkers for reasons unrelated to their performance on the job. It's more important than ever that we attack the problem of pay discrimination and correct the injustice caused by the Ledbetter decision. In the current economic crisis, millions of American workers are struggling to make ends meet. Pay discrimination makes that struggle harder, and workers can't afford to lose more economic ground. To protect these workers, we must move quickly to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I urge my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, to do so, and to send a strong signal that this new Congress is dedicated to standing up for fairness and equality in the workplace. The Lilly Ledbetters of our Nation deserve no less.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I'm proud to join Senator Mikulski in introducing this legislation. Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental civil right. Over the past 4 decades, America has made enormous progress toward ensuring that all its people have an equal chance to enjoy the benefits of this great Nation. Bipartisan civil rights bills have been enacted to expand and strengthen the law to ensure fair pay for all workers. Despite these advances, civil rights is still America's unfinished business. It is therefore fitting that we open the 111th Congress with introduction of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This bill will restore the basic right of all workers, regardless of their race, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability, to be paid fairly, free from discrimination. It will restore workers' rights to challenge ongoing discrimination and hold unscrupulous employers accountable. This legislation is needed because the Supreme Court turned back our Nation's progress on equal pay with its Ledbetter decision, which undermined a core protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and overturned decades of precedent that had established a fair, workable rule for challenging pay discrimination claims. This needed bill will restore the long-standing rule that each discriminatory paycheck is a separate wrong that may be challenged by workers within the required period after receiving the check. In the Ledbetter case, a jury had found that Lilly Ledbetter was paid less than her male coworkers because she was a woman. The jury awarded back pay to Ms. Ledbetter, but the Supreme Court reversed that award, holding that she had waited too long and should have filed her lawsuit within a short time after Goodyear first began discriminating against her. Never mind that the company discriminated against her for decades, and that the discrimination continued with each new paycheck she received. Far too often, workers like Lilly Ledbetter put in a fair day's work, but go home with less than a fair day's pay. Women, African-American, and Latino workers all earn a fraction of what white male workers make. Many qualified older workers and workers with disabilities also are paid less than their coworkers for reasons unrelated to their performance on the job. It's more important than ever that we attack the problem of pay discrimination and correct the injustice caused by the Ledbetter decision. In the current economic crisis, millions of American workers are struggling to make ends meet. Pay discrimination makes that struggle harder, and workers can't afford to lose more economic ground. To protect these workers, we must move quickly to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I urge my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, to do so, and to send a strong signal that this new Congress is dedicated to standing up for fairness and equality in the workplace. The Lilly Ledbetters of our Nation deserve no less.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, all of us in Massachusetts who knew her or knew of her were saddened to learn of the death of Stella May Brown Weaco at Massachusetts General Hospital on New Year's Eve. Stella was born in Mississippi, but she called Boston her home for the last 26 years of her life and she became a legend in our city. She lived on the streets, but her plight never deterred her gentle spirit. She found a home and a family in the volunteers and the fellow guests at the Women's Lunch Place, the famed daytime shelter in the city for poor and homeless women. She went there every day after the shelter opened in 1982, and she became a familiar face and beloved friend to many other members of the community. Stella had an amazingly positive impact on every person she met. She is very fondly remembered as very grateful, very amicable, and very kind. Year after year, the Women's Lunch Place tried to persuade her to accept housing, but her indomitable spirit led her to decline such assistance. Finally, when the pressures of daily living on the streets became unbearable even for Stella, she graciously accepted the help of those around her and spent the last 2 years on her life in the Pine Street Inn. Even then, Stella unfailingly came back to the Women's Lunch Place as often as she could, to seek out the familiar faces and friendships she cherished so much there. Sadly, Stella passed away on New Year's Eve, in the company of those who loved her for the joy she had given to their lives. In many ways, Stella exemplified the power and the spirit of giving and the extraordinary importance of human kindness. She'll be deeply missed, but the impact she had on all who knew her is immeasurable, and the lessons she taught will never be forgotten. Mr. President, I ask that the obituary of Stella written by Women's Lunch Place Executive Director Sharon Reilly and an eloquent column about Stella by Rachelle Cohen in the Boston Herald may be printed in the Record. The information follows: Stella Taught Us All About Grace, Dignity (By Rachelle Cohen, Jan. 5, 2009) We lost Stella on New Year's Eve. Even as the city prepared to usher out this year that nearly everyone agrees they couldn't wait to see end, this woman who had little and complained little died in the company of those who cared about her and for her. For at least a quarter of a century Stella lived on the streets. And we only know that much because she was there when the Women's Lunch Place, a daytime shelter for poor and homeless women, first opened its doors 26 years ago. For all those years she'd come for breakfast, a shower, to do her laundry, maybe take a nap and stay through lunch. For all those Thanksgivings and Christmases she had found a warm, accepting place. She was there when I reported for my first stint as a volunteer, by then Stella was an undemanding kind of queen bee--occupying her favorite spot against the wall in the dining room. She was engaging and gracious, accepting a pancake with butter and syrup as if it were a special gift. Stella became the ultimate challenge for Lunch Place staff over the years. The confusion that reigned in her head--which often made her insist she was descended from royalty or needed to return to her real home in Jerusalem--also made her refuse any kind of housing. For more than two decades this tugging and pulling continued. As one former staffer put it, ``she broke your heart'' when she left the shelter at its 2:30 p.m. closing time, heading out into bruising heat in the summer, into the cold and the snow on wintry days. Housing--temporary or permanent--wasn't for her, nor was the medication that might have allowed her to see the world differently. But her decades on the streets began to take their toll on Stella. And, frankly she was no match for the Lunch Place staffers who were tireless in their devotion and relentless in their efforts to make whatever time remained for Stella safe and comfortable. So for the last two years of her life Stella had a roof over her head and a place to call home. And at the end of her days she had what so many others with so much more in material wealth would envy. She had at her bedside people who loved her. They loved her--we all loved her--for the simplest of reasons. She returned our affection and our kindness ten-fold. She taught us that grace and dignity aren't a function of wealth or power. And at the beginning of a new year she reminded us--even in death--that being poor or homeless or mentally ill doesn't rob you of that grace or that dignity. That comes from within. Stella taught us that.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I join Senators on both sides of the aisle in paying tribute to our dear colleague and dear friend from West Virginia on this historic occasion of his 50th anniversary in the Senate. On January 7, 1959, Robert C. Byrd was sworn in as a Senator for the people of his beloved West Virginia, and in the years since then, he is become truly one of the greatest Senators ever to serve in this Chamber. I have served with Bob for 46 of those years. I have immense respect for him, and I am proud to say that we have become close friends. I love Robert C. Byrd. It wasn't always this way. There was a time that Senator Byrd and I were rivals, each with eyes on the position of majority whip. I was elected to that position after the 1968 election, but as I have often said, Bob taught me how to count votes in 1970 when he defeated me for reelection. It turned out to be a blessing for both of us. Bob would go on to become one of the finest majority leaders in the history of the Senate, and the defeat freed me to concentrate on my legislative passions of health care, education, labor, and civil rights. In a very real sense Bob liberated me, and as our leader in many of those years he was especially helpful in accomplishing my goals. The Bob Byrd I have come to know is a patriot, a passionate defender of the Constitution and the special role of the Senate, and an eloquent historian of the Senate, who has brilliantly served the people of his State. I have so many wonderful memories of our relationship, but there are two recent ones I want to mention here. The first has to do with the Iraq war. When President Bush set us on this course, few had the courage and strength to question, let alone oppose, this rush to war, but Bob Byrd stood strong against it. Facing enormous pressure, he led the opposition. He was in the minority--a lonely minority--but he was unbowed. He was right, and I am sure that history will judge his courageous leadership well. The second memory is of a campaign trip I took to West Virginia in the fall of 2004 to support our candidate John Kerry. We crisscrossed the State from Charleston to Mingo County, and what I saw everywhere was the extraordinary love and affection the people of West Virginia have for Bob and that he has for them. It was an amazing and touching thing to sense the deep bond between this great man and the people he has so ably represented in Washington for so long. It is an experience I will never forget. Now, as we reflect on his unparalleled career in the Senate on this special 50th anniversary, I congratulate our friend. I thank him for all he has done so well for so many for so long. On this golden anniversary of his arrival in the Senate, I think of the famous lines of A. E. Housman about the ``golden friends'' the poet had. Bob Byrd is our golden friend, and we are all deeply honored to have the privilege of serving with him.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, it is a privilege to bring to the attention of my colleagues the remarkable record of humanitarian work and numerous accomplishments of Albert Corcos, one of the truly great humanitarian leaders of our time He is now 98 and lives in Concarneau, France, with his loving wife Camille. He recently completed his memoir spanning his incredible career, during which he was awarded the Legion of Honor in France and a distinguished Royal Award from Thailand. I first became acquainted with Mr. Corcos's humanitarian activities when I was serving as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugees in the 1970s. In fact, Mr. Corcos had begun his extraordinary career a generation earlier, by coordinating the international effort in 1945 to resettle millions of displaced persons and refugees uprooted by World War II. He was a young man of immense energy and compassion and had been persuaded to use those talents to work with the new United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration to help refugees and displaced persons in Europe. He had actually had an even earlier role, performing the hazardous duty of a young courier for the French resistance during the war. The good work that best exemplifies Mr. Corcos's compassionate concern for the disadvantaged was his indispensible role in coming to the aid of the Indochinese refugees. After an already very full career with the International Organization for Migration and its predecessors working to resettle the displaced, he blazed a unique trail in developing and implementing the initial response to one of the great humanitarian crises of the time--the international response to the exodus of 1.5 million Indochinese refugees in the 1970s. As Indochinese refugees flowed into neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, in 1975, it was a monumental challenge to find opportunities for their resettlement in the United States and other Western nations and to provide the logistical support to make it possible. It was vital to move the refugees out of the region rapidly, in order to keep the doors open in the first asylum countries of the region. The goal was to prevent the land borders from being closed, which would have forced refugees to take to the sea in desperation and cost thousands of lives. Mr. Corcos postponed his retirement and put together and oversaw the system for processing and transporting refugees to the United States and other countries for resettlement. The challenges were extraordinary. The refugees were strewn across dozens of camps from northern Thailand to Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Each refugee had to be documented, fingerprinted, photographed, given medical examinations and issued transit papers. The refugees then had to be booked on flights to resettlement countries, even as air commerce shrank in Southeast Asia after 1975. The creativity, courage, and perseverance of Mr. Corcos and his team in making this process run smoothly was amazing and won him well deserved international praise. Mr. Corcos came out of retirement again in 1979 to deal with a second surge of Indochinese refugees. This time, the numbers were even more enormous, but he was skillfully able to replicate the process of earlier years on a much larger regional basis. Mr. Corcos is a true humanitarian and made a vast difference in the lives of countless refugees fleeing from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in the 1970s. He is a legend among those who created and benefitted from the Indochinese Refugee Program, and his legacy will forever be remembered.