Ted Kennedy

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, will the Senator yield? Is this the total time? I thought we had a minute on each side on each amendment. Are we now debating the Enzi underlying amendment?

Mr. KENNEDY. Parliamentary inquiry, Madam President: I thought we were having the 2 minutes prior to each vote just over the course of the day on these different amendments. It is my mistake because I thought we were just voting on the Ensign amendment, and then, when we disposed of that, we would have a vote up or down on the underlying amendment. But I guess that is not the way we are going to proceed.

Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the chairman of the Budget Committee.

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, we should not penalize the children of Louisiana and the gulf, once by the storm and once by this amendment. This amendment does not have accountability. It allows Federal funds to be used for religious purposes. It guts the civil rights protections of our proposal. For the sake of the children and for the sake of the schools, I hope this amendment will be defeated. Amendment No. 2404 to Amendment No. 2352, as Modified (Purpose: To provide assistance for elementary and secondary schools and students, and institutions of higher education, affected by Hurricane Katrina)

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, as I understand it, Senator Enzi has made the point of order, has he not, on this amendment?

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, as the chairman of the committee has pointed out, we have reviewed and cleared this with constitutional authorities. This is an indirect way of providing help and assistance to the children. The alternative is effectively a voucher program. We have tried to stay clear from ideological fixes on this. Let's treat the children with respect and the schools with respect and in the generosity with which they have treated these children. I hope the amendment will be defeated.

Mr. KENNEDY. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2352, as Modified

Mr. KENNEDY. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. The October 31 issue of Time magazine contains a brief and extraordinary article about the Coast Guard's brilliant efforts to assist the devastated people of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when the Federal agencies were so incompetent in their efforts to provide relief. As one local official noted, the Coast Guard ``was the only Federal Agency to provide any significant assistance for a full week after the storm.'' The Coast Guard deserves great credit for its superb performance and I ask unanimous consent that this article may be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it's a privilege to join Senator DeWine in introducing this bipartisan legislation to build on the promise and possibilities of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our bill, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act-- the CLASS Act--will help large numbers of Americans who struggle everyday to live productive lives in their communities. Too many Americans are perfectly capable of living a life in the community, but are denied the supports they need. They languish in needless circumstances with no choice about how or where to obtain these services. Too often, they have to give up the American Dream the dignity of a job, a home, and a family--so they can qualify for Medicaid, the only program that will support them. The bill we propose is a long overdue effort to offer greater dignity, greater hope, and greater opportunity. It makes a simple pact with all Americans--``If you work hard and contribute, society will take care of you when you fall on hard times.'' The concept is clear--everyone can contribute and everyone can win. We all benefit when no one is left behind. For only $30 a month, a person who pays into the program will receive either $50 or $100 a day, based on their ability to carry out basic daily activities. They themselves will decide how this assistance will be spent--on transportation so they can stay employed, or on a ramp to make their home more accessible, or to cover the cost of a personal care attendant or a family caregiver. It will help keep families together--instead of being torn apart by obstacles that discourage them from staying at home. The bill will strengthen job opportunities for people with disabilities at a time when 70 percent are unemployed. They have so much to contribute and the bill will help them do it. It will save on the mushrooming health care costs for Medicaid, the Nation's primary insurer of long-term care services, which also forces beneficiaries to give up their jobs and live in poverty before they become eligible for assistance. The CLASS Act is a hopeful new approach to restoring independence and choice for millions of these persons and enabling them to take greater control of their lives. It's time to respect the rights and dignity of all Americans, and I look forward to working with Senator DeWine and other colleagues to see this bill enacted into law. I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the CLASS Act legislation be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. I am pleased to join my colleagues, Senator Murray and Senator Enzi, discussing the important issue of ending the practice of providing lenders a 9.5 percent interest rate on student loans. I thank Senator Murray for her leadership on the issue. We have been working together to close this loophole for several years now. As she mentioned, we passed the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act last year, and that was a good first step in the right direction. I would also like to thank Chairman Enzi for his willingness to work with us in extending that important piece of legislation in the context of the reauthorization of higher education and for his commitment to continue to work on the issue as we move to conference on that bill. As Senator Murray pointed out, the Federal Government will spend $1 billion annually in additional interest on recycled loans through this program unless we end the practice completely. There is no doubt that some of the lenders--particularly the nonprofits--are putting that excess profit to good use, but we need to make sure all of this funding is being used in the best way possible to make college more accessible for the neediest students. The best way to do this is to end the practice of recycling. Currently the taxpayers are spending $2.7 million each day that we allow the recycling of these loans, and too much of that is going to line the pockets of for-profit lenders. Too much of that money is adding to the enormous salaries of CEOs instead of helping low-income students realize their dream of going to college. We need to make a conscious choice to help students and not banks. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues, Chairman Enzi and Senator Murray, on this issue as we move into conference with the House.

Mr. KENNEDY. That would be fine.

Mr. KENNEDY. If the Chair would let me know when there is 1 minute remaining. In a bipartisan way, our Health and Education Committee, under the leadership of Senator Enzi, has found some $2.7 billion that can be used for education. Under the Landrieu amendment, $1.1 billion of that will be used to reduce origination fees that help students all over the country. The rest, $1.6 billion, would be used to help the 370,000 children who have been displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina. This will be the only opportunity in the Senate to help children who have been displaced from their education. This is the only opportunity for the Senate to take action. On August 29, when that hurricane came through the gulf and flooded Louisiana and caused havoc along the coast, schools were decimated. Hundreds of thousands of children have all been displaced. Schools--public, private, and also church-related-- have welcomed these children into their midst, across the Nation. This amendment is one-shot, one-time, temporary assistance to those schools that are accepting displaced children and need support. There are some who have said: We can't do this because this is a voucher program. I have been opposed to vouchers because we have scarce resources. And if we have scarce education resources, we ought to use them for public schools. We don't have that choice today. There are no public schools. This was an equal opportunity disaster for children, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, across the gulf. We have one opportunity, only one opportunity, to provide some help, and it is our amendment. We provide all kinds of protections to ensure this aid is temporary and for the schools that opened their doors to displaced students. This is about children. It is simple. These children, these schools, need assistance. I reject those arguments that say this is a foot in the door. I was around here when we passed Medicare, and they said: This is socialized medicine. That was poppycock then. It is poppycock now. Let us help those children. Let's say for those children who were impacted by this disaster, let us provide help to the schools that have opened their arms to embrace these children for a limited period of time. I thank the Senator from Louisiana for sponsoring the amendment with my distinguished colleagues on the Education Committee and myself, and I urge the Senate to approve the amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it's a privilege to join Senator DeWine in introducing this bipartisan legislation to build on the promise and possibilities of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our bill, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act-- the CLASS Act--will help large numbers of Americans who struggle everyday to live productive lives in their communities. Too many Americans are perfectly capable of living a life in the community, but are denied the supports they need. They languish in needless circumstances with no choice about how or where to obtain these services. Too often, they have to give up the American Dream the dignity of a job, a home, and a family--so they can qualify for Medicaid, the only program that will support them. The bill we propose is a long overdue effort to offer greater dignity, greater hope, and greater opportunity. It makes a simple pact with all Americans--``If you work hard and contribute, society will take care of you when you fall on hard times.'' The concept is clear--everyone can contribute and everyone can win. We all benefit when no one is left behind. For only $30 a month, a person who pays into the program will receive either $50 or $100 a day, based on their ability to carry out basic daily activities. They themselves will decide how this assistance will be spent--on transportation so they can stay employed, or on a ramp to make their home more accessible, or to cover the cost of a personal care attendant or a family caregiver. It will help keep families together--instead of being torn apart by obstacles that discourage them from staying at home. The bill will strengthen job opportunities for people with disabilities at a time when 70 percent are unemployed. They have so much to contribute and the bill will help them do it. It will save on the mushrooming health care costs for Medicaid, the Nation's primary insurer of long-term care services, which also forces beneficiaries to give up their jobs and live in poverty before they become eligible for assistance. The CLASS Act is a hopeful new approach to restoring independence and choice for millions of these persons and enabling them to take greater control of their lives. It's time to respect the rights and dignity of all Americans, and I look forward to working with Senator DeWine and other colleagues to see this bill enacted into law. I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the CLASS Act legislation be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Seven minutes is fine.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I commend the Senators from North Dakota and from Florida, my colleagues, who have spoken so eloquently about the fundamental challenge facing this Nation in terms of its priorities. They have outlined in significant detail the choices before this country. We will define the priorities this week and next week in allocating scarce resources for this Nation. They have spoken very clearly, effectively and convincingly. I intend to support their leadership on the underlying legislation. A few hours ago I had the opportunity with my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, Senator Specter, to attend at NIH the President's announcement of his program on the avian flu virus. This is an issue which the Senate has also, appropriately, focused on. We have had a number of colleagues very much involved in this debate, led by my friend, the Senator from Iowa, Senator Harkin, including Senator Obama from Illinois, Senator Reid from Nevada, Senator Bayh from Indiana, and Senator Durbin from Illinois. Others have been very much involved in this issue, including the majority leader and others. Last week, the Senate appropriated $7.9 billion to develop the vaccines, antivirals, global detection system, surge capacity, and other priorities necessary to protect the public health. The President reiterated strong support for those efforts. Global detection is a high priority; the ability to detect locally in the United States, a high priority; the development of vaccines, a high priority; the development of antivirals, a high priority; and cell research, a high priority, so we can have an alternative in the development of vaccines as opposed to research on eggs which have been used in the past. We have, at last, a proposal by the administration on how we ought to deal with the avian flu. I commend the leadership provided by the chairman of our HELP Committee, Senator Enzi, and also Senator Burr, who has been very involved and active in developing legislation, including incentives to attract new investment into developing and stockpiling antivirals and vaccines. Hopefully, we will be able to work out a system by which those, particularly the first responders, who take the vaccines or antivirals and suffer adverse consequences will have some opportunity for compensation. We also want to make sure the companies are going to reproduce these products in ways which meet high standards, and we are in the process of doing that. Senator Enzi and Senator Burr have been working on this issue for some time. We have all enjoyed working with them. We will all examine carefully the details of the President's preliminary proposal. The Senate is on record now, voting for $7.9 billion for these endeavors. This has been an enormously important undertaking. The President has talked about $7.1 billion; the Senate passed the Harkin proposal for $7.9 billion; and Senator Gregg has offered $4.4 billion. The appropriations will have to be worked on through. Under the leadership of Senator Harkin, the Senate has responded to this challenge with a very effective downpayment. We certainly look forward to working with the administration on the proposal we have just received. As we talk about priorities for this country, I also want to mention the achievement of our Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions under the leadership of Senator Enzi. The bill we reported significantly and dramatically increases need-based aid and other benefits for students struggling to afford college. The bill includes $11.5 billion in new funding for this purpose, and still meets the reconciliation target for savings mandated by the Committee on the Budget. The House did not follow that pattern. The House did not follow the pattern of the Senate. But we will see an increase from $4,050 to $4,500 in the maximum grant for Pell- eligible students. That is an extraordinary achievement and accomplishment. As one who has been out here, even recently, trying to get an increase of $200 in the Pell grants, to know this is going to be achieved--a $450 increase--is enormously important. Then there are the additional kinds of programs that will provide some $1,500 on top of that for Pell-eligible students studying math and science and high-need foreign languages. It is really a downpayment, in a very important way, in improving the nation and making the nation more competitive in math and science. So I certainly hope our colleagues will get a chance to examine exactly what we did on the higher education proposals. There are some items that I might have altered or changed, but I think the overall results on this will be enormously important to students. Mr. President, how many minutes do I have remaining?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask the Senator, may I have 2 more minutes?

Mr. KENNEDY. Finally, when we are talking about the substance of the matter on education and what has been achieved, we also want to be very conscious of the fact that some 370,000 children in the Gulf area--in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama--were displaced by the hurricanes. We know there has been an enormous upheaval in these children's lives. We have not, to this date, provided help and assistance to those children and to the schools that are trying to educate those children. I certainly hope in this reconciliation bill we have the opportunity to provide a downpayment to help those children. We have listened to the eloquence of the Senators from Louisiana, from all the Senators from the gulf region, but particularly the Senators from Louisiana, Mary Landrieu and David Vitter--others as well--on this issue. But I would hope from the eloquence and the sense of need that has been outlined on the floor, and in meetings that all of us have had with Senator Landrieu and others about the needs of these children, that we would somehow find the opportunity to provide help and assistance to these children in this current legislation. I see on the floor the former Secretary of Education, Senator Alexander, who has fashioned and shaped and worked with us on a proposal that can make an important difference to the children in that region. I am very thankful to him, and to Senator Dodd, and of course to our chairman, Senator Enzi, for all their work on this. I am very hopeful we will have an opportunity, this week, to meet our responsibilities to these children. These children did not know about this hurricane. The hurricane affected children in public schools and private schools. I think this is an urgent national challenge in a very real way. When children are presented with that kind of a situation, common sense, decency, and our values require us to provide help and assistance to them. Our children and our schools cannot wait any longer for the relief they so obviously and urgently need and deserve. I look forward to working with our colleagues to address those particular needs this week. I thank my colleague, Senator Conrad, for yielding this time.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I strongly support the amendment offered by Senator Bingaman to provide $60 million to strengthen programs critical to the success of Hispanic children and youth in our schools, community colleges, and universities. The No Child Left Behind Act laid a new foundation for our commitment to a quality education for all children. That landmark legislation, enacted 3 years ago, contained the formula for success for all students: well-qualified teachers, effective instruction, especially for children with limited English skills, additional assistance for students who fall behind in school, and the accountability essential to ensure that no child is in fact left behind. But none of those reforms can succeed without the resources necessary to make them possible. The bill before us falls far too short of delivering the educational opportunity promised to Hispanic students in the No Child Left Behind Act. We can clearly do more to enable Hispanic children to have access to the best possible education. The Bingaman amendment before us will add urgently needed funds and restore the integrity of key Hispanic programs that have been eliminated or underfunded in the bill. Hispanic children are the Nation's fastest growing student population. The number of Hispanic students in America's classrooms has grown by 61 percent since 1990. Despite this growth, too many of these children are being denied the support they need to succeed in school. In fact, Hispanic students drop out of high school at an unacceptable rate of 52 percent. The Bingaman amendment restores funding for the School Dropout Prevention Program, which helps States and school districts implement research-based, sustainable dropout prevention programs and re-entry programs to help students who fall behind academically. At a time when we are working to narrow achievement gaps, this important program is more essential than ever, and is geared to ensure that all children graduate with a high school diploma. By contrast, the underlying bill eliminates this program entirely and is an insult to every Hispanic child in America. The amendment also invests an additional $10 million to restore title III and expand its services to an additional 16,000 English-language- learners throughout the Nation. This year, we are adequately serving only 1 in every 5 of these students under title III. All English language-learners deserve access to good bilingual programs, with well- qualified teachers to help them learn English and meet high academic standards. The Bingaman amendment also provides funds for another provision in the No Child Left Behind Act, the Parent Information Resource Centers and Local Family Information Centers programs. The amendment adds $13 million for Parent Information Resource Centers, bringing total funding to $55 million. Because Local Family Information Centers can be funded only if funds for the parent centers are over $50 million, the Bingaman amendment enables the local centers to receive funding for the first time ever. The $5 million that the amendment provides for the Local Family Information Centers is an important step in involving parents in their children's education, and is especially important for parents of English-language-learners who may need more assistance in navigating the school system. The amendment also benefits the 750,000 children of migrant farmworkers, by providing an additional $9 million for the Migrant Education Program. These children face many obstacles to their education, including dire poverty, geographic and cultural isolation, and outright bigotry. The Migrant Education Program was created in 1966 to reduce these obstacles, coordinate educational services to migrant children, and lay the foundation for them to succeed in school and in life. This amendment will provide a range of supplemental support services to migrant students, including the assurance that their school records will follow them from school to school as their families relocate to new areas of the region of the Nation. The Bingaman amendment will also help migrant students go to college and complete college, by investing an additional $5 million in the High School Equivalency Program and the College Assistance Migrant Program. These two programs are lifelines of college opportunity for migrant students. They use proven strategies to help migrant students complete high school and graduate from college. They provide instruction and counseling for those who have dropped out of school to get back on track, and they provide valuable guidance to migrant high school graduates in their first year of college. By contrast, the bill before us freezes funding for these two programs at this year's levels of $18.7 million for the high school program and $15.5 million for the freshman college program. It carries forward a cut of $4.4 million from last year, which resulted in the elimination of five parts of the high school program. We need to do more, not less, to help migrant students succeed in school and college. Reductions in these valuable programs should be unacceptable to us all. Finally, the Bingaman amendment provides an additional $9.9 million to support the nearly 250 colleges and universities across the country designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions. Over half of all Hispanic students enrolled in higher education are served by these colleges and universities. They enable tens of thousands of Hispanic students every year to continue their education and obtain a college degree. Investing in the education of Hispanic children is a vital part of assuring the future strength and well-being of our Nation. I strongly urge the Senate to support the Bingaman amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the Harriet Miers confirmation process has been one of the most unusual and troubling Supreme Court nominations in our modern history. The loudest voices heard in this process were the voices of the extreme factions of the President's own political party. They had a litmus test, and they decided Harriet Miers didn't meet that test even before giving her a fair chance to have her own voice heard. That is not what the confirmation process is about, and their litmus test is not what the Supreme Court is about. The more Ms. Miers's record indicated that she might in fact be personally committed to the basic constitutional rights and liberties that make our country what it is for all Americans, the more committed those extreme groups and their partisan voices in the media became to prevent her nomination from being confirmed by the Senate. Most of us in the Senate were ready to give Harriet Miers a fair chance and a fair hearing. We wanted to have a dignified process in which the evidence would come first, and then the decision, and Harriet Miers deserved that chance. It is disingenuous for the President to suggest that Senators' insistence on White House records was somehow responsible for the withdrawal of the Miers' nomination. If the President were willing to stand up to the extremists in his party, a realistic compromise could easily have been found on this issue. The fact that the White House and Senate Republicans were not willing to stand up for principle and fairness against the extremists in their midst should be disturbing to all Americans. But now we have all seen that fringe of our society at its worst, and we know that their agenda is not the Nation's agenda. President Bush has an opportunity now to unite the country. In choosing the next nominee, he should listen to all Americans, not just the far right. If he does, we can have a smooth and dignified confirmation process and avoid the kind of harsh battle that the extremists on the right seem bent on provoking. President Bush should take whatever time is necessary to find a consensus nominee to fill Justice O'Connor's seat on the Court. Justice O'Connor is willing to serve the Court and the Nation for as long as it takes, so there is no need to rush to send a new nominee to the Senate. Hopefully, the next selection will share Justice O'Connor's values and her commitment to the Nation's progress in achieving equal rights for all. We are reminded that the nomination of Justice O'Connor was sent to the Senate by President Reagan and had a unanimous vote in the Senate. She has served with great distinction and eloquence and is a beloved figure in the United States. That kind of nomination brought the country together. It certainly is an opportunity now for the President to follow what President Ronald Reagan did in bringing the country together on a Supreme Court nominee. It seems to me that would best serve the country, best serve the Constitution, and best serve the Supreme Court. Amendment No. 2283, as Modified Mr. President, I thank my friend from Iowa, Senator Harkin, for his extraordinary leadership on the issue of avian flu. I thank my other colleagues in the Senate--Senator Reid, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Durbin, and others--who have been important voices in helping us focus the attention of this body on the issue of avian flu. I also acknowledge the support that has been given to the Harkin proposal by the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee dealing with health, Senator Specter. I also acknowledge and commend the work of my colleagues and friends, the chairman of our Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Enzi, and Senator Burr, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness. He has spent a great portion of his time in the Senate, working on biodefense and related public health threats, and the challenges in developing countermeasures, vaccines and antivirals to deal with new public health challenges. We are at a very important step. We are on an issue which is of such central importance to health care that we have seen the Senate come together. There are a lot of issues that are divisive, but it seems that we are making remarkable progress in this area. Our legislation is timely. I remind the Senate that this issue, pandemic flu, has been a concern of the world community for some time. This chart says, ``The U.S. Missed the Warning Signs of the Flu Pandemic.'' The Institute of Medicine warned us about this in 1992; then we had the General Accounting Office warning us in November of 2000. This is what the General Accounting Office had stated: Influenza pandemic. Plan Needed for Federal and State Response, November 2000. Despite these warnings, we still do not have a plan. The warnings continue: In the year 2001, we had the warning of the European Commission, and in 2002 the World Health Organization. And then we have had recent outbreaks take place in South Korea and Vietnam. The current avian flu strain poses a deadly threat. If you have this virus, this chart displays the chances of survival. One can see from this chart that there is only a 50-percent chance of survival. Granted, there have only been several dozen cases in each of these countries, but nonetheless, this figure, of 50 percent, does show that we are in great danger if there is a pandemic. We have seen other countries move ahead: Japan released its pandemic plan in October 1997; Canada, February 2004; the Czech Republic, April 2004; Hong Kong, February 2005; Britain, March 2005; and the United States, we're still waiting. What is important here is the fact that we are taking three major approaches to preparing for a pandemic. One, we are going to have an important commitment to stockpiling antivirals and vaccines. That is going to be enormously important, particularly given the fact that we have such an inadequate stockpile today. We've stockpiled antivirals for only 1 percent of the population. This is incredibly low in comparison to other countries. With this amendment, we will have the opportunity to stockpile what is needed. Secondly, we will be supporting efforts to detect the potential spread of the virus globally and in the United States, and we provide resources to contain it and improve our surge capacity, which is enormously important. I know there are some differences with our friends and colleagues on the other side about the public health aspects of this. And I know Senator Burr is strongly committed to doing a review of the entire public health system and making a series of recommendations--which I think are going to be enormously important, and I look forward to joining him--but this is a small downpayment to ensure we begin making progress in the area of pandemic preparedness and public health. A review of any other country's pandemic preparedness plan will show that it is not only the stockpiling of the vaccines and antivirals that's needed, but also the public health component. So this has that dimension, which is very important: improving the public health system, and stockpiling antivirals and vaccines. The third aspect, which will be included in the proposal by Senator Enzi and Senator Burr and others, will deal with the incentives that will be made available to industry to develop countermeasures and vaccines, and also, hopefully, some compensation, for example, for first responders who might take a particular vaccine or antiviral that might not have gone through the complete safety process at the FDA and still, as a first responder, be committed and dedicated to protecting the public. We want to make sure that if those individuals, who are committed to protecting the public, suffer from an adverse reaction to the vaccine or antiviral, they won't be left high and dry. They deserve protection for themselves and for their families. This is a complex issue, but I think the Senate has come together and will come together with the succeeding legislation in a very important way. The final dimension is where the administration, HHS, will be in terms of their plan. We eagerly await its release. We understand it will be forthcoming in a very short period of time, but we don't have it yet. We have seen examples of national pandemic plans, for example, the Canadian plan which was issued in 2004, that talks about what does this plan address? Who is responsible for pandemic planning? It goes into the roles and responsibilities of all of the different governmental agencies. Why is this an important health issue? It goes into great detail about what is going to be communicated to the public, the legal considerations, the ethical considerations, and then it goes into what preparations are being made. It addresses specific components of the preparation: surveillance, vaccine, antivirals, health service, emergency planning, emergency service, public health interests, communications, and then what needs to happen to ensure a comprehensive response. It goes into a whole series of recommendations and details what will be involved in the recovery. This plan is very thorough. I think the American people are entitled to that kind of plan in order to protect their health and safety. I thank Senator Harkin, Senator Specter, my friend and colleague Senator Enzi, Senator Burr, and others who have been involved. I think this is going to be an enormously important and historic action by the Senate when it is completed.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I thank our leaders on education: Senator Byrd on Title I, Senator Dodd on the Head Start program, and Senator Clinton on IDEA. As I did yesterday, I pay tribute to the chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Specter, because when education issues have been before the Senate, he has voted for increases in funding. But the Senator from West Virginia will remember, during the budget consideration, this body asked for $5 billion more in education funding. The budget went to conference. We did not get $5 billion. We did not get $4 billion. We did not get $3 billion. We did not get $2 billion. We did not get $1 billion. We got zero. Now we have the opportunity, with the amendment offered by the Senator from West Virginia, to do something for the neediest children in this country. Those are Title I children. In the early 1960s, this Nation made a commitment and said: For the poorest of the poor children in this Nation, we are going to recognize a national responsibility. Those were Title I children. We have, over a long period of time, tried to focus on improving opportunities for the most disadvantaged students. But as my friends and colleagues on our Education Committee said, we heard the President of the United States say: We are going to do even more for those children with the No Child Left Behind Act. Instead what we have seen is a failure to meet that commitment. One of the most important reasons for supporting the Senator from West Virginia, the Senator from Connecticut, and the Senator from New York on their amendments is that we find, when we provide this help and assistance, it works. You have positive results. I refer you to what has happened in my own State of Massachusetts. Today, in my State of Massachusetts, we are No. 1 in the country for fourth graders and tied for first for eight graders on the Nation's Report Card because we did a real No Child Left Behind, the Education Reform Act, 8 years before the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law. The reforms included smaller class sizes, better trained teachers, and supplementary services. Parents were involved in decisionmaking. This is what the Senator from West Virginia wants to do. He wants to make sure the whole country can catch up and make sure we keep the commitment we made when this President signed the No Child Left Behind Act and said we were going to have proficiency guaranteed to all the children in this country. The Senator from West Virginia says: Well, we are not going to leave the more than 3 million children behind who will be left behind without his particular amendment. I thank the Senator from West Virginia for offering the amendment. I hope the Senate will adopt it. Finally, Mr. President, I am a strong supporter of and pay tribute to our leader on Head Start, the Senator from Connecticut, who used to be the chairman of our children's caucus. He has been the battler and fighter for the program. Every study shows that the money invested in children at the earliest age is the most productive and useful in education. Head Start children are less likely to repeat a grade, less likely to need special education services, and more likely to complete school. I also applaud the work of the Senator from New York on IDEA. We are far behind in meeting our responsibility to many of the children who have faced some of the most difficult challenges--those who have both physical and mental disabilities. The amendment offered by the Senator will go a long way to providing the resources needed to ensure that students with disabilities receive the resources they need to succeed. I applaud her efforts. With these amendments on Title I, Head Start and IDEA, we have an opportunity to speak about the future. Education is about opportunity. It is about fairness. It is about competitiveness. And it is about national security. Hopefully, the Senate will go on record and support these three measures. Our children and our schools need our help. They need it now more than ever, and so does the Nation. I urge my colleagues to approve all three of these amendments.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, this deals with immigration. On that immigration committee, I am sure others have had an opportunity to see it. I wonder if the Senator could just let me have a few minutes to look at it prior to making that request.

Mr. KENNEDY. I am sure I will not object, but just the way it was described, I didn't understand it the way it had been explained to me. If the chairman would extend that opportunity, I would appreciate it. Amendment No. 2268

Mr. KENNEDY. No objection, Mr. President.

Mr. KENNEDY. I ask if the Chair will be good enough to let me know when I have 3 minutes remaining.