John Kerry

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I say to Mayor Bruno, residents of Ramatuelle, France, and especially to all the French and American veterans gathered for this important event, I am honored to lend my voice from afar to the chorus of those who celebrate the past, present, and future of the extraordinary bond between our two great nations. At watershed moments in history, France and America have always looked across the sea to each other in friendship and fidelity. When the British colonies reached their moment of truth, our Founding Fathers stood shoulder to shoulder with Marquis de Lafayette, Comte de Rochambeau, and countless other Frenchmen who never made it home. Many French were, as we would later say, ``present at the creation'' of the United States. And our great experiment, in turn, helped inspire the French to not just dream of, but actually take to the streets and demand, ``liberty, equality, and brotherhood'' for all of their own people and all of mankind. So when our military leaders came together to liberate France from Nazi Germany, we weren't inventing a new story from whole cloth. We were reaffirming a centuries-old friendship, giving new life to the timeless ideals we share and the recurrent sense on both sides of the ocean that the fates of our nations are forever linked. GEN Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, commander of the French forces in Operation Dragoon, used to tell a powerful story about a meeting with his American counterpart, GEN Alexander ``Sandy'' Patch. Unlike Sandy Patch, General de Lattre lived long enough after the war to reflect on his experiences. When Patch granted him the support he needed to take the fight to the Nazis, de Lattre wrote that, ``I suddenly saw the clear, grave eyes of the American commander soften. With hesitation that was full of shyness, he brought out his pocket-book and from it he took a flower with two stems, which was beginning to fade. `Look,' he said, breaking it into two and handing me one of the stems, `a young girl gave me it on the slopes of Vesuvius on the day before we embarked. She said it would bring me luck. Let us each keep half and it will take our two armies side by side on the road to victory.' '' As the French General said, it was ``a touching wish which was answered by heaven.'' General Patch's gift was the personal gesture of a man who was both great and gracious. It is also a fitting metaphor for the friendship of our two countries. Each helped freedom to flower in the other, and we are bound together by the enduring fact that we each carry a part of the same idea forward with us. GEN ``Sandy'' Patch--hero at Guadalcanal, liberator of southern France, whose troops would later cross the Rhine as victors--was a great American and a great admirer of the French people. Hailing from a small mining town in the western United States near the Mexican border, Patch described General de Lattre in a letter to his wife as ``a typical, intelligent, broadly educated, volatile and attractive Frenchman.'' But when the French emerged from their homes in the liberated town of Saint Raphael and began to sing their national anthem, which had been forbidden just days before, General Patch listened to ``La Marseillaise'' with tears streaming down his face. Although Patch was famously pugnacious as a young man, he grew into a man of remarkable personal discipline who remained unafraid of battle but who, as his biographer wrote, ``had a remarkable and brooding concern about the human cost'' of war. He was a man who shunned the spotlight. It is said that when General Patch saw himself hailed on the cover of Time magazine as ``Patch de Provence,'' he never even read the article. His own sense of humility inspired his subordinates to live up to the confidence he placed in them. He was not just respected by his fellow soldiers--he was loved. Smoking his rolled up ``Bull Durham'' cigarettes, he remained to his last days an American original and, as GEN Dwight Eisenhower memorialized him, ``a soldier's soldier.'' That is what he lived to be, and that is what he was. For a soldier's soldier who died of pneumonia just 2 days short of his 56th birthday, the landing here in southern France represented the culmination of his life's work. And what an accomplishment it was: Dragoon was a remarkable undertaking, and a great success. Coming as it did 6 weeks after Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, operation Dragoon was one of the war's most poorly kept secrets. And yet it arrived with such overwhelming force that the Nazis could not resist it. 9,000 men arrived the first day by air, 77,000 by sea. By the third day, Hitler had instructed a few units to guard the ports and sent the rest of France's occupiers into retreat. He is said to have called August 15, the first day of Operation Dragoon, ``the worst day of my life.'' By August 28, the port cities of Toulon and Marseilles had fallen, and within just one month our armies had covered almost 500 miles and captured nearly 100,000 German soldiers. Of course, none of this came easy. Many suffered for the great dream of a France that was once again free--of a Europe and a world free from fascism. Women like Marie-Madeleine Fourcade and Helene Vagliano who faced torture from the Germans for their role in the French resistance--but refused to reveal any information that would endanger those who shared their cause. Men like the French commandoes who landed miles away from the main invasion force and found themselves trapped in a minefield bravely resisting German fire. Men like French Sgt Noel Texier, who landed a rubber dinghy and began climbing the 100-meter high flat face of Cap Negre, only to fall to his death and become, as far as we can tell, the first casualty of Operation Dragoon. Young men like ``Mac'' Patch--General Patch's only son, who was christened Alexander Patch III but known to everyone as ``Mac.'' Mac Patch took a direct hit from a tank gun and died fighting for a free France. Tragically, while General de Lattre's only son, Bernard, would survive World War Two, he too died just 6 years later on the battlefields of Indochina. Both generals outlived their sons, but neither by very much. Neither man outlived the crush of grief that came after. With their sons in battle, I can assure you that General Patch and General de Lattre never forgot the cost of war--the price of freedom. And neither should we. And so with enormous pride for what these men accomplished and a heavy heart for all that they lost, we come together today to mark the anniversary of the signature achievement of a great generation of men and women. We come together to commemorate a high point of French- American friendship, and to celebrate all that we won: the right to gather here today, the chance to raise our families in peace, and the right to walk as free people down free streets in a free France. On behalf of all Americans, I want to express my gratitude to the citizens of Ramatuelle for their commitment to honor this monument of liberation and for the bond forever cemented between us by the brave soldiers and citizens who stood together to make an eternal difference.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I would like to engage in a colloquy with Chairman Baucus and Senator Snowe about the payment card and third party networking information reporting provision. I am concerned about the impact this proposal will have on small businesses. It is my understanding that the proposal included in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 is a modified version of the administration's proposal that was included in administration's budget for fiscal year 2009. I ask the Chairman, can you explain who bears the reporting requirement and how the provision was modified?

Mr. KERRY. The provision requires reporting to be made on a calendar year basis. It my understanding that many retailers operate on a fiscal year basis and I want to make sure that this provision will not create an unnecessary burden on sm all retailers because they will be required to reconcile differences.

Mr. KERRY. I commend the Senator's efforts on trying to reduce the tax gap and improving the underreporting of income. I would like to continue to work with the Senator on this issue to ensure that the provision is implemented in a manner that is not burdensome to small businesses.

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I would like to engage in a colloquy with Chairman Dodd to clarify the intent of section 2203 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This provision amends section 207 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, SCRA, 50 U.S.C. App. 527, to limit the maximum interest rate for mortgages that servicemembers obtain before their military service, during the period of their service and one year thereafter. It has come to my attention that there is a drafting error in this section that does not reflect the intent of the Congress. In subsection (b), paragraph (1), the phrase, ``in excess of 6 percent'' should have included the words, ``per year.'' This would reflect the intent to limit the maximum rate of interest for servicemember obligations to 6 percent per year during the period of military service, and in the case of mortgages, for an additional year after service. Does the Chairman agree that the words ``per year'' were inadvertently omitted?

Mr. KERRY. I thank the Chairman for addressing this issue. It is the longstanding understanding of both military servicemembers and lenders that the reduction in interest under this section would be to ``6 percent per year,'' which has been existing law for many years. The provision in section 2203 was not intended to change existing law, other than to extend the interest cap of 6 percent for servicemembers' mortgages for an additional year beyond military service.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, every day millions of Americans are faced with significant challenges when it comes to meeting their own personal needs or caring for a loved one who needs significant support. Many elderly Americans and individuals of all ages with disabilities need long-term services and supports, such as assistance with dressing, bathing, preparing meals, and managing chronic conditions. They prefer to live and work in their community, and it is time that the Federal Government and states act as better partners to provide improved access to home- and community-based long-term care services HCBS. The Medicaid program, administered by the states but jointly financed with the Federal Government, is our Nation's largest payer for long- term care services. Medicaid spends about $100 billion per year on long-term services. Despite recognizing that per person spending is much lower in community settings, and that people generally prefer community services, Medicaid still spends 61 percent of its long-term services spending in institutional settings. This disparity is due, in large part, to a strong access and payment bias in the program for institutional care. Where Medicaid does offer HCBS, it is often in short supply, with more than 280,000 Medicaid beneficiaries on waiting lists for HCBS waiver services. Further, eligibility for HCBS waiver services requires beneficiaries to already have a very significant level of disability before gaining access they must meet a level of functional need that qualifies them for a nursing home. This not only contributes to the unmet needs of those in the community but it also prevents states from providing services that can help prevent beneficiaries from one day requiring high-cost institutional care. While institutionalized care may be an appropriate choice for some, it should be just that: a choice that individuals and families are allowed to make about the most appropriate setting for their own care. The result of Medicaid's ``institutional bias'' is that, according to the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, ``one in five persons living in the community with a need for assistance from others has unmet needs, endangering their health and demeaning their quality of life.'' This is simply unacceptable. The lack of long-term care options available to families has a significant impact on their lives. Many of my constituents are affected, as are countless Americans across the country. Take the parents living in Newton who continue to wait for their physically disabled daughter, Julia, to have the opportunity to live independently. Julia is a young adult and instead of starting out on her own, she must watch as her peers move away and begin their independent lives- something she yearns to do as well. Growing up, Julia was able to attend Newton schools and keep a similar schedule to other children in the community but now has limited social interaction, as there is no other option but to live at home with her parents. Julia's parents are her full time caregivers and would like to see her able to live in an environment more conducive to both her needs and their own. Community based care or home based care in an apartment she could share with a roommate are options Julia and her parents would mutually benefit from. As the opportunities for the future grow for her peers, Julia's options continue to shrink because housing and home based supports for adults with disabilities are limited at best. I have heard many stories similar to that of Julia, which emphasizes the urgency in which HCBS is needed. In addition to individual lives being put on hold, entire families must deal with the consequences of inadequate services available to their family members. Access to HCBS affects individuals in all stages of life, including Americans dealing with conditions such as Alzheimer's. Take Ann Bowers and Jay Sweatman for example. Without access to HCBS services, Jay, who suffers from early onset Alzheimer's, was forced to first move into assisted living and then a nursing home. By the time Jay was approved for HCBS it was too late and he was no longer able to live independently. Ann had worked tirelessly to coordinate her husband's care and get additional HCBS support but the process was so difficult that by the time help came, it was simply too late. This is just one case of many where early HCBS intervention would have not only saved time, money, and stress for family members, but would have made a significant impact on the quality of life and personal independence for Jay and Ann. So today, I am introducing with my colleague from the Finance Committee, Senator Grassley, the Empowered at Home Act, a bill that increases access to home and community based services by giving states new tools and incentives to make these services more available to those in need. It has four basic parts. First, it will improve the Medicaid HCBS State Plan Amendment Option by giving states more flexibility in determining eligibility for which services they can offer under the program, which will create greater options for individuals in need of long-term supports. In return we ask that states no longer cap enrollment and that services be offered throughout the entire state. Second, the bill ensures that the same spousal impoverishment protections offered for new nursing home beneficiaries will be in place for those opting for home and community based services. In addition, low-income recipients of home and community based services will be able to keep more of their assets when they become eligible for Medicaid, allowing them to stay in their community as long as possible. Third, the Empowered at Home Act addresses the financial needs of spouses and family members caring for a loved one by offering tax- related provisions to support family caregivers and promote the purchase of meaningful private long-term care insurance. Finally, the bill seeks to improve the overall quality of home and community based services available by providing grants for states to invest in organizations and systems that can help to ensure a sufficient supply of high quality workers, promote health, and transform home and community based care to be more consumer-centered. I want to say a word about the Community Choice Act, legislation long-championed by Senator Harkin that would make HCBS a mandatory benefit in Medicaid. I am a strong supporter and co-sponsor of this landmark legislation, and look forward to working for its enactment as soon as possible. The legislation I am introducing today seeks to supplement--not supplant--the Community Choice Act by increasing access to HCBS for those who are disabled but not at a sufficient level of need to qualify for nursing home services. These two complimentary bills will finally make HCBS a right while vastly improving HCBS availability to vulnerable citizens of varying levels of disability. I would also like to thank a number of organizations who have been integral to the development of the Empowered at Home Act and who have endorsed it today, including the National Council on Aging, the Arc of the United States, United Cerebral Palsy, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the American Geriatrics Society, ANCOR, the Trust for America's Health, and SEIU. Improving access to a range of long term care services for the elderly and Americans of all ages with disabilities is an issue that must not stray from the top of our Nation's health care priorities. I believe this legislation can move forward in a bi-partisan manner to dramatically improve access to high-quality home- and community-based care for the millions of Americans who are not receiving the significant supports and services they need. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, every day millions of Americans are faced with significant challenges when it comes to meeting their own personal needs or caring for a loved one who needs significant support. Many elderly Americans and individuals of all ages with disabilities need long-term services and supports, such as assistance with dressing, bathing, preparing meals, and managing chronic conditions. They prefer to live and work in their community, and it is time that the Federal Government and states act as better partners to provide improved access to home- and community-based long-term care services HCBS. The Medicaid program, administered by the states but jointly financed with the Federal Government, is our Nation's largest payer for long- term care services. Medicaid spends about $100 billion per year on long-term services. Despite recognizing that per person spending is much lower in community settings, and that people generally prefer community services, Medicaid still spends 61 percent of its long-term services spending in institutional settings. This disparity is due, in large part, to a strong access and payment bias in the program for institutional care. Where Medicaid does offer HCBS, it is often in short supply, with more than 280,000 Medicaid beneficiaries on waiting lists for HCBS waiver services. Further, eligibility for HCBS waiver services requires beneficiaries to already have a very significant level of disability before gaining access they must meet a level of functional need that qualifies them for a nursing home. This not only contributes to the unmet needs of those in the community but it also prevents states from providing services that can help prevent beneficiaries from one day requiring high-cost institutional care. While institutionalized care may be an appropriate choice for some, it should be just that: a choice that individuals and families are allowed to make about the most appropriate setting for their own care. The result of Medicaid's ``institutional bias'' is that, according to the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, ``one in five persons living in the community with a need for assistance from others has unmet needs, endangering their health and demeaning their quality of life.'' This is simply unacceptable. The lack of long-term care options available to families has a significant impact on their lives. Many of my constituents are affected, as are countless Americans across the country. Take the parents living in Newton who continue to wait for their physically disabled daughter, Julia, to have the opportunity to live independently. Julia is a young adult and instead of starting out on her own, she must watch as her peers move away and begin their independent lives- something she yearns to do as well. Growing up, Julia was able to attend Newton schools and keep a similar schedule to other children in the community but now has limited social interaction, as there is no other option but to live at home with her parents. Julia's parents are her full time caregivers and would like to see her able to live in an environment more conducive to both her needs and their own. Community based care or home based care in an apartment she could share with a roommate are options Julia and her parents would mutually benefit from. As the opportunities for the future grow for her peers, Julia's options continue to shrink because housing and home based supports for adults with disabilities are limited at best. I have heard many stories similar to that of Julia, which emphasizes the urgency in which HCBS is needed. In addition to individual lives being put on hold, entire families must deal with the consequences of inadequate services available to their family members. Access to HCBS affects individuals in all stages of life, including Americans dealing with conditions such as Alzheimer's. Take Ann Bowers and Jay Sweatman for example. Without access to HCBS services, Jay, who suffers from early onset Alzheimer's, was forced to first move into assisted living and then a nursing home. By the time Jay was approved for HCBS it was too late and he was no longer able to live independently. Ann had worked tirelessly to coordinate her husband's care and get additional HCBS support but the process was so difficult that by the time help came, it was simply too late. This is just one case of many where early HCBS intervention would have not only saved time, money, and stress for family members, but would have made a significant impact on the quality of life and personal independence for Jay and Ann. So today, I am introducing with my colleague from the Finance Committee, Senator Grassley, the Empowered at Home Act, a bill that increases access to home and community based services by giving states new tools and incentives to make these services more available to those in need. It has four basic parts. First, it will improve the Medicaid HCBS State Plan Amendment Option by giving states more flexibility in determining eligibility for which services they can offer under the program, which will create greater options for individuals in need of long-term supports. In return we ask that states no longer cap enrollment and that services be offered throughout the entire state. Second, the bill ensures that the same spousal impoverishment protections offered for new nursing home beneficiaries will be in place for those opting for home and community based services. In addition, low-income recipients of home and community based services will be able to keep more of their assets when they become eligible for Medicaid, allowing them to stay in their community as long as possible. Third, the Empowered at Home Act addresses the financial needs of spouses and family members caring for a loved one by offering tax- related provisions to support family caregivers and promote the purchase of meaningful private long-term care insurance. Finally, the bill seeks to improve the overall quality of home and community based services available by providing grants for states to invest in organizations and systems that can help to ensure a sufficient supply of high quality workers, promote health, and transform home and community based care to be more consumer-centered. I want to say a word about the Community Choice Act, legislation long-championed by Senator Harkin that would make HCBS a mandatory benefit in Medicaid. I am a strong supporter and co-sponsor of this landmark legislation, and look forward to working for its enactment as soon as possible. The legislation I am introducing today seeks to supplement--not supplant--the Community Choice Act by increasing access to HCBS for those who are disabled but not at a sufficient level of need to qualify for nursing home services. These two complimentary bills will finally make HCBS a right while vastly improving HCBS availability to vulnerable citizens of varying levels of disability. I would also like to thank a number of organizations who have been integral to the development of the Empowered at Home Act and who have endorsed it today, including the National Council on Aging, the Arc of the United States, United Cerebral Palsy, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the American Geriatrics Society, ANCOR, the Trust for America's Health, and SEIU. Improving access to a range of long term care services for the elderly and Americans of all ages with disabilities is an issue that must not stray from the top of our Nation's health care priorities. I believe this legislation can move forward in a bi-partisan manner to dramatically improve access to high-quality home- and community-based care for the millions of Americans who are not receiving the significant supports and services they need. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Emergency Energy Assistance Act of 2008, which will provide emergency relief to families in Massachusetts and around the country who are suffering from record energy costs. I am joined by Senators Kennedy, Lieberman, Cardin, Menendez, Whitehouse, Cantwell and Dodd in introducing this important and timely piece of legislation. This legislation will help some of the 85 percent of American families who are eligible for assistance from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance, but have been unable to obtain it due to budget restrictions. Consumers around the country are facing skyrocketing prices for transportation and heating fuels. Heating oil prices in the Northeast averaged $3.40 in the first quarter of 2008, compared to just $2.52 in 2007, putting severe strains on the approximately 960,000 Massachusetts families who simply cannot afford these skyrocketing prices. Today, 100,000 Massachusetts households are still behind on their energy bills from last winter and remain at risk of shut-offs of vital energy services. These high costs are expected to continue through this year's heating season. Home heating oil prices in Massachusetts are already averaging $4.60/gallon. The typical family uses approximately 1,000 gallons of heating oil during the course of the winter--Massachusetts households could realistically be looking at heating bills approaching $5,000--an impossible sum for thousands of families around the state. When coupled with the escalating costs of transportation fuels, the burden is simply too much to bear. The primary Federal energy assistance program for low-income households is the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program LIHEAP. As energy costs rise, the demand for LIHEAP funds grows. 5.8 million families received LIHEAP funds in 2008, the highest participation levels in 16 years. In Massachusetts, over 145,000 families receive LIHEAP funds. However, as energy costs rise and demand for LIHEAP grows, the program's budget has not kept pace and we just can't cover all the people that need help. In fact, only 15 percent of eligible households nationally are receiving funding. Even in those households that do receive LIHEAP funds, the money isn't going very far--the average LIHEAP grant only pays for 18 percent of the total cost of heating a home with heating oil. I have been a long-time, strong supporter of legislation introduced by Senator Sanders--the Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer Act that would fund the LIHEAP program for 2008 at the fully-authorized level of $5.1 billion, and I have incorporated that essential provision into the legislation I am introducing today. In addition, the Emergency Energy Assistance Act of 2008 includes critical emergency funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program at the U.S. Department of Energy. This program enables service providers to install energy efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge, and it provides real, short-term opportunities for homeowners to bring down their energy bills. My legislation would fund the program at $750 million, the fully- authorized level for 2008. Finally, this legislation would provide a temporary increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit EITC for 2008 to help families pay their increasing energy bills. The EITC is a refundable tax credit for low- income working families. These households are bearing the burden of escalating energy costs, yet many of these beneficiaries did not receive the full rebates provided through the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. This legislation would increase the maximum EITC credit amount by $300 for 2008. By increasing the credit amount, more families will be eligible for the credit than under current law. Beneficiaries will receive the increased EITC when they file their 2008 tax returns. This $300 will help working families with rising heating and transportation costs. In the face of skyrocketing energy prices, we must take serious and immediate measures to assist low-income working families. We cannot stand idly by as American families are forced to make impossible decisions about whether to heat their homes or put food on their tables. This is a crisis of tremendous proportions, and it is incumbent upon us to take steps now to ensure that millions of households are not literally left out in the cold this winter.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Emergency Energy Assistance Act of 2008, which will provide emergency relief to families in Massachusetts and around the country who are suffering from record energy costs. I am joined by Senators Kennedy, Lieberman, Cardin, Menendez, Whitehouse, Cantwell and Dodd in introducing this important and timely piece of legislation. This legislation will help some of the 85 percent of American families who are eligible for assistance from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance, but have been unable to obtain it due to budget restrictions. Consumers around the country are facing skyrocketing prices for transportation and heating fuels. Heating oil prices in the Northeast averaged $3.40 in the first quarter of 2008, compared to just $2.52 in 2007, putting severe strains on the approximately 960,000 Massachusetts families who simply cannot afford these skyrocketing prices. Today, 100,000 Massachusetts households are still behind on their energy bills from last winter and remain at risk of shut-offs of vital energy services. These high costs are expected to continue through this year's heating season. Home heating oil prices in Massachusetts are already averaging $4.60/gallon. The typical family uses approximately 1,000 gallons of heating oil during the course of the winter--Massachusetts households could realistically be looking at heating bills approaching $5,000--an impossible sum for thousands of families around the state. When coupled with the escalating costs of transportation fuels, the burden is simply too much to bear. The primary Federal energy assistance program for low-income households is the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program LIHEAP. As energy costs rise, the demand for LIHEAP funds grows. 5.8 million families received LIHEAP funds in 2008, the highest participation levels in 16 years. In Massachusetts, over 145,000 families receive LIHEAP funds. However, as energy costs rise and demand for LIHEAP grows, the program's budget has not kept pace and we just can't cover all the people that need help. In fact, only 15 percent of eligible households nationally are receiving funding. Even in those households that do receive LIHEAP funds, the money isn't going very far--the average LIHEAP grant only pays for 18 percent of the total cost of heating a home with heating oil. I have been a long-time, strong supporter of legislation introduced by Senator Sanders--the Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer Act that would fund the LIHEAP program for 2008 at the fully-authorized level of $5.1 billion, and I have incorporated that essential provision into the legislation I am introducing today. In addition, the Emergency Energy Assistance Act of 2008 includes critical emergency funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program at the U.S. Department of Energy. This program enables service providers to install energy efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge, and it provides real, short-term opportunities for homeowners to bring down their energy bills. My legislation would fund the program at $750 million, the fully- authorized level for 2008. Finally, this legislation would provide a temporary increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit EITC for 2008 to help families pay their increasing energy bills. The EITC is a refundable tax credit for low- income working families. These households are bearing the burden of escalating energy costs, yet many of these beneficiaries did not receive the full rebates provided through the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. This legislation would increase the maximum EITC credit amount by $300 for 2008. By increasing the credit amount, more families will be eligible for the credit than under current law. Beneficiaries will receive the increased EITC when they file their 2008 tax returns. This $300 will help working families with rising heating and transportation costs. In the face of skyrocketing energy prices, we must take serious and immediate measures to assist low-income working families. We cannot stand idly by as American families are forced to make impossible decisions about whether to heat their homes or put food on their tables. This is a crisis of tremendous proportions, and it is incumbent upon us to take steps now to ensure that millions of households are not literally left out in the cold this winter.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. I thank you very much, Madam President. Let me begin by thanking the chairman of our Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Biden, and the ranking member, Senator Lugar, for their leadership and their efforts to help bring the Senate to where it is today. I appreciate what they have done to help elevate this program and bring it down to a new stage. The truth is that for two shamefully sluggish decades, the Senate and the Congress and the country really ignored this issue and were somewhat timid, even scared of it for a lot of different reasons. We lost a lot of time in leading the fight against HIV/AIDS on a global basis. In 1999, I guess it was, Senator Frist and I were privileged to work together and bring an effort to the floor of the Senate, working as cochairs, ultimately, of CSIS's task force that was put together. We wrote a piece of legislation that ultimately drew broad support from the Foreign Relations Committee. I am pleased to say that one of the important points people began to understand about this issue--not partisan and not ideological--was when the then-chair, I think, Senator Jesse Helms, came onboard and became a cosponsor of our effort. That effort ultimately transformed itself, with President Bush's support, into PEPFAR, when he picked up the cry for some $15 billion. I will tell everybody that initially many of us had suspicions that it was going to be a public relations effort, not a real one. In fact, I think President Bush has probably transformed this effort into the single most important piece of his legacy. As Senator Coburn just said, this is perhaps now one of the most important programs the United States is doing on a global basis, and it has made a profound difference. My wife and I had the privilege of being in South Africa and Botswana last November. I will never forget visiting the Umgeni School in KwaNgcolosi near Durban, where there was an incredible display of community effort that had been brought together because the United States was putting this money into the organizational effort of community caretaking. I saw children, orphaned children who, long before the years that they should have been, had become the caretakers for a whole family of brothers and sisters. I saw what they refer to as AIDS grannies who assumed responsibilities because of the deaths within the family for the caretaking of people who were HIV positive. It was impressive, and the gratitude of people toward the United States, the connection they had with us as a result of this, is one of the most significant foreign policy initiatives in which we have engaged. So I am very grateful to Senator Biden and Senator Lugar and the committee itself for its work and to the Senate now for embracing this measure which will take us to the next tier. Two and a half million people will be infected in this next year; 2.1 million people are going to die of AIDS. The challenge of human infrastructure to be able to deliver the antiretroviral drugs, to be able to reach people, to even begin to tackle some of the infrastructure issues and deal with the mythology that works against us, to deal with denial in governments such as South Africa itself. Some of the AIDS workers I met with--we had to kick out the press and kick out public people in order to get them to talk openly and honestly about the difficulties they were having because the Government itself was engaged in some denial, and they feared retribution. It is our effort, our taxpayer money, our initiative, our caring that is making a difference in those lives and breaking down those barriers of denial. I think all of us in the Senate ought to be profoundly proud of this initiative and this effort. I am also pleased that in this legislation there are two items that I thought were important. One is creating advanced market mechanisms where we can say to people where there is no market for the creation of a vaccine that that market will be there. Norway, Canada, the Gates Foundation, and others are involved--Germany and others are involved now in providing that kind of market assurance. In that legislation, there is an additional effort to engage us similarly in helping to provide those market assurances so that drug manufacturers will invest in the creation of vaccines, knowing that indeed there will be a market down the road. Finally, we are going to allow people who are HIV positive to be able, on a case-by-case basis appropriately approved, to come to the United States as experts or otherwise on a humane basis to be able to travel to the country. We are one of only 12 nations that don't allow it. President George Herbert Walker Bush thought we should do this, President Clinton thought we should do this, President Bush thinks we should do this, and obviously a majority of the Senate thinks we should do this. I think that is adopting a humane and sensible policy. The International AIDS Committee has held two conferences, one in Canada and one in Mexico, simply because they wanted Americans to take part, but nobody could travel into this country, so the conference couldn't be held here. I think it is a wise policy, and I appreciate the fact that the leadership of Senator Biden and Senator Lugar on this legislation was able to fight to hold on to that. This is a good bipartisan moment for the Senate. Most importantly, it is a good moment for the American people because it reflects our values and I think will help us to be better understood and better appreciated in many parts of the world where today we have to climb back from our former reputation.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ms. Marian Orfeo, director of Planning and Coordination with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, MWRA, on being named the new president of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, NACWA. Ms. Orfeo has been an environmental champion for the city of Boston, State of Massachusetts, and the Nation. She is an exceptional leader and public steward dedicated to the improvement of Boston's water quality and public health. Ms. Orfeo has worked for with MWRA, a founding member of NACWA, for nearly 20 years. The Authority provides wholesale water and sewer services to 2.5 million people in 61 communities across eastern and central Massachusetts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As the director of Planning and Coordination, her responsibilities include long-range planning to construct and renew MWRA's water and wastewater facilities, as well as infrastructure and short-term strategic business planning for all agency functions. She also manages the Authority's performance reporting system and is a member of the steering committee for the MetroFuture initiative of the Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Before joining the Authority, Ms. Orfeo previously worked in Boston city government for 16 years. She held a range of positions including operations, administration and finance, and planning. She has been an active member of NACWA since 1994, was elected to its board of directors in 2000, and has chaired the Association's Legislative Policy, Strategic Planning, Finance, and Awards Committees. Ms. Orfeo is also a consistent champion for the need to develop a new, holistic approach to the nation's complex 21st century water challenges. Being elected NACWA president is not onlyan impressive personal accomplishment but will help secure NACWA's role as the leading advocate for responsible national policies that advance clean water and a healthy environment. Mr. President, I congratulate Marian Orfeo on becoming president of NACWA. I am certain the association will greatly benefit from her able leadership.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, with the temperatures pushing 90 degrees here in Washington, today might strike some as an odd time to introduce a bill on heating fuels. But for those of us who know the costs of a cold winter ahead, the real fuel crisis is now--and the clock is ticking when it comes to Washington's ability to step in and help before it's too late and this problem becomes a crisis and another state of emergency is declared on Massachusetts. Now and in the coming weeks, families and businesses will be sitting down to sign their heating fuel contracts, with record prices creating impossible decisions between feeding one's family and heating the home, and laying off employees or going further into debt. This week the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing entitled ``Examining Solutions to Cope with the Rise in Home Heating Oil Prices'' in which we heard testimony on the effect the historic spike in heating oil prices is having on small businesses. Nationally, 7.7 million households heat their homes with home heating oil. In Massachusetts, more than 963,000 households use home heating oil delivered by over 800 distributors, many of them small businesses. It is reality--not rhetoric--that price spikes will force people to decide whether to feed their families or heat their homes, and will force small businesses to layoff employees and in some cases shut their doors. The Energy Information Administration is projecting that heating oil prices will be up 56 percent in 2009 as compared with 2007, and even that estimate may be modest. Prices for a gallon of home heating oil sit at over $4.50 today compared with less then a dollar 10 years ago. That means consumers will have to pay thousands more than ever before to heat their homes this winter, and small businesses who rely on these and other fuels to heat their businesses will face skyrocketing bills at a time when the economy and the credit crunch are already squeezing their bottom lines. While oil companies are reaping record profits, small business owners are hard hit by these price spikes. Most heating oil distribution is done by small businesses who are victimized many times over by the rising price of fuel. Their accounts receivables go through the roof-- which isn't a pretty picture, especially during a credit crunch. Their customers have a difficult time paying their bills and rising credit card fees eat into their margins. The volatility in the market also causes price hedging--a practice of locking into a price in order to buy certainty--to rise from a few cents a gallon a few years ago to upwards of 40 cents a gallon today, rendering almost useless this tool that used to be helpful in giving distributors and consumers an insurance policy against more crippling prices during the winter when the market pressures were greater. These problems are affecting small businesses who work with other heating fuels as well, such as kerosene, propane, and natural gas. There are many viable and successful small businesses that need assistance to get through times when heating fuel prices spike. This is why I, along with Senator Snowe, am reintroducing the Small Business Energy Emergency Relief Act to provide assistance through affordable, low-interest Small Business Administration disaster loans to small businesses that have suffered economic harm and can't pay their bills because of the huge price increases in heating oil, propane, kerosene, and natural gas. Whether they are small fuel distributors or business owners who rely on those fuels to heat their stores, many small businesses are dependent on these four heating fuels. This bill would amend the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration to make disaster loans of up to $1.5 million, and an exception can be made by the Administrator for higher loans if the borrower constitutes a major source of employment, to assist small businesses that have suffered substantial economic injury as the result of a significant increase in the price of kerosene, propane, natural gas, or heating oil. Heating fuel prices would have to go up by 50 percent over the average price during the same 10-day period in the previous 2 years to trigger an energy emergency declaration from the President or the Administrator, though a Governor of a State that has experienced a significant rise in the price of home heating oil may also request assistance for small businesses in that State. The qualifications for an economic injury disaster loan are the same as for economic injury loans for a physical disaster. A small business must have demonstrated economic injury as a result of the price increases; demonstrate the inability to pay its bills; be unable to locate financing elsewhere; and demonstrate the ability to repay the loan. As in years past, the bill retains a provision authored by Senators Harkin and Kohl to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make loans to farm operations that qualify as a small business and that have suffered substantial economic injury on or after October 1, 2007, as the result of a significant increase in energy costs in connection with an energy emergency declaration by the President or the Secretary. This bill has been a collaborative process over many years, which is demonstrated by other provisions that we have retained, including one by Senator Levin to allow small businesses to use the proceeds of the loans not only for working capital to recover from the economic injury of the energy costs but also to convert their systems to use alternative or renewable energy sources. That was complimented by a provision added by Senator Enzi to allow the proceeds for cogeneration systems. This bill was originally introduced in the 107th Congress as S. 295 and it passed the full Senate with 34 cosponsors. Since then, it has passed the Senate twice more, both times in the 109th Congress, once as an amendment to H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and once as part of a larger Katrina relief amendment to H.R. 2862, only to be dropped in conference both times. Furthermore, this bill has passed the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship several times, including in 2006 as a stand alone bill and in 2007 as part of the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act. With heating fuel prices soaring to never before seen heights, and with no end in sight, it is time we pass this bill and make it law. Small businesses across the country already operate on razor thin margins, and the spike in heating fuels this winter will push many otherwise successful businesses over the edge and into bankruptcy. With the credit markets tightening, giving these small businesses low interest loans to help them make it through the winter is a common sense, low cost way to help small businesses, save jobs, and secure the backbone of our economy. I would like to thank Senator Snowe for her tireless work on these issues and for cosponsoring this bill, and I ask that this statement is printed for the record. I would also like to thank Senators Kennedy, Schumer, Stabenow, Landrieu, Durbin, Collins, Clinton, Harkin, Dodd, and Sanders for joining me as original cosponsors, and I ask that all Senators join me in supporting this bill that will help save small businesses across this country who are struggling to adjust to the world of skyrocketing energy prices that we must deal with today. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, with the temperatures pushing 90 degrees here in Washington, today might strike some as an odd time to introduce a bill on heating fuels. But for those of us who know the costs of a cold winter ahead, the real fuel crisis is now--and the clock is ticking when it comes to Washington's ability to step in and help before it's too late and this problem becomes a crisis and another state of emergency is declared on Massachusetts. Now and in the coming weeks, families and businesses will be sitting down to sign their heating fuel contracts, with record prices creating impossible decisions between feeding one's family and heating the home, and laying off employees or going further into debt. This week the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing entitled ``Examining Solutions to Cope with the Rise in Home Heating Oil Prices'' in which we heard testimony on the effect the historic spike in heating oil prices is having on small businesses. Nationally, 7.7 million households heat their homes with home heating oil. In Massachusetts, more than 963,000 households use home heating oil delivered by over 800 distributors, many of them small businesses. It is reality--not rhetoric--that price spikes will force people to decide whether to feed their families or heat their homes, and will force small businesses to layoff employees and in some cases shut their doors. The Energy Information Administration is projecting that heating oil prices will be up 56 percent in 2009 as compared with 2007, and even that estimate may be modest. Prices for a gallon of home heating oil sit at over $4.50 today compared with less then a dollar 10 years ago. That means consumers will have to pay thousands more than ever before to heat their homes this winter, and small businesses who rely on these and other fuels to heat their businesses will face skyrocketing bills at a time when the economy and the credit crunch are already squeezing their bottom lines. While oil companies are reaping record profits, small business owners are hard hit by these price spikes. Most heating oil distribution is done by small businesses who are victimized many times over by the rising price of fuel. Their accounts receivables go through the roof-- which isn't a pretty picture, especially during a credit crunch. Their customers have a difficult time paying their bills and rising credit card fees eat into their margins. The volatility in the market also causes price hedging--a practice of locking into a price in order to buy certainty--to rise from a few cents a gallon a few years ago to upwards of 40 cents a gallon today, rendering almost useless this tool that used to be helpful in giving distributors and consumers an insurance policy against more crippling prices during the winter when the market pressures were greater. These problems are affecting small businesses who work with other heating fuels as well, such as kerosene, propane, and natural gas. There are many viable and successful small businesses that need assistance to get through times when heating fuel prices spike. This is why I, along with Senator Snowe, am reintroducing the Small Business Energy Emergency Relief Act to provide assistance through affordable, low-interest Small Business Administration disaster loans to small businesses that have suffered economic harm and can't pay their bills because of the huge price increases in heating oil, propane, kerosene, and natural gas. Whether they are small fuel distributors or business owners who rely on those fuels to heat their stores, many small businesses are dependent on these four heating fuels. This bill would amend the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration to make disaster loans of up to $1.5 million, and an exception can be made by the Administrator for higher loans if the borrower constitutes a major source of employment, to assist small businesses that have suffered substantial economic injury as the result of a significant increase in the price of kerosene, propane, natural gas, or heating oil. Heating fuel prices would have to go up by 50 percent over the average price during the same 10-day period in the previous 2 years to trigger an energy emergency declaration from the President or the Administrator, though a Governor of a State that has experienced a significant rise in the price of home heating oil may also request assistance for small businesses in that State. The qualifications for an economic injury disaster loan are the same as for economic injury loans for a physical disaster. A small business must have demonstrated economic injury as a result of the price increases; demonstrate the inability to pay its bills; be unable to locate financing elsewhere; and demonstrate the ability to repay the loan. As in years past, the bill retains a provision authored by Senators Harkin and Kohl to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make loans to farm operations that qualify as a small business and that have suffered substantial economic injury on or after October 1, 2007, as the result of a significant increase in energy costs in connection with an energy emergency declaration by the President or the Secretary. This bill has been a collaborative process over many years, which is demonstrated by other provisions that we have retained, including one by Senator Levin to allow small businesses to use the proceeds of the loans not only for working capital to recover from the economic injury of the energy costs but also to convert their systems to use alternative or renewable energy sources. That was complimented by a provision added by Senator Enzi to allow the proceeds for cogeneration systems. This bill was originally introduced in the 107th Congress as S. 295 and it passed the full Senate with 34 cosponsors. Since then, it has passed the Senate twice more, both times in the 109th Congress, once as an amendment to H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and once as part of a larger Katrina relief amendment to H.R. 2862, only to be dropped in conference both times. Furthermore, this bill has passed the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship several times, including in 2006 as a stand alone bill and in 2007 as part of the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act. With heating fuel prices soaring to never before seen heights, and with no end in sight, it is time we pass this bill and make it law. Small businesses across the country already operate on razor thin margins, and the spike in heating fuels this winter will push many otherwise successful businesses over the edge and into bankruptcy. With the credit markets tightening, giving these small businesses low interest loans to help them make it through the winter is a common sense, low cost way to help small businesses, save jobs, and secure the backbone of our economy. I would like to thank Senator Snowe for her tireless work on these issues and for cosponsoring this bill, and I ask that this statement is printed for the record. I would also like to thank Senators Kennedy, Schumer, Stabenow, Landrieu, Durbin, Collins, Clinton, Harkin, Dodd, and Sanders for joining me as original cosponsors, and I ask that all Senators join me in supporting this bill that will help save small businesses across this country who are struggling to adjust to the world of skyrocketing energy prices that we must deal with today. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, what is the parliamentary situation?

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, we are known happily as the world's greatest deliberative body and the world's greatest democracy. There are times when I have been here when we have indeed lived up to that reputation, and it has been exciting and rewarding. We also are blessed to serve in an institution where very frequently we extol the virtues of our commitment to spreading freedom around the globe. We take that seriously. I don't think there is a Senator here who doesn't believe in our responsibility to do that and who isn't proud of America's role in being able to do that in many parts of the world where we have made a difference. However, in recent days here in Washington, the news earlier this week that Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, was forced to withdraw from a runoff election that was scheduled for tomorrow, that news was regrettably met by an absence of the kind of outrage that it demands and, frankly, by an absence of action of any kind in the global community. It is important for the Senate, in my judgment, to forcefully condemn a shockingly brutal campaign, an overt, visible for everybody to see, disdainful, arrogant campaign of violence and intimidation that has been launched by President Robert Mugabe and his henchmen which rendered free and fair elections in Zimbabwe impossible. Morgan Tsvangirai's courageous decision not to put his supporters at further risk in an election that Mugabe explicitly said he would not respect if he did not win ought to be a wake-up call for the world and especially to the African leaders who have the most influence over Zimbabwe. Action is long overdue. For months now, Mugabe's thugs have savaged opposition politicians, civil society activists, and anyone else who dared to dream of a peaceful end to his rein of terror. Villagers have literally been handed bullets by soldiers and told to choose between democracy or their lives. Since the initial balloting in March, the MDC--the Movement for Democracy--believes that at least 86 of its supporters have been killed, over 10,000 have been injured, 2,000 unlawfully detained, and 200,000 have fled their homes. In fact, the details of this campaign of violence and intimidation are even more horrifying than the statistics convey. Women have been burned to death. Young men have been tortured and dismembered, and the elderly have been savagely beaten. In fact, it is hard to imagine a campaign of political murder as brazen and visible to everybody as the one that has been unleashed on unarmed innocents, with a sense of complete inability to be touched by any civil forces outside. Mugabe very matter of factly stated last week: We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X on a ballot. How can a ballpoint pen fight with a gun? I believe someone with that kind of attitude--willing to strip away democracy that all of the African nations, European nations, civilized nations of the world, and United Nations have agreed is the right of the people of Zimbabwe--that kind of attitude deserves the outrage and action that it asks for. We know that even if Tsvangirai had not withdrawn, there was a unanimous consensus that Mugabe would have stolen the election by simply rigging the ballots. Once again, this unapologetic dictator telegraphed his intentions, saying that only God, not the voters of Zimbabwe, could remove him from office. Democracy in Zimbabwe is not the only casualty of the news this week. Every bit as damaged, frankly, is the moral authority of the international community. Make no mistake, Mugabe is thumbing his nose at the international community. Daring them, with a sense of complete impunity, he is inviolable in whatever thuggery he wants to engage in. That is because he has heard the world say ``never again'' again and again. Then he has watched the world engage in collective hand-wringing as mass atrocities unfold and nothing happens, just like the last time. Well, this can't be allowed to continue. Until recently, there was little hope of vigorous international response. But Tsvangirai's selfless act of courage hopefully now can act as a catalyst for change. On Monday, the United Nations Security Council, including China and Russia, issued its first condemnation of violence, acknowledging it would be impossible for a free and fair election to take place. A day later, some of Africa's influential leaders called Mugabe out for the savagery of his intentions in this free election process. That has now made it, thankfully, more difficult for him to try to disguise the violence as a struggle against postcolonial bullying. Yesterday, that international community demanded that he postpone the runoff elections and negotiate with Tsvangirai. Just yesterday, on his 90th birthday, Nelson Mandela lent his voice of moral authority to condemn what he called the ``tragic failure of leadership in our neighboring Zimbabwe.'' Those are strong words, and I think obviously those words--coming from Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa and really founding President of their democracy today--those words diminish Mugabe's legitimacy. Obviously, words aren't going to save Zimbabwe's people. The international community needs to take action, and it needs to take action that sends the regime in Zimbabwe a simple, unequivocal message: Mugabe must go. If he thinks only God can remove him and shows such extraordinary disrespect for the people of his country, clearly the international community has a responsibility to make it impossible for him to do anything else but go. The Senate passed a resolution that I submitted in late April, but, frankly, resolutions don't get the job done. They indicate an intent, a desire by the Senate, perhaps; they indicate that we are taking notice of what is happening. But this is now a matter of life and death. It is also a matter of the credibility of the international community. If words such as ``never again'' with respect to a holocaust mean something or if the lessons of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and the other disruptions that we have seen in other parts of the world mean anything, then we have to do whatever is necessary to be able to bring about a timely end to the violence and a peaceful transition to democracy. The U.N. Security Council needs to impose, immediately, quickly, targeted sanctions on Mugabe. It needs to impose them on his cronies and his family. It needs to make it clear to them that they cannot do what they are doing with impunity. Freezing bank accounts and imposing further travel restrictions are punishments that may lead those around Mugabe to begin to reassess their own self-interests, without doing harm to the people who have already had harm done to them by this dictatorship. The real leverage and legitimacy to motivate, mediate, and monitor a negotiated solution lies in the heart of Africa itself. The Southern Africa Development Community and the African Union have, frankly, too often been willing to sit on the sidelines. They need to play a sustained and active role in resolving this crisis in a way that respects the will of Zimbabwe's people. They need to do that now with the help of the European Community, ourselves, and the U.N. itself. If Mugabe refuses to step down, both the Southern African Development Community and the African Union should suspend Zimbabwe's membership immediately and consider applying their own sanctions. I met the other day with the ambassadors from Botswana in South Africa and Zambia, and they agreed that if Mugabe stays now in a situation where he has nullified unilaterally the ability to have an election, he is, in fact, an unconstitutional leader of the country. Under the charter of the African Union, the Constitution, they would be completely within their rights--in fact, it would be imperative that they move to isolate him because he no longer would be a legal leader of that country. The United States and the European Union need to stand squarely alongside African governments in withdrawing recognition from the illegitimate Mugabe regime and impose additional sanctions targeting his criminal cabal. Until recently, a few African leaders have proven to be an obstacle to the crisis. South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki is perhaps the most prominent example, sadly. I think many people had a much higher expectation of President Mbeki. I have known him and worked with him. I regret that in this situation Mr. Mbeki has chosen to ignore the warnings of his predecessor and icon and of others. It has been some time now that the world has been waiting for Thabo Mbeki in South Africa to weigh in squarely with respect to Zimbabwe's future. I believe President Mbeki is going to be judged by history for his response to this crisis. As the leader of the region's powerhouse in the southern African community, the development community's mediator in this crisis, President Mbeki still has an opportunity to turn up the heat on Mugabe, while also helping facilitate a respectable way out. The world cannot afford for President Mbeki to remain out of step with other countries in the region, not to mention his own political party, in condoning Mugabe's brutality. If he chooses to continue on this ineffectual path, then President Mbeki will remain, in fact, complicit in the tragic events in Zimbabwe and risk isolating himself internationally, as well as in his own country. If Mugabe surrenders and a genuinely democratic government, committed to implementing the needed economic and political reforms, is formed, Zimbabwe's new leader will be left to pick up the pieces of an economy that has been run into the ground by Mugabe. Annual inflation is reportedly running at over 150,000 percent. Unemployment stands at over 80 percent. Hunger grips 4 million people. An estimated 3,500 people die each week from hunger, disease, and other causes related to grinding poverty. The United States and the international community must be prepared to provide a comprehensive, economic, and political recovery package that will help the people recover from so many years of abuse and neglect. Right now, our most urgent challenge is to protect the innocent people in Zimbabwe who have been devastated by violence, starvation or inadequate access to essential care and services. We need to do that by pushing Africa's leaders to restore and expand humanitarian aid, deploying a civil protection force to prevent attacks, help victims, and pursue vicious criminals. Matching words with action is a great challenge of this body, the Senate, and particularly it is the responsibility of this administration. This is a test for our collective moral authority, our willingness to lead with our values, and a test of whether we are going to send the strong, necessary message to the people of Zimbabwe, and indeed the people in all of Africa, that we support their aspirations for a free and democratic country. We are losing lives almost every single day in Iraq. We are spending $12 billion a month. We invaded that country, purportedly, to bring them democracy. We support other countries in the Middle East--Lebanon and others--that are struggling to have democracy. We can't be regionally selective about where the virtues of democracy make a difference. In Africa, where for too long people have been neglected, even abandoned--and too many times they believe the rest of the world doesn't care--this is an opportunity for us to send a different kind of message and make a different kind of difference. I hope they will know that the free world will stand with the aspirations of those who are willing to risk their lives to have a better future and to actually give meaning, through our support, for free elections and democracy everywhere in the world. I yield the floor.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, we must do all we can to ensure that our young people have the skills necessary to compete in today's global economy. My home State of Massachusetts has done an outstanding job ensuring that educators have access to the high-quality tools necessary to adequately prepare our students for the future. In particular, they have been one of a handful of pioneering states that have created a statewide, online education ``portal'', which is a suite of web-based tools that enhance the teaching and learning experience for teachers, parents, and students. Education portals are a one-stop resource for educators, parents, and students to support teaching and learning, as well as leadership skills. Portals provide access to shared resources and create an entry point to other information and services including: lesson plans; research-based training resources; model classroom examples; engaging interactive media; listservs; and after-school resources. Among other things, a portal allows educators to quickly search for lesson plans or other resources by content standard, grade level, specific student and classroom needs, and/or topic. It also provides a secure, on-line community for educators to collaborate and discuss teaching and learning experiences, as well as providing a vital communication tool between the school and parents. It is for these reasons, I am sponsoring legislation to help my State and others secure the funding they need to improve their education systems and prepare their students for success. While it is true that Congress has done a lot to promote education technology and set higher standards for teachers, more must be done to address the divide that afflicts so many of our rural and urban schools. What is missing is a funding source for states to develop and maintain web-based tools for training, communication, collaboration, and curriculum planning. The Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act establishes annual competitive grants that will provide funding on a one-to-one basis for states that wish to implement and maintain best-practice education portals. The legislation also provides new tax incentives to private organizations that support State education portal efforts. The Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act bridges the urban-rural digital divide by ensuring that all districts have access to the best available resources. It supports high quality teaching, professional development and retention of teachers and promotes an on-line support network and learning community for teachers and administrators. Furthermore, it provides teacher coaching and guidance in order to address the challenges of teaching a diverse student body, and collaborate on winning strategies to address various learning styles, needs, and achievement levels. It offers administrators tools to securely communicate and collaborate with district personnel, as well as with the Department of Education, and gives them access to formative assessments and other resources. Finally, it provides a means to actively engage students in a rich, relevant, multimedia environment that results in improved learning and student retention. It is imperative that we prepare our children for the sophisticated workforce of the 21st century and an increasingly competitive global economy. This legislation takes some of the brightest ideas for modernizing teaching and learning and matches them with the dollars needed to translate them from paper to practice. That, I believe, is a goal we can all agree on. I urge my colleagues to support the Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, we must do all we can to ensure that our young people have the skills necessary to compete in today's global economy. My home State of Massachusetts has done an outstanding job ensuring that educators have access to the high-quality tools necessary to adequately prepare our students for the future. In particular, they have been one of a handful of pioneering states that have created a statewide, online education ``portal'', which is a suite of web-based tools that enhance the teaching and learning experience for teachers, parents, and students. Education portals are a one-stop resource for educators, parents, and students to support teaching and learning, as well as leadership skills. Portals provide access to shared resources and create an entry point to other information and services including: lesson plans; research-based training resources; model classroom examples; engaging interactive media; listservs; and after-school resources. Among other things, a portal allows educators to quickly search for lesson plans or other resources by content standard, grade level, specific student and classroom needs, and/or topic. It also provides a secure, on-line community for educators to collaborate and discuss teaching and learning experiences, as well as providing a vital communication tool between the school and parents. It is for these reasons, I am sponsoring legislation to help my State and others secure the funding they need to improve their education systems and prepare their students for success. While it is true that Congress has done a lot to promote education technology and set higher standards for teachers, more must be done to address the divide that afflicts so many of our rural and urban schools. What is missing is a funding source for states to develop and maintain web-based tools for training, communication, collaboration, and curriculum planning. The Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act establishes annual competitive grants that will provide funding on a one-to-one basis for states that wish to implement and maintain best-practice education portals. The legislation also provides new tax incentives to private organizations that support State education portal efforts. The Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act bridges the urban-rural digital divide by ensuring that all districts have access to the best available resources. It supports high quality teaching, professional development and retention of teachers and promotes an on-line support network and learning community for teachers and administrators. Furthermore, it provides teacher coaching and guidance in order to address the challenges of teaching a diverse student body, and collaborate on winning strategies to address various learning styles, needs, and achievement levels. It offers administrators tools to securely communicate and collaborate with district personnel, as well as with the Department of Education, and gives them access to formative assessments and other resources. Finally, it provides a means to actively engage students in a rich, relevant, multimedia environment that results in improved learning and student retention. It is imperative that we prepare our children for the sophisticated workforce of the 21st century and an increasingly competitive global economy. This legislation takes some of the brightest ideas for modernizing teaching and learning and matches them with the dollars needed to translate them from paper to practice. That, I believe, is a goal we can all agree on. I urge my colleagues to support the Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Madam President, I would like to congratulate and honor Daniel Safsel, a passionate fourth grader who raised the level of environmental awareness at his elementary school. Daniel urged his school newspaper, the Siwanoy Express, to stop printing and distributing copies of its newsletter and to send it via email instead. As a result of his efforts, the newspaper recently launched their first trial run of the ``green'' express. Daniel should be extremely proud that he was able to make a valuable contribution toward creating a greener future. Even though we are faced with a worldwide environmental crisis, Daniel's actions show that young Americans can do their part in ensuring that we live in a safer and cleaner environment. Students like Daniel inspire and remind us all of the power of making our voices heard. I heartily applaud Daniel Safsel for his initiative in seeking to make his community greener. He has demonstrated a level of commitment and accomplishment that is truly extraordinary in today's world, and deserves our sincere admiration and respect.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Madam President, in May, Dr. Amar Bose was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize his outstanding accomplishments that have helped change our society and improve the way we live every day. A pioneer in modern acoustics, Dr. Bose is founder, chairman and technical director of the internationally-recognized audio company that bears his name, Bose Corporation. Raised just outside Philadelphia, Dr. Bose began his career at the age of 13, repairing radios in his basement during WWII. His passion for technology continued at MIT, where he earned bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering. In 1956, Dr. Bose was asked to join the faculty at MIT, where he taught for 45 years. His research at MIT led to the development of new, patented technologies. With those patents, he founded Bose Corporation in Massachusetts in 1964. He has achieved worldwide acclaim with the introduction of groundbreaking products, including the 901' Direct/Reflecting speaker system, customized sound systems for automobiles, and active noise-reducing headphones. Under his leadership, 100 percent of profits are reinvested back into the company, enabling research and advancements in non-audio areas. In 2004, after 25 years of research, he introduced a revolutionary suspension system that combines superior comfort and control in the same vehicle. Dr. Bose has done extensive work for the Armed Forces and NASA. He was named Inventor of the Year in 1987, by the Intellectual Property Owners Association and holds numerous patents in the fields of acoustics, electronics, nonlinear systems, and communication theory. He is a member of the Audio Hall of Fame, the recipient of a Distinguished Service Citation from the Automotive Hall of Fame, and has been inducted in the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Congratulations Dr. Bose on being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and for your outstanding work at the Bose Corporation.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I would like to inform Members that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hold a hearing entitled ``Examining Solutions to Cope with the Rise in Home Heating Oil Prices,'' on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Madam President, let me begin by saying that I am delighted we are on the floor of the Senate today addressing this question of housing. I congratulate the chairman, Senator Dodd, on a long effort over several months to be able to try to get the response the Senate ought to be providing to what is an obvious crisis in the country. I think a lot of people in the country have to be scratching their heads and wondering where the Congress has been on this matter, where Washington has been, and where the administration has been. I know it is particularly frustrating to the chairman and to many of us. Way back in January, I recall going to the White House for a meeting on the question of a stimulus package and saying to the President: Mr. President, the obvious crisis is in housing, and you cannot address it and stem the hemorrhaging with respect to the American economy unless you deal with the cause, which is the subprime crisis. I remember Secretary Paulson was there, Vice President Cheney, and others. Heads nodded in a kind of consent. Then the President proceeded to go to the State of the Union Message and call in his State of the Union Message for the mortgage revenue bond proposal. Still, here we are now in June, and we do not have an adequate response at the Federal level to the housing crisis from the Congress. We have had some responses by lowering interest rates. But, the fact is, you pick up the paper and see there were record levels of mortgages in foreclosure in the Washington area and in other parts of the country. As we all know, when that happens to a community, it is not just a few houses, it is not just the families directly impacted by virtue of foreclosures, it is the entire community. When a street has a group of foreclosures on it, the housing values all around start to go down. The local pharmacy gets hurt, the gas station gets hurt, the 7- Eleven gets hurt, the police wind up having to patrol more because they have more homes that are then on the market. The real estate market becomes glutted. So the downstream implications are gigantic. In Boston, Mayor Menino and I sponsored an afternoon in Roxbury where families were invited to come in. We finally got them to be able to sit down with a human being. They had been telephoning and going through 10 or 15, ``push 5,'' ``push 3,'' ``push 2,''. A consecutive series of pushing buttons and they were exasperated because they could not talk to someone to get answers for their individual situations. So we got the 10 biggest lenders to come in and sat them down with these people over the course of a day. During the time that I was there, I actually had people come up to me with huge smiles on their faces and saying: Thank you. I just cut a new deal. I am staying in my home. They were able to go from a 13-percent interest rate--think of that, 13 percent. I would like to know what CEO of a company in America was paying 13 percent on a mortgage, or 9 percent on a mortgage. But here were these hard-working Americans paying $5,000 a month for their home, who had put money back into their home. The equity loan they took on their home, in too many cases sort of pushed on them, they put into rewiring or roofing, putting a new boiler in, raising the equity in their home. Then all of a sudden their interest rates started to go up, often by circumstances beyond their control. One woman I met and talked to held down two jobs and was buying her mortgage on the basis of the two jobs that she held down. But then she got sick and she was not able to hold onto the two jobs. Because she got sick all of a sudden, she was threatened with foreclosure. She offered to buy the home at the rate they were going to sell the home after it was foreclosed on. She could afford to do that and could afford to pay for the mortgage at a discounted rate. They refused to sell it to her. They refused to allow her to stay in it. Extraordinary circumstances of stubbornness or bullheadedness--I do not know what principle was being applied. But in the process, a lot of average folks are getting squeezed and hurt, I mean seriously hurt, as a result. Equally important, it has continued the process of depressing the market and driving it downward. So I am glad we are here. I hope we can get it done because it is long overdue, long overdue. But we cannot allow the acute crisis in foreclosures to also cloud the other opportunities that are presented in this bill. GSE reform, the FHA reform, the Foreclosure Protection Act, there is a provision in here for veterans, which I have sponsored. I think all of those are important components of this bill. But there is also another part of the housing crisis, and it is being addressed in this legislation; that is, the ongoing and deepening shortage of affordable rental housing in our country. So I was very pleased the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund was included in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, and that would produce about 1.5 million affordable rental housing units for our poorest families over the next decade. As the original author of this legislation, I know what it is going to be able to do. I had the privilege of serving on the Banking Committee and serving as chairman of the Housing Subcommittee. I worked with some of the staff who are still here--Jonathan Miller and others-- who helped pull this together in an effort to create a trust fund that will help us provide funding. That is why I strongly oppose the Bond amendment to make contributions to the trust fund by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac voluntary. I think the Bond amendment to make these contributions voluntary is the wrong amendment and would have a very damaging impact on our ability to be able to deal with rental housing and the rental housing crisis. Let me explain why. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already have requirements to assist low- and moderate-income families to obtain critical housing. What we do in this bill is take excess funding that is produced in housing. It is not often you have a program that is producing excess funding, and then there is still need in that particular sector. So you can actually take the excess and put it back into that sector to address the need. We create that excess through GSEs. What we do is take the excess and put it into a revolving fund to produce rental housing. In September of 2000, I first introduced this legislation. Last year, along with Senator Snowe, on a bipartisan basis, we again introduced the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to address the very question of a severe shortage of housing by establishing a rental housing production program. We now have 23 bipartisan cosponsors. Similar legislation passed the House of Representatives last year with a bipartisan vote of 264 to 148. With the work of Senator Jack Reed on the Banking Committee, of Chairman Dodd, and of Ranking Member Shelby, they have helped to bring this bill to the Senate floor at this critical moment by including it in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Frankly, it does not make sense in terms of our economic interests, our housing crisis interests, our family interests, to now suddenly make voluntary something that has the ability to be able to address such a critical need. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund would create a production program that will ensure 1.5 million new rental units are built over the next 10 years for extremely low-income families and working families. The goal is obviously to create long-term, affordable, mixed-income developments in the areas with the greatest opportunities for those low-income families. It has been endorsed by more than 5,700 community organizations led by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, including the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders, the Children's Defense Fund, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Coalition for Homeless, and many others. The funding from the trust fund can be used for construction, rehabilitation, acquisition, preservation incentives, and operating assistance to ease the affordable housing crisis. Funds can also be used for downpayment and for closing costs assistance by first time home buyers. Since 2006, the American housing construction industry has shed 457,000 jobs. The construction of fewer homes means fewer new kitchens, fewer new basements for manufacturers to place their appliances and other products. The loss of manufacturing jobs follows from those fewer purchases and placements of appliances. Job losses combine with slumping home sales to depress consumer confidence, and that causes a slowdown in spending, and then you ultimately shrink the economy. This is not a small impact. Passing the trust fund will help create thousands of jobs in housing construction across the Nation, and it will help to turn our country around. This is what a real stimulus package ought to do, create jobs for the long term not pass out checks that burn up in the short term. It will help signal to businesses across the Nation to produce jobs that are critical to our economic security. So voting for the Bond amendment will, in fact, reduce our ability to address the current crisis in the economy and reduce the creation of new jobs. Because of the lack of affordable housing, an awful lot of families are forced to live in substandard living conditions. Do you know what that does? That puts a lot of children at risk in America. Children living in substandard housing are more likely to experience violence, hunger, lead poisoning, or to suffer from asthma. They are then more likely to have difficulties learning and more likely to fall behind in school. Our Nation's children depend on access to affordable rental housing. One other thing people don't often think about, if you don't have affordable housing or you have insecurity in your housing, you also have a downstream impact on schools. Because kids who have to move from home to home are kids who are more likely to get yanked out of a school. Classes are disrupted and the school is then disrupted. We have a much longer term interest, in terms of our workforce development as well as the stability of our communities, to make certain that we have affordable housing available. The trust fund will produce 1.5 million units of affordable housing to provide children in America with a better quality of life. The Bond amendment would make that entirely voluntary. If it is voluntary, it is not going to happen today for low- income families. Long-term changes in the housing market have dramatically limited the availability of affordable rental housing across the country. It has severely increased the cost of rental housing that remains. In 2005, a record 37.3 million households paid more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, according to the Nation's Housing 2007 Report from the Joint Center on Housing Studies at Harvard University. Approximately 17 million families paid more than half of their income, 50 percent of their income, on housing costs. The trust fund would produce rental housing and help lower the cost of housing. This is especially important for families, those 17 million and 37 million families with high housing expenditures. Adopting the Bond amendment will mean that many more children and their families will live in substandard housing or will become homeless. They are children who are ultimately less likely to do well in school, if they even stay in school. I believe that is unacceptable. I hope colleagues will oppose the Bond amendment.

Mr. KERRY. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 4985

Mr. KERRY

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to celebrate the life and work of a dedicated educator. This month, Alfredo Nunez will retire as principal of the Agassiz Elementary School of Jamaica Plain, MA, and as he prepares to do so I am proud to join with his colleagues, friends, and family in celebrating more than 30 years of service to Boston Public Schools. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Nunez immigrated to the United States in 1963. He attended high school in Jersey City, NJ, and subsequently moved to New Brunswick, NJ, where he graduated from Rutgers University. Following graduation, he moved to Boston where he became a U.S. citizen and obtained his master's degree from Boston University in bilingual education. Nunez then became a fifth grade teacher at the Agassiz, where he has worked ever since. One of the largest elementary schools in Boston, with over 800 students and 100-plus faculty and staff members, the Agassiz is a diverse and dynamic school with a large bilingual student population. Nunez relished the opportunity to not only teach but also to learn from the thousands of students, parents, and teachers he has worked with over the years. During his tenure as principal, the Agassiz has garnered numerous awards and accolades for its drive to achieve excellence in education. Nunez has encouraged partnerships with institutes of higher education such as the University of Massachusetts and Harvard University, as well as art and cultural institutions like the Boston Ballet, to try to expand his students' horizons. He has also worked to grow parent participation within the school to foster a more community oriented approach to learning. I am proud to pay tribute to the service of Alfredo Nunez to the Agassiz and to the children of Boston. I wish Alfredo the very best as he looks back on so many achievements and contributions to the community and begins this new chapter in life.