Blanche Lincoln

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. LINCOLN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mrs. LINCOLN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise to highlight the greatest resource of Arkansas. It is our people. It is the working families and the small businesses in their valiant fight against the current economic crisis. It is more important than ever before to give working families and businesses the tools they need to succeed in this world, to be competitive in the global marketplace and, more importantly, to be able to be successful on their own land. Hard work and entrepreneurship have fueled the Arkansas small business economy for decades, and we must ensure it remains that way in the future. That is why I have designed a package of tax cuts and Tax Code simplification measures that I call the Arkansas Plan, to help move our State and hard-working families forward. Together, these tax measures will allow working families and small businesses to get ahead and emerge from this economic crisis stronger and more competitive than ever before. These measures will encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, create new jobs, and lessen our dependence on foreign oil; as well as reduce the burden on working families and small businesses by simplifying our ever-complicated Tax Code. This week, I am focused on measures that will allow working families and small businesses to emerge from the economic crisis stronger and more competitive. I have reintroduced the Small Business Health Options Program, which would make health insurance more affordable, predictable, and accessible for small businesses and self-employed individuals. Our SHOP bill offers tax incentives to encourage States to reform the poorly functioning small group insurance market and encourages the development of State purchasing pools backstopped by a voluntary nationwide pool. The majority of uninsured Americans are self-employed individuals and employees of small businesses. Small businesses are the No. 1 source for jobs in our great State of Arkansas. Yet only 29 percent of businesses with fewer than 50 employees offer health insurance coverage because it is simply too expensive. Of the total uninsured population of Arkansas--more than 56 percent--approximately 295,000 Arkansans are employed by a firm with 100 or fewer employees. Our SHOP bill is a pragmatic model for larger health reform legislation that allows us to begin to address the needs of the millions of working uninsured Americans whose top priority is access to quality and affordable health care for their families. What we are looking for is to be able to give small businesses, their employees, and self-employed individuals the access to the same kind of quality and affordable health insurance we enjoy as Members of Congress. I think it is very doable. I am looking forward to continuing my work with Senator Snowe and others on a plan we have worked on for years now. Whether it is done independently or in the context of a larger health care reform package, it is time to do something for small businesses, their employees, and the self employed because they are the largest component of the uninsured that we could really do something substantively for. Another piece of my Arkansas plan is legislation to help Arkansas taxpayers who have seen their investments disappear as a result of the deteriorating economic conditions. My proposal would allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000--up from the $3,000 cap they have now--as the amount an individual can deduct annually for capital losses suffered. More than 100,000 Arkansans count on such investments. Arkansas families have seen the value of investments plummet during the current economic crisis. The resulting losses from the dramatic downturn in the market have been felt by all investors, but probably the hardest hit are those taxpayers who are at or near retirement age, who are counting on such funds for their retirement security. This gives them a little bit of ease. I have also introduced the Savings for Working Families Act, which would encourage low- and middle-income families to establish savings accounts for the purchase of a first home, a college education, or to start a business. These individual development accounts have a proven track record of success in Arkansas. In addition, today I introduce the Family Tax Relief Act to help the families of more than 140,000 Arkansas children afford the cost of childcare. If you look around this Nation at the hard-working Americans--particularly in Arkansas--who are in need of childcare, good-quality childcare, to be able to pay for it, this is a substantial difference in these economic times that helps them achieve that goal. Also, today I introduce a bill to update rules for S corporations so that businesses can access capital and have the opportunity to expand and create the much needed jobs Arkansans need. Together, I believe these bills will equip the working families and small businesses in our great State of Arkansas with the resources needed to navigate the current crisis. Next week, my Arkansas Plan will focus on encouraging American innovation and entrepreneurship to create new jobs here at home and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. I will introduce a series of energy, research and development, and workforce training tax initiatives to accomplish this objective. The following week, I will look forward to introducing reform measures to simplify the Tax Code and reduce the burden of Arkansas' working families and businesses by working to build a tax structure that is fair and equitable for all Americans. I encourage my colleagues to look at these commonsense measures to see how they will benefit their own constituents in States across this great land. Throughout my career in the Senate, I have made Arkansas' working families and small businesses my top priorities. From my seat on the Senate Finance Committee, I will continue to work to bring our families the relief they need and business owners the tools they require to invest and grow and become successful and continue to be competitive. We have a great country, and each of us feels very particular about our State. I come from a seventh-generation Arkansas farm family. My home is precious to me. I reiterate what I started with, and that is that our greatest assets and resources in Arkansas are our people. They are hard working, innovative, and stalwart in coming together to help one another and help this country. Whether they are small business individuals or whether they serve in the armed services or whether they are teachers or whether they care for parents and the elderly, they are wonderful people, and they deserve our utmost attention, as do those in other States. I am willing to bet my colleagues that the Arkansas Plan, which I put together to benefit Arkansas small businesses and working families, will also benefit the working families in each of their States. I challenge you all to take a look at this and help me to move these initiatives forward on behalf of our working families and small businesses across this country.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise to highlight the greatest resource of Arkansas. It is our people. It is the working families and the small businesses in their valiant fight against the current economic crisis. It is more important than ever before to give working families and businesses the tools they need to succeed in this world, to be competitive in the global marketplace and, more importantly, to be able to be successful on their own land. Hard work and entrepreneurship have fueled the Arkansas small business economy for decades, and we must ensure it remains that way in the future. That is why I have designed a package of tax cuts and Tax Code simplification measures that I call the Arkansas Plan, to help move our State and hard-working families forward. Together, these tax measures will allow working families and small businesses to get ahead and emerge from this economic crisis stronger and more competitive than ever before. These measures will encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, create new jobs, and lessen our dependence on foreign oil; as well as reduce the burden on working families and small businesses by simplifying our ever-complicated Tax Code. This week, I am focused on measures that will allow working families and small businesses to emerge from the economic crisis stronger and more competitive. I have reintroduced the Small Business Health Options Program, which would make health insurance more affordable, predictable, and accessible for small businesses and self-employed individuals. Our SHOP bill offers tax incentives to encourage States to reform the poorly functioning small group insurance market and encourages the development of State purchasing pools backstopped by a voluntary nationwide pool. The majority of uninsured Americans are self-employed individuals and employees of small businesses. Small businesses are the No. 1 source for jobs in our great State of Arkansas. Yet only 29 percent of businesses with fewer than 50 employees offer health insurance coverage because it is simply too expensive. Of the total uninsured population of Arkansas--more than 56 percent--approximately 295,000 Arkansans are employed by a firm with 100 or fewer employees. Our SHOP bill is a pragmatic model for larger health reform legislation that allows us to begin to address the needs of the millions of working uninsured Americans whose top priority is access to quality and affordable health care for their families. What we are looking for is to be able to give small businesses, their employees, and self-employed individuals the access to the same kind of quality and affordable health insurance we enjoy as Members of Congress. I think it is very doable. I am looking forward to continuing my work with Senator Snowe and others on a plan we have worked on for years now. Whether it is done independently or in the context of a larger health care reform package, it is time to do something for small businesses, their employees, and the self employed because they are the largest component of the uninsured that we could really do something substantively for. Another piece of my Arkansas plan is legislation to help Arkansas taxpayers who have seen their investments disappear as a result of the deteriorating economic conditions. My proposal would allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000--up from the $3,000 cap they have now--as the amount an individual can deduct annually for capital losses suffered. More than 100,000 Arkansans count on such investments. Arkansas families have seen the value of investments plummet during the current economic crisis. The resulting losses from the dramatic downturn in the market have been felt by all investors, but probably the hardest hit are those taxpayers who are at or near retirement age, who are counting on such funds for their retirement security. This gives them a little bit of ease. I have also introduced the Savings for Working Families Act, which would encourage low- and middle-income families to establish savings accounts for the purchase of a first home, a college education, or to start a business. These individual development accounts have a proven track record of success in Arkansas. In addition, today I introduce the Family Tax Relief Act to help the families of more than 140,000 Arkansas children afford the cost of childcare. If you look around this Nation at the hard-working Americans--particularly in Arkansas--who are in need of childcare, good-quality childcare, to be able to pay for it, this is a substantial difference in these economic times that helps them achieve that goal. Also, today I introduce a bill to update rules for S corporations so that businesses can access capital and have the opportunity to expand and create the much needed jobs Arkansans need. Together, I believe these bills will equip the working families and small businesses in our great State of Arkansas with the resources needed to navigate the current crisis. Next week, my Arkansas Plan will focus on encouraging American innovation and entrepreneurship to create new jobs here at home and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. I will introduce a series of energy, research and development, and workforce training tax initiatives to accomplish this objective. The following week, I will look forward to introducing reform measures to simplify the Tax Code and reduce the burden of Arkansas' working families and businesses by working to build a tax structure that is fair and equitable for all Americans. I encourage my colleagues to look at these commonsense measures to see how they will benefit their own constituents in States across this great land. Throughout my career in the Senate, I have made Arkansas' working families and small businesses my top priorities. From my seat on the Senate Finance Committee, I will continue to work to bring our families the relief they need and business owners the tools they require to invest and grow and become successful and continue to be competitive. We have a great country, and each of us feels very particular about our State. I come from a seventh-generation Arkansas farm family. My home is precious to me. I reiterate what I started with, and that is that our greatest assets and resources in Arkansas are our people. They are hard working, innovative, and stalwart in coming together to help one another and help this country. Whether they are small business individuals or whether they serve in the armed services or whether they are teachers or whether they care for parents and the elderly, they are wonderful people, and they deserve our utmost attention, as do those in other States. I am willing to bet my colleagues that the Arkansas Plan, which I put together to benefit Arkansas small businesses and working families, will also benefit the working families in each of their States. I challenge you all to take a look at this and help me to move these initiatives forward on behalf of our working families and small businesses across this country.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I thank the Chair and my friend from Oklahoma. I appreciate the collegiality and certainly his friendship.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the outstanding service that MG Elder Granger has given to Arkansas and our great Nation through his work in the military medical services. Since 2005, MG Elder Granger, M.D., has served his country as the deputy director of the TRICARE Management Activity in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Prior to joining TRICARE, Major General Granger led the largest U.S. and multinational battlefield health system in our Nation's recent history as Commander of the Task Force 44th Medical Command and Command Surgeon for the Multinational Corps in Iraq. Major General Granger also brilliantly implemented TRICARE's $22.5 billion Defense Health Program that benefitted over 9.2 million people worldwide. With his compassion and dedication, Major General Granger improved patient care for the entire military health system by managing the TRICARE benefits for an international network of 75 military hospitals, 461 service clinics, and a network of civilian providers and hospitals. An enthusiastic advocate for the military health system, Major General Granger directed the launch of a TRICARE Web portal which improved communications between beneficiaries and enhanced health benefits information services. This technology is projected to reach 23 million individuals by 2009. Through the TRICARE's mail order pharmacy program, Major General Granger increased the number of users utilizing mail-order pharmacy prescriptions by 16 percent, as well as increasing total prescription volume by 21 percent. In addition, he established a Web/call-in center which handled 21,412 beneficiary requests for 47,213 prescription conversions as of November 2008, which amounts to an estimated cost avoidance of $3.2 million to date. Major General Granger also oversaw the establishment of the voluntary agreement for retail rebates, which has resulted in a pharmaceutical industry rebate of $28 million since the beginning of 2007. Further, he established electronic claims processing which has already saved $1.6 million in administrative fees in addition to $105 million in overhead savings. A native of West Memphis, AR, MG Elder Granger has played an active role in veterans' medical services since the beginning of his career. He represents the great progress that has and will continue to occur within the military health system. He is a mentor to his staff, a leader in his field, and a soldier ready for any mission. I am honored to recognize his service.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, before I begin, I wish to say a word of thanks to Chairman Conrad, who has done a tremendous job providing great leadership. He and his staff have done a wonderful job reflecting the President's priorities and, more importantly, putting balance to the budget before us. Because my time is limited, I wish to take a moment to read to you a few excerpts from an editorial that appeared in the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette earlier this year. It was submitted by a member of a family who runs a timber operation in southwest Arkansas and that has been in the family since 1907. He said: The estate tax kills jobs. It kills companies that provide jobs. In the process it kills towns and communities, particularly those in rural areas dependent upon the land and local industry. Five times this man's family has been subjected to the estate tax-- five times. He goes on: Between the 1950s and 1980s, vast amounts of money--tens of millions of dollars--were raised to pay the tax. Lands were clear cut, mills liquidated, communities destroyed. . . .The next hit will be too great. Think about this type of family business. They have grown their business, reinvested in it over a century's worth of time, put almost all their profits back into it, and now this particular company employs over 1,000 Arkansans and has multiple mills that are worth a good bit of money--millions of dollars. This amendment provides real relief to our family-owned businesses. In a time when our Government has handed out billions upon billions to failed Wall Street banks, it is time we provide a little relief to our businesses on Main Street that are in need of help right now. These are people who employ more than half the workers in Arkansas. These are the people who, if we reform the estate tax, will invest in their businesses and create more jobs.

Mrs. LINCOLN. I ask my colleagues to look at this seriously and realize we are not protecting the ultrawealthy. We are working for small businesses, family businesses in each and every one of our States.

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to call up amendment No. 873.

Mrs. LINCOLN

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

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I will soon call up amendment No. 775, which is one of the amendments I filed on the budget. This is a simple amendment. It is to ask that we make an investment that would reflect our Nation's commitment to the men and women serving in our Nation's Selected Reserve. The amendment I offer with Senators Crapo and Klobuchar would create room in the budget to ``enhance future GI Bill benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserve by ensuring those benefits keep pace with the national average cost of tuition.'' Since its inception in 1984, the Selected Reserve GI bill has served as an important tool for recruiting young men and women into the National Guard and Reserves. Those who initially join for 6 years are automatically entitled to these benefits and the current monthly rate of $329 for full-time study and training. Unfortunately, however, Selected Reserve GI bill benefit rates are simply not reflective of the critical role guardsmen and reservists play in today's military. Since September 11, 2001, these benefits have increased an average of less than 3 percent each year. As so many people know, the Guard, Reserve, and Selected Reserve are doing a tremendous duty now that is much different than what it was pre- 9/11. They have also not kept pace with the Active-Duty GI bill benefit increases--plunging in value from the historic benchmark of 48 percent of the Active-Duty GI bill to just 25 percent today. By failing to make an appropriate investment in the men and women of our National Guard and Reserves, this trend sends a very poor message that the Reserve component is being devalued. Given the current economic climate, it is imperative we make a greater investment in these fabulous men and women who serve us from each of our States in the Guard and Reserves. The rising price of higher education, increases in the interest rates on student loans, and the limited earnings ability of those with only high school credentials make educational benefits a primary means of investing in our future. During tough economic times, they may also face increased competition for financial aid dollars as our colleges and universities see more applicants. As we know, an increasingly competitive job market encourages more high school graduates to pursue higher education rather than risk finding stable employment. At the same time, more working adults are going back to school to gain additional skills to make them more marketable. We want to encourage our Guard and Reserves, and we want to encourage our Selected Reservists to take advantage of educational opportunities to further their positions in the Guard and Reserves but also to be able to further their positions in business and in industry and where they are going to be working in our communities. Last year, Congress made a tremendous investment in our men and women in uniform by passing a 21st century GI bill that greatly expanded GI bill benefits and made college more affordable for servicemembers and veterans. Senators Webb, Akaka, and others deserve our gratitude for their tremendous leadership on that issue. For Active-Duty servicemembers and Reservists called to Active Duty for more than 90 days, these benefits will be absolutely critical. My State of Arkansas has recently welcomed home over 3,000 National Guardsmen from a 1-year tour in Iraq. For many of them, it was their second tour in just 3 years. I am proud we will be providing them with education benefits that are more commensurate with their increased service to our great Nation. One of the provisions of the newly enhanced GI bill will tie the Active-Duty GI bill rate to the national average cost of tuition. My amendment would simply create budget room to do the same thing for the Selected Reserve GI bill. Therefore, when the national average cost of tuition increases, Selected Reserve GI bill rates would increase by the same percentage, making sure they keep up as we move forward, as opposed to continually falling behind in their percentage rate toward educational benefits for the Selected Reserve. This required increase is very modest. Yet it would send a powerful message to the men and women serving in our Nation's Selected Reserve. Our military simply could not function without them--particularly in today's world. While those who are activated and sent overseas deserve our utmost respect and gratitude, we must also not forget the thousands of men and women at armories and bases all across our States who serve a critical role in making sure other members of their units are qualified and ready to deploy. They are the police officers, the doctors, the schoolteachers, the mayors, and the neighborhood pharmacists in communities across our Nation. Providing enhanced Selected Service GI bill benefits makes an investment in these men and women who are not only holding up the economies in our local small communities across the States in this great Nation, but they are also willing to serve in a military fashion that is much needed to back up those men and women who are deployed. It also enhances the GI bill to more effectively serve as a recruitment and retention tool for our Armed Forces. Ultimately, it enhances our Nation's competitiveness through the development of a more highly educated and productive workforce. As the daughter of a Korean war veteran, who was an infantryman, I was taught from an early age about the sacrifices our troops have to make to keep our Nation free. I have been grateful all my life, and continue to be, as my colleagues are, for the service of so many of our brave men and women, particularly from Arkansas and certainly across the Nation. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. It is the least we can do for those to whom we owe so much and to reassure future generations that a grateful nation will provide for them should they devote themselves to serving our Nation in uniform. I appreciate the time I have had today to bring up this amendment. I look forward to being able to talk on other amendments when the time is available. Mr. President, at this point, under the previous order, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside in order to call up my amendment No. 775.

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

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I wish to thank the chairman of the Budget Committee and the ranking member, Senator Gregg, for being so thoughtful in this debate. I continue to especially compliment the chairman on coming up with an incredible balance in the budget, having worked so hard to reflect what so many of us want to see and the President's priorities. I think he has has done a remarkable job focusing on the priorities that many of us and the President feel are very important to focus on now and to do it with such a fiscally responsible as well as a very balanced approach. I think he has reached a tremendous balance. I applaud him and his staff and all those who have worked on this budget. I do believe they have come up with a good, sound proposal, something that reflects so much of what we want to see happening in this great country. I rise to support an amendment that I will be offering, which is filed, but I will bring it up later. It will be offered on behalf of approximately 500,000 foster children across our Nation, and the foster, kinship, and adoptive parents who play such a crucial role in their lives. My amendment would create room in the budget for making improvements to our child welfare system and specifically for additional efforts to recruit and retain more foster families. I am so grateful to be joined in this effort by Senator Collins from Maine and Senator Landrieu from Louisiana, who have long been tremendous advocates on behalf of our Nation's foster children. As we all know, our States face ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining families to care for children in our foster care system. Tragically, while the number of children coming into the system has increased in recent years, the number of foster families has steadily decreased. All anybody has to do is look at the economy around us. Working families are struggling. Unfortunately, those hard-working families, who are the diligent, giving souls who open their homes to foster children to embrace and love them and to give them a home, are struggling as much, if not more than, anybody else, and their ability to open their hearts and homes is being restricted by this economy. With nearly 25 percent of families leaving the system each year, we simply cannot sustain these losses. In my State of Arkansas, we are grateful for our 1,200 foster families, but we desperately need more to cover the number of children in need. Given the current economic climate, many of these parents, most of whom are low- to middle-income families, have experienced tremendous difficulties maintaining employment and providing for their families. That makes them even more hesitant to take on the additional responsibilities of caring for a foster child. This problem will only exacerbate unless we do something to stem the tide. My amendment would allow for initiatives, such as the grant program provided under the Resource Family Recruitment and Retention Act, a bipartisan bill I have introduced with six of my Senate colleagues. Specifically, this grant program would provide States more opportunities to develop innovative methods of education and support for resource families. Among other demonstration projects, it would also allow States to establish peer-to-peer support and mentoring groups; programs to provide foster families with reliable and accessible respite care to help them avoid burnout. We are seeing, as they put more and more of their resources and energies and more and more of their hearts and souls into wanting to reach out to foster children and bring them into their homes, a tremendous amount of burnout. We also want to train them to care for children with special needs, which is, again, a growing need among foster children. As lawmakers, it is our role to honor the critical role that foster families play in the lives of foster youth and provide them with the services and the support they need. Foster children seek nothing more than a safe, loving, and permanent home, and resource families often help address this need. By strengthening efforts to recruit and retain these families, we also enhance our best tool to recruit other families and retain prospective adoptive resources. As Members of this body, we have an obligation to do right by those we represent each and every day. We also have a moral obligation to do everything we can on behalf of the most vulnerable in our society. For the over 500,000 children who are in foster care today, and many more who are headed into the foster care system, the many thousands of families who have provided them with the love and support they desperately need, it is the least we can do. I call on my colleagues to join me in this effort to make sure we recognize that in these difficult economic times, we have multitudes of good American families, hard-working families who want to do what is right, who want to reach out and help these children who need a loving home. We need to provide the help in order for them to do that. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. LINCOLN. Absolutely. How grateful.

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I believe under the previous order I need to also ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside in order to call up my second amendment, which is amendment No. 774.

Mrs. LINCOLN. I thank my colleagues.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, tomorrow, April 1, 2009, four Arkansas universities--Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, and the University of Arkansas at Monticello--will celebrate 100 years of commitment to higher education. On their centennial anniversary, I want to recognize the enormous contributions these institutions have made to Arkansas and our Nation. In 1909, during the 37th session of the Arkansas General Assembly, Representative J.J. Bellamy of Lawrence County introduced Act 100, a bill to create four agricultural schools in Arkansas, one for each quadrant. The locations of the schools were to be chosen based upon ``the nature of the soil, healthfulness of location, general desirability, and other material inducements offered, such as the donation of buildings, land or money.'' The legislation was signed on April 1, 1909, by Governor George Donaghey. The four agriculture schools were to teach agriculture, horticulture, and textile making. Although they were secondary schools in their early days, these schools added additional curriculum to better serve their communities and soon were offering junior college classes. In 1925, the state legislature changed the names of the schools to better reflect their new role and the unique status of each school. The former First District Agricultural School is known today as Arkansas State University. A farm just east of Jonesboro was selected as the location for the school. With enrollment down due to World War I, the school obtained a Student Army Training Corps--SATC--on its campus. Since only junior colleges could participate in the SATC program, the school added faculty and improved its curriculum. It soon became known as the First District Agriculture and Mechanical College; the school received accreditation as a 2-year junior college and conditional status as a 4-year institution in 1925. In 1931, the A&M College awarded its first baccalaureate degree, and in 1933, the legislature once again changed the name to Arkansas State College--ASC. In fact, Arkansas's first female U.S. Senator, Hattie Caraway, was awarded the school's first honorary doctorate in recognition of her support. The university continued to grow over the decades, and on January 17, 1967, Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller signed legislation that gave the school its present-day name, Arkansas State University--ASU. Today, the ASU system serves approximately 18,900 students and includes campuses at Beebe, Mountain Home, and Newport. It also includes degree centers in Heber Springs and Searcy as part of ASU- Beebe; a technical center in Marked Tree; and instructional sites in Paragould and at Little Rock Air Force Base. On the occasion of the centennial, ASU Chancellor, Robert L. Potts, offered the following thoughts: From our origins as an agricultural school serving the First District, we have matured into a comprehensive university offering 42 degrees through the doctoral level in 170 fields of study and ten colleges. Since 1909, we have prepared our students to meet the challenges of their lives by Powering Minds--providing a university experience that educates, enhances, and enriches. We look forward to this Centennial Celebration as a time to focus on our heritage and build upon our successes. The former Second District Agricultural School is presently called Arkansas Tech University. The location of Russellville was chosen because the town agreed to pledge a minimum of $40,000 and a site of not less than 200 acres. In addition, it offered free electricity and water for three years. In 1925, the state legislature changed the school's name to Arkansas Polytechnic College to accurately reflect its move away from an agriculture curriculum to teacher training and the liberal fine arts. The school was officially accredited as a junior college in 1929 and remained a 2-year college until 1951. The school continued to grow and in 1976, it officially became Arkansas Tech University. It awarded its first graduate degrees 1 year later. Today, Arkansas Tech includes approximately 7,480 students at its Russellville and Ozark campuses. After 100 years, Arkansas Tech Chancellor, Robert C. Brown, noted: For the last one hundred years, Arkansas Tech University has educated students and prepared them for a successful future. Today, we are uniquely positioned to continue preparing our students for what lies ahead. Because of our commitment to educational excellence and our emphasis on teaching and learning, we are producing what the state and region need the most--college students ready to shape the future for the next one hundred years. The Third District Agricultural School is now known as Southern Arkansas University. Local farmers in Columbia County ensured that Magnolia was chosen as the site for the school. It became officially known as Magnolia A&M in 1925 and was fully accredited in 1929 with an emphasis on agriculture and home economics. In 1950, it became a 4-year institution and was renamed Southern State College--SSC--the following year. For 25 years, the school's enrollment and size increased, and in 1976 it was approved for university status. Renamed Southern Arkansas University, it is now a multicampus system with more than 5,000 students and locations in El Dorado and Camden. For the 100-year celebration, Southern Arkansas University Chancellor F. David Rankin had this to say: As the former Third District Agricultural School, Magnolia A&M, and Southern State College, Southern Arkansas University has served its region with a Tradition of Success since 1909. Although our name has changed, our commitment to higher education has not. SAU has roots that run deep in agriculture, but it has grown into a regional, comprehensive, four-year institution with a broad curriculum and a quickly expanding graduate school. As we begin our second century of service, we invite you to be a part of history as we pay tribute to our own. The final school created by Act 100 was the Fourth District Agricultural School. Monticello was chosen as the site thanks to the donation of land by the William Turner Wells estate. A former plantation, it included 900 fruit trees, a house, and a pond. In 1923, junior college classes were added. It formally changed its name, as the other schools did, in 1925 and became known as the Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical College. By 1928, it was fully accredited and became a 4-year institution in 1933. In 1935, the school began unofficially calling itself Arkansas Agricultural & Mechanical College. It remained Arkansas A&M until 1971 when Governor Dale Bumpers signed legislation merging the school with the University of Arkansas. On July 19, 1971, the University of Arkansas at Monticello--UAM was established. Although it is the smallest school in the University of Arkansas system at nearly 3,000 students, the Monticello campus owns the most land of any UA school with 1,036 acres devoted to forestry research and instruction and 300 acres for agricultural teaching and research. In 2003, UAM added campuses and now includes the College of Technology at McGehee and the College of Technology at Crossett. University of Arkansas at Monticello Chancellor, H. Jack Lassiter, said the following for the centennial celebration: As we approach our 100th Anniversary, we are constantly reminded that we have always represented opportunity to generations of people seeking a higher education and a better life. That message resonates as clearly today as it did in 1909. Many of our students are the first in their families to attend college. Others are non-traditional students who have decided to take advantage of the opportunity to change careers or complete a dream that began years ago. The university is constantly exploring and developing new opportunities to help students open doors to a better life. UAM is truly celebrating a century of opportunity. Mr. President, what wonderful gifts to the people of Arkansas that our legislators bestowed upon us a century ago. As each university celebrates this year, I want to add my voice to the chorus of Arkansans who celebrate this milestone. We have so much of which to be proud. As we move forward in the 21st century, I know that these four institutions will continue to stand ready to prepare our citizens to compete in the global marketplace for the next century.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise to join some of my colleagues to express our deep frustration with the financial institutions that have made the very poor decision of handing out multimillion dollar bonuses at taxpayers' expense--AIG being the latest in the line of continuing irresponsible behavior coming from Wall Street. I have hard-working families--and there are hard-working families all across this great Nation--who are saying: Enough is enough. This is not the kind of behavior Americans should be accepting at this time. It is completely irresponsible. Times are tough and people are sacrificing. People all across this country are sacrificing. Many employees in my State are seeing their hours cut or they are finding themselves out of work altogether. How are they caring for their families? They are working hard to look for that next job to put dinner on the table or to get their kids to school or making sure they can keep their families together. I have talked to recent retirees who have been devastated because the nest egg they have been saving all these years has been slashed by 40 or 50 percent in just a matter of months. Now they are having to dramatically downsize their quality of life or go back to work, if they can even find work. I met a gentleman this weekend who is beginning to have college-age kids. He spent his entire life working to save for those college funds only to find that in these last several months they too have been slashed in half. These people are realizing the impact of what is happening not only in our country but globally. They are standing up as Americans. They are willing to make sacrifices. They are working hard to keep body and soul together. But it is absolutely, unequivocally totally unacceptable for failed financial institutions that have received taxpayer assistance to be rewarding their employees with bonus payments at this time. It is outrageous and it will not be allowed. We are the stewards of the taxpayers in our States and of the dollars we have provided in good faith as an investment in these companies to try to make sure they, too, can make ends meet. But this isn't making ends meet--handing out tremendous bonuses to just a select few. It is absolutely irresponsible. During the debate of the recovery package, Senator Wyden and Senator Snowe and myself offered an amendment that put an excise tax on bonuses and financial institutions that had received TARP dollars. We did so because we feared this very thing would continue to happen. Unfortunately, our proposal was taken out of the package in the conference. So I am pleased to hear many of my colleagues who are now in agreement that something must be done to correct this travesty. Make no mistake, if these companies handing out multimillion dollar bonuses do not rectify the situation, do not change their ways, we stand ready to work to enact legislation that recoups these tax dollars and these taxpayers' funds. Our taxpayers have worked hard and they are suffering as much as anybody else. But we do not need to see these major corporations and financial institutions that are handing out these unbelievable enhanced bonuses at a time when we should all be pulling together, pulling together to make our economy strong, to set it back on track and to make sure we can embrace and continue the kind of quality of life that all Americans need to be able to realize. I yield the floor.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor a man from Arkansas who had a strong sense of duty toward his country from a very young age. COL Alva Bryan Lasswell, known as ``Red'' to friends, was a World War II war hero whose service has gone unrecognized for most of his life. I believe it is finally time to honor Colonel Lasswell for the brave servicemember that he was. When he was only 13 years old, Colonel Lasswell tried to join the Marine Corps. Due to age requirements, the future hero would have to wait until his 21st birthday to enlist. Throughout his distinguished military career, Colonel Lasswell was awarded the rank of 2nd lieutenant and served in Navy intelligence. During World War II, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor and was selected as one of 10 officers to take part in the elite intelligence gathering unit. In May 1942, Colonel Lasswell intercepted an unusual message that he reported to Navy headquarters. The message was a Japanese Operational Order authorizing the Battle of Midway. As a result of Lasswell's heroic service, the Navy was able to prepare for the attack, and the Battle of Midway would go on to become the first major victory for the Navy in World War II. This was not the end of his service however. Colonel Lasswell later translated a message which led to the shooting down of a plane carrying Japanese Adminral Isoroku Yamamoto in 1943, and in 1944 he recovered intelligence which involved a plot to assassinate GEN Douglas MacArthur. In addition, Lasswell's intelligence helped the U.S. Navy Antisubmarine Group sink at least five submarines in 1944. Lasswell completed his military career in 1956, serving as Chief of Staff for the Marine Recruit Depot. Despite his tremendous service to his country, Colonel Lasswell never received distinction or recognition for his intelligence recovery efforts during World War II. At this time, I would like to pay him the tribute he has deserved for so long.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, on behalf of children in lower-income schools across our nation, I rise today to introduce the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act. Each day, teachers in our schools are tasked not only with addressing the academic needs of students, but also with the behavioral, social, and emotional needs of the children in their classrooms. When they are left to address these emotional and behavioral issues, they have less time to deliver high quality academic instruction to the rest of the students in their class. Additionally, teachers often do not have the training or expertise to deal with many of the emotional issues their students face. Children overcoming mental illness or family issues such as the deployment of a parent to a war zone, homelessness, or domestic abuse, need the assistance of a trained professional, such as a school psychologist, school counselor, or school social worker. While student support services provided by these support personnel are readily available in many school districts, other low-income schools often lack access to these support personnel. Too many schools in low-income rural and urban areas have to share school counselors, social workers, and psychologists with many schools in the area, limiting their students' access to these services and placing an unnecessary burden on our teachers and our students. That is why I rise today along with my colleagues Senators Cochran, Leahy, Menendez, and Pryor to enthusiastically offer the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act. This bill will authorize grant funding to form partnerships between higher education institutions that train school guidance counselors, social workers, and psychologists and qualified rural and urban low-income Local Education Agencies to train and place these important school support professionals in under-served schools across the country. This bipartisan bill also authorizes grant funding to universities to recruit and hire faculty to train graduate students to become school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists. Additionally, it provides tuition credits to such graduate students, and offers student loan forgiveness to program graduates employed as school counselors, social workers, or psychologists by rural or urban low-income Local Education Agencies for a minimum of five years. By increasing the number of student support personnel in our country's under-served schools, we will provide students with the social and emotional support they need to succeed in the classroom. We will also provide teachers the assistance they need so they can concentrate on providing the academic instruction our children need. By taking these steps to improve student access to school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists, I am confident we can make strides in raising academic achievement in schools across the country. As we move forward, I want to encourage my colleagues to support America's children by supporting this important piece of legislation. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, on behalf of children in lower-income schools across our nation, I rise today to introduce the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act. Each day, teachers in our schools are tasked not only with addressing the academic needs of students, but also with the behavioral, social, and emotional needs of the children in their classrooms. When they are left to address these emotional and behavioral issues, they have less time to deliver high quality academic instruction to the rest of the students in their class. Additionally, teachers often do not have the training or expertise to deal with many of the emotional issues their students face. Children overcoming mental illness or family issues such as the deployment of a parent to a war zone, homelessness, or domestic abuse, need the assistance of a trained professional, such as a school psychologist, school counselor, or school social worker. While student support services provided by these support personnel are readily available in many school districts, other low-income schools often lack access to these support personnel. Too many schools in low-income rural and urban areas have to share school counselors, social workers, and psychologists with many schools in the area, limiting their students' access to these services and placing an unnecessary burden on our teachers and our students. That is why I rise today along with my colleagues Senators Cochran, Leahy, Menendez, and Pryor to enthusiastically offer the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act. This bill will authorize grant funding to form partnerships between higher education institutions that train school guidance counselors, social workers, and psychologists and qualified rural and urban low-income Local Education Agencies to train and place these important school support professionals in under-served schools across the country. This bipartisan bill also authorizes grant funding to universities to recruit and hire faculty to train graduate students to become school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists. Additionally, it provides tuition credits to such graduate students, and offers student loan forgiveness to program graduates employed as school counselors, social workers, or psychologists by rural or urban low-income Local Education Agencies for a minimum of five years. By increasing the number of student support personnel in our country's under-served schools, we will provide students with the social and emotional support they need to succeed in the classroom. We will also provide teachers the assistance they need so they can concentrate on providing the academic instruction our children need. By taking these steps to improve student access to school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists, I am confident we can make strides in raising academic achievement in schools across the country. As we move forward, I want to encourage my colleagues to support America's children by supporting this important piece of legislation. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mrs. LINCOLN

Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak on an issue I have certainly followed for many years now in the Senate and one I am proud to have brought to some conclusion along the way, particularly last evening. Many people look at history and see that when the Capitol was first built in the late 1700s to early 1800s, enslaved African Americans worked in all facets of its construction--carpentry, masonry, carting, rafting, roofing, plastering, glazing, painting, and sawing. But for almost 200 years, the story of these slave laborers was not told and was basically unknown, I would imagine to almost everyone who visited and worked in the Capitol every day. In July of 2000, I sponsored a resolution to establish a special task force to recommend an appropriate recognition for the slave laborers who worked on the construction of this great building--the U.S. Capitol--our symbol of freedom in this country. My cosponsor on this effort was then Senator Spencer Abraham from Michigan, and so the resolution became known as the Abraham-Lincoln resolution back then. The bicameral, bipartisan Slave Labor Task Force brought together historians and interested officials to work on this issue. One of those was Curtis Sykes, an educator and native of North Little Rock, AR, and an original member of Arkansas' Black History Advisory Committee. Mr. Sykes passed away before our work was complete, but he made so many important contributions to the task force before his passing. He was then ably succeeded by Ms. Sarah Jean Davidson, founder and president of the Association for the Preservation of North Little Rock, Arkansas African American History. I am so very grateful to these two individuals who have offered their insight and their expertise and their input to make sure that what we did here was done in a very special way in great recognition. In 2007, the task force presented the congressional leadership with recommendations on how to best recognize the contribution of these enslaved workers. The recommendations were developed with the invaluable assistance of a working group that included the historians and curators of the Senate, House, and Office of the Architect of the Capitol, representatives from the AOC Project Management Division, and representatives from the Capitol Visitor Center. Since then, we have been working so very hard to see that these recommendations are all realized. We have developed a history of slave laborers in the construction of the Capitol and put it online. We have ensured that the story of these slave laborers was incorporated into the CVC orientation video and Capitol tour guide training. We have seen the publication of a book on Black Americans in Congress, and we have seen the reception area of the CVC named Emancipation Hall. On Monday, I, along with my good friend and colleague Senator Chambliss, introduced a resolution to bring another recommendation to fruition. This resolution, which was approved by the Senate last night, authorizes a plaque to be placed in the Capitol, a plaque that identifies a very special feature of the Capitol. The original exterior wall of the Capitol was constructed between 1793 and 1807. The stones for that wall were mined by slave laborers in a sandstone quarry in Aquia Creek in Stafford County, VA. Quarrying stone was among the most difficult and backbreaking tasks in the building business. First, the land had to be cleared, then the top of the stone chipped away to reach the parts that had not been damaged by frost or vegetation. Then the stone would be further chipped to create a small cavity, just large enough for one man to work in. The men would work in these small cavities to cut grooves and hammer in iron wedges to split the stone to free it from the larger block. To make matters worse, the quarries were located on an isolated, snake- infested island that swarmed with mosquitoes in the blazing summer and froze under snow in winter. Much of the original Capitol no longer stands, due to the fires of war and renovations to create more space. The original East exterior wall still exists, however, and is now part of the East Front Corridor. It is one of the few places where that original slave-quarried sandstone is still in evidence. The plaque would be placed near that wall, and would bear an inscription identifying the wall as having been built of sandstone quarried by enslaved African Americans who were an important part, a vital part of the labor force that built our great U.S. Capitol. Thanks to my Slave Labor Task Force colleague Congressman John Lewis, there will be a similar plaque on the House side of the East Front Corridor. These locations are important for another reason. They are on the route that visitors take to the Senate and House galleries. Mr. Sykes, as I mentioned earlier, the Arkansas historian with whom I worked, focused on the need to ensure that as many citizens as possible be made aware of this contribution of enslaved African Americans in the building of this great building, our Capitol. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Sykes. To me, education is at the heart of this effort. It would do no good to have a plaque that was hidden in a corner where no one would see it. It would do no good if we told the story of enslaved African Americans building the Capitol and no one heard it. A critical part of recognizing the work of the slaves is to make their story visible and accessible, so that future generations know and understand the sacrifices that have been made for the many blessings that we enjoy today, that those blessings that are capsulized in the very building in which we all work, that the freedoms and the rights that we enjoy, are capsulized in a building that had tremendous input from enslaved African Americans. I was recently in the new CVC and I hope, for those Members who have not been, they will go visit and certainly for those of our constituents who visit this great Capitol of the Nation, that they get a chance to visit the Visitors Center. I watched the faces of dozens of schoolchildren as their mouths opened up, dropped in awe at the sight of this vast and beautiful Emancipation Hall. Their eyes popped open wide as they looked through the skylight and saw this gorgeous view of the dome of the Capitol that represents who they are and the great Nation to which they belong. They were so excited about being there, and that excitement opened their minds to the lessons that would be taught to them, there in that visitors center--like the Statue of Freedom that was designed by an Italian and sent over here and yet could not be reconstructed until the ingenuity and the dedicated focus of, yes, an enslaved African American by the name of Philip Reid could figure out how to unhook the model that the Italians had sent us, cast it, and put it piece by piece back together. No one else could figure it out. As you walk into Emancipation Hall and you see this huge statue, the caste of the Statue of Freedom, what an unbelievable feeling it gives, not just to schoolchildren, but to any American who walks in there. How important for them to know of the ingenuity, the hard work, the labor that went into this incredible building. Through this effort I wanted to make sure that everyone who visits the Capitol leaves knowing the story of the people who helped to build it, a true symbol of freedom, at a time when they themselves were not free. I want to close, first, by saying again a very special thanks to my friend and colleague Senator Chambliss from Georgia who has worked with us on this resolution--we were so excited and pleased to see it pass last night--as well as the chairman of the Rules Committee, Senator Schumer, and the distinguished ranking member of the committee, Senator Bennett, for also sponsoring the legislation with Senator Chambliss and myself. They were all so good to work with on this resolution. I appreciate their efforts and emphasis on something I believe is very important, not just for the Capitol but for our entire Nation. I also want to publicly thank and recognize my good friend and former colleague Congressman John Lewis for his leadership on this project. He is an extraordinary human being. I have been grateful for the opportunity to work with him on this very important issue. I never will forget, when I arrived in the House of Representatives as a young single woman in 1993, Congressman Lewis invited a small group of us freshmen--it was the largest freshman class since the 1940s, I believe--anyway, he invited us to come view some of his footage and film from days during the 1960s, and all of what he endured before that. It was amazing--the freedom ride, all of what he had experienced. It was a tremendous opportunity for me to get to know him better. I am grateful, again, for his extraordinary leadership. I hope everyone, as I said, will take the opportunity to go to the CVC if they have not already and take a look and hopefully burn in each of our hearts how important it is to remember every day when we come to this unbelievable building what it stands for; hopefully relighting and rekindling our ability to unite, to work together for the great things this wonderful Nation stands for. I appreciate so much everyone working together to make this possibility a reality. I am very excited. I thank my colleagues for their attention. I yield the floor to my good friend and colleague from Georgia.

Mrs. LINCOLN

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