Barbara Mikulski

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Federal Employees Health Benefits Improvement Act of 2002 along with my colleague from Maryland, Senator Sarbanes. This bill would reduce the employee portion of premiums costs under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan. Our Federal employees work hard for the American people and they deserve quality benefits. What is the need for this legislation? Health insurance premiums for Federal employees and retirees rose an average of 13.3 percent this year. In contrast, wages rose by 4.77 percent in the Washington-Baltimore area. This follows a 10.5 percent increase last year, and increases of greater than 9 percent for 2000 and 1999. As a result, premiums are nearly 50 percent greater than they were just five years ago. The Federal program provides health insurance coverage to about 9 million government workers, retirees and family members. More than 800,000 of these workers live in the DC metro area. Health insurance costs are skyrocketing, and Federal employees are paying a greater share of their take home pay for health care each year. Currently, Federal employees pay anywhere between 28 percent to 30 percent of premiums. In the private sector, other large employers pay at least 80 percent of premiums and employees pay 20 percent according to recent data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Kaiser Family Foundation. How would this bill help solve this problem? This bill would change the financing formula for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). Under this approach, the federal agencies would pay 80 percent of the weighted average for premiums. This would help reduce the out-of-pocket health care costs for federal employees and improve the affordability of FEHBP immensely. What would this mean to Federal employees? My bill would help improve the affordability of health care insurance for all 9 million. Currently, about 250,000 Federal employees do not have health insurance. Many of them cannot afford health care insurance at the current rates. My proposal would improve the affordability of health care insurance so that many of these workers would be able to afford coverage. Providing quality benefits for Federal employees is also an important tool in helping recruit and retain a high quality workforce and compete with the private sector and other state and local governments. This bill would have an enormous impact in my State, Maryland, but would also benefit Federal workers nationally. Under this proposal, the percent that a Federal employee pays in health insurance premiums would decline, putting more money into Federal employees pockets each pay period. This bill improves benefits for our hardworking Federal employees. I urge my colleagues to join me in expressing support for this bill.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Federal Employees Health Benefits Improvement Act of 2002 along with my colleague from Maryland, Senator Sarbanes. This bill would reduce the employee portion of premiums costs under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan. Our Federal employees work hard for the American people and they deserve quality benefits. What is the need for this legislation? Health insurance premiums for Federal employees and retirees rose an average of 13.3 percent this year. In contrast, wages rose by 4.77 percent in the Washington-Baltimore area. This follows a 10.5 percent increase last year, and increases of greater than 9 percent for 2000 and 1999. As a result, premiums are nearly 50 percent greater than they were just five years ago. The Federal program provides health insurance coverage to about 9 million government workers, retirees and family members. More than 800,000 of these workers live in the DC metro area. Health insurance costs are skyrocketing, and Federal employees are paying a greater share of their take home pay for health care each year. Currently, Federal employees pay anywhere between 28 percent to 30 percent of premiums. In the private sector, other large employers pay at least 80 percent of premiums and employees pay 20 percent according to recent data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Kaiser Family Foundation. How would this bill help solve this problem? This bill would change the financing formula for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). Under this approach, the federal agencies would pay 80 percent of the weighted average for premiums. This would help reduce the out-of-pocket health care costs for federal employees and improve the affordability of FEHBP immensely. What would this mean to Federal employees? My bill would help improve the affordability of health care insurance for all 9 million. Currently, about 250,000 Federal employees do not have health insurance. Many of them cannot afford health care insurance at the current rates. My proposal would improve the affordability of health care insurance so that many of these workers would be able to afford coverage. Providing quality benefits for Federal employees is also an important tool in helping recruit and retain a high quality workforce and compete with the private sector and other state and local governments. This bill would have an enormous impact in my State, Maryland, but would also benefit Federal workers nationally. Under this proposal, the percent that a Federal employee pays in health insurance premiums would decline, putting more money into Federal employees pockets each pay period. This bill improves benefits for our hardworking Federal employees. I urge my colleagues to join me in expressing support for this bill.

Ms. MIKULSKI

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

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I thank the Senator from Nevada for those gracious and complimentary remarks. This is a man from Searchlight, NV. He knows what hard work is because of the way he pulled himself up by the bootstraps, and he has given opportunity to other people. All those people working in the mines in Nevada, who every day have those calloused hands in the end, have a very strong advocate in him. We have to stand up for the ordinary people who do extraordinary things in our country. I look forward to working with the Senator.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, today I come to the Senate Chamber to stand up for steel. There is a crisis in America's steel industry. The next few weeks will determine the fate and future of that industry and, I believe, the fate and future of our steelworkers today and our retired steelworkers. I commend President Bush for initiating the section 201 investigation on steel. That means an investigation by the International Trade Commission on whether or not we are facing unfair dumping. I am now calling on the President to impose an effective remedy; that is, a remedy of 40-percent tariffs across the board on steel. Since 1997, 31 steel companies have gone bankrupt, putting at risk over 62,000 jobs. Why is this? It is exactly what the International Trade Commission found: Subsidized foreign steel companies dump their excess products on the United States market at below market prices. They come into the United States and flood us with their imports at fire sale prices. In response to this unprecedented crisis, President Bush did take an important step of initiating an investigation under section 201 of the trade act. The ITC unanimously found that these imports have caused serious harm to the American steel industry. Now the President has to act before tens of thousands more jobs are lost and retirees face the threat to their pensions and their health care. He must take meaningful action, not just some half measure that doesn't meet the challenge of the crisis. Steel is in crisis. Last year, 17 steel companies filed for bankruptcy protection, 14 steel mills shut down, and nearly 30,000 workers lost their jobs. Why does steel matter? This is not nostalgia for our industrial past. This is about our national and our economic security. If we are worried about dependence on foreign oil, we should certainly be worried about dependence on foreign steel. We need steel to build America, whether it is our bridges or our automobiles, and also for our national security. In my own home State of Maryland, Bethlehem Steel made the steel plate to repair the U.S.S. Cole. It is American steel that is building Navy ships, Navy subs, American planes, the kind of steel we need for those bunker-buster bombs we need. Are we going to rely upon Russia, China, and other countries and be steel dependent? I don't think we should do that. What about our steelworkers and our steelworker retirees? There are over 300,000 people currently working as steel and iron workers. There are now over 700,000 retirees and surviving spouses. All told, there are more than 1 million Americans, both retired and on the job now, who depend on steel for their livelihood, their pension, and their health care. What caused this crisis? Is it because American steel was inefficient, because the unions wouldn't cooperate with management, because we didn't use new technologies or new processes? Absolutely not. The reason American steel is in such dire straits is unfair trade. Foreign steel companies, subsidized by their government, dump excess steel in our market at those fire sale prices. The United States of America does not have excess capacity. The United States and Canada have been net importers of steel. If you want to look at examples of these subsidies, let me give you one: Russia. This comes from the Bloomberg Business Report. This does not come from Barb Mikulski. The Bloomberg Report last week talked about how the Russian Government keeps 1,000 unprofitable steel plants open through Russian subsidies. That is not 1,000 workers; that is 1,000 steel plants. Because of those subsidies, they are able to stay in operation. How can we compete with Russian subsidies where they have comrade health care, all their health care is paid for, they get subsidies in steel, and at the same time we are expected to compete? What is the solution? We need a level playing field by reducing excess steel capacity abroad. The way we also send them a message to stop the dumping is by imposing a 40-percent tariff. That would level the playing field. Half measures will not do. We need that 40-percent tariff and we need it without exception. The effects will last much longer than the 3 or 4 years because America's steel industry will have a chance to get back on its feet. America's steel industry is the best in the world and I can't emphasize how competitive we are. It is the most efficient, uses the fewest man-hours available per ton, thanks to our steelworkers making the best use of technology and a willingness to cooperate with management. It is also the most environmentally sound, producing less emissions on steel produced. Do you think those 1,000 Russian steel mills are going to be environmentally sensitive and OSHA compliant? I don't think so. American steel companies have invested over $20 billion in new technology to achieve these efficiencies. American steelworkers have made painful concessions in wages and benefits so that the industry would be efficient and competitive and would have a future. Madam President, the President must act now. The next few weeks will determine the fate and future of the steel industry. There is a March 6 deadline for a remedying decision, the tariff decision. The President has the authority. We want him now to have the will. We want him to impose this 40-percent tariff, give American steel mills a future and, most of all, protect the United States of America against dependence on foreign steel. Steel built our Nation; steel will continue to build our Nation, and most of all, steel will help us protect our Nation. Steel built America and it is now time that we stand up for steel. I hope we can count on the President to do this, and we thank him for the work he has already done. I yield the floor and look forward to standing with the Presiding Officer as we stand up for steel.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I rise to pay tribute to my dear friend and colleague on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Because of Senator Kennedy, our Nation is stronger, fairer, healthier and better educated. Because of Senator Kennedy, our Nation's opportunity structure continues to be one of our nation's greatest strengths. Senator Kennedy's achievements are remarkable. Increasing the minimum wage. Expanding health care. Improving our nation's schools. Creating a national service program. Strengthening our civil rights laws. Safeguarding a woman's right to choose. Enabling more people to attend college, to get job training, and to build better lives for themselves and their children. Senator Kennedy is a champion of working Americans, senior citizens, children--the list goes on and on. This list is of ordinary Americans, not special interests. For 40 years, Senator Kennedy has served in the Senate. Yet he retains his passion, his high energy and his enthusiasm for meeting the day to day needs of his constituents and the long term needs of the nation. He knows that so much remains to be done. The entire Kennedy family has given so much to our nation. With their wealth, they could have done anything--or nothing at all. They could have led lives of the idle rich. Instead, they are a family of war heroes, Senators, Congressmen--and a President of the United States. They are also defenders of the poor, environmentalists, educators and artists. They fight to give every American the opportunity to build better lives and stronger communities. This commitment to service comes from their deep faith, their strong family and their patriotism. Many of us in the Senate were inspired to lead lives of public service because of John F. Kennedy. As a young social worker, I felt he was talking to me when he called our generation to service. He practiced a passionate, active idealism--that was different from anything we've seen before in politics. Senator Kennedy has continued this legacy. He is one of the great Senators in our nation's history. I feel grateful to be his colleague, and his friend. I look forward to the battles ahead.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Law Enforcement Officers Retirement Equity Act of 2002. I am proud to be joined on this bill by my colleagues, Senators Leahy, Clinton, and Bingaman. This legislation will ensure that revenue officers of the Internal Revenue Service, customs inspectors of the U.S. Customs Service, and immigration inspectors of the Immigration and Naturalization Service have the same retirement options as most Federal law enforcement officers and conforms with the Federal law enforcement retirement system. Under current law, most Federal law enforcement officers and firefighters are eligible to retire at age 50 with 20 years of Federal service. Most people would be surprised to learn that current law does not treat revenue officers, customs inspectors and immigrations inspectors as Federal law enforcement personnel. I feel very strongly that in the light of the increased duties that these men and women are doing to help combat terrorism, keep our homeland secure, and help with the war on drugs we need to do what we can to give them the benefits that they deserve. This legislation will amend the current law and finally grant the same 20-year retirement to these members of the Internal Revenue Service, Customs Service, and Immigration and Naturalization Service. The employees under this bill have very hazardous, physically challenging occupations, and it is in the public's interest to make sure that these homeland security officials receive the benefits they earn on our frontlines everyday. The need for a 20-year retirement benefit for inspectors of the Customs Service is very clear. These employees are the country's first line of defense against terrorism and the smuggling of illegal drugs at our borders. They are required to have the same law enforcement training as all other law enforcement personnel. These employees face so many challenges. They may potentially confront criminals in the drug war, organized crime figures, and increasingly sophisticated white- collar criminals. U.S. Customs inspectors have the authority to arrest those engaged in these crimes if the crimes are committed in their presence. These officers carry a firearm on the job. They are responsible for the most arrests performed by Customs Service employees. Along with U.S. Customs agents, uniformed U.S. Customs inspectors are helping provide additional security at the Nation's airports and could assist U.S. Customs agents with the arrest of anyone violating U.S. Customs laws. They were among the first to respond to the tragedy at the World Trade Center. The Customs Service interdicts more narcotics than all other law enforcement agencies combined, over a million pounds a year. In 1996, they seized nearly 400 tons of marijuana, over 90 pounds of cocaine, and nearly 1.45 tons of heroin. Like U.S. Customs Service Inspectors, INS inspectors are part of the first line of defense for homeland security. INS inspectors enforce the nation's immigration laws at more than 300 ports of entry. In the normal course of their duties, they enforce criminal law, make arrests, carry firearms, interrogate applicants for entry, search persons and effects, and seize evidence. Inspector's responsibilities have become increasing complex as political, economic and social unrest has increased globally. The threat of terrorism only increases these responsibilities. INS Inspectors help secure our borders. In FY 2001, over 510 million inspections were performed by these inspectors with 700,000 individuals were denied entry, and approximately 15,000 criminal aliens being intercepted. Revenue officers struggle with heavy workloads and a high rate of job stress. Some IRS employees must even employ pseudonyms to hide their identity because of the great threat to their personal safety. The Internal Revenue Service currently provides it's employees with a manual entitled: Assaults and Threats: A Guide to Your Personal Safety to help employees respond to hostile situations. The document advises IRS employees how to handle on-the-job assaults, abuse, threatening telephone calls, and other menacing situations. This legislation is cost effective. Any cost that is created by this act is more than offset by savings in training costs and increased revenue collection. A 20-year retirement bill for these critical employees will reduce turnover, increase productivity, decrease employee recruitment and development costs, and enhance the retention of a well-trained and experienced work force. These vital Federal employees bear the same risks and work under similar conditions to other law enforcement officials and deserve to receive the same level of benefits. I urge my colleagues to join me again in this Congress in expressing support for this bill and finally getting it enacted. This bill will improve the effectiveness of our inspector and revenue officer work force to ensure the integrity of our borders and proper collection of the taxes and duties owed to the Federal Government.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Adjustment Equity Act. I am proud to be joined on this bill by my colleague, Senator Clinton. This legislation amends the Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act of 2000 to allow retired police officers of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division and the United States Park Police to receive the same Cost of Living Adjustment, COLA, as active officers. For almost 80 years, Secret Service and Park Police retirees were assured an increase in their pensions whenever their active counterparts received an increase by the ``equalization clause'' in the District of Columbia Police and Firearms Salary Act, DCRA, of 1958. When the Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act passed in 2000, the automatic link that ensured retirees of getting the same COLA as active officers was severed. This bill would restore that link, guaranteeing that the pension for these retired federal police officers keeps up with the cost of living. The Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act of 2000 created a sharp inequality in retirement benefits for a small number of retirees, 630 Secret Service retirees and 465 Park Police retirees, roughly eleven hundred in total. They gave years of loyal service, often in difficult and life-threatening situations. They are the only federal retirees who had existing retirement benefits scaled back. Providing for government retirees and their families has always been an important function of the Federal Government. There is no reason why the government should go back on its word to provide this small group of valuable employees with secure retirement benefits. Restoring the Cost of Living Adjustment to the pensions of 1100 Federal retirees will have a minimal impact on the Federal budget, but a major impact on the quality of life of the people involved. When it comes to Federal employees, I believe that promises made should be promises kept. These former Secret Service and Park Police officers planned for their retirement with the understanding that their pension would be enough to live on, even as the cost of living increased. They deserve the retirement benefits they were promised when they signed up for service. I urge my colleagues to join me in expressing support for this bill to restore promised retirement benefits to retired officers of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division and the United States Park Police.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Adjustment Equity Act. I am proud to be joined on this bill by my colleague, Senator Clinton. This legislation amends the Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act of 2000 to allow retired police officers of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division and the United States Park Police to receive the same Cost of Living Adjustment, COLA, as active officers. For almost 80 years, Secret Service and Park Police retirees were assured an increase in their pensions whenever their active counterparts received an increase by the ``equalization clause'' in the District of Columbia Police and Firearms Salary Act, DCRA, of 1958. When the Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act passed in 2000, the automatic link that ensured retirees of getting the same COLA as active officers was severed. This bill would restore that link, guaranteeing that the pension for these retired federal police officers keeps up with the cost of living. The Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act of 2000 created a sharp inequality in retirement benefits for a small number of retirees, 630 Secret Service retirees and 465 Park Police retirees, roughly eleven hundred in total. They gave years of loyal service, often in difficult and life-threatening situations. They are the only federal retirees who had existing retirement benefits scaled back. Providing for government retirees and their families has always been an important function of the Federal Government. There is no reason why the government should go back on its word to provide this small group of valuable employees with secure retirement benefits. Restoring the Cost of Living Adjustment to the pensions of 1100 Federal retirees will have a minimal impact on the Federal budget, but a major impact on the quality of life of the people involved. When it comes to Federal employees, I believe that promises made should be promises kept. These former Secret Service and Park Police officers planned for their retirement with the understanding that their pension would be enough to live on, even as the cost of living increased. They deserve the retirement benefits they were promised when they signed up for service. I urge my colleagues to join me in expressing support for this bill to restore promised retirement benefits to retired officers of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division and the United States Park Police.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Law Enforcement Officers Retirement Equity Act of 2002. I am proud to be joined on this bill by my colleagues, Senators Leahy, Clinton, and Bingaman. This legislation will ensure that revenue officers of the Internal Revenue Service, customs inspectors of the U.S. Customs Service, and immigration inspectors of the Immigration and Naturalization Service have the same retirement options as most Federal law enforcement officers and conforms with the Federal law enforcement retirement system. Under current law, most Federal law enforcement officers and firefighters are eligible to retire at age 50 with 20 years of Federal service. Most people would be surprised to learn that current law does not treat revenue officers, customs inspectors and immigrations inspectors as Federal law enforcement personnel. I feel very strongly that in the light of the increased duties that these men and women are doing to help combat terrorism, keep our homeland secure, and help with the war on drugs we need to do what we can to give them the benefits that they deserve. This legislation will amend the current law and finally grant the same 20-year retirement to these members of the Internal Revenue Service, Customs Service, and Immigration and Naturalization Service. The employees under this bill have very hazardous, physically challenging occupations, and it is in the public's interest to make sure that these homeland security officials receive the benefits they earn on our frontlines everyday. The need for a 20-year retirement benefit for inspectors of the Customs Service is very clear. These employees are the country's first line of defense against terrorism and the smuggling of illegal drugs at our borders. They are required to have the same law enforcement training as all other law enforcement personnel. These employees face so many challenges. They may potentially confront criminals in the drug war, organized crime figures, and increasingly sophisticated white- collar criminals. U.S. Customs inspectors have the authority to arrest those engaged in these crimes if the crimes are committed in their presence. These officers carry a firearm on the job. They are responsible for the most arrests performed by Customs Service employees. Along with U.S. Customs agents, uniformed U.S. Customs inspectors are helping provide additional security at the Nation's airports and could assist U.S. Customs agents with the arrest of anyone violating U.S. Customs laws. They were among the first to respond to the tragedy at the World Trade Center. The Customs Service interdicts more narcotics than all other law enforcement agencies combined, over a million pounds a year. In 1996, they seized nearly 400 tons of marijuana, over 90 pounds of cocaine, and nearly 1.45 tons of heroin. Like U.S. Customs Service Inspectors, INS inspectors are part of the first line of defense for homeland security. INS inspectors enforce the nation's immigration laws at more than 300 ports of entry. In the normal course of their duties, they enforce criminal law, make arrests, carry firearms, interrogate applicants for entry, search persons and effects, and seize evidence. Inspector's responsibilities have become increasing complex as political, economic and social unrest has increased globally. The threat of terrorism only increases these responsibilities. INS Inspectors help secure our borders. In FY 2001, over 510 million inspections were performed by these inspectors with 700,000 individuals were denied entry, and approximately 15,000 criminal aliens being intercepted. Revenue officers struggle with heavy workloads and a high rate of job stress. Some IRS employees must even employ pseudonyms to hide their identity because of the great threat to their personal safety. The Internal Revenue Service currently provides it's employees with a manual entitled: Assaults and Threats: A Guide to Your Personal Safety to help employees respond to hostile situations. The document advises IRS employees how to handle on-the-job assaults, abuse, threatening telephone calls, and other menacing situations. This legislation is cost effective. Any cost that is created by this act is more than offset by savings in training costs and increased revenue collection. A 20-year retirement bill for these critical employees will reduce turnover, increase productivity, decrease employee recruitment and development costs, and enhance the retention of a well-trained and experienced work force. These vital Federal employees bear the same risks and work under similar conditions to other law enforcement officials and deserve to receive the same level of benefits. I urge my colleagues to join me again in this Congress in expressing support for this bill and finally getting it enacted. This bill will improve the effectiveness of our inspector and revenue officer work force to ensure the integrity of our borders and proper collection of the taxes and duties owed to the Federal Government.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Nurse Reinvestment Act. This bill is a down payment to help address the nursing shortage in this country by bringing more people into the nursing profession and by retaining nurses. This bill combines the Nursing Employment and Education Development Act, S. 721, introduced by Senator Tim Hutchinson and myself and the Nurse Reinvestment Act, (S. 1597), introduced by Senators Kerry and Jeffords. We have all worked together to bring this important legislation before the Senate today. This bill is sorely needed, because we have a nursing shortage. In Maryland, 15 percent of the nursing jobs are vacant. Last year, it took an average of 68 days to fill a nurse vacancy, and we need about 1,600 more full-time nurses to fill those vacancies. There were 2,000 fewer nurses in Maryland in 1999 than there were in 1998. The shortage exists across the United States, and will get worse in the future. Nationwide, we need 1.7 million nurses by the year 2020, but only about 600,000 will be available. The need for this bill was clear at the Subcommittee on Aging's hearing on the nursing shortgage earlier this year. We depend on nurses every day to care for millions of Americans, whether in a hospital, nursing home, community health center, hospice, or through home health. They are the backbone of our health care system. If we don't effectively address the crisis in nursing, those hospitals, nursing homes and clinics will soon be on life support. This bill is a down payment. It doesn't address the fact that nurses are underpaid, overworked, and undervalued, but it does focus on education and other important areas. This bill seeks to help bring men and women into the nursing profession, and help them to advance within it. The bill does this under five major approaches: Creates a National Nurse Service Corps Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships in exchange for at least two years of service in a critical nursing shortage area or facility Provides grants for outreach at primary and secondary schools; scholarships or stipends to nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds, education programs for students who need assistance with math, science, or other areas; dependent care and transportation assistance; establishment of partnerships between schools of nursing and health care facilities to improve access to care in underserved areas Creates state and national public awareness and education campaigns to enhance the image of nursing, promote diversity in the nursing workforce, and encourage people to enter the nursing profession Creates ``career ladder'' programs with schools of nursing and health care facilities to encourage individuals to pursue additional education and training to enter and advance within the nursing profession Enables Area Health Education Centers, AHECs, to expand their junior and senior high school mentoring programs for nurses and develop ``models of excellence'' for community-based nurses Trains individuals to provide long-term care to the elderly and expands educational opportunities in gerontological nursing Creates internship and residency programs that encourage mentoring and the development of specialties Provides grants to improve workplace conditions, reduce workplace injuries, promote continuing nursing education and career development, and establish nurse retention programs Provides scholarships, loans, and stipends for graduate- level education in nursing in exchange for teaching at an accredited school of nursing, to help ensure that we have enough teachers at our nursing schools. Creates a National Commission on the Recruitment and Retention of Nurses to study and make recommendations to the health care community and Congress on how to address: the nursing shortage in the long-term, nursing recruitment and retention, career advancement within the profession and attracting individuals into the profession. This bill is about nursing education, but it's also about empowerment. We can empower people to have a better life and go into a career to save lives. The bill will empower the single mom who has been working in a minimum wage job to forge a better life for herself and her family. It will help her get a scholarship to help pay for tuition, books, and lab fees, and by funding child care programs to help her balance work and family. The bill will empower the nurse who has a baccalaureate degree, but wants to get a Master's degree so she can teach nursing at a community college. It will help her get loans or scholarships and living stipends to pursue that degree. This bill will also fund partnerships between schools of nursing and health care facilities to train individuals who will provide long-term care for the elderly. Our population is aging, more than 70 million Americans will be over age 65 by 2030. This means more people will need care provided by nurses and other individuals specifically trained to care for the unique health needs of older Americans. I look forward to the Senate's speedy passage of this important legislation and to working with our colleagues in the House of Representatives to enact a strong bill that gets behind our Nation's nurses. I also want to thank Senators Kennedy, Gregg, and Frist for their hard work in moving this legislation forward, as well as Senators Lieberman and Clinton for their important contributions to this bill.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Nurse Reinvestment Act. This bill is a down payment to help address the nursing shortage in this country by bringing more people into the nursing profession and by retaining nurses. This bill combines the Nursing Employment and Education Development Act, S. 721, introduced by Senator Tim Hutchinson and myself and the Nurse Reinvestment Act, (S. 1597), introduced by Senators Kerry and Jeffords. We have all worked together to bring this important legislation before the Senate today. This bill is sorely needed, because we have a nursing shortage. In Maryland, 15 percent of the nursing jobs are vacant. Last year, it took an average of 68 days to fill a nurse vacancy, and we need about 1,600 more full-time nurses to fill those vacancies. There were 2,000 fewer nurses in Maryland in 1999 than there were in 1998. The shortage exists across the United States, and will get worse in the future. Nationwide, we need 1.7 million nurses by the year 2020, but only about 600,000 will be available. The need for this bill was clear at the Subcommittee on Aging's hearing on the nursing shortgage earlier this year. We depend on nurses every day to care for millions of Americans, whether in a hospital, nursing home, community health center, hospice, or through home health. They are the backbone of our health care system. If we don't effectively address the crisis in nursing, those hospitals, nursing homes and clinics will soon be on life support. This bill is a down payment. It doesn't address the fact that nurses are underpaid, overworked, and undervalued, but it does focus on education and other important areas. This bill seeks to help bring men and women into the nursing profession, and help them to advance within it. The bill does this under five major approaches: Creates a National Nurse Service Corps Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships in exchange for at least two years of service in a critical nursing shortage area or facility Provides grants for outreach at primary and secondary schools; scholarships or stipends to nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds, education programs for students who need assistance with math, science, or other areas; dependent care and transportation assistance; establishment of partnerships between schools of nursing and health care facilities to improve access to care in underserved areas Creates state and national public awareness and education campaigns to enhance the image of nursing, promote diversity in the nursing workforce, and encourage people to enter the nursing profession Creates ``career ladder'' programs with schools of nursing and health care facilities to encourage individuals to pursue additional education and training to enter and advance within the nursing profession Enables Area Health Education Centers, AHECs, to expand their junior and senior high school mentoring programs for nurses and develop ``models of excellence'' for community-based nurses Trains individuals to provide long-term care to the elderly and expands educational opportunities in gerontological nursing Creates internship and residency programs that encourage mentoring and the development of specialties Provides grants to improve workplace conditions, reduce workplace injuries, promote continuing nursing education and career development, and establish nurse retention programs Provides scholarships, loans, and stipends for graduate- level education in nursing in exchange for teaching at an accredited school of nursing, to help ensure that we have enough teachers at our nursing schools. Creates a National Commission on the Recruitment and Retention of Nurses to study and make recommendations to the health care community and Congress on how to address: the nursing shortage in the long-term, nursing recruitment and retention, career advancement within the profession and attracting individuals into the profession. This bill is about nursing education, but it's also about empowerment. We can empower people to have a better life and go into a career to save lives. The bill will empower the single mom who has been working in a minimum wage job to forge a better life for herself and her family. It will help her get a scholarship to help pay for tuition, books, and lab fees, and by funding child care programs to help her balance work and family. The bill will empower the nurse who has a baccalaureate degree, but wants to get a Master's degree so she can teach nursing at a community college. It will help her get loans or scholarships and living stipends to pursue that degree. This bill will also fund partnerships between schools of nursing and health care facilities to train individuals who will provide long-term care for the elderly. Our population is aging, more than 70 million Americans will be over age 65 by 2030. This means more people will need care provided by nurses and other individuals specifically trained to care for the unique health needs of older Americans. I look forward to the Senate's speedy passage of this important legislation and to working with our colleagues in the House of Representatives to enact a strong bill that gets behind our Nation's nurses. I also want to thank Senators Kennedy, Gregg, and Frist for their hard work in moving this legislation forward, as well as Senators Lieberman and Clinton for their important contributions to this bill.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I wish to make clear that I will vote for the legislation called the No Child Left Behind Act. The reason I am going to vote for this legislation is because I am a pragmatist. Does the legislation do everything in education that I want done? No. Does it do everything on funding the way I want it to be done? No. But there is a crying need in our public schools to pass this modernization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and I do not want to make this legislation be an example of the perfect is the enemy of the good. We do many fine things in this legislation. Technology is one area in which I have been concentrating. This bill does include my amendment to create an education technology goal that every child be computer literate by the eighth grade. It includes my amendment to authorize community tech centers to create and expand community tech centers in rural and distressed urban areas, in other words, to bridge the digital divide and allows the Department of Education to provide competitive grants to community-based organizations. These nonprofits would set up technology centers where children and adults would have access to technology. What does this mean? It means a safe haven for children; it lets them do their homework as well as surf the Web. It also means job training for adults during the day. This legislation also includes more flexibility for the tech approach, such as maintenance and repair. In Baltimore, the Social Security Administration gave over 1,000 computers to the Baltimore city school system, but they needed repairs. Some of the microchips had been broken. No one could afford to pay for them. My amendment would allow schools greater flexibility to have these public-private partnerships to repair this equipment. Now I will address the issue of IDEA. Full funding for IDEA is essential for our special needs children and all of the children. Had the Senate passed the Harkin-Hagel amendment, this would have meant $42 million for my State, as well as an increase of $2.5 billion in overall IDEA funding. Yet that approach was rejected by the House conferees. I salute Senator Jeffords and Haskin others who led the fight to add more money for IDEA, because at the rate we are funding IDEA it will take us to the year 2017 to fund IDEA at the 40 percent we promised 26 years ago. However, I chose not to hold up this bill over this topic because there is increased funding and next year we are going to address the issue of IDEA, which is: What is the right money and what is the right policy? Since the IDEA legislation was passed 26 years ago, so many of our children come to school now far more medically challenged than when the legislation was passed, far more challenged with psychological or other learning disabilities. I think we need to take a new look, based on research-driven recommendations, that will give us the guiding principles on what is the right way to handle special needs children because of the complexity of their needs. It is often not only someone who helps sign in the classroom, but it is often the school nurse who now is required to dispense medication or medical treatment. I could say a lot more about this bill, but when they call my name I will vote aye. I congratulate Senators Kennedy, Gregg, and Jeffords for moving this legislation in the Senate. I also want to thank their staffs and my staff for their outstanding work.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, there is an order, and the time is being controlled by the Senator from Massachusetts, not by the Senator from Minnesota.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I take great pride in supporting Senator Durbin in introducing the Reservists Pay Security Act of 2001. This legislation will ensure that the Federal employees who are in the military reserves and are called up for active duty in service to their country will get the same pay as they do in their civilian jobs. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the federal government is by far the largest employer of our nation's military reservists. These reservists stand ready to serve our country with honor, during times of peace as well as war. They are the finest examples of dedication and service our nation has to offer. When federal employees who also serve as reservists are called to duty, they respond with pride, often facing significant pay cuts as they lose their normal civilian salaries. But the federal government does not supplement the lost pay of our reservists. This is a travesty. Our Nation has always placed a high value on the spirit of public service. That's why so many private employers, both large and small, are making significant changes to provide more generous military leave policies, even in the midst of a recession. If Safeway, IBM, Intel and Verizon can provide for their employees during times like these, then our federal government must care for its own as well. Family members of federally-employed reservists are already starting to feel the pinch of service. Amy Bennett, of Centreville, MD, can't afford the payments that she and her husband, a lieutenant in the Army Reserve, must pay for their home. Their family income will drop by $50,000 per year. To respond to this, she was at first going to sell her car. Now, with an 8-month-old son to care for, she must move in with her parents until her husband returns. She'll keep the car, but even worse, she may be forced to sell their home. Janice Riley, of St. Mary's County, will work two jobs now that her husband, Sgt. Rob Riley, has been sent to Texas for training. Until he returns, he is forced to ask his mother to help Janice out with the bills. Lynn Brinker, of Columbia, MD, expects her family to lose about $30,000 this year because her husband, Mark, was sent to Texas to join the rest of his 443rd Military Police Battalion. As a result, her neighbors are buying her meals, her babysitter and hairdresser are working for free, and she has taken a line of credit against her house because no one can take over the home improvement business Mark began 10 years ago. Fifty-five thousand of our Nation's reservists have been activated since the attacks of September 11th. This includes about 3,000 Maryland area reservists, most of them federal employees. Their families sit and wait at home, with no guarantee when their loved ones will return, and little means to pay for their college funds, mortgages, car loans, and holiday gifts. This is simply wrong. I fail to see why these dedicated Americans should be forced to leave their families financially vulnerable at a time when they have so many other things to worry about. This legislation is the same as the measure my colleague, Robert Wexler of Florida, introduced in the House of Representatives this spring. But this is not the first time I've fought for the rights of our nation's reservists, or our nation's federal employees. In 1991, when so many of our brave reservists answered the call to fight for our country in the Persian Gulf, I sponsored similar legislation. During the Gulf War, Senator Durbin, the other sponsor of this bill, who was then serving in House, introduced the exact same legislation. Before and since then, I have been a part of many other efforts to make sure that those who work on behalf our country, both here and abroad, are not penalized simply for their service to our country. This legislation will help relieve the financial hardship being felt by so many of our dedicated citizens. It will allow those who stand ready to serve our country not to have to worry about how the bills at home will be paid while they fight to protect the way of life so many Americans enjoy. We all hope that federally-employed military reservists achieve success in their military duty, and return safely to comfort at home. But our efforts abroad should not compromise the living standards of them or their families, and our efforts to relieve their plight cannot wait. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in standing up for our active duty citizens, the federal employees who serve our nation in peace and, as reservists, in war, by supporting this very important legislation.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001. Finally, Congress is going to consider this important bill. I have been working to improve the benefits for our retired railroad workers for many years. Today, we can finally say that promises made are promises kept to our rail workers and their families. The people who have made their contribution to family and to society by working on our Nation's railroads deserve a decent retirement. I know the job that railroad employees perform is very hard, very important work. Our country has an obligation to help those who have worked hard, saved, and played by the rules. That is why I am proud to have been a sponsor of Railroad Retirement Improvement legislation for many years and am proud to be a supporter of this bill. I have been fighting to improve the benefits for railroad workers and their families since I was first elected to Congress. The retirement age for railroad workers and their spouses to qualify for railroad retirement benefits should be lowered. It is difficult for people and families to plan for their retirement in today's world, even with two salaries. That is why strengthening retirement benefits for all Americans has always been one of my highest priorities. This bill is bipartisan. The House passed their version of this important bill by an overwhelming vote of 384-33. Seventy-four of my colleagues are cosponsors of the Senate version of the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001. The support for this measure is clear, and the time to act is now. The Railroad Retirement and Survivor's Improvement Act expands benefits for the widows of rail employees and lowers the minimum retirement age at which employees with 30 years of experience are eligible for full retirement benefits to 60 years old. This legislation also reduces the number of years required to be fully vested for tier II benefits and expands the system's investment authority by creating an independent, non-governmental Railroad Retirement Trust Fund. I urge all my colleagues to join me in standing up for our railroad retirees and their families and support this very important bill.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Economic Recovery and Assistance to American Workers Act. This legislation is about security, economic security and physical security. This bill will help us achieve two national priorities: homeland defense and economic recovery. I have four principles for economic stimulus. First, any measure should have a strong, immediate impact. Next, economic recovery provisions should be temporary--sunsetting within one or two years. The overall package should be fiscally responsible to ensure long-term interest rates are not negatively affected. And, lastly, the proposal should be focused on those who need the help the most. I also have four principles for homeland defense legislation. First, it must give law enforcement the tools they need to prevent attacks. Next, it must give first responders the tools they need to respond to an act of terrorism. Also, it must improve security of our infrastructure. Lastly, it must provide for greater public information, since information is the antidote for panic. The legislation we're considering today meets my principles. Our Nation is fighting a war against terrorism. This war is on two fronts: in Afghanistan, and in every community in America. Our military has the right stuff to defeat our enemies. They have honor, courage and patriotism. They also have the best training, best intelligence, best equipment. Yet on the home front, our communities are foraging. They are forced to choose between keeping communities safe from drug dealers and other thugs, and keeping key infrastructure safe--like bridges, power plants and stadiums. I recently held a hearing in the VA-HUD Subcommittee to hear the mayors perspective on homeland defense. What did we learn at the hearing? We learned that our local governments are on the front lines of homeland defense. We learned that they are responsible for the protection of our infrastructure, including our bridges, tunnels, and mass transit as well as our first responders, our police and fire fighters. Yet their resources don't match their responsibilities. What will happen if we don't pass this homeland security bill? Costs are shifted to local governments who must forage for funds from local programs. That means higher local taxes and lower security across our Nation. What does this legislation do? It provides the resources we need to secure our homeland. Local law enforcement is essential to our fight against terrorism. They are our front line of defense. There are 650,000 local police officers and only 11,000 FBI agents. This legislation will provide $2 billion that will go to states to be used for counter-terrorism training for police to train them to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks and for new equipment. Our firefighters are our protectors. We must protect the protectors. Simply put, that means making sure they have the equipment they need to save lives. Yet fire equipment is very expensive. A new fire engine costs $300,000. A new rescue vehicle costs $500,000. A suit of protective gear for our firefighters costs $1,000 and wears out quickly. Each year we provide funds for grants to local fire companies, but the funding has been spartan and skimpy. Over 30,000 fire companies requested almost $3 billion dollars worth of equipment this year, including $400 million just for personal protection equipment. In Maryland, 198 fire companies applied for funds so far this year, and yet only 5 received funding. Clearly, we need to do better. Even before the tragedy of September 11th, I was fighting for our firefighters. We were able to increase funding for the fire grant program by 50 percent to $150 million in the VA-HUD bill. The Homeland Security bill does even better by providing $600 million for our firefighters. The Homeland Security bill provides $4 billion for our nation's bioterrorism preparedness and response needs. Our country's ability to recognize and respond to a bioterrorist attack depends on a strong, coordinated public health system. This bill gives state and local public health departments additional resources to prepare for this new germ warfare. State and local public health departments have already been stretched thin. This bill gives them the resources to detect, respond, and contain a possible bioterrorist attack. This bill recognizes the important role the CDC plays in a public health emergency. It expands CDC's laboratory capacity so public health officials can quickly and accurately identify a suspected biological agent. To prepare our Nation for a bioterrorist attack, this bill upgrades State and local public health departments; expands laboratory capacity and surveillance at the State, local, and Federal level; and trains first responders to recognize the signs and symptoms of a bioterrorist attack. The bill also improves State and local communications systems; ensures that hospitals and emergency rooms have the expertise and equipment to handle a surge in patients from a bioterrorist attack; increases our nation's supply of antidotes and vaccines against possible biological agents; and, provides significant new resources so that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can protect the safety of our nation's food supply with more inspectors and additional tools. Investments in the fight against bioterrorism will help in our battles against infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance. Our nation's public health system is on the front lines of this new biological war. This bill will make sure they are combat ready and fit- for-duty. Our Coast Guard used to focus on drug and migrant interdiction, and search and rescue. Today, it's primary role is national security by keeping our ports safe, patrolling around power plants and under bridges, and searching suspicious vessels. This bill provides $177 million in operating funds. These funds will be used to improve training, and allow for increased patrols without forcing the Coast Guard to cut back on it's other missions. Terrorists look for weaknesses. We can not let them find these weaknesses on our nation's railroads. We must ensure the safety of all the components of our rail system. This means providing tunnel security which means preventing people from entering tunnels. It includes terminal safety--the fact that most terminals are intermodal, bringing together different forms of transportation which means that it's hard to screen passengers. It means providing bridge security and the protection of track switchboards. Why is railroad security so important? Because each day, 350,000 people ride on our railroads. That's over 20 million people a year. Forty percent of all freight is transported on our rails which is more than any other mode of transportation. A terrorist attack on our rails could result in a catastrophic loss of life and paralyze our economy. Amtrak is ready and willing to improve rail safety, but it must also address its critical infrastructure needs. For example, the tunnels that run through Washington, Baltimore, and New York accommodate trains that carry roughly 350,000 people a day. These tunnels don't meet minimum safety standards. They do not have proper ventilation, and there is not adequate lighting. Rail safety requires Federal help. Yet Federal support for Amtrak has been cut by eighty percent in the last three years eighty percent. Annual appropriations for Amtrak is frozen at $521 million. That's only about half of what Congress authorized in the TEA-21 bill. What does this legislation do? It enables Amtrak to enhance security of their overall network by providing $300 million and enabling Amtrak to upgrade it's most dangerous tunnels by providing $760 million for tunnel safety. As stated before, I have four principles for economy recovery. These principles have been widely adopted. When I compare the different proposals for economic recovery to these principles, the answer is clear. The Economic Recovery package proposed by Senator Baucus meets my principles and provides real and effective measures for economic recovery. This package provides real economic recovery that benefits working Americans who have lost their jobs, helps businesses recover from the recent attacks and the economic downturn, and provides real the boost that this economy needs. The Economic Recovery bill will provide tax relief to nearly 44 million working Americans who were left out of the last round of rebates. This bill will provide the same $300 checks to individuals or $600 checks to married couples who tend to pay only payroll taxes. These are the people who live paycheck to paycheck. These are the working Americans who will benefit most from a rebate check. Often times, these hard working Americans have trouble making end meet. This Democratic proposal will help them make ends meet thus ensuring that the vast majority of these rebates will actually be spent which will help provide the real boost this economy needs. The Democratic proposal also contains provisions that would help businesses invest in the new equipment and infrastructure needed to rebuild, would help small businesses acquire new equipment, and would provide rebates to companies quickly. The Economic Recovery bill will also help unemployed working Americans by providing a 13 week extension of the period during which they can collect unemployment insurance, by increasing the amount that unemployed workers can collect, and by including more displaced workers in the unemployment insurance program. I am sure that many will ask how does this help the economy recover? These Americans do not even have a paycheck to live on anymore. But they still have to meet their basic needs of food and shelter. For example, the average unemployment benefits in Maryland are about $950 per month, the average rent in Baltimore is about $500/month, and the average grocery bill for a family is about $475. Thus, under the current benefit levels families are falling behind and could not continue their health care which costs at an estimated average cost of $ 650/month in my State. Unemployment Insurance is an essential part of the valuable social safety net. In every recession over the past thirty years, unemployment insurance has been extended. It is absolutely crucial to continue this good practice. The Democratic proposal would also expand the eligibility of those qualifying for benefits. For example, this would allow working mothers to look for part-time work. The Economic Recovery proposal would also increase benefits by 15 percent or at least $25 a week. This is enough for a couple of bags of groceries or two tanks of gas. President Bush has a proposal that would address unemployment benefits. But the devil is in the details. The Democratic plan helps the 3.2 million already unemployed workers left out by the Bush plan. Under the Bush proposal, about 25,000 to 30,000 more Marylanders would have to lose their jobs and wait until March 2002 before Maryland's workers would qualify for any extensions under the Bush proposal. The Economic Recovery bill provides guaranteed benefits to workers laid off prior to September 11 who may be having difficulty finding their next job. It would extend benefits to part-time workers, low-wage workers, and would help most hospitality and airline workers that have been especially hard hit. The Economic Recovery bill would also help provide health care to displaced workers who have lost their jobs since September 11th through the coming year. So that just because they temporarily lose their job they do not also lose their health care. The economic recovery bill provides a 75 percent COBRA subsidy for up to 12 months for workers to continue health insurance through their former employer's plan. It allows States to cover the remaining 25 percent of the premium for low-income workers. For unemployed workers who are not eligible for COBRA, it gives States the option to provide Medicaid coverage for these workers for up to 12 months. These proposals are temporary; they end on Dec. 31, 2002. Under the Democratic Economic Recovery plan, unemployed workers will get the health care they need, temporarily, and this will help stimulate the economy. Unemployed workers with health insurance will have more money to spend on other items because they won't have to pay high out-of-pocket health care costs. For example, a mom or dad in Prince George's County can afford to buy a refrigerator to replace the broken one or buy school clothes for their growing child because they did not have to pay lots of money to take their child to the emergency room for a severe earache. Unemployed workers will spend money on health care because if you have health insurance, you are more likely to go to the doctor to get the treatment you need. Finally, the Democratic proposal temporarily strengthens the Medicaid safety net when unemployed workers will need it the most. States across the country are facing budget shortfalls and are considering Medicaid cuts at the same time more unemployed workers will need health care through Medicaid. This provision provides additional resources to states so that states don't have to resort to serious cutbacks in their Medicaid program in order to balance their budgets this year. This provision is important to Maryland and has the strong support of the National Governors' Association. During times of crisis, our Nation comes together. We have seen that since the terrible events of September 11th. The terrorists thought they would cripple us, but they have only made us stronger. We want to help those in need. Yet volunteers and philanthropy cannot take the place of public policy. The Economic Recovery and Homeland Security bill puts our values into action to help our fellow citizens to get back on their feet and to protect our citizens from the evil acts of our enemies. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Joel Widder, a detailee to the Appropriations Committee, be granted the privilege of the floor during the consideration of the VA-HUD conference report.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I submit a report of the committee of conference on the bill, H.R. 2620, and ask for its immedidate consideration.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, it is with a great deal of pride that I bring this conference report to the Senate. I take this opportunity to thank my Republican colleague, the ranking member, Senator Bond of Missouri. This has been a year of tumultuous change in our country. On Tuesday a year ago, we thought we had elected the President. It went on for 35 days--unprecedented. We were turned into a 50-50 Senate--again unprecedented. Senator Bond chaired the committee in January and then, after Senator Jeffords' decision, the reins passed to me. I say publicly, I thank Senator Bond for the graciousness in the way he transited the gavel and the chairmanship to me. He did it with graciousness and efficiency. His staff could not have been more cooperative or collegial. Because of that, our subcommittee didn't miss a beat, and we didn't miss a buck. We went to work on behalf of veterans, housing, the environment, investments in space, science, technology, as well as other agencies. I thank him for that. I bring to the Senate's attention a summary of the bill. This act provides for a total of $112.7 billion for all the programs within the bill, which is $4.8 billion or 4 percent over the fiscal year 2001 level. This includes $27.3 billion in mandatory funding, an increase of $1.8 billion over the fiscal year 2001 level, and $85.4 billion in discretionary spending, which is an increase of $3 billion over last year. What this bill essentially does is meet compelling human need. It meets compelling human need in terms of our veterans, in terms of the poor, meeting the day-to-day needs of the working poor. It helps rebuild our neighborhoods and communities. Through its funding for FEMA, it protects our homeland security. And it invests in science and technology through NASA and the National Science Foundation. For our veterans, we have increased veterans health care by over $1 billion from last year, bringing it to a total of $21.3 billion. This would allow the VA healthcare system to serve 4 million patients through 2002. This conference agreement also provides the VA the ability to open 33 new outpatient clinics. It would also continue to allow research and treatment of chronic disease; diagnosis and treatment for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's; look at the issues again of special populations, such as stroke and spinal cord injury; and continue its groundbreaking research in the area of prostate cancer. In terms of our veterans, we also make a substantial effort to reduce the claim time for how long a veteran has to wait in order to get their disability benefit. They had to often stand in line when they were in the U.S. military. But after the way they serve their country, they should not have to stand in line for almost a year in order to see if their disability claim can be processed. We are working on a bipartisan basis to shorten that. As to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, we had three goals: Expand housing opportunity for the poor, rebuild our neighborhoods, and help special-need populations. To do that, we have renewed all the section 8 housing vouchers. We have funded this program at $15.6 billion. This is $1.7 billion over last year. At the same time, we restored cuts proposed by the President to the critical public housing capital program by funding it at $2.8 billion. We have increased funding for the public housing operating cost by $250 million over last year for a total of $3.5 billion. Knowing that many of our colleagues believe the decisions are best made locally, we wanted to keep our commitment to the community development block grant money, and we have increased that by over $200 million. This year CDBG will be funded at $5 billion. For other HUD programs, we have continued at last year's level the funding for brownfields, housing for the elderly, and housing for the disabled. But we have, in order to create home ownership, included language to raise the FHA loan limit for multifamily housing by 25 percent this year. This came from the private sector, home builders, as well as the AFL-CIO. I believe this will mean more rental property will be available. We cannot voucher our way out of our housing crisis. We need a new production program. This has long been a position held by my colleague, Senator Bond. I look forward to the recommendation of the Millennial Housing Commission and the Commission on Senior Housing. We look to those in the private sector and the nonprofit sector to give us guidance on what a 21st century HUD should look like, which will create real hope and opportunity. We provided the inspector general with no less than $5 million, and this will also be going after predatory lending. Let's move on now to EPA. For EPA, the conference agreement provides $7.9 billion, an increase of $587 million above the budget level. This is $75 million above what we funded last year. What do we get for our money? First of all, we get EPA enforcement. This is funded at last year's level of $465 million. We can keep the current level of enforcement. The conference agreement also keeps our commitment to clean and safe water by fully funding the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund at $1.35 billion, which is an increase over the President's budget request. We also fully fund the Drinking Water SRF at $850 million, an increase of $27 million over the President's budget request. This country is facing an enormous backlog of funding for water infrastructure projects. Every single one of my colleagues talks to me about sewer or water infrastructure projects, failing septic tanks, how to comply with the new arsenic requirement; we have aging systems in my own region, as do New Orleans and Chicago. I could give every single Senator a billion dollars to take back to their State, and it would be just a drop in the bucket for this need. I hope, as we look at the stimulus package, we look at how we can fund clean water and safe drinking water projects because, at the end of the day, I believe we will stimulate the local economy and create jobs but have value for our dollar. We also kept our commitment to cleanup. We provided $1.27 billion for the cleanup of Superfund sites. This also includes $95 million for brownfields. We have included $22.6 million for the National Estuary Program. Again, we have worked closely with the administrator. For FEMA, we maintain our commitment to protecting our homeland by providing FEMA with $3 billion. We provide $2.1 billion for disaster relief to ensure that we are ready to respond to any future disaster. We have also worked very closely with Joe Allbaugh, the FEMA Director, to be sure we respond to the needs of New York and local communities and, at the same time, are ready for those natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes that could affect us. We also wanted to support America's heroes, our firefighters, and in this bill we fund the Fire Grant Program at $150 million in order to be able to fund the firefighters' need of protective gear and equipment. This program is authorizing $3 billion. We would prefer to do more and look forward to doing more in the stimulus package. We understand Senator Byrd is going to work closely with us to do this. In order to be protected by the firefighters, we need to protect them and make sure they have the protective gear, respiratory gear, and the technological tools to go into horrific situations. In order to be able to protect us, they need to have the right equipment. Many firefighters in America are volunteers; we ask them to do it on their own time and on their own dime. We can't protect our firefighters and give them the equipment they need based on bingo and fish fries at the local level-- although, I sure like those bingo games and fish fries. They are fun things to do, but they are not a reliable funding stream. We have to back them. Let's go to NASA. We provide $14.8 billion for NASA programs, which is $500 million over last year. Our top priority remains the safety of our astronauts. We made a significant investment in shuttle upgrades, including $207 million allocated for safety upgrades to the space shuttle. By improving the safety of the shuttle, we reduce the risks to our astronauts. We fully fund the rest of the shuttle program at over $3 billion for fiscal year 2002. For the space station, we redirected $75 million to other pressing needs such as safety upgrades to the shuttle and other science and aeronautics programs. We know that former astronaut Tom Young is taking a look at our space station. We like it; we think it is very important to our country and to the world. But we also believe that the management of the space station has had a fiscal permissiveness that has allowed unacceptable cost overruns. They had over $4 billion in overruns. We can't let that stand. This independent review team, chaired by former astronaut Tom Young, has given us a new roadmap for the station. I can assure the Senate and our taxpayers that we will be holding hearings and meetings to be able to ensure that we keep our commitment to the space station, do our research, keep our astronauts safe, but at the same time have fiscal responsibility. For the National Science Foundation, the conference agreement provides $4.8 billion, an increase of 8.4 percent over last year. This represents a downpayment on an effort initiated by Senator Bond and myself to double the NSF budget. We want to do that in 5 years. I think we might have to wait 6 years to do it, but we are convinced it is in the Nation's long-term interest that funding for basic research in all science and engineering disciplines must increase substantially. We have increased the funding in several areas for research, such as information technology and nanotechnology and, of course, in agricultural biotech, on which, of course, the ranking member has been a leader. But also, at the same time, we really try to back our young researchers so that young Americans will choose science and scientific research as a career. We have also maintained the Corporation for National Service. Voluntarism is our national trademark, and this agreement maintains our commitment to AmeriCorps and other agencies within it. There are also 25 other agencies, but I am not going to go through all 25. We have kept our commitment to them. I thank the President for giving us the opportunity to work with very excellent Cabinet people. Again, we were under very difficult circumstances, with a late start, but there was an orderly transition. I think we have met our charge to the compelling needs of our constituents, the long-range needs of our Nation and done it with fiscal stewardship, which I believe the taxpayers require from us. Mr. President, that concludes my summary of the bill. I thank Paul Carliner, Gabriel Batkin, and Joel Widder of my staff for giving me the support that I needed. I thank John Kamarck and Cheh Kim from Senator Bond's staff for their cooperation and collegiality. Mr. President, I hope that at the conclusion of our debate, when we take the rollcall, the Senate will support this conference report. They can go back and talk to every single one of their constituents, whether it is a veteran from the ``greatest generation,'' or the firefighters, the warriors of this generation, or the scientists who are giving us the ideas to keep America strong and safe, or the poor who depend on us even at this time. We have a great bill and I hope that this bill will pass. I yield the floor.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, the respective leaders have asked the vote be held at 4:30, so we are going to have some extra time. We can accommodate the Senator for as much time as he or the distinguished Senator from New Mexico would like to have.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I ask unanimous consent the vote on adoption of this conference report to accompany H.R. 2620, the VA/HUD appropriations bill, occur at 4:30 p.m. today and that if all time for debate has expired, the time until 4:30 p.m. be equally divided and controlled by the two managers.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am happy to yield to the Senator from Texas such time as she may consume.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Let me conclude by thanking the Senator from Missouri for all his help and cooperation, and his staff--all of whom were working on it. I take this opportunity to thank the people who worked directly with the bill, worked directly in the Senate. There are a lot of people who work in this institution. We are coming up on the second month anniversary of the aerial attack on the United States of America. I thank all the people here at the Capitol who continue to show up every day and every way to support us so we can keep democracy's doors open. First, I thank our young pages. They are high school students. They could have gone back home and been prom queens and football heroes, but instead they chose to serve their country by being right here in this Chamber. We thank them for their support for us and the confidence their families showed in us. All of the people who run the food service, who run the elevators, and who are trying to clean up the Hart Building need to be acknowledged. By supporting us, they really support democracy. As we pass this bill that honors America's veterans and protects our homeland security, I thank all the people from the pages to the elevator operators, to the carpenters, and so on, who just show up every day and help us keep democracy's door open and functioning. I bring you the VA-HUD bill and say God bless the U.S. Senate and God bless America. Let's vote and pass this bill.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, November 8, 2001, after the next rollcall vote to hold a business meeting. The Committee will consider and vote on the following nominees: Sichan Siv, of Texas, to be Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and an Alternative Representative to the Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations during his tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and Richard Williamson, of Illinois, to be Alternate Representative of the United States of America for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations and to be the Alternate U.S. Representative to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.