Barbara Mikulski

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield 3 minutes to the Senator from Connecticut, who also chairs the Banking Committee. On behalf of all of us who worked on this bill, I thank Senator Dodd for helping us resolve some very serious issues that existed between the Banking and Education Committees on the student loan issue. His steadfastness and work with Senator Shelby actually helped us bring this bill to the floor. I thank him.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I too thank the very hard-working staff on this bill. There have been many compliments of me tonight, but I could not have done what Senator Kennedy asked me to do without the very able help of Senator Kennedy's staff. Senator Enzi articulated them by name, but especially Mike Myers, Carmel Martin, JD LaRock, and others. I could not have done it without them. Also, I say to Senator Enzi, we could not have done this without you. I worked with you on pensions and I knew how solid our relationship was and how carefully you pursue these matters. Senator Kennedy said you were a prince of a guy to work with, and he was absolutely right. I extend my thanks to you and to your professional staff as well. There were also other Democrats who worked on the bill on our side-- two who could not speak tonight, but I acknowledge the very hard- working role of Senator Obama, who was a very aggressive advocate on many of these issues, along with Senator Clinton. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a list of the staff thank-yous be printed in the Record so we do not forget one person who helped make this legislation possible.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Wyoming. We are now heading to our wrap-up. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a list of 48 letters in support of the bill be printed in the Record. They range from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, to the United States Student Association, to the Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I control the time. I now yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Ohio, Mr. Brown.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I also thank our colleagues in the House. Congressman Miller and Congressman McKeon were absolutely stalwarts in working with us. Congressman Miller and I had daily conversations on how to move this bill forward, and it was both fruitful and productive, and what the Congress should be. A word about working with my colleague, Senator Enzi. We had disputes. We had issues. We had things that had to be worked out. You heard some of them this evening from the Senator from Oklahoma, the Senator from Tennessee. But at the end of the day, the day was over. We would be able to work and follow that kind of Ronald Reagan-Tip O'Neill rule that when the day was over, the dispute was set aside. We went home and thought about what we could do to move this bill. I wish the whole Senate could work the way we worked on this bill, starting with Senator Kennedy's leadership, and Senator Enzi's, as they held the hearings, listened to us, and included us. We need to do more bipartisan work. When all is said and done, we have to start doing things and less saying things. Because one of the great things I like about this bill is it achieves a very important American freedom. Our Constitution explicitly guarantees many rights: the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of religion, the freedom of press. But implicit in our Constitution, our Declaration of Independence, and all of our documents, all of our beliefs, and all of our values, is we believe in the freedom to achieve, that in the United States of America you can be anything you want to be, and you have access, and should have access, to an opportunity ladder that enables you to participate in the American dream. We are a country whose values say: Dream about what you can be and dream about what you can contribute. And when you want to follow that dream, you should not be barred from it because of the size of your wallet. Your dream should only be shaped by the size of your talents. I think this bill today, tonight, will advance this whole freedom to achieve, this opportunity ladder for our young people. I am very honored to participate in it. I am very honored Senator Kennedy asked me to take on this conference. But we could not have advanced this idea without Senator Ted Kennedy. Senator Ted Kennedy is a giant in this institution and in this country. His whole life has been devoted to access to opportunity, access to education, access to health care, that there be no barriers in the area of civil rights where people were sidelined or redlined. So tonight, as we move to the adoption of this bill, I say to my colleagues here, I urge the adoption of this bill. I want Senator Kennedy to know many of us today, and while he has been recovering from his illness, have worn these blue armbands. They say: ``Ted Strong.'' Well, we know Ted is strong. So, Ted, this is for you tonight. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the adoption of the conference report.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I wish to comment on the unfunded mandates. The Senator who will speak shortly has been a champion of the disability community and a leader of the IDEA community. We have been fighting to double IDEA and we have been trying to do it on both sides of the aisle. We look forward to having the Senator's support to do exactly that. We look forward to increasing the Federal role in Medicaid, particularly in SCHIP, which would be a very important component of Medicaid. Last, but not at all least, in Medicaid, 80 percent of the money goes to 20 percent of the population. That 20 percent of the population that gets that Medicaid is primarily old or fragile people in nursing homes, many of whom have serious cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's. Let's get the Coburn hold off my bill to double funding for Alzheimer's. One of the ways to lower the cost of Medicaid is to find the cure of the cognitive stretchout for people with Alzheimer's. It is estimated by NIH and other institutions that comment on these things that we could reduce Medicaid by $5 to $11 billion a year if we could do that. I think we can work our way through this, but I must say, working with the Senator from Tennessee has been indeed a pleasure. It has been based on intellectual rigor, good conversation, excellent exchanges of ideas. I look forward to doing more of it and trying to solve some of the problems that we both strongly believe need to be addressed.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Yes, but I am not done with my comments so I have not yielded the floor.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, under our agreement, I will yield time to our colleague, Senator Harkin from Iowa, but before I do, I wish to do two things. First, a few minutes ago we heard from our colleague, Senator Bingaman, about the untimely death of one of Senator Bingaman's key staffer's sons. Bob Simon is a staff director on his Energy Committee. Bob Simon's 16-year-old son passed away, and he, Senator Bingaman, was paying an eloquent tribute about this very melancholy situation. On behalf of the Senate, we would like to extend our condolences to the Simon family. The other comment I wish to make is in response, very quickly, to the comments my colleague from Tennessee made. First, I would like to thank my colleague from Tennessee for his very collegial and thoughtful efforts as we moved our bill through. I enjoyed our conversations, from talking about bluegrass and Grand Old Opry, we went on to high notes and higher education, and then we went on to maintenance of effort. I am sorry you took out the regulatory stack you had because it is bigger than I am. As we said in our conversation, I look forward to working with the Senator from Tennessee to see if some of the regs might be dated, arcane, duplicative, and so on and how, over the next year or so, we could look forward to doing that. But before I move off from the reg comment, I do wish to comment about the maintenance of effort. In many ways, I understand the point the Senator from Tennessee is making. My own home State of Maryland's Governor O'Malley inherited a $1.7 billion budget deficit that was not of his making, and at the same time I understand Governors and State legislators are facing real obstacles. However, we need to be realistic. Congress is doing its part by increasing Pell grants, and families can be assured that as the Federal Government increases its commitment to colleges, funds will not be offset by the States. Last night we did pass an amendment offered by another gentleman from Massachusetts, Congressman Tierney. What his amendment does is provide incentives and funds to Governors, which they can use for a broad range of college access activities. They would be able to access $66 million to States to use on a variety of very important college access activities, particularly need-based grants and college prep programs. But I also want to acknowledge the validity of the issues raised by the Senator from Tennessee on unfunded mandates. Over here we have a champion.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I wish to add to this. I won't repeat what Senator Kennedy reminds us are the good things in this bill. In addition to our empowerment opportunity, which was expanding Pell grants from $4,800 to $6,000, we are also making sure Pell grants are available all year long, not just during the academic year, as well as getting rid of the cronyism in private lending where there were kickbacks going on between lenders and those at colleges who were offering it. In addition to that, one of the things I am very proud of is how we met two major shortages in our country. Right now, there are the issues related to the nursing shortage. This bill recognizes the fact that though there is a nursing shortage, there are now several thousand people who want to go to nursing school but can't get in because the nursing schools either have no room, no labs, or no faculty. Working together, we have been able to pass in this bill a very significant empowerment opportunity that will expand faculty and laboratory capacity so that we can crack the nursing shortage code by making sure all who want to go have the opportunity to go. By the way, there are 40,000 qualified applicants who could not get into nursing programs. They were smart enough. They were good enough. There was even financial aid to help them, but there just wasn't room. But we are making room for them. Another issue that we were able to deal with was promoting innovative and effective teacher preparation programs. Our Nation faces a shortage of high-quality K-12 teachers, and new approaches are needed to make sure that every child has an effective teacher. In this legislation, we create a pipeline for high-quality teachers to teach in high-need schools by promoting partnerships with teacher education programs in higher need districts. We hold institutions of higher education accountable for the quality and progress of their teacher preparation programs as well as encouraging them with substantial help to develop alternative certification programs. The Presiding Officer would be interested to know that on this 25th anniversary of Sally Ride going into space, neither Dr. Ride nor I could teach in a Baltimore high school. Dr. Ride has a Ph.D. in astrophysics, two undergraduate degrees--one in physics and one in Shakespeare. I have a master's degree in sociology. I think I am qualified to teach current events but couldn't do it. That is OK. We should be qualified, but it would be darn hard to get into an alternative certification program. I think there is a lot of talent coming out of our military, retired people who are looking for second careers--an experienced core. We need to give them an opportunity to come into our college classrooms, bringing knowledge, expertise, and the kind of mentoring that goes on. This is what is in this bill. It is not a laundry list of programs. It is about helping those young people who want to get into school, making sure we deal with some of the critical shortages facing our country, and at the same time having empowerment opportunity where we help important historic institutions, such as our Historically Black Colleges. I am going to speak about this bill in more detail, but for now I wish to yield to Senator Enzi, who has been such an able partner and who has a particular area of expertise, because of his accounting background, in the fiscal reforms we did and a real passion for the community college.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield to the Senator from Iowa, Senator Harkin, also a member of the Health-Education committee and who is a prime mover in the area of expanding access for people with disabilities to be able to have access to higher education.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I yield time to the distinguished Senator from New Mexico, a member of the HELP Committee, who played a significant role in crafting this bill as it moved through our committee.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield the Senator from Illinois 3 minutes.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Thank you very much, Mr. President. It is a great honor for me to be able to bring to the floor of the Senate the higher education conference report for the Health, Education, and Labor Committee. I bring this bill to the Senate on behalf of Senator Kennedy. What I wish colleagues to know is that this bill is truly a bipartisan agreement. It was led by Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi, the ranking member, our colleague from Wyoming, who worked tirelessly. This bill has been a work in progress for more than 5 years. Early this summer, as Senator Kennedy advanced this bill, we are all aware that he received some pretty surprising news. As he went into his own treatment regime, he called me and asked me to take over the conference report. I viewed it as an honor, I viewed it as a privilege, and I view it as an honor and privilege today. Before I go into describing the bill and presenting it, I again wish to thank Senator Enzi for his work with Senator Kennedy and his collegial and civil attitude in working with me to move this bill. As I get ready to present this to the Senate, however, I have a letter from Senator Kennedy. I have been in touch with Senator Kennedy on a regular basis, receiving his advice, his guidance, his caution, and his jocular wit. I know he is watching us as we begin this debate today. This is a short statement he asked me to read to his colleagues: I'm pleased to express my strong support for final passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. This legislation builds on key measures we've approved this Congress to increase college aid and make loans more available for students. This bill goes even further to assure that a college education is affordable and accessible to our citizens. This legislation comes at a time when students and families need more help then ever to deal with the rising cost of college. Average costs at public colleges are more than $13,000 today, and $32,000 at private colleges. Each year 780,000 qualified students don't attend a four-year college because they can't afford it. Our bill takes major steps to expand college access and affordability. It holds colleges accountable for rising costs requiring the top five percent of colleges with the greatest cost increases to submit detailed reports to the Secretary of Education on why their costs have risen, and what they will do to hold costs down. It simplifies the complex student aid application process by replacing the seven-page Free Application for Federal Student Aid with a two-page ``EZ- FAFSA.'' It also expands aid for our neediest students by enabling them to receive Pell Grants year-round for the first time. The legislation also responds to the ethical scandals in the student loan industry, which the Committee documented in investigations last year. It bans lenders from offering gifts to college officials, and requires college to adopt strict codes of conduct on student loans. I'm particularly proud of provisions that help students with disabilities and veterans. It enables students with intellectual disabilities who attend postsecondary transition programs to receive Pell Grants for the first time, and provides support for colleges to expand these programs. The bill helps service members by enabling them to defer payments on their student loans--interest-free--while they're on active duty. It also allows service members and their families to receive in-state tuition rates for college when they move to a new state, and enables them to re-enroll in college without delay when their service is complete. This bill creates a lasting legacy for students and families, and it wouldn't have been possible without the bipartisan cooperation of the members of the HELP Committee and the House Committee on Education and Labor. I commend our Ranking Member, Senator Enzi, and Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon in the House for their strong support. I'm especially grateful to my friend, Senator Mikulski, for her impressive work in resolving some of the most difficult issues in this bill. We can be proud that with passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, we're meeting our responsibility to help all our citizens obtain a higher education. By improving their lives, we also strengthen our nation and our future. I urge all my colleagues to support this needed legislation. I ask unanimous consent that a longer statement by Senator Kennedy be printed in the Record.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield the Senator from Vermont 2 minutes so he can make a brief statement before he presides, and then to Senator Brown.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the Advancing America's Priorities Act. I do not believe that the provisions of title VI, subtitle A of this bill, corresponding to the National Capital Transportation Amendments Act, constitute a ``congressionally directed spending item,'' but out of an abundance of caution, I certify that neither I nor my immediate family has a pecuniary interest in the provisions of title VI, subtitle A of this bill, consistent with the requirements of paragraph 9 of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at 9:30 a.m.to conduct a hearing entitled ``Energy Security: An American Imperative.'' THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. select committee on intelligence

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Improving Performance: A Review of Pay-for-Performance Systems in the Federal Government.''

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 22, 2008, at 2:30 p.m.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at 9:30 a.m.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 10 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to hold a hearing entitled, ``An Update on the Science of Global Warming and its Implications.''

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank you, Mr. President. The reason I have asked to be heard is because my constituents want to be heard. I am here today to speak on the Senate floor about the skyrocketing high prices at the pump, which are really hurting my constituents. They are hurting families, they are hurting small businesses, and they are hurting all of our volunteer efforts. Gas prices in my State have dramatically increased. In March of last year, 2007, gas prices were at $2.50 a gallon. They have now skyrocketed to $4 a gallon. There has been a $1.50 increase in a little over a year. My Maryland families are now paying $5,000 per year on gas. That is up from $3,200 a year when George Bush took office. In the Federal Government's budget, $2,000 might not be a lot, but in a family budget it is a budget buster. Look what you can do for $2,000. No. 1, if you are a senior, it pays for the doughnut hole so you can get your prescriptions filled. If you are a family, that is enough to send one of your children to a community college. Yes, $2,000 makes a big difference. Maryland families are stretched and strained. Gas prices drive their lives, and they feel as though they are running on empty. Gas and groceries go together. When gas goes up, so do groceries because of just the added cost of delivering them. When you talk to families, they are struck with incredible anxiety, wondering where is this going to end. The cost of commuting has more than doubled or is even close to tripling for many of our families. Families are now asking how do they get their kids to school or to soccer practice or to other activities. Seniors are wondering how do they cluster their medical appointments so if they live in the rural part of my State, they can drive to the doctor they need, while wondering about how they are going to fill up their gas tank. The seniors I represent say: If I have to fill up my tank, I don't know if I can fill my prescription or even get to the doctor. We have to do something. As to the impact on business--from the taxicab driver, where the costs are going up, to the florist making deliveries, to the trucker delivering goods--what we see is they either have to pass the cost on to the consumer or go broke. We cannot let people go broke because of skyrocketing gasoline prices. A sector that is very near and dear to me is the volunteer sector. Look at the impact of rising gas prices on Meals on Wheels. Nearly 60 percent of the Meals on Wheels programs have lost volunteers who cannot afford gas. Did you hear that? Sixty percent of the people who deliver Meals on Wheels have said they have to take a pass because they cannot afford gas. Most of the people who deliver Meals on Wheels are seniors themselves. Senator Cardin has a bill to alleviate that. So everything from Meals on Wheels to volunteer firefighters, who are trying to figure out how to pay for the gas for their firetrucks, we are in a serious crisis. So we have to act. Now, there are those who say: Drill here and drill now. I will talk about drilling on another day because I support smart drilling that is environmentally safe, achieves productivity, and, if we drill, stays here. I believe we have 68 million acres already owned by the oil companies. So if they want to drill, drill where they have it. But what I want to talk about today is what we know is driving up the cost per barrel by as much as $80. This bill is about speculation. This bill that is pending for discussion in the Senate is about casino economics, and that is what is going on now. We have people trading in the energy market not to be able to buy the futures in oil for their own use--whether you are a local government or whether you are a refinery. It is about trading in futures and building it up like a pyramid scheme. They do this casino economics by doing a lot of their trading through loopholes, one of which is called the London loophole. The London loophole is about an exchange called the InterContinental Exchange. It is in London. It is owned by an Atlanta company to evade American laws and regs. Did you get that loophole, Mr. President? The London loophole is about an intercontinental exchange in which 30 percent of American energy futures are traded. It is owned by an Atlanta company. Why do they do this through London? Because it evades American laws and regs against speculation. Well, we can immediately deal with the gouging and the excessive speculation by closing that London loophole. That is part of the bill that, if we move past cloture, we can get. We need to close that London loophole so investors cannot exploit the market by avoiding U.S. law and avoiding U.S. regulation. If you are going to trade as an American company, go by American rules. The legislation we propose makes sure the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sets tough limits on speculators. By the way, that group, the CFTC, is the regulator for commodities. It is called the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. We want them to be able to have the legal authority to set limits to deal with excessive speculation. We also want to give them the resources they need. In 2003, the futures market was $13 billion. Today, it is $260 billion. That is ``b'' like in ``Barb,'' not ``million'' like in ``Mikulski.'' So we have seen this enormous increase, but we do not have the professional staff to be the cops on the beat to deal with speculation and illegal activity. So our legislative proposal calls for 100 more professionals. We want to detect excessive speculation and fraud. We want to prevent it, and we want to prosecute it. Markets need to work for free enterprise, not for freewheeling exploitation. Closing the London loophole and putting caps on speculators to stop the casino economics is recommended, and it is predicted we could lower the cost per barrel by as much as $80. So if oil is trading at $130 or $140 a barrel, we could bring it down, generally, to a more reasonable market-based price of about $60 a barrel. That would be stunning. That would be absolutely stunning. It would get us back to where we were last year. It would give us an important path forward to help our economy, which is in a deep recession. We know we have to do more. We Democrats believe in conservation. That is why we increased the CAFE standards, which go to greater full utilization in passenger vehicles and trucks and buses. We know we have to develop alternative fuels. We need to do research and pass tax incentives so we power our homes with wind and solar. We also know we need to stop price gouging. We have to roll up our sleeves and get the job done. It is one thing to debate ideas, it is another thing to have a filibuster. I believe in debating ideas, taking a vote, and letting the majority win. I am ready to duke it out on the idea. My constituents and I are pretty sick of the tyranny of 60. I thought in this country in a body of 100, 51 was a majority. We have these arcane rules that we can play games with to hide behind our true thinking. I call it the tyranny of the 60. It is slowing down what we need to face up to, which is real debate and real votes. I believe energy will determine our destiny, our security, our economy, and our standing in the world. This is a serious matter. For the last 18 months, with the Republican obstructionism, what we have found is that when all is said and done, more gets said than done. Let's end the filibuster, let's end the parliamentary games, and let's get serious about what the American public wants us to do, which is roll up our sleeves and present the best idea for arriving at solutions. Let a real majority win and, most of all, let's start putting America first, putting America over political parties. I am a member of the Democratic Party, but a larger party I belong to is the red, white, and blue party. I think we should have to start acting that way. Let's get the job done, bring this to a vote, and let's stop the speculation, stop the cronyism, and let's get real value for the American people. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, there is a buzz on the floor. I would like regular order.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I now seek recognition in my own right.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time until 12:30 be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, and that the time during the caucus recess count postcloture.