Lisa Murkowski

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce a bill that passed the Senate with bipartisan support in the 107th Congress. This legislation addresses an equity issue for one of Alaska's rural village corporations. Cape Fox Corporation is an Alaskan Village Corporation organized pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, by the Native Village of Saxman, near Ketchikan, AK. As with other ANCSA village corporations in Southeast Alaska, Cape Fox was limited to selecting 23,040 acres under Section 16. However, unlike other village corporations, Cape Fox was further restricted from selecting lands within 6 miles of the boundary of the home rule city of Ketchikan. All other ANCSA corporations were restricted from selecting within 2 miles of such a home rule of city. The 6-mile restriction went beyond protecting Ketchikan's watershed and damaged Cape Fox by preventing the corporation from selecting valuable timber lands, industrial sites, and other commercial property, not only in its core township, but in surrounding lands far removed from Ketchikan and its watershed. AS a result of the 6-mile restriction, only the mountainous northeast corner of Cape Fox's core township, which is nonproductive and of no economic value, was available for selection by the corporation. Cape Fox's land selections were further limited by the fact that the Annette Island Indian Reservation is within its selection area, and those lands were unavailable for ANCSA selection. Cape Fox is the only ANCSA village corporation affected by this restriction. Clearly, Cape Fox was placed on unequal economic footing relative to other village corporations in Southeast Alaska. Despite its best efforts during the years since ANCSA was signed into law, Cape Fox has been unable to overcome the disadvantage the law built into its land selection opportunities by this inequitable treatment. To address this inequity, I have introduced the Cape Fox Land Entitlement Adjustment Act of 2003. This bill will address the Cape Fox problem by providing three interrelated remedies: (1) The obligation of Cape Fox to select and seek conveyance of the approximately 160 acres of unusable land in the mountainous northeast corner of Cape Fox's core township will be annulled. (2) Cape Fox will be allowed to select and the Secretary of the Interior will be directed to convey 99 acres of timber land adjacent to Cape Fox's current holdings on Revilla Island. (3) Cape Fox and the Secretary of Agriculture will be authorized to enter into an equal value exchange of lands in Southeast Alaska that will be of mutual benefit to the Corporation and the U.S. Forest Service. Lands conveyed to Cape Fox in this exchange will not be timberlands, but will be associated with a mining property containing existing Federal mining claims, some of which are patented. Lands anticipated to be returned to Forest Service ownership will be of wildlife habitat, recreation and watershed values and will consolidate Forest Service holdings in the George Inlet area of Revilla Island. The land exchange provisions of this bill will help rectify the long- standing inequities associated with restrictions placed on Cape Fox in ANCSA. It will help allow this Native village corporation to make the transition from its major dependence on timber harvest to a more diversified portfolio of income-producing lands. The bill also provides for the resolution of a long-standing land ownership problem with the Tongass National Forest. The predominant private landowner in the region, Sealaska Corporation, holds the subsurface estate on several thousand acres of National Forest System lands. This split estate poses a management problem which the Forest Service has long sought to resolve. Efforts to address this issue go back more than a decade. Provisions in the Cape Fox Land Entitlement Act of 2003 will allow the agency to consolidate its surface and subsurface estate and greatly enhance its management effectiveness and efficiency in the Tongass National Forest. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today marks the 53rd anniversary of the official beginning of the Korean war. Korea has often been called the forgotten war, but for the thousands of Alaskans who are veterans of that war it is hardly forgotten. The memory is with them daily. The heroic American and Korean veterans of that war fought under the most adverse circumstances to free the people of the Republic of Korea from the yoke of Communism. These veterans learned the hard way the lesson that is engraved on the Korean war Memorial here in Washington, ``Freedom is not free.'' While today marks the beginning of the Korean war, this anniversary does not mark the beginning of the war between freedom and Communism in that troubled country. From the moment that the Korean peninsula was divided in 1945, that battle had begun. While Korea was one of the first examples of Imperial Japan's lust for land when it became a Japanese possession in the wake of the Russo- Japanese War at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was a side show in World War II. The U.S. had no plan for what to do with Korea when the war was over. Although we had had U.S. representatives--governmental, business and missionary--in Korea from 1882 until the outbreak of the war, we made no plans for what would happen when at war's end, we might return to Korea. The United States remained committed to the December 1945 decision of the Allied foreign ministers in Moscow that a trusteeship under four powers, including China, should be established with a view toward Korea's eventual independence. As a result, we were slow to draw-up long-range alternative plans for South Korea. We had made no decisions on how to govern Korea, or to assist Korea in governing itself. We had not made plans for the defense of the country, nor for its economic development. We didn't even have a plan for how we might accept a Japanese surrender on the peninsula. The most convenient way to deal with the surrender issue was to allow the Soviets to accept the surrender in the north and for U.S. forces to take the surrender in the south. Such a division of Korea, which to modern eyes, seems so normal on our maps, was totally foreign to the long history of Korea. Further, the division, which was drawn on a large-scale map in the Pentagon and had no rational basis on the actual terrain, did not represent any known political division of the peninsula. When it took place, it left freedom loving Koreans in the north and communist insurgents in the south. The Korean war did not begin with the full scale invasion of the Republic of Korea on June 25, 1950. It had been underway as an insurgency in the south since, at least, 1946. One of the first tasks facing the United States was to train and replace existing Japanese police and security forces. The United States, with insufficient forces in-country to deal with the insurgency problem, acted quickly to stem the insurgency by creating a Korean defense force to combat it. This Korean Constabulary, consisting of Korean veterans of the various armies who had fought World War II in the area, was led by U.S. officers and fought under U.S. orders. The Constabulary had an initial force of 2,000 men in 1946, but built up to approximately 26,000 over the next two years. It was equipped with the very little military materiel left behind by U.S. forces as they withdrew. The young American officers, mostly reservists, with few regulars had little in the way of education, language or experience for their task, but they had good will and a devotion to duty which they infused in their Korean troops. In contrast, the army that the North Koreans were forming north of the divide was well equipped with Soviet equipment and led by well trained and well indoctrinated communist zealots. While all out invasion would wait until 1950, substantial insurgency and guerrilla warfare was a constant theme in the southern half of the peninsula from 1946 to 1948. When the Republic of Korea was founded in August of 1948, the Korean Constabulary became the Korean Army and brought with it a level of devotion to country and duty which has been, since that time, the envy of most of the world's fighting forces. Today is a time, therefore, not just to remember the heroic men and women who served from 1950 to 1953, but to honor the heroic Koreans and Americans who defended Korean freedom in the days before 1950.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise in support of this resolution expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to raising awareness and encouraging education about safety on the Internet and supporting the goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month. The Internet has become one of the most significant advances in the twentieth century and, as a result, it affects people's lives in a positive manner each day. However, this technology is fraught with dangers that need to be brought to the attention of all Americans. Never before has the problem of online predatory behavior been more of a concern. Consider the pervasiveness of Internet access by children and the rapid increase in Internet crime and predatory behavior. Never before have powerful educational solutions--like Internet safety curricula for grades kindergarten through 12, youth empowerment Internet safety campaigns and community-based Internet safety awareness presentations with the formation of community action teams, such as what I-Safe America, a non-profit Internet safety foundation, does-- been more critical and readily at hand. It is imperative that every community in every state be apprised of the increase in Internet-based criminal activity so that all Americans may learn about the Internet safety strategies which will enable them to keep their children safe from victimization. Consider the facts: Worldwide, 70 million youth under the age of 18 are online. This is considered to be a conservative estimate since it is projected that there are two million new Internet users per month in America alone. The Family/PC Survey in 2000 reported that 1 in 4 kids participate in real-time online chats. The Pew Study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in June 2001 that 13 million youth use Instant Messaging and that 89 percent of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or Instant Messages. One in five teenagers who are online note that they have received unwanted sexual solicitations, according to the Crimes Against Children Research Center in a study completed in 2000. It's important to note that while it's reported that 90 percent of teens and young adults ages 15 to 24 go online and half of them go online once a day or more, three out of four young people have access at home and nearly one in three has access from their own bedroom, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. According to a 1999 Arbitron New Media study, the majority of teenagers' online use occurs at home, right after school, when working parents are not at home. Thirty percent of the girls responding to a 2002 Girl Scout Research Institute study, ``The Net Effect: Girls and New Media,'' said they had been sexually harassed in a chat room, but only seven percent told a parent about the harassment, most fearing their parents would overreact and ban computer usage altogether. From a parental perspective, 75 percent of parents say that they know where their children spend time online. The truth about kids' Internet habits, according to WebSense, USA Today, and the National Foster Parent Association show that 58 percent of teens say they have accessed an objectionable website. A 2000 Time/CNN poll indicated that 43 percent of children say they do not have rules about Internet use in their homes. Also, 62 percent of parents of teenagers are unaware that their children have accessed objectionable websites, according to a Yankelovich Partners Study. According to the London School of Economics, 9 out of 10 children between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, sex websites were accessed unintentionally when a child, often in the process of doing homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for information or pictures. Most disturbing, however, are the patterns of Internet crimes against children. In 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in 113 cases involving Internet crimes against children. In 2001, the FBI opened 1,541 cases against people suspected of using the Internet to commit crimes involving child pornography or abuse. The U.S. Customs Service now places the number of websites offering child pornography at more than 100,000. Moreover, there was a 345 percent increase in the production of these sites just between February 2001 and July 2001, according to a recent study. The FBI notes that child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children through online means is the most significant crime problem it confronts. Now is the time for America to focus its attention on supporting Internet safety, especially now that children are now on summer vacation and will subsequently spend more time online. Recent Internet crime trends indicate a call to action as it pertains to national Internet safety awareness at all levels.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area is one of the best examples for preserving the heritage of one of this Nation's first pioneer areas. This legislation will create a national heritage corridor that covers an area from Seward to Anchorage. This national heritage corridor will protect the natural and cultural resources of a well established region. The Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area will follow along a corridor that was established by pioneering Alaskans. This route will partially follow two nationally recognized treasures--the Iditarod Trail and the Seward Highway National Scenic Byway. It will honor Native traders, gold rush stampeders and the route of the Alaska Railroad. One of the biggest gold discoveries along this route was the Bear Creek gold find near Hope in 1895. The route of the Alaska Railroad was finished in 1923. Unlike many others, this national heritage corridor will not be managed by the Federal Government, but instead, by a group of local community leaders. The preservation of historic areas depends largely upon the community and its support, and clearly, no one entity can provide the adequate management, protection and preservation for these extensive resources. In fact, over the past five years, a group of local community leaders has been working hard for this national heritage designation. They have been successful in garnering support from communities throughout this entire route. These local folks have extensive knowledge of the resources; they are personally acquainted with the area; they understand the ruggedness and the beauty of the land, and certainly appreciate the potential economic value this designation would bring to the area. The preservation of history and heritage depends upon the mutual support and assistance from public and private groups. This national heritage designation has been a vision of many people from Seward to Anchorage, and comprises lands in the Kenai Mountains and the upper Turnagain Arm region. An 11-member board will be established and charged with seeing the vision become a reality. This non-profit board will be tasked with coordinating and supporting the protection of trail resources; interpreting the trail, and identifying the cultural landscapes of the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm historic transportation corridor. A plan will also be developed for the management of the heritage corridor, and will complement existing Federal, State, borough and local plans. To ensure even greater support of this designation, there will be opportunities provided to the public for their full participation as the plan is being developed. The purposes of designating this national treasure are to: Enable all people to envision and experience the heritage and impacts of transportation routes used first by indigenous people, followed by pioneers to the Nation's first frontier; Encourage economic viability in the affected communities. This national heritage corridor is significant for a whole host of reasons: Allow citizens to help preserve the heritage of the pioneers; protect and honor the history of Native traders, gold seekers and pioneers; decisions and management will be made by local citizens; support of several historical associations, the cities of Seward, Girdwood, Hope and Anchorage; an 11-member non-profit local board will plan and operate the heritage corridor; increase public awareness and appreciation for the natural, historical and cultural resources, and modern resource development of the heritage corridor; restore historic buildings and structures that are located within the boundaries of the heritage corridor; and, no additional lands will be acquired by the Federal Government or by the local management group. Rarely ever do we have such an opportunity when whole communities, Federal, State and local governments agree on and support such a national designation. Through adequate funding from the Department of the Interior, interpretation signs and technical assistance to conduct local planning will help to preserve and protect natural, historical, landscape and cultural resource values for current and future generations of the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area. And, finally, with the passage of this bill, visitors to the area can enjoy the shore lines of Turnagain Arm and watch the world's second largest tidal range move 30 foot tides in and out. A traveler through the mountain passes of the heritage area can view evidence of retreating glaciers and avalanches. Visitors will be amazed at the abundant wildlife that make their home in the area. The history of early settlers will be preserved for current and future generations. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the amendment I have sent to the desk gives the Federal Aviation Administration a year to complete the study of the consolidation of the Anchorage Terminal Approach Control, TRACON, with the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center at the center's existing facility. The current physical location will be facing significant demands this decade. In order to expand TRACON's current control room, it needs to be housed in a larger facility. What we are asking is a year to give the FAA ample time to complete this study while the Ted Stevens International Airport is undergoing expansion. I urge the adoption of the amendment.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to introduce legislation that will help many young families in America meet the financial challenges associated with raising children. The legislation I am introducing attempts to alleviate some of the financial costs incurred by the more than one out three families when one of the parents decides to leave the work force to raise children at home. Current tax law recognizes that when both parents remain in the work force, they incur additional child care costs because, in order to keep their jobs, they have to pay for day care services. Current tax law provides a sliding scale tax credit that allows parents to claim a tax credit of up to 35 percent to offset as much as $3,000 of day care costs for one child, $6,000 for two or more children. The maximum $1,050 tax credit, $2,100 for two or more children, phase down as income rises. The minimum, 20 percent credit, applies to families with incomes above $43,000. I strongly support this dependent care tax credit because it makes it easier for husbands and wives to maintain their careers and provide for their families. However, there are many families that have made the decision that one of the parents will give up a job in order to raise their children. In fact, this is a growing trend. In 2001, 37.7 percent of families had one parent at home raising the child; that's up from 35.3 percent in 1995. And the stay-at-home parent is, overwhelmingly, the mother. Barely 3.6 percent of stay-at-home parents are husbands. When a working woman makes the decision to interrupt her career to raise her child, the family incurs an immediate financial penalty. And more often than not, the career interruption may damage the woman's future earnings potential, what some have referred to as the ``Mommy Track.'' The immediate loss of income when a parent leaves the workforce significantly changes the family's lifestyle. For example, consider a childless couple where the husband earns $35,000 and the wife earns $27,000. After paying Federal income and payroll taxes, the family retains slightly more than $50,000 in disposable income. If the family has a child, and both parents continue their careers, after taxes they still will keep more than $49,000 of their earnings, even if they incur child care expenses of $3,000. However, in this example, if the father gives up his job, the family's disposable income drops by nearly 40 percent to less than $32,000. Put another way, the family's monthly income drops from $4,100 to $2,700. That's a difficult adjustment for any family, especially one that has to incur the additional costs of a newborn. I respect the parents who choose to maintain their careers while raising a family and the parents who make the financial sacrifice to give up their careers to raise a family. But I believe the tax code should treat both equally. My legislation attempts to alleviate the current inequity in the code by giving stay-at-home moms or dads a $200 a month tax credit. This credit would be indexed for inflation. The credit would apply until the child reaches the age of 6. While this credit could never make up the financial loss that families face when one of the parents stops working, it will provide some important financial relief to these families. In the example I cited earlier, if the father did not work for a full year, the $2,400 tax credit would completely eliminate the family's $1,500 Federal tax bill, giving the family that much more to spend on their living expenses. In addition, under this proposal, any unused tax credits could be carried forward indefinitely. Many parents who leave the work force to raise their children return to work when their kids enter school. By allowing the carry forward of unused credits, the parent who re-enters the work force will be able to keep more of his or her earnings to make up for the financial sacrifice made when choosing to stay home with the family. I think it is only fair that society recognize the financial sacrifice these parents have made. Congress recently acted to eliminate the marriage penalty. We should now act to eliminate the penalty imposed on families when a parent leaves the workforce to raise a child at home. It makes sense for our families and it is good tax policy. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that will have a profound effect on the retention of good teachers, administrators, and other school staff in remote and rural areas of Alaska and in the rest of our Nation. In rural areas of Alaska, school districts face the challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers, administrators and other school staff due to the lack of affordable housing. In one school district, they hire one teacher for every six who decide not to accept job offers. Half of the applicants not accepting a teaching position in that district indicated that their decision was related to the lack of housing options. Recently, I traveled throughout rural Alaska with Education Secretary Rod Paige. I wanted him to see the challenges of educating children in such a remote and rural environment. At one rural school, the principal must sleep in his office due to the lack of housing in that village. In the same village, there is not enough housing for each teacher to have their own separate home--several teachers must share a single home. Therefore, there is not enough room for the teachers' spouses. Rural Alaskan school districts also experience a high annual rate of teacher turnover due to the dearth of affordable housing. Apparently, up to 30 percent of teachers leave rural school districts due to housing issues. How can we expect our children to thrive and to meet the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act in such an educational environment? Clearly, the lack of affordable teacher housing in rural Alaska is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to ensure that children in rural Alaska receive an educational experience that is second to none and is also respectful of cultural differences. My bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide funds to States to address the shortage of teacher housing in rural areas in Alaska and in the rest of our Nation. Specifically, my bill provides funds to States that have a population of 1 million or fewer people and include qualifying municipalities, which have populations of 6,500 or fewer people and also do not have direct access to either a State or interstate highway system. The appropriate state housing authority will accept such funds and will then transfer the funds to an eligible school district in a qualifying municipality. An eligible school district must be within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, one or more Alaska Native villages or land owned by one or more Alaska Native village corporations. This legislation will allow the eligible school districts to address the housing shortage in the following ways: construct housing units, purchase and rehabilitate existing housing units, or rehabilitate housing units that are already owned by a school district. Once this phase is complete, eligible school districts shall provide the housing to teachers or other school staff under terms agreed upon by the school district and the teacher or other staff. It is imperative that we address this important issue immediately and allow the flexibility for the disbursement of funds to be handled at the local level. The quality of education of our rural children is at stake. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that will have a profound effect on the retention of good teachers, administrators, and other school staff in remote and rural areas of Alaska and in the rest of our Nation. In rural areas of Alaska, school districts face the challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers, administrators and other school staff due to the lack of affordable housing. In one school district, they hire one teacher for every six who decide not to accept job offers. Half of the applicants not accepting a teaching position in that district indicated that their decision was related to the lack of housing options. Recently, I traveled throughout rural Alaska with Education Secretary Rod Paige. I wanted him to see the challenges of educating children in such a remote and rural environment. At one rural school, the principal must sleep in his office due to the lack of housing in that village. In the same village, there is not enough housing for each teacher to have their own separate home--several teachers must share a single home. Therefore, there is not enough room for the teachers' spouses. Rural Alaskan school districts also experience a high annual rate of teacher turnover due to the dearth of affordable housing. Apparently, up to 30 percent of teachers leave rural school districts due to housing issues. How can we expect our children to thrive and to meet the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act in such an educational environment? Clearly, the lack of affordable teacher housing in rural Alaska is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to ensure that children in rural Alaska receive an educational experience that is second to none and is also respectful of cultural differences. My bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide funds to States to address the shortage of teacher housing in rural areas in Alaska and in the rest of our Nation. Specifically, my bill provides funds to States that have a population of 1 million or fewer people and include qualifying municipalities, which have populations of 6,500 or fewer people and also do not have direct access to either a State or interstate highway system. The appropriate state housing authority will accept such funds and will then transfer the funds to an eligible school district in a qualifying municipality. An eligible school district must be within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, one or more Alaska Native villages or land owned by one or more Alaska Native village corporations. This legislation will allow the eligible school districts to address the housing shortage in the following ways: construct housing units, purchase and rehabilitate existing housing units, or rehabilitate housing units that are already owned by a school district. Once this phase is complete, eligible school districts shall provide the housing to teachers or other school staff under terms agreed upon by the school district and the teacher or other staff. It is imperative that we address this important issue immediately and allow the flexibility for the disbursement of funds to be handled at the local level. The quality of education of our rural children is at stake. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. That is correct.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of H.R. 2185 to extend the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002; providing further that the bill be read the third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, if I may respond, my bill is a clean 6- month extension of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I repeat that this is a clean 6-month extension of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask the Senator from Massachusetts to repeat the question.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I do appreciate the consideration of my colleagues and the chairman in allowing me a brief opportunity to speak. I do recognize that taking this time out of the very important consideration of the legislation that is before us is significant, but I remind Members that the events that happened last evening, at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, are equally significant. I will take a few moments this morning to speak to that. Last evening, some 10,000 law enforcement officers, representing all corners of our Nation and foreign lands, gathered at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial to pay tribute to 377 of their colleagues and comfort their survivors. Each of the 377 honorees bears the distinction of having lost his or her life in the line of duty. The attendees represented a cross-section of many different agencies that make up the law enforcement community, including Federal law enforcement officers, State troopers, municipal cops, sheriff's deputies, corrections officers, game wardens, and National Park Service rangers. Most came in uniform. Many were joined by their spouses. Many were joined by their children, not only those who are old enough to understand, but also the little ones. At dusk, thousands of candles were lit, and the names of each of the 377 departed officers was read. The purpose of this annual event is not to reflect on the events that prematurely ended the lives of these brave officers, but those who created this memorial remind us that ``It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, but how they lived.'' This year, the names of three Alaskans were added to the memorial. Two of the three died in the line of duty in 2002, while the third died in the line of duty in 1917, in the days when Alaska was still a territory. This third individual was added to the memorial as a result of diligent research by the City of Seward, AK and its police department. I would like to introduce these exemplary Alaskans to the Senate. Correctional Officer James C. Hesterberg, was known as ``Jamie.'' At age 48, he was killed in the line of duty. A 19 year veteran of the Alaska Department of Corrections, he was contemplating retirement in September 2003. On November 19, 2002, Officer Hesterberg, and his partner, Officer Dennis Nilsen, were transporting seven prisoners to the Spring Creek Correctional Center by van on a snow and slush covered highway. Their van was struck by a large semi truck, killing Officer Hesterberg and four prisoners. Officer Hesterberg was the first employee of the Alaska Department of Corrections ever to die in the line of duty. He leaves behind his wife, Debra, his three children, Scott, Catherine and Mark, his mother and father, and many good friends and fellow officers. The people of Alaska mourn his loss. Jamie's commitment to protecting Alaska's citizens and to fulfilling the mission of the Department of Corrections will not be forgotten. Thomas Patrick O'Hara, at age 41, was a protection ranger and pilot for the National Park Service at Katmai National Park and Preserve in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. On December 19, 2002, Tom and his passenger, a Fish and Wildlife Service employee, were on a mission in the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge. Their plane went down on the tundra. When the plane was reported overdue, a rescue effort consisting of 14 single engine aircraft, an Alaska Air National Guard plane, and a Coast Guard helicopter quickly mobilized. Many of the single engine aircraft were piloted by Tom's friends. The wreckage was located late in the afternoon of December 20. The passenger survived the crash, but Ranger O'Hara did not. Tom O'Hara was an experienced pilot with 11,000 hours as a pilot-in- command. He was active in the communities of Naknek and King Salmon where he grew up, flying children to Bible camp and coaching young wrestlers. Tom provided a strong link between the residents of Bristol Bay and the National Park Service. Tom leaves behind his parents, Dan and Sharon O'Hara, who are in Washington, DC, today and who are distinguished leaders in the Bristol Bay region, his wife Lucy, and three children, Jonathon, Nicole and Heidi. I also had an opportunity to meet with his brother this morning. The deputy director of the National Park Service characterized Tom as one of its finest and he will be missed deeply by all of us. The third Alaskan, Charles H. Wiley, came to Seward from California to work on the construction of the Alaska Railroad. He was appointed to the post of night marshal in April 1917. On the evening of October 2, 1917, Marshal Wiley went to the Overland Hotel in Seward to investigate an incident. Marshal Wiley knocked first, but entered the hotel room when nobody answered. He was met by a round of gunfire. Marshal Wiley died two days later. I thank the Chair for allowing me to share a bit of the lives of these brave Alaskans. I want to thank the organization Concerns of Police Survivors and the staff of the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial for their hard work in organizing the candlelight memorial last evening. To the children of Jamie Hesterberg and Tom O'Hara, I to say, your fathers lost their lives doing something important for Alaska and the Nation. Public service is an honorable profession and I hope that each of you will consider making it a part of your lives. In valor, there is hope. I yield the floor. Several Senators addressed the Chair.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, May 13, at 2:30 p.m. in Room SD- 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 520, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain facilities to the Fremont-Madison Irrigation District in the State of Idaho; S. 625, a bill to authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct certain feasibility studies in the Tualatin River Basin in Oregon, and for other purposes; S. 960, a bill to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize certain projects in the State of Hawaii and to amend the Hawaii Water Resources Act of 2000 to modify the water resources study; S. 649, a bill to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in projects within the San Diego Creek Watershed, California, and for other purposes; and S. 993, a bill to amend the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956, and for other purposes. (Contact: Shelly Randel 202-224- 7933, Kellie Donnelly 202-224-9360 or Jared Stubbs at 202-224-7556). Because of the limited time available for the hearings, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send two copies of their testimony to the Subcommittee on Water and Power, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great Alaskan upon the occasion of her promotion to Brigadier General in the United States Air Force. I am speaking of Jarisse J. Sanborn who, on April 1, 2003, became the first active duty woman ever promoted to Brigadier General in the Judge Advocate Corps of any armed service in this country. Upon her promotion, General Sanborn was assigned to U.S. Transportation Command and the Air Mobility Command, where she serves as the Staff Judge Advocate to both commands. General Sanborn, the daughter of a career Navy officer, began her Air Force career after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Virginia. After serving as a squadron and wing executive officer, she was selected for the Air Force-funded legal education program, graduating from Creighton Law School in Omaha, NE, again Magna Cum Laude. She is also a graduate of the National War College. General Sanborn has had a distinguished legal career, including her most recent assignment as the Staff Judge Advocate for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known by its acronym NORAD, and U.S. Northern Command, the newly created unified command responsible for the homeland defense of the United States. General Sanborn also has been the Staff Judge Advocate for U.S. Space Command, Air Force Space Command, and Alaska Command. From her time as head of Alaska Command at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, she remains a resident of Alaska, where she and her husband Al still own a home in Eagle River. They have two sons: Tyler and John. Brigadier General Sanborn is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, where she earned the Bronze Star as the Staff Judge Advocate for the Fourth Fighter Wing deployed to Oman and Saudi Arabia. Now, at a time when women are making such important contributions to our efforts in Iraq, it's very appropriate that we recognize the success of this fine officer. It is also appropriate that we celebrate this important step for all women in the military. General Sanborn truly makes all Americans proud of the capabilities and accomplishments of our Armed Forces.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I honor a pillar of the Fairbanks business community and a respected Athabaskan Elder, Ralph Kriska Perdue, who passed on early Tuesday morning at the age of 73. I doubt that most folks in Interior Alaska knew his real age. You see, for years Ralph's wife, Dorothy, conducted a 39th birthday sale, every Christmas, at the family store, Perdue's Jewelers. Ralph was born on December 16, 1929 in the village of Koyukuk on the Yukon River. He became interested in making jewelry around 1946 and in 1961 opened a jewelry store in downtown Fairbanks. Ralph was a determined individual. He once told a reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, ``To me, there is satisfaction that something is done the way it should be done, whether it's a piece of jewelry or anything that confronts me.'' The Fairbanks economy has experienced booms and busts, but Perdue's Jewelers has grown and prospered. Ralph will be remembered in Interior Alaska for many things. A bridge between the Native community and the broader community, he served for 6 years as president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference and as a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board. He will be dearly remembered as the father of the Fairbanks Native Association, which he helped found in 1963. Today, the Fairbanks Native Association has an annual operating budget of about $13 million and a workforce of 300 people. It provides a variety of social services to the people of Fairbanks, including a very successful regional alcoholism treatment center, which was appropriately named the ``Ralph Perdue Center.'' Annette Freiburger, executive director of the Fairbanks Native Association (FNA), is quoted in the News-Miner as follows, ``Ralph has always served as a guide and inspiration for FNA. We recognized him as our FNA chief, the only chief we have in Fairbanks.'' Ralph was also the devoted father of Karen Perdue Bettisworth, the distinguished former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, and of Mona Perdue Jones. I extend to Dorothy, to Karen and to Mona, my deepest condolences and I join with the Fairbanks community in extending my appreciation to the late Chief Ralph Kriska Perdue for a job well done.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to correct an inequity in the HUBzone contracting program administered by the Small Business Administration, SBA. This bill amends the criteria by which areas are designated as HUBzone under the Small Business Act by adding a new category designated as ``Difficult Development Areas.'' These ``Difficult Development Areas'' are already recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. For reasons I will explain, the businesses and people in the community of Ketchikan, AK have been wrongly denied participation in the HUBzone program. This bill will take care of that problem. The current HUBzone qualifications have two tiers. The first is that the county in which a business seeking to participate in the program must not be located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area, MSA. The second level has three separate criteria. If an area meets any one of the second level criteria, it qualifies as a HUBzone area. One of the criteria simply relates to whether a business is located in an Indian Reservation. The other two are correlated to the characteristics of the resident population. The first of the characteristic is that the area is not located in a metropolitan statistical area at the time of the most recent census. the second criterion is that the unemployment rate in the area is not less than 140 percent of the statewide average unemployment. In the case of Ketchikan, the community is not located in a metropolitan statistical area. In February of this year the Alaska statewide unemployment rate was 7.1 percent almost 2 percent higher than the national average. But Ketchian's preliminary unemployment rate for February is 11 percent and the reviewed rate for January was 11.9 percent. The Ketchikan figure currently exceeds the requirement. In June of 2002 the rate was 8.6 percent in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough in comparison to 7.4 percent statewide at that same time. But because of the timing of the compiling of the information by the Census Bureau, Ketchikan has been denied participation in the program although it routinely exceeds the statewide rate. The anomaly is that for a few short months in the summer Ketchikan does not exceed 140 percent of the statewide average due to the influx of workers from the area related to the tourism industry. The SBA has the best intentions and understands the problems. However, the SBA has stated to me that nothing short of a legislative change can fix the problem. Part of the problem as I understand it is that the SBA's current use of the median income and unemployment rate criteria makes the assumption that the populations are relatively immobile. Further, the SBA criterion assumes that the area in question has a fully developed labor market. The criteria assume a community model more closely aligned to the traditional urban areas. In Alaska, our largest community, Anchorage is rightfully not considered a HUBzone area. But the SBA's criteria based on the use of the Census Bureau statistics fails to accurately reflect the true unemployment and labor market in one place in particular in Alaska-- Ketchikan. The program now uses a Qualified Census Tract. Ketchikan is a small coastal community that was highly dependent on the timber industry which has been shut down as a result of changes in Federal policies and activities of the U.S. Forest Service. As a result, the population has become highly dependent on the tourism industry. Further, the labor pool is highly transient and leaves to collect unemployment after the summer tourist season is over. The Census Bureau data taken when the summer population is higher and more fully employed does not reflect the reality of the area. As a result the Ketchikan Gateway Borough is not considered a HUBzone. There is a dry-dock and ship repair facility located in Ketchikan that could provide year round employment. But it cannot compete for government vessel repair contracts offered by the U.S. Coast Guard and the NOAA that have been set aside for HUBzone. These vessels operate in Alaska and could be better repaired near where they operate. Now they must leave the State and perhaps be out of service longer. The bill adds a fourth area to qualify as a HUBzone. The Deptartment of Housing and Urban Development already has a program that recognizes not only the Qualified Census Tracts but also denotes a ``Non- metropolitan Difficult Development Area.'' The amendment simply adds this Difficult Development Area. Many of these areas already qualify as HUBzones under the prior three criteria. I have asked the SBA to advise me how much this would expand their program but in reality I expect the addition to be only a minor expansion of the HUBzone program. However small the change is, the change will be significant to the people and businesses located in Ketchikan, AK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to correct an inequity in the HUBzone contracting program administered by the Small Business Administration, SBA. This bill amends the criteria by which areas are designated as HUBzone under the Small Business Act by adding a new category designated as ``Difficult Development Areas.'' These ``Difficult Development Areas'' are already recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. For reasons I will explain, the businesses and people in the community of Ketchikan, AK have been wrongly denied participation in the HUBzone program. This bill will take care of that problem. The current HUBzone qualifications have two tiers. The first is that the county in which a business seeking to participate in the program must not be located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area, MSA. The second level has three separate criteria. If an area meets any one of the second level criteria, it qualifies as a HUBzone area. One of the criteria simply relates to whether a business is located in an Indian Reservation. The other two are correlated to the characteristics of the resident population. The first of the characteristic is that the area is not located in a metropolitan statistical area at the time of the most recent census. the second criterion is that the unemployment rate in the area is not less than 140 percent of the statewide average unemployment. In the case of Ketchikan, the community is not located in a metropolitan statistical area. In February of this year the Alaska statewide unemployment rate was 7.1 percent almost 2 percent higher than the national average. But Ketchian's preliminary unemployment rate for February is 11 percent and the reviewed rate for January was 11.9 percent. The Ketchikan figure currently exceeds the requirement. In June of 2002 the rate was 8.6 percent in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough in comparison to 7.4 percent statewide at that same time. But because of the timing of the compiling of the information by the Census Bureau, Ketchikan has been denied participation in the program although it routinely exceeds the statewide rate. The anomaly is that for a few short months in the summer Ketchikan does not exceed 140 percent of the statewide average due to the influx of workers from the area related to the tourism industry. The SBA has the best intentions and understands the problems. However, the SBA has stated to me that nothing short of a legislative change can fix the problem. Part of the problem as I understand it is that the SBA's current use of the median income and unemployment rate criteria makes the assumption that the populations are relatively immobile. Further, the SBA criterion assumes that the area in question has a fully developed labor market. The criteria assume a community model more closely aligned to the traditional urban areas. In Alaska, our largest community, Anchorage is rightfully not considered a HUBzone area. But the SBA's criteria based on the use of the Census Bureau statistics fails to accurately reflect the true unemployment and labor market in one place in particular in Alaska-- Ketchikan. The program now uses a Qualified Census Tract. Ketchikan is a small coastal community that was highly dependent on the timber industry which has been shut down as a result of changes in Federal policies and activities of the U.S. Forest Service. As a result, the population has become highly dependent on the tourism industry. Further, the labor pool is highly transient and leaves to collect unemployment after the summer tourist season is over. The Census Bureau data taken when the summer population is higher and more fully employed does not reflect the reality of the area. As a result the Ketchikan Gateway Borough is not considered a HUBzone. There is a dry-dock and ship repair facility located in Ketchikan that could provide year round employment. But it cannot compete for government vessel repair contracts offered by the U.S. Coast Guard and the NOAA that have been set aside for HUBzone. These vessels operate in Alaska and could be better repaired near where they operate. Now they must leave the State and perhaps be out of service longer. The bill adds a fourth area to qualify as a HUBzone. The Deptartment of Housing and Urban Development already has a program that recognizes not only the Qualified Census Tracts but also denotes a ``Non- metropolitan Difficult Development Area.'' The amendment simply adds this Difficult Development Area. Many of these areas already qualify as HUBzones under the prior three criteria. I have asked the SBA to advise me how much this would expand their program but in reality I expect the addition to be only a minor expansion of the HUBzone program. However small the change is, the change will be significant to the people and businesses located in Ketchikan, AK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about a small community in the southwestern part of my State of Alaska. Newtok, a Village with about 300 Yupik Alaska Native residents, is located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the Ninglick River. Erosion from the Ninglick is slowly threatening Newtok, and the Village will be under water in less than a decade and the Village airstrip in less time. Once the Village airstrip--Newtok's only connection with the outside world--is flooded, the Village will not be able to survive. The Village is surrounded by land owned by the Federal Government in the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge. In 1997 the Newtok Native Corporation attempted to exchange land on higher ground with the Fish and Wildlife Service, administratively, but these negotiations failed. Therefore, action by Congress is required to ensure the future of Newtok and its residents. Today I am introducing legislation to begin the process of moving Newtok to a location that is not threatened by erosion or flooding. The Newtok Native Corporation has identified a 10,943 acre tract of land on Nelson Island for the location of the new Village. Newtok Native Corporation is willing to accept this land in the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge from the Fish and Wildlife Service in exchange for a 996 acre piece of land on Baird Inlet Island and another 11,105 acre plot northeast of the present location of Newtok. The Fish and Wildlife Service desires the Newtok owned land for ecological reasons and Newtok needs the Federal land because of its geology that keeps it safe from erosion. Both parties win in this exchange; the Federal Government improves the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge for the benefit of the American people, and villagers of Newtok have the opportunity to move to a safe location and see that their culture and community endure. Newtok needs to be moved before it is too late, and my bill is an important first step in the process of protecting this community. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I rise to introduce a bill with great significance for snowmachine and snowmobile advocates both in Alaska and nationwide. As many of my colleagues know, the use of snowmobiles is growing as a form of recreation. There are an estimated 1.64 million snowmobiles currently in use. In my State of Alaska, and in other northern States, travel by snowmobile goes beyond recreation. In many areas it is a regular form of transportation when snow prevents people from traveling any other way. Snowmobiles are used regularly to visit neighbors, to hunt for a family's food supply, to carry people who are sick or injured to a place they can receive care. In many parts of Alaska, snowmobiles are as common as cars. Unfortunately, there is no existing program to provide for the proper marking of snowmobile trails, to maintain trails, or even to encourage safe use of these machines. The bill I am introducing today is intended to correct that situation. First, my bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a snowmobile education program. Second, the bill directs the Secretary, working with the snowmobile industry and others, to estimate the amount of fuel tax attributable to snowmobile use in each State, and provides that at least the same dollar amount be dedicated to the acquisition, design, planning, construction and maintenance of snowmobile trails. At present, 30 percent of the Recreational Trails program funding is reserved for motorized uses, which may be combined with money for other uses, to establish multiple-use trails and associated facilities. However, although a portion of this funding comes from the tax paid for fuel used in snowmobiles, there is no guarantee that any of that money actually is used to benefit snowmobile activities. My bill takes nothing away from any other part of the Recreational Trails program--it simply ensures that each State spends on snowmobiles what is collected from snowmobiles. That is simple fairness. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about a small community in the southwestern part of my State of Alaska. Newtok, a Village with about 300 Yupik Alaska Native residents, is located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the Ninglick River. Erosion from the Ninglick is slowly threatening Newtok, and the Village will be under water in less than a decade and the Village airstrip in less time. Once the Village airstrip--Newtok's only connection with the outside world--is flooded, the Village will not be able to survive. The Village is surrounded by land owned by the Federal Government in the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge. In 1997 the Newtok Native Corporation attempted to exchange land on higher ground with the Fish and Wildlife Service, administratively, but these negotiations failed. Therefore, action by Congress is required to ensure the future of Newtok and its residents. Today I am introducing legislation to begin the process of moving Newtok to a location that is not threatened by erosion or flooding. The Newtok Native Corporation has identified a 10,943 acre tract of land on Nelson Island for the location of the new Village. Newtok Native Corporation is willing to accept this land in the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge from the Fish and Wildlife Service in exchange for a 996 acre piece of land on Baird Inlet Island and another 11,105 acre plot northeast of the present location of Newtok. The Fish and Wildlife Service desires the Newtok owned land for ecological reasons and Newtok needs the Federal land because of its geology that keeps it safe from erosion. Both parties win in this exchange; the Federal Government improves the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge for the benefit of the American people, and villagers of Newtok have the opportunity to move to a safe location and see that their culture and community endure. Newtok needs to be moved before it is too late, and my bill is an important first step in the process of protecting this community. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. MURKOWSKI

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I rise to introduce a bill with great significance for snowmachine and snowmobile advocates both in Alaska and nationwide. As many of my colleagues know, the use of snowmobiles is growing as a form of recreation. There are an estimated 1.64 million snowmobiles currently in use. In my State of Alaska, and in other northern States, travel by snowmobile goes beyond recreation. In many areas it is a regular form of transportation when snow prevents people from traveling any other way. Snowmobiles are used regularly to visit neighbors, to hunt for a family's food supply, to carry people who are sick or injured to a place they can receive care. In many parts of Alaska, snowmobiles are as common as cars. Unfortunately, there is no existing program to provide for the proper marking of snowmobile trails, to maintain trails, or even to encourage safe use of these machines. The bill I am introducing today is intended to correct that situation. First, my bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a snowmobile education program. Second, the bill directs the Secretary, working with the snowmobile industry and others, to estimate the amount of fuel tax attributable to snowmobile use in each State, and provides that at least the same dollar amount be dedicated to the acquisition, design, planning, construction and maintenance of snowmobile trails. At present, 30 percent of the Recreational Trails program funding is reserved for motorized uses, which may be combined with money for other uses, to establish multiple-use trails and associated facilities. However, although a portion of this funding comes from the tax paid for fuel used in snowmobiles, there is no guarantee that any of that money actually is used to benefit snowmobile activities. My bill takes nothing away from any other part of the Recreational Trails program--it simply ensures that each State spends on snowmobiles what is collected from snowmobiles. That is simple fairness. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.