Bill Nelson

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Integrity in Auditing Act. I am introducing this bill with my colleague from the Commerce Committee, Senator Jean Carnahan of Missouri. This legislation presents a comprehensive approach to securities reform as a key element in protecting America's shareholders and consumers in our capitalist system. We look forward to the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce and Tourism hearings in April on these issues. I am focusing my review of the Enron collapse on institutional investors, like State pension funds representing the guaranteed retirement plans of our police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other State and local workers. The Florida Pension Fund took a bath from investing in Enron, and it cost my State plenty. I want to protect the taxpayers and prevent large losses in our public pension systems in the future. The legislation I am introducing today addresses the safety nets intended to protect investors like State pension funds against abuses. The Integrity in Auditing Act prohibits auditors from providing any nonaudit services to their audit clients. The bill allows auditors to perform tax-consulting services with the approval of a company's Audit Committee. Additionally, the bill prohibits outside accountants from working in a management job for a client company for 1 year. These key provisions, essential to any reform effort, are similar to those found in other bills including a bill introduced by my colleagues, Senators Corzine and Dodd. The legislation adds additional safeguards for the investing public, including State pension funds. The bill requires that companies rotate their outside auditors every 7 years. The company can continue its relationship with the auditing firm through nonaudit client services. The Enron collapse poses a challenge to us in designing a system of corporate governance that secures better financial disclosure for the future. In my view the best response to Arthur Andersen's precarious state is to make sure our efforts to reform the profession enables the auditing profession to continue their needed work in our capital markets with the potential loss of one big player. The legislation I introduce today strives to meet that objective. In addition to protecting the integrity of the auditing process, this legislation recognizes that independent directors should effectively monitor management behavior and represent the interests of the shareholder. The Council of Institutional Investors and others have called for auditor and board independence. Accordingly, the Integrity in Auditing Act requires enhanced disclosure of director links to companies. The bill requires that a company disclose, with every filing, any board of director relationship, familial, professional, financial, to the company. This legislation also requires that all Audit and Compensation Committee members must be independent directors. We should be clear that the Securities and Exchange Commission impose a swift and serious approach to improving our corporate governance systems. This bill includes a sense of the Senate that the SEC should take a tough enforcement approach, including criminal prosecutions, if warranted. One of the biggest casualties of Enron's bankruptcy filing is the growing lack of confidence and trust by consumers, employees, and investors in the financial statements of companies. Willful blindness of companies leads to fuzzy disclosures. Cozy relationships among company executives, its auditors and board of directors, money managers, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and others, cry out for reform. Our public institutional investors like state pension funds deserve no less. Mr. President, I recently read Teddy Roosevelt's 1902 annual message to Congress. Our 26th President was known as a Trust Buster. He told the truth about our free enterprise system. He said ``We can do nothing of good in the way of regulating corporations until we fix clearly in our minds that we are not attacking corporations; we are merely determined that they shall be so handled as to serve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth.'' We can all learn from history as we proceed to find thoughtful and appropriate ways to reform our securities laws on behalf of the public.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I am honored to introduce legislation to name the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, Regional Office in St. Petersburg, FL, after Command Sergeant Major Franklin D. Miller, United States Army, Retired. Frank Miller faithfully served our country as a soldier for thirty years from 1962 until his retirement in 1992. During much of that time, Frank Miller served in Army Special Forces units, including four tours in the Republic of Vietnam. Frank Miller's combat decorations include the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, the Air Medal, and six Purple Hearts. He received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in battle in 1971, when, despite his own severe wounds, he single-handedly overcame four enemy attacks and safely evacuated the surviving members of his patrol. Upon Frank Miller's retirement from the Army in 1992, with the U.S. Army's highest enlisted rank of Command Sergeant Major, he continued to serve his community, country and fellow veterans as a benefits counselor for the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, FL. Frank Miller remained very active in support of our veterans, the Armed Forces, and America's interest around the world. He was frequently invited to speak to groups around the country, sharing his experiences with others and serving as an example of honor, self- sacrifice, and dedication. Former Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry H. Shelton, who knew Frank Miller personally, has described him as, ``an icon to what service in the armed forces is all about.'' Sadly, in July of 2000, Frank Miller passed away in Florida. He is survived by his three children, Joshua, Melia, and Danielle, and his brother, Walter, who also is a retired Command Sergeant Major of the Army's Special Forces. Frank Miller dedicated his life to serving our country. He cared deeply for the soldiers he led in combat, even to the very risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty. He put his fellow veterans above all else in his efforts to keep our nation's promise to care for those who put America above self and bore the pain of battle. He was a loving father and brother, a true soldier's soldier, and a fellow American whose life impacted many people. Frank Miller's life should be remembered and appropriately commemorated. I hope to help honor his life by introducing legislation to name the Florida Veterans Affairs Regional Office in honor of Command Sergeant Major, Retired, Franklin D. Miller. I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Integrity in Auditing Act. I am introducing this bill with my colleague from the Commerce Committee, Senator Jean Carnahan of Missouri. This legislation presents a comprehensive approach to securities reform as a key element in protecting America's shareholders and consumers in our capitalist system. We look forward to the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce and Tourism hearings in April on these issues. I am focusing my review of the Enron collapse on institutional investors, like State pension funds representing the guaranteed retirement plans of our police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other State and local workers. The Florida Pension Fund took a bath from investing in Enron, and it cost my State plenty. I want to protect the taxpayers and prevent large losses in our public pension systems in the future. The legislation I am introducing today addresses the safety nets intended to protect investors like State pension funds against abuses. The Integrity in Auditing Act prohibits auditors from providing any nonaudit services to their audit clients. The bill allows auditors to perform tax-consulting services with the approval of a company's Audit Committee. Additionally, the bill prohibits outside accountants from working in a management job for a client company for 1 year. These key provisions, essential to any reform effort, are similar to those found in other bills including a bill introduced by my colleagues, Senators Corzine and Dodd. The legislation adds additional safeguards for the investing public, including State pension funds. The bill requires that companies rotate their outside auditors every 7 years. The company can continue its relationship with the auditing firm through nonaudit client services. The Enron collapse poses a challenge to us in designing a system of corporate governance that secures better financial disclosure for the future. In my view the best response to Arthur Andersen's precarious state is to make sure our efforts to reform the profession enables the auditing profession to continue their needed work in our capital markets with the potential loss of one big player. The legislation I introduce today strives to meet that objective. In addition to protecting the integrity of the auditing process, this legislation recognizes that independent directors should effectively monitor management behavior and represent the interests of the shareholder. The Council of Institutional Investors and others have called for auditor and board independence. Accordingly, the Integrity in Auditing Act requires enhanced disclosure of director links to companies. The bill requires that a company disclose, with every filing, any board of director relationship, familial, professional, financial, to the company. This legislation also requires that all Audit and Compensation Committee members must be independent directors. We should be clear that the Securities and Exchange Commission impose a swift and serious approach to improving our corporate governance systems. This bill includes a sense of the Senate that the SEC should take a tough enforcement approach, including criminal prosecutions, if warranted. One of the biggest casualties of Enron's bankruptcy filing is the growing lack of confidence and trust by consumers, employees, and investors in the financial statements of companies. Willful blindness of companies leads to fuzzy disclosures. Cozy relationships among company executives, its auditors and board of directors, money managers, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and others, cry out for reform. Our public institutional investors like state pension funds deserve no less. Mr. President, I recently read Teddy Roosevelt's 1902 annual message to Congress. Our 26th President was known as a Trust Buster. He told the truth about our free enterprise system. He said ``We can do nothing of good in the way of regulating corporations until we fix clearly in our minds that we are not attacking corporations; we are merely determined that they shall be so handled as to serve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth.'' We can all learn from history as we proceed to find thoughtful and appropriate ways to reform our securities laws on behalf of the public.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I am honored to introduce legislation to name the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, Regional Office in St. Petersburg, FL, after Command Sergeant Major Franklin D. Miller, United States Army, Retired. Frank Miller faithfully served our country as a soldier for thirty years from 1962 until his retirement in 1992. During much of that time, Frank Miller served in Army Special Forces units, including four tours in the Republic of Vietnam. Frank Miller's combat decorations include the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, the Air Medal, and six Purple Hearts. He received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in battle in 1971, when, despite his own severe wounds, he single-handedly overcame four enemy attacks and safely evacuated the surviving members of his patrol. Upon Frank Miller's retirement from the Army in 1992, with the U.S. Army's highest enlisted rank of Command Sergeant Major, he continued to serve his community, country and fellow veterans as a benefits counselor for the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, FL. Frank Miller remained very active in support of our veterans, the Armed Forces, and America's interest around the world. He was frequently invited to speak to groups around the country, sharing his experiences with others and serving as an example of honor, self- sacrifice, and dedication. Former Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry H. Shelton, who knew Frank Miller personally, has described him as, ``an icon to what service in the armed forces is all about.'' Sadly, in July of 2000, Frank Miller passed away in Florida. He is survived by his three children, Joshua, Melia, and Danielle, and his brother, Walter, who also is a retired Command Sergeant Major of the Army's Special Forces. Frank Miller dedicated his life to serving our country. He cared deeply for the soldiers he led in combat, even to the very risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty. He put his fellow veterans above all else in his efforts to keep our nation's promise to care for those who put America above self and bore the pain of battle. He was a loving father and brother, a true soldier's soldier, and a fellow American whose life impacted many people. Frank Miller's life should be remembered and appropriately commemorated. I hope to help honor his life by introducing legislation to name the Florida Veterans Affairs Regional Office in honor of Command Sergeant Major, Retired, Franklin D. Miller. I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to recognize the Girl Scouts for their service to our country over the last 90 years. This anniversary marks the day Juliette Gordon Low assembled 18 girls from Savannah, GA, for the Girl Scouts' first meeting, and celebrates the many wonderful moments this organization has enjoyed while growing to its current size of 3.8 million members. Their mission to help all girls grow strong provides not just inspiration and guidance to those within their ranks, but serves as an example for all the nation's young women. Through service to society and the development of values, self-confidence and integrity, the Girl Scouts of the USA are an inspiration to our Nation's youth, and are instrumental in creating the next generation of good citizens and great leaders. I am proud that Congress last week honored the Girl Scouts accomplishments with the passage of a resolution marking March 10 through March 16, 2002 as ``National Girl Scout Week,'' and I look forward to future opportunities to celebrate this organization's commitment and contribution to our Nation's young women.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, Florida's Middle and Southern District Courts desperately need additional judges. These jurisdictions are among the busiest in the Nation and they face an avalanche of new cases which threaten to further delay the administration of justice for thousands of Floridians. Simply put, Florida's judges are overwhelmed and unable to handle this many cases. Today, Senator Graham and I are introducing legislation which will create one additional permanent judgeship for the Middle District of Florida and one additional permanent judgeship for the Southern District of Florida. Our legislation also creates a temporary judgeship for the Middle District which will expire following the first vacancy on the court which occurs no sooner than seven years after the confirmation date of the individual named to fill the temporary position. Our intention is to ensure that Florida's Federal courts have the jurists necessary to exact timely justice. After reviewing current judges' caseloads and consulting with the districts' chief judges, we believe authorizing new judgeships is absolutely essential to ensuring that these jurisdictions are able to meet their statutory and constitutional obligations. Florida's Federal courts need these judges and Senator Graham and I intend to do everything we can to get them. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to quickly pass this legislation, so that we can bring relief to Florida's Middle and Southern District Courts.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, Florida's Middle and Southern District Courts desperately need additional judges. These jurisdictions are among the busiest in the Nation and they face an avalanche of new cases which threaten to further delay the administration of justice for thousands of Floridians. Simply put, Florida's judges are overwhelmed and unable to handle this many cases. Today, Senator Graham and I are introducing legislation which will create one additional permanent judgeship for the Middle District of Florida and one additional permanent judgeship for the Southern District of Florida. Our legislation also creates a temporary judgeship for the Middle District which will expire following the first vacancy on the court which occurs no sooner than seven years after the confirmation date of the individual named to fill the temporary position. Our intention is to ensure that Florida's Federal courts have the jurists necessary to exact timely justice. After reviewing current judges' caseloads and consulting with the districts' chief judges, we believe authorizing new judgeships is absolutely essential to ensuring that these jurisdictions are able to meet their statutory and constitutional obligations. Florida's Federal courts need these judges and Senator Graham and I intend to do everything we can to get them. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to quickly pass this legislation, so that we can bring relief to Florida's Middle and Southern District Courts.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Hearing this debate, it reminds me a little bit about the debate on miles per gallon, whether or not that would be etched into law that would have to be met. If we do not set such a standard, we will never get to it. If we do not set a percentage of years that are required in the energy production, we are not going to have that standard to meet. I support the amendment of the Senator from New Mexico.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise in support of the amendment of the Senator from Minnesota. His amendment is the kind of creativity and inventiveness and American can-do ingenuity we have to have as we approach this energy crisis, energy shortage. Clearly, the production of ethanol and its substitution for otherwise fossil fuels is of benefit to Minnesota. There is not particularly any benefit to my State, so I wish to rise as a nonconflicted party to endorse the Chair's amendment to say, as we approach the crisis of how we are going to continue to have the energy resources we need for a nation that consumes a lot of energy, we have to be inventive and creative. I think the Senator from Minnesota has proposed one alternative. I think we will see other alternatives produced in an amendment by the Senator from New Mexico on renewables, wind, the use of waste to produce energy which we do in Florida in 13 different locations. I have been assured by the Senator from New Mexico that we will be able to continue, as part of the credit, with those existing facilities which are turning waste into energy. Years ago, when I was in the Florida Legislature, we established the Florida Solar Energy Center, which is in the shadow of Cape Canaveral right outside the gates of our space center. It, today, is a thriving center of research and development in using the God-given rays and heat of the Sun and converting that into energy. Clearly, we have seen that, for example, so successfully employed in our space program, of taking the solar arrays, very high-tech kinds of mechanisms, folded out in huge arrays in the zero gravity and vacuum of space and having that sunlight come down and penetrate those arrays and that being converted into electricity for the spacecraft. Another thing used on the spacecraft called the space shuttle is a device that takes oxygen and hydrogen and suddenly makes electricity and has water as a byproduct. That is why our astronaut crews on the space shuttle have to perform, at the end of each flight day, water dumps where water, which is the byproduct of making this electricity by the combining of hydrogen and oxygen, is dumped overboard in space. As one sees it come out the nozzle and it starts to freeze in that very cold atmosphere of space, it is a beautiful sight, particularly when the rays of the Sun happen to hit those water crystals. It is another example. Ultimately, we will be able to use hydrogen in automobiles. Think what that will save us in the way of fossil fuels. Why do we need to find alternatives to fossil fuels? Because of the obvious: They are limited. The amounts of oil for energy purposes are going to be used up over the course of the next 50 years. So we have to be planning for that. There is another reason right now that is so important, and that is the United States is dependent on foreign-imported oil, and that dependence causes us to be in the unenviable position that we have to assure the flow of that oil out of the Persian Gulf region. As we are engaged in this war against terrorism, where is a lot of that activity? It is over in the Middle East. It is over in central Asia. I will never forget. I clearly learned what a military chokepoint was when I looked out the window of our spacecraft as we were coming across the Persian Gulf and from that altitude of space saw the 19-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz. That is a military chokepoint, and we have understood that and that is why we have so much military over in that part of the world to assure that oil in the supertankers of the world flows out of that oil-rich region of the gulf, and those supertankers flow to the industrialized world. So somewhere there is a terrorist who is planning to try to sink one of those supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and if that were to occur, what huge economic dislocations and economic disruptions would occur throughout the globe. And it is because we are dependent on that oil. We ought to be reducing our dependence, and I think the amendment of the Senator from Minnesota is one good illustration of how we lessen our dependence on that foreign oil. Another good illustration is--and unfortunately, we were not successful yesterday--increasing the miles per gallon, otherwise known as the CAFE standards. That does not mean anything to most Americans, but when we start talking about do Americans want to get more miles per gallon in their automobile, the answer is a resounding ``yes.'' Yet yesterday we were not able to increase the miles per gallon in our fleet of automobiles. That is a political travesty. It will have profound economic consequences. Sooner or later, when we have another crisis, that oil is not going to be able to be as accessible from foreign shores; then we will have to get serious again about the greatest consumption of energy in America, which is in the transportation sector, about increasing miles per gallon. That is a decision the Senate rendered yesterday. I think it is unfortunate. However, the fact is there are creative and genius Senators, such as the Senator from Minnesota, who is offering his amendment. I add my voice of support to his amendment. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to share with the Senate a letter I received from a 13-year-old named Kevin from St. Cloud, FL. It is a town in Osceola County, near Orlando, FL, in the center of our State. Kevin writes this letter, and I will read part of it: I'm 13 years old and a Boy Scout of America. I would like to address you about a problem in a local park, that may be a problem in other parks. The park near my house has arsenic in the wood. Please help with this quickly. I have a little brother who plays in the park. That is from a 13-year-old writing to a Senator. Kevin, I hear you. I hope my colleagues do, too. Kevin is addressing a problem many families and communities all across our Nation now find themselves confronting. They are all asking the question: Is my local park safe from the arsenic-treated wood which, when the rains come, leach the arsenic from the playground wood into the soil? Should I tell my children they cannot play in the park because of the wood that is treated as a preservative with arsenic? What I found is that local officials, county commissioners, city commissioners all across Florida and many other States have raised similar questions about the use of arsenic to treat wood in playgrounds and backyard decks. The fact is, none of these communities has been given any clear guidance of what to do about arsenic-treated wood in their parks, in their backyards, and neither have the parents of kids such as Kevin. That is why I wanted to share Kevin's letter with the Senate today. The Senate has an opportunity, after more than two decades of delay, to finally ban the use of arsenic-treated wood and to provide parents and communities and local officials the information needed so they can make intelligent decisions about safety. While the Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a voluntary phaseout of arsenic-treated wood, this agreement with the wood-preserving industry does not go far enough. For one, it is only a voluntary agreement, reminiscent of a voluntary agreement 20 years ago that the industry did not honor. Remember, we are talking about arsenic which can cause cancer and other serious illnesses, which is what this little boy from St. Cloud, FL, is writing me about because his little brother plays in the park. Many European countries recognized the dangers long ago. It is time we get serious about a process we know can be harmful to children and consumers. The EPA has studied and negotiated this issue to death. Yet the best deal for consumers that they can come up with is a voluntary phaseout. Also, the EPA agreement with the wood-preserving industry fails to provide enough guidance to consumers, fails to provide the guidance to parents and local government officials about what to do with all that arsenic-treated wood on those playgrounds about which little Kevin is writing. I urge my colleagues to join me in enacting legislation I filed to permanently ban this potentially harmful product. It is S. 1963.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, first of all, alternative fuels and ethanol are the subject of the instant amendment, but I think we have to use our creativity and our technology in order to approach the overall energy crisis. If a terrorist sinks a supertanker in the Straits of Hormuz, which are only 19 miles wide, we are going to see a major disruption in the flow of oil to the industrialized world, and we will have wished we had used our technology and our creativity to reduce our dependence on that foreign oil by doing things that have worked to save our oil consumption in the past, like increasing the miles per gallon of the automobiles we drive. We have the know how to do that. It just amazes me that we have the technology to, for example, produce a car which will go 80 miles per gallon and yet we are still so balled up in our politics that we may not pass an initiative that calls for moderate increases in the fuel efficiency of our nation's automobiles. The modest increases called for by the Kerry-McCain initiative would achieve three goals of particular importance to our nation in this time of war: lessen our dependence on foreign oil, reduce gasoline costs for consumers and protect the environment by reducing toxic air emissions and carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming. Increasing CAFE can achieve these goals- which are particularly important to our nation's security now that we are in a battle against terrorists around this globe. So I wanted to add my voice, hopefully, as a voice of reason, to get our representative body to start using our technology and our common sense to increase the fuel economy of all of our vehicles. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Madam President, I rise today to welcome the 2001 University of Miami Hurricanes' baseball team to Washington, DC. In June of last year the Hurricanes won their fourth national championship, beating the Stanford Cardinal in the College World Series. They are joined on their trip to Washington by the school's football team, who you may remember won the 2001 national football championship with a stunning victory in the 88th Rose Bowl. The efforts of both teams are being recognized with ceremonies at the White House, as well as here on Capitol Hill. The Hurricanes' baseball team completed its stellar year with a 17- game winning streak, and became the 18th team to go undefeated in the College World Series. With a solid line-up from top to bottom, first- rate pitching, and some of the best all-around talent in all of college baseball, the University of Miami capped its season by beating Stanford 12-1. It is my pleasure to congratulate head coach Jim Morris for his second national title in three years, and I'd like to recognize the senior starters on this team that has meant so much to the University of Miami. Pitcher Tom Farmer finished the year 15-2, and won the final game, scattering a run and four hits over 5\2/3\ innings. First baseman Kevin Brown also had a great Series, batting .467, hitting three home runs and leading the team with a home run, a double and 5 RBI in the final game. Senior center fielder Charlton ``Chewy'' Jimerson, also had a great Series, being voted the Most Outstanding Player, and showing the country what the University of Miami already knew. Finally, Greg Lovelady, who caught both the 1999 and 2001 national title games for the Hurricanes, will be staying with the team as an assistant coach. I know his experience will be an asset that Miami teams will benefit from for years to come. I am proud to welcome these scholar athletes on behalf of all Floridians, and to congratulate the University of Miami for its excellence both on and off the field. I ask consent to have printed in the Record the starting lineup of this championship team. The lineup follows: University of Miami Hurricanes Baseball Team Lineup Charlton Jimerson, Centerfield; Mike Rodriguez, Leftfield; Javy Rodriguez, Shortstop; Danny Matienzo, Designated Hitter; Kevin Howard, Third Base; Kevin Mannix, Right Field; Kevin Brown, First Base; Kris Clute, Second Base; Greg Lovelady, Catcher; Tom Farmer, Pitcher; and Jim Morris, Head Coach.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize five athletes who recently represented our Nation at the 19th Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. While the accomplishments of these competitors are exceptional by any measure, this group deserves special recognition; that's because Garrett Hines, Derek Parra, Jennifer Rodriguez, Brian Shimer and Chris Thorpe are Floridians. For the record, Florida sees snow a little more often than once every ice age, and the State's highest mountain is but a bunny hill compared to the terrain these athletes saw in Utah. Nevertheless, these five Floridians won seven medals in the luge, the bobsled and on the speed skating oval. Garrett Hines, along with teammate Randy Jones, became the first black American males to win a medal in the Winter Olympics, as the United States took silver in the four-man bobsled. Garrett is the pride of Sanford, FL, and I'd like to wish him luck in his future endeavors. Similarly, Derek Parra achieved a barrier-breaking milestone, becoming the first Hispanic American to medal in the Winter Olympics as he won both a gold and silver in speed skating. These two pioneers have left a lasting mark on their sports, and I am proud to call them Floridians. Also, Jennifer Rodriguez, known as ``Miami Ice,'' showed the world that South Florida has a place on the Winter Olympic map. After becoming the first Hispanic American to compete for the United States Winter Olympic Team during the 1998 Games in Japan, Rodriguez not only competed in Salt Lake City, she won two speed skating bronze medals. Brian Shimer continued the South Florida success, as the Naples native took home a bronze in the four-man bobsled. This five-time Olympian had never before won a medal, but as the driver in this year's bronze medal winning sled, he has realized a career-long goal. Finally, Daytona Beach resident Chris Thorpe, added a bronze medal in doubles luge to the silver he won four years ago in the Nagano Games. Chris has said this will be his last Olympics, and I'd like to wish him luck as he finishes his undergraduate degree at the University of Florida, Gainesville. I applaud the commitment these athletes have shown in reaching the pinnacle of their respective sports, and I hope their willingness to sacrifice and their determination to succeed motivates all Americans to exceed expectations and achieve the extraordinary. I would ask to have printed in the Record the names and hometowns of these five athletes, along with the events they competed in and the medals they won. This group is a portrait of diversity, and as representatives of Florida and America, they have made us all very proud.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I seek recognition and ask unanimous consent that upon the completion of my comments, the Senator from North Dakota, who is sitting in the chair at the moment, be recognized.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Yes. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I want to follow my remarks of a few minutes ago about Black History Month with an underlining of my concern of what is happening in the Florida Legislature as we speak, which is meeting in the capital city of Tallahassee. It is almost ironic that at the very time the Senate is considering an election reform bill, of which for that legislation we are having discussions, negotiations, and awaiting agreements to finally come forth so we do not have to come to the Chamber to break a filibuster to pass it--and it is legislation that is going to get wide support once we get to final passage--but it is almost ironic what has happened in the Florida Legislature since we started this legislation 2\1/2\ weeks ago when I spoke in this Chamber in favor of the legislation. At that time, I took to the floor complimenting the Florida Legislature. In the State of Florida, we went through a grueling experience in the Presidential election of 2000. We saw so many ballots that were not counted. We saw clear voter intent that was not followed. There was confusion over the ballots. There was confusion in the construction of the ballot, how it fit together. There was the famous butterfly ballot. We saw how even when voter intent was so clear for example, a first- time voter, who was not familiar with the ballot, would go down the Presidential names and select one name and mark that on a punchcard ballot, and then at the bottom of the Presidential names there was a line, and it said: ``Write-in,'' and they would write in the same Presidential candidate--the voter intent was clear, but that ballot was not counted. So after that awful experience, before which I had never known anything about error rates in ballot counting--and thank the Good Lord I never had a close election, and little did I ever know there could be the confusion and so many people, in effect, disenfranchised in an election--when we started our election reform bill in this Chamber a couple weeks ago, I took to the floor and complimented the Florida Legislature because it changed all of the punchcard ballots and it appropriated, out of a $50 billion annual budget, $24 million so that the counties could buy new voting equipment and they would never have to go through the confusion of that punchcard voting system again. They would have an optical scan system with a much lower error rate. That was my compliment to the Florida Legislature. They did right. That was a year ago. But just last week, the Florida House of Representatives did not appropriate, in its appropriations bill, the second $12 million installment to modernize the election system. What in the world are we thinking in the year 2002, when it is almost taken for granted that it is a bedrock principle that registered voters should have the right to vote and to have their vote counted? So as we continue to discuss and debate--and ultimately we will pass--this election reform bill at the Federal level, let me make a plea to the Florida Legislature: You were so gallant, as leaders in the Nation, after the debacle and the disenfranchisement of the 2000 election, to first step forward with an election reform bill and providing the appropriations to fund that election reform. Please do not falter now, Florida Legislature. Please, appropriate the second half of that appropriation that was promised a year ago so Florida will not have any serious questions about every Floridian's vote being counted. I thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to speak. I yield the floor.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, as our celebration of Black History Month now comes to a close, I want to acknowledge some of the rich and ongoing contributions made by my State's African-American citizens. Of course, the efforts of African Americans in Florida and throughout our Nation's history should be recognized every day, not just during Black History Month. Back home in Florida, our State has been blessed with a remarkable number of prominent African-American citizens who have served our State and Nation with distinction in a variety of fields. I want to mention a few. Although not a Florida native, just think of the contributions of Mary McLeod Bethune. She founded one of the oldest and most prestigious black colleges, Bethune-Cookman College. In addition to serving as President of Bethune-Cookman, she also was one of the leading civil rights activists of her time, and the first African-American woman to serve on a Presidential commission. Bethune-Cookman College is one of our stellar institutions of higher learning. It is located in Daytona Beach. I have had the privilege of attending that college and visiting with the distinguished president, who has been there over 2 decades, Dr. Oswald Bronson. The spirit that school has today carries on in the memory of Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune. It is just amazing. I have seen that in the classrooms. I have seen it in their auditorium. I have seen it on the football field and the band performing at half time. It is a wonderful and rich part of our heritage in Florida. That is just one. Let me name another: Justice Joe Hatcher. He was born in Clearwater and, in 1975, Judge Hatcher became the first African American elected a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida. He later went on to serve with distinction on the Federal court of appeals, a body that sits in Atlanta, although he maintained his office right there in Tallahassee. His election to the State supreme court marked the first time an African American won a statewide office since Reconstruction. I will give you another one: James Weldon Johnson, the first African- American executive director of the NAACP, author, lyricist, creator of the National Negro Anthem, and poet. He was born in Jacksonville. And then Eatonville, Florida's native, Zora Neale Hurston. She was a folklorist, anthropologist, and acclaimed author of such works as ``Their Eyes Were Watching God,'' and ``Of Mules and Men.'' I got to know about her heritage when I had the privilege, as a young Congressman, of representing Eatonville, FL, in the late 1970s as part of my congressional district. I will give you another one: Timothy Thomas Fortune. He was born up in the panhandle in Marianna, FL, Jackson County, in 1856. He was the editor and publisher of a paper called the New York Age, and his paper was a platform for defending the civil rights of both northern and southern Blacks. Here is one you will recognize: Asa Philip Randolph, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He was born in Crescent City, FL. The Brotherhood was the first union founded by and for African Americans. Not far from there was born, in Palatka, FL, John Henry Lloyd. He was a baseball player and a manager in the Negro leagues, and was considered one of the greatest shortstops in the game. In 1930, as a member of the New York Lincoln Giants, he played in the first Negro League game in Yankee Stadium against the Baltimore Black Sox. Now I am going to tell you a name that everybody recognizes today: Sidney Poitier, the renowned actor who won an Academy Award in 1964 for his performance in ``Lilies of the Field.'' He was born in Miami. And our contemporary, my colleague, Winston Scott, one of our Nation's pioneering African-American astronauts, was born in Miami. In 1992, Winston was selected by NASA and served as a mission specialist on flights in 1996 and 1997, and today he has returned to his alma mater, Florida State, where he serves as the dean of students. Winston had logged a total of 24 days, 14 hours, and 34 minutes in space. Augusta Christine Savage was born in Green Cove Springs, just south of Jacksonville. In 1923, Augusta Christine Savage was among 100 young American women selected to attend the summer program at Fontainebleau, outside of Paris, but was refused admission once the program directors became aware of her race. In the mid-1930s she founded and became the first director of the Harlem Community Arts Theater, which played a crucial role in the development of many young African-American artists. In addition, she became the first Black elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. A Washington hero, GEN Chappie James, the first African-American four-star general, was born in Pensacola. As a young State legislator, I had the privilege of meeting General James. He was right back from Vietnam where he had flown so many combat missions. He became one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, earning his wings back in World War II and going on to serve as a pilot, a fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam. In 1975 he received his fourth star and he became the commander of the North American Air Defense System. I could go on. As we remember the contributions of these and many others, and so many other African-American citizens, duty calls us to remember the difficulties this community faced as our Nation traveled through the struggle to achieve full civil rights for all people. I want to highlight two small initiatives that should help us preserve these important memories. Florida now is home to more than a dozen former Negro League baseball players. These men are nearing the end of their lives, and they have never received a pension for their time in the league, unlike their counterparts who played Major League baseball. Although Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947, baseball didn't truly integrate until a decade after Robinson's historic feat. It took all the way up to 1959 for Major League baseball to integrate the last team. No doubt their fans appreciate their contribution to baseball, but by refusing to grant a pension to these oldtimers who played in a segregated society, Major League baseball is denying them an appropriate reward in their efforts. I am trying to help these men resolve their dispute with Major League baseball so that they can receive a small but important token for their contributions to sports history. Also throughout the era of segregation, when public facilities were segregated by law, the African-American community of Miami was forbidden to use all of the area's beaches but one, Virginia Key Beach, in Biscayne Bay known as ``the Negro beach.'' Known in those days as the ``Colored Only Beach,'' Virginia Key Beach was an important place in the lives of African-American families--a place for them to gather and enjoy the pleasures of relaxation beside the ocean. The memories of this place are sweet, even mixed and intertwined with the bitterness and memories of segregation. Together with my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Carrie Meek of Miami, we have sponsored legislation that will help preserve this historic place. Our bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to study and report to Congress on the feasibility of incorporating Virginia Key Beach into the National Park System. By enacting this legislation, we can preserve its 77 acres of beach and wildlife, while honoring its past and present importance to the people of Florida. These are examples of some of the small ways in which we can honor the lives and memories of our Nation's African-Americans. My own State, Florida, has an especially proud history in this regard, as well as a willingness to correct past mistakes. In 1994, for example, the Florida Legislature passed, and the late Gov. Lawton Chiles signed, the Rosewood claims bill, which provided $2.1 million to survivors and the families of victims of the 1923 Rosewood Massacre. Last year, the legislature enacted sweeping reforms to give every person an equal opportunity to have his or her vote counted. You don't want any State to ever have to go through what we went through in Florida in the last Presidential election because there were votes that were not counted. So the Florida Legislature, in 2001, in trying to correct the voting rights abuses, passed legislation to help modernize the system in a Presidential election. Unfortunately, a $50-billion State budget proposed by the Florida House last week left out the second of two installments of $12 million to help counties replace antiquated, punch-card voting machines. African-Americans were disproportionately affected by flaws in the election system. And Florida lawmakers have made a commitment not only to that community but also to all the people of Florida to fix the system. Without this funding, they will have broken their promise. It would be appropriate at this time of recognizing the achievements of African-Americans for the State House to do its duty and to keep its word so that every vote gets counted. Today--and every day--let us celebrate African-American achievement both by remembering our past and by recommitting ourselves to the current fight for social, political, and economic equality for everyone. I thank the Chair for the time to address the Senate.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. What we are looking for are some answers. We thank you for helping us achieve that.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk. This is an amendment offered by Senator Graham and me.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise to state that since the House of Representatives, at 3 in the morning, passed the campaign finance reform bill, I want to cast out some markers as the Senate will consider this legislation and no doubt will pass this legislation, my vote included. However, we have to be concerned about the flow of money in politics. Campaign finance reform is an attempt to try to get soft money out of politics, but this campaign finance reform bill does not totally do that. It comes close. Soft money, for those who would like a refresher, is campaign donations that are other than personal donations from individuals or from political action committees. For example, a corporate check would be an example of a soft money contribution to a candidate. Under the current law, soft money contributions can flow through the parties. That is where we have seen a great deal of abuse. The campaign finance reform bill intends to constrict the use of that soft money. It does so by saying that it can't flow through the parties. It can't be coordinated by the campaigns or the campaign committees, such as our Democrat and Republican Senate campaign committees, but it can flow through independent groups with a message or with an issue advertisement which we know becomes just as effective for or against a candidate, almost, as a direct campaign ad that says vote for or vote against candidate A, B, or C. However, there was an important limitation in this bill I supported vigorously. That was that soft money could not flow through independent groups for purposes of affecting an election through an issue ad 60 days prior to a general election and 30 days prior to a primary election. That is an important reform. The caveat is that we created a severability clause that says that if the courts strike any provision of the bill as unconstitutional, the whole bill does not fall. It leaves us with the possibility that the courts could strike the 60-day provision on independent groups. I hope and pray that the courts will not, that they will see that this is delicately balanced to meet the constitutional test the courts have raised. But if they do, then what we are going to have is unlimited soft money in the future that is going to flow, not through the parties, as we presently have had under current law, but a proliferation of independent groups are going to arise, and campaign soft money affecting elections through the guise of issue ads is going to flow through those independent groups. And I continue to think many of us intend that to be the case. That is the caveat about which we must be concerned. Ultimately, what we should do is try to figure out how to lower the cost of elections. The House of Representatives, unfortunately, struck the provision that the Senate had included, which said that television time for candidates has to be given at the lowest commercial rate--what is current law but which has not been obeyed. This was to enforce that provision. That was stricken last night as the House of Representatives considered campaign finance reform. That bill is going to be coming to us shortly. No doubt we are going to pass it. I wanted to lay out these markers and these caveats as we look to a future of trying to clean up campaign finance with new campaign finance reform law. I yield the floor.

Mr. NELSON of Florida

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, the Senators who have just spoken make a most compelling case. I take very seriously my role as Senator, in which I have a responsibility to the rest of the Nation in addition to the wonderful State I have the privilege of representing. What I would like to do is come to their respective States and see these areas where there is outmigration. This is quite a contrast to what I have experienced in the State of Florida which has been just exactly the opposite kind of experience. As a matter of fact, my home county, Brevard County, in the early 1960s, because of the space race, when the Soviet Union surprised us with Sputnik and then surprised us by launching Yuri Gagarin, one orbit, before we could ever get to sub orbit with Alan Shepard, people were just pouring in, sleeping in cars. As a result, a lot of development was done in a rush with tremendous mistakes, not attending to zoning and not attending to proper drainage, and so forth and so on. So the experience of Florida has been quite the opposite of their experience. What I would like to do is to learn from them how I could help them because we are all citizens of the United States of America. I thank them for bringing this issue to the attention of the Senate. I look forward, maybe perhaps this summer, to visiting in their respective States of North Dakota and Nebraska.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. May I be recognized?

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I understand we are in morning business.