Bernie Sanders

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to jump to the Democratic side for 5 minutes, if that is possible.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, August 6, 2009.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on August 6, 2009, at 10:30 a.m., in SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to continue the executive business meeting from July 30, 2009.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I thank the Senator and applaud his strong efforts in fighting for health care for all Americans. I want to take a few minutes right now to touch on an issue that in fact has not gotten a lot of discussion here in Congress and that is that family- based dairy agriculture is on the verge of collapse. This is not a regional issue, this is a national issue. From the east coast to the west coast, what we are seeing is prices plummeting for dairy farmers way below the cost of production. If Congress does not act, all over America rural communities are going to be suffering economically. People are going to be losing their jobs. The American people increasingly will not be able to obtain fresh locally produced food. As we talk about stimulus, as we talk about trying to revive this economy, let's remember rural America and let's remember the dairy farmers throughout this country who are producing an important part of the food we consume. At this moment, dairy farmers across the country are suffering from the lowest milk prices in four decades. Let me repeat that. Dairy farmers across the country are suffering from the lowest milk prices in four decades. In the last year, the price farmers receive for their milk has plummeted 41 percent, to $11.30 per hundredweight. To understand how low $11.30 per hundredweight is, you must understand it takes $17 or $18 to produce a hundredweight of milk. In other words, for every cow that is milked, the farmer is losing a substantial amount of money. As a result of these low prices, many family farms have gone out of business and, if we do not act immediately, you are going to see many more, from one end of this country to the other, close up. I can tell you in the State of Vermont there was a lot of publicity surrounding a farm in the southern part of our State that had been in one family since the Revolutionary War--since the Revolutionary War. But because of these horrendously low milk prices, that farm has gone up for sale. This is not just an issue for dairy farmers. This is not just an issue for rural communities. This is an issue for every American who wants to gain access to good quality, locally produced food. All over this country people are saying no, I don't want my food coming in from China, I don't want my food coming in from places all over the world. I want to see the quality food that is produced in my area, in my State, in my region. If we do not act to protect family- based dairy agriculture, we are going to increasingly lose that opportunity. Let me underline this. I know the people familiar with dairy always say these are great regional fights, the Northeast is fighting the Midwest is fighting the Southeast is fighting the west coast, and every region has its own set of priorities. This is not a regional issue, this is a national issue. Let me talk a little bit about what is happening, briefly, in various regions around the country. California Farmers Union President Joaquin Contente spoke about the situation in his State of California. He testified: In my lifelong history as a dairy farmer, I have never seen prices this far below our cost for this long and I have never seen so many dairy producers so desperate for relief. In my county alone-- This is in California, not Vermont. In my county alone, 25 dairies have either filed or are in the process of filing for bankruptcy and many more are closer to bankruptcy each day. Joaquin Contente, California Farmers Union president. Let me talk about Texas, the Southwest. The executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen spoke about the situation in his State of Texas. He said: This is the worst situation I have seen since 1970. Some say it is the worst since the depression. That is the State of Texas. Let me talk about the Midwest, Wisconsin. A Stanley, WI dairy farmer stated: In my area, farmers are burning up their equity accumulated over their lifetimes. One farmer in my area had to cash out his wife's IRA just to get crops planted this spring. My parish priest in my small town has had to counsel one or more dairy farmers a week to prevent their suicides. And we know of reports across the country of farm suicides that have already occurred. These are just a few examples from California and Texas. I can go on and on about what is going on in California and the Northeast. Last week, after Congress's strong urging, Secretary Vilsack announced that the government would spend $243 million to raise price supports for dairy farmers, and we very much appreciate the Secretary and the Obama administration's quick response to our needs. That support is important. It is likely to raise milk price supports by about $1.25 per hundredweight, but that is nowhere near enough of what we need when in fact cost of production is $17 or $18 per hundredweight. This afternoon I will be offering legislation cosponsored by you, Senator Gillibrand, cosponsored by Senator Schumer, Senator Tom Udall, Senator Specter, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen, among others. This amendment will go a long way to help farmers over the short-term crisis. Long term, obviously we need to do some fundamental rethinking about dairy agriculture, how you bring long-term stability to the dairy industry and end that volatility that has been rampant in that industry for so many years. There are so many ideas out there about how we bring long-term stability for dairy farmers in this country. This is short- term relief to make sure farmers all over this country do not go out of business. What this amendment would do is provide the Secretary of Agriculture with $350 million in additional funding for milk price supports. That would, again, bring the price up about another $1.50 per hundredweight. This short-term help could mean the difference between economic viability or financial disaster for dairy farmers from one end of this country to the other. Once again, all of us are focused on how we get out of this deep recession. All of us are focused on how we create decent-paying jobs. I urge my colleagues, do not forget about rural America. Rural America, whether it is Vermont, Wisconsin, California, Colorado--rural America is hurting. They need help as well. Later on this afternoon I will be bringing forth this very important amendment to provide some economic support for rural America and hope to have the support of all my colleagues.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following postal naming bills en bloc: Calendar Nos. 133 through 144: S. 748, S. 1211, S. 1314, H.R. 774, H.R. 987, H.R. 1271, H.R. 1397, H.R. 2090, H.R. 2162, H.R. 2325, H.R. 2422, and H.R. 2470.

Mr. SANDERS. I ask unanimous consent the bills be read a third time and passed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. I yield to the chairman, Senator Kohl.

Mr. SANDERS

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

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I will take a few minutes while we are waiting until procedures get lined up to say a few words about an amendment I am offering which is going to come up for a vote fairly soon. This is an amendment which addresses the crisis in dairy all over this country. It is an amendment that is supported by Senator Snowe, Senator Udall of New Mexico, Senator Schumer, Senator Bennet of Colorado, Senator Specter, Senator McCaskill, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Shaheen, and Senator Casey. As you will note, these are people from all over the country. What we are not talking about here is a regional issue, we are talking about a national issue. I want to pick up on a point for a moment that Senator McCaskill made earlier this morning. I think it is important. All of us know that today our country is in a major economic crisis, the deepest recession since the Great Depression. But sometimes what media does, and maybe what we do here in Congress, is focus on that crisis in the areas where there is, if you like, concentrated misery, such as Detroit, which has undergone terrible problems, thousands of people on a given day have lost their jobs, and sometimes, in the midst of the economic crisis facing our country, we forget what is happening in rural areas, in small towns all over this country. Sometimes when farms go out of business, farms that have been owned by a family for generations, when rural communities go into, literally, an economic depression, we don't pay quite as much attention to that. It is not on the front pages of the New York Times. The fact is, right now rural America is in the midst of a very serious economic crisis. Unemployment is extremely high. One of the particular areas where we are seeing not just a deep recession but, in fact, a depression is within the dairy industry. In the last year, if you can believe it, the price dairy farmers--many of them small, family-based dairy farmers--have received for their milk has plummeted by 41 percent. In the last year, it has gone down by 41 percent. The reality of what that means is that farmers today, for every gallon of milk they are producing, are losing money. It is not that they are making a little bit, they are losing money. What we are seeing, not just in the Northeast, not just in the Midwest, not just in the Southeast, not just in the West, but all over this country, are family farmers going out of business, plunging their rural economies and their communities into depression-type economics. Let me quote, if I might, from people from different parts of the country. A Minnesota dairy farmer writes: This situation is unlike any experienced in the past and the width and depth cannot continue to be ignored. It has not discriminated based on herd size or geographic location. Dairy farmers of all sizes and across all regions of the country are enduring an unprecedented disaster. That is from Minnesota. The President of the California Farmers Union--when we talk about dairy, sometimes California is in another world from the rest of the country because their herds are much larger. By the way, I should say the National Farmers Union is supporting this amendment, and 11 agricultural commissioners and secretaries from States are supporting this amendment as well, as is the DFA, the Dairy Farmers of America, which is the largest dairy farm cooperative in America. This is what the fellow who is the head of the California Farmer's Union says. His name is Joaquin Contente. He testified: [I]n my lifetime history as a dairy farmer, I have never seen our prices remain this far below our costs this long and I have never seen so many dairy producers so desperate for relief. In my county alone 25 dairies have either filed or are in the process of filing for bankruptcy and many more are closer to bankruptcy each day. From Texas, the executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen said: This is the worst situation I have seen since 1970. Some say it is the worst since the Depression. From Wisconsin, a dairy farmer states: In my area farmers are burning up the equity accumulated over their lifetimes. One farmer in my area had to cash out his wife's IRA just to get his crops planted this spring. My parish priest in my small town has had to counsel one or more dairy farmers a week to prevent their suicides. Those are just a few examples from Wisconsin, California, and Texas. Trust me, I could tell you many similar stories from the State of Vermont. Once again, as we attempt to revitalize our economy, let's not forget about rural America. Let's not forget about dairy farmers. Let's support this legislation which will provide $350 million to increase dairy support prices. I look forward to the support of my colleagues. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive the applicable sections of this act for purposes of the pending amendment. This amendment is supported by a number of Senators, not just from the east coast or Midwest or Southwest or the West but from all over the country--among others, Senators Snowe, Udall of New Mexico, Schumer, Bennett, Collins, Franken, Casey, Udall of Colorado, Specter, McCaskill, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, and Shaheen. We are united from every section of the country to make the point that when we talk about the deep recession we are facing, this is a recession that is impacting rural America very severely, and we cannot forget about rural America. Right now, at this moment, dairy farmers across the country are suffering from the lowest milk prices in four decades. In the last year, the price farmers received for milk has plummeted 41 percent. I ask for support on the amendment.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I thank Senator Dodd for his kind words and extraordinary efforts over the last several months to lead the fight in health care reform. Let me pick up on one issue Senator Dodd raised. Most Americans do not understand this, but in the midst of a disintegrated health care system, we have 60 million Americans who do not on a regular basis have access to a physician--60 million. What happens when those people get sick? If you are in Vermont and you are kind of stubborn, you delay going to the doctor when you should go, and you wait and you wait. And 6 months after you first were feeling badly, you go crawling into the doctor's office, and the doctor says: Why weren't you in here 6 months ago? And the person says: Well, I felt awkward. I didn't have any health insurance. I was embarrassed. The doctor says: I am getting you to the hospital because you are really sick. So instead of treating people when they are initially ill, what we end up doing for people who do not have access to a doctor on a regular basis or do not have any health insurance is we wait until they become very ill and then we send them to the hospital and spend tens of thousands of dollars, in some instances, when we could have treated them with much less suffering and at much less cost. There is another point that is not widely known, and that is, according to the Institute of Medicine, in this country today, we lose about 18,000 Americans every single year who die because they do not go to a doctor when they should go to the doctor. That is six times the number of people who were killed on 9/11 every single year. What Senator Dodd is talking about and what many of us have worked on is significantly expanding the federally qualified health center program, started by Senator Kennedy four decades ago, widely supported in a bipartisan manner. What studies tell us is, if, in fact, we can do what is in this legislation and provide a community health center with physicians, with dentists, with low-cost prescription drugs, with mental health counseling, do you know what we would end up doing, amazingly enough? We save money. We save money. We invest over a 5-year period about $8 billion, and we end up saving money because we keep people out of the emergency rooms, we keep people out of hospitals, we keep people alive. If that is not a good investment, I don't know what is. So the fight to make sure that every American has access to a doctor, to a dentist, to low-cost prescription drugs is certainly, in my mind, one of the crowning achievements of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee piece of health care reform. A month ago, I asked people on my e-mail list, which is not only Vermont, but all across the country, to write to me and tell me their relationship, how they are dealing with private health insurance companies. Within a week, we had over 4,000 responses. The booklet is available on my Web site, sanders.senate.gov. I urge people to take a look at it. If you want to know what is wrong with health care in America, this booklet will tell you. People are writing from their hearts, from their own suffering, describing the health care crisis. I want to read and comment on a few of the statements sent to my office. This is from a fellow in Swanton, VT, a small town in the northern part of Vermont: My younger brother, a combat decorated veteran of the Vietnam conflict, died three weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He was laid off from his job and could not afford COBRA coverage. When he was in enough pain to see a doctor, it was too late. He left a wife and two teenage sons in the prime of his life at 50 years old. The attending doctor said that if he had only sought treatment earlier, he would still be alive. People talk about waiting lines in Canada or in Great Britain. Let's talk about over 18,000 Americans dying every year because either they do not have any health insurance or, if they do, they cannot get access to a doctor. When we talk about the health care crisis in America, it is not just the pain that millions of Americans are experiencing, the fear, or the tens of millions of people who stay at their job today. Do you know why they are staying at their job? Not because they particularly want to stay at their job, but because they have good health insurance and their wife has an illness that needs to be covered. Talk about economic nonsense, absurdity--millions of people staying at work because they do not want to give up their health insurance. What President Obama says, because of the economic crisis, we have to address health care, is absolutely right. Some of our friends on the other side say what they have always said: Let's do nothing. You want to do nothing? Within 10 years, the amount of money you are paying for health care today will double. If you are a small business person today in Vermont or around the country and having a hard time providing health care to your workers or maybe your family, think about what happens when the cost of health care doubles. Think about large corporations that have to compete with European, Scandinavian countries, and companies where health care becomes a right of all people and not something placed on the employer. In this year, amazingly enough, when we talk about health care and economics--and Senator Whitehouse was alluding to this a moment ago-- there are 1 million people this year, it is estimated, who will go bankrupt because of medically related illnesses. Most of those people have health insurance--1 million Americans. And our friends say: We can't go forward; now is not the time to go forward on health care reform. Tell that to 1 million American families who have suffered bankruptcy. In my view, the evidence is overwhelming that our current system is extraordinarily wasteful and bureaucratic; that in a very significant way, the function of our current health care system is not to provide quality health care to every man, woman, and child, but, in fact, to allow people within the industry--the private insurance companies, the drug companies, the medical device suppliers--to make as much money as they possibly can. Amazingly enough, according to the papers in the last few days, the health care industry has spent over $130 million in the last quarter on lobbying. There are 100 Members in the Senate and 435 Members of the House--to spend $130 million? Where do they get that money? They get that money, if they are a drug company, by charging the American people the highest prices in the entire world. I was the first Member of Congress to take Americans over the Canadian border a number of years ago where women with breast cancer who were fighting for their lives were able to pick up breast cancer medicine at one-tenth the price. The drug companies cannot lower prices in this country--they have to charge us the highest prices in the world--but somehow they do manage to come up with tens and tens of millions of dollars to try to buy Members of the Congress. While more and more people are losing their health insurance, we are seeing many of these private insurance companies seeing huge increases in their profits. We are seeing the insurance companies, the drug companies paying, in some cases, tens of millions of dollars in compensation packages to their CEOs. For anybody to suggest that this country does not need health care reform is simply not to understand what is going on from one end of this country to the other. We are a great nation. There is no reason in the world why we should end up spending almost twice as much per person on health care as any other nation and yet have inferior health care outcomes in terms of infant mortality, in terms of life expectancy, in terms of preventable deaths. We can do better. And right now, despite all of the lobbying money coming in from the health care industry, the moral imperative is for Members of Congress to think about the folks back home, the people who have no health insurance, the people who are underinsured, the people who are going bankrupt, the people who are staying at their work, not because they want to but because they have a decent health insurance program or the small business people who cannot invest in their company because they are busy spending all of their money on health care. We can do better than that. We must do better than that. Now is the time. I hope the American people work with us in standing up to very powerful special interests and moving us toward real health care reform. I yield the floor.

Mr. SANDERS. I thank my colleague very much.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I seek unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment so that I may call up my amendments Nos. 2276 and 2271.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1903.

Mr. SANDERS. I thank the chairman.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, this amendment addresses the issue of district heating which has incredible potential as a force for sustainable energy. Specifically, what this amendment would do is provide $15 million in technical assistance grants to institutional entities such as municipal utilities, institutions of higher learning, public school districts, local government or a designee of any of these entities through section 399A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act as incorporated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It would do this by directing $15 million within the $100 million for the DOE industrial technologies program to be directed toward district energy and combined heat and power. This Nation has a huge opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and provide reliable energy for heating and cooling and electricity by moving toward district energy and combined heat and power. District energy systems provide heating and cooling to two or more buildings or facilities through underground pipes. These systems can efficiently meet the heating and cooling needs of towns and cities. Much of Copenhagen, for example, is now heated through district heating. It can provide electricity and heating for college campuses, for hospitals, public buildings, and other facilities. Combined heat and power refers to the production of both electricity and thermal energy. You are creating electricity and heat from the same powerplant. Combined heat and powerplants can provide thermal energy for district energy systems. In my city of Burlington, VT, where I had the honor of being mayor for 8 years, we built the largest wood chip burning plant in the State of Vermont. This plant has a 50-megawatt capacity that runs on wood chips and wood waste. Roughly 60 percent of the energy produced by this plant is lost as wasted heat. Burlington, similar to other cities around the country, could capture that waste heat and use it to provide heating and cooling to multiple buildings downtown. According to a 2008 Department of Energy report, combined heat and power systems, particularly in coordination with district energy systems, could make a huge impact in meeting our energy needs while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 40 percent of our energy consumption is for heating and cooling of our buildings as well as industrial process heat. Combined heat and power represents roughly 9 percent of our electric power capacity today. If we can move to 20 percent combined heat and power by 2020, we could, according to the DOE, create more than 1 million new jobs and avoid more than 800 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This would avoid more than 60 percent of the projected growth in carbon dioxide emissions between now and 2030. In other words, this is a big deal. We are talking about real technology that is deployable today, not 50 years in the future. It is here today, ready to be utilized. In Copenhagen, district energy provides clean heating to 97 percent of the city. This has saved energy, reduced fossil fuel consumption, and avoided greenhouse gas emissions. In our own country, in St. Paul, MN, district energy and combined heat and power provide 65 megawatts of thermal energy and 25 megawatts of electricity from renewable urban wood waste. That is an extraordinary development. This heats more than 185 buildings, 300 homes, and cools an additional 95 buildings. This has reduced emissions and provided exceedingly reliable energy for St. Paul. Same story, smaller scale, Jamestown, NY. I offer amendment No. 1903, which will provide $15 million for technical assistance grants under a program authorized in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. These grants will help with engineering studies and feasibility studies. The grants do require a match of between 25 and 60 percent so we are leveraging Federal dollars wisely. These grants were authorized but have never received funding. In fact, we have long neglected district energy and combined heat and power systems. We should be providing Federal support for these efficient technologies. Interestingly, according to the Biomass Resource Center and the International District Energy Association, there are hundreds of shovel-ready projects that need capital for infrastructure to go forward right now. We are on the verge of putting people to work, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, making these systems more energy efficient. We also have many programs around the country that are in need of money for feasibility studies. By providing for technical assistance grants, we are taking an important step to move these projects forward. I ask the chairman of the committee, I have offered this amendment. How does he suggest we proceed?

Mr. SANDERS. I thank the Senator. Amendment No. 1895 to Amendment No. 1813

Mr. SANDERS. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, today I honor a renowned Vermont landmark and business, Thunder Road International SpeedBowl, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season. Thursday nights every summer, short track races take place on Thunder Road's uniquely configured quarter-mile paved track. Thunder Road has been recognized as one of the finest short tracks in the Nation. Built in 1959 on farm land in Barre, VT, by longtime network sports commentator Ken Squier and his partners, Thunder Road is an American institution of which Vermont is proud. Thunder Road has offered inexpensive family entertainment for five decades. This revered race track has brought international racing stars to the Green Mountain State while also offering opportunities for Vermonters to compete in front of passionate and knowledgeable fans. After World War II, there were more than 22 short tracks in the State of Vermont. With only three tracks remaining, Thunder Road stands out as the largest spectator sports venue in the State. Today, some drivers at Thunder Road can recall watching their grandfathers drive the same track. ``Thunder Road is just about racing--there's no politics, no marketing--it's just racing and it's always been that way,'' said Steve Letarte, a Maine native and crew chief for NASCAR star Jeff Gordon. Vermonters appreciate Thunder Road for its longtime contributions to its community. For 50 years, this short track has been an invaluable institution for the people of Vermont and throughout the Northeast.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, as soon as this amendment logjam is broken, it is my intention to offer an amendment which is cosponsored by Senators Carper, Casey, and Kerry. This amendment deals with an issue of significance to all 50 States in our country and maybe especially rural America. In the midst of the financial crisis we are facing, our capabilities to support fire departments--both professional and volunteer--and the EMS services they provide is under great stress. What my amendment would do is add $100 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program as well as for another important program for fire departments, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, Grant Program--$50 million for each program. In the $50 million for the SAFER Grant Program would be included $30 million that would go for addressing the real crisis rural volunteer fire departments are facing. I say to the Presiding Officer, I do not know what the situation is in New Hampshire, but in Vermont--and I think in many parts of the country--we are seeing a real problem with recruitment and retention. Many people in urban areas may not understand that. But in rural America, most folks get their fire service and most folks get their EMS, their first responder service, from volunteers. If there are not volunteers available for one or another reason--and we have seen both recruitment and retention problems in volunteer fire departments--if those volunteers are not there, what is going to happen is, when fires happen, those fires are not going to be able to be contained. When somebody has a heart attack and dials 911, they are not going to get the kind of speedy ambulance service they need. In the midst of this recession, what we are seeing is not only a reduction and a real stress on volunteer firefighting departments all over this country, and their EMS services, we are also seeing, in terms of professional firefighters, reductions in one part of the country after another part of the country, after another part of the country. Cities and towns under stress are cutting back, and they are doing it in ways which are certainly endangering the well-being and the health of the people in their communities. Surveys by the International Association of Fire Fighters say that up to 5,000 firefighting jobs are in jeopardy. In Prince George's County, MD--not far from here--there is a new phenomenon called ``brownouts.'' This is where fire stations are closed, five at a time, to save money. In Atlanta, GA, the economic crisis has resulted in the shutting of five firehouses. In Flint, MI, 22 firefighters were laid off. Proposals in Columbus, OH, include laying off 238 firefighters. In Warren, OH, 17 firefighters received layoff notices. Orlando, FL, plans on laying off 46 firefighters. In Spokane, WA, up to 15 firefighting positions could be eliminated. There is also a serious problem about funding the equipment our firefighters need. So we have a real problem. It seems to me at this moment this is a priority for this Nation, and it is something we should be addressing. This amendment is supported by the volunteer firefighters of America. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter from the National Volunteer Fire Council. The National Volunteer Fire Council is strongly supporting this amendment, and they represent thousands of volunteer firefighters throughout this country.

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I will be speaking about this amendment at a later time, but I wanted to let my colleagues know this issue is of great concern all over this country. It is a concern to the firefighting community, it is a concern to the EMS community, and it is certainly a concern to rural America. I look forward to my colleagues supporting this amendment. Madam President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, this amendment is cosponsored by Senator Casey, Senator Carper, and Senator Kerry. It is also supported by the National Volunteer Fire Council representing the interests of over 800,000 volunteer firefighters. At a time when due to the economic crisis fire departments all over this country are laying off firefighters, and in rural America volunteer fire departments are finding it increasingly difficult to attract and retain those firefighters who not only help us, saving our property and our lives, but also are involved in EMS services, we are putting some of that $100 million directly into recruitment and retention for volunteer firefighting efforts. The offset is the science and technology fund, which I have nothing against, but I think the priorities now have to be for firefighting and for volunteer fire departments. I yield 15 seconds to Senator Casey.

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

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.