Paul Sarbanes

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this past July Walter Sondheim, Jr., one of Maryland's most distinguished citizens, celebrated his 90th birthday with family and friends in Baltimore. It is an accomplishment for anyone to reach this chronological milestone, but in this instance, Walter's nine decades have marked an extraordinary record of unparalleled public service to Baltimore and the State of Maryland. As a successful business executive, Walter Sondheim has served in ``volunteer'' public service positions on important state and local boards and commissions and as an advisor to Mayors and Governors for the last half century. His grace, good humor, extraordinary intelligence, and dedication have been powerful and good influences for progress and unity in Maryland. Achieving 90 years of age for most ``normal'' individuals, with rare exception, implies retirement or reduced activity. But among the several articles I am inserting in today's Congressional Record is an announcement in the July 30 edition of the Washington Post that Walter was unanimously elected to become the new President of the Maryland Board of Education. This public demonstration of confidence is a continuing vindication of his effectiveness in undertaking difficult tasks. I am also including an article from the July 25 Baltimore Sun which describes Walter's exceptional and inspiring life of service. I know I express the deep appreciation of his fellow Marylanders for his many decades of commitment and their best wishes in his latest and most significant assignment. I ask that these articles be inserted at this point in the record, and I yield the floor. The article follows: [From the Baltimore Sun, July 25, 1998] Not The Retiring Type (By M. Dion Thompson) Walter Sondheim is on the phone, trying to get out of being interviewed. He can't understand why the city's newspaper is coming around, yet again, to get the tale of his life. Who cares, he says. Yes, he is turning 90, and that is worth remarking on. But all this fuss, the parties, the inquiring journalist. Is it really necessary? Still, after only the slightest bit of nudging, he relents, which is to be expected because, after all, Walter Sondheim is a nice guy. On the scheduled day, he takes a seat behind the desk of his 15th floor office at Baltimore's Legg Mason Tower and makes one last halfhearted try. ``Why waste the time? It really is embarrassing, because I think my friends who know me well figure. `There he goes again,' '' he says, then gets down to business. ``Now, what do you want? . . . What's on your mind? I feel sorry for you.'' He is painfully modest, sometimes excruciatingly so. For 50 years he has been the consummate citizen, advisor to mayors and governors, a steady presence in his city's decades-long resurgence. He led the school board during desegregation. He was chairman of Charles Center-Inner Harbor Management, the organization that oversaw the renewal of downtown. If he were a different kind of man, he could walk you down Charles Street, tug at your sleeve and say, ``See, I made that happen. And over there, Me. again.'' He could stand at the Inner Harbor and go on about how he, Jim Rouse and others turned this town around. He is not that kind of man, not one to revel in yesterday's glory to seek accolades for past successes. There is too much to be done today. Every workday he's up early, dressed in a suit and tie and out the door as he has been for nearly 70 years. These days is senior adviser to the Greater Baltimore Committee. He used to be president. He could be anywhere. He has the money. He career with Hochschild, Kohn & Co. ended with his retirement at senior vice president and treasurer. Soon after, investor Warren Buffet brought the department store company. Money doesn't bring him to this downtown office with its view of the towering NationsBank building, the one old-timers remembers as Maryland National. It isn't a yearning for fame that has him fielding calls, hustling to meetings, offering his considered judgment on public policy. Then why is he here, when he could be in Aruba, Martha's Vineyard, the Cape? ``Well, you know, you touch on a real issue there, I'd get restless if I weren't doing anything,'' he says. ``I think about it every now and then because I have no reason not to retire. I'm not doing anything that obviously someone else couldn't do. But waking up in the morning and not having a job just doesn't appeal to me.'' Bring up the Golden Years, and Sondheim likely turns a deaf ear. There's this crazy idea about retirement, as if people can easily walk away from what has sustained them. Retire, and do what? Sometimes there is a consuming hobby or passion waiting. Sometimes, the work is its own passion. Sally Michel, a longtime friend, notes how work can fuel a person's life. Think of the great pianist Artur Rubinstein, practically blind and giving recitals at 89; or jazz trumpeter Adolphus ``Doc'' Cheatham swinging at 91; or George Burns at 100 with his cigars and wisecracks. Now, think of Walter Sondheim. ``You see that when people have a purpose, a real serious purpose to their lives, that they stay alive a lot longer. Retirement is not a good thing,'' says Michel. Yet Sondheim knows longevity has its downside. He says he can remember looking down the table in many board rooms and seeing three or four emeritus members sitting there, ``every one of them sure that he could do the job better than I could, and they were probably right.'' Now, he's Mr. Emeritus. The position doesn't sit well with him. ``You can't vote, and an emeritus means you're not a participant anymore,'' he says. He wonders if he has stayed too long. Maybe he's in the way. If his wife were alive, she would tell him. But Janet dies six years ago come September. They were married 58 years. He still wears his wedding ring. ``We never had a fight in 58 years. My daughter said it was because we were both too lazy,'' he says and smiles a bit, then talks about his loss. ``To me it has been one continuous period. I don't mean a continuous period of mourning, but I think about her often. . . . Missing her is institutionalized in me.'' Without her, he turned to his closets friends, asking them to send him an anonymous letter if they thought he was slipping. ``I thought it was incredible, an incredible thing to do, to make that suggestion,'' says Michel, who received one of the letters. ``I was just very moved by it.'' Abell Foundation President Robert C. Embry, Jr., whose friendship with Sondheim goes back nearly 30 years, also received one. ``I know that he worries and has expressed this publicly. `Has he overstayed his welcome? Is he losing his acuity? Are people humoring him?' '' says Embry. ``But the opposite is true.'' Sondheim is on 24 boards and foundations. That sounds impressive, overwhelming, but some meet once a year, some once a month, he says. When officials from elsewhere call the GBC about Baltimore and its redevelopment, they get Walter. He still talks to the mayor, the governor. He was chairman of the ad hoc committee that picked the Hippodrome for an expanded center of performing arts. ``Walter is the quintessential public servant,'' says Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. ``He remains an important adviser in business and political activities in this community. I just met with him as recently as this week to talk about downtown development.'' It all started long before he was appointed to the ``Jewish slot'' on the city school board in 1948. It started July 25, 1908, in the front room, second floor of 1621 Bolton St. That's where he was born. He graduated from Park School in 1925, then went on to Haverford College. There were 81 graduates in the class of '29. A dozen remain. On his yearbook page, the editors wrote: ``By simultaneously preserving his pride and refusing to take himself seriously, he has practically forced us to consider him seriously as one of the prides of the class.'' Not much has changed in 70 years. In the mid-1950s, his calm approach made Baltimore the first school district south of the Mason-Dixon Line to respond to the Supreme Court's landmark ruling outlawing ``separate but equal'' education. Some one burned a cross on the lawn of his Windsor Hills home, but it didn't stop him. During the 1960s Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro III sought his help. ``His calling card is integrity and, as I said before, he has no hidden agenda,'' says D'Alesandro. ``My whole concept of Walter was that he was a cut above.'' He does not have a ``typical'' day. It depends on where he is needed. Just the other day, he showed up for the Maryland Art Place's dedication of its miniature golf course at Rash Field. He called himself ``Tiger Wouldn't.'' ``Me, who's opposed to all exercise,'' he says, of what turned into an awful day. He tripped and fell on the 17th hole. ``I ripped my suit beyond repair. I went to get my car, it had a $20 ticket on it.'' He still drives his black Acura Legend, and walks when there is a purpose. Not too long ago he walked from his Harborview apartment to a dinner party on Federal Hill. The hosts were very concerned. ``You know, you shock people if you drive. You shock people if you walk,'' he says. At 90, he goes where he wants, when he wants. He does acrostics for fun, and surprises himself by still being able to recite the Keats he learned at Haverford. ``I've had a lucky life,'' he says, pale blue eyes shining behind his glasses. ``It's not because of me. I've been lucky to be in places.'' Now there are rumors that he's the odds-on favorite to be the next state school board president. He says he doesn't want the job. Yes, he has been involved with education for 50 years, but he doesn't consider himself an expert. ``I don't think it would be wise for them to pick me,'' he says, wondering aloud how it would look, a 90-year-old man. So often in the past people have come to him, seeking his perspective, his gift of compromise. He has said ``yes'' probably more times than he can remember. His resume lists 78 committees, boards and foundations he once served. ``My wife, who used to chastise me for saying `Yes,' said, `It's your curiosity,' '' he says. ``The truth is, I'm a little bit of a sissy. I don't like to say `No.' . . . That's not a strength, you known. That's a weakness.''

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this week the nation joins in marking National Fire Prevention Week, a time set aside not only to remember those who were injured and those who tragically lost their lives due to fire, but also to acknowledge the heroic efforts of those men and women who work so hard to prevent and protect us against such tragedies. Every year, more than 5,000 Americans die in fires and another 25,000 sustain fire-related injuries. The majority of these fires, around 80%, occur in the home. Fortunately, many of these deaths and injuries can be prevented by simply planning ahead. The most important function of National Fire Prevention Week is that of raising awareness about the dangers of fire and the relatively simple steps we can take to prevent fire-related tragedies. The theme of this year's National Fire Prevention Week, ``Fire Drills: The Great Escape,'' serves to encourage the public to practice and plan a home escape plan. This involves a number of steps and I want to touch on them briefly. According to officials at the United States Fire Administration (USFA), the first step in developing a home escape plan is the installation of smoke alarms on every floor. It is estimated that working smoke alarms can actually double your chances of survival in the event of fire. Smoke alarms, though, are not the only element of a home escape plan. It is vital that every individual in a household knows and practices at least two escape routes from every room in that home. If confronted by a fire, one should first escape the burning house and then meet at a previously designated family meeting place outside of the home. Then, the fire department should be notified. Finally, by no means should anyone attempt to re-enter a burning home. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the theme of this year's National Fire Protection Week and to encourage the development of as many home escape plans as possible. The fact is that no one is immune to the dangers of fire, but if they develop a plan similar to the USFA's their chances of survival are significantly increased. Today, on the anniversary of one of our nation's worst fires, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, I want to commend the National Fire Protection Association for sponsoring National Fire Protection Week and to urge my colleagues and all citizens to pay careful attention to the theme and message of this year's National Fire Protection Week, so that we may continue to reduce such preventable losses.

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, it is a singular privilege for me to rise and acknowledge that this past summer Sam Lacy, one of the giants of American sports journalism, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on July 26. Sam Lacy, like Baltimore's great civil rights leaders Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Mitchell, Jr., was a pioneer in the great struggle to expand the participation of all Americans in our national life. The path he chose, however, was not the corridors of legal or political power, nor the streets and sidewalks of protest, but rather the silent and eloquent power of his pen. His career in journalism, which spanned over 50 years, began in the throes of a segregated society which deprived talented athletes of color the right to give their best in the field of competition. Sam Lacy, using his gift of writing combined with a pleasant but persistent demeanor, helped to break down these barriers thereby enriching immeasurably the quality and equality of our revered ``National Pastime.'' It is a tribute to the talent and determination of Sam Lacy and that of baseball pioneers Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, and the essential fairness of our American spirit, that at age 94, Sam Lacy was recognized for his unique contribution to journalism and baseball. Mr. President, I am most pleased to take this opportunity to congratulate Sam Lacy personally for his induction into the Hall of Fame and for his distinguished and exceptional contribution to sports journalism. In honoring him, we also pay tribute to those great players of the past and present who have given so much to the sport of baseball. I ask that several articles from the Baltimore Afro-American, which provided the forum for Sam's journalistic offerings, and the Baltimore Sun be printed in the Record. The articles follow: [From the Baltimore Sun, July 27, 1998] Diverse Paths Cross at Hall pioneers doby, lacy share dais with sutton on induction day (By Peter Schmuck) Cooperstown, N.Y.--They came from different places. Different backgrounds. Different eras. Don Sutton, the son of a tenant farmer, won 324 games and was one of the most steady and consistent pitchers of his generation. Larry Doby, the brilliant young Negro leagues outfielder who followed closely in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson, hit 253 major-league home runs, but is better known as the first black player in the American League. Sam Lacy, the sports editor and columnist for the Baltimore Afro-American these past 54 years, crusaded for the inclusion of black players in the major leagues and, yesterday, was included in the large class that was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame. The Class of '98 also included longtime baseball executive Lee MacPhail, turn-of-the-century star George Davis, Negro leagues pitcher Joe Rogan and Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime Jarrin, all of them honored during an emotional 1\1/2\- hour induction ceremony on the lawn of the Clark Sports Center on the outskirts of Cooperstown. It was Sutton who tugged hardest on the heartstrings of the estimated crowd of 6,000 with an elegant 20-minute acceptance speech that traced his career from the uncut baseball fields of the rural South to the stage where he stood in front of 33 past Hall of Fame inductees to see his plaque unveiled. ``I've wanted this for over 40 years,'' he said, ``so why am I standing here shaking like a leaf? Probably because I'm standing in front of these wonderful artists of our game. If you can't feel the aura when you walk through the Hall of Fame, check tomorrow's obituary column . . . because you're in it.'' Sutton thanked his father for the work ethic that carried him through 23 major-league seasons. He lovingly acknowledged his late mother, Lillian, his wife, Mary, and his children. He thanked Hall of Fame teammates Sandy Koufax and the late Don Drysdale, who inadvertently ushered him into the major leagues with their dual contract holdout in 1966, then guided him through his first season. He thanked the late Dodgers manager Walter Alston, who took a chance on him in his youth, and former Angels manager Gene Mauch, who stuck with him in the latter stages of his career. But he saved the most credit for his eventual Hall of Fame induction for longtime Dodgers pitching coach Red Adams, who fashioned him into the durable and skillful pitcher who would win 15 or more games 12 times and finish his career ranked fifth all-time with 3,574 strikeouts. ``No person ever meant more to my career than Red Adams,'' Sutton said. ``Without him, I would not be standing in Cooperstown today.'' There weren't a lot of dry eyes when Sutton finally pointed out his 20-month-old daughter Jacqueline, who was born 16 weeks premature and given little chance to survive, and credited her with bringing his life and career into perspective. ``Thanks, little girl, for sticking around to be part of this. You make it perfect,'' said Sutton, 53. ``I'm a very blessed man. I have my health. I'm part of a family that I love to be a part of. I've had a dream come true that is a validation of what my father taught me a long time ago. You can have a dream and if you're willing to work for it, it can come true. With apologies to Lou Gehrig, I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have everything in life I ever wanted.'' The makeup of the group of honorees clearly reflected the great progress that baseball--and society--has made during the half-century since Robinson broke through baseball's color barrier in 1947. Doby would soon join Robinson in the major leagues, helping fulfill the dream that Lacy had articulated in countless newspaper columns in the 1930s and early 1940s--a dream that sill seemed very distant when Rogan ended his playing career in 1938. Jarrin would forge a link to the Latino community in Los Angeles a decade later and emerge as the voice of baseball to millions of Hispanic baseball fans in the United States and Latin America. Lacy, 94, gave the crowd a start when he stumbled and fell on his way to the podium, but he collected himself and delivered a poignant, humorous speech that included a call to more fully acknowledge the history and contributions of the black press. ``I hope that my presence here . . . will impress on the American public that the Negro press has a role that is recognized and honored,'' Lacy said. Doby also gave a stirring acceptance speech, recounting a career that began with the four years he spent with the Newark Eagles of the Negro leagues and took a historic turn when Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck purchased his contract and brought him right to the majors on July 5, 1947. ``Everything I have and my family has got has come from baseball,'' he said. ``If someone had told me 50 years ago that I would be here today, I would not have believed it.'' Pressed later for details of indignities he suffered as one of the pioneer black players, he responded without rancor or bitterness. ``It's a tough thing to look back and think about things that were probably negative,'' said Doby. ``You put those things on the back burner. You're proud to have played a part in the integration of baseball. I feel this is the proof that we all can work together, live together and be successful together.''

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this legislation authorizes the Secretary of Interior to provide assistance to the State of Maryland in controlling a non-native rodent--nutria--which is destroying wetlands and valuable habitat at and around Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Sponsored by my colleague Representative Gilchrest, the legislation establishes a three year demonstration program of methods of manage nutria populations and to restore marshlands damaged by the destructive creature. Mr. President, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is one of the real treasures and showplaces of our National Wildlife Refuge system. Established in the early 1930s to help preserve migratory waterfowl, the 20,000 acre refuge has become one of the chief wintering areas for Canada geese along the Atlantic Flyway. It is also home for the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel and more than 200 species of birds. As all who visit the refuge quickly discover, Blackwater is a very special place: a haven for fish and wildlife , a land of exceptional beauty, and a vital part of the natural heritage and quality of life that we enjoy in Maryland. Unfortunately the Refuge and surrounding wetlands are being threatened by the prolific and highly invasive nonindigenous species nutria which are destroying the tidal marshes and even displacing other native species. Over the past three decades, the population of nutria in Maryland has grow exponentially from about 150 to as many as 150,000--a thousand fold increase. During that same period, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge has lost more than 40 percent of its marshes-- approximately 7,000 of 17,000 acres--due, in large part, to nutria. As nutria population densities continue to increase, so does the range of the creature and its associated ecological damage. In order to respond to this threat, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the University of Maryland and more than a dozen other partners have joined together to develop a plan to address march loss and control of nutria. The goal of this three year pilot program is to develop methods for intensive control of the nutria populations and to restore damaged marsh habitats. This legislation authorizes the Federal funds necessary to carry out the program. I urge adoption of the legislation.

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise to acknowledge the unique and extraordinary contributions made to Baltimore and the State of Maryland by Judge Robert I.H. Hammerman who, this past summer, retired after thirty-seven years of distinguished service to our citizens and legal system. During his career on the bench, Judge Hammerman was a leader in court reform and the efforts to establish an effective yet caring system of juvenile criminal justice. These efforts were directed not only at changing the system, but also at exerting every effort possible to give young men in need the opportunity for academic and athletic development. His remarkable commitment to the youth of Baltimore is most exemplified by the Lancers Boys Club which he founded 50 years ago and which greatly affected the lives of approximately 3,000 young men of all different backgrounds and races. Through his remarkable commitment, Judge Hammerman influenced several generations of young men whose leadership has affected every facet of State and national life. ``Bobby'' Hammerman, as he is known by his fellow Baltimoreans, served his community with exceptional dedication as a jurist but also, even more importantly, as a good and caring citizen. I want to take this occasion to express my own appreciation for his life of service and ask to have printed in the Record several articles from the Baltimore Sun and the Baltimore Jewish Times which chronicle his accomplishments. The articles follow: [From the Baltimore Sun, July 16, 1998] With Closing Argument, Judge Ends 37-Year Term Md.'s Hammerman questions being forced to put down gavel at 70 By Dennis O'Brien) The longest-serving trial judge in Maryland history hangs up his robes today--and he is not happy about it. ``I'm not retiring. They're retiring me,'' says Baltimore Circuit Chief Judge Robert I.H. Hammerman. After 37 years of deciding other people's fates and distputes, Hammerman says this choice is being made for him: He will turn 70 tomorrow, the mandatory retirement age for judges under Maryland law. He sees little sense to being forced out because of his age, especially since he is fit enough to walk up the five fights of stairs to his countroom two or three times each day, he still needs only four hours of sleep each night, can beat 20-year-old opponents at tennis and plays an hours of squash five times a week. He loves the work routine that begins at 5:30 a.m. and involves listening to hours of arcane legal arguments. ``I feel like every day is a new day, and every day is different. I've never felt tired, or bored at this job,'' he says. Hammerman has asked Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert Mack Bell to allow him to serve in retirement as much as possible as a part-time judge, a position that would mean ``specially assigning'' him to any courthouse in Maryland where judges are short-handed. Bell says he intends to take Hammerman up on his offer. ``I think he's been a great judge,'' said Bell, who served with Hammerman on the Baltimore Circuit Court in the 1980s before Bell was appointed the state's top judge. It upsets Hammerman that Maryland law will allow him to serve as a part-time judge for only one-third of any calendar year. Hammerman, who is single, gives the impression of being willing to go just about anywhere to hear a case. ``I've always said that when my time is up in this world, I want it to be one of three courts: a court of law, a tennis court or a squash court,'' Hammerman said. From the beginning Robert Israel Harold Hammerman was born in Baltimore, the son of Herman Hammerman, a lawyer who did mostly real estate work for his older brother, S.L. Hammerman, a prominent Baltimore developer. A graduate of City College, the Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School, Hammerman was appointed in 1961 by Gov. J. Millard Tawes to be a judge on the old Baltimore Municipal Court to decide traffic cases, neighborhood disputes and misdemeanor offenses. He was appointed six years later to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore, which became the Baltimore Circuit Court in 1983. He spent his first eight years on the Supreme Bench presiding over the city's Juvenile Court and is credited with bringing the court into compliance with a landmark 1967 Supreme Court case, In Re Gault, that guaranteed juvenile offenders the same right to an attorney as adults. In the spotlight Over the years, Hammerman has presided over some of the city's most publicized trials, including the 1995 jury trial for John Joseph Merzbacher, then 53, a former Catholic Community Middle School teacher accused of sexually abusing 14 students and other teen-agers between 1972 and 1979. Hammerman sentenced the former teacher to four life terms for raping one of the students. In recent years, Hammerman said, the courts have been flooded with criminal cases--particularly drug cases. When he was appointed to the Supreme Bench there were 15 judges, he said. These days there are twice that many judges--and the courts are still swamped, he said. ``The drug culture just permeates everything we do here,'' he said. Be on time, or else In court, Hammerman developed a reputation as a strict, uncompromising no-nonsense judge, who appeared each morning on the bench at exactly 9 a.m. and expected lawyers to be just as punctual. ``He's very big on punctuality,'' said David Moore, a former law clerk who is now a Baltimore assistant state's attorney. Many lawyers also say that Hammerman is prone to lose his temper, is often quick to make up his mind on a case and will dress down lawyers who either try to argue him out of his position or fail to show proper respect. ``He's never held me in contempt, but he's chewed me out.'' said Curt Anderson, a criminal defense lawyer, former state delegate and a longtime friend. ``It reminded me of being 17 again and being chewed out--it was that bad.'' Lewis A. Noonberg, another lawyer and longtime friend, attributes Hammerman's legendary short fuse to his work ethic and his competitive edge. ``He loves sports, and he loves to beat the pants off people half his age. He doesn't get any thrill out of beating me `cause I'm only 10 years younger than him,'' said Noonberg, 60. Reputation for honesty Hammerman admits to being competitive and to insisting on civility in his courtroom. But more than anything, he says, he values his reputation for honesty. So he says it offended him when he was charged with leaving the scene of an accident after a fender-bender outside the Pikesville library on Reisterstown Road on April 5, 1997. The driver of the car who reported the accident, Ronnie N. Albom, said publicly after Hammerman was cleared of the charge on Sept. 22, 1997, that his position as a judge helped him win the acquittal in Baltimore County District Court, a charge that Hammerman vehemently denies. Hammerman said that there was no accident and no damages, that he did not know the judge who acquitted him and that he turned down an offer to have the case dismissed if he would pay the $77 in damages to Albom. ``For one thing, there was no accident. Second, I didn't leave the scene; that's how they got the information that they later used to file these false charges,'' Hammerman said. Legacy of the Lancers Although as a judge he has often been in the public eye, Hammerman may be best known throughout the city for his work as adviser to the Lancers Boys Club, a high-profile civic organization for teen-age boys established by three childhood friends in 1946. The club, which boasts Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and numerous other prominent people as members, has been the judge's pet project ever since. Hammerman has used the club to steer 3,000 boys to civic activism through activities such as tutoring in schools, working in soup kitchens and participating in community cleanup drives. The club encourages members to study in school, play sports and strive for success and rewards them with overseas trips, dinners and lectures that have included celebrity guest speakers. In retirement, Hammerman says, he probably will spend more time on club activities, lining up speakers, corresponding with members and making arrangements for trips, dinners and other events. Anderson, who joined the Lancers when he and Schmoke were students at City College, praises Hammerman for his club work. ``You've got to hand it to him,'' Anderson said. ``He's probably touched thousands of lives.''

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I thank the Chair. First, although I am going to speak a little more later about our involvement in this process, I thank Senator Mack for his very generous and gracious comments, and I want to say that this bill would never have happened but for his very fine leadership. I am extremely indebted to him for the very positive and instructive and understanding way he moved this process forward. It has been a long and difficult process, but I am very pleased that we have arrived at this day. First, let me express my very strong support for this bill. I want to commend Senator Mikulski and the chairman, Senator Bond, for their very excellent work with respect to the matters before the Appropriations Subcommittee. In particular, I want to applaud them for the excellent bill they have written with regard to the funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The President submitted a strong budget. And I am happy to see that the bill now before us responds to many of those requests. The bill represents a well-rounded approach to housing and economic development. It provides for 50,000 new vouchers targeted to helping people move from welfare to work by eliminating the current 90-day wait on reissuing vouchers upon turnover. The bill effectively adds another 40,000 vouchers. It provides $500 million in additional capital funds for public housing modernization to help maintain this important affordable housing resource. And the bill includes a total of $625 million for HOPE VI, the very innovative program that was created by my very able colleague, Senator Mikulski, which is focused on tearing down the worst, most isolated public housing projects and replacing them with mixed-income housing. Senator Mikulski has been an absolute champion of trying to rescue this situation which plagues many of our very large housing projects. I want to acknowledge the tremendous leadership that she has provided in this area. Working together with Senator Bond, they have fashioned I think a first-rate piece of legislation. I am very pleased to support it. Let me say, since she is my very able colleague, what a pleasure it has been working with her. I sit on the authorizing committee. Of course, she is on the appropriating committee. Over the years we have been able to work together I think in a partnership not only for our State but for the country. Mr. President, the primary reason I come to the floor today is to call the Senate's attention to the fact that an important piece of legislation reforming the Nation's Public Housing Program is attached to this appropriations conference report. This is a tremendous step forward. This public housing legislation I think represents a fine piece of legislative craftsmanship. It reflects a bipartisan approach to reform of our public and assisted housing. We have been working at this problem, Senator Mack has been working at this problem for 4 years, at least. The success of this effort reflecting what is before us, is, to a very significant extent, the result of the fine leadership provided by Senator Mack as Chairman of the Housing Subcommittee of the authorizing committee; the work of Senator Kerry, the ranking member of that subcommittee, interacting with our House colleagues, and with Secretary Cuomo, who has been a tireless advocate for housing and economic development programs. Senator Mack has taken a keen interest in the area of public housing since he took over the housing subcommittee in 1995. He has personally visited public housing projects and has spoken to administrators and residents. The commitment of his own time and concern I think is a model of how people responsible for certain programs need to understand the program, oversee the program, and then formulate the changes which will make the program work better. Senator Mack has been a strongly positive and constructive force throughout the long and often difficult process we have followed to get this positive resolution. I am pleased to express publicly my very deep respect and appreciation for his efforts. Mr. President, this public housing bill embodies an important bargain. We provide public housing authorities with increased flexibility to develop local situations to address housing needs in their communities but, in turn, they are required to use that flexibility to better serve their residents by creating healthier, more economically integrated communities. The PHAs will get more flexibility in how to use operating and capital funds. It encourages them to seek new sources of private capital to both build new housing and to repair existing units. It provides more flexibility in the calculation of public housing development costs and encourages the construction of higher quality housing. Finally, the law gives PHAs increased flexibility to admit higher income families while guaranteeing that the poor, including the working poor, continue to have access to 40 percent of the public housing units made available each year. This new increased flexibility is not an end in itself. The purpose is to provide higher quality housing in an overall improved living environment to the families who live in public housing. We want the Public Housing Program and the Rental Voucher Program, which the appropriators have generously supported in this legislation, to be stepping stones to better lives, to provide access to better schools and more economic opportunities. There is now a growing consensus that we need to have a mix of families with different levels of income in public housing. Such a policy will strengthen public housing projects and make them more livable communities. To ensure this outcome, the legislation requires the public housing authorities to demonstrate how they will attempt to create these more economically integrated communities. The Secretary is required to review these plans and to ensure that housing authorities pursue them. The bill also creates new rent rules that encourage existing tenants to go to work. There is a mandatory earned income disregard so that tenants who start working will reap the benefit of that effort at least for a year before additional payments are phased in. As a result of the special efforts of Senator Kerry, the bill deepens the targeting above the levels contained in both House and Senate bills for section 8 vouchers, requiring 75 percent of vouchers to go to lower-income families. The bill gives tenants an important role in working with housing authorities to determine housing policies. Residents will sit on boards, and the resident advisory boards I think will be very helpful.

Mr. SARBANES. I thank the Senator for the clarification and concur with the Senator's understanding of the intent of these provisions. section 226

Mr. SARBANES. I thank the chairman. Finally, the bill helps encourage home ownership in two ways. First, as a result of an amendment offered by Senator Dodd, our able colleague from Connecticut, public housing authorities will be able to devote part of their public housing capital funds to home ownership activities. In addition, section 8 assistance will be able to be used to support home ownership. Mr. President, I close again by thanking Senator Bond and Senator Mikulski for their very effective efforts. We are deeply appreciative of their cooperation. I again voice my respect for the tremendous leadership which Senator Mack provided in enabling us to achieve public housing reform which we have been striving to achieve for a number of years and to do it in a way that commands a consensus. The process we followed in working this out I really commend to all my colleagues. I think it is an example of how really to craft legislation and in the end achieve a very positive and constructive result. Finally, I want to recognize and thank the staff for their hard work and dedication. Jonathan Miller and Matt Josephs on the Democratic side, Chris Lord, Kari Davidson, Cheh Kim, David Hardiman, and Melody Fennel from the Majority side, worked extremely well together to help us bring this finished product to the floor today. In closing, Mr. President, I urge all my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I concur with my colleagues. Drug Elimination Grant funds have proven to be an extremely effective tool in fighting drugs and crime in public housing. This provision will enable housing authorities with significant needs to implement long- term strategies to continue this important fight. I appreciate the work of the Chairman on this important issue.

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. 2131, the Water Resources Development Act of 1998, and the Committee amendment, which provide for the development and improvement of our Nation's water resources infrastructure. This legislation authorizes water resource projects of vital importance to our nation's and our states' economy and maritime industry as well as our environment. I am particularly pleased that the measure includes a number of provisions for which I have fought to ensure the future health of the Port of Baltimore and of Maryland's environment. First the bill authorizes nearly $28 million for needed improvements to Baltimore Harbor Anchorages and Channels. Many of the existing anchorages and branch channels within Baltimore Harbor were built in the first half of this century and are no longer deep enough, wide enough or long enough to accommodate the vessels now calling on the Port of Baltimore. Many of the larger ships must now anchor some 25 miles south of Baltimore in naturally deep water, resulting in delays and increased costs to the shipping industry. Also, the narrow widths of some of the branch channels result in additional time for the pilots to maneuver safely to and from their docking berths. In June 1998 the Chief of Engineers approved a report which recommended a number of improvements including: 1) widening and deepening Federal anchorages 3 and 4; 2) widening and providing flared corners for state-owned East Dundalk, Seagirt, Connecting and West Dundalk branch Channels; 3) dredging a new branch channel at South Locust Point; and 4) dredging a turning basin at the head of the Fort McHenry Channel. The report identified the project as ``technically sound, economically justified and environmentally and socially acceptable.'' This project has been a top priority of mine, of the Maryland Port Administration and of the shipping community for many years and I am delighted that this legislation will enable us to move forward with this important project. Second, the legislation directs the Corps of Engineers to make critically needed safety improvements to the Tolchester Channel in the Chesapeake Bay. The Tolchester Channel is a vital link in the Baltimore Port system. It was authorized in the River and Harbor Act of 1958 and aligned to take advantage of the naturally deep water in the Chesapeake Bay, along Maryland's Eastern Shore. This alignment, which is shaped like an ``S,'' has posed a serious navigation problem and safety risks for vessels. Ships must change course five times within three miles, often beginning a new turn, sometimes in the opposite direction, before completing a first turn. With vessels nearly 1,000 feet in length, it is difficult to safely navigate the channel, particularly in poor weather conditions. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Maryland Pilots Association have expressed serious concerns over the safety of the area and have long recommended straightening of the channel due to the grounding and ``near misses'' which have occurred in the area. The cost for straightening the Tolchester ``S-turn'' is estimated at $12.6 million with $1.3 million coming from non-federal sources. This authorization enables the Corps to proceed expeditiously with these improvements and address the serious concerns of those who must navigate the treacherous channel. Mr. President, the Port of Baltimore is one of the great ports of the world and one of Maryland's most important economic assets. The Port generates $2 billion in annual economic activity, provides for an estimated 62,000 jobs, and over $500 million a year in State and local tax revenues and customs receipts. These two projects will help assure the continued vitality of the Port of Baltimore into the 21st Century. In addition to port development and improvement projects, the measure contains a provision which will help significantly to enhance Maryland's environment and quality of life and help achieve the goals and vision of the Potomac American Heritage River designation. It authorizes $15 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to modify the existing flood protection project at Cumberland, Maryland to restore features of the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal adversely affected by construction and operation of the project. Mr. President, the C&O Canal is widely regarded as the Nation's finest relic of America's canal building era. It was begun in 1828 as a transportation route between commercial centers in the East and frontier resources of the West. It reached Cumberland in 1850 and continued operating until 1924 when it succumbed to floods and financial failure. In the early 1950's, a section of the Canal and turning basin at its Cumberland terminus was filled in by the Corps of Engineers during construction of a local flood protection project. Portions of the Canal were proclaimed a national monument in 1961 and it was officially established as a national historical park in 1971. Justice Douglas described the park ``. . . not yet marred by the roar of wheels and the sound of horns . . . The stretch of 185 miles of country from Washington to Cumberland, Maryland, is one of the most fascinating and picturesque in the Nation.'' The National Park Service, as part of its General Management Plan for the Park, has long sought to rebuild and re-water the Canal at its Cumberland terminus. The NPS entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Corps to undertake a study of the feasibility of reconstructing the last 2200 feet of the canal to the terminus, through and adjacent to the Corps' flood protection project. The Corps completed this study in July 1995 and determined that ``it is feasible to re-water the canal successfully; the canal and flood protection levee can co-exist on the site without compromising the flood protection for the City of Cumberland; re-construction and partial operation of the locks is feasible; and, based on the as-built information available, underground utility impacts can be mitigated at reasonable cost to allow construction of the canal and turning basin in basically the same alignment and configuration as the original canal.'' A subsequent Rewatering Design Analysis estimated the total project cost at $15 million. This authorization will enable the Corps to proceed with restoring a 1.1 mile stretch of the C&O Canal and revitalize the area as a major hub for tourism and economic development. I want to compliment the distinguished Chairmen of the Committee and the Subcommittee, Senators Chafee and Warner, and the ranking member, Senator Baucus, for their leadership in crafting this legislation and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure. Savannah Harbor Deepening Project

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. I think there have been very reasonable efforts to reach an accommodation. They have not really gotten anywhere. If the Senator intends, in the name of accommodation, to make very substantial and substantive changes, then obviously a lot of people are going to have great difficulty with that. We have worked through this issue, and we reached an overwhelming consensus about it. And it seems to me that the effort now to sort of significantly rewrite these provisions is just not going to happen.

Mr. SARBANES. I simply want to say to my colleague that I listened carefully to the distinguished Senator from Texas and this offer to try to work this out. The fact of the matter is, that colleagues have been buzzing around the Senator from Texas all week, like bees around a honeypot, although I am not sure describing the Senator from Texas as a honeypot is necessarily a very accurate description.

Mr. SARBANES

Mr. SARBANES. I withdraw my objection.

Mr. SARBANES. That may be, but I don't think unless you are actually there to see it firsthand you can fully appreciate exactly what takes place.

Mr. SARBANES. We would welcome you. You would be a valuable addition to the committee, and you can see the inner dynamics of the committee that result in the kind of problem we are now facing on the floor of the Senate. It would be welcomed for you to be in that cockpit seeing what takes place.

Mr. SARBANES. A lot of good work.

Mr. SARBANES. We did the housing bill.

Mr. SARBANES. I know, but a lot of us have given at the committee over and over again to get the bill where it is.

Mr. SARBANES. People are going to be highly resistant, I might say to the majority leader.

Mr. SARBANES. When we come in with 88 people on one side of the equation, if the 11 are going to hold us hostage or some of the 11 hostage--actually the word ``extortion'' was used in another context in the debate on the floor of the Senate.

Mr. SARBANES. Let me also point out to the majority leader that the effort to try to develop accommodations has to be a broad-based effort.

Mr. SARBANES. I simply point out to the majority leader that the bill came out of the committee 16 to 2; that the relevant cloture vote we had where people differed was 88 to 11. There is extremely strong support for this legislation. It is obviously being frustrated and thwarted by a handful of people. It was my concern that the opportunity to file this cloture motion not pass. In view of the statement of the majority leader that he has no intention to do that, to file the cloture motion, I am not going to object to the consent request, and then we move over until tomorrow. I wanted to keep this window of opportunity available, and now that I know that the majority leader has no intention of availing himself of it, I am prepared to agree to this consent request.

Mr. SARBANES. It is, therefore, the intention of the majority leader to let this day pass and go over into another day; in other words, we lose a day on a cloture motion if one were to be filed.

Mr. SARBANES. I would like to inquire of the majority leader, I take it, then, that it is not the intention of the majority leader to file a cloture motion on H.R. 10 this evening.

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.