Paul Simon

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I yield myself 2\1/2\ minutes. We are talking about the minimum wage. We are talking about 12 million Americans who can benefit, and what that means to 12 million Americans, people who are struggling, I do not think I need to spell out for most people. But unfortunately, in the U.S. Senate, we have to spell it out. We ought to spell it out, among other things, in terms of welfare. I have heard the phrase ``welfare reform'' on the floor of the Senate over and over again this year and last year. Let me tell you, this minimum wage bill will do more to help people on welfare and for welfare reform than any welfare reform bill that has been before us. And it will save money for the Federal Government. Once in a while, we can do the humanitarian thing and save money. We will save welfare money. We will save money on the earned income tax credit if this is adopted. So for people who are interested in saving money, moving toward a balanced budget, here is one practical way of doing it. But let me mention one other observation that I think is important, and that is the way we finance campaigns and distort what is taking place. Probably before this session of Congress is over, we are going to reduce the capital gains tax. Primarily 10,000 people will benefit from that. People are going to come out with the numbers, but 60 percent of the benefits go to 10,000 people. But those 10,000 people are contributors on both sides of the aisle, and we listen to them. How many of the 12 million people earning the minimum wage are big campaign contributors? Virtually none. So their voice is muted in this process. We ought to today speak up for 12 million people who are not big campaign contributors but need our help. Mr. President, I see you are about to gavel me down, so I yield the floor.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. I yield the floor.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. On March 12 the Senate voted to restore $2.6 billion in Federal funding for education. While this would still leave Federal support for education below 1995 levels, I was pleased to see the Senate take bipartisan action to at least partially reverse what was clearly an unwise decision. Senator Harkin, Senator Specter, and the other Senators who have shown strong leadership on this issue deserve a great deal of credit for their efforts. Recently, the Chicago Tribune published an article on the effect that Federal education cuts would have for the State of Illinois and the city of Chicago. The article gave a compelling account of what such cuts would mean for the millions of students. I strongly urge the Senate to maintain its position in conference to prevent the harmful impact that the House-proposed cuts would have on Illinois and on the Nation. I ask that the Chicago Tribune article be printed in the Record. The article follows: [From the Chicago Tribune, Feb. 13, 1996] U.S. Budget Cuts Impact Chicago Schools (By Nathaniel Sheppard, Jr.) Three years ago, at least two fights a day broke out at Ravenswood Elementary School in Chicago's rough and tumble Uptown community. That number is down to about two per month, according to school officials, largely due to a Peer Leadership project that is part of a nationwide program known as Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities. Despite the program's success at Ravenswood and other city schools, it is at risk of becoming a casualty in the battle between Congress and President Clinton over the Federal budget. It is one of several programs that could be crippled by cuts of $54 million in Illinois' share of Federal funds under the Title I program for the Nation's neediest children. The cuts are incorporated in a temporary spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, that is keeping the government functioning during the budget crisis. Under the stopgap measure, Federal funding for Title I programs in the State is cut from its $317.2 million level in the 1995 fiscal year to $263 million in fiscal 1996. The cuts could lead to substantial layoffs of teachers--as many as 600 in Chicago alone, according to Department of Education estimates--and could hobble programs that have become the centerpiece of national and State efforts to make schools safe, drug-free and internationally competitive by the year 2000. The 30-year-old Title I program is the largest run by the Department of Education. It provides remedial aid to more than 50,000 under- performing students in public and private schools, including two-thirds of all elementary schools. The program also funds salaries for thousands of teachers and aides. Congress passed the temporary spending bill in December to keep agencies running after parts of the government were shut down twice last year in the budget dispute. Clinton has agreed to Republican demands to balance the budget in 7 years using economic assumptions of the Congressional Budget Office. But Democrats and Republicans still disagree over how deep some budget cuts should be. Republicans argue that Democrats exaggerate the harm the cuts will cause and say that in several areas, their reforms will lead to increased funding for education programs. Nationwide, cuts in the Title I program total $1.1 billion or 17 percent over last year, under the current continuing resolution. That reduces spending to $7 billion for individualized instruction, smaller classes, after-school study programs, computers, projects to encourage parental involvement in schools and other strategies some educators say are critical to meeting the federally mandated year 2000 goal. ``The cuts are a serious problem that threatens the safety and well-being of 40 million children and nearly every public school teacher, principal, and support staff member in America,'' said Secretary of Education Richard Riley. Nationwide, safe and drug-free school and community programs would be slashed $107.8 million, Education Department officials say. That, they add, is enough to pay for 400,000 hand-held metal detectors, hire 3,300 security officers, keep 3,600 schools open for 3 hours of extra- curricular programs, hire 2,000 teachers for conflict- resolution courses and train 50,000 teachers and administrators in drug and violence prevention and education. ``For us, the impact will be devastating,'' said Patricia McPhearson, manager of the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program in Chicago. Its budget is cut 25 percent to $4.3 million in Chicago under the stopgap funding. Statewide, cuts in the program total $4.7 million. Under even larger cuts proposed by House Republicans, the State would lose $10 million from the program. Popular projects such as those at Sauganash and Ravenswood schools, and Amundsen High School could become skeletal programs, McPhearson said. The program at Amundsen seeks to change the climate of community violence.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans Men's Basketball Team recently placed third in the Nation among NCAA Division III schools. The Titans head coach, Denny Bridges, has been with the team for 31 years. He is one of the winningest coaches in Division III basketball. The university ought to be proud of its coach and players. We should also recognize the quality education that the school offers. Illinois Wesleyan was recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report in the top 5 among Liberal Arts universities in the United States. I commend the university and its basketball team. They deserve our accolades.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I applaud the Anti-Defamation League [ADL] for its continuing work to expose and combat hate crimes, and to bring your attention to its most recent ``Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents.'' For the past 17 years, the ADL has compiled data about anti-Jewish attacks. Their efforts in the collection of data and the development of programs regarding anti-Semitic acts increase public awareness of this problem, and help generate constructive solutions. I commend ADL for continuing this important endeavor and would like to share with you some of their recent findings. In 1995, the total number of anti-Semitic incidents reported to the Anti-Defamation League--including acts against property and persons-- was 1,843. I am pleased to report that this total represents a decrease of 223 incidents, or 11 percent, from the 1994 total of 2,066. This is the largest decline in 10 years. Unfortunately, the decline is contrasted with the seriousness of many of the incidents reported. For the fifth straight year in a row, acts of anti-Semitic harassment against individuals outnumber incidents of vandalism against institutions and other property. In 1995, the 1,116 incidents of harassment account for 61 percent of all incidents, compared to 727 accounts of vandalism. Fortunately, the 1,116 incidents of harassment, threats, and assaults represents a decrease of 81, or 7 percent from the 1994 total of 1,197, which was the highest on record. Although it is encouraging to see the number of harassments down from previous years, I am troubled that incidents of harassment remain one of the dominant forms of anti-Semitic activity. Although the ADL audit provides useful statistics about anti-Semitism generally, it is particularly revealing to consider specific incidents. One particularly violent incident occurred in Cincinnati, OH, when a group of four youths assaulted the son of a community rabbi, chasing him for about a block before they caught him outside of the synagogue and beat him until he collapsed on the street. The ADL also reported an incident of arson in New York City, at Freddy's Fashion Mart, where eight people, including the arsonist himself, died. At Fresno State College, following the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the student-run newspaper printed an article calling Rabin, ``The most despicable mass murderer the 20th century has seen, making Hitler look like Big Bird.'' Sadly, 1995 saw a large number of anti-Semitic incidences on college campuses. One disturbing incident occurred at the University of Pennsylvania. On March 24, two students were walking in an area immediately off campus. Derogatory epithets were shouted at them by two students sitting on the porch of a private home. When the Jewish students confronted them, one of the two went into the house and returned brandishing a shotgun which he used to threaten the Jewish students, who quickly fled the scene. On another somber note, the number of arrests made in conjunction with anti-Semitic hate crimes was 108, a significant decrease of 33 from last year's arrest total of 141. This may be attributed to either fewer crimes or underreporting of crime instances. However, the number of arrests is still relatively high, which is encouraging. Law enforcement agencies have been making intensive efforts to refine procedures for investigation of hate crimes, with the assistance of the ADL and other human relations organizations. In closing, I again want to commend the ADL for its outstanding and important work and ask that portions of the ADL report be printed in the Record. The material follows: Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents--1995 the findings In 1995, the total number of anti-Semitic incidents reported to the Anti-Defamation League--including acts against both property and persons--was 1,843. This total, comprising reports from 42 states and the District of Columbia, represents a decrease of 223 incidents, or 11 percent, from the 1994 total of 2,066. The four states reporting the highest totals of anti- Semitic incidents of all kinds in 1995 were: New York (370), California (264), New Jersey (228), and Florida (152). These four states account for 1,014 of the 1,843 incidents reported (55 percent). The 1995 audit reveals the following new developments: (1) The decline in violent crime in the U.S. that has been reported by Federal and municipal law enforcement in 1995 carries over into anti-Semitic bias incidents as well. The overall 11 percent decline reflected in this year's Audit is the first since 1992, and the largest decline in 10 years. Thus, the Audit statistics mirror the state of crime in American society. Enhanced security awareness by Jewish institutions, steadily improving law enforcement action, and passage of hate crimes legislation have likely contributed to this decline. (2) The decline is contrasted with the seriousness of many of the incidents reported. An extremely violent arson incident in New York City led to several deaths. In addition, the number of cemetery desecrations (one of the most serious and hurtful forms of vandalism, which affects an entire community) actually increased over 1994. (3) The number of incidents occurring on the college campus shows the first decline since 1987, and only the second since the Audit began separately counting such incidents in 1984. In 1995, 118 campus incidents occurred, a decrease of 25 (17 percent) from the 1994 total of 143. In addition to the aforementioned findings, the 1995 figures maintain two important trends noted in the 1994 ADL study: (1) For the fifth straight year, acts of anti-Semitic harassment outnumber incidents of vandalism. In 1995, the 1,116 incidents of harassment account for 61 percent of all incidents, vs. 727 incidents of vandalism. The number of harassments and assaults in 1995 dropped by 81, or 7 percent, from 1994. (2) As in previous years, of the total of 727 incidents of vandalism, the number of vandalism incidents committed against public properly locations (362)--i.e., public school buildings, bridges, and sign posts--in 1995 was more than twice that committed against synagogues and other Jewish institutional targets (145). (The remaining 220 vandalism incidents were perpetrated against privately owned property.) This pattern continues a trend seen over the previous five years. Vandals, it seems, are still opting for the more numerous and harder-to-protect public locations rather than the generally better secured and increasingly more aware Jewish institutions. In recent years, such institutions have also become better protected by more intensive law enforcement action. fewer incidents--but many still very serious In contrast to the overall decline in incidents reported in 1995, there were several particularly troubling incidents which took place over the last year. On November 11, 1995, the FBI arrested four suspects in a foiled attempt to bomb several offices of civil rights organizations around the country, including ADL Regional Offices. Willie Ray Lampley, Cecilia Lampley, Larry Wayne Crow, and John Dare Baird had been allegedly conspiring since August 1995 to build homemade bombs out of ammonium nitrate, fuel oil, and other ingredients to destroy the ADL Houston office, a second unnamed ADL office, the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, and two other targets to be decided by the ``Tri-State Militia.'' The FBI became aware of the plans on a tip from local law enforcement sources in South Dakota, and closely monitored the development plot through the use of undercover informants and surveillance. All of the suspects were arrested without incident, and indicted on Federal charges. On December 8th, Roland Smith entered Freddy's Fashion Mart on Harlem's historic 125th Street in New York City. According to the New York Times (Dec. 9, 10), he then produced a revolver and yelled ``It's on now!'' and ordered all blacks to leave the store. After this he began to fire the gun, and to spread a flammable liquid over the racks of clothing in the store, before igniting them. When the fire department had finally extinguished the flames, 8 people were dead, including Smith. An additional 4 people were wounded. Fred Harari, the Jewish owner of Freddy's, was involved in a landlord-tenant dispute with Sikhulu Shange, the black owner of the Record Shack, a store subletting an adjacent property. (The entire property was actually owned by the United House of Prayer for All People, a Black church). Mr. Shange enlisted the support of the 125th Street Vendors Association, which organized demonstrations outside of Freddy's. Though it started as a simple economic dispute, the demonstrators quickly began to characterize it in terms of a white Jewish-owned business trying to force a black business off 125th Street. In late November, Mr. Harari complained that the demonstrations, which was supported by community newspapers and radio stations, were taking an anti-Semitic tone, and were laced with increasingly violent racist rhetoric. On Saturday, February 18, members of the Ohev Shalom Synagogue in York, PA, arrived for services to find a severed pig's head mounted on the front door. The community quickly rallied behind the efforts of law enforcement officials to apprehend the perpetrator, and support the synagogue. At a vote on a motion to condemn the incident, town supervisor Lori Mitrick states that the Jewish community should know ``this is not just an embarrassment to them, it is an embarrassment to all decent human beings.'' Determined police work led to the eventual arrest and conviction of 22-year-old Mason E. Aldrich for institutional vandalism, desecration of venerated objects, and criminal conspiracy. He was sentenced to 23 months in jail and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service, including 15 hours of cultural awareness programming with ADL. In interviews leading up to his October 16 Million Man March, the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan sought to justify his referring to Jews and others as ``blood suckers.'' On Reuters Television, Farrakhan explained, ``Many of the Jews who owned the homes, the apartments in the black community, we considered them bloodsuckers because they took from our community but didn't offer anything back to our community.'' Minister Farrakhan was interviewed by many national news programs in the weeks leading up to the march, interspersing many of his remarks with thinly veiled conspiracy theory anti-Semitism. In addition to the above incidents, other troubling acts included the beating of a rabbi's son in Cincinnati, OH, and the intimidation of the cast of a play about the Holocaust in Honolulu, HI. At the University of Pennsylvania, two Jewish students were threatened by other students brandishing a shotgun, after being taunted with anti-Semitic epithets. In California, a home-made fire-bomb was thrown at a synagogue. The bomb did not detonate, and the synagogue was spared. (Please see Examples of Harassment, Threats and Assaults, p. 4; Campus Incidents, p. 9; and A Look at Some Noteworthy Incidents, p. 13, for more information.) Harassment, threats, and assaults In 1995, the number of incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, threats, and assaults directed at Jewish individuals and institutions totaled 1,116. This total represents a decrease of 81, or 7 percent from the 1994 total of 1,197, which was the highest on record. This category of incidents covers a large variety of intimidating and hostile acts, including: slanderous anti- Semitic and neo-Nazi hate literature mailed or disseminated in public places; slurs directed against Jewish individuals walking to synagogue services or campus gatherings; speeches given on campus containing anti-Semitic language; Holocaust- denial advertisements in campus newspapers; a threatening phone call to a synagogue or Jewish school; as well as direct physical violence against Jewish persons as a result of their identity. Although many incidents of harassment are not crimes, they continue to constitute overt and painful expressions of anti-Semitic hatred. While it is encouraging that the number of harassments is down from previous years, a troubling trend has been maintained in the 1995 totals. As in past years, incidents of harassment are significantly more common than incidents of vandalism. While any expression of anti-Semitic behavior is troubling, the high number of these more personalized attacks is a cause for particular concern. examples of harassment, threat, and assault incidents The following is a representative sampling of 1995 incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, threats, and assaults in the 20 states reporting the highest totals of such acts. 1. New York (200 incidents) March--Upon leaving a dance club late at night, a group of men was approached by several people who asked if they were Jewish. When they responded that they were, one of them was beaten with a ``Club'' anti- car-theft device. (New York City) 2. California (175) August--A car with four young men in it drove past a group of campers and staff at a JCC camp and shouted profanities and anti-Semitic epithets. (San Diego) 3. Florida (102) October--Police officers and social workers received messages on their beepers leading them to call the Children of the Reich hate line, with a message threatening Jews and African-Americans. 4. New Jersey (97) January/February--Community leaders were threatened with bodily harm if they supported an application to erect a new synagogue building. (Closter) 5. Connecticut (51) February--An anti-Semitic, Holocaust- denying letter was sent to a Jewish newspaper. (Hartford) 6. Ohio (50) November--Soon after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a spectator at a Cleveland Browns football game held a sign saying, ``They killed the wrong Jew,'' a reference to Art Modell, the owner of the team who decided to move it to Baltimore. (Cleveland) 7. Massachusetts (47) June--A 74-year-old Russian immigrant was assaulted by his neighbor, who yelled, ``F__ __ __ing Jew--go back to Russia.'' (Brighton) 8. Maryland (44) May--A Holocaust information center received numerous anti-Semitic phone calls after its phone number was posted on the Internet. (Baltimore) 9. Illinois (40) August--A man was walking on a downtown street wearing a sandwich board sign which read, ``HIROSHIMA + NAGASAKI Were (and are) JEWISH ATROCITIES.'' (Chicago) 10. Pennsylvania (36) April--A synagogue nursery school received a letter which stated, ``Fuel oil fertilizer. Jews go boom.'' (Western Pennsylvania) 11. Missouri (31) March--The Aryan Revolutionary Army passed out flyers stating that the ``only good Jew is a dead Jew.'' (St. Louis) 12. Georgia (27) April--A high school history teacher asserted in class that the Jews control the media and film industry. (Atlanta) 13. District of Columbia (21)--A U.S. Congressman received anti-Semitic hate mail including, ``How is it that a Jew backs a Nazi?'' and ``You Jews cause trouble all around the world and then try to hide behind your religion,'' and imagery such as swastikas and other offensive drawings. 14. Minnesota (20) February--The National Socialist American Workers Freedom Movement, a neo-Nazi group, distributed flyers questioning the Holocaust and filled with virulently anti-Semitic statements. (Minneapolis) 15. Texas (20) February--A 15-year-old Jewish student was assaulted by a gang of 15 skinheads. He escaped without serious injury. (Alamo Heights) 16. Colorado (16) October--A threatening message was left on the voice mail of the ADL Regional Office, stating, ``Hello, is this the rabbi? F__ __ __ you. Six million more, hey six zillion more!'' (Denver) 17. Wisconsin (16) April--A letter addressed to the Executive Director of the Jewish Council said ``Death to all jews [sic]. Six million more!!! May you be next!!!'' (Milwaukee) 18. Washington (13) April--A package of dog feces was left on the front porch of a Jewish family, with the message, ``Happy Passover from Congregation Beth Shalom.'' 19. North Carolina (11) January--Skinhead hate literature was distributed at a flea market by Gary Lauck's National Socialist German Workers Party. (Fayetteville) 20. Virginia (11) January--Anti-Semitic hate literature from the National Alliance was left in people's driveways. (Henrico County)

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, a former valued staff member of mine who is now working with the National Institute for Literacy, Alice Johnson, sent me an article that appeared in the magazine, Adult Learning. It is titled, Adult Education for Family Literacy by Thomas G. Sticht, President of the Applied Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Company in El Cajon, CA. In the midst of budget cutting I hope we will not be short-sighted on this matter of literacy. There has been a great deal of talk about the growing disparity between the top one-fifth of our population and the lower one-fifth of our population in terms of income. One of the most effective ways of lifting the lot of the bottom one fifth is to make sure that they have the basic skills that are needed in our society, and that certainly includes reading. There is no single magic bullet for solving this problem. It is a mosaic with many pieces. But literacy is one of the pieces. The article points out that when we educate adults better, they then feel comfortable in schools and demand and get better education for their children. Two years ago, I visited 18 schools in the impoverished areas of Chicago and one of the things I heard from teachers over and over was that they wished they had more parental involvement, but frequently the parents do not feel comfortable coming into a school situation because they cannot read and write. If we diminish our future by cutting back on literacy funding everyone loses. I urge my colleagues to read the article by Thomas Sticht which I ask to be printed in the Record. The article follows: [From Adult Learning, November/December 1995] Adult Education for Family Literacy (By Thomas G. Sticht) For nearly a half century, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has led a worldwide movement to promote the development of literacy programs for adults and primary education for children. Many successes have been documented in both of these programs. Over the last quarter century, the rate of literacy among the earth's adults has declined, but because of population growth, the absolute numbers of illiterate adults continued to grow. However, at the outset of International Literacy Year in 1990, both the rate and the absolute numbers of adult illiterates had declined. Still, there were an estimated 921 million adult illiterates in the underdeveloped nations of the world, and some 42 million low literates in developed nations. Paralleling the growth of adult literacy education in the world, there has been an increase in the numbers of children enrolled in primary education. Over the last four decades enrollments in underdeveloped nations' primary schools rose from about one-third to over seventy percent of primary aged children. Yet, at the beginning of International Literacy Year in 1990, UNESCO estimated that in developing countries as a whole, some 386 million children and young adults aged from six to seventeen years would not be attending school. They are in a trajectory toward beginning the next generation of illiterate adults. Family Literacy In 1994, the International Year of the Family signaled a new direction for adult and childhood literacy programs worldwide, one that unites adults' literacy and children's primary education. Taking stock of research and experience over the last half century, the United Nations noted that: The family constitutes a context of informal education, a base from which members seek formal education, and should provide a supportive environment for learning. Literacy has a dramatic effect on the dissemination of ideas and the ability of families to adopt new approaches, technologies and forms of organization conducive to positive social change. Often affected by early school leaving or dropping out, literacy is a prime conditioner of the ability of families to adapt, survive and even thrive in rapidly changing circumstances. Attention should also be given to promoting equal opportunities for girls and young women. Whereas in the past, there has been tacit recognition of the importance of the literacy education of adults as a key factor in promoting the attendance of children in primary education, the United Nations' statement makes clear that, rather than being regarded as a secondary institution to the schools as educational agents, the family is each society's first and most basic educational institution. There is evidence to suggest that as developing nations move toward the educational and economic status of industrialized nations, the family will play a greater role in the educational achievement of children. Studies of twenty-nine developing and industrialized nations examined the relative contributions of school quality (e.g., number and quality of textbooks, teacher's educational preparation) versus family background factors (e.g., parents' education levels) on children's achievement in science education. The research revealed that, as nations moved from being less to more developed, the quality of schools diminished as the primary determinant of science achievement, and the influence of family background factors increased. For instance, in India, school quality accounted for ninety percent and home factors only ten percent of the children's variation in science achievement. In Australia, on the other hand, school quality accounted for only twenty percent and home factors eighty percent of the variation in science achievement. family literacy programs The family literacy concept makes explicit what has generally been implicitly understood, and recognizes the family as an institution for education and learning, and the role of parents as their children's first teachers. The starting point for the development of human resources within a culture is the family. Families provide an intergenerational transfer of language, thought, and values to the minds of their newborn infants and throughout the formative years of their children's lives. Families provide initial guidance in learning to use the cultural tools that will be valued and rewarded within the culture. Families interpret the culture for their children and they mediate the understanding, use, and value placed on the cultural tools for learning and education, of which the capstone tools are language and literacy. This recognition of the intergenerational role that parents play as family educators places a much higher premium on the importance of adult education than has traditionally been accorded. Up to now adult literacy education programs have generally aimed at making adults literate while the business of making the adults' children literate has been left to the formal school system. Under the family literacy concept, however, it is now recognized that, due to the intergenerational transfer of cognitive skills, including language and literacy, an investment in the literacy education of adults provides ``double duty dollars.'' It improves the educational level of adults and simultaneously improves the educability and school success of the adults' children. Family literacy programs differ from traditional adult literacy programs in that they are designed to maximize the probability that adults who receive literacy education will actually succeed in transferring aspects of their new beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and skills intergenerationally to their children. the centrality of adult education to national development goals In most nations, adult education occupies a tertiary position to the formal schooling of children. However, as noted above, evidence now exists to suggest that adult education, and particularly literacy education for present and potential parents, should occupy a central position in all governments' educational planning. Four interrelated reasons for nations to support greater investments in adult education are summarized below. 1. Better Educated Adults Are More Productive for Society. Supervisors in six manufacturing companies near Chicago reported that adult literacy programs made improvements in job training, job performance, promotability of participants, and productivity, such as scrap reduction, reduced paperwork, and less wastage. Other research found that more literate workers who actually use their literacy skills at work may increase their productivity as much as ten to fifteen percent. Adult literacy education improves work today, reforming schools for children takes decades. 2. Better Educated Adults Provide Better Communities for Learning. At AC Rochester, a supplier of components for General Motors automobile manufacturing in New York State, management, labor union members, and educators got together, and provided adult literacy programs for employees. This helped increase the local tax base for community services by bringing in several new contracts, including a billion dollar contract with Russia. 3. Better Educated Adults Demand and Get Better Schooling for Children. Wider Opportunities for Women in Washington, DC, found that mothers in women's literacy programs spent more time with their children talking about school, helping them with their homework, taking them to the library, and reading to them. They also said they spent more time going to and helping with school activities, they talked more with teachers about their children's education, their children attended school more, showed improvements in their school grades, test scores, and reading. 4. Better Educated Adults Produce Better Educated Children. Better educated parents send children to school better prepared to learn, with higher levels of language skills, and knowledge about books, pencils, and other literacy tools needed for school and life. Better educated mothers have healthier babies, smaller families, children better prepared to start school, and children who stay in school and learn more. Make Every Adult Basic Education Class a Family Literacy Class The San Diego Consortium for Workforce Education and Lifelong Learning (CWELL) operates an Action Research Center (ARC) in the San Diego Community College District, Continuing Education Division. In 1994, the ARC initiated research orchestrated around the theme, ``make every adult basic education class a family literacy class.'' The research included the publication of a simple rating scale in one issue of the Community Exchange, the newspaper that the ARC publishes to disseminate R&D information into the ARC community. The rating scale asks adults to rate how frequently they perform various parenting activities such as reading to their children, taking them to the library, helping with homework and so forth. A tabulation of responses from 131 adults in five different adult basic education and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs indicated that adults vary greatly in how often they engage in these kinds of activities that can help transfer literacy to their children. These data provide a baseline for comparing parenting activities before the ARC introduces activities to ``make every adult education class a family literacy class.'' With sound evaluation of these programs, it should be possible to demonstrate that ``double duty dollars'' can be obtained through the intergenerational transfer of literacy that takes place in adult basic skills education programs. Governments and other sponsors of education programs should know that they can obtain multiplier effects for their investments in adult basic education. They should know that by investing in the education of adults, they can improve the education of children.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. I thank my colleague. Though I obviously would feel more comfortable if funds were appropriated specifically for this purpose, I appreciate my colleague's efforts to accommodate my concerns regarding this important program. medicare-medicaid databank

Mr. SIMON. I am concerned that funds for library literacy have been eliminated in the committee report. This is a particularly important program that supports literacy projects in over 250 libraries across the country. I did note and do appreciate, however, that the committee increased funding for library services.

Mr. SIMON. Thank you for your interest in this important project. flint creek

Mr. SIMON. Mr. Chairman, I want to bring to the attention of the Senate and the committee language included in the Senate Appropriations Committee Report accompanying H.R. 2127, the 1996 Labor, Health and Human Service, Education Appropriations bill. It is my understanding that unless specifically contradicted, all items in that committee report are incorporated, by reference, in the committee report accompanying the continuing resolution now being considered by the Senate.

Mr. SIMON. Accordingly, language included in the Senate committee report under the Health Care Financing Administration Research, Demonstrations, and Evaluations account that encourages HCFA to give ``full and fair consideration'' to a proposal from Northwestern Memorial for a ``3-year project to develop a comprehensive health care information management system'' is incorporated by reference in the report accompanying the continuing resolution now under consideration.

Mr. SIMON. At a time when the Congress is proposing--and HCFA will be responsible for administering--significant reductions in Medicare and Medicaid costs, this proposal is particularly timely. Specifically, with the advent of managed care, and the resulting shift of patient care from inpatient acute care to ambulatory and other primary care settings, an integrated health care delivery system is essential. At present, information management systems to measure cost outcomes--and achieve cost savings--beyond the acute care setting are not commercially available. The information management system recommended in this report language would serve as a prototype for other health care delivery systems, and offers the promise of cutting health care costs while maintaining quality health care.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, Congressman Frank Wolf is a Republican and I am a Democrat, but we have joined with Senator Lugar and others in proposing a commission to look at where this Nation is going and the question of legalized gambling. The most casual observer must recognize that we are headed for some problems. I was pleased to see the editorial in the Washington Post, ``The Gambling Lobby v. Frank Wolf,'' which I ask to be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks. The reality is that one of the reasons the gambling lobby is so effective is the huge amounts of campaign contributions that are provided. And, as we know from indictments and convictions across the land, the gambling gentry do not hesitate, from time to time, to get into illegal activity to promote their enterprises. I am proud of my colleague, Frank Wolf, for what he is doing, as I am proud of Senator Richard Lugar and the other cosponsors in the Senate. The Post editorial follows: The Gambling Lobby v. Frank Wolf A funny thing is happening with the gambling issue in the House. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has been pressing for a useful bill to create a national commission to study the economic and social impact of the spread of gambling, and the bill was making good progress. Mr. Wolf's bill has already cleared the Judiciary Committee and is supposed to go to the floor of the House in early March. But in the interim, the bill has gone to the House Resources Committee, which claims jurisdiction because the measure affects gambling on Indian reservations. House Resources now plans another set of hearings on the bill, and Mr. Wolf is understandably worried that the hearings might be used to further delay consideration. Given the wide support the bill has--it's hard to argue against a national study of gambling's spread or to pretend there are no national implications to this trend--the danger is that the bill will be killed not directly but by endless delay and amendment. The American Gaming Association (the gambling industry likes the 17th century drawing room sound of ``gaming'') insists that it is not opposed to a national study of gambling. But it sees the Wolf bill, as written, as just the first step in an effort by Congress to impose some federal rules on an industry that has so far been largely regulated by the states. It also complains that the commission as set up in the Wolf bill now has no representation from state officials (governors or legislators), even though one of the main purposes of the committee is to provide more objective information to local officials than they usually get from the gambling industry. These objections strike us mostly as clever ways for the industry to gum up the progress of useful legislation. In particular, it would be foolish to limit the commission's mandate. With the spread of gambling--especially to Indian reservations, whose casinos have ways around state regulation--there may well be a case for some national rules. If any event, it's certainly an issue the commission should debate. The gambling industry has a great deal of money, has been making large campaign contributions and recently hired some of Washington's most influential lobbyists. We have no doubt that the industry can bring a lot of pressure against Mr. Wolf's bill and construct some ingenious stratagems to weaken it. The issue is whether the House leadership will play along, mouthing kind words about Mr. Wolf's efforts while trying to undermine them. The leaders should not play that game. They should keep the promise and let an undiluted version of the Wolf bill go to the floor on schedule.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I received a note in the mail from Marion Plancon of Staten Island, NY, and she enclosed an op-ed piece written by our colleague, Senator William Cohen, for the Los Angeles Times. Somehow I missed seeing the original publication of it. But I have found through the years on the Senate floor and with my service with him in the House, that our colleague, Bill Cohen usually makes sense. And his call for greater civility, less hostility, more reason, and less shouting is a call that should be heeded in this body, and also by the American public. I wish that the extremes of partisanship and hostility were only in the House and Senate or only between the administration and Congress. Unfortunately, we do reflect the American public sometimes more than we should. We should be a reconciling force, and I fear that we are not. I ask that the William Cohen op-ed piece be printed in the Record. The column follows: [From the Los Angeles Times] Why I Am Leaving (By William S. Cohen) Last week, I announced that I would not seek reelection to the Senate for a fourth term. I have been moved by the reaction of my constituents and colleagues. Many expressed sadness over my decision, and nearly all were perplexed. Why are so many leaving the Senate? How can the center hold? Won't the system fall apart? It is not a case, to continue with Yeats's words, ``that the best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.'' Such a poetic construct presumes too much and maligns the character and capabilities of those who have most recently arrived in Congress and those who have chosen to remain. Those of us leaving the Senate do so for unique and deeply personal reasons. I suspect, however, that we share a common level of frustration over the absence of political accord and the increase in personal hostilities that now permeate our system and our society. Increasingly, public officials face: Too little time to reason and reflect; the hair-trigger presumption of guilt pulled at the slightest whisper of impropriety; the schizophrenia of a public that wants less government spending, more government services and lower taxes, and the unyielding demands of proliferating single-issue constituencies. Too many hours are devoted to endless motion without movement, interminable debate without decision and rhetorical finger-pointing without practical problem-solving. Our republic, we know, was designed to be slow-moving and deliberative. Our Founding Fathers were convinced that power had to be entrusted to someone, but that no one could be entirely trusted with power. They devised a brilliant system of checks and balances to prevent the tyranny of the many by the few. They constructed a perfect triangle of allocated and checked power, Euclidean in symmetry and balance. There could be no rash action, no rush to judgment, no legislative mob rule, no unrestrained chief executive. The difficulty with this diffusion of power in today's cyberspace age is that everyone is in check, but no one is in charge. But more than the constitutional separation of powers is leading to the unprecedented stalemate that exists today. There has been a breakdown in civil debate and discourse. Enmity at times has become so intense that members of Congress have resorted to shoving matches outside the legislative chambers. The Russian Duma, it seems, is slouching its way toward the Potomac as debate gives way to diatribe. We are witnessing a gravitational pull away from center- based politics to the extremes on both the right and left. Those who seek compromise and consensus are depicted with scorn as a ``mushy middle'' that is weak and unprincipled. By contrast, those who plant their feet in the concrete of ideological absolutism are heralded as heroic defenders of truth, justice and the American way. The departure of centrists from party ranks may be cheered by ideologues in the short term. But unless the American people are willing to embrace one party dominance and governance for extended periods (or turn to the British parliamentary model, which I don't recommend), then elements within the liberal and conservative factions will necessarily move back to the center, toward compromise and, yes, consensus. The American people are experiencing a great deal of anger and anxiety at this time. The stern virtues of self- discipline and fiscal prudence have given way to the soft vices of mindless consumption and selfish gratification. We are now paying for the wages of our sins, and ironically, our citizens are angry with political leaders who have indulged their appetites, purchased their votes and passed the bills to the next generation. The road to fiscal solvency and sanity will not be easy, and it surely will not be paved with the bloated promises of blandishments of political extremists. I have devoted nearly a quarter of a century to public service and a search for common ground in a society that is growing in complexity and diversity. Although I have decided to enter the private world to pursue new challenges and opportunities, I remain convinced that the American political system will pass through this transitional phase in our history and return to the center, the place where most people live and a democracy functions best.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I suppose there is no columnist whose writings I read, and with whom I agree more consistently, than Carl Rowan. And his recent column about the mail voting experiment in Oregon is no exception. Every move forward to enlarging the voter franchise has been resisted. That includes giving voting rights to African-Americans, native Americans and to American women. And the secret ballot which we prize so much today was not part of our early history. We have gradually made improvements, despite the objections of many people who were wedded to the status-quo. I do not suggest that on the basis of the Oregon experiment, we should nationally move to mail voting yet, but I would like to see several States try it, because my instinct is that it is likely to be an improvement over the present system. I ask that the Carl Rowan column be printed in the Record. The column follows: A Knock at Mail Ballots Is a Knock at Democracy (By Carl Rowan) The political mentalities of the 1770s and 1950s are bursting out all over now that Oregon has had a successful mail ballot to fill the seat of disgraced Sen. Bob Packwood. I hear cries that the mail ballot cheapened the election, robbing the vote of the sacred majesty that the framers of our government intended. I hear complaints that the mail ballot permitted uneducated people ``who don't even know the names of their congressmen'' to vote. We're told that it allowed all people to vote without expending the small amount of energy and sacrifice of going to a neighborhood polling place, undermining the notion that ``the vote is a precious thing.'' This is swallowed by some as the sentimentality of patriotism, but it is, in fact, undemocratic gibberish that ought not override the fact that the Oregon election lifted the percentage of voters to about 65 percent of those eligible, a figure that made democratic participation almost as high as in European countries. It saved Oregon about $1 million. And it produced results that any Republican could applaud. So we are to deplore this election as a violation of what ``the framers'' intended? I remember that the framers counted black citizens as three-fifths of a vote. And women as zero percent of a vote. Naturally, neither I nor my wife is much impressed by a reminder of what the framers believed about the semi-slave status of African-American males, or women. The framers created a situation under which many states could decree that only the propertied could vote. When that idea and ``poll tax'' requirements were beaten down, polling places were located where millions of poor, ill minority citizens could not get to because they lacked transportation or couldn't leave their jobs. Nothing in a neighborhood polling place could be more sacred to deprived citizens than casting their first ballot-- primarily because the mail ballot allowed them to do so. So spare me this balderdash about how this country must return to a respect for what ``the framers'' intended! I find especially offensive the complaints that mail ballots were cast by ``uninformed, uneducated'' citizens. In the 1950s some states had laws requiring ``literacy tests'' for those seeking to vote. That was implemented in ways where white registrars could deny the ballot to blacks who couldn't answer ``correctly'' such questions as ``How many bubbles in a bar of soap?'' Everyone I've heard deploring the mail ballot would be incensed if anyone accused them of harboring the racist and sexist views of the framers. Yet they peddle those views almost mindlessly. We either treasure democracy or we don't. If we do, the more of it the better. So I say of the Motor Voter law and mail ballot: ``Welcome and hooray!''

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, last Thursday I offered an amendment to the omnibus appropriations bill to restore funding for three Federal literacy programs. The Senate will vote on this amendment tomorrow. Adult education and literacy programs are essential to reducing welfare dependency, crime, and unemployment. Yet all Federal, State, and local public and private nonprofit literacy programs combined serve only 10 percent of those in need. Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of new readers who had recently completed basic literacy programs. These individuals shared with me the difficulties they had faced and how learning how to read and write had changed their lives for the better. I was so struck by their stories that I contacted their Senators encouraging them to meet with their States' new readers. I do not know how many of my colleagues took me up on this offer, but I trust that those who did found this experience as informative and as inspiring as I did. I also asked one of the women who visited me, Elaine Randall, to write out her story, as I thought it was particularly moving. She was kind enough to send it along to me. I ask that her account be printed in the Record. The letter follows: Dear Senator Simon: Thank you for meeting with me and the other adult learners who were in Washington for the National Institute of Literacy (NIFL) work group meeting on July 23-24. These 20 adult learners from around the country met with NIFL staff to open a dialogue on the students' views of literacy policy and practices, and to explore ways to take a more active role in shaping them. We were chosen as participants in this NIFL student work group for our local, state, and national literacy involvement. Besides receiving adult basic education or English as a Second Language instruction, we are student leaders ``giving back''--working towards solutions. We are not the only ones out there doing this. We are only a handful of adult learners who start and lead student support groups; speak to encourage others to join a literacy program; encourage businesses to fund literacy organizations; and advise our programs on ways to improve recruitment, retention, and learning gains. These are only a few examples of the kinds of contributions students all over the country are making to ``give back'' as much as they ``get'' from the literacy field. Each of us has worked long and hard to become contributors in the literacy field. We have been improving our basic reading and writing skills and developing our leadership abilities. This is where we are now, but it's not where we started. As non- or low-level readers, each of us has had different experiences throughout our lives. However, those experiences and the feelings and the emotions they caused were very similar. Being able to read is expected daily in American life. Before an adult literacy program started in my area, it seemed like there was no chance for me to learn how to read. My choices in life were severely limited--I constantly guarded against being put into situations where I would have to read and write. I discovered how society mistreats those who cannot read. While other children were learning to read and write in school, I learned early on what it meant to be illiterate in our society, and why it was important to cover it up and how to do it. By second grade all my classmates knew I was behind, which made me a target of their taunting. Kids who were friends in my neighborhood did not care to talk with me in class for fear of being called stupid--``If you talk with a dummy, you must be a dummy too.'' My best friend was older than me and didn't know I was having trouble with reading. When my third grade teacher began keeping me after school every day, to give me more time to do classwork, my best friend didn't understand why I had to stay instead of walking home with her. I couldn't tell her, because I had learned the year before what happens when people find out you can't read. I always wanted to learn and know what other people knew, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't catch up. School seemed like a prison where I was being punished for not being smart enough. I wanted to drop out when I became old enough. By the time I was in high school, I had become a master in ``school survival.'' School survival was going to school everyday, knowing no matter how hard I tried, I was still going to fail. So, I learned to balance between trying hard enough to please my teachers without excessively tormenting myself in the process. Another part of my school survival was to figure out what I would need to graduate: how many credits, which courses were the easiest, and the minimum number of academic classes I would have to take. I realized I'd need a high school diploma in order to help cover up my illiteracy in the future--especially when it came to finding a job. I knew an employer would be less likely to suspect I couldn't read very well if I had a high school diploma. The day I graduated, I tried to read my diploma, but I could only read a few words. Nonetheless, I felt I had earned it through hard work and a lot of tears. It was not easy to find a job that didn't require reading. My employment options were limited since I did not have a trade. I had tried taking some trade classes in high school. I could understand the theory of what the teachers were saying, but didn't learn what I needed to know--that was in a book. I've always been a hard worker and knew if I could get my foot in the door somewhere, I would do a good job. After identifying a job in manufacturing, I still had to fill out the job application as well as read and sign forms. To this day, I don't know what I signed. I could only hope I would not do something that violated what was in those forms. I went as far as I could in jobs with the minimum amount of reading or writing involved. My supervisors considered me a valuable employee and never suspected I had trouble reading. I felt I had the potential to do more. When a literacy program for adults started at my local library, I finally had an opportunity to get the help I needed so I could do more. It wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered the reason why I had so much trouble learning to read and write. I have a language-based learning difference--clinically diagnosed dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. At least now I know what I'm dealing with. It was not my fault--I was smart enough. What I needed was a teaching and learning method that worked for me. There is a difference between learning to read and reading to learn. I first needed to learn how to read and that has taken time. I've been working on my education for almost nine years and I am still taking classes two nights a week. During the same time, I have had to work to support myself. Like most adults, I do not have the luxury of going back to school full-time because I must fulfill other obligations and responsibilities. There is no ``quick fix'' solution--two years and you're finished. It is a long process. It is one we all must agree to commit to. There are many more adults like me who, with the right help, can get better jobs and lead more productive lives. They, too, can begin to ``give back'' to the system. Thank you for your commitment to help improve the adult literacy system. Around the country, there are many adult learners equally committed to improving the system in addition to their own education. It's great to know we have people like you working with us to make it possible for adults who cannot read, write, or speak English to get the help they need. Sincerely, Elaine W. Randall.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, one of the more informative journals that I read is one called Grant's Interest Rate Observer. It contains information that I find in no other journal. James Grant, the publisher and editor, also makes observations about a variety of things, and recently he had comments on the suggestion that part of the Social Security fund be invested in the stock market. Before people start chasing this rainbow, it would be good to read his thoughtful observations which I ask to be printed in full in the Record. The article follows. [From Grant's Interest Rate Observer, Mar. 1, 1996] Every Man a Peter Lynch In the Nixon years, it was said triumphantly that only a Republican could have opened China. Perhaps the Clinton administration believes that only a Democrat can open Wall Street. On February 17, The New York Times disclosed that a federal advsisory panel will recommend an epochal change in Social Security policy; investing billions of dollars of payroll taxes in the stock market. For now, of course, the Social Security Trust Fund holds only Treasury securities, $483 billion's worth at last report. In fiscal 1994, $381 billion, in round numbers, was paid into Social Security (via payroll taxes, from employers and employees combined), and $323 billion was paid out. The Treasury issued special, non-negotiable, interest-bearing claims to the Social Security Trust Fund to acknowledge receipt of the difference. The difference, $58 billion, was ``invested'' only in the sense that it wasn't actually stolen. It was spent. (A Mexican official once told the British journalist James Morgan, apropos of government ``investment'': ``Senor, the money that was stolen was invested better than the money that was invested.'') In 1974, the Social Security System was consolidated for accounting purposes into the unified federal budget. In effect, a Social Security surplus (such as the nation currently, and temporarily, enjoys) works to reduce the reported federal deficit; a shortfall tends to expand it. It follows that any redeployment of Social Security assets into the stock market would force an identical increase in federal borrowing. So also, a diversion of an individual's payroll taxes into an earmarked equity investment account would force a corresponding rise in federal borrowing--other things being the same. However, it is always possible that other things would not be the same. Things could improve. A revitalized private sector might generate more tax revenue than even the government could spend, or investment returns might beggar even those of the past five years, causing the much feared $11 trillion unfunded Social Security liability (the difference between the present value of promised benefits and the present value of projected taxes) to melt away like the much feared banking calamity of 1990- 91. How often have free markets made short work of allegedly intractable political or economic problems? Often enough, in our experience. Yet, to us, the heart of the Social Security trial balloon was contained in the Times story's perceptive third paragraph: ``Such discussions would have been unthinkable just a few years ago,'' and in a quotation from the chairman of the Clinton study group, Edward M. Gramlich, professor of economics and dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, a few paragraphs below that: ``Stocks have outperformed bonds by a singificant margin over long periods of time.'' Did anyone in public life remember to put in a good word for stocks at the bottom of the 1969-74 bear market, or on the Tuesday following Black Monday in October 1987? According to the Times, the draft of the report by the Advisory Council on Social Security puts on a brave, bull-market face: ``While stock investments would entail `a slight increase' in risk for Social Security,'' the paper relates, ``the risk would be manageable.'' And another panel member boldly affirmed: ``Beyond the floor of protection provided by Social Security, we should let people participate fully in this economic miracle that we call America.'' Will the panelist's economic patriotism be just as intense during the next cyclical downswing, we wonder, or will it be subject to revision? It is almost certainly no accident that the Social Security investment plan came into the world at the same time as Dow 5,500. According to James A. Bianco, Arbor Trading Group, Barrington, Ill., the capitalization of the U.S. stock market at year-end 1995 stood at 87.5% of GDP, the highest such percentage in history. ``Likewise,'' Bianco went on, ``the size of available cash, or M-2, to the size of the stock market is the lowest in history at 57.1%. What this suggests is that the stock market is grossly overvalued.'' Enthusiasts for what would boil down to the greatest bond-for-stock swap in the history of the republic have thought of everything except what the stocks would be worth.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Madam President, I rise today to join Senator Hatch in the introduction of a bill to reauthorize and provide a permanent mandate for the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. I would also like to thank Chairman Hatch for his leadership on this important issue, and for scheduling today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on this bill. This bill's 28 original cosponsors show the strong bipartisan support for this measure. It also has the strong support of Attorney General Reno, as well as the endorsement of major law enforcement and advocacy groups. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act, which passed the Senate in 1990 by a vote of 92-4 and was signed into law by then President Bush, requires the Justice Department to collect data on crimes that show evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Until this act was passed, no Federal records of such crimes were maintained. This lack of information made it difficult to determine whether a particular crime was an isolated incident, or part of a continuing series against a particular group. The act has proven successful in its initial purpose--the creation of data collection--and has also served as a catalyst for an FBI effort to train State and local law enforcement officials about hate crimes. Hearings held before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution in 1992 and 1994 showed that one of the prime benefits of the act is that it has helped dramatically increase the awareness and sensitivity of the police about hate crimes. Not only do victims of hate crimes benefit from a more informed police force, but greater police awareness encourages others to report hate crimes. Since all data submission under the act is voluntary, we did not anticipate 100 percent participation by State and local law enforcement agencies from the start. Nonetheless, over the course of 4 years, there has been great progress in participation levels. In 1991, 2,771 law enforcement agencies participated in the voluntary reporting program. In 1994, more than 7,200 agencies participated. Local police, advocacy groups, mayors, and others have joined the effort to encourage every law enforcement agency to comply, and as more and more local agencies participate, the statistics will be more and more useful to identify trends and formulate responses. In addition, the FBI is in the process of working with States to upgrade their computer systems. When this transition is complete, the data should be even more useful. Unfortunately, there are still law enforcement agencies in some States and many large cities which are not yet participating in the data collection. We need active oversight of this act to ensure that these agencies join in this important effort, making the statistics more accurate and useful. FBI Director Louis Freeh has stated that he is committed to the continued tracking of hate crimes statistics. However, we believe that this effort has proven its usefulness and deserves a permanent mandate. Collecting such data will not erase bigotry. It will, however, be a valuable tool in the fight against prejudice. The information is essential in identifying how law enforcement should best focus its resources in dealing with hate crimes. The data will also be useful to policymakers and local communities in their efforts to fight these crimes. Obviously, the FBI statistics do not yet accurately reflect the level of violence motivated by prejudice in our society. More and more agencies participate each year, however, we need only read the headlines and reports by advocacy groups to see how widespread the problem of hate crimes remains in our Nation. The Justice Department recently launched a civil rights probe into a rash of arson which has destroyed at least 23 black churches in the South since 1993. The Justice Department is trying to determine whether the crimes are racially motivated, and whether they are connected. Several of the incidents have been solved, however, and clearly racism motivated the offenders. The teenagers found guilty of burning a church in Mississippi in 1993 shouted racial epithets during commission of their crime. Racist graffiti was spray-painted on the walls of a Knoxville, TN, Baptist church set afire on January 8, 1996. Sumter County Circuit Court Judge Eddie Hardaway, a black judge who sent two white men to jail for vandalizing black churches, was recently the victim of a shotgun attack which shattered bedroom windows in his home. During the 1960's civil rights movement, many black churches were set ablaze, however in the late 1980's and early 1990's only one or two such crimes were reported each year. This recent string of arson reminds us that prejudice and hate crimes remain a problem in our Nation. Recent reports by private groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League, the National Coalition on Anti-Violence Projects, and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, confirm that unfortunately the problem of crimes based on prejudice continues. The ADL's 1995 Annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents actually had some good news: the 1,843 anti-Semitic incidents reported to the Anti-Defamation League in 1995 represented a decrease of 223 incidents, or 11 percent, from the 1994 total of 2,066. This is the largest decline in 10 years. However, this good news is tempered by the seriousness of many of the incidents reported. For the fifth straight year in a row, acts of anti-Semitic harassment against individuals outnumber incidents of vandalism against institutions and other property. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects and New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project report similar findings for 1995. There were fewer incidents of violence against homosexuals in 1995, but the incidents were more violent. There was an 8 percent drop in the number of incidents, but a 10 percent increase in the number of assaults and rapes. We need to realize that the name-calling, the graffiti, the discrimination, and the threats and violence are all signs of a pervasive problem. The more informed we are about the scope and nature of our communities' problems with hate crimes, the better able we will be to develop effective prevention and prosecution strategies, as well as support structures for victims of these crimes. I am pleased to join with Senator Hatch today, with support from 28 of our colleagues, the Attorney General and law enforcement and advocacy groups across the Nation, to introduce the reauthorization of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. I encourage all of my colleagues to join us in working to pass this important legislation.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I believe my amendment is next. If we can have it worked out with the managers, it will not be necessary for a rollcall. And I would offer a revised amendment.

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, this is the amendment we temporarily set aside. I have modified it in line with the request of the managers. It is now acceptable on both sides, and I offer the amendment.

Mr. SIMON. I ask unanimous consent, Mr. President, that it be temporarily set aside.

Mr. SIMON. May we have order, Mr. President?

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, all of us have been stunned by the suicidal missions of extremist in Israel. And it is the hope of most people around the world, as well as in the Middle East, that the extremists should not prevail and scuttle the peace process. I was particularly pleased to read in the Chicago Tribune as well as the New York Times, the letter of Ray Hanania, President of the Palestinian American Congress, which I ask to be printed in the Record. Mr Hanania is calling on Yasser Arafat to crack down on the extremists. People of good will of every persuasion should join in this endeavor. The article follows: [From the Chicago Tribune] Arafat Must Stifle Extremists (By Ray Hanania) CHICAGO.--The Israelis are right about one thing: It is the responsibility of Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, to crack down on extremists who are based in the territories that he controls. It is not an easy decision to make, but it is one that Arafat must make if the Middle East peace process is to succeed and Palestinians are to have their own state. Arafat must come to grips with the responsibilities of Democratic leadership. This is no longer a revolution in which internal criticism is hushed for the sake of survival. While he must learn to tolerate criticism and not jail Palestinian journalists who attack his policies, so too must he learn to be more forceful with those who challenge the foundation of Palestinian democracy. Palestine is democratic. And Arafat's election is founded on democracy. Democracy requires that leaders no longer need to seek unanimity to justify their actions. Quite the contrary, democracy allows leaders to do what they could not do before--make decisions with the slimmest of majorities. Realizing that he can never make everyone, especially the extremists, happy with any decision he makes is a necessity if he and the Palestinian people are to survive as a nation. It is a realization he has yet to come to grips with. And when he does, he will discover that the vast majority of Palestinians support a crackdown but fear public expression of this view. The extremists have and will use violence against their own people to justify their means and achieve their goals. Our leaders need courage to change this. In the United States, the Palestinian-American community has spoken loudly, favoring the peace process. While we, as a community, may not totally agree with every detail, the principle of pursuing a peaceful resolution of the Israel- Palestine question is now a mandate for our people. Arafat cannot make the mistake of believing that he can walk between the moderates and those who advocate violence. The extremists that he must silence are the very same people who, if given the chance, would silence Palestinian democracy and destroy any hopes of establishing a democratic Palestinian state.

Mr. SIMON

Mr. SIMON. Madam President, I rise today to join Senator Hatch in the introduction of a bill to reauthorize and provide a permanent mandate for the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. I would also like to thank Chairman Hatch for his leadership on this important issue, and for scheduling today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on this bill. This bill's 28 original cosponsors show the strong bipartisan support for this measure. It also has the strong support of Attorney General Reno, as well as the endorsement of major law enforcement and advocacy groups. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act, which passed the Senate in 1990 by a vote of 92-4 and was signed into law by then President Bush, requires the Justice Department to collect data on crimes that show evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Until this act was passed, no Federal records of such crimes were maintained. This lack of information made it difficult to determine whether a particular crime was an isolated incident, or part of a continuing series against a particular group. The act has proven successful in its initial purpose--the creation of data collection--and has also served as a catalyst for an FBI effort to train State and local law enforcement officials about hate crimes. Hearings held before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution in 1992 and 1994 showed that one of the prime benefits of the act is that it has helped dramatically increase the awareness and sensitivity of the police about hate crimes. Not only do victims of hate crimes benefit from a more informed police force, but greater police awareness encourages others to report hate crimes. Since all data submission under the act is voluntary, we did not anticipate 100 percent participation by State and local law enforcement agencies from the start. Nonetheless, over the course of 4 years, there has been great progress in participation levels. In 1991, 2,771 law enforcement agencies participated in the voluntary reporting program. In 1994, more than 7,200 agencies participated. Local police, advocacy groups, mayors, and others have joined the effort to encourage every law enforcement agency to comply, and as more and more local agencies participate, the statistics will be more and more useful to identify trends and formulate responses. In addition, the FBI is in the process of working with States to upgrade their computer systems. When this transition is complete, the data should be even more useful. Unfortunately, there are still law enforcement agencies in some States and many large cities which are not yet participating in the data collection. We need active oversight of this act to ensure that these agencies join in this important effort, making the statistics more accurate and useful. FBI Director Louis Freeh has stated that he is committed to the continued tracking of hate crimes statistics. However, we believe that this effort has proven its usefulness and deserves a permanent mandate. Collecting such data will not erase bigotry. It will, however, be a valuable tool in the fight against prejudice. The information is essential in identifying how law enforcement should best focus its resources in dealing with hate crimes. The data will also be useful to policymakers and local communities in their efforts to fight these crimes. Obviously, the FBI statistics do not yet accurately reflect the level of violence motivated by prejudice in our society. More and more agencies participate each year, however, we need only read the headlines and reports by advocacy groups to see how widespread the problem of hate crimes remains in our Nation. The Justice Department recently launched a civil rights probe into a rash of arson which has destroyed at least 23 black churches in the South since 1993. The Justice Department is trying to determine whether the crimes are racially motivated, and whether they are connected. Several of the incidents have been solved, however, and clearly racism motivated the offenders. The teenagers found guilty of burning a church in Mississippi in 1993 shouted racial epithets during commission of their crime. Racist graffiti was spray-painted on the walls of a Knoxville, TN, Baptist church set afire on January 8, 1996. Sumter County Circuit Court Judge Eddie Hardaway, a black judge who sent two white men to jail for vandalizing black churches, was recently the victim of a shotgun attack which shattered bedroom windows in his home. During the 1960's civil rights movement, many black churches were set ablaze, however in the late 1980's and early 1990's only one or two such crimes were reported each year. This recent string of arson reminds us that prejudice and hate crimes remain a problem in our Nation. Recent reports by private groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League, the National Coalition on Anti-Violence Projects, and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, confirm that unfortunately the problem of crimes based on prejudice continues. The ADL's 1995 Annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents actually had some good news: the 1,843 anti-Semitic incidents reported to the Anti-Defamation League in 1995 represented a decrease of 223 incidents, or 11 percent, from the 1994 total of 2,066. This is the largest decline in 10 years. However, this good news is tempered by the seriousness of many of the incidents reported. For the fifth straight year in a row, acts of anti-Semitic harassment against individuals outnumber incidents of vandalism against institutions and other property. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects and New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project report similar findings for 1995. There were fewer incidents of violence against homosexuals in 1995, but the incidents were more violent. There was an 8 percent drop in the number of incidents, but a 10 percent increase in the number of assaults and rapes. We need to realize that the name-calling, the graffiti, the discrimination, and the threats and violence are all signs of a pervasive problem. The more informed we are about the scope and nature of our communities' problems with hate crimes, the better able we will be to develop effective prevention and prosecution strategies, as well as support structures for victims of these crimes. I am pleased to join with Senator Hatch today, with support from 28 of our colleagues, the Attorney General and law enforcement and advocacy groups across the Nation, to introduce the reauthorization of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. I encourage all of my colleagues to join us in working to pass this important legislation.