Olympia Snowe

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague Senator Wyden in reintroducing legislation that will stop the increasing financial burden being placed on wireless consumers by discriminatory taxes. On average, the typical consumer pays 15.2 percent of his/her total wireless bill in Federal, State, and local taxes, fees and surcharges--this is compared to the 7.07 percent average tax rate for other goods and services. The Mobile Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2009 would ensure that these tax rates don't increase further by prohibiting States and local governments from imposing any new discriminatory tax on mobile services, mobile service providers, or mobile service property for a period of 5 years. The bill defines ``new discriminatory tax'' as a tax imposed on mobile services, providers, or property that is not generally imposed on other types of services or property, or that is generally imposed at a lower rate. The wireless era has changed the way the world communicates. To date, there are more than 270 million wireless subscribers in the United States, and consumers used more than 2.2 trillion minutes of airtime from July 2007 to June 2008--that is more than 6 billion minutes per day! And with this growth, more people are using the cell phone as a primary communication device as well as for data and Internet services--approximately 20 percent of households have ``cut the cord'' and use cell phones exclusively. The increased mobility and access wireless communications provide have improved our lives, our safety, and the efficiency of our work and businesses. It is estimated that the productivity value of all mobile wireless services was worth $185 billion in 2005 alone. However, as more consumers and businesses embrace wireless technologies and applications, more States and local governments are embracing it as a revenue source and applying these excessive and discriminatory taxes, which show up on consumers' bills each month. In fact, the effective rate of taxation on wireless services has increased four times faster than the rate on other taxable goods and services between January 2003 and January 2007. These excessive and discriminatory taxes discourage wireless adoption and use, primarily with low-income individuals and families that still view a cellular phone as a luxury when many Americans consider it a necessity. By banning these taxes, we can equalize the taxation of the wireless industry with that of other goods and services and protect the wireless consumer from the weight of exorbitant fees, surcharges, and general business taxes. We cannot allow this essential and innovative industry as well as the consumers who benefit from its amazing services and applications to suffer excessive tax rates. Placing a moratorium on new discriminatory wireless taxes will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of wireless services. Congress took similar action with the Internet--passing the Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments Act of 2007 last session--because of the incredible impact the Internet will continue to have on consumers and businesses alike. The future of wireless is just as bright and that is why we must ensure its continued growth. It is confounding that telecommunications, one of the most essential components of our economy and our daily lives, is one of the most highly taxed sectors. That is why I sincerely hope that my colleagues join Senator Wyden and me in supporting this critical bipartisan legislation so we can continue our efforts to curtail discriminatory taxes on these vital services so that all Americans can leverage the benefits they offer. I would like to thank Senator McCain for his past leadership on this issue and for cosponsoring this consumer-friendly legislation.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, as we are all aware, the lengthy process of globalization has made it necessary for many American businesses to promote their goods in international markets. And despite the present economic recession, Maine businesses exported a record $3 billion in goods last year. I wish to highlight Elmet Technologies, a shining company that has been a part of that historic figure and has excelled in growing its customer base by marketing to overseas firms. Elmet Technologies was founded in Lewiston in 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression. At that time, the company had 50 employees and 13,400 square feet of manufacturing space. The firm now employs over 230 people and occupies a 220,000-square-foot facility. Elmet makes top-quality, high-performance advanced materials and specialized refractory metal products, such as wire, filaments, and rods. Its products have numerous applications for a variety of industries. For instance, the company's components and materials are used in electronic devices such as GPS units and digital music players and medical equipment like x-ray tubes. Elmet supplies a wide range of customers, from IBM and Philips Lighting, to Veeco, which produces process equipment and metrology tools, and Varian, producers of medical equipment. These firms have turned to Elmet because of its high-quality products, attention to customer detail and specification, and its employees' stellar Maine work ethic. Additionally, what makes Elmet's production method so effective is that the company uses raw materials instead of base materials, allowing employees to easily customize products based on consumer specifications. The company has also earned two critical certifications for quality and environmental standards from the International Organization for Standardization, ISO. Though an 80-year-old company, Elmet Technologies is relatively new to global trade. It began only recently promoting its products abroad and now has clients in places as far away as Europe, Israel, and China. Elmet's strategy is paying off and earning the company much-deserved recognition. Last Thursday, the Maine International Trade Center presented Elmet Technologies with its 2009 Exporter of the Year Award. The award demonstrates the determination and commitment of Elmet's leaders in forging new international marketplaces for its extensive variety of products that serve a wide range of high-tech and emerging industries--from electronics and lighting, to aircraft and automotive. The Maine International Trade Center is Maine's small business link to the rest of the world. It is a public-private partnership between the State of Maine and its businesses. The center's goal is to increase international trade in Maine and in particular to assist Maine's businesses in exporting goods and services. Clearly it sees in Elmet Technologies the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation that make Maine's small businesses so unique and successful. Elmet Technologies' president and CEO, Jack Jensen, has summed up his company's philosophy quite simply: ``Listen. Create. Delight.'' Based on the company's record of success and customer satisfaction, this motto has served the company well in any language. I congratulate everyone at Elmet Technologies on their recent recognition and wish them new and exciting export opportunities in the years to come.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today, I rise to introduce the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Care Demonstration Project Act. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Conrad, Wyden and Collins in this effort. We are introducing this legislation to address an unfair conflict in two Federal laws--the Institution for Mental Diseases, IMD, Exclusion and The Emergency Medical and Labor Treatment Act, EMTALA. EMTALA requires all hospitals, including freestanding psychiatric hospitals, to stabilize patients who come in with an emergency medical condition. At the same time, under an outdated Medicaid provision called the IMD exclusion, adult Medicaid patients, 21-64, are not covered for inpatient psychiatric care in a freestanding psychiatric hospital, but are covered in a general hospital psychiatric unit. Yet both types of hospitals are required to stabilize any patient--which may require hospitalization--who comes to them for emergency care regardless of ability to pay. In order to correct this inequity, we have introduced the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Care Demonstration Project Act. This legislation would establish a 3-year, demonstration program capped at $75 million, which would allow states to apply for federal Medicaid matching funds to demonstrate that covering Medicaid patients in freestanding, non- governmental psychiatric hospitals will improve timely access to emergency psychiatric care, reduce the burden on overcrowded emergency rooms, and improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of inpatient psychiatric care. Our legislation helps alleviate a problem where patients with significant mental health needs are often forced to endure prolonged stays in emergency rooms and hospitals without the psychiatric attention they require. The measure is supported by 27 national healthcare organizations, including the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill--the country's largest advocacy organization for the mentally ill, the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of County Behavioral Healthcare Directors, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the Emergency Nurses Association.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, this week we celebrate National Small Business Week, a time that affords us the opportunity to reflect not only on the countless contributions that small businesses have made, and continue to make, to the economic strength of our great country-- but also on how the Federal Government is assisting these companies to be successful in their own right. As such, I rise today as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to discuss the status of our Nation's 27 million small businesses, and to elaborate on the role the Federal Government is playing, can play-- and must play--in providing these critical firms with the resources and tools they require to lead us out of our deep economic morass. The facts and figures are enlightening. Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms nationwide. They generate two-thirds of net new jobs annually. And they create over half of our Nation's nonfarm private gross domestic product--GDP. So there can be no question that small businesses are critical to our nation's economic vitality and success. Yet we face an economic landscape that is unlike any other we have seen in decades. The unemployment rate stands at 8.9 percent--the highest level in over 25 years. More than 13.7 million Americans are without jobs, 5.7 million of which have been lost since the beginning of this recession in December 2007. We are in an economy that contracted 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009--after having contracted 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. During what is the deepest and longest recession since the Great Depression, small businesses struggle in accessing capital to purchase equipment and expand their operations; providing affordable and quality health insurance to their employees; and complying with complex tax laws and regulations. Without healthy small businesses, our economy cannot--and will not-- recover. We must design comprehensive and thoughtful initiatives to aid small businesses during these difficult times. President Obama and this Congress have already taken several steps, but these cannot represent the totality of our efforts. The central focus and priority of our efforts must be thawing frozen credit markets and increasing lending volume. The flow of credit is critical to the well-being of small businesses because when companies cannot access credit, jobs are lost and businesses suffer. What last year was a ``credit crunch'' for small businesses has all too rapidly ballooned into a full-blown crisis. This calamity threatens to continue shuttering storefronts all across Main Street America--the very last thing we need at this critical juncture. At a time when small businesses should be turning to the safety of government-backed lending, Small Business Administration--SBA--loan volume is showing mixed results. Recently, Congress and the White House have taken a number of steps to address this crisis. Specifically, in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Small Business Committee Chair Landrieu and I worked together to eliminate fees and increase guarantee rates to a maximum of 90 percent for the SBA's flagship 7(a) and 504 loan programs. The Obama Administration quickly implemented these vital provisions. As a result, average weekly SBA loan volume has increased 25 percent since their implementation. This is significant progress. Nonetheless, as I continue to hear from entrepreneurs, including during four small business roundtables I recently held in Maine, credit remains constrained. Accordingly, I am calling on the Obama administration to immediately implement the remaining small business provisions from the Recovery Act, something our committee members urged of SBA Administrator Mills just last week. And it appears that the administration is listening. On Monday, Administrator Mills announced the official roll-out of the new Business Stabilization Loan Program, otherwise known as the America's Recovery Capital, or ARC, loan program, to provide interest-free loans, up to a maximum of $35,000, to firms having difficulties making loan payments. These stabilization loans include deferred repayment schedules, to help small businesses weather this recession. A critical provision that Chair Landrieu and I worked together to include in the Recovery Act, the ARC loan program will act as a bridge for hundreds of small business owners that just need a small infusion of capital to stay afloat. Chair Landrieu and I also worked together to increase funds for microlending within the SBA, and ease refinancing restrictions for 504 loans, allowing more small businesses to access credit and other resources through the SBA. These are crucial measures that, if implemented soon, could have a dramatic effect on the flow of credit. I am pleased that President Obama recognizes the credit crisis and held a White House Summit that I participated in last March to address the concerns of the small business community. In a step for which I advocated in conversations with the administration, he used the occasion to announce that Treasury will directly purchase, through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, $15 billion in securitized SBA 7(a) and 504 loans. A witness before our Committee recently testified that this essential step is a ``great launch pad'' for promoting liquidity in the secondary markets to spur new financing dollars, and I agree. I encourage the administration to roll out this program as quickly as possible. The provisions in the stimulus and the President's announcement are positive steps addressing different facets of the problem we are addressing here today, but more must be done. During a private meeting I had with President Obama in the Oval Office recently, I implored the President to create a competitive lending platform at the SBA. Too often, potential SBA borrowers are stymied by the limited number of SBA lending options in their community. In the traditional lending sphere, this problem has been addressed by the emergence of private for-profit Web sites that aggregate lending offers for potential borrowers, giving banks the opportunity to compete for lending business. A lending platform that allows SBA lenders nationwide to ``bid'' on potential borrowers would increase potential SBA borrowers' access to SBA lenders and would increase the pool of applicants for banks. This platform would create more competition and availability for borrowers, and in turn lead to a likely reduction in interest rates for SBA-backed loans. At a Small Business Committee hearing in March, we heard testimony about the difficulty small business owners face in maintaining existing lines of credit during these uncertain economic times. Small businesses are reporting that banks are ``calling'' back loans, by requiring outstanding loans to be repaid within compressed and expedited timeframes. Unfortunately, with banks demanding payment and little access to other credit, the survival of numerous small businesses is being threatened. As such, another solution to the credit crisis worth considering is using TARP funds to guarantee lines of credit for small businesses. The Treasury Department could use funds from TARP to support guarantees on credit lines and in return, the bank receiving this guarantee would agree to help craft a payment schedule that would help the affected small business. This program would be completely voluntary but would benefit both the borrower, who would continue to receive credit, and the lender who would receive a guarantee on an outstanding loan. Chair Landrieu and I sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner in March, and he has been extremely helpful in working to assess the viability of this proposal. Among the many issues we have been discussing here in the Senate is the onerous burden of taxes--a topic that arises every time I speak with small business owners. Frankly, small businesses suffer under the weight of our Nation's tax burden. The undeniable and regrettable fact is, tax compliance costs are 67 percent higher for small business than for larger firms. A horrendously complicated Tax Code fosters evasion that then builds skepticism among Americans about the validity of the whole system. Much of our Tax Code is also due to expire in less than 2 years. And as a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am ready to work on a bipartisan basis to forge a new tax code that is progrowth with the fewest number of economic distortions and that raises sufficient revenue to finance our Nation's spending priorities. I must say that I am particularly concerned about raising taxes on small business owners when the tax cuts expire at the end of 2010. Raising personal tax rates from 33 to 36 percent and from 35 to 39.6 percent results in a 9 percent tax increase on small business because 93 percent of small businesses are organized as flow-through entities such as partnerships and Subchapter S corporations. Taking another 9 percent out of small business leaves fewer resources available to small business owners to reinvest in America's greatest job generators. There are lots of conflicting studies, but Treasury data indicates that almost 70 percent of flow-through income is earned by 9 percent of small business owners, and these are the owners who are generating jobs. Furthermore, according to data Senator Grassley received from the Joint Committee on Taxation, small business owners would pay more than half the taxes from higher marginal rates. That data indicates that $187 billion of the $339 billion raised from increasing the top two tax rates would come from small business. Notably, I offered an amendment during the budget debate that would have prevented tax increases on small business owners if more than 50 percent of their income came from a small business. The amendment, which would have allowed this proposal to go forward if offset, passed by voice vote but was inexplicably dropped in conference. Nonetheless, it is imperative that we work together to preserve the tax cuts for all small businesses, and I hope that we can. I would also like to add that although the Recovery Act made some vital changes to the Tax Code to help small businesses--such as extending bonus depreciation and expensing--it fell short in its treatment of net operating losses. The Recovery Act allows small businesses to carryback 5 years losses they incurred in 2008, a provision for which I successfully fought. This indispensable cash flow tool allows businesses that have been profitable--but are currently facing losses--to file for a refund of taxes paid in the last 5 years. Yet, this relief remains incomplete as it was limited to businesses with gross revenues less than $15 million. So I commend the President for proposing to allow all businesses to carryback their 2008 and 2009 losses for 5 years. That is also why I introduced a bill to address this situation, and I thank Senators Baucus, Hatch, Stabenow, Ensign, Lincoln, Cantwell, and Bill Nelson, for cosponsoring this significant legislation. The bottom line is that at the end of the day, if small businesses cannot gain greater access to capital, our economic recovery will be slowed, stagnated, or worse. I have made several suggestions today that, when coupled with the small business provisions passed in the Recovery Act, can hasten a revitalization of our Nation's economy. I sincerely hope that we take to heart the critical role small businesses play in the creation of a healthy and stable economy, and work in a bipartisan fashion to seek new ways of ensuring that we in Congress are providing them with the right kind of assistance.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today, I rise to introduce the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Care Demonstration Project Act. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Conrad, Wyden and Collins in this effort. We are introducing this legislation to address an unfair conflict in two Federal laws--the Institution for Mental Diseases, IMD, Exclusion and The Emergency Medical and Labor Treatment Act, EMTALA. EMTALA requires all hospitals, including freestanding psychiatric hospitals, to stabilize patients who come in with an emergency medical condition. At the same time, under an outdated Medicaid provision called the IMD exclusion, adult Medicaid patients, 21-64, are not covered for inpatient psychiatric care in a freestanding psychiatric hospital, but are covered in a general hospital psychiatric unit. Yet both types of hospitals are required to stabilize any patient--which may require hospitalization--who comes to them for emergency care regardless of ability to pay. In order to correct this inequity, we have introduced the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Care Demonstration Project Act. This legislation would establish a 3-year, demonstration program capped at $75 million, which would allow states to apply for federal Medicaid matching funds to demonstrate that covering Medicaid patients in freestanding, non- governmental psychiatric hospitals will improve timely access to emergency psychiatric care, reduce the burden on overcrowded emergency rooms, and improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of inpatient psychiatric care. Our legislation helps alleviate a problem where patients with significant mental health needs are often forced to endure prolonged stays in emergency rooms and hospitals without the psychiatric attention they require. The measure is supported by 27 national healthcare organizations, including the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill--the country's largest advocacy organization for the mentally ill, the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of County Behavioral Healthcare Directors, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the Emergency Nurses Association.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, this week is National Small Business Week, a time when our country focuses on the immense efforts our 27 million small businesses make to the health and vitality of our Nation's economy. As we are presently engaged in two wars, innovative companies that produce cutting-edge defense products are critical to our Nation's military success. In that vein, I rise to recognize the colossal efforts of one such small business from my home State of Maine, Howe and Howe Technologies. Located in the southern Maine town of Eliot, Howe and Howe Technologies focuses on the design and production of extreme vehicles, specifically tanks. And for brothers Mike and Geoffrey Howe, the company's owners, building tanks has been a passion for over a decade. After high school, they began work on the original Ripsaw 1, their first unmanned vehicle, in the garage of their childhood home. By 2004, they were entering their vehicle in an endurance test for unmanned vehicles that was sponsored by the military. While they did not win that trial, the brothers received a boost of confidence that their products could compete in the long run, leading to the establishment of Howe and Howe Technologies in 2006. Each of the company's tanks is designed with a particular use in mind. For instance, the Subterranean Rover 1, or SR1, was commissioned by the Shoal Creek Mine in Alabama to specifically withstand the harsh conditions of coal mines. The PAV1, or Badger, was built for the California Protection Services for use by SWAT teams and other law enforcement agencies. And the Ripsaw MS1, which is currently being tested by the U.S. Army, is an unmanned ground vehicle, or UGV, designed especially for military use. Howe and Howe's vehicles are critical to our military's mission, as they are unmanned vehicles that can be placed in dangerous situations without harm to personnel. Additionally, the vehicles can operate for almost 300 miles until refueling, can be controlled remotely, and provide the military with a faster alternative to the unmanned vehicles they presently have. The Howe brothers take pride in their work, and industry experts are certainly taking notice. The Ripsaw MS1, which is Howe and Howe's latest vehicle, was just selected by Popular Science magazine as ``The Fastest Tank'' in the listing of its 2009 Invention Awards. The magazine publishes these awards annually to highlight a diverse array of creative and innovative products America's businesses are manufacturing, from power shock absorbers to IV catheters. Additionally, Howe and Howe has recently learned that its PAV1 Badger will be acknowledged as the ``World's Smallest Tank'' in the ``2010 Guinness Book of World Records.'' Last Saturday was Armed Forces Day, a day to reflect on the significant sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made on behalf of our Nation's security. Let us also pay homage to those civilians who assist them by creating state-of-the-art products that make their missions safer and stronger, and that ultimately save lives. I congratulate Mike and Geoffrey Howe and everyone at Howe and Howe Technologies for their exceptional work ethic and inventive products, and wish them continued success.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, I rise today to join my good friend Senator Landrieu, the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, on an amendment addressing a key deficiency in the Dodd-Shelby substitute, or Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure--CARD--Act, currently pending before the body. I congratulate Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Dodd and Ranking Member Shelby for their stalwart efforts to bring this critical bill to the floor to protect consumers from credit card abuses. However, as drafted, the measure would leave small businesses out in the proverbial cold. Accordingly, the amendment we are filing today would extend the protections in both the Truth in Lending Act as well as the bill we are considering today to any credit card used by the 26.6 million small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. I would like to thank Senators Brown, Cantwell, Collins, Cardin, Inouye, Klobuchar and Shaheen for cosponsoring our amendment. Although we will undoubtedly debate how broadly they should be written, the provisions the CARD Act contemplates would provide vital safeguards to consumer credit cards. No longer could credit card companies arbitrarily raise interest rates on outstanding balances at any time for any reason or increase them on future purchases without sufficient notice. Unbelievably, the Pew Charitable Trusts in its report, Safe Credit Card Standards, found that ``93 percent of cards allowed the issuer to raise any interest rate at any time by changing the account agreement.'' Should they choose to carry a balance, once this bill is enacted into law, people will have certainty with respect to how much interest they will pay on their purchases and will not go to bed one night thinking they have a 10-percent rate only to wake up facing a 32-percent rate. Additionally, this bill will prevent credit card companies from engaging in other abusive practices, such as ``two-cycle'' billing whereby a company assesses interest not only on the balance for the current billing cycle, but also on the balance for days in the preceding billing cycle. Moreover, the bill before the Senate will put an end to schemes that allow credit card companies to apply the entirety of a payment to balances with the lowest interest rates and, thereby, help families, which today have an average credit card balance of nearly $10,700 and are struggling to stay afloat, emerge from a vicious cycle of debt. Finally, we will ensure that customers have 21 days to pay a bill once it is sent so that they have sufficient time to make a payment. While this legislation would take great strides to shield consumers from abusive practices, it does not extend these safeguards to our Nation's small business owners who use credit cards to purchase goods and services, make payroll, and ultimately create 75 percent of this Nation's net new jobs. The fact is according to the National Federation of independent Business'--NFIB's--Access to Credit poll published in 2008, 85 percent of small business owners have one or more credit cards that they use for business purposes. NFIB data also revealed that 74 percent of small business owners use at least one business credit card, while 39 percent use at least one personal card. Yet the bill before the Senate amends the Truth in Lending Act, which applies only to ``consumer'' transactions that are defined as ``one in which the party to whom credit is offered or extended is a natural person, and the money, property, or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.'' The measure does not protect our Nation's small business owners--many of whom, as I just mentioned-- utilize credit cards to finance routine transactions. First and foremost, the protections in the bill would not extend to entrepreneurs who make purchases for their enterprises using a small business credit card. Even more troubling is that, in many cases, the small business credit cards are, like consumer cards, issued based on the personal credit history of the card holder. Thus, although the two types of cards are in many instances indistinguishable, two different sets of rules and protections can apply. Second, and although there is some debate among experts on this point, there is concern that the safeguards in the CARD Act may not apply if an individual made a significant amount of business purchases on a consumer credit card. The reason is that the Truth in Lending Act only protects purchases made on consumer cards primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and it is unclear at what point businesses purchases would cease to qualify for protections if made on consumer credit cards. To protect small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, the Senate should clarify that purchases made on behalf of an enterprise using a consumer card will receive the protections in this bill. Omitting 26.6 million of this Nation's job-creating small businesses from credit card protections could have extremely serious consequences, particularly at a time in which we are counting on our small employers to lead us out of the most devastating economic recession since the Great Depression. Indeed, as Todd McCracken, the president of the National Small Business Administration, NSBA, testified on March 19 before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, on which I serve as ranking member, the credit card companies are abusing small firms. In fact, Mr. McCracken wrote in his testimony, ``Imagine trying to run a business when one's carefully-constructed business plan is upended by a retroactive interest rate hike. How can a small- business owner be expected to maintain--let alone grow--her business when the capital she has already used is no longer subject to the 12 percent interest rate she agreed to but an egregiously punitive 32 percent?'' These abuses are not just isolated incidents; they really do occur. To quantify what small businesses are facing, the NFIB's Credit Card survey found that excluding cases involving an introductory offer, 20 percent of small business owners saw the interest rate on their outstanding balances increased at least once. Furthermore, 25 percent of small businesses were given less than three weeks notice to make a credit card payment on at least one occasion, providing compelling evidence that action must be taken. I would also like to mention that other survey results bolster the NFIB's conclusions. For example, the NSBA's 2009 Small Business Credit Card Survey found that 57 percent of small business owners reported receiving their bill too close to the due date to mail it and have it be received on time. Incredibly, 33 percent of respondents reported receiving their credit card statement after its due date! That practice is simply outrageous, and it must be stopped! To ensure that small businesses are not shortchanged and are adequately protected, the amendment Senator Landrieu and I are offering today would amend the definition of ``consumer'' in the Truth in Lending Act to include any small business having 50 or fewer employees. Accordingly, our amendment would have two beneficial effects: First, it would extend all of the safeguards in the bill before us to small businesses with 50 or fewer employees regardless of whether they use a consumer of business credit card to make purchases. Small businesses would, therefore, be free from worries about any time interest rate increases and other abuses from which Americans have suffered from for far too long. Second, the bill would extend protections already included in the Truth in Lending Act to small businesses. As a result, irrespective of whether they use a consumer or business card, our small firms would now be entitled to receive meaningful disclosures that will enable them to understand the terms of credit being offered and to compare one credit product to another. Such required disclosures include the finance charge, annual percentage rate, any charges that may be imposed, and a statement of billing rights. Our entrepreneurs should be focused on creating jobs instead of having to try to navigate very complicated credit card terms that are buried in fine print. America's small businesses--the engine that drives our Nation's economy--deserve to be protected from potential credit card abuses that could cripple their operations. Their business plans should no longer be subject to the whims and arbitrary rate increases of the credit card companies. In closing, I am pleased to report that the following organizations have endorsed the Landrieu-Snowe amendment: the National Federation of independent Business, National Small Business Association, American Beverage Licensees, American Society of Travel Agents, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, Food Marketing institute, National Association of College Stores, National Association for the Self- Employed, National Association of Theatre Owners, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low income clients, Petroleum Marketers Association of America, Service Employees International Union, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, U.S. PIRG, and the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. I ask my colleagues to join us and the groups I have just mentioned to support this targeted and commonsense amendment that would allow entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best; namely, creating new jobs.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise to expand on my vote in favor of Mr. David Hayes to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior. It is my understanding that Senator Bennett has requested answers to a series of substantive questions regarding the Department of the Interior's decision to withdraw 77 parcels in Utah from an oil and gas lease sale. I strongly believe that it is the prerogative of any Member of the Senate to have his or her questions answered in detail, especially concerning an issue relevant to their home State. I further understand that the Secretary of the Interior has indicated that there will be a thorough review of the administrative record concerning the 77 lease parcels and the Department will provide a report with recommendations by May 29, 2009. I believe that this is a reasonable path forward on the issues at this time. With that said, if Senator Bennett's questions are not sufficiently addressed by that date, I reserve my right to object to future executive nominations to the Department of the Interior. I look forward to successful resolution of Senator Bennett's concerns.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, later this month, we will pause to commemorate those men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice to defend our Nation and the freedoms we enjoy. On Memorial Day, families of our fallen members of the Armed Forces visit the graves of their loved ones throughout our Nation, often at veteran's cemeteries, to remember our fallen heroes. I rise today with tremendous gratitude to recognize the generosity of two Mainers, John and Joyce Noble, and their business, John T. Noble Trucking, for their dedicated efforts in supporting the creation of the Northern Maine Veteran's Cemetery as a place of rest for thousands of Maine's bravest. John T. Noble Trucking, a thriving business since 1957, is located in the Aroostook county city of Caribou. A multifaceted company, Noble Trucking provides its customers with a wide variety of services, including landscaping services, commercial deliveries of fuel products as well as truck maintenance, welding, painting, and body repair. Mr. and Mrs. Noble are well known in the Caribou community for their philanthropic initiatives. The Nobles have donated to countless causes within their community, and in characteristic Aroostook County fashion, have made many of these donations on the condition of anonymity. Organizations like the Caribou Recreation Department, the Northern Maine Fairgrounds, Cary Medical Center, The Christopher Home and the Caribou Historical Society are just a few of the many grateful County charities that have benefitted immensely from the Nobles' friendship and contributions. Perhaps their most notable work has been their advocacy and determination on behalf of the Northern Maine Veteran's Cemetery in Caribou. The idea for Maine's northernmost veterans cemetery was first proposed in 1998. After serious study that found overwhelming support among the community, the initial approval was given by the governor in February 1999. In the spring of that year, the Northern Maine Veterans Commemorative Cemetery Corporation was formed to oversee all aspects of the cemetery's development. John Noble, an honorably discharged veteran himself and his wife Joyce, who also admirably supported her husband's service to our country with stalwart dedication, certainly felt a particular kinship to the development of an appropriate resting place for our national heroes. In order to ensure that the dream of so many veterans became a reality, John and Joyce Noble stepped forward to offer 33.4 acres of their own land for use by the Corporation. Their heartfelt contribution expedited the plans for the Northern Maine Veteran's Cemetery and the seeds of charitable giving had taken root, facilitating a grassroots effort that culminated in what is today a regal and honored resting place for our most deserving men and women who served this country with honor and distinction. The Nobles' ongoing efforts inspired a can-do spirit that sparked a dedicated group of volunteers into determined action. With the cemetery facing a delay in state funding, the Nobles offered to help with the construction and maintenance of the cemetery's lands until the funds became available. Additionally, the Nobles helped make the cemetery more private and solemn by planting trees around its perimeter. When the cemetery was finally dedicated on June 1, 2003, the Nobles had left a substantial mark on this sacred place and continue to support it today. An extraordinarily modest couple, John and Joyce Noble have made significant contributions to the appearance and well-being of Caribou. Their beautiful gesture of kindness resulted in a respectable final resting place for those who gave our Nation the fullest measure of commitment. It is their selfless spirit and magnanimous nature that have made them stand out in the Caribou community for years. I thank Mr. and Mrs. Noble for their incredible generosity, and wish them and their company, John T. Noble Trucking, much success for years to come.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I rise with my colleague Senator Collins, to file this vital amendment to correct disparities among the Small Business Administration's, SBA, small business contracting programs and thus create a more equitable method for Federal agencies to fairly allocate Federal procurement dollars to small business contractors across the nation. This targeted amendment reflects a proposed rule promulgated last year, March 2008, by the Department of Defense, DOD, the Government Services Administration, GSA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, which requires the Federal Acquisitions Regulations, FAR, clearly reflect the SBA's interpretation of the Small Business Act and the SBA's analysis of its own regulations and provide an equal playing field for small business firms who participate in the Federal contracting marketplace. The SBA's own counsel asserts that parity legislation must be adopted because Federal agencies `` must be afforded some discretion in determining which small business program to utilize.'' Parties agree that small business should be treated uniformly. Our amendment would provide Federal agencies with the necessary flexibility to satisfy their Government-wide statutory small business contracting goals. It would provide these agencies with the ability to achieve their goaling requirements equally through an award to a small business, a historically underutilized business zone, HUBZone, small business concern, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, SDVOSB, firm, or a small business participating in the 8(a) Business Development Program. Of course this list should also include the Women's Procurement Program once it finally becomes fully implemented by the SBA. For years, it has been unclear to the acquisition community what, if any, is the true order of preference when determining which small business contracting program is at the top of the agency's priority list. This amendment will make clear to purchasing agencies that contracting officers may award contracts to HUBZone, SDVOSB, 8(a) firms with equal deference to each program. This amendment represents the essence of true parity--where each program has an equal chance of being selected for an award. And during these difficult economic times, it is imperative that small business contractors possess an equal opportunity to compete for Federal contracts on the same playing field with each other. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this amendment.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague, Senator Bingaman, to introduce the bipartisan Rural Aviation Improvement Act. I am proud to join the senior Senator from New Mexico, a steadfast and resolute guardian of commercial aviation service to all communities, particularly rural areas that would otherwise be deprived of any air service. It has always been true that reliable air service to our Nation's rural areas is not simply a luxury or a convenience. It is an imperative. Ask any town manager or mayor of a small community how critical aviation is to economic development. All of us in the Senate who come from rural states understand the vital role aviation plays in the moving of people and goods to and from areas that would otherwise face a paucity of transportation options. Quite frankly, I have long held serious concerns about the impact deregulation of the airline industry has had on small cities and smaller towns in rural areas, like those in my home State of Maine. That fact is, since deregulation, many of these communities across the country have experienced a decline in flights and size of aircraft while seeing an increase in fares. More than 300 have lost air service altogether. This legislation will serve to improve the long-underfunded Essential Air Service program. The additional commitment of resources will augment the ability of the program to achieve its desired goals, reducing the impact on the general fund while providing small communities with a greater degree of certainty when planning future improvements or bringing enhanced service to their airports. The bill also gives those same communities a greater role in retaining and determining the sort of air service which they receive, and assists in making that service sustainable. Increasingly, the Essential Air Service program has been plagued with a decline in the number of airlines willing to provide this critical link to the national transportation network. Not only have we lost a rash of participants in the program due to wildly fluctuating fuel costs and the omnipresent economic downturn, but in addition, a few `bad actors' have jeopardized commercial aviation for entire regions by submitting low-ball contracts to the Department of Transportation and then reneging on their commitment to the extent and quality of their service. Our bill will not only establish a system of minimum requirements for contracts to protect these small cities that rely on EAS, but it will also extend those contracts to 4 years from the current 2. This gives a heightened degree of stability in terms of air service, rather than having communities negotiating new contracts or receiving service from entirely new carriers every 18 months. Actively encouraging communities to get involved in the process, and build relationships with the carriers who serve them, can only bolster the quality of the program. In the final analysis, everyone benefits when our Nation is at its strongest economically. Most importantly in this case, greater prosperity everywhere will, in the long run, mean more passengers for the airlines. We cannot afford to ignore rural America--which contains nearly a quarter of the population--as we move forward with aviation policy and the next generation air traffic system. Therefore, it is very much in our national interests to ensure that every region has reasonable, consistent access to commercial air service. That is why I strongly believe the federal government has an obligation to fulfill the commitment it made to these communities when Congress deregulated the airlines in 1978; to safeguard their ability to continue commercial air service.

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act of 2009, which will increase the access to quality, affordable health care for millions of small business owners and their employees. I am pleased that my good friends, Senator Bond from Missouri and Senator Bingaman from New Mexico, have agreed to cosponsor this critical, bipartisan piece of legislation. We have introduced this legislation together since 2005. In order to help small businesses increase their employees' access to health insurance and other benefits, and help them compete for talented workers, we are introducing the SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act. This bill will enable small business employees to purchase health insurance with tax-free dollars in the same way that many employees of large companies already do--in their cafeteria plans. This legislation is modeled after the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees SIMPLE, Pension Plan enacted in 1996. As former Chair and now Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, if there's one concern I've heard time and again--from small businesses in Maine and across the country--it's the exorbitant cost to small businesses of providing health insurance to their employees. Throughout America, health insurance premiums have increased by a staggering 89 percent since 2000--far outpacing inflation and wage gains. In Maine, the annual premium for the most heavily subscribed policy in the small group insurance market is $5,400 for individual coverage, and over $16,000 for a family plan. Clearly our Nation's health care system is terribly broken--and the majority of the uninsured--52 percent--are either self-employed, work for a small business with 100 or fewer employees, or are dependent upon someone who does. I am pleased that the Congress is now in the midst of a serious reform effort that will result in a much better system of delivering health care. In order to address the problem of the working uninsured, we must address access and affordability in small businesses. The bill we are introducing today will do just that. So why are our Nation's small businesses, which are our country's job creators and the true engine of our economic growth, not offering health insurance? Survey after survey tells us that the main reason is that they cannot afford to offer it, or other benefits. Still other small firms can only afford to pay a portion of their employees' health insurance premiums. As a result, countless employees of small business must try to obtain health insurance from the individual market rather than through their work place. As we debate reforming health insurance, we must consider cafeteria plans--Section 125 plans, as they are often known--which are a proven vehicle for access, and should be a key component to reform. I would like to add that another component to reform that must be considered is the SHOP Act, which I reintroduced yesterday with Senators Durbin and Lincoln, which would also help to reverse the pernicious problems of access and affordability of health insurance. Currently, many large employers, and even the Federal Government, allow employees to purchase health insurance, and other qualified benefits, with tax-free dollars. Cafeteria plans allow employers to offer health benefits with pre-tax dollars. As the name suggests, cafeteria plans are programs where employees can purchase a variety of qualified benefits. Specifically, cafeteria plans offer employees great flexibility in selecting their desired benefits while allowing them to disregard those benefits that do not fit their particular needs. Moreover, the employees are usually purchasing benefits at a lower cost because their employers are often able to obtain a reduced group rate prices. Typically, in cafeteria plans, a combination of employer contributions and employee contributions are used to fund the accounts that employees used to buy specific benefits. Under current law, qualified benefits include health insurance, dependent-care reimbursement, life and disability insurance. Unfortunately, long term care insurance is not currently a qualified benefit available for purchase in cafeteria plans. I will come back to long term care insurance in a moment. Again, cafeteria plans already have a proven record of providing good benefits to a wide group of employees. However, in order for companies to qualify for cafeteria plans they must satisfy the tax code's strict non-discrimination rules and these rules are a major impediment to small employers being able to offer benefits to employees. These rules exist to ensure that companies offer the same benefits to their low- wage employees along with their highly compensated employees. Now, I want to be clear. I believe that these non-discrimination rules serve a legitimate purpose and are necessary employee protections. Indeed, we need to ensure that employers are not able to game the tax system to benefit only upper income employees or the business owners. As with the SIMPLE pension plan, a small business employer that is willing to make a minimum contribution for all employees, or who is willing to match contributions, will be permitted to waive the non-discrimination rules that currently prevent them from otherwise offering these benefits. This structure has worked extraordinarily well in the pension area with little risk of abuse. I am confident that it will be just as successful when it comes to broad- based benefits offered through cafeteria plans. The SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act requires the employer to either match contributions of 3 percent of an employee's income or contribute 2 percent without the employee's contribution. An essential change allows small business owners themselves to participate in cafeteria plans generally. Current law punitively prohibits the owners of small businesses from participating in these benefit plans. As a result, if a business owner is unable to obtain any benefit for himself or his own family he is unlikely to undertake the time and financial commitment of offering the benefit. It is time to remove this punitive prohibition which I believe will expand access to this flexible platform for employee benefits. Another improvement generally applicable to all cafeteria plan law updates the rules regarding depended care flexible spending accounts, DCFSA. The bill increases the amount that can be excluded to $7,500 for one dependent or $10,000 for two or more dependents. Had the original $5,000 limit for DCFSA been indexed for inflation when it was created in 1986, it would have risen to $9,692. The bill also indexes these amounts for future inflation so that families will not see an erosion of their benefit in the future. In order for millions of working moms to be able to work outside of the home, they must have help in addressing child care costs. It is critical to note that it is not just working parents but an increasing number of baby-boom adults who need help caring for aging dependent parents. Increasing the dependent care exclusion in flexible spending accounts is an essential update to cafeteria plan law for working families. Another provision of the bill generally revises the use it or lose it rule under current law, and permits participants to carry over up to $500 left in a health-care or dependent-care flexible spending account to the next plan year. Such unused contributions could also be carried over to the employee's retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, or to a Health Savings Account. In either case, any carried over contributions will reduce the amount that the employee could contribute to the flexible spending account or pension plan in the subsequent year. The bill indexes the carry-over amount for inflation. Finally, the bill also works to address our aging populations' need for long-term care insurance which is also a probable component to the debate on health care reform. In the U.S., nearly half of all seniors age 65 or older will need long-term care at some point in their life. Unfortunately, most seniors have not adequately prepared for this possibility, just as many working age individuals have not given much thought to their eventual long-term care needs. With the cost of a private room in a nursing home averaging more than $74,000 annually, many Americans risk losing their life savings--and jeopardizing their children's inheritance--by failing to properly plan for the long-term care services they will need as they grow older. To address this problem, this bill would allow employees to purchase long-term care insurance coverage through their cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. Expanding eligibility of these benefits will make long-term care insurance more affordable and help Americans prepare for their future long-term care needs. If more small business owners are able to offer their employees the chance to enjoy a variety of employee benefits these firms will be more likely to attract, recruit, and retain talented workers. This will ultimately make small enterprises more competitive. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to join Senator Bond and Senator Bingaman and me in cosponsoring this important legislation as we work together to achieve broader health care reform. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and a bill summary be printed in the Record.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act of 2009, which will increase the access to quality, affordable health care for millions of small business owners and their employees. I am pleased that my good friends, Senator Bond from Missouri and Senator Bingaman from New Mexico, have agreed to cosponsor this critical, bipartisan piece of legislation. We have introduced this legislation together since 2005. In order to help small businesses increase their employees' access to health insurance and other benefits, and help them compete for talented workers, we are introducing the SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act. This bill will enable small business employees to purchase health insurance with tax-free dollars in the same way that many employees of large companies already do--in their cafeteria plans. This legislation is modeled after the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees SIMPLE, Pension Plan enacted in 1996. As former Chair and now Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, if there's one concern I've heard time and again--from small businesses in Maine and across the country--it's the exorbitant cost to small businesses of providing health insurance to their employees. Throughout America, health insurance premiums have increased by a staggering 89 percent since 2000--far outpacing inflation and wage gains. In Maine, the annual premium for the most heavily subscribed policy in the small group insurance market is $5,400 for individual coverage, and over $16,000 for a family plan. Clearly our Nation's health care system is terribly broken--and the majority of the uninsured--52 percent--are either self-employed, work for a small business with 100 or fewer employees, or are dependent upon someone who does. I am pleased that the Congress is now in the midst of a serious reform effort that will result in a much better system of delivering health care. In order to address the problem of the working uninsured, we must address access and affordability in small businesses. The bill we are introducing today will do just that. So why are our Nation's small businesses, which are our country's job creators and the true engine of our economic growth, not offering health insurance? Survey after survey tells us that the main reason is that they cannot afford to offer it, or other benefits. Still other small firms can only afford to pay a portion of their employees' health insurance premiums. As a result, countless employees of small business must try to obtain health insurance from the individual market rather than through their work place. As we debate reforming health insurance, we must consider cafeteria plans--Section 125 plans, as they are often known--which are a proven vehicle for access, and should be a key component to reform. I would like to add that another component to reform that must be considered is the SHOP Act, which I reintroduced yesterday with Senators Durbin and Lincoln, which would also help to reverse the pernicious problems of access and affordability of health insurance. Currently, many large employers, and even the Federal Government, allow employees to purchase health insurance, and other qualified benefits, with tax-free dollars. Cafeteria plans allow employers to offer health benefits with pre-tax dollars. As the name suggests, cafeteria plans are programs where employees can purchase a variety of qualified benefits. Specifically, cafeteria plans offer employees great flexibility in selecting their desired benefits while allowing them to disregard those benefits that do not fit their particular needs. Moreover, the employees are usually purchasing benefits at a lower cost because their employers are often able to obtain a reduced group rate prices. Typically, in cafeteria plans, a combination of employer contributions and employee contributions are used to fund the accounts that employees used to buy specific benefits. Under current law, qualified benefits include health insurance, dependent-care reimbursement, life and disability insurance. Unfortunately, long term care insurance is not currently a qualified benefit available for purchase in cafeteria plans. I will come back to long term care insurance in a moment. Again, cafeteria plans already have a proven record of providing good benefits to a wide group of employees. However, in order for companies to qualify for cafeteria plans they must satisfy the tax code's strict non-discrimination rules and these rules are a major impediment to small employers being able to offer benefits to employees. These rules exist to ensure that companies offer the same benefits to their low- wage employees along with their highly compensated employees. Now, I want to be clear. I believe that these non-discrimination rules serve a legitimate purpose and are necessary employee protections. Indeed, we need to ensure that employers are not able to game the tax system to benefit only upper income employees or the business owners. As with the SIMPLE pension plan, a small business employer that is willing to make a minimum contribution for all employees, or who is willing to match contributions, will be permitted to waive the non-discrimination rules that currently prevent them from otherwise offering these benefits. This structure has worked extraordinarily well in the pension area with little risk of abuse. I am confident that it will be just as successful when it comes to broad- based benefits offered through cafeteria plans. The SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act requires the employer to either match contributions of 3 percent of an employee's income or contribute 2 percent without the employee's contribution. An essential change allows small business owners themselves to participate in cafeteria plans generally. Current law punitively prohibits the owners of small businesses from participating in these benefit plans. As a result, if a business owner is unable to obtain any benefit for himself or his own family he is unlikely to undertake the time and financial commitment of offering the benefit. It is time to remove this punitive prohibition which I believe will expand access to this flexible platform for employee benefits. Another improvement generally applicable to all cafeteria plan law updates the rules regarding depended care flexible spending accounts, DCFSA. The bill increases the amount that can be excluded to $7,500 for one dependent or $10,000 for two or more dependents. Had the original $5,000 limit for DCFSA been indexed for inflation when it was created in 1986, it would have risen to $9,692. The bill also indexes these amounts for future inflation so that families will not see an erosion of their benefit in the future. In order for millions of working moms to be able to work outside of the home, they must have help in addressing child care costs. It is critical to note that it is not just working parents but an increasing number of baby-boom adults who need help caring for aging dependent parents. Increasing the dependent care exclusion in flexible spending accounts is an essential update to cafeteria plan law for working families. Another provision of the bill generally revises the use it or lose it rule under current law, and permits participants to carry over up to $500 left in a health-care or dependent-care flexible spending account to the next plan year. Such unused contributions could also be carried over to the employee's retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, or to a Health Savings Account. In either case, any carried over contributions will reduce the amount that the employee could contribute to the flexible spending account or pension plan in the subsequent year. The bill indexes the carry-over amount for inflation. Finally, the bill also works to address our aging populations' need for long-term care insurance which is also a probable component to the debate on health care reform. In the U.S., nearly half of all seniors age 65 or older will need long-term care at some point in their life. Unfortunately, most seniors have not adequately prepared for this possibility, just as many working age individuals have not given much thought to their eventual long-term care needs. With the cost of a private room in a nursing home averaging more than $74,000 annually, many Americans risk losing their life savings--and jeopardizing their children's inheritance--by failing to properly plan for the long-term care services they will need as they grow older. To address this problem, this bill would allow employees to purchase long-term care insurance coverage through their cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. Expanding eligibility of these benefits will make long-term care insurance more affordable and help Americans prepare for their future long-term care needs. If more small business owners are able to offer their employees the chance to enjoy a variety of employee benefits these firms will be more likely to attract, recruit, and retain talented workers. This will ultimately make small enterprises more competitive. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to join Senator Bond and Senator Bingaman and me in cosponsoring this important legislation as we work together to achieve broader health care reform. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and a bill summary be printed in the Record.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, with the weather beginning to warm up, Mainers and tourists alike are preparing to once again head outdoors and enjoy the beauty that our State has to offer. I rise this week to highlight the work one small business--Cadillac Mountain Sports--is doing to ensure that outdoorsmen and women have the gear and tools they need to make the most of their outings. Cadillac Mountain Sports was founded in May 1989 by Matthew Curtis. Mr. Curtis set up his small shop in busy downtown Bar Harbor, a summer haven for those visiting Acadia National Park. His intention, however, was to build a year-round sports store that served both members of the local community and the region's seasonal visitors. The store initially carried a wide variety of equipment for a host of individual sports and fitness activities, from swimming and tennis to running and aerobics. It soon widened its product line to include hiking, rock climbing, and backpacking equipment. Immensely popular from the outset, the business soon needed to significantly increase its space. Mr. Curtis moved his business to a larger location across the street after just 2 years, doubling its size and allowing the company to grow its product line. Since then, the company has undergone several expansions and renovations. Additionally, over the years, Cadillac has expanded to become a five-store chain, with four locations in downtown Bar Harbor, and one in nearby Ellsworth. Its line includes Cadillac's Patagonia, Cadillac's The North Face, and Cadillac's Nike, which all sell those particular brands' products. Cadillac now employs 30 people during the slow season, a number that rises to 100 people during the summer months. Cadillac Mountain Sports is grounded in the communities where it is located, and strives to improve the quality of living in those towns. Cadillac was recently instrumental in supporting the Ellsworth High Street Beautification Program to revamp its downtown area. Additionally, Cadillac utilizes a number of ``green'' business practices, including recycling programs. As a result of its considerable efforts to improve the town's well being, Cadillac Mountain Sports will be presented with the 2009 ``Top Drawer'' Award by the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce at the organization's 54th annual meeting on Thursday, May 14, 2009. The ``Top Drawer'' Award is presented annually to either a business or person that makes a lasting contribution to the development and improvement of the greater Ellsworth region. The award was founded in 1980 to commemorate the late Tom Caruso, who established Bar Harbor Airlines to ``Link Maine With The World.'' It is clear that Cadillac Mountain Sports, with its solid and intelligent commitment to the customer and the community, is highly worthy of this recognition. A small business that has grown to become a regional leader in the sale of sports equipment, Cadillac is a prime example of the success that comes with hard work, community involvement, and customer responsiveness. Congratulations to Matthew Curtis and everyone at Cadillac Mountain Sports for winning the 2009 ``Top Drawer'' Award, and best wishes for continued success.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague, Senator Bingaman, to introduce the bipartisan Rural Aviation Improvement Act. I am proud to join the senior Senator from New Mexico, a steadfast and resolute guardian of commercial aviation service to all communities, particularly rural areas that would otherwise be deprived of any air service. It has always been true that reliable air service to our Nation's rural areas is not simply a luxury or a convenience. It is an imperative. Ask any town manager or mayor of a small community how critical aviation is to economic development. All of us in the Senate who come from rural states understand the vital role aviation plays in the moving of people and goods to and from areas that would otherwise face a paucity of transportation options. Quite frankly, I have long held serious concerns about the impact deregulation of the airline industry has had on small cities and smaller towns in rural areas, like those in my home State of Maine. That fact is, since deregulation, many of these communities across the country have experienced a decline in flights and size of aircraft while seeing an increase in fares. More than 300 have lost air service altogether. This legislation will serve to improve the long-underfunded Essential Air Service program. The additional commitment of resources will augment the ability of the program to achieve its desired goals, reducing the impact on the general fund while providing small communities with a greater degree of certainty when planning future improvements or bringing enhanced service to their airports. The bill also gives those same communities a greater role in retaining and determining the sort of air service which they receive, and assists in making that service sustainable. Increasingly, the Essential Air Service program has been plagued with a decline in the number of airlines willing to provide this critical link to the national transportation network. Not only have we lost a rash of participants in the program due to wildly fluctuating fuel costs and the omnipresent economic downturn, but in addition, a few `bad actors' have jeopardized commercial aviation for entire regions by submitting low-ball contracts to the Department of Transportation and then reneging on their commitment to the extent and quality of their service. Our bill will not only establish a system of minimum requirements for contracts to protect these small cities that rely on EAS, but it will also extend those contracts to 4 years from the current 2. This gives a heightened degree of stability in terms of air service, rather than having communities negotiating new contracts or receiving service from entirely new carriers every 18 months. Actively encouraging communities to get involved in the process, and build relationships with the carriers who serve them, can only bolster the quality of the program. In the final analysis, everyone benefits when our Nation is at its strongest economically. Most importantly in this case, greater prosperity everywhere will, in the long run, mean more passengers for the airlines. We cannot afford to ignore rural America--which contains nearly a quarter of the population--as we move forward with aviation policy and the next generation air traffic system. Therefore, it is very much in our national interests to ensure that every region has reasonable, consistent access to commercial air service. That is why I strongly believe the federal government has an obligation to fulfill the commitment it made to these communities when Congress deregulated the airlines in 1978; to safeguard their ability to continue commercial air service.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, I rise in strong support of the Boxer- Snowe amendment, which would be modified by an Ensign-Pryor-Boxer-Snowe second-degree perfecting amendment, to provide for additional oversight of the Public-Private Investment Program--PPIP--which the Treasury Department has established to help remove toxic securities from bank balance sheets and restore the flow of credit. With up to $100 billion of Troubled Asset Relief Program--TARP-- dollars at stake for PPIP alone, it is critical that we take every step at our disposal to safeguard taxpayer dollars. To that end, I am pleased to have collaborated with Senators Ensign and Pryor to modify the amendment Senator Boxer and I initially offered. I hope that the Senate will now approve our consensus language overwhelmingly. One common feature of PPIP, which will work in conjunction with the Term Asset-Backed Loan Securities Loan Facility--TALF--that Treasury has established to get small business and consumer credit flowing once again, is that both programs match dollars put forth by private investors with money from TARP, the Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. One concern that has been raised by private observers and the Special Inspector General for TARP Neil Barofsky in his April 21 report to Congress is the potential for fraud. Indeed, Mr. Barofsky's assessment could not be clearer, as he wrote, ``Many aspects of PPIP could make it inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.'' Unfortunately, the potential for fraud appears widespread. For example, as private funds with access to taxpayer dollars will be created to purchase and manage toxic assets under PPIP, conflicts of interest between what is best for the fund manager and the taxpayer could easily arise. In cases in which a fund already owns or manages the same types of assets it is proposing to purchase on behalf of taxpayers, that could give it the incentive to overpay. The reason is that it could make more money if the price of the assets it already owned were bid up. At the same time, the taxpayer will have overpaid for assets and forfeited an investment fee to the fund managers. To ensure that taxpayers are not bilked, the original Boxer-Snowe amendment had two objectives. First and foremost, it would require Treasury to work with Special Inspector General for TARP Barofsky to write stringent conflict of interest rules. Second, it would provide Mr. Barofsky's office an additional $15 million to audit transactions under PPIP to ensure taxpayers do not get fleeced. As I mentioned, that Senator Boxer and I were able to work with Senators Ensign and Pryor to strengthen the taxpayer protections contained in our initial amendment. The result is a consensus amendment that will ensure PPIP is subject to strict safeguards that will still allow it to get underway and begin to clear toxic assets from bank balance sheets, thereby, spurring the flow of credit. Turning to specifics, our consensus amendment will require the Treasury Department to impose strict conflict of interest rules on managers of public-private investment funds to ensure that securities bought by the funds are purchased in arms-length transactions, that fiduciary duties to public and private investors in the fund are not violated, and that there is full disclosure of relevant facts and financial interests. Second, each public-private investment fund would be required to disclose quarterly to the Secretary of the Treasury the value of the 10 largest positions of each fund manager. Third, each manager of a public/private investment fund would be obliged to acknowledge a fiduciary duty to both the public and private investors in such a fund, as well as develop a robust ethics policy and methods to ensure compliance. Fourth, our amendment would mandate that Special Inspector General Barofsky would have access to all books and records of a public-private investment fund, as well as each fund manager to retain all relevant books, documents, and records to facilitate investigations. Last but not least, our amendment would add critical legislation proposed by Senators Ensign and Pryor that would require the Secretary of the Treasury to work with Special Inspector General Barofsky to issue regulations governing the interaction of PPIP with the Term-Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility to address concerns regarding the potential for excessive leverage that could result from interactions between the programs. The issue here, is that although both programs would match private funds with public dollars, the government's stake is generally several times higher. For example, in the case of PPIP alone, private funds may only have to put up $7 for each $100 invested. Given that it is always easier to play with other people's money than your own, I am pleased that this language has been added to the underlying Boxer-Snowe amendment. I ask my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment that would safeguard taxpayer funds on both the front end by mandating critically necessary conflict of interest rules on PPIP and on the back end as well by providing Inspector General Barofsky with additional resources to investigate those who would seek to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense. Amendment No. 1039, as Modified

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I introduced a Senate Resolution recognizing the United States Army and the physicians of Maine Medical Center for saving the life of a 6-year-old Iraqi girl. My Maine constituents and I are bursting with pride over the tremendous commitment and contribution of Dr. Reed Quinn and the team of health professionals at Maine Medical Center who recently conducted an eight-hour open heart surgery procedure which saved young Tiba's life. The procedure was made possible by the compassion of the Maine Foundation for Cardiac Surgery, and the mission was fulfilled by a team of genuine American heroes, led by the U.S. Army. I am particularly touched by the bravery of a young child and the outstanding service of our courageous soldiers in the U.S. Army. I will always remember this story because it places a human face at the center of a war-torn area. After viewing the moving news series reported by Kim Block of WGME Channel 13 in Portland on ``Operation Good Heart,'' I thought it was fitting to recognize the story of 6-year-old Tiba and her mother, Sareea, and their journey from their village in Iraq to Maine. Tiba suffered a dangerous heart condition and was transported by the U.S. Army from Iraq to Maine for life-saving open-heart surgery performed by the talented physicians of Maine Medical Center. I hope my colleagues will join me in commending the dedicated soldiers of the U.S. Army, the superlative professionals of Maine Medical Center, the generous folks at the Maine Foundation for Cardiac Surgery, the good people of Channel 13, and--above all--the brave mother and daughter who traveled across the globe. This is a heartwarming story about wonderful people who make America great, and I urge adoption of the Resolution.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2009. This bill would enhance the research programs established in the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 and reauthorized in 2004, which have greatly enhanced our ability to predict outbreaks of harmful algal blooms and the extent of hypoxic zones. But knowing when outbreaks will occur is only half the battle. By funding additional research into mitigation and prevention of HABs and hypoxia, and by enabling communities to develop response strategies to more effectively reduce their effects on our coastal communities, this legislation would take the next critical steps to reducing the social and economic impacts of these potentially disastrous outbreaks. I am proud to continue my leadership on this important issue and I particularly want to thank my counterpart on this key piece of legislation, Senator Bill Nelson. My partnership with Senator Breaux on the first two harmful algal bloom bills proved extremely fruitful, and I am pleased that Gulf of Mexico--whose coastal residents are severely impacted by both harmful algal blooms, also known as HABs, and hypoxia--will continue to be so well represented as this program moves into the future. I also want to thank the bill's additional co- sponsors, Senators Cantwell, Cardin, Vitter, Landrieu, Boxer and Levin for their vital contributions. We all represent coastal States directly affected by harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, and we see first hand the ecological and economic damage caused by these events. In New England blooms of Alexandrium algae, more commonly known as ``red tide'' can cause shellfish to accumulate toxins that when consumed by humans lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning, PSP, a potentially fatal neurological disorder. Therefore, when levels of Alexandrium reach dangerous levels, our fishery managers are forced to close shellfish beds that provide hundreds of jobs and add millions of dollars to our regional economy. Red tide outbreaks--which occur in various forms not just in the northeast, but along thousands of miles of U.S. coastline--have increased dramatically in the Gulf of Maine in the last 20 years, with major blooms occurring almost every year. In 2005, the most severe red tide since 1972 blanketed the New England coast from Martha's Vineyard to Downeast Maine, resulting in extensive commercial and recreational shellfish harvesting closures lasting several months at the peak of the seafood harvesting season. In a peer-reviewed study, economists found that the 2005 event caused over $4.9 million in lost landings of shellfish in the State of Maine alone, and more than $20 million throughout New England. Last year's outbreak of red tide tracked very closely the patter of the 2005 event in both location and severity, but unlike in 2005 when nearly the entire coasts of Maine and Massachusetts were closed, resource managers had improved testing capabilities in place that allowed many localized areas to remain open. Such procedures were a direct result of programs established by the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Acts of 1998 and 2004. Most recently, on April 22, 2009 researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and North Carolina State University announced the potential for ``red tide'' in the Gulf of Maine this season is expected to be ``moderately large'', based on a regional seafloor survey of Alexandrium abundance. This survey revealed that levels of Alexandrium are currently higher than those observed just prior to the 2005 red tide. Just a few days ago, officials from the Maine Department of Resources Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program closed a large parcel of the Maine coast to the harvest of mussels, oysters, and carnivorous snails due to the presence of PSP. The current trend of increasing frequency and intensity of red tide events in new England waters is just one example of the need to further enhance our ability to provide detailed forecasting and testing measures. The quick response time these capabilities enable will greatly reduce the economic impact such outbreaks impose on our coastal communities. While we have made great strides in bloom prediction and monitoring, it is clear that these problems have not gone away, but rather increased in magnitude. Harmful algal blooms remain prevalent nationwide, and areas of hypoxia, also known as ``dead zones'' are now occurring with increasing frequency. Within a dead zone, oxygen levels plummet to the point at which they can no longer sustain life, driving out animals that can move, and killing those that cannot. The most infamous dead zone occurs annually in the Gulf of Mexico, off the shores of Louisiana. In 2008, researchers determined that this dead zone extended over 12,875 square miles, making it the second largest since measurements began in 1985. Dead zones are also occurring with increasing frequency in more areas than ever before, including off the coasts of Oregon, the Chesapeake Bay and Texas. The amendments contained in this legislation would enhance the Nation's ability to predict, monitor, and ultimately control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. Understanding when these blooms will occur is vital, but the time has come to take this program to the next level--to determine not just when an outbreak will occur, but how to reduce its intensity or prevent its occurrence all together. This bill would build on NOAA's successes in research and forecasting by creating a program to mitigate and control HAB outbreaks. This bill also recognizes the need to enhance coordination among state and local resource managers--those on the front lines who must make the decisions to close beaches or shellfish beds. Their decisions are critical to protecting human health, but can also impose significant economic impacts. The bill would mandate creation of Regional Research and Action Plans that would identify baseline research, possible State and local government actions to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of HABs, and establish outreach strategies to ensure the public is informed of the dangers these events can present. A regional focus on these issues will ensure a more effective and efficient response to future events. And finally, this bill would, for the first time, create a pilot program to examine harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in fresh water systems. If enacted, this critical reauthorization would greatly enhance our Nation's ability to predict, monitor, mitigate, and control outbreaks of HABs and hypoxia. Over half the U.S. population resides in coastal regions, and we must do all in our power to safeguard their health and the health of the marine environment. The existing Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program has done a laudable job to date, and this authorization will allow them to expand their scope and provide greater benefits to the Nation as a whole. I thank Senator Bill Nelson, and all of my cosponsors again for their efforts in developing this vital legislation. Mr. President, I ask unamimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2009. This bill would enhance the research programs established in the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 and reauthorized in 2004, which have greatly enhanced our ability to predict outbreaks of harmful algal blooms and the extent of hypoxic zones. But knowing when outbreaks will occur is only half the battle. By funding additional research into mitigation and prevention of HABs and hypoxia, and by enabling communities to develop response strategies to more effectively reduce their effects on our coastal communities, this legislation would take the next critical steps to reducing the social and economic impacts of these potentially disastrous outbreaks. I am proud to continue my leadership on this important issue and I particularly want to thank my counterpart on this key piece of legislation, Senator Bill Nelson. My partnership with Senator Breaux on the first two harmful algal bloom bills proved extremely fruitful, and I am pleased that Gulf of Mexico--whose coastal residents are severely impacted by both harmful algal blooms, also known as HABs, and hypoxia--will continue to be so well represented as this program moves into the future. I also want to thank the bill's additional co- sponsors, Senators Cantwell, Cardin, Vitter, Landrieu, Boxer and Levin for their vital contributions. We all represent coastal States directly affected by harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, and we see first hand the ecological and economic damage caused by these events. In New England blooms of Alexandrium algae, more commonly known as ``red tide'' can cause shellfish to accumulate toxins that when consumed by humans lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning, PSP, a potentially fatal neurological disorder. Therefore, when levels of Alexandrium reach dangerous levels, our fishery managers are forced to close shellfish beds that provide hundreds of jobs and add millions of dollars to our regional economy. Red tide outbreaks--which occur in various forms not just in the northeast, but along thousands of miles of U.S. coastline--have increased dramatically in the Gulf of Maine in the last 20 years, with major blooms occurring almost every year. In 2005, the most severe red tide since 1972 blanketed the New England coast from Martha's Vineyard to Downeast Maine, resulting in extensive commercial and recreational shellfish harvesting closures lasting several months at the peak of the seafood harvesting season. In a peer-reviewed study, economists found that the 2005 event caused over $4.9 million in lost landings of shellfish in the State of Maine alone, and more than $20 million throughout New England. Last year's outbreak of red tide tracked very closely the patter of the 2005 event in both location and severity, but unlike in 2005 when nearly the entire coasts of Maine and Massachusetts were closed, resource managers had improved testing capabilities in place that allowed many localized areas to remain open. Such procedures were a direct result of programs established by the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Acts of 1998 and 2004. Most recently, on April 22, 2009 researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and North Carolina State University announced the potential for ``red tide'' in the Gulf of Maine this season is expected to be ``moderately large'', based on a regional seafloor survey of Alexandrium abundance. This survey revealed that levels of Alexandrium are currently higher than those observed just prior to the 2005 red tide. Just a few days ago, officials from the Maine Department of Resources Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program closed a large parcel of the Maine coast to the harvest of mussels, oysters, and carnivorous snails due to the presence of PSP. The current trend of increasing frequency and intensity of red tide events in new England waters is just one example of the need to further enhance our ability to provide detailed forecasting and testing measures. The quick response time these capabilities enable will greatly reduce the economic impact such outbreaks impose on our coastal communities. While we have made great strides in bloom prediction and monitoring, it is clear that these problems have not gone away, but rather increased in magnitude. Harmful algal blooms remain prevalent nationwide, and areas of hypoxia, also known as ``dead zones'' are now occurring with increasing frequency. Within a dead zone, oxygen levels plummet to the point at which they can no longer sustain life, driving out animals that can move, and killing those that cannot. The most infamous dead zone occurs annually in the Gulf of Mexico, off the shores of Louisiana. In 2008, researchers determined that this dead zone extended over 12,875 square miles, making it the second largest since measurements began in 1985. Dead zones are also occurring with increasing frequency in more areas than ever before, including off the coasts of Oregon, the Chesapeake Bay and Texas. The amendments contained in this legislation would enhance the Nation's ability to predict, monitor, and ultimately control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. Understanding when these blooms will occur is vital, but the time has come to take this program to the next level--to determine not just when an outbreak will occur, but how to reduce its intensity or prevent its occurrence all together. This bill would build on NOAA's successes in research and forecasting by creating a program to mitigate and control HAB outbreaks. This bill also recognizes the need to enhance coordination among state and local resource managers--those on the front lines who must make the decisions to close beaches or shellfish beds. Their decisions are critical to protecting human health, but can also impose significant economic impacts. The bill would mandate creation of Regional Research and Action Plans that would identify baseline research, possible State and local government actions to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of HABs, and establish outreach strategies to ensure the public is informed of the dangers these events can present. A regional focus on these issues will ensure a more effective and efficient response to future events. And finally, this bill would, for the first time, create a pilot program to examine harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in fresh water systems. If enacted, this critical reauthorization would greatly enhance our Nation's ability to predict, monitor, mitigate, and control outbreaks of HABs and hypoxia. Over half the U.S. population resides in coastal regions, and we must do all in our power to safeguard their health and the health of the marine environment. The existing Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program has done a laudable job to date, and this authorization will allow them to expand their scope and provide greater benefits to the Nation as a whole. I thank Senator Bill Nelson, and all of my cosponsors again for their efforts in developing this vital legislation. Mr. President, I ask unamimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, American entrepreneurs often make their mark by honing their skills to meet a public demand. Today I wish to recognize Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Inc., a small business in my home State of Maine, that saw a need in specialty toolmaking, and moved quickly to fill it. As a boy, Thomas Lie-Nielsen spent many hours in his father's workshop as seasoned woodworkers practiced their craft, absorbing their techniques. An English major in college, Mr. Lie-Nielsen always maintained a fondness for woodworking, and later worked for a mail order woodworking tools business. When larger manufacturers began to drop specialty tools from their lines, he moved to the small Maine town of West Rockport, where he opened his shop in 1981 to fill the specialty tool niche. In 1988, as the business grew, Mr. Lie-Nielsen moved the company to the neighboring town of Warren, where he later opened a 13,000-square-foot facility for its day-to-day operations. In 1998, Lie-Nielsen acquired the Independence Tool Company, further growing the company's size. Starting out producing just two tools in 1981, Lie-Nielsen today manufactures almost 100 different tools, from planes to spokeshaves to special inlay tools. The company now employs more than 60 Mainers, crafting woodworking tools from a variety of native American hardwoods found mostly throughout New England. Lie-Nielsen ships its tools to customers abroad, as far away as Europe, Japan and Australia. The company also teaches the craft of woodworking through its training DVDs which feature how to get the most out of their specialty, hand-crafted Lie-Nielsen tools. Mr. Lie-Nielsen remains personally committed to the success of his business, particularly through increased production and the development of new and sturdy products. He is particularly responsive to comments and suggestions from his company's customers in designing new tools they would like Lie-Nielsen to make. Additionally, Mr. Lie-Nielsen frequently travels throughout the United States and Canada discussing the woodworking and tool-making trade at informational talks and presentations. He is also an accomplished author, having written ``Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Sharpening,'' as well as co- authoring ``Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking.'' On April 17 of this year, Maine Governor John Baldacci presented Lie- Nielsen, along with five other excellent Maine companies, with the 2009 Governor's Award for Business Excellence. Lie-Nielsen was selected for the company's innovative spirit and for its strong record of community service and dedication to investing in its workforce. I extend my congratulations to Lie-Nielsen Toolworks for this outstanding recognition. Carving out a specialty niche in the woodworking world, Lie-Nielsen has excelled as a leader in the craft of toolmaking. It is the passion, drive, and innovation of entrepreneurs like Thomas Lie-Nielsen that will shape our economic future. I wish Mr. Lie-Nielsen, founder and CEO, and everyone at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, Inc. a successful year.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Daughters of Penelope. I rise today to introduce with my colleague, Senator Menendez, a resolution honoring their history of selfless service and achievement during these eight historic decades. Founded November 16, 1929, in San Francisco, CA, the Daughters of Penelope was established to improve the well-being of women and provide them with the opportunity to make significant contributions to American society. Today its mission is to promote the ideals of ancient Greece-- education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, family, and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism. An affiliate organization of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, AHEPA, a leading association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes, the Daughters of Penelope have worked both within and beyond the Greek-American community to achieve remarkable accomplishments. Over its history, its members have tirelessly sought to strengthen the status of women in society, shelter the elderly and the abused, educate our youth, promote Hellenic heritage, and raise funds for medical research. One project adopted by the Daughters of Penelope is particularly near and dear to my heart--its charitable aid to St. Basil Academy, a Greek Orthodox Archdiocese home for children in need, which I attended for several years. Beginning in 1954, the Daughters of Penelope have been providing charitable aid to St. Basil Academy when it embarked on a Christmas Seal Campaign to raise funds to build the new water works for the Academy. Since then, the Daughters of Penelope contributed to the furnishing of new buildings that have been built on campus, built a heated outdoor swimming pool for the children, and has provided funds for ongoing maintenance and renovations to the Academy for such items as replacing outdated appliances and worn-out roofs. In matching their own personal achievement with the desire to help others also achieve their goals, the Daughters of Penelope exemplify the very best in American and Hellenic values. As they embark on another 8 decades of service and accomplishment, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating them on their distinguished past, and wishing them every success in the future.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, I rise today to recognize that the month of April is designated as American City Quality Month. Through the continued efforts of the American City Planning Directors' Council and the American City Quality Foundation, ACQF, the April 2009 theme is appropriately labeled, ``Support Planning and Action for Better Quality Communities.'' For many years the emphasis promoted by the ACQF and its numerous professional organizations and supporters has been to call attention to the vital need for improving American cities through quality planning--via coordinated efforts to produce effective decisions, design, development, management, and action. As our country's population growth projections appear to reach an additional 34 million people by the year 2020, the importance of proper urban planning as it relates to area surroundings, land conservation, and quality of life becomes a crucial component of the United States' strategy to halt urban sprawl and the waste of both human and fiscal resources. Subsequently, through the devoted work, development, and planning of the ACQF and interested parties, the recognition has surfaced--that coordinated efforts on the part of city, State, and Federal governments, and the private sector need to be exacted more than ever. Such a critical mission must continue until there is mainstream coordination throughout the nation to improve our country's urban settings in terms of cultural, practical, and land conservation amenities. Therefore, through the efforts of the American City Planning Directors' Council, the American City Quality Foundation, and other interested parties, I thank all who have joined together to address the challenges posed by our burgeoning cities, as the integration of efforts has and will continue to provide us with a plan and hope for the future that assures quality growth for our Nation's urban settings. The ACQF's mission toward reaching that goal has secured both the attention and admiration of the American public.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of ADM Robert E. Peary's discovery of the North Pole--a truly exceptional accomplishment. It was a hundred years ago this month that Peary and his men completed their epic journey through the Atlantic and placed the American flag on the North Pole, marking the historic discovery. And as we commemorate this landmark occasion, the State of Maine has much to celebrate with the lasting legacy of Admiral Peary and all that he has done for our State, Nation, and the world. Born in Cresson, PA, in 1856, Peary hailed from a long line of Maine lumberman and spent most of his formative years in southern Maine with his mother, following the passing of his father. In 1877 he graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, after studying as a civil engineer. Commissioned as a lieutenant in the Civil Engineer Corps of the Navy in 1881, he went on to complete projects in Florida and Nicaragua, gaining an expertise that developed his love for the Arctic. Peary made his first expedition to Greenland in 1886 and for the next 23 years, he honed his skills and refined a deft intellect and acumen for the north seas, preparing him for his quintessential journey. Although there are myriad contributions we could recognize, it is his adventure begun on July 6, 1908, that we most honor as Peary and his men sailed northbound in his ship, the Roosevelt whose plans he developed on Eagle Island in Casco Bay and which was built in Bucksport, ME. I might add! Having arrived at Ellesmere Island with 23 men, 133 dogs, and 19 sleds, on March 1, 1909, Peary set off for the final leg of his journey. For 37 days, they rode by sledge through one of our planet's most hostile environments. And it was on April 6, 1909, when Peary achieved his lifelong dream and history was made as he and his five colleagues were the first to step foot on the barren North Pole. Although it may be easy to forget some of the challenges that Peary and everyone on his expedition endured, organizations such as the Friends of Peary's Eagle Island and the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College have captured this storied history, providing crucial educational tools for all of our citizens, young and old, as we seek to learn more of the expedition's triumphs on this centennial anniversary. Indeed, the State of Maine and her people have much cause for pride as we celebrate Admiral Peary's contributions this month, honoring a phenomenal milestone.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of the confirmation of Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. This nomination comes at a transformational moment and at a monumental time--as the American people look to the Federal Government to achieve systemic change to ensure that all have affordable access to health care. The Senate Finance Committee, of which I am a member-- along with the HELP Committee--is working mightily to craft reforms to address the current unacceptable reality of 70 million Americans lacking adequate coverage, and the increasingly unsustainable costs that undermine the health security of all Americans. At the same time, our Nation faces the most severe economic distress we have witnessed since the Great Depression, with more than 2.6 million jobs lost last year. And it is the Department of Health and Human Services that stands at the forefront of helping to mitigate the consequences through our health and poverty programs. Therefore, there can be no doubt of the necessity for sound executive leadership at HHS. Indeed, given both its prominence and its status as one of the largest departments in the Federal Government--which also oversees programs upon which nearly 1 in 3 Americans rely for their health care--our next Secretary of Health and Human Services should be a talented public official possessing a depth and breadth of experience as both a skilled administrator and manager, and a professional committed to systemic health reform. In that light, as former Kansas State Insurance Commissioner and now as Governor--and with her experience in tackling health care issues in her State--I believe Governor Sebelius possesses the knowledge and skills to meet the pressing demands facing our next leader of HHS. In her work as Kansas State Insurance Commissioner she rightly recognized a takeover of her State's largest health plan as a threat to affordable coverage and fought vigorously and successfully to maintain its independence. As Governor, she worked to reduce State government spending, and resisted tax increases until the Kansas State Supreme Court mandated a new school financing program. That is significant as, for health reform to succeed, we must ensure that every American is assured of affordable access to quality health coverage--but, of equal importance, we must reform health care to deliver better value and that requires a Secretary who will look first to cost savings and delivery reforms before we consider new revenue. Moreover, HHS will be well-served by a Secretary who is committed to building the bipartisan consensus necessary to pass the best possible health reform legislation that will have the greatest level of credibility with the American people. And on that note, it is telling that Governor Sebelius was the first Democrat elected Kansas State Insurance Commissioner in more than 100 years, that in her gubernatorial campaigns she has twice chosen a Republican running mate, and that Time Magazine ranked her in 2005 as one of the five best Governors. Given her history, I think the Governor understands the hazards of a politically polarized environment. Indeed, today, some propose that we craft the most significant health legislation in our history by undermining the very rules of the Senate which help ensure that this Chamber creates broad consensus--through the application of the budget reconciliation process. But to craft a complex reform of health care with this approach would be wholly inappropriate, as any bill it would produce would lack the broad support necessary to both enact and sustain such a momentous initiative. We should not be drawing lines in the sand up front in this debate. It is neither constructive nor conducive to the process, and Governor Sebelius should recognize that reconciliation threatens to simply increase polarization.

Ms. SNOWE

Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, on June 12, television broadcasters will finally transition from analog TV signals to an all-digital system and in doing so begin a new chapter of innovation. In addition to providing higher quality video and sound, the DTV Transition will allow broadcasters to offer new services such as interactive TV and content multicasting. The benefits consumers will reap will be significant so we must make sure that they are clearly aware of this transition and the steps necessary to be prepared. Delaying the switchover till June has afforded us the opportunity to improve these efforts. However, there are several geographic areas across this nation that will be plagued by a particular problem that isn't a result of lack of consumer awareness or availability of converter boxes but because they will receive a weak digital signal or no signal at all. The DTV ``cliff effect'' occurs when the broadcast signal is so weak that all that appears on a viewer's TV is a blank screen. Unlike an analog broadcast, where a weak signal means a viewer would receive a grainy or snowy picture, a weak digital broadcast would mean no picture at all--you either get it or you don't. The DTV cliff effect occurs because of the different propagation characteristics that the new digital broadcast signals have compared to traditional analog signals. The terrain, distance from the broadcast tower, and the sensitivity of existing antennas, and even the weather all play a part in the strength of a broadcast signal and contribute to the cliff effect. Recently, a market-research firm estimated that more than 9 million households could experience some digital TV reception problems. In addition, many households in Wilmington, North Carolina, which participated in a DTV Transition trial run last fall, and about a thousand homes in Hawaii, which transitioned early, experienced reception and cliff effect problems, so this is a very real threat that will disrupt a significant number of households. That is why I rise today with my colleague Senator Collins to introduce legislation to directly address this problem by creating an assistance program for the construction of new digital translators to fill the gaps in the digital coverage of full-power stations. Specifically, the bill would provide $125 million in reimbursements for the construction of digital repeater or translator towers, which run approximately $80,000 to $100,000 each to build. These repeaters are essential in filling the dead zones that will result from the switchover. The FCC recently released a report estimating that ``approximately 18 percent of stations--319--are predicted to lose coverage of 2 percent or more of the existing population they reached with their analog signals.'' One of the recommendations the Commission suggested to alleviate this problem was for affected stations to build translators. The FCC also provided a partial remedy in releasing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would allow stations to install digital translators immediately under Special Temporary Authority. However, in this poor economic climate many broadcasters do not have the resources to construct these expensive towers. This legislation supplies some of the funding necessary to meet the challenges posed by this significant problem. It also should be noted that these towers can be used to co-locate wireless broadband facilities or other advanced communications services, which means an easier expansion of broadband in many areas that currently are without. Fully addressing the DTV cliff effect problem will ensure the transition in June is as seamless and undisruptive as possible for all Americans. That is why I hope my colleagues will join Senator Collins and me in supporting this legislation.