Jeanne Shaheen

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a colloquy with Senator Hatch and Senator Wyden.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank the ranking member.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank the chairman. I appreciate his support for this amendment. Does the ranking member agree that we should ensure that small businesses are supported as part of our trade agenda?

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank the chairman. To that end, I have filed an amendment, amendment No. 1227, that would take a number of steps to ensure that our small businesses benefit from international trade and potential new trade agreements. Although I understand that we will not have an opportunity to amend the TPA legislation, I hope to work with the chairman to ensure that this amendment is included in H.R. 644 or a similar bill as reported by a conference committee to reauthorize trade facilitation and trade enforcement functions and activities.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I appreciate the chairman's leadership on the trade promotion authority, TPA, legislation. As he has said, this bill creates the process by which the administration can negotiate trade agreements that have the potential to enhance trade opportunities for American businesses. The ability to reach new markets is critical for ensuring that American businesses can compete in a global marketplace. Trade has become increasingly vital for small businesses looking to diversify and grow. And yet, even though 95 percent of the world's customers live overseas, less than 1 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses in the United States sell to global markets. By comparison, over 40 percent of large businesses sell their products overseas. As ranking member of the Small Business Committee, one of my priorities is narrowing that gap. I believe that, as we consider expanding trade relationships, we must make sure that small businesses have a seat at the table and the support they need to reach global markets and compete internationally. Does the chairman agree?

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss two amendments that are pending to the trade bill. I want to begin by thanking Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden, as well as Senators McConnell and Reid, for working with me to make these amendments pending. I believe it is important that we have an amendment process as we consider granting trade promotion authority to the President. Enacting the bill before us will have major impacts on our Nation's economy for years to come, and Senators should have an opportunity to improve the product reported by the Committee on Finance. The trade promotion authority bill by its very nature demands that Senators be able to debate and vote on key trade issues. That is because the trade promotion authority bill creates a process by which trade agreements are submitted to Congress for approval without the opportunity to change them on the House or Senate floor. So it is critical that we utilize the opportunity we have now to set the rules of the road for future trade agreements and to enact important trade reforms. Today, I would like to discuss two amendments I believe will strengthen the trade package. Amendment No. 1227 As ranking member of the small business committee, it is my responsibility to look at bills on the Senate floor and ask: How does this affect small businesses? How will they benefit or be harmed? How can we improve this bill so that small businesses have a seat at the table? I think that is especially important as we talk about trade. Trade has become increasingly vital for small businesses that are looking to diversify and grow. Yet, even though 95 percent of the world's customers live outside of the United States, less than 1 percent of our small- and medium-sized businesses are exporting to global markets. By comparison, over 40 percent of large businesses sell their products overseas. As we consider this trade package, we must make sure small businesses have a seat at the table and the resources they need to sell overseas. The amendment I filed incorporates bipartisan, commonsense measures that will help small businesses take advantage of trade opportunities. It reauthorizes the SBA's State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program. This program, known as STEP, was created as a pilot program to help States work with small businesses to succeed in the international marketplace. In just a few years, STEP has been a great success. Since 2011, it has supported over $900 million in U.S. small business exports, producing a return on investment of 15 to 1 for taxpayers. It has helped small businesses such as Corfin Industries, located in Salem, NH. Before STEP, Corfin's international sales were just 2 percent. Now they are up to 12 percent. As a result, the company has added 22 employees. That is the kind of job growth we will see in our small businesses when we make sure they are part of our trade agenda. Reauthorizing the successful STEP Program is a commonsense way to make sure our small businesses can benefit from trade, and it builds on bipartisan legislation that was first introduced by Senator Cantwell, who was just on the floor, Senator Collins, and me. The amendment also takes a number of steps to make it easier for small businesses to access export services provided by the Federal Government. It encourages those Federal agencies, such as the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce, to work hand in hand with State trade agencies that have on-the-ground knowledge of local needs. Finally, the amendment makes sure we understand how trade agreements negotiated under trade promotion authority will affect small businesses. I urge my colleagues to support this small business amendment, and I hope we can reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank so that our small businesses can access that funding and get into those international markets. Amendment No. 1226 The second amendment I would like to discuss is an amendment Senator McCain, who is on the floor, and I have filed to repeal a harmful, job- killing program--the USDA Catfish Inspection Program. This is something Senator McCain has been working on for years. I have joined him in recent years to try to address the concerns I have heard from companies in New Hampshire that are going to be affected by that new USDA Catfish Inspection Program. Back in 2008, a provision was added to the farm bill that transferred the inspection of catfish--only catfish--from the FDA, which inspects all foreign and domestic fish products, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It required USDA to set up a new, separate program to inspect catfish alone. I think this is a wasteful, duplicative program that will hurt seafood-processing businesses across the country. There is no scientific or food safety benefit here. In fact, officials from FDA and USDA have explicitly stated that catfish is a low-risk food. In nine separate reports, the Government Accountability Office has recommended eliminating this program. Even worse, this program is actually a thinly disguised trade barrier against foreign catfish. We are facing an immediate 5- to 7-year ban on imported catfish as soon as the USDA program is up and running. As a result, our trading partners are explicitly threatening retaliation. And since there is no scientific basis for this program, any WTO nation that currently exports catfish to the United States could challenge it and secure WTO-sanctioned trade retaliation against a wide range of U.S. export industries, including beef, soy, poultry, pork, grain, fruit, or cotton. The program is becoming a major issue of concern in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The only other time the Senate has voted on this issue was in 2012 when we voted to repeal it in a bipartisan voice vote. But since then, we have been denied the opportunity to address this issue on the floor. I think it is very important that we have an opportunity to vote on this amendment because the USDA is poised to begin its inspection of catfish very soon. This may be our last chance to solve this problem before the program's harmful effects begin. Again, we need an opportunity to vote on this amendment. I urge my colleagues to support it and to repeal the duplicative USDA Catfish Inspection Program. I look forward to hearing what my colleague Senator McCain has to say. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to extend my best wishes to Jerry Dunfey on his 80th birthday this Saturday and to salute his lifetime of remarkable achievements as a business leader and political activist. Jerry is one of 12 siblings born to Catharine and Leroy Dunfey, who emigrated from Ireland, worked in the textile mills of Lowell, MA, and later opened a small clam stand in Hampton, NH. In the years since, the Dunfeys have gone on to become one of the grand families of Granite State business and politics. As a teenager, Jerry went to work managing Dunfey's Restaurant at Hampton Beach and then made his way through the University of New Hampshire by working at the family's restaurant in Durham. He and his brothers went on to operate other restaurants, acquired small inns across New England, and founded Dunfey Hotels, which under subsequent owners became Omni Hotels. In 1968, they purchased the historic Parker House hotel in Boston, where they found the archives of the 19th century Saturday Club salon, which included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Jerry Dunfey reincarnated this famous club by founding what would become known as the Global Citizens Circle. Since 1974, the circle has brought together elected officials, activists, and ordinary citizens to debate leading issues, advocate for civil rights, and promote peaceful change in South Africa, Northern Ireland, and across the globe. Under auspices of the circle, Jerry has brought to New Hampshire speakers ranging from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Ambassador Andrew Young to Arn Chorn-Pond, a survivor of the Cambodian killing fields. Hundreds of circle forums have been convened in Belfast, Soweto, Jerusalem, Havana, and in cities across the United States. Jerry and his wife Nadine Hack have a long history of engagement in the U.S. civil rights movement, including a close friendship with the family of Martin Luther King, Jr. They both served on the board of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, read a psalm at Coretta Scott King's private family funeral, and were honorary pall bearers at her larger public funeral. They also have close ties with leaders of South Africa's liberation movement and were guests of state at Nelson Mandela's inauguration as President in 1994. For more than six decades, the large Dunfey and Kennedy families have been closely intertwined in both friendship and politics--though Ted Kennedy used to joke that, when it came to children, ``the Dunfeys are size 12 but the Kennedys are only size 9.'' Jerry was close friends with John, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy, dating back to the 1950s, and John announced for the Presidency in 1960 at a Dunfey hotel in Manchester. In 2009, Jerry and Nadine had the singular honor of sitting in the final hour of vigil by Ted Kennedy's casket at the JFK Presidential Library. Jerry Dunfey's activism in progressive politics has continued strongly into the second decade of the 21st century. He and Nadine have had five children and six grandchildren, and they are especially proud that all three generations of their family actively campaigned for President Barack Obama. Now on the cusp of his ninth decade, Jerry is retired but far from retiring. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, ``Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?'' Across a lifetime in public life, Jerry Dunfey has answered that question in powerful ways: fighting for civil rights, advancing the cause of social and economic justice here at home, and promoting peace and reconciliation across the globe. I congratulate Jerry on his 80th birthday and send my best wishes to Nadine, their children and grandchildren, and the entire Dunfey clan. They have contributed so much to the civic life of our State and our country.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I am very pleased to be here to join my colleague Senator Ayotte in applauding the passage in both the House and the Senate--today in the Senate--of H.R. 606, the Don't Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act. As Senator Ayotte said so eloquently, this is legislation we have worked on for over a year. It was first introduced in the last Congress. Now, it is finally on its way to the President's desk to become law, and it couldn't be happening at a more important time. This is National Police Week, but maybe more important for New Hampshire, this week we celebrate the memory of Officer Stephen Arkell of Brentwood. He was killed in the line of duty just a year ago this week. Last night, Officer Arkell's name was added to the Roll of Honor of police officers killed in the line of duty at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, DC. Officer Arkell was not only a terrific police officer, he was a very good and decent man. As I read in one newspaper, he was the kind of police officer who would rather write a warning than a ticket, and he aimed to end fights with words instead of handcuffs. Well, it has been a full year since we lost Officer Arkell. We don't forget, and we will never forget his example of courageous public service. Day in and day out, our public safety officers, our police, our firefighters, and their families make enormous sacrifices. Now, family members fully understand the dangers of their spouses' jobs. They live with that constant worry. But when the worst happens in the line of duty to a loved one, the last thing a surviving family should have to worry about is navigating the Federal Tax Code. For too long, families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty have had to wrangle with the IRS to exempt death benefits from taxation. They have had to hire lawyers and wait years for a ruling from the IRS and, in the meantime, their urgently needed benefits are held up. This is just unacceptable, and today it ends. Thankfully, the House and Senate have passed a bill to exempt these death benefits from taxation, ending any ambiguity that may have existed. So this is legislation that should not just help the Arkell family, but it should help families across this country. I applaud the work of my colleague Senator Ayotte on this bill, all of our colleagues in the Senate who have helped to make this happen and also those in the House who understood the need to help support our fallen public safety heroes. When the President signs this bill into law, this problem will finally be cleared up once and for all. Again, I thank my colleague Senator Ayotte for all of her work on this issue. I am delighted it is finally done and look forward to making sure it gets implemented in a way that continues to support the surviving families. I yield the floor.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, today I have the solemn duty of memorializing U.S. Navy PO2 Heidi Jo Friedman, a New Hampshire native who was tragically killed on April 12 at the age of 33. Petty Officer Friedman was serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush as an engineman, having transferred from Navy Operation Support Center Manchester in January. She entered the Navy in 2002, and previously served on the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross and in the Navy Reserve with Amphibious Construction Battalion Two Detachment 101. Heidi was born on June 28, 1981 to her father Robert, a retired Navy chief petty officer, and her mother Shari Murray. She graduated from Ledyard High School, in Ledyard, CT, and enjoyed volunteering as a mentor to children and with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation. Heidi was also a lifetime Girl Scout with a passion for rugby and traveling. To those who knew her, Heidi was a loving and caring friend--someone who touched people in a positive way. I know there are many who feel her absence deeply. Petty Officer Friedman is survived by her mother Shari L. Murray, her father and stepmother Robert B. and Laurie E. Friedman, her grandmother Arlene Canin, her brother Michael L. and wife Erin Friedman, three stepsisters: Jaime and wife Rochelle, Kara and Maria and fiancee Chris; three stepbrothers, Cito and fiancee Lyne, Quique and wife Amanda and Nolan; two nephews, Alexander and Ashton; and many aunts, uncles and cousins. On behalf of the people of New Hampshire, I ask my colleagues and all Americans to join me in honoring the life and service of PO2 Heidi Jo Friedman.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, if I could respond, I think one of the reasons for the success of the agreement was because of the efforts of Senator Cardin and Chairman Corker to solicit input from members of the committee to see what people could agree to and, where we had concerns, to respond to those in crafting the legislation. It truly was a bipartisan, very statesman-like effort, and I thank the Senators.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. Early this month, Iran and the P5+1 countries agreed to a framework deal to restrict Iran's nuclear program and to submit it to international inspections. Negotiators now have until June 30 to try to reach a final agreement. At the same time, the Senate has been advancing legislation requiring the President to submit any final agreement to Congress for review. That is the legislation on the floor before us today. Congress is divided along partisan lines on many issues, but we are united in our conviction that Iran must not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon and that the people's elected representatives should have the opportunity to review any final agreement with Iran. This bipartisan consensus was reflected in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's unanimous vote in favor of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. I thank Chairman Corker, who is on the floor here with me today, and Ranking Member Cardin, also on the floor, for their statesmanship and the spirit of bipartisan compromise that they exhibited in negotiating the act. They did a great job. According to the legislation, the President must submit any final agreement to Congress. Congress would then have 30 days to hear from negotiators and outside experts and to determine if additional action is warranted, including a resolution of approval or disapproval. I believe congressional oversight is appropriate because the President, in order to implement any agreement with Iran, will need to set aside sanctions put in place by Congress. I also voted for this bill because it reasserts the proper role of Congress in providing oversight of the President's execution of foreign policy. As a member of the Senator Foreign Relations Committee, I believe the best way to resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear program is a hardnosed agreement that cuts off all paths Iran could take to pursue a nuclear weapon. It was therefore crucial for me that the legislation considered by the committee not hinder our negotiators' efforts to reach a strong agreement. I believe that standard should be maintained as the full Senate considers this legislation. I believe it is also essential that the spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship that was demonstrated by Senators Corker and Cardin in forging a bipartisan bill continue this week as the full Senate takes up the Iran legislation. Amendments that undermine the administration's negotiations or structurally alter this careful bipartisan compromise should be rejected by the Senate. While I supported this bill in the Foreign Relations Committee, if the bipartisan nature of the legislation is eroded on the floor, the bill will no longer merit my support. This is a serious matter that will require the Senate to rise above the desire of some to force votes on poison-pill amendments that would destroy the bipartisan balance. We have to rise above politics here because we are confronted by a dangerous and unacceptable status quo in Iran. The benefits of a strong final deal could be significant. Such a deal would stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and ensure that it could not pursue destabilizing activities in the region with impunity. It would prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and advance greater long-term security for our regional allies. That is why, even as Congress reaffirms its role in reviewing any final agreement, we need to give the administration and its international partners every opportunity to bring these difficult negotiations to a successful conclusion. With so much at stake for the United States, for Israel, and for the entire world, it is more important than ever that the Senate rise above partisan politics and reaffirm bipartisan cooperation. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. I withhold the suggestion of the absence of a quorum.

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

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on an amendment that I was pleased to include in the human trafficking legislation that was passed earlier today. The amendment was based on the Human Trafficking Survivors Relief and Empowerment Act, which I introduced several weeks ago. It has a simple purpose. It provides an incentive for States to enact laws that allow human trafficking survivors to clear their criminal records of prostitution and other low-level, nonviolent crimes that they can reasonably demonstrate were the result of being trafficked. Many States, including my home State of New Hampshire, have vacatur laws in place. However, we need to ensure that survivors of human trafficking have access to these types of protections no matter where they are rescued, or what State they were forced to commit crimes in. When I first introduced this legislation, I shared the story of a young woman named Katie featured in a recent NPR story on vacatur laws. In the story, she spoke about her heartbreaking experience as a trafficking victim. Katie talked about being raped at age 11, and at age 13 being forced into commercial sex. She talked about having her skull cracked and ribs broken, and about the regular beatings that resulted in bruises and black eyes. She talked about 7 years of the worst kinds of physical and emotional torture, and being transported nearly 1,400 miles from her home. But Katie also talked about her recovery--about rebuilding a life with her family and young son, about working hard to make a better life. According to Katie, one of the most important things we can do for these survivors, these brave young men and women, is to give them the tools to start over. As Katie told NPR, ``I'm not ever going to forget what I've done, but at the same time, I don't want it thrown in my face every time I'm trying to seek employment.'' Survivors of human trafficking are victims of a crime. Yet often it is the victims who are arrested, detained, prosecuted, and convicted. Records of these crimes, can follow survivors for life. These records limit access to safe housing and good jobs. They can even bar access to car loans and educational opportunities. They leave trafficking survivors with few options, and in some cases drive individuals back to engaging in commercial sex. Vacatur laws help victims start fresh. They are a critical part of recovery and should be available in every State, and my amendment will help us achieve that goal. I will close by sharing comments that Katie's mom recently sent to my office. It think it clearly demonstrates what is possible when survivors are given the time and support they need to recover. She wrote: As a mother and as a woman watching all those years, being totally overwhelmed by hopelessness AND helplessness, I can see a positive . . . . I think the 11 year old girl I lost is coming back to me . . . as a woman--a little battle weary but stronger and happier and filled with so much hope. We want this kind of new beginning for every victim of trafficking. And that is exactly what this provision will help accomplish. I want to thank my colleagues for their support, and hope this bill will move quickly through the House and to the President for signature into law.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee will soon bid farewell to our congressional fellow, Coast Guard CDR Eric Bader, who has served the Committee on Appropriations for the past 2 years. Commander Bader will be returning to Massachusetts where he will be the executive officer of Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. While I know Commander Bader is looking forward to running the day-to-day operations of the air station and flying helicopters again, his departure is a great loss for the Committee on Appropriations as he is an invaluable asset to our team. Commander Bader has been detailed to the committee from the Coast Guard since June 2013 and is a key member of our professional staff. Mr. President, Commander Bader performed admirably in his role on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. He did everything we asked of him, with pinpoint accuracy, and always beat the deadlines given to him. I would also add that he served the committee during interesting times, perhaps more interesting than he imagined when he accepted the job. He was here during sequestration, for the Federal Government shutdown in the fall of 2013, the dramatic increase of unaccompanied children crossing our southern border, our response to the Ebola crisis, numerous Presidentially declared disasters, and fence-jumping and drone incidents at the White House. Eric also helped the subcommittee manage the arrival of the fiscal year 2016 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security at the same time Congress was considering, and ultimately enacting, the fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security that had been delayed. The Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee has greatly benefited from the experience Commander Bader gained as a Coast Guard officer, in particular his insights into the operations of a complex military organization that is combined with a large domestic agency. He has superb analytical skills that have been critical in our review of a $39 billion budget request and in developing complex spreadsheets that synthesize funding issues into easily understood documents we have used in hearings, closed briefings, in full committee, and on the floor. On the subcommittee, he handled the portfolios for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, as well as assisted with the Customs and Border Protection and Secret Service portfolios. In this oversight role, Commander Bader was able to obtain timely information when undocumented families who had recently crossed the border during last summer's surge were temporarily provided shelter at the training facility in Artesia, NM. He also helped track the daily influx of undocumented children and families to assist the subcommittee in making the most up-to-date funding recommendations to address this unforeseen surge. While arguably not a traditional appropriations area, he also put together a subcommittee hearing on trade enforcement issues that showed how lax trade enforcement and current duty collection policies were unfairly hurting some American industries. The hearing highlighted the harm to domestic steel, crawfish, seafood, and honey producers of these illegally dumped goods and commodities on American jobs and the economy at large. Commander Bader made critical recommendations that were adopted to improve key components within the Department of Homeland Security, including the funding of nuclear detection equipment designed to keep our ports safe. Commander Bader is also an exceptional writer. We relied on his editorial skills to put the appropriate touches into opening statements, press releases, and analytical documents shared with all the subcommittee members. His ability to take dry statistics and create informational, easily understandable graphics and charts will be greatly missed. His unqualified professionalism, perception, superb analytic focus, and technical skills, combined with a keen sense of humor, a cool head, and a modesty rarely seen on Capitol Hill, have played an integral part in moving the homeland security appropriations process forward. His high standards of professionalism and thoroughness are beyond reproach and his contributions are highly valued. Through all of this, Eric maintained the decorum and professionalism that we have all come to expect from our military officer corps, and he has represented the Coast Guard with the highest integrity and competence. Commander Bader has served me, this subcommittee, and the Senate well. We are sorry to see him leave and will miss him as our colleague but are glad to count him as a friend. Each of us on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee wish Eric all the best as he moves forward in the next phase of his career, where he will be running the day-to-day operations of the Coast Guard Air Station in Cape Cod. We look forward to seeing him back in uniform because we anticipate great things from him in the coming years. I am grateful for his contributions.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, this is about ensuring that women are not discriminated against because they want to have children. This is making sure that women don't have to choose between their jobs and their families. It is about ensuring that all women can be reassured that if they are pregnant, their employer has to provide reasonable accommodations. I hope my colleagues will vote for this amendment.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague from Georgia, Senator Isakson, in supporting the biennial budgeting amendment. This is legislation we have been working on--this will be the third session of Congress now--and it is a response to what I think we would all agree is a broken budget process here in Washington. Since 1980, we have only had two budget processes that have been finished on time, according to established process. In that timeframe, since 1980 when, as Senator Isakson pointed out, every President has endorsed biennial budgeting, Congress has resorted to more than 150 short-term funding bills or continuing resolutions. That is no way to govern. While we have made progress in recent years to reduce our deficits, we need reform of our budget process. Senator Isakson pointed out very eloquently how this proposal would work. In New Hampshire, where I served three terms as Governor, I had a legislature of members of the other party and yet we were able to pass biennial budgets 3 years, on time, that were balanced. It worked in New Hampshire. It works in 19 other States. It can work here. This is an opportunity for us to begin to reform our budget process. It won't fix everything, but it will go a long way in addressing our opportunity to provide oversight in the second year of the budget process. I hope our colleagues will join us, and that we will again, as we did in 2013, have a majority to support biennial budgeting in this body. I yield the floor.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I appreciate and support the comments from my colleague, my neighbor from Vermont, Senator Sanders. I am pleased to be here to support Senator Warren's bill, which I am cosponsoring. This amendment would allow our young people to refinance their student loans. Student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt in this country. This is an issue about the economy of this country, but even more important it is an issue about the future of our young people. In New Hampshire, we have the second highest student loan debt in the country. I have talked to young people and their families, who say they are delaying getting married, they are delaying having children, and they are delaying buying houses because of their student loan debt. Yet, families can refinance their houses and they can refinance their cars. They should be able to refinance their student loans. This is critical to getting our economy moving again in the way it should. It is critical to ensuring that our young people have a future. I hope all of our colleagues will take a look at this legislation and will agree that it makes sense. We need to do this for our families, for our students, and for our country. I yield back to the Senator from Vermont.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am on the floor to discuss the Human Trafficking Survivors Relief and Empowerment Act, which is legislation I introduced last week to aid the recovery of survivors of human trafficking. This bill, which I have also filed as an amendment to Senator Cornyn's Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, will make important strides toward helping survivors of human trafficking free themselves from the social stigma that is associated with their victimization and help them rebuild their lives as productive members of society. I wish to start by sharing the story of a young woman who was featured on NPR several weeks ago. She is a human trafficking survivor. Her story is far too common. She was raped for the first time at age 11. At 13, she was lured away from her family and eventually forced into engaging in commercial sex. She talked about the physical trauma she endured at the hands of her captor--her skull was cracked, all of her ribs broken, and she endured regular beatings and black eyes. For roughly 7 years, her entire teenage life--a life she should have been spending in school and among friends--she endured the worst kinds of physical and emotional torture. Finally, at age 20, she was rescued by a thoughtful police officer nearly 1,400 miles from her home. Fortunately, this young woman is now in the process of rebuilding her life. She has moved home near her family, she has a young son, and she is hoping to go to school for nursing and to make a better life for herself and her family. However, she is constantly confronted by the reality of the criminal record she accumulated as the result of being a trafficking victim. Every application she fills out, every job interview she attends, she is forced to relive and explain the most painful moments of her life. As this victim told NPR, ``I'm not ever going to forget what I've done, but at the same time, I don't want it thrown in my face every time I'm trying to seek employment.'' Human traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion to compel their victims to engage in criminal activity, particularly prostitution, yet it is often the trafficking victims who are arrested, detained, prosecuted, and convicted. My legislation is simple. It provides an incentive for States to enact laws that allow human trafficking survivors to clear their State criminal records of prostitution and other low-level, nonviolent crimes that result from being trafficked. Specifically, these vacatur statutes allow trafficking survivors to file a motion in court to expunge their criminal record for crimes they can reasonably demonstrate were the result of being trafficked. My colleague Senator Gillibrand has filed a similar amendment that would address this issue at the Federal level or in Federal court. Her amendment would ensure that victims charged with Federal crimes have the opportunity to clear their record of the most serious types of charges associated with trafficking. My amendment would encourage States to provide a remedy for the most common types of charges that trafficking victims face. I urge my colleagues to support my legislation and my amendment. I hope we can get trafficking legislation done in a way that will help the victims in the future. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, this past weekend we saw a huge commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march. I rise to honor the work and sacrifice of Jonathan Myrick Daniels. He was a young Episcopalian seminary student from Keene. The Presiding Officer certainly knows his name and Keene, as well. He was from Keene, NH, and he answered the call of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., for clergy to travel to Alabama to join him on that march. Jonathan lost his life 5 months later, in an act that Reverend King called ``one of the most heroic Christian deeds of which I have heard in my entire ministry.'' Although Jonathan had originally intended to spend a short time in the South and then return to his studies at the Episcopal theological school in Boston, he felt compelled by events to remain in Alabama through the spring and summer to register voters with the Episcopalian Society for Cultural and Racial Unity. On August 14, 1965, Jonathan was arrested along with a number of other civil rights activists at a demonstration in Fort Deposit, AL, a small town outside of Montgomery. They had gone there to protest segregation in the town's stores. But their demonstration was over within minutes. Armed white men from the town descended on them and took them to jail. Jonathan and his fellow activists spent 6 days in the Hayneville jail. Many in the group were still teenagers. Despite the conditions, Jonathan somehow maintained an unflaggingly upbeat attitude and good humor. He wrote his mother in New Hampshire a brief letter from the jail, apologetically describing it as a peculiar birthday card for her. He wrote: The food is vile and we aren't allowed to bathe (whew!) . . . As you can imagine, I'll have a tale or two to swap over our next martini. He declined an offer of bail money from an Episcopal organization because the amount would not have covered the release of the rest of his group. On Friday, August 20, the whole group was suddenly released. Strangely, their bail had been waived, but no one was there to meet them or take them home. The town seemed completely deserted. Jonathan and a few others walked a block away to a store to buy something to eat and drink. As he climbed the steps of the porch to the store, he suddenly heard someone shout from inside and threaten to shoot if they didn't leave. Jonathan barely had time to react before the man opened fire, but somehow he managed to jump in front of his friend Ruby Sales, a 17-year-old African-American girl. He saved Ruby's life, but Jonathan was killed by the close-range shot that was intended for her. He was just 26 years old. The shooter called the murder in to the sheriff's office himself. He said: I just shot two preachers. You better get on down here. An all- white jury later acquitted the man, taking just 2 hours to find him not guilty. While Jonathan was sacrificing his life for civil rights in Alabama, here in the Senate debate raged over the Federal Government's role in protecting the voting rights of disfranchised American citizens. Since 1870 the 15th Amendment to the Constitution had prohibited State governments from denying a citizen's right to vote based on race. However, in precincts throughout the South, Black Americans were subjected to discriminatory poll taxes, literacy tests, and other forms of voter intimidation. In many places, town clerks outright refused to register Black voters. Just 2 weeks before Jonathan was killed, Congress finally passed the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed electoral practices that discriminated against minority groups. Well, 2015 marks the 50th anniversary not just of that march in Selma but of this landmark law. While this anniversary presents an obvious time for reflection, it is also a time to look forward and address the challenges still facing our country. The impact of the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down a critical section of the law requiring Federal approval for electoral law changes in districts with the history of discrimination, is particularly troubling. This ruling now allows States to implement restrictive voting requirements that will make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots. In fact, since this ruling, almost all of the affected States have already begun attempts to restrict voting, targeting seniors, students, minorities, and threatening their access to the polls. The right to make your voice heard as a citizen of this Nation is a fundamental principle of our democracy, and it should never be infringed upon. We have a responsibility to protect this right and address these injustices. While our Nation has made a lot of progress since the 1960s and 1970s, the struggle is far from over. Inequality and racism remain in our society. As long as discrimination and racial disparities exist, the full protections of the Voting Rights Act are necessary to guarantee the rights of citizenship for every American. Jonathan Daniels should be turning 76 years old in March. He is widely recognized as a martyr of the 20th century. In Keene, his hometown, an elementary school bears his name. As we mark the 50th anniversary of his passing, as well as the passage of the Voting Rights Act, we must strive to honor his legacy by ensuring that all current and future American citizens can exercise the rights he died to protect. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to echo what my colleagues Senator Mikulski and Senator Klobuchar have said about this being a bipartisan issue. This is an issue that affects everybody in this country--Republicans, Democrats, Independents. It is a critical issue for the Senate. It is a critical issue for the House. It is a critical issue for State legislatures across the country. I am so pleased to be able to join my colleagues and thank Senator Mikulski for her leadership for such a long time on this issue and so many others, and commend Senator Klobuchar for everything she is doing to address this issue. I am so pleased to join Senator Hirono as well this morning, and look forward to seeing my colleague from New Hampshire coming to the floor shortly. This Sunday, March 8, nations across the globe will observe International Women's Day. It is an annual occasion to celebrate the achievements of women across the globe. But it also recognizes the obstacles that still stand in the way of equal rights and opportunities for women. Over the last century, women have fought for equal rights and opportunities, and we made enormous advances in much of the world. Humanity has learned that women's rights are human rights, and those rights include being respected as full and equal partners in all aspects of the economy and society. We have learned that when women succeed, families succeed, communities succeed, and nations succeed. However, as my colleagues have pointed out so eloquently, across the globe countless millions of women continue to face not only the denial of basic human and civil rights, but outright violence and bondage. We would like to think of slavery as a thing of the past, particularly here in America. But the tragic reality is that this scourge continues to thrive in the 21st century. We are here this morning to shine a spotlight on the modern slave trade and to encourage all of our colleagues here in the Senate to work with us to end it. An estimated 27 million people are trapped in the multibillion dollar marketplace that trafficks in slaves. Victims include forced migrant laborers, bonded laborers, and sex slaves, including women forced into marriages as de facto slaves. Tragically, as we have heard, children account for the majority of modern slaves, many of them trafficked and sexually exploited. Let's be clear. As Senators Klobuchar and Mikulski pointed out, modern-day slavery is not confined to impoverished and backward countries. I was recently briefed on a human trafficking case investigated in my home State of New Hampshire. This case involved forced prostitution. Fortunately, three arrests have already been made. The investigation is still ongoing, so I can't talk about the specifics of the case, but fortunately several of the victims have been rescued. I want to state the obvious and point out what Senator Klobuchar also pointed out: If modern slavery can exist in communities in New Hampshire, in Minnesota, in Maryland, it can exist anywhere in the world. I am proud the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led by Chairman Corker and our Ranking Member Menendez, is spearheading new legislation which I have cosponsored to fight the modern slave trade on a global scale. Our bill is titled the Ending Modern Slavery Initiative Act of 2015, and it was unanimously reported out of committee last week. It would authorize the creation of a nonprofit foundation to be known as the End Modern Slavery Initiative Foundation. This new foundation would fund projects to rescue victims of modern slavery and to prevent individuals from being victimized by slavery. In addition, it would pursue the strict enforcement of laws to punish individual and corporate perpetrators of modern slavery. I want to again commend the work of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary under the leadership of Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Leahy, as well as the work that Senator Cornyn and Senator Klobuchar are doing. The Committee on the Judiciary advanced three bipartisan bills to crack down on criminals involved in human trafficking and to assist victims with the rehabilitation. As we are talking about the prevalence of human trafficking, I think this picture of the areas of human trafficking shows while it is stronger in particular regions of the country--up the I-95 corridor--it is all over the country. The Presiding Officer's home State of Arkansas--a small state like New Hampshire--is one of those States where we see a big red hotspot for human trafficking. We see it all across the country. It is why we need to do everything we can nationally to respond to this scourge. As we look forward this week to celebrating International Women's Day on Sunday, let us also remember the millions of women who have been left behind, who are being exploited by traffickers and trapped in modern slavery, who are desperate to have their humanity recognized and rescued. I urge all of our colleagues here in the Senate to join us in supporting legislation that will combat and hopefully ultimately end modern slavery, the scourge of human trafficking. I yield the floor.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I will.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

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

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, here we are again where we were last Monday with about 5 days left before funding runs out for the Department of Homeland Security. So if it feels like ``Groundhog Day,'' it is because it is ``Groundhog Day,'' and we just can't keep playing those kinds of games with this agency's funding. Those who are blocking action on the funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security have a clear choice: Are they going to prioritize politics or are they going to prioritize national security? Last Friday the Senate passed a bill with 68 bipartisan votes--a bill that fully funds the Department of Homeland Security without any controversial riders attached to the bill. I am ever hopeful that the House will follow our lead and immediately take up that clean Senate bill. We cannot, we should not replay the chaos we saw last week. The brinksmanship really needs to end. It is time for Congress to pass the Department of Homeland Security funding bill. Whether it is threats to the Mall of America in Minnesota, plots foiled by DHS and the FBI in New York City, attacks on our cyber networks, or threats at our Nation's borders, we live during a time when the safety and security of this country are at risk. We cannot play politics with the agency that is tasked with keeping us safe, and we shouldn't play politics with the funding that supports our first responders--the very people who are there anytime something happens in our States and our local communities. What must our enemies think when they see Congress fighting over whether to keep the Department of Homeland Security open? Last week DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson wrote a letter to the congressional leadership, and I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the letter from Secretary Johnson.