quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa.

mr. harkin: madam president, i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: i ask unanimous consent that jillan liebeck be granted floor privileges for the duration of today's proceedings. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: madam president, in these closing weeks of the 111th congress, the senate will be saying goodbye to a number of retiring colleagues. for my part, i will miss them all, but i have to be honest, the most poignant farewell for me will be the departure of my dear friend, senator chris dodd of connecticut. chris and i have a lot in common. we're both proud of our irish roots. we were both elected to the house of representatives at the same time: 1974. chris moved over here in 1980 and i followed four years later. and we both ran for president with similarly unambiguous results. over the years we've collaborated on many legislative

initiatives, including most recently the historic patient protection and affordable care act, the health reform bill. as we all know, chris dodd is almost literally a son of the senate. with good reason, he is enormously proud of his father, former senator thomas j. dodd, lead prosecutor at the nuremberg trials and served two terms in the senate from 1959 to 1971. chris worked as a senate page at age 16, was elected to the senate at age 36. for three decades chris embodied everything that is good about this body. a passion for public service, a sincere desire to reach out across the aisle, a great talent for forging coalitions and bringing people together, and a willingness to work extraordinarily long hours in order to accomplish big and important things. over the decades, senator dodd has been a leading champion of

working americans, fighting for safer workplaces, the right to organize, stronger public schools, better access to higher education, and of course quality health care as a right and not as a privilege. he was the author of the 1993 family and medical leave act, which for the first time entitled every american to have leave from their job to take care of children or elderly or sick relatives. make no mistake, senator dodd is leaving the senate at the very top of his game. last year when senator kennedy fell ill, chris picked up the torch of health care reform. and when i became chair of the health, education and labor committee, i asked him to continue to take the lead in forging the final bill which he had led so expertly on before. again which will go down, i think, in history as one of america's great progressive accomplishments on a par with social security and medicare. even before final passage of

health reform senator dodd chaired the banking committee, was hard at work crafting yet another historic bill, the most sweeping reform of wall street and the banking industry since the great depression. to be sure, other senators played important roles in passion health reform and wall street reform, but it was senator dodd's dogged work and virtuoso skills as a legislator that ultimately won the day. these two landmark laws are a tremendous living legacy to the senior senator from connecticut. he has made his mark as one of the great reformers in the history of the united states senate. mr. president -- madam president, chris dodd has accomplished many things during his three decades in this body, but in my book the highest accolade is simply that chris dodd is a good, generous and decent person with a passion for fairness and social justice. for me, it has been a great honor to be his friend and colleague for the last 36 years.

our friendship, of course, will continue. but i will miss the day-to-day association here on the floor and in committee and elsewhere here on the hill. paul wellstone used to say that -- quote -- "the future belongs to those with passion." by that definition, our friend chris dodd has a wonderful future ahead of him. no question about it, he is full of passion. he's full of passion for doing the right things to make us a better country. and no question that the senate is losing one of our giants, one of our most accomplished and respected members. we're also losing a happy warrior in the mold of a hubert humphrey or a franklin roosevelt. as the columnist e.j. deio nebraska has written, the happiness quotient in the senate

will definitely drop when senator dodd leaves. i couldn't agree more. for 36 years in congress, chris dodd has faithfully served the people of connecticut and the people of the united states, and there is no doubt that he will pursue new avenues of public service in retirement. as i said, i will miss his friendship and counsel here in the senate, but i wish chris, his wonderful wife jackie and their wonderful two young children grace and christine the very best in the years ahead. madam president, again, for our colleague ted kaufman, who is leaving, was sworn in as a senator in january of 2009. he was a senator for between years, and he was sworn in to succeed the newly elected vice president, senator joe biden.

at the time ted kaufman made it clear that he would not run for reelection in 2010. he noted that he had not raised any money to become a senator, and he wasn't going to raise any money to be elected two years later. he said he would be a free man, beholden to no special interest, tkoerpbld to do what is right -- determined to do only what is right for the people of delaware and the united states. senator kaufman made good on that pledge. he may be no longer a member of the senate since the swearing in of our new senator from delaware, senator coons. but in just two years here in the senate he left his mark. it should come as no surprise that ted kaufman excelled in this body and had influence and khraut far beyond what is -- clout far beyond what is typical for a freshman senator whose tenure here was only going to be two years. after all, he came to the senate with a distinguished and diverse background in government,

business, and academics. as we noted, he holds a degree in mechanical engineering with duke. that led to a job with dupont chem wall company. he earned his m.b.a. from the wharton school, taught at duke university schools of law and business. as we knew ted before, 20 years on the staff of senator joe biden, most of the time as his chief of staff. madam president, like most senators, i have enormous respect for the role of the senate's professional staff members. we often joke around here that senators are a constitutional impediment to the smooth functioning of staff. and senator ted kaufman, we saw the best of both possible worlds, combining the expertise and confidence of a veteran staff person with the leadership and political skills of a first-grade senator. this made ted kaufman a formidable presence in this body during the last two years. no question, senator kaufman's

influence was felt most impressively in the effort to reforeman wall street in the wake of the financial meltdown of 2008. soon after becoming senator, he cosponsored along with senator leahy and senator grassley a bill to give federal prosecutors more effective tools for rooting out financial fraud. well, president obama signed that bill into law in may of last year. and when the senate undertook the sweeping reform of the financial system earlier this year, senator kaufman quickly stepped forward as one of the toughest critics of wall street, giving speech after speech here on the floor proposing and demanding fundamental changes in america's broken financial system. i listened with particular interest to his explanations and criticisms of high-frequency trading and other opaque trading practices of hedge funds and big wall street firms. i was a proud cosponsor of the safe banking act cosponsored by

senator kaufman and senator brown. this legislation would have dramatically reduced the size and concentration of the largest financial institutions, thereby making our financial system safer. i was disappointed this proposal was not included in the final bill. but getting 33 votes for this ambitious measure was no small feat. no question senator kaufman's tireless efforts helped to rally support in the senate for reforming our financial institutions. thanks in no small measure to senator kaufman's expertise and relentless advocacy, the worst aspects of wall street's casino capitalism have been eliminated and our financial system is better able to allocate capital to areas of the economy that need it the most. so, madam president, the junior senator from delaware was true to his word. for the last two years he was a senator's senator, giving his all, beholden to no interests, serving the people of delaware

and the united states with confidence, character, courage, and i might add with rock-solid integrity. i have valued ted kaufman's friendship and counsel here in the senate, as i said, going back for nearly 20 years and i look forward to continuing that relationship now that he has departed from this body. so i join with the entire senate family in wishing ted and lynn much happiness and success in the years ahead. madam president, with the close of the 111th congress, the senate will lose to retirement again one of our most seasoned and respected members on the other side of the aisle, senator george voinovich of ohio. now, senator voinovich and i have, again, much in common.

we're both proud midwesterners. but here's what we really have in common: my mother immigrated to america from what is now slow vein yarks the nation of slow vein yarks and george's mother was a first-generation american of slovenia descent. both of us are -- and i think the only two senators ever -- were awarded the golden mod medal of merit. we both care very deeply about the success of democracy in slovenia, a very small nation that set a powerful example of political stability, economic reform, true democracy, and ethnic inclusiveness in the balkans. madam president, for nearly four and a half decades, george voinovich has dedicated himself to public service at just about every level of government.

quite amazing. as a member of the ohio house of representatives, cuyahoga county commissioner, mayorer of cleveland, lieutenant governor of ohio, governor of ohio, and for the last 12 years united states senator from the state of ohio. across those 44 years of service, he has been respected for his independence, his pragmatism, his insistence on putting ideology and partisanship aside in order to accomplish important things for ordinary working americans. another constant in the career of george voinovich has been his insistence on fiscal discipline and his willingness to advance creative, tough-minded, nonideological approaches to help government live within its means. as mayor of cleveland, he took a municipality that had recently declared bankruptcy and turned it around to become a three-time

all-american city winner. as governor, he returned the state budget to balance, despite a bad economy. and for the last 12 years he's been one of the senate's leading champions of fiscal conservatism and by that i mean true fiscal conservatism. which means a willingness both to cut spending and to raise revenues, as necessary, in order to bring down deficits and balance the books. on that score, on matters of tsming and spending, senator voinovich had the courage to break ranks with his own party on many occasions. madam president, our colleague, senator voinovich has many accomplishments in this body. i don't have time to mention them all, but i know he is particularly proud of his work as chair and most recently ranking member of the clean air and nuclear safety subcommittee of the committee on environment and public works. wherein he played a key role in

passing the national energy security act of 2009, which is helping our nation to lessen its dependence on imported petroleum. he is also deservedly proud of his long leadership in the fight to preserve and protect lake erie and other great lakes, a cause that has been a constant throughout his career in public service. here in the senate, he has been a cochair of the great lakes task force, and he introduced the bill that, when signed into law in 2008 by president bush, ratified the great lakes compact to protect these national treasures through better water management and conservation. a singular accomplishment by senator voinovich of ohio. so, madam president, as i said, senator voinovich has achieved many things during his distinguished career in public service. again, i could use any number of

superlatives to describe his character and work: sterling character. an honest individual, someone who when he gave you his word gave you his word. senator voinovich, a hand sh smack was a handshaifnlgt it was commitment. and he would never go back on that. but again in my burke the highest accolade is simply that george voinovich is a general rushings sincere, decent person, dedicated to public service, always determined to do the right thing for the people of ohio and the entire united states, a man lacking in ideological rigger but still a person dedicated to true conservative causes that he's championed all his life. for me, it has been great honor to be his friend and colleague for these last years. our friendship, of course, will continue. and i wish george and janet the very best in the years ahead. madam president, i know others

are here. if i could indulge them for a few more minutes. like i would like to make one more speech in praise of another colleague retiring on the other side of the aisle. that is a good friend and someone for whom i've had not only a great friendship but great respect. and i've served with him a lot on our committee, senator judd gregg of new hampshire. senator gregg can be a very effective and persuasive partisan for the conservative causes he holds dear. he also has a strong new hampshire independent streak and is willing to buck his party what he thinks it is wrong. for example, when voted against president bush's medicare prescription drug benefit bill because it was unpaid for and would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the debt. indeed, as rangerring member and former chair of the budget committee, senator gregg has been one of the senate's leading champions of fiscal discipline. i especially admire senator

gregg's capacity for reaching across the aisle, building bridges, and getting important things done. on that score, he has represented new hampshire and the united states at its very best. this quality has made him a stand-up member of the health, education, labor, and pensions which i chair. he forge add very productive working relationship with my predecessor as chair, senator ted kennedy. for example, he played a key role in senator kennedy in crafting the bipartisan no child left behind act. and a few years later i was proud to work with both of those new england senators but especially senator gregg to reauthorize and improve the americans with disabilities education act. in 2008, senator gregg was a key leader in crafting and forging bipartisan support for the emergency economic stablization act. system are criticized the troubled assets relief program,

tarp. but facts are facts. tarp prevented a total meltdown of our financial system and almost the entire $700 billion taxpayer investment has been or soon will be paid back to the u.s. treasury. in fact, just this week the treasury booked a $12 billion profit on its previous $45 billion investment in citigroup. this year senator gregg has played a key role on the "help" committee in bringing together senators from both parties to advance food safety legislation. now, frankly, there were many times when sharp policy disagreements threatened the survival of that bill, but at every turn senator gregg played a constructive role in working through the options, crafting bipartisan compromises, keeping the legislation on track to passage. i have nothing but admiration and gratitude to senator gregg for his leadership on the food safety bill, which, as you know,

passed the senate and because of a little glitch, the house had to return it and it's coming back to us on the continuing resolution bill. we will put it one our omnibus -- we will put it on our omnibus bill. i don't think there's any doubt that this will signed into law this year. that's the first modernization of our food and drug administration inspection systems in 70 years -- 70 years. and, again, i just want to publicly thank senator gregg for hanging in there over several years' period of time to make sure we kept it on track from one congress to another, from one congress to another, up and down, but we finally got it done. and, again, as i said, i just have the utmost gratitude and admiration for senator gregg for hanging in there and making sure

we got the job dofnlt as many of our colleagues will remember, several years ago senator gregg bought a $20 powerball lottery ticket and won $850,000. again, we always -- we all wanted to go up and touch hirnlings you know, see if it would rub off on us a little bit. to this day, senator gregg is still the only pimp a ever known who won a powerball lottery ticket. as we often said, that was judd gregg's personal good fortune but it has been our good fortune have a senator of his high caliber and character in this body for the last 18 years. during that time, i have placed great store by his friendship and counsel. of course, that relationship and friendship will continue. but i am sorry that we're going to miss him here in the united states senate. and i join with the entire senate family in wishing judd and kathleen the very best in the years ahead. madam president, i yield the floor.

mr. whitehouse: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: madam president, may i first say how proud and privileged i feel to have been on the floor during the distinguished senior senator from iowa's speeches on behalf of his friends and colleagues, many of decades' duration. i have -- i'm still in my first term here, and i know i still have a lot to learn, but one thing that i have learned is that this place operates on friendships and that the friendships here are special ones, forged in cooperation, tempered in combat, and sustained in mutual respect. and your eloquent words about your colleagues are a great testament, senator harkin to that fine characteristic of this

boavmentd so i felt very touched and pleased to be here. madam president, i'm here to draw attention to what i consider to be an urgent need that we include an extension of the treasury grant program for renewable energy projects in any upcoming tax legislation considered by the senate. these are called 1603 grants because they were created by section 1603 of the recovery act. this grant program has been vital to the renewable energy industry which creates jobs, promotes energy independence, and is a vital foundation of the emerging clean energy revolution. section 1603 of the recovery act allows for cash grants in place of the 30% investment tax credit for renewable energy projects. that direct cash payment provides an immediate jump-start to renewable energy projects.

many renewable energy projects were funded using what were called "tax equity partnerships" and much of the funding dried up during the recent credit crunch. the 1603 grant program is a lifeline to renewable energy developers, and it has allowed hundreds of projects to go forward that otherwise would have stumbled or failed. according to the american wind energy association, the cash grants enabled the construction of 10,000 megawatts of new wind capacity in 2009, while just 4,000 megawatts would have been built without the program. the transition for america to a clean energy economy is long past due. this country has run on the same fuels, at basically the same efficiency levels, since the start of the industrial revolution at the slater mill in pawtucket, rhode island. this was acceptable maybe in

1900, perhaps even in 1950, but where does this leave us today in 2010? sadly it leaves us behind the international competitive curve. the next big economic revolution, the green, clean energy revolution, will dwarf the digital revolution in terms of jobs and wealth creation. we have heard testimony in this senate that the internet is a $1 trillion industry worldwide while energy is expected to be a $6 trillion energy industry. that, madam president, means jobs. we know that other countries are making significant investments in clean energy to claim those jobs and to claim a commanding position in the race for leadership to a clean energy future for our planet. half of america's existing wind turbines were manufactured

overseas. of the two wind turbines installed in portsmouth, rhode island, one was manufactured by a danish company and the other by an austrian company. meanwhile, our pace of wind turbine installation is also lagging behind. it looks like in 2010, the united states of america will have installed about one-eighth of the wind power installed by germany. the u.s. invented the first solar cell but we now rank fifth among countries that manufacture solar components. the united states is home to only one of the top ten companies manufacturing solar energy components and to only one of the top ten companies manufacturing wind turbines. companies in other countries see the demand for clean energy and they're moving swiftly ahead of us in the race to meet that demand.

an extension of the section 1603 treasury grant program would help us create and sustain jobs and build the foundation for our long-term economic growth. a study by lawrence berkeley national laboratory found that wind energy projects made possible by section 1603 were responsible for more than 55,000 jobs. extending the grant program would continue this impressive job creation in a sector of promising growth and at a time when it is desperately needed. already i have seen the seeds of green innovation take root in rhode island. the united states navy is decommissioning part of a naval station in newport that it no longer needs. instead of that land going to waste, a portsmouth developer is planning to convert 85 of these acres for a large solar power energy project. his plans also include an incubator space for renewable energy projects and a green

technology museum. we have a company based in east greenwich, rhode island, that develops renewable energy technologies and products to maximize energy efficiency. in the past year, the company has filed for patent protection on three different renewable energy technologies, including an exciting new technology that would generate electrical power from wind turbines mounted on boats and marinas. another example is hodge's bad badge, the largest manufacturer of ribbons, buttons and medals in the country. it's located in portsmouth, rhode island. if your kids have ever won a ribbon at a track meet or at a horse show or at some other competition, that ribbon was probably made at hodge's badge in portsmouth, rhode island. this family-owned company is on track to become the first manufacturer in rhode island powered entirely by clean energy, having just broken ground this month on installation of a 149-foot-tall wind turbine behind the factory.

company president rick hodges said, "it will be nice to say we're first, that we're 100% renewable. it's a nice marketing message. but really, it's because it's the right thing to do." putting up the turbine will cost about $900,000 and hodges readily admits that he wouldn't have pursued the project if it weren't for renewable energy grants from the state and federal governments. that project and its jobs would be lost. hodges badge does the type of traditional manufacturing that rhode island has unfortunately been losing for decades, that our country has been losing for decades. finding a way to save on energy is one way to ensure this company, which has 95 employees in rhode island, can succeed and doesn't leave our state. extending the section 1603 program would proliferate hundreds of small, renewable projects across the country. for example, in rhode island, the program would help a 100-kilowatt project at a

low-income housing project in sports myth, a 1.5-megawatt project at a water treatment facility in jamestown, and a 300-kilowatt solar project in wakefield. without grant program, these types of projects and the jobs associated with them would dry up. that goes for large-scale projects too. a renewable energy company in rhode island has proposed the country's largest offshore wind farm off the coast of rhode island, a 200-turbine, 1,000-megawatt project with a goal of starting construction in 2014. this impressive project would provide power to states all along the east coast. we cannot let innovative projects like these, job-creating projects like the these, entrepreneurial projects like these to be stopped in their tracks by this bill. and what would extending the treasury grant program cost?

well, the tax cuts for wealthy americans that are part of the newly announced tax deal would pay for the extension of the treasury grant program supporting these renewable jobs 20 times over. mr. president, it's time for us to lead again. just imagine if every one of the wind turbines to be sited in rhode island waters and all up and down the atlantic coast was manufactured in the united states. or imagine if we converted brownfields across the country to solar farms, creating a profitable use for this property and bringing jobs to blighted neighborhoods. or finally for a minute imagine a million more manufacturing facilities like hodges badge running their assembly lines entirely on solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources. and no longer being held hostage to rising fuel costs.

a clean energy economy beckons with vast promise and jobs, efficiencies and entrepreneurship, and we must not, we cannot ignore the call. i urge our leaders to include in any tax compromise that we take up an extension of the renewable energy tax credits and the 1603 program. i thank the presiding officer. i thank the distinguished senator from oregon for his patience, and i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: mr. president, i think most of us believe that we should not play partisan

politics when it comes to nuclear weapons. but in a speech this morning at the heritage foundation, my colleagues -- our colleague, senator jim demint, claimed that the new start treaty weakens our national security. now, i like our colleague from south carolina, jim demint. he's been the ranking member on the european affairs subcommittee of the senate foreign relations committee, which i have chaired for the last two years, and we've worked very well together. but on this issue, he is just wrong. nearly the entire foreign policy and national security establishment, democrats and republicans alike, completely disagrees with him. senator demint is arguing that this treaty somehow weakens our national security and limits our strategic options. that argument has little basis in reality and is opposed by

every living former republican secretary of state, five former secretaries of defense, seven former commanders of our strategic nuclear weapons, foreign policy and national security giants from seven former presidential administrations, and former president george h.w. bush. all of these national security heavyweights argue the exact opposite of senator demint. and they all agree that the new start treaty strengthens our national security. the new start treaty has the unanimous backing of america's military leadership and america's nato allies. and according to the most recent cbs news poll, the treaty now has the support of 82% of americans. now is the time to vote on the new start treaty. no one is rushing this treaty. since the treaty was signed back

in april, the senate has had 245 days -- i want to say that again -- that's 245 days to thoroughly review and consider this agreement. after 20 senate hearings, more than 31 witnesses, over 900 questions and answers, and eight months of consideration, including a significant delay during the august recess for additional time before the senate foreign relations committee, the consensus is clear -- new start is in our national security interests and the senate should not wait any longer to ratify this treaty. so i ask the opponents of this treaty to consider our broader national security interests. think about the effect stalling this treaty or publicly rejecting it will have, not just

on our ability to monitor russia, because we've had no inspectors on the ground in russia for over a year now because the treaty expired on december the 5th. so it's been over a year. but also the effect on all of our counter proliferation -- counterproliferation efforts around the world. failing to ratify new start this year tells the world that we are not serious about the nuclear threat. now, i know my colleagues don't want iran or north korea or al qaeda to have the bomb. we've -- we've heard that from everyone in this chamber. everyone's very clear about that. and last week, five former republican secretaries of state from five former republican presidents connected the passage of new start to our efforts on iran and north korea.

so again, i ask opponents of this treaty are ideological goals worth the risk to our national security? delaying a vote on new start into next year is a dangerous and unnecessary gamble with this nation's security. i hope the opponents of this treaty will reconsider their opposition and recognize how important to the this country's security to pass this treaty this year, in this congress. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

mr. wyden: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. wyden: mr. leader, ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. i ask unanimous consent the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 5591 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report and we will recognize the senator from oregon. the clerk: h.r. 5591, an act to designate the airport traffic control tower located at spokane international airport in spokane, washington, as the ray daves airport traffic control tower. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate,

and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. leader, i ask unanimous consent the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 841 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 841, a bill to direct the secretary of transportation to study and establish a motor vehicle safety standard and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and will proceed to the measure. mr. wyden: mr. leader, you know that a kerry substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. leader, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 677, s. 1275. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 677, s. 1275, a bill to establish a national foundation on physical fitness in sports and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. wyden: mr. leader, i ask unanimous consent the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. leader, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. res. 699, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 699, to authorize testimony and

legal representation in city of st. paul v. irene victory yea andrews, bruce jerome berry, john joseph brawn, david eugene luce and elizabeth anne mckenzie. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed with the -- proceed to the measure. mr. wyden: mr. leader, i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the resolution be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. leader, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 581, s. 2925. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 581, s. 2925, a bill to establish a

grant program to benefit victims of sex trafficking and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. wyden: mr. leader, i ask unanimous consent that the committee substitute amendment be considered, that the two wyden amendments which are at the desk be agreed to en bloc, that the committee substitute as amended be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time, that a budgetary paygo statement be read. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: this is the statement of budgetary effects of paygo legislation for s. 2925 as amended. total budgetary effects of s. 2925 for the five-year statutory pay-goa scorecard, zero dollars. total budgetary effects of s. 2925 for the ten-year statutory paygo scorecard, zero collars. also submitted for the record as part of this document is a table prepared by the congressional budget office which provides additional information on the

budgetary effects of this act. mr. wyden: mr. president, i ask consent the bill be passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, with the passage of s. 2925, the senate is sending to the house the first-ever all-out battle plan to defeat one of the fastest-growing criminal enterprises in our country. that is, trafficking children for sex. senator cornyn and i have worked together on this issue for many, many months on a bipartisan basis with tremendous help from chairman leahy, from senator sessions, from senator durbin

and senator kyl. and before i begin my statement tonight, mr. president, i just want to express my thanks to them. this is a textbook for how the senate ought to work together on an important issue on a bipartisan way. and i'm very, very grateful to my colleagues for their leadership. when i first approached senator cornyn on this, he said in our very first conversation, this has nothing to do with democrats and republicans, this is about what's doing right for young people. so i'm very grateful to my colleague on both sides of the aisle for want support they have shown on this matter. mr. president, each year an estimated 100,000 children in america are trafficked for sex. they are recruited by violent criminals and their average age is between 12 and 14.

the fact is, sex trafficking in children is modern day slavery, pure and simple. tragically, my home state of oregon has become a hub for those who would exploit women and young girls. and the tragedy is, my state is not alone. what we have seen, mr. preside mr. president -- and this was brought out in hearings -- that the reason this is such a fast-growing crime, is it is so easy to perpetrate, and there is such big money involved. for example, experts in the field said for some time, you would see gangs zero in on dru drugs. well, the fact is, trafficking in children, according to many of the experts, is easier than trafficking in drugs. and today, with the internet and the anonymity that the internet

provides these dangerous criminals who would traffic in children, it is, as i say, one of the fast-growing crimes in american life. mr. president, i really got a sense of what this was all about this summer when i had a chance to go out with portland police officers in my hometown on 82nd avenue. and what i saw, something i'll never forget, was a heartwrenching example of why this bipartisan legislation is so important. i saw a 15-year-old girl essential out there with the tools of the trade -- essential out there with the tools of the trade. she had a cell phone so she could be in constant contact with her pimp and all night long they were getting messages, made

$80, made $100 on, you know, a customer, you know, here or somewhere else. so she had her cell phone. she had a butcher knife because she knew she needed a butcher knife to protect herself, and she had a purse full of condoms because she knew she was going to have a bunch more customers during the course of the evening. so what you have, and this is not, primarily, mr. president, about statistics. if one young woman, whether it's in the state of west virginia or oregon or anywhere else, is prostituted this way, trafficked this way, that is one young woman too many. what the senate has done now with the passage of 2925 is draw iin the sand a line that for the first time we're going to put together a comprehensive strategy, bring together the law enforcement people, the human

services people to deal with this in a way that is going to allow us to send a message on the streets of this country, and particularly the interstate highways, which has become such a magnet for sex trafficking, that the odds are going to be different, that this time those who traffic in young women are going to face real prospects of a deterrent. mr. president, the reality is these young women don't end up working as prostitutes by accident. the growing army of pimp as that i mentioned, violent, ruthless criminals, see this group as an ideal group of young people to prey on. the fact is a pimp can make $200,000 a year trafficking just one victim. and, of course, many of those

pimps traffic multiple victims on any particular occasion. once a young girl is under the control of a pimp, it is very difficult, mr. president, for that youngster to escape. the pimps use violence to control girls as well as traumatize them. they move the girls constantly from city to city, keeping them isolated and from any source of support and preventing them from developing any kind of other, more healthy relationships. in talking to law enforcement firms, i learned that removing sex trafficking victims from the control of a pimp is very, very difficult. it's one that requires training, resources and, in effect, a strategy bringing together law enforcement people and social services people in order to

break this degrading and often deadly spiral, mr. president, of sex trafficking in youngsters. now, there are a variety of needs that these young people have and one that senator cornyn and i learned about in the course of our work on this, is the need for dedicateed shelters for these youngsters who have been trafficked. without a shelter, for example, there is no place to keep a trafficking victim safe from the pimps and to give them the counseling and services they need. and if there is no safe place for the victim to stay, there is no way that the law enforcement authorities can build a case against the pimp. so this is a perfect example of how the important work being

done by our social service providers in terms of the work in the shelters is absolutely a prerequisite to tough, aggressive prosecution of the pimps, because if you don't have a safe place for the young women, there is no place for them to get the health care and the services and the counseling they need. and, in fact, mr. president, the night when i was out in portland and saw in particular that 15-year-old with what i call the tools of the trade, when the police picked her up -- and portland's professionals in the sex trafficking field are extraordinarily talented. i saw that firsthand, and officials from around the country tell me the same thing. one of the big questions they were faced with was where would they send the young women that

they found that evening to -- for the next couple of days in order to just work out a more permanent living arrangement? and in portland, we have been able to do it, but even in our city, which is now mobilizing, mobilizing all through the community, it has been very difficult. at present, mr. president, there are only about 70 shelter beds for sex trafficking victims in the whole country. so that's why i mentioned the pimps know that their chances of getting prosecuted for forcing girls to engage in prostitution are very low. so we have got some laws on the books, but we also need a strategy bringing together shelters, training for law enforcement officials and other

resources if we're going to have the strongest possible battle plan against sex trafficking. so senator cornyn and i got together to introduce this legislation. we would set up what amounts to model projects across the country to test out the best approaches for combating sex trafficking of children. we do make clear that these approaches have got to bring together law enforcement people and social services. it makes me very proud, mr. president, the president of the senate having served as governor of west virginia knows that from time to time you see some debates between law enforcement people and social services folks. law enforcement people feel that prosecution is the way to go. the social services folks feel that their model is more effective. what senator cornyn and i found, this is an area where the law enforcement people support the social services folks and vice

versa, because they know that both elements, social services and law enforcement, are going to be necessary to fight this scourge. i mentioned the shelters, but let me go further. there would be block grants available for mental and physical health care, treatment for substance abuse and sexual abuse, and also assistance with trauma care. there would be help for the victims with food and clothing and other necessities, and together it means, mr. president, that the youngsters and primarily young women who are going to be in these shelters will know from the time they get to the shelter that caring individuals want them to have a different life. and that, mr. president, is really what drew me to this legislation. when you're talking about preying on young people, know of every member of the senate is

concerned about that. what i think galvanized my attention was that a lot of these young women don't think anybody cares about them except their pimp, and they have gotten to the point in life where they feel there really isn't anybody in their corner. their pimp says, you know, sweetheart, i care about you. you're what's really important to me. let's just make some money and eventually we'll be out on our own. and what you have with these shelters and also the law enforcement people who i saw in portland is you have those young women saying for the first time there is an adult, there is a role model who wants me to have a different life, who wants me to have the prospect of a different future where i'm not degrading myself, where i'm not victimized, where i have a

different set of possibilities for my life. so the human services aspects of this legislation are extremely important, and they complement the help that law enforcement would get as well. i'll tell you, mr. president, i was particularly struck as we got into the law enforcement aspects of this fight against sex trafficking, that there again had been some model approaches, and the law enforcement official that i was particularly impressed with was dallas, texas, police sergeant byron facet. he explained to me, without the right training, law enforcement officers won't know how to spot the signs of sex trafficking and won't know how to handle the victims. so senator cornyn and i thought with the counsel of our colleagues on both sides of the

aisle it would be important to provide specialized training for police officers and prosecutors to help them understand how to handle sex trafficking cases. the fact is sergeant facet of dallas, texas, could only be in one place at a time, and what this legislation is going to do, mr. president, is going to make it possible for other leaders in the law enforcement field to get the training out across the country, the state-of-the-art approaches about how to best fight the violent criminals who engage in this activity, and i'm very pleased that we were able to make possible as part of the grants in this legislation assistance for the law enforcement community. finally, mr. president, the bill would address another issue that is a major component of sex trafficking, and that is runaway

children. one-third of runaway children are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving their home. the evidence also shows that the children who have run away multiple times are at the greatest risk of being drawn into sex trafficking, so what we're doing in this legislation is making it possible for law enforcement officials to in effect make a priority to children of greatest risk, and that is these runaways, and i'm very pleased that we were able to work out a bipartisan agreement for our approach in this area. now, it would be hard to give appropriate thanks to all who participated in this effort, mr. president. certainly to do it without keeping you here until breakfast time, but let me name just a

small number of the many groups and individuals who provided extremely valuable insights. the polaris project, shared hope international, the national center for missing and exploited children, the f.b.i.'s innocence lost project, ecpat-usa. i could go on with the list of many, many groups. mr. president, i will tell you that i'm especially grateful to the faith community for all of their efforts in this. throughout this debate, senator cornyn and i have been contacted by religious leaders from all over the country, from all particular denominations, talking about how important this legislation is to them, and what they conveyed to us is this is what they see in their congregations, this is what

parents go to bed at night worrying about, the prospect of seeing one of their youngsters caught up in this vicious cycle of degradation and crime and lost hope for the future, and we could not be here tonight if it wasn't for the faith community that all across the country contacted their senators, contacted various civic groups, made common cause with rallies and marches and petitions. this is what has made this night possible. so i've tried to make sure the senate knows that a whole host of colleagues on both sides of the aisle have worked on this. i will say, mr. president, my older daughter said the other night, she said dad, i figured it out. you're in the only profession on

earth where somebody your age is considered one of the young guys. and i thought about that because i have had the honor of serving in the united states senate for some time. i recently was re-elected. and i can't recall a time when i felt prouder of the senate coming together to deal with something that would make a real difference. this one piece of legislation is not going to wipe out this reprehensible, heinous crime where youngsters who are 12 and 13 and 14 are trafficked for sex. but with this legislation, mr. president, from portland, oregon, to portland, maine -- and frankly, this will have benefits internationally because a lot of these youngsters are also trafficked for sex far from the shores of the united states.

tonight, the senate's making a difference. tonight the senate is giving hope to parents who are concerned about their kids' future, and to young women who are literally going to be hiding tonight near some of these interstates, interstate 5 which goes all through the west. this is a chance with the passage of this legislation and hopefully quick action by the house to make a difference for these young people. this is what public service is supposed to be all about, making a difference for young people and families and doing it not on the basis of democrats and republicans but on the basis of what is right, what is moral, what is just. so there are a lot of people who deserve, you know, credit here tonight, mr. president, especially my friend and colleague, senator cornyn.

i'm very hopeful that the senate -- that the house will act on this legislation. i'm going to put additional remarks into the record. joel shapiro of my office did yeoman work on this legislation and deserves considerable credit tonight. and i will leave my additional remarks for the congressional record, but tonight through the good-faith efforts of lots of community and faith leaders, there is an opportunity to help reduce one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in our country, certainly one of the most immoral, the trafficking of young people for sex. and with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call thal roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: is

quorum call:

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. the presiding officer: what's the pending business. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that we terminate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: now, mr. president, what is the pending business? the presiding officer: the pending motion -- pending

business is the motion to refer h.r. -- mr. reid: it's the message to accompany h.r. 4853. i move to table my motion and refer and ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a second? second. there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: