The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S8946-S8949 on July 10, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. Specter):
S. 1755. A bill to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make permanent the summer food service pilot project for rural areas of Pennsylvania and apply the program to rural areas of every State; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Summer Food Service Rural Expansion Act. This bill will provide critical meals to children living in poverty in rural areas. I am pleased to introduce this bill with Senator Specter. Congressman Platts is introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
During the summer, low-income children lose their access to regular daily school meals. The Summer Food Service Program is intended to help fill this nutritional gap by providing summer meals to children from low-income families who receive school meals.
For those of my colleagues who do not know much about the Summer Food Service Program, it was authorized through the National School Lunch Act of 1968. The program allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide grants to nonprofit food service programs that in turn provide meals for children from low-income families through sites such as nonprofit schools, local governments, and nonprofit summer camps. Yet, despite the best efforts of this program, only 2 in 10 low-income children who receive school lunch also receive summer food when school is out. So where do these children get food? Sadly, the answer is that many of them go hungry.
Traditionally, the majority of sponsors and sites participating in the Summer Food Service Program have tended to be located in urban areas. As we know, however, hunger is not just an urban issue. Thanks to the tremendous effort by Congressman Platts, the Child Nutrition Act of 2004 recognized the void of such programs in predominantly rural areas and established a 2-year pilot program to increase participation rates in rural communities.
The existing Summer Food Service Program is available to areas in which at least 50 percent of the children are eligible for free or reduced price school meals. However, to encourage more sponsors and more sites to participate in the program, the pilot allowed that threshold to be reduced to 40 percent in rural communities.
The pilot, which ran in my home state during calendar years 2005 and 2006, was a tremendous success. During the first year of the pilot program, 20 sponsors offered 40 meal sites in rural areas. Of the sponsors, 8 were new sponsors of the program and 12 were sponsors in the prior years who added meal sites. During the first year of the program, the total numbers of meals served in rural communities increased by 73,000 meals, or 11 percent over the previous year. By the second year, there were 9 new sponsors, 16 returning sponsors, and 77 pilot sites; and the number of meals served increased over the previous year by an additional 4.3 percent, or 31,000 meals.
Unfortunately, because of the expiration of the pilot program, 37 of the sites established under the pilot will not be able to participate this summer. That means nearly half of the children who participated in this program over the past 2 years will no longer be able to count on receiving nutritious meals during the summer months.
For this reason, I am introducing legislation to help not only the children of Pennsylvania, but also the needy children in rural areas of every single State who deserve access to nutritious lunches during the summer months.
Through this bill, the Summer Food Service Pilot Program for rural areas would become a permanent program and would apply to rural areas of every State beginning in calendar year 2007 and each calendar year thereafter. Through this bill, the numbers of children participating in the program will dramatically increase, and needy children in rural areas throughout the country will receive nutritious meals they might not otherwise get during the summer months.
I urge all of my colleagues to join in the effort to combat childhood hunger in rural areas by cosponsoring the Summer Food Service Rural Expansion Act.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1755
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Summer Food Service Rural Expansion Act''.
SEC. 2. SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PILOT PROGRAM FOR RURAL AREAS OF
PENNSYLVANIA MADE PERMANENT AND APPLIED TO
RURAL AREAS OF EVERY STATE.
Section 13(a)(9) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(a)(9)) is amended--
(1) in the paragraph heading by striking ``Exemption'' and inserting ``Applicability to rural areas''; and
(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``For each of calendar years 2005 and 2006 in rural areas of the State of Pennsylvania'' and inserting ``For calendar year 2007 and each calendar year thereafter, in rural areas of a State''.
______
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Akaka, and Ms.
Murkowski) (by request):
S. 1756. A bill to provide supplemental ex gratia compensation to the Republic of the Marshall Islands for impacts of the nuclear testing program of the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today, I am pleased to introduce the Republic of the Marshall Islands Supplemental Nuclear Compensation Act at the request of the President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Honorable Kessai Note. For over 50 years, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and its predecessor committees, have worked with the government of the Marshall Islands to respond to the tragic consequences of the U.S. nuclear weapons tests that were conducted in the islands from 1946 to 1958, when the islands were a district of the U.S.-administered, U.N. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
The U.S. nuclear testing program raises powerful emotions, and difficult legal and political issues which complicate discussion. Of particular concern to some is that the question of the adequacy of the compensation paid by the U.S. is now before the U.S. Court of Claims. On May 10, I met with President Note during his trip to Washington and we discussed our shared desire to move forward on several issues. We agreed that is it important for our nations to continue to work together on other matters which are not in litigation, such as possible adjustments to programs that are important to the communities affected by the tests.
I compliment President Note for his leadership, and for his thoughtful recommendation on how to approach these sensitive issues. The President proposed the introduction of legislation, at his request, that would propose solutions on several issues that are not before the court. This would allow the committee to hear formally from the administration and from the RMI government on whether the proposals should be adopted, or whether to consider alternatives. I concur in this approach along with several of my colleagues on the committee and we are committed to working with the RMI and the administration to seek agreement.
It is important to note that any further compensation provided by the U.S. under this act would be made on an ex gratia basis. U.S. administration of the RMI ended in 1986 when the RMI gained sovereign self-government pursuant to the Compact of Free Association, as approved by the Compact Act, P.L. 99-239. The compact provides two methods of compensation, under the legal settlement and under an authorization for ex gratia assistance. Section 177 of the compact approved a legal settlement which provided: a $150 million Nuclear Claims Trust Fund; the establishment of the Nuclear Claims Tribunal to adjudicate claims and pay awards; and it allows the RMI to request additional compensation if there are ``changed circumstances,'' that is, if information and injuries come to light after the settlement date which renders compensation under the settlement inadequate. Congress also included an authorization, under subsection 105(c) of the Compact Act, for additional ex gratia compensation to the communities of the northern atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and Utrik, and for supplemental health care.
In 2000, the RMI submitted a petition to Congress contending that there have been ``changed circumstances'' and requesting some $3 billion for payment of the Tribunal's personal injury awards, replenishment of the Trust Fund, payment of the Tribunal's property damage awards, funding for national health care infrastructure and operations, and monitoring of Runit Island in Enewetak Atoll by a U.S. agency.
In 2005, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on the petition, S. Hrg. 109-178, and the administration testified in opposition to additional compensation on the basis that the requests did not meet the necessary legal tests: that injuries or damage must be a result of the nuclear tests; that they have arisen or been discovered after the effective date of the settlement; and that they could not reasonably have been identified as of the effective date of the settlement. The administration and other witnesses also questioned the RMI's contention that radiation affected an area beyond the four northern atolls of the Marshall Islands, and questioned the policies and methodologies used by the Tribunal in determining eligibility for compensation and the amount of awards. Nevertheless, the report by the administration on the RMI petition noted that, while certain requests do not qualify as changed circumstances, ``such programs might be desirable''.
The legislation being introduced today has provisions regarding four such requests for assistance that I agree with President Note should be given consideration by the Congress.
Runit Island: Between 1977 and 1980, the U.S. conducted a cleanup of some of the contaminated areas of Enewetak Atoll where 43 tests were conducted. Some of the contaminated soil and debris was relocated to Runit Island, mixed with concrete, and placed in Cactus crater that had been formed by one of the tests. Under the compact's nuclear claims settlement, the Marshall Islands accepted full legal responsibility for, and control over the utilization of areas in the Marshall Islands affected by the testing. In addition, however, the 1986 Compact Act, P.L. 99-239, reaffirmed the 1980 authorization, under P.L. 96-205, for a program now operated by the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE, for medical care and environmental monitoring relating to the testing program. Since then, the people of Enewetak Atoll have from time-to-
time asked DOE to include monitoring of conditions at Runit within the scope of DOE's environmental monitoring program in order to assure the people living on other islands in Enewetak Atoll that there is no health risk from the material at Runit. DOE's whole body measurements of people living in the atoll shows that there is no increased risk and DOE has indicated that additional surveys should be carefully considered by Congress. Section 2 of this act would direct the Secretary of Energy, as a part of the existing monitoring program, to periodically survey radiological conditions regarding Runit and report to the Congress.
Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, EEOICPA: This program was enacted in 2001 to provide compensation for DOE and contractor employees associated with the Nation's nuclear weapons program. During Senate debate, I submitted a list of facilities intended to be covered which included ``Marshall Islands Test Sites, but only for the period after December 31, 1958.'' However, the 75 Marshall Islands citizens who applied to the program were denied on the basis that Congress did not intend the law to cover those who were not U.S. citizens. I believe that this was an incorrect reading of Congressional intent and I can find nothing in the statute or legislative history that supports this conclusion. It is important to recognize that during the testing and clean-up period the Marshall Islands was a district of the U.S.-administered, U.N. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and that the U.S. and its contractors employed workers from the Marshall Islands and from neighboring Districts in the Trust Territory.
Section 3 of this act would clarify that former Trust Territory citizens are eligible, and it would coordinate benefits with the Compact of Free Association so that if a person received compensation under the compact, that amount would be deducted from any award received under the EEOICPA.
Four Atoll Health Care Program: Section 177 of the Compact approved the legal settlement of claims resulting from the nuclear testing program and provided $150 million to capitalize the Trust Fund. Among the uses for these funds was an allocation of $2 million annually to provide health care for those communities most affected by the tests: Enewetak, Bikini, Rongelap and Utrik. However, practical problems developed with the program. First, enrollment was expanded beyond those members of the communities who were likely to have been exposed to radiation, so that the funds available for each beneficiary was significantly reduced. Second, the Fund became depleted and the $2 million annual payment was terminated in 2003. To continue some level of service under the program, the RMI and the U.S. Congress continued to contribute funds on a discretionary basis until a longer-term solution could be developed. During a trip to the RMI in the summer of 2006, Senate staff met with officials of the RMI Ministry of Health and of the 177 Healthcare Program and outlined a possible new approach for supplemental health care. Instead of providing benefits to a pool of enrolled beneficiaries, the funding would be targeted geographically to support a primary care clinic in each of the affected communities. This approach has the advantage of assuring primary health care in these remote outer island communities and of avoiding the problem of over-
subscription of the program in the urban centers where hospital facilities are available.
Section 4 of the bill would authorize $2 million annually through 2023 for the continuation of this approach of supporting health care clinics in the outer island communities most affected by the tests. I believe that this proposal is an appropriate place to continue the discussion with the RMI and U.S. officials on how supplemental health care assistance to the RMI could most effectively be used in the future to meet the needs of affected communities.
Impact Assessment: Underlying the debate between the U.S. and the RMI regarding compensation for injuries resulting from the testing program is a fundamental dispute over the extent of the affected area. The U.S. believes that the effects were practically limited to the four northern atolls of Rongelap, Utrik, Bikini, and Enewetak. However, the RMI and the Nuclear Claims Tribunal took the position that all 1958 residents of the RMI would be eligible to file claims for injuries resulting from the tests. Section 5 of the bill is intended to resolve this dispute by having the National Academy of Sciences conduct an assessment of the health impacts of the testing program.
It is my intention to hold a hearing on the bill later this year. I look forward to continuing to work with President Note, my colleagues, and the administration on these proposals to respond, in part, to the legacy of our Nation's nuclear testing program in the Islands.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1756
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Republic of the Marshall Islands Supplemental Nuclear Compensation Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. CONTINUED MONITORING ON RUNIT ISLAND.
Section 103(f)(1) of the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 1921b(f)(1)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Continued monitoring on runit island.--
``(i) In general.--Effective beginning January 1, 2008, the Secretary of Energy shall, as a part of the Marshall Islands program conducted under subparagraph (A), periodically (but not less frequently than every 4 years) survey radiological conditions on Runit Island.
``(ii) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, a report that describes the results of each survey conducted under clause (i), including any significant changes in conditions on Runit Island.''.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY UNDER ENERGY EMPLOYEES
OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT
OF 2000.
(a) Definitions for Program Administration.--Section 3621 of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(18) The terms `covered employee', `atomic weapons employee', and `Department of Energy contractor employee' (as defined in paragraphs (1), (3), and (11), respectively) include a citizen of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands who is otherwise covered by that paragraph.''.
(b) Definition of Covered DOE Contractor Employee.--Section 3671(1) of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7385s(1)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, including a citizen of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands who is otherwise covered by this paragraph''.
(c) Coordination of Benefits With Respect to the Compact of Free Association.--Subtitle E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7385s et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 3682 (42 U.S.C. 7385s-11) the following:
``SEC. 3682A. COORDINATION OF BENEFITS WITH RESPECT TO THE
COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION.
``(a) Definition of Compact of Free Association.--In this section, the term `Compact of Free Association' means--
``(1) the Compact of Free Association between the Government of the United States of America and the Governments of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia (48 U.S.C. 1901 note); and
``(2) the Compact of Free Association between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Palau (48 U.S.C. 1931 note).
``(b) Coordination.--Subject to subsection (c), an individual who has been awarded compensation under this subtitle, and who has also received compensation benefits under the Compact of Free Association by reason of the same covered illness, shall receive the compensation awarded under this subtitle reduced by the amount of any compensation benefits received under the Compact of Free Association, other than medical benefits and benefits for vocational rehabilitation that the individual received by reason of the covered illness, after deducting the reasonable costs (as determined by the Secretary) of obtaining those benefits under the Compact of Free Association.
``(c) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the application of subsection (b) if the Secretary determines that the administrative costs and burdens of applying subsection (b) to a particular case or class of cases justifies the waiver.''.
SEC. 4. FOUR ATOLL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM.
Section 103(h) of the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 1921b(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Supplemental health care funding.--
``(A) In general.--In addition to amounts provided under section 211 of the U.S.-RMI Compact (48 U.S.C. 1921 note), the Secretary of the Interior shall annually use the amounts made available under subparagraph (B) to supplement health care in the communities affected by the nuclear testing program of the United States, including capital and operational support of outer island primary healthcare facilities of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the communities of--
``(i) Enewetak Atoll,
``(ii) Kili (until the resettlement of Bikini);
``(iii) Majetto Island in Kwajalein Atoll (until the resettlement of Rongelap Atoll); and
``(iv) Utrik Atoll.
``(B) Funding.--As authorized by section 105(c), there is appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior, out of funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to carry out this paragraph $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2023, as adjusted for inflation in accordance with section 218 of the U.S.-FSM Compact and the U.S.-RMI Compact, to remain available until expended.''.
SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THE MARSHALL
ISLANDS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences under which the National Academy of Sciences shall conduct an assessment of the health impacts of the United States nuclear testing program conducted in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on the residents of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
(b) Report.--On completion of the assessment under subsection (a), the National Academy of Sciences shall submit to Congress, the Secretary, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, a report on the results of the assessment.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
______
By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. Dodd):
S. 1758. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to help individuals with functional impairments and their families pay for services and supports that they need to maximize their functionality and independence and have choices about community participation, education, and employment, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, the CLASS Act. This important piece of legislation builds on the promise and possibilities of the Americans with Disabilities Act by helping the large numbers of Americans who struggle every day to live productive lives in their communities.
Too many Americans are perfectly capable of living a life in the community, but are denied the supports they need.
They languish in needless circumstances with no choice about how or where to obtain these services.
Too often, they have to give up the American Dream, the dignity of a job, a home, and a family, so they can qualify for Medicaid, the only program that will support them.
The bill we propose is a long overdue effort to offer greater dignity, greater hope, and greater opportunity.
It makes a simple pact with all Americans--``If you work hard and contribute, society will take care of you when you fall on hard times.''
The concept is clear, everyone can contribute and everyone can win. We all benefit when no one is left behind.
For only $30 a month, a person who pays into the program will receive either $50 or $100 a day, based on their ability to carry out basic daily activities.
They themselves will decide how this assistance will be spent, on transportation so they can stay employed, or on a ramp to make their home more accessible, or to cover the cost of a personal care attendant or a family caregiver.
It will help keep families together, instead of being torn apart by obstacles that discourage them from staying at home.
The bill will strengthen job opportunities for people with disabilities at a time when 70 percent are unemployed. They have so much to contribute and the bill will help them do it.
It will save on the mushrooming health care costs for Medicaid, the Nation's primary insurer of long-term care services, which also forces beneficiaries to give up their jobs and live in poverty before they become eligible for assistance.
The CLASS Act is a hopeful new approach to restoring independence and choice for millions of these persons and enabling them to take greater control of their lives.
It is time to respect the rights and dignity of all Americans, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to see this bill enacted into law.
____________________
