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 State was published in the Senate section on pages S6895-S6898 on Sept. 22, 2015.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
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By Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mrs. Capito, Mr. King, Mr. Schatz,
Ms. Ayotte, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Barrasso):
S. 2067. A bill to establish EUREKA Prize Competitions to accelerate discovery and development of disease-modifying, preventive, or curative treatments for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, to encourage efforts to enhance detection and diagnosis of such diseases, or to enhance the quality and efficiency of care of individuals with such diseases; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I am wearing purple today in honor of World Alzheimer's Month. As a matter of fact, yesterday, September 21, was World Alzheimer's Day. So I have chosen today to introduce a bill that I hope will lead to a major breakthrough in fighting this terrible disease and treating and potentially curing Alzheimer's disease.
The legislation which I introduced this morning is called the EUREKA Act, which stands for Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer's--EUREKA.
I am taking this moment to briefly discuss the problem of Alzheimer's and to ask my colleagues to get behind this tripartisan legislation and see if we can create some momentum to cure Alzheimer's disease in a decade.
First of all, a little bit about awareness. As we all know, Alzheimer's is a 100-percent fatal disease. It affects some 36 million people around the globe. More than 5 million Americans currently have Alzheimer's disease. My mother died of Alzheimer's disease. I can tell you it is an incredibly personal trial for families who deal with loved ones suffering and ultimately succumbing to this disease. So there is the human cost which so many of us have experienced and are experiencing.
There is also the cost in dollars and cents. Americans will spend
$226 billion from our Treasury on Alzheimer's this year alone. The disease puts an extraordinary burden on Medicare and Medicaid. As a matter of fact, one in five Medicare dollars will be spent this year on someone with Alzheimer's. Think of what we could do to alleviate the suffering our previous speaker was talking about if we didn't have to spend this $226 billion per year, if we didn't have to spend one in five of our Medicare dollars on someone with Alzheimer's. Consider the 2013 filing from the Rand Corporation. Direct costs of Alzheimer's exceed similar costs associated with cancer and heart disease combined.
According to Rush University, Alzheimer's is responsible for more than 500,000 deaths each year.
Without a cure or a way to halt this disease, these numbers will continue to grow. By 2050 Alzheimer's is expected to cost $1.1 trillion per year. By then, Medicare and Medicaid could see a 500-percent increase in Alzheimer's spending. So we have a problem in terms of dollars and cents, and we certainly have a problem in terms of the hardship it causes on families today.
Experts say we need $2 billion a year in public research if we are going to get to this goal of conquering Alzheimer's by 2025. We do the best we can at the National Institutes of Health, but we spend only
$586 million a year on Alzheimer's research. We need $2 billion a year. We spend roughly a quarter of that amount each year, with very little prospect of getting it up to four times what we are spending now.
What is the solution? I believe the solution is to go to a concept that has made America great for decades and even centuries, and that is the American spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship and competition. We create, we build, and we make a difference in people's lives through competition and innovation. So today I have introduced the EUREKA bill, which would establish a national prize for achieving benchmarks in fighting this disease. I want to make it clear that the EUREKA Act would proceed on a parallel track with what is being done at NIH and the Federal Government in terms of research. It wouldn't take a penny away from the research dollars currently spent on Alzheimer's and the funds used to attack Alzheimer's in so many ways. It would be another route for a breakthrough by establishing a competition to run parallel to the research being done.
We will need to research some milestones before we arrive at an Alzheimer's cure. This bill would create a system within the government, with cooperation from NIH, to encourage public and private collaboration to help us establish prizes for milestones reached to conquer Alzheimer's. Of course, we need to remember that prizes are paid only for success. If we don't meet the milestones, we won't have to expend the money.
My excellent staff and I have been working for months with some of the leading experts in the United States on this concept, not the least of which is the XPRIZE Foundation, which has done such a good job in establishing breakthroughs in other areas. So we have the support and cooperation of the XPRIZE Foundation. In addition, we have worked with the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration to get as much information as possible, and we think we have come up with a way to have government-funded prizes to conquer this disease.
This is nothing new. The XPRIZE Foundation came along relatively recently, but it was inspired by previous examples of success. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh won $25,000 for his Spirit of St. Louis aircraft in a competition to achieve the first nonstop flight between New York City and Paris. He received a prize for this accomplishment. Today aviation is a $300 billion industry. So prizes are not a new strategy. The government already invests in countless areas, including health. As a matter of fact, the America COMPETES Act gives Federal agencies the authority to conduct prize-based challenges. NIH has already completed dozens of them. This builds on that success.
I envision that a panel would be established under this legislation to set benchmarks that would get us well along the road to conquering Alzheimer's. Successful, prize-worthy events would be measures such as identifying an Alzheimer's biomarker, developing early-detection techniques, or repurposing existing drugs for treatment. Milestones such as these would be established by a panel of experts. Think of what could be achieved if people with expertise combine their skills inside and outside the government to end Alzheimer's. Think of the progress that could be made toward ending human suffering.
My bill is S. 2067, the EUREKA Act, and it has received support from researchers, including the MIND Center at the University of Mississippi in my home State, where we are doing innovative, groundbreaking achievements every day on Alzheimer's. Other organizations supporting the EUREKA Act include the Alzheimer's Association, Us Against Alzheimer's, the XPRIZE Foundation, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, BrightFocus Foundation, Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer's Disease, otherwise known as LEAD, and Eli Lilly. All of these organizations and companies are supporting EUREKA.
We already have not bipartisan cosponsorship but tripartisan cosponsorship of this legislation because we have Republicans, Democrats, and Independents already cosponsoring this EUREKA Act.
So I come to the floor today and ask my colleagues to talk to their health staff members. Look at this concept. Talk to us about the efforts we are engaged in, about the research we have done, about the learned people who know what they are talking about and who have worked with us to bring this bill where it is. I hope we can create some momentum for this act soon. I hope we can attach it to legislation before the end of the year. I hope we can put this on the President's desk sometime early in the year 2016.
EUREKA can be a game changer in fighting one of the most terrible and horrible and expensive diseases we have. So I would urge my colleagues to look at this, to get back to me. I am going to aggressively be talking to each of my colleagues and asking them to cosponsor this legislation. I think we are onto something. I think we are getting very, very near to achieving this goal of conquering Alzheimer's within a decade.
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By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Carper):
S. 2068. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include automated fire sprinkler system retrofits as section 179 property and classify certain automated fire sprinkler system retrofits as 15-year property for purposes of depreciation; to the Committee on Finance.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act. I am very pleased to be joined by my colleague from Delaware, Senator Carper, in introducing this bipartisan bill.
Our bill would encourage commercial building owners to invest in life-saving fire safety upgrades. While building codes require sprinklers in new commercial buildings, a great number of structures across the U.S. were built and put in service before sprinklers were required. This is of significance in Maine, which has some of the oldest housing stock in the country and which has experienced deadly apartment building fires.
Maine has a large number of older, historic buildings--buildings that generally may not be required to have fire sprinklers. According to the Maine State Housing Authority, Maine has the sixth oldest housing stock in the country. In fact, many of the historic areas of Portland were built following a devastating fire in 1866. This fire destroyed most of Portland's commercial buildings, many of its churches, and countless homes.
Fire sprinklers are very effective at preventing deaths caused by fires. Small business building owners find it difficult, however, to fund adding retrofit sprinklers. Our bill would provide two tax incentives to encourage building owners to make this investment.
Currently, commercial building owners must depreciate fire sprinkler retrofits over a lengthy 39-year period. The period for residential buildings is 27 and a half years. This bill reclassifies fire sprinkler retrofits as 15-year depreciable property, thus allowing building owners to write off their costs more quickly. The bill also provides an option for certain small businesses to deduct the cost of the fire system upgrades immediately under Section 179 of the tax code. Together, these proposals will provide a strong incentive for building owners to install fire sprinkler systems.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2013, a fire department responded to a structure fire every 65 seconds, and fire claimed 9 lives every day. Just last October, five young adults were killed when fire swept through a two apartment building near the University of Southern Maine. In addition to these five, 20 other people died in fires in Maine in 2014. Just last month, a fire killed two people in Old Town, ME. Sprinklers decrease the fire death rate by about 80 percent and the average loss per home fire by about 70 percent.
This bill was originally drafted in response to the deadly nightclub fire in West Warwick, RI, in 2003. One hundred people died in that fire. The building did not have a fire sprinkler system. Let us work together to prevent another tragedy like this from happening. I invite my colleagues to join Senator Carper and me in support of this bipartisan, common sense legislation.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Congressional Fire Services
Institute,
September 18, 2015.Hon. Susan Collins,U.S. Senate,Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Collins: On behalf of the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI), I would like to express our thanks and appreciation for sponsoring the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act. In 2002, CFSI's National Advisory Committee (NAC), a coalition of 35 national fire and emergency service organizations, unanimously approved a resolution expressing the need for federal tax incentives to encourage the installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems in residential and commercial buildings. The introduction of the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act is an important step in achieving this goal.
The cost of fire in America is enormous. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in 2014, there were 1,298,000 fires reported in the United States, leading to 3,275 civilian fire deaths, 15,775 civilian injuries, and
$11.6 billion in property damage. When you include the indirect cost of fire, such as lost economic activity, the cost is closer to $108 billion annually.
Studies by NFPA have concluded that buildings outfitted with sprinklers reduce the death rate per fire by at least 57% and decrease the property damage by up to 68%. By classifying the retrofit of an automatic fire sprinkler system as an eligible property under Section 179 of the tax code, the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act will save lives by allowing small and medium-sized businesses to deduct the cost of sprinkler systems up to $125,000.00. The legislation would also create a tax incentive for the retrofit of high-rise buildings. In the United States alone, there are nearly 10,000 high-rise fires annually. These structures, when not sprinklered, pose serious safety risks to both civilians and firefighters.
It is an incontrovertible fact that fire sprinklers save lives, including the lives of our firefighters. No firefighter has ever died while fighting a fire in a fully sprinklered structure. But unfortunately approximately 100 firefighters die in the line of duty every year. We, as a nation, owe it to our firefighters and their families to make the profession as safe as possible. The Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act will help us achieve that goal.
We strongly encourage all members of Congress to support this important piece of legislation. Thank you for your leadership on this issue, and best wishes on your continued success and safety.
Sincerely,
Bill Webb,
Executive Director.
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By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Merkley):
S. 2069. A bill to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to modify provisions relating to certain land exchanges in the Mt. Hood Wilderness in the State of Oregon; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act. This bill is a necessary step to ensuring that the Cooper Spur land exchange on Mt. Hood proceeds as Congress originally intended when it passed as a part of the Omnibus Public Lands Bill in 2009. I am pleased to introduce this bill with my colleague from Oregon, Senator Jeff Merkley.
The Mt. Hood Cooper Spur land exchange was included in the Mt. Hood Wilderness designation that passed 6 years ago as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009. The bill, which has now been law for over 6 years, directed several land exchanges including the Cooper Spur land exchange.
The Cooper Spur land exchange required the Forest Service to transfer approximately 120 acres of Federal land to Mt. Hood Meadows in exchange for approximately 770 acres of private land, with the goal of keeping development of Mt. Hood concentrated around the current development at Government Camp and ensuring the protection of the North side of the mountain. The swap was to be completed in 16 months. It is now 77 months later and the exchange has not moved forward. The delays have angered the public, endangered the environment, and have now spurred a lawsuit against the Forest Service.
The Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act would make technical corrections to the Original Cooper Spur land exchange provisions in the Omnibus Public Lands Act to jumpstart the land exchange and keep the process moving forward so the exchange can finally be completed, as originally intended.
I introduced the original Mt. Hood Wilderness proposal in 2004 and again in 2006 and 2007 with my then-colleague Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. As the Wilderness proposal and associated land exchanges took shape, more than 1,700 constituents provided input on the proposal. It was supported by members of the Oregon congressional delegation at the time, then-Governor Kulongoski, the Bush administration, and over 100 community groups. The Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act is supported by Mt. Hood Meadows, Friends of Hood River Valley, Clackamas County, and Hood River County.
The Cooper Spur land exchange was an important part of the Mt. Hood Wilderness designation to ensure the protection of the undeveloped North side of the mountain. In turn, the Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act is needed in order to ensure that the land exchange, a community-driven solution to the development challenges on Mt. Hood, is finally completed.
Mr. President, 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. 2069
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 ``Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act''.
SEC. 2. COOPER SPUR LAND EXCHANGE CLARIFICATION AMENDMENTS.
Section 1206(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11; 123 Stat. 1018) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``120 acres'' and inserting ``107 acres''; and
(B) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by inserting ``improvements,'' after ``buildings,''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by amending the text of subparagraph (C) to read as follows: ``As a condition of the land exchange under this subsection, title to the non-Federal land to be acquired by the Secretary under this subsection shall be acceptable to the Secretary.'';
(B) in subparagraph (D)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows shall select'' and inserting ``Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act, the Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows shall jointly select'';
(ii) in clause (ii), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking ``An appraisal under clause (i) shall'' and inserting ``Except as provided under clause (iii), an appraisal under clause (i) shall assign a separate value to each tax lot to allow for the equalization of values and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) Final appraised value.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to subclause (II), after the final appraised value of the Federal land and the non-Federal land are determined and approved by the Secretary, the Secretary shall not be required to reappraise or update the final appraised value for a period of up to 3 years, beginning on the date of the approval by the Secretary of the final appraised value.
``(II) Exception.--Subclause (I) shall not apply if the condition of either the Federal land or the non-Federal land referred to in subclause (I) is significantly and substantially altered by fire, windstorm, or other events.
``(iv) Public review.--Before completing the land exchange under this Act, the Secretary shall make available for public review the complete appraisals of the land to be exchanged.'';
(C) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``16 months after the date of enactment of this Act'' and inserting ``1 year after the date of the enactment of the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act''; and
(D) by striking subparagraph (G) and inserting the following:
``(G) Required conveyance conditions.--Prior to the exchange of the Federal and non-Federal land--
``(i) in full satisfaction of Executive Order 11990, Mt. Hood Meadows shall obtain the concurrence of the Oregon Department of State Lands with the identification of wetland boundaries on the Federal land as designated on a wetland delineation report prepared by an independent professional engineer registered in the State of Oregon so as to provide protection of the identified wetland according to applicable law; and
``(ii) the Secretary shall reserve a 24-foot-wide nonexclusive trail easement at the existing trail locations on the Federal land that retains for the United States existing rights to construct, reconstruct, maintain, and permit nonmotorized use by the public of existing trails subject to the right of the owner of the Federal land--
``(I) to cross the trails with roads, utilities, and infrastructure facilities; and
``(II) to improve or relocate the trails to accommodate development of the Federal land.
``(H) Equalization of values.--
``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in addition to or in lieu of monetary compensation, a lesser area of Federal land or non-Federal land may be conveyed if necessary to equalize appraised values of the exchange properties, without limitation, consistent with the requirements of this Act and subject to the approval of the Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows.
``(ii) Treatment of certain compensation or conveyances as donation.--If, after payment of compensation or adjustment of land area subject to exchange under this Act, the amount by which the appraised value of the land and other property conveyed by Mt. Hood Meadows under subparagraph (A) exceeds the appraised value of the land conveyed by the Secretary under subparagraph (A) shall be considered a donation by Mt. Hood Meadows to the United States.''.
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