Departments of Labor , Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 - Continued

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008--Continued -- (Senate - October 23, 2007)

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AMENDMENT NO. 3440, AS MODIFIED, TO AMENDMENT NO. 3325

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General Provisions

SEC. 401. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the amount appropriated under the heading ``LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES'' under the heading ``SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'' shall be increased by $150,000,000.

(b) Section 1848(l)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(l)(2)(A)), as amended by section 6 of the TMA, Abstinence Education, and QI Programs Extension Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-90), is amended by striking ``$1,350,000,000'' and inserting ``$1,200,000,000, but in no case shall expenditures from the Fund in fiscal year 2008 exceed $650,000,000'' in the first sentence.

(c) Section 323 of title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, do we have an opportunity to address it?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes on each side.

The Senator from Iowa is recognized.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise in support of the goals of this amendment. I want to speak about process so that nobody gets the understanding that the Committee on Finance has given up jurisdiction over this area. We also want to explain that the offset is coming from the Medicare physician assistance and quality initiative fund, which we have set aside to make sure doctors don't get a 10-percent cut this year in their formula. That is something which is going to come out of the Finance Committee in the next few weeks.

The reason we are going along with this offset is we have found another offset that will fill the void in this fund I just referred to, so that we will be able to keep this whole. I advise people that just because we are allowing this fund to be tapped, we are not going to tap this fund again because we are going to save this to make sure we can help doctors not get cut in their reimbursement on Medicare.

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The Senator from Iowa [Mr. Grassley], for himself and Mr. Sanders, proposes an amendment numbered 3396, as modified, to amendment No. 3325.

The amendment is as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``American Competitiveness Scholarship Act of 2007''.

(b) Establishment.--The Director of the National Science Foundation (referred to in this section as the ``Director'') shall award scholarships to eligible individuals to enable such individuals to pursue associate, undergraduate, or graduate level degrees in mathematics, engineering, health care, or computer science.

(c) Eligibility.--

(1) IN GENERAL.--To be eligible to receive a scholarship under this section, an individual shall--

(A) be a citizen of the United States, a national of the United States (as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))), an alien admitted as a refugee under section 207 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence;

(B) prepare and submit to the Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require; and

(C) certify to the Director that the individual intends to use amounts received under the scholarship to enroll or continue enrollment at an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)) in order to pursue an associate, undergraduate, or graduate level degree in mathematics, engineering, computer science, nursing, medicine, or other clinical medical program, or technology, or science program designated by the Director.

(2) ABILITY.--Awards of scholarships under this section shall be made by the Director solely on the basis of the ability of the applicant, except that in any case in which 2 or more applicants for scholarships are deemed by the Director to be possessed of substantially equal ability, and there are not sufficient scholarships available to grant one to each of such applicants, the available scholarship or scholarships shall be awarded to the applicants in a manner that will tend to result in a geographically wide distribution throughout the United States of recipients' places of permanent residence.

(d) Amount of Scholarship; Renewal.--

(1) AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP.--The amount of a scholarship awarded under this section shall be $15,000 per year, except that no scholarship shall be greater than the annual cost of tuition and fees at the institution of higher education in which the scholarship recipient is enrolled or will enroll.

(2) RENEWAL.--The Director may renew a scholarship under this section for an eligible individual for not more than 4 years.

(e) Funding.--The Director shall carry out this section only with funds made available under section 286(w) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by subsection (g).

(f) Federal Register.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall publish in the Federal Register a list of eligible programs of study for a scholarship under this section.

(g) Supplemental H-1b Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account; Gifted and Talented Students Education Account.--Section 286 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(w) Supplemental H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account.--

``(1) IN GENERAL.--There is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the `Supplemental H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account'. Notwithstanding any other section of this Act, there shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the account 85.75 percent of the fees collected under section 214(c)(15)(B).

``(2) USE OF FEES FOR AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.--The amounts deposited into the Supplemental H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account shall remain available to the Director of the National Science Foundation until expended for scholarships described in the American Competitiveness Scholarship Act of 2007 for students enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree in mathematics, engineering, health care, or computer science.

``(x) Gifted and Talented Students Education Account.--

``(1) IN GENERAL.--There is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the `Gifted and Talented Students Education Account'. There shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the account 14.25 percent of the fees collected under section 214(c)(15)(B).

``(2) USE OF FEES.--Amounts deposited into the account established under paragraph (1) shall remain available to the Secretary of Education until expended for programs and projects authorized under the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. 7253 et seq.).''.

(h) Supplemental and Deficit Reduction Fees.--Section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(15)(A) Except as provided under subparagraph (D), if the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Secretary of State is required to impose a fee pursuant to paragraph (9) or (11), the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Secretary of State, as appropriate, shall impose a supplemental fee and a deficit reduction fee on the employer in addition to any other fee required by such paragraph or any other provision of law, in the amounts determined under subparagraph (B).

``(B) The amount of the supplemental fee shall be $3,500, except that the fee shall be 1/2 that amount for any employer with not more than 25 full-time equivalent employees who are employed in the United States (determined by including any affiliate or subsidiary of such employer).

``(C) Of the amounts collected under subparagraph (B)--

``(i) 85.75 percent shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with section 286(w); and

``(ii) 14.25 percent shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with section 286(x).

``(D) Public hospitals, which are owned and operated by a State or a political subdivision of a State shall not be subject to the supplemental fees imposed under this paragraph.''.

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I wish to speak to what this bill does or does not do for our most promising students.

In his best selling book, ``The World Is Flat,'' Thomas Friedman discusses the challenges of globalism using the metaphor of the world getting flatter.

What he means is that international barriers to the movement of goods, services, people, and ideas are breaking down. That means that American businesses are facing competition from different sources, and the competition will only get fiercer.

If Americans want us to remain an economic leader and keep high paying jobs, we will need to stay one step ahead of others around the world in coming up with new ideas and innovative products and services.

Thomas Friedman likens this moment in American history to the height of the Cold War when the Soviet Union leaped ahead of America in the space race by putting up the Sputnik satellite.

In response to Sputnik, Congress passed the National Defense Education Act, which really started the Federal involvement in education.

According to Thomas Friedman, to meet the challenges of what he calls ``flatism'' will require, ``as comprehensive, energetic, and focused a response as did meeting the challenge of communism.''

We have heard a lot of talk in Congress about the need to do something about American competitiveness.

In fact, earlier this year we passed the America COMPETES bill, authorizing a series of new programs designed to stimulate advanced learning by young Americans. But are we serious about that?

The bill before us today is a $5.35 billion increase over the previous year. That is not small potatoes. That is enough to give a boost to a lot of programs.

But one program that is not seeing a boost is the only source of Federal
funds currently focused on helping meet the unique learning needs of gifted and talented students.

The Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act has suffered a series of cuts in recent years due to across-the-board rescissions.

For the current fiscal year, Congress passed an unusual type of modified continuing resolution.

While the continuing resolution contained no specific language further cutting funding for gifted education, the program mysteriously suffered a significant 21 percent cut.

In total, gifted and talented education has taken a 33 percent cut since 2002, and that is not adjusted for inflation. The current bill retains that cut.

If we are serious about maintaining America's competitive edge internationally, our most promising students must be challenged and supported to reach their full potential.

We need these talented young people to go on to pursue advanced degrees and make the technological innovations that drive our economy.

Make no mistake, that will not happen by itself.

Gifted students learn faster and to a greater depth than other students and often look at the world differently than other students. As a result, it takes a great deal more to keep them challenged and stimulated.

If gifted students are not sufficiently stimulated, they often learn to get by with minimum effort and adopt poor learning habits that can prevent them from achieving their potential.

In fact, many gifted and talented students underachieve or even drop out of school.

The book ``Genius Denied,'' by Jan and Bob Davidson from the majority leader's home, the State of Nevada, chronicles how we are letting gifted students throughout the Nation fall through the cracks, wasting their potential.

The Belin-Blank Center in my home State of Iowa produced a report titled, ``A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students.''

We must do a better job of developing American talent if America is to remain competitive in the global economy.

Twice now, on the competitiveness bill and the immigration bill, I have proposed an amendment to provide an appropriate funding source for gifted and talented education.

My proposal would increase the fee employers pay for H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers to come to the United States and use that additional funding for the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act.

H-1B visas are temporary visas.

Highly skilled foreign workers come to the United States, often working for less than Americans, and garner useful experience with American companies.

Then, by the nature of the H-1B program, they go home to use their talent in their native country.

That is hardly a permanent solution to our need for talented workers.

Doesn't it make sense to charge a fee to those investing in temporary talent from abroad and use it to invest in permanent talent for the future here at home?

The modified amendment at the desk is a compromise that I worked out with the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Sanders.

The modification includes language that was agreed to during the immigration debate.

In fact, a similar amendment passed the Senate with a 59-vote majority.

It would increase the fee for H-1B visas and use the revenue to support gifted and talented education as well as an American Competitiveness Scholarship Program that the Senator from Vermont has authored.

I support his goal of creating a scholarship program for students pursuing a degree in math, engineering, health care, or computer science.

I appreciate Senator Sanders's willingness to help me and to provide needed funding for gifted and talented students.

We cannot continue to shortchange our best and brightest students and still expect excellence from them.

Gifted students are the innovators of tomorrow that will keep our economic pump primed.

For their sake and ours, we cannot afford to squander this vital national resource.

I urge the adoption of my amendment.

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