[Pages S11884-S11886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. MERKLEY:
S. 2811. A bill to amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to provide for
penalties and enforcement for intentionally taking protected avian
species, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and
Public Works.
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. 2811

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 ``Migratory Bird Treaty Act
Penalty and Enforcement Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT.

Section 6 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 707)
is amended by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as
subsections (d) and (e), respectively, and by inserting after
subsection (b) the following:
``(c)(1) Except in the case of hunting and other activity
allowed under section 3, whoever, in violation of this Act,
intentionally and maliciously takes by any manner any
migratory bird shall be guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or
imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for each
violation.
``(2) Any person who intentionally and maliciously commits
any other act or omission in violation of this Act or any
regulations issued under this Act shall be guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or
imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for each
violation.
``(3) The Secretary or the Secretary of the Treasury shall
pay, from sums received as fines under this subsection and
subject to the availability of appropriations, a reward to
any person who furnishes information that leads to an arrest
or a criminal conviction for any violation of this Act. The
amount of the reward, if any, shall be designated by the
Secretary or the Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate.
Any officer or employee of the United States or any State or
local government who furnishes information or renders service
in the performance of his or her official duties is
ineligible for payment under this paragraph.''.
______

By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Udall of
Colorado):
S. 2812. A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the
Secretary of Energy to carry out programs to develop and demonstrate 2
small modular nuclear reactor designs, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Nuclear
Power 2021 Act, which is cosponsored by Senator Murkowski and Senator
Udall from Colorado.
This bill, along with Senator Udall's bill S. 2052 are designed to
give the Department of Energy a set of specific programmatic
authorities to help address ways to lower the up-front capital cost of
nuclear reactors. The National Academies of Science in their recent
America's Energy Future study determined that by 2030 we will need
essentially to double the existing base load power provided by nuclear
energy or about another 100 gigawatts.
But before we can make such a large and dramatic increase in nuclear
energy, I believe we must demonstrate the ability to construct ``first-
mover'' reactors in the U.S. that are on cost and schedule. The
National Academies likewise confirmed this as one of two principal
demonstrations that must be carried out during the next decade to more
fully understand the range of available options for controlling carbon
emissions from energy production. The other challenge of commensurate
importance that they identified is the demonstration of carbon capture
and sequestration on a large scale for fossil-fuel based energy
production.
In that regard, the bill I am introducing today addresses the topic
of small modular reactors, which are typically rated with a capacity of
less than 300 electrical megawatts; and that can be constructed and
operated in combination with similar reactors at a single site. These
reactors can be less capital intensive than the larger 1,000 megawatt
reactors currently being licensed at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;
they have the potential to be built in a modular fashion much like our
current fleet of nuclear submarines.
This bill is similar to the Department of Energy's Nuclear Power 2010
program; it concentrates not so much on the research and development of
these reactors but demonstrating the ability to license them. Senator
Udall's bill authorizes the Department to conduct research on these
reactors with the goal of reducing cost while operating them in a safe
and secure fashion.
More specifically, this bill authorizes the Secretary of Energy to
work in a public private partnership to develop a standard design for
two modular reactors, one of which will not be more than 50 megawatts;
obtain a design certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
for each design by 2018; and obtain a combined operating license from
the Commission by 2021.
All of this effort would be cost shared by non-federal funds and
selected under competitive merit review process while emphasizing
efficiency, cost, safety and proliferation resistance.
The climate change issue we face today is too large to exclude any
one

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technology that can produce energy without emitting carbon dioxide. The
National Academies report acknowledges the important role nuclear
energy has and must play in a carbon constrained energy world; this
bill I hope is another step to address some of the recommendations of
this report. I hope my colleagues join me as cosponsors of this
legislation.
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. 2812

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 ``Nuclear Power 2021 Act''.

SEC. 2. NUCLEAR POWER 2021 INITIATIVE.

Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
16272) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Nuclear Power 2021 Initiative.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Combined license.--The term `combined license' has
the meaning given the term in section 52.1 of title 10, Code
of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).
``(B) Design certification.--The term `design
certification' has the meaning given the term in section 52.1
of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor
regulation).
``(C) Small modular reactor.--The term `small modular
reactor' means a nuclear reactor--
``(i) with a rated capacity of less than 300 electrical
megawatts; and
``(ii) that can be constructed and operated in combination
with similar reactors at a single site.
``(2) Duty of secretary.--The Secretary shall carry out,
through cooperative agreements with private sector partners--
``(A) a program--
``(i) to develop a standard design for each of 2 small
modular reactors, at least 1 of which has a rated capacity of
not more than 50 electrical megawatts; and
``(ii) to obtain a design certification from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission for each of the 2 standard designs by
January 1, 2018; and
``(B) a program to demonstrate the licensing of small
modular reactors by--
``(i) developing applications for a combined license for
each of the designs certified pursuant to subparagraph (A);
and
``(ii) obtaining a combined license from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission for each of the designs by January 1,
2021.
``(3) Merit review of proposals.--The Secretary shall
select proposals for cooperative agreements under this
subsection--
``(A) on the basis of an impartial review of the scientific
and technical merit of the proposals; and
``(B) through the use of competitive procedures.
``(4) Technical considerations.--In evaluating proposals,
the Secretary shall take into account the efficiency, cost,
safety, and proliferation resistance of competing reactor
designs.
``(5) Cost-share requirements.--
``(A) Design development.--Notwithstanding section 988, the
Secretary shall require that not less than 50 percent of the
cost of the development of each small modular reactor design
under paragraph (2)(A) be provided by a non-Federal source.
``(B) Licensing demonstration.--Notwithstanding section
988, the Secretary shall require that not less than 75
percent of the cost of the licensing demonstration of each
small modular reactor design under paragraph (2)(B) be
provided by a non-Federal source.
``(C) Calculation of amount.--Non-Federal contributions
under this subsection shall be calculated in accordance with
section 988(d).''.
______

By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Conrad):
S. 2814. A bill tb amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
ensure more timely access to home health services for Medicare
beneficiaries under the Medicare program; to the Committee on Finance.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of myself and
Senator Conrad to introduce legislation to ensure that our seniors and
disabled citizens have timely access to home health services under the
Medicare program.
Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives
and clinical nurse specialists are all playing increasingly important
roles in the delivery of health care services, particularly in rural
and medically underserved areas of our country where physicians may be
in scarce supply. In recognition of their growing role, Congress, in
1997, authorized Medicare to begin paying for physician services
provided by these health professionals as long as those services are
within their scope of practice under state law.
Despite their expanded role, these advanced practice registered
nurses and physician assistants are currently unable to order home
health services for their Medicare patients. Under current law, only
physicians are allowed to certify or initiate home health care for
Medicare patients, even though they may not be as familiar with the
patient's case as the non-physician provider. In fact, in many cases,
the certifying physician may not even have a relationship with the
patient and must rely upon the input of the nurse practitioner,
physician assistant, clinical nurse specialist or certified nurse
midwife to order the medically necessary home health care. At best,
this requirement adds more paperwork and a number of unnecessary steps
to the process before home health care can be provided. At worst, it
can lead to needless delays in getting Medicare patients the home
health care they need simply because a physician is not readily
available to sign the form.
The inability of advanced practice registered nurses and physician
assistants to order home health care is particularly burdensome for
Medicare beneficiaries in medically underserved areas, where these
providers may be the only health care professionals available. For
example, needed home health care was delayed by more than a week for a
Medicare patient in Nevada because the physician assistant was the only
health care professional serving the patient's small town, and the
supervising physician was located 60 miles away.
A nurse practitioner told me about another case in which her
collaborating physician had just lost her father and was not available.
As a consequence, the patient experienced a two-day delay in getting
needed care while they waited to get the paperwork signed by another
physician. Another nurse practitioner pointed out that it is ridiculous
that she can order physical and occupational therapy in a subacute
facility but cannot order home health care. One of her patients had to
wait 11 days after being discharged before his physical and
occupational therapy could continue simply because the home health
agency had difficulty finding a physician to certify the continuation
of the same therapy that the nurse practitioner had been able to
authorize when the patient was in the facility.
The Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act will help to ensure
that our Medicare beneficiaries get the home health care that they need
when they need it by allowing physician assistants, nurse
practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and certified nurse midwives
to order home health services. Our legislation is supported by the
National Association for Home Care and Hospice, the American Nurses
Association, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American
College of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Nurse Midwives,
the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and the Visiting Nurse
Associations of America. I urge all of my colleagues to join us as
cosponsors of this important legislation.
______

By Mr. GRASSLEY:
S. 2815. A bill to extend certain housing-related deadlines in the
Heartland Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I have introduced a bill to extend
deadlines by one year for three provisions in the Heartland Disaster
Tax Relief Act of 2008.
The Heartland Disaster Tax Relief Act has been critical in rebuilding
the lives and communities of those affected by the terrible floods and
tornadoes from last year.
Because of delays in Federal funding and tighter credit conditions,
many homeowners affected by the 2008 floods and storms will be unable
to meet the deadline for the tax relief intended to help with recovery.
It is only fair to extend the deadline and give these homeowners the
chance to recover and rebuild. A lot of people are still trying to fix
their ruined homes or move on to new housing. A house is ruined in a
few minutes, but banks and governments take what seems like an
eternity.
The first provision is a one-year extension of the provision allowing
disaster victims with damage to their primary residence to use their
own assets

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to buy a new home or repair an existing home by withdrawing money from
their retirement plans without tax penalties.
The second provision is a one-year extension of a provision allowing
disaster victims that have borrowed from their retirement account for
disaster recovery to repay their own account without penalty.
The final provision is a 1-year extension of a provision allowing
disaster victims whose banks cancel mortgage debt to not have the
cancelled debt counted as taxable income. I urge my colleagues to help
me in getting this important legislation enacted into law as soon as
possible.
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. 2815

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF SPECIAL RULES FOR USE OF RETIREMENT
FUNDS.

Section 702(d)(10) of the Heartland Disaster Tax Relief Act
of 2008 (Public Law 110-343; 122 Stat. 3916) is amended--
(1) by striking ``January 1, 2010'' both places it appears
and inserting ``January 1, 2011'', and
(2) by striking ``December 31, 2009'' both places it
appears and inserting ``December 31, 2010''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN CANCELLATION OF
INDEBTEDNESS INCOME.

Section 702(e)(4)(C) of the Heartland Disaster Tax Relief
Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-343; 122 Stat. 3918) is amended
by striking ``January 1, 2010'' and inserting ``January 1,
2011''.

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