Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Sessions, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Thune, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Graham):
S. 755. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow an offset against income tax refunds to pay for restitution and other State judicial debts that are past-due; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today, along with my colleagues Senators Sessions, McCaskill, Thune, Boxer, and Graham, I am introducing the Crime Victim Restitution and Court Fee Intercept Act. This bipartisan bill would help crime victims and state courts recover the restitution and fees that are owed to them. This bill would accomplish this worthy goal by intercepting tax refunds of deadbeat debtors who've failed to pay restitution or court fees. If enacted, this bill would essentially allow state courts to cross-reference outstanding debts with the IRS and use existing procedures to withhold tax refunds in order to satisfy past due debts.
This bill would not only deliver justice to crime victims who are owed restitution, but would also provide much-needed resources to help keep court rooms open and court programs operating. At a time when our State and local governments are struggling to find funding for vital programs--including keeping courthouse doors open--unpaid court fees represent an important source of revenue that should be captured. This bill would help close budget gaps and provide additional revenue without raising taxes or imposing any new costs or burdens. In fact, participation in the program would be optional for States, but I expect most States to participate and to benefit greatly from this bill.
This bill would operate the same way as the very successful child support debt collection system. The bill will allow states to share information on outstanding restitution owed and court debts with the IRS, which would then be required to intercept any Federal tax refunds of debtors and send that money to the victim or court owed that debt.
It has been estimated by the National Center for State Courts that outstanding court debts across the country total approximately $15 billion. In my home state of Oregon alone, the outstanding restitution and court fee debt amount is $987 million. Only a portion of outstanding debts are owed by individuals who will receive Federal tax refunds, so a portion of court debts would not be collected immediately. Nonetheless, the state of Oregon estimates that passage of this bill would allow the State to collect $30 million per year.
Without this straight-forward and efficient mechanism, the collection of victim restitution and court debts is a costly and time-consuming process. Enactment of this bill would reduce the fiscal cost and administrative burden that victims and courts bear in attempting to collect those debts. Again, in the midst of a challenging fiscal crisis, it only makes common sense to collect revenues that are already owed--through an efficient and convenient method.
Because this bill would benefit both the court system, and those who rely upon it, the Crime Victim Restitution and Court Fee Intercept Act is endorsed by a broad array of court, government, law enforcement, and crime victims' organizations. I would like to especially recognize the National Center for State Courts and the American Bar Association for their support in getting this bill introduced.
The bill is also supported by the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, the National Association for Court Managers, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Counties, the Government Finance Officers Association, the National District Attorneys Association, the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Crime Law Institute, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Organization for Victim Assistance, the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards, the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children Inc., and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
I urge all colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and I yield the floor.
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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today with Senator GRASSLEY to introduce the Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act. I would like to begin by thanking my friend and esteemed colleague for his unwavering commitment to greater transparency and accountability in government. This Medicare DATA Act advances that goal.
Sunshine continues to be the greatest disinfectant. In that light, the Medicare DATA Act ensures all taxpayers have access to the Medicare Claims Database, both to aid them in making medical decisions, and in understanding what their money is paying for in this vital, yet enormous, health program. Making this information public will also help prevent wasteful spending and outright fraud in Medicare claims. The Medicare Claims Database is an important resource for public and private stakeholders as it captures healthcare provider payment and claims information for roughly 1/3 of the United States healthcare system. But why isn't this information already available?
In 1978, the Department of Health Education and Welfare attempted to release this information, upon request, under the premise that accessibility to the source data was in the public interest and therefore should be made available for public consumption. An injunction by a Florida court, however, successfully blocked that public disclosure of this information. As a result, this data has been--with limited exceptions made for government employees, contractors, and researchers willing to pay for partial access--off limits for the last three decades. Passage of the Medicare DATA Act puts an end to that practice.
I consider hiding information affecting the American taxpayer that clearly should be in the public domain, to be indefensible in a free society. With this principle in mind, I join with Senator GRASSLEY in changing ``business as usual.''
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation so that Medicare data is finally fully transparent and available to Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers alike. I look forward to working with my colleagues in this effort.
By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Merkley):
S. 764. A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to make technical corrections to the segment designations for the Chetco River, Oregon; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, part of my job as a Senator from a beautiful State like Oregon is to keep that beauty protected for the next generation of Oregonians. Today it is my pleasure to reintroduce three bills to better protect three of Oregon's special natural resources, S. 764, 765, and 766. I have introduced all of these bills before, one of these in both of the last two Congresses. The Oregon Caves Revitalization Act of 2011 was first introduced in 2008, and again in the last Congress. It progressed out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the last Congress but unfortunately there wasn't an opportunity to vote on it on the Senate Floor. The Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act of 2011 also moved out of the Committee but failed to get a vote in the full Senate. The Chetco River Protection Act of 2011 was also introduced last session, but there was not enough time to get a hearing before the Senate adjourned. I am pleased to again introduce these bills with my colleague from Oregon, Senator MERKLEY. My colleague in the House of Representatives, Representative DEFAZIO, will also be introducing companion legislation today.
The first bill I am introducing, the Oregon Caves Revitalization Act of 2011, will expand the boundary of the National Park Service land to create the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. Under this bill, the stunning majesty of both the underground and the aboveground treasures found at this National Monument site will be protected for future generations.
Established by a Presidential Proclamation in 1909, the Oregon Caves National Monument is a 480-acre natural wonder located in the botanically-rich Siskiyou Mountains. It was originally set aside because of its unusual scientific interest and importance. Oregon Caves has a unique geologic history and is particularly known as the longest marble cave open to the public west of the Continental Divide.
A perennial stream, the ``River Styx''--an underground portion of Cave Creek--flows through part of the cave and is one of the dynamic natural forces at work in the National Monument. The cave ecosystem provides habitat for numerous plants and animals, including some state-sensitive species such as Townsend's big-eared bats and several cave-adapted species of arthropods found only in only one place on Earth: the Oregon Caves. The caves possess a significant collection of Pleistocene aged fossils, including jaguar and grizzly bear. In 1995, grizzly bear bones found in the cave were estimated to be at least 50,000 years old, the oldest known from either North or South America.
Today, I am proposing legislation that will enhance the protection for treasures such as these found within the Oregon Caves National Monument and that will increase public recreation opportunities by adding surrounding lands to the National Park Service site. My bill would expand the park site by 4,070 acres to include the entire Cave Creek Watershed, and transfer management of the land from the United States Forest Service to the National Park Service. The newly acquired lands will be designated as a Preserve so that hunters can still use them. In addition, my legislation would designate at least 9.6 miles of rivers and tributaries as Wild, Scenic, or Recreational, under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, including the first
subterranean Wild and Scenic River, the River Styx. This bill would also authorize the retirement of existing grazing allotments.
When the Oregon Caves National Monument was established in 1909, the focus was on the unique subsurface resources, and the small rectangular boundary was thought to be adequate to protect the cave. Through the years, however, scientific research and technology have provided new information about the cave's ecology, and the impacts from the surface environment and the related hydrological processes. The current 480-acre boundary simply can't adequately protect this cave system. The National Park Service has formally proposed a boundary modification numerous times, first in 1939, again in 1949, and most recently in 2000. Today, I am happy to again propose legislation to enact that boundary adjustment into law.
The Oregon Caves National Monument makes a unique contribution to Southern Oregon's economy and to the national heritage. The Monument receives over 80,000 visitors annually and a larger Monument boundary will help showcase more fully the recreational opportunities on the above-ground lands within the proposed Monument boundary. The Monument's above-ground lands in the Siskiyou Mountains possess a beauty and diversity that is unique in America, and indeed the world. The Oregon Caves National Monument's approximately 500 plants, 5,000 animals, 2,000 fungi, and over a million bacteria per acre that make the spot have one of the highest concentrations of biological diversity anywhere.
Expanding the Monument's boundary will also preserve the caves' resources by protecting the water that enters the cave. By granting the National Park Service the ability to safeguard these resources, and by providing for a voluntary donation of grazing permits, my legislation will be able to better protect these resources. Over the decades, the number of allowed livestock has diminished, but the livestock still has an impact on the drinking water supply and the water quality of this natural gem. The current grazing permitee, Phil Krouse's family, has had the Big Grayback Grazing Allotment, 19,703 acre, since 1937. Mr. Krouse has publicly stated that he would look favorably upon retirement with private compensation for his allotment, which my legislation will allow to proceed.
The second bill I am introducing is the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act of 2011, which designates approximately 30,540 acres surrounding the Wasson Creek area as Wilderness. Devil's Staircase personifies what Wilderness in Oregon is all about. It is rugged, wild, pristine and remote. So rugged, in fact, that land managers have repeatedly withdrawn this landslide-prone forest from all timbering activity and intrepid hikers must follow elk and deer trails and keep a sharp eye on a compass. The proposed Devil's Staircase Wilderness is the finest old-growth forest remaining in Oregon's Coast Range, boasting huge Douglas-fir, cedar and hemlock and a wealth of threatened and endangered species. Wildlife include threatened marbled murrelets and the highest density of Northern Spotted Owls in the coastal mountains.
My proposal would not only protect the forests surrounding Wasson Creek but would also designate approximately 4.5 miles of Franklin Creek and approximately 10.1 miles of Wasson Creek as Wild and Scenic Rivers. Franklin Creek, a critically important tributary to the Umpqua River, is one of the best examples of pristine salmon habitat left in Oregon. Together with Wasson Creek, these two streams in the Devil's Staircase area deserve Wild and Scenic River designation by Congress.
The ecological significance of this treasure is apparent. The land is protected as a Late-Successional Reserve by the Northwest Forest Plan, as critical habitat for the northern spotted owl, and as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by the Bureau of Land Management. Preserving these majestic forests as Wilderness for their wildlife and spectacular scenery matches the goals of the existing land management plans. I look forward to protecting this gem for future generations.
For over a decade, I've advocated for protections for the Chetco and other threatened waterways in Southwest Oregon. I'm reintroducing a third piece of legislation today that would continue that effort. The Chetco River Protection Act of 2011 would withdraw about three miles of the Chetco River from mineral entry, while upgrading the designations for some portions.
This river is under immediate threat from out-of-state suction dredge miners. The group American Rivers said last year that the Chetco was the seventh most endangered river in the country because of those threats. This is a river that is hugely important for salmon habitat and local sport fishing. The passage of this legislation would mean protecting that habitat, and promoting the continued success of the fishing industry throughout the West Coast.
Withdrawing these portions of the river from future mineral entry will prevent future harmful mining claims and make sure that those claims that already exist are valid I am pleased the Obama administration has taken some steps to protect this area, but the passage of this legislation is needed to ensure long-term protection for this important river.
Finally, I want to express my thanks to the conservation, recreation and business communities of Southern and Coastal Oregon, and Phil Krouse for his strong conservation ethic. All of them have worked diligently to protect these special places. I look forward to working with Senator MERKLEY, Representative DEFAZIO, and other colleagues and the bill's other supporters to keep up the fight for these unique places in Oregon and get these pieces of legislation to the President's desk for his signature.
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