August 2, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5967 

that passed with bipartisan support in 

the Senate in June. 

The livestock disaster provisions 

originally enacted in the 2008 Farm bill 

expired in 2011, leaving producers without disaster assistance for the current 

crop year. The Senate bill strengthens 

these programs and makes them retroactive to address the current drought 

of 2012. 

As of July 17, approximately 73 percent of cattle producing areas were affected by moderate or more intense 

drought. 

As I mentioned earlier, the Delmarva 

peninsula, where a fair amount of the 

corn is raised for feed for Delmarva 

poultry, is in a state of drought, as are 

the regions of the country where the 

rest of the corn Delmarva poultry uses 

is shipped in from. 

Livestock disaster programs are critical as farmers and ranchers experience 

losses in livestock and grazing land due 

to extreme heat, drought, and fire. The 

2012 Farm Bill provides permanent 

funding and authority for the Livestock Disaster Programs. 

Beyond helping livestock and poultry 

growers, the 2012 Farm Bill also provides much needed assistance to fruit 

and vegetable growers, too, by expanding crop insurance coverage to these 

farmers. The bill also allows the Risk 

Management Agency to conduct research and development on new crop 

insurance products to expand access to 

index-based weather insurance products for fruit and vegetable growers. 

The House appears poised to just 

kick the can for a year. The House is 

likely to consider a measure to merely 

extend the 2008 Farm Bill for a year, 

while also offering some drought assistance—paid for from cuts to conservation programs. 

This is a plan that the American 

Farm Bureau opposes, and demonstrates both the dysfunction of the 

House—in that they won’t simply do 

what’s easiest and best for farmers by 

taking up and passing the Senate bill— 

while also ignoring how vital farm conservation is to preventing agricultural 

disasters. 

The Senate Farm Bill preserves 

USDA conservation programs. The 

Natural Resource Conservation Service, formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service, was born out of the 

tragedy of the Dust Bowl. 

The disastrous droughts of the 1930s 

taught us the lesson that we need to do 

more to protect water and soil resources so that we do not repeat the 

mistakes of the past. 

The 2012 Senate Farm bill conservation programs are critical for keeping 

America’s farmers and ranchers doing 

what they do best—growing and producing a safe and stable food supply. 

Crops need healthy soil and plentiful 

water to grow, and natural disasters 

like drought have a long-term impact 

on soil and water quality. 

The Farm bill’s conservation title 

provides farmers and ranchers access 

to the tools they need to conserve and 

keep our Nation’s natural resources as 

resilient as possible, even in the face of 

drought and other natural disasters. 

For the good of American agriculture 

and the American consumer, I urge the 

House leadership to take advantage of 

this last opportunity before the August 

recess to do what is right and pass the 

Senate Farm bill. My hope is that 

House leadership will realize that it behooves us, when we go home to our districts during the summer recess and attend State and county fairs, to be able 

to tell our farming communities that 

we sent a Farm bill to the President 

with meaningful reforms and essential 

disaster relief to help them through 

these difficult times. 

Personally, I want to be able to tell 

my poultry growers that Washington 

hears their plight. That is why, in addition to urging House passage of the 

Senate Farm bill, I would also like to 

see further relief for poultry growers in 

the form of improved access to corn 

feed. 

For decades, America’s corn growers 

were outproducing demand for corn 

from food producers. While consumers 

may have benefitted from relatively 

low corn prices, American corn and 

grain growers were hurting badly. 

Since 2007, the tides have been turning significantly. National demand for 

corn is at an all-time high and corn is 

likely to reach $9 a bushel in the near 

future. A growing and hungry Nation, 

combined with new demands for corn 

that are the result of technological innovations, have created new uses for 

corn in the form of ethanol as both a 

motor fuel additive and in plastics. 

These new uses, combined with expanded traditional uses, have fueled 

the upward spike in corn prices. 

The effects of the 2012 drought are 

obviously a catastrophe that we cannot 

legislate away. However, there are actions that the USDA and EPA could 

take to help improve market access to 

the corn stocks food producers need to 

keep feeding America. 

Senators HAGAN, CHAMBLISS, PRYOR, 

BOOZMAN, and I have authored a letter 

to the EPA administrator calling for 

the waiver of the Renewable Fuel 

Standard’s conventional ethanol production mandate for this year. Doing 

so would allow food producers to compete fairly with ethanol producers for 

corn. 

While ethanol production is down, 

due to high corn prices ethanol producers are sitting on roughly 2.5 billion 

production credits, known as RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers), that 

they could cash in and further reduce 

the perceived demand for corn and increase the supply available to food producers. 

I understand the important role domestic ethanol production will play in 

helping our Nation achieve greater energy security. However, the growth of 

our domestic biofuels industry must 

not come at the expense of our domestic food supply. We cannot sacrifice 

U.S. food security for energy security. 

That is why I do not support the use of 

food based feedstocks like sugar and 

corn to be commercially produced into 

ethanol. 

I believe the future of biofuels must 

be in the development and production 

of cellulosic and advanced biofuels that 

are not derived from feedstocks that 

are part of essential food sources. 

Because of corn’s many uses, it has 

become a commodity that is in high demand. Assuring our domestic food producers’ access to this valuable and increasingly scarce crop is so important 

to controlling the cost of food in America and maintaining the economic viability of our U.S. food companies. 

I urge my colleagues to join Senators 

HAGAN, BOOZMAN, PRYOR, CHAMBLISS

and I in calling on EPA to waive the 

RFS corn ethanol production mandate 

and call on the House to pass the Senate’s Farm bill. 

f 

BRUMIDI GOLD MEDAL CEREMONY 

Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the remarks I deliver on July 11 at the Brumidi Gold 

Medal Ceremony be printed in the 

RECORD. 

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the 

RECORD, as follows: 

STATEMENT ON S. 254 

A BILL TO AWARD POSTHUMOUSLY A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO CONSTANTINO

BRUMIDI CONSTANTINO BRUMIDI GOLD MEDAL

CEREMONY, RAYBURN ROOM, DELIVERED JULY

11, 2012—11 AM

Mr. Speaker, Leaders, Mr. Ambassador, fellow Italians—and friends of Italy. This is a 

process that started about five years ago, 

and it’s the first one that one hundred Senators ever sponsored. It’s taken 5 years but 

for Constantino Brumidi, there was no greater honor than being called an American citizen. It was a title he sought and then signed 

with pride on the best of his work. 

For my own family and for many of you, it 

wasn’t long after Constantino Brumidi left 

for America, that my own ancestors heard 

the call for freedom and came here as well. 

Just like Constantino Brumidi they left the 

beauty of Italy—its mountains and its sunny 

shores—to come and be a part of the great 

adventure called the United States. 

And I swear that if you walk through these 

halls late at night you can almost hear the 

whispers of the past and the hushed echoes of 

the voices of our Founding Fathers, past 

Senators and Representatives as they debated and discussed the issues of the day. 

And perhaps Constantino, as he talks about 

the art. 

The history books tell us that Constantino 

Brumidi was born in Rome of Italian and 

Greek heritage, and he had a great talent for 

painting that revealed itself at an early age. 

After he came to the United States and one 

day, after completing a commission, he 

stopped in Washington, DC, to visit the Capitol on his way home, and looking at its tall, 

blank walls and empty corridors, he must 

have felt the excitement and inspiration 

only an artist facing an empty canvas can 

know. On that day he began what was more 

than an assignment for him—it was a labor 

of love—as he brought to life the great moments in American history for all of us to 

see on the walls and ceilings. His efforts were 

destined to earn him the title of ‘‘America’s 

Michelangelo.’’ 


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S5968 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 2, 2012 

Liberty is the philosophy that guided 

Constantino Brumidi’s hand as it fired his 

imagination and inspired his creations in our 

nation’s Capital. Imagine what he would 

think if he could walk these corridors today. 

He would see that his beautiful work has 

stood the test of time, especially after being 

cleaned up after the accumulated lamp 

smoke. He would know of the appreciation 

and admiration of countless visitors from 

our shores and around the world. He would 

see that his art continues to thrill the millions who flock here every year. I believe he 

would be both proud and humbled to be the 

center of such attention. 

Throughout the Capitol, each careful 

stroke of Brumidi’s brush will continue to 

remind us that we are blessed and truly fortunate to live in this land of promise and opportunity. 

Now it is only fitting that the Congress of 

the United States of America should bestow 

on Constantino Brumidi the nation’s highest 

civilian honor—the Congressional Gold 

Medal—which incidentally is to be permanently displayed in the Capitol. It will be the 

only one displayed in the Capitol, and will 

give people an opportunity to see what a 

Congressional Gold medal looks like. 

And now I would like to introduce my colleague and fellow Italian-American, Senator 

Pat Leahy of Vermont, who served since 

1974, and if you check his left lapel, he is 

wearing one of the highest awards that Italy 

can give to a son of Italy. He was one of the 

original sponsors on my Senate Constantino 

Brumidi bill and helped me gather every single signature to support this bill. Senator 

LEAHY is the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is a senior member of 

both the Agriculture and Appropriations 

Committee. I give you my fellow Italian, 

Senator Pat Leahy. 

f 

CPSIA ANNIVERSARY 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, few 

states appreciate the importance of 

outdoor recreation the way we do in 

Minnesota—whether it is cross-country 

skiing, snowmobiling, fishing, hiking 

or off-roading, these activities are 

more than just hobbies for us—they are 

a way of life and they are woven into 

the fabric of our economy. That is why 

today I rise to commemorate the 1- 

year anniversary of the passage of the 

lead standard exemptions for youth allterrain vehicles. 

Minnesota is home to many strong 

recreational product manufacturers 

that provide jobs and have helped move 

our economy forward during these difficult times. Our economy doesn’t 

hinge on churning money around Wall 

Street, it hinges on building things and 

the motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle 

industry is a shining example of that. 

This industry is not just about recreation—it is about jobs, it is about manufacturing, and it is about preserving a 

key part of our culture and economy. 

I supported the Consumer Product 

Safety Improvement Act when it 

passed in 2008 because it addressed serious safety concerns about lead in children’s toys. But when we have legislation as detailed and sweeping as the 

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, certain adjustments and 

clarifications sometimes need to be 

made, as we saw with the lead limits 

for youth all-terrain vehicles. Simply 

put, children’s off-road vehicles were 

never supposed to be subject to requirements in the Consumer Product Safety 

Improvement Act. 

The law was designed to protect our 

kids, but by banning youth-sized allterrain vehicles children were put at 

risk because they started riding oversized adult vehicles that don’t take the 

same considerations as a model meant 

to accommodate children. Once it became clear that the Consumer Product 

Safety Commission was going to hold 

youth all-terrain vehicles to the new 

lead requirements, I began working to 

find a solution to the problem. 

That is why I pushed to pass the 

amendments to the Consumer Product 

Safety Improvement Act last year to 

exempt youth all-terrain vehicles from 

lead standards. August 12th will be the 

1-year anniversary of enactment of 

these amendments to Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act into law. 

I would like to commemorate the 1- 

year anniversary of passage of these 

amendments to Consumer Product 

Safety Improvement Act that help protect our children and ensure they enjoy 

the outdoors for many years to come. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO TOM SULLIVAN 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I 

rise today to recognize the exceptional 

leadership and dedication of my deputy 

chief of staff Tom Sullivan, who has 

been with me since my first days in the 

Senate and will soon be leaving to accept a senior adviser role at the U.S. 

State Department. 

To say that Tom will be missed 

would be an understatement. Over the 

last 6 years, he has distinguished himself as an invaluable member of my 

staff, rising through the ranks and filling many key roles along the way. He 

started out as a legislative assistant, 

but it wasn’t long before he was serving as my deputy legislative director 

and, eventually, my deputy chief of 

staff. 

In many ways you could call Tom the 

nerve center of my office—the utility 

player who can step in and perform virtually any task that is asked of him, 

regardless of whether it is press strategy or scheduling or legislative analysis. No policy was ever too complex 

for him, no assignment too daunting, 

no challenge too thorny. 

Tom’s versatility is especially apparent in his knowledge of policy, which 

spans the full spectrum of State and 

Federal issues. He came to my office 

with a background in foreign relations 

but quickly became an expert in everything from energy to technology to 

health care, mastering and remembering even the most minute of details 

without losing sight of the forest for 

the trees. That is a rare talent, and 

Tom has it in spades. 

Mr. President, as you know, Senate 

offices often become like their own little family units. In the last 6 years, 

Tom Sullivan has become an esteemed 

member of the Klobuchar family, and 

he will be sorely missed—not just for 

his skill and expertise but for his 

composure, kindness, and unflappable 

good nature. We wish Tom well in his 

new position at the State Department 

and know that we can expect to see 

great things from him as he begins a 

new and exciting journey in public 

service. 

f 

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT 

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I rise 

today to talk about the importance of 

passing the Violence Against Women 

Act, and reauthorizing this critical 

funding for survivors of domestic violence. We have heard about the protections the Senate version offers that the 

House does not, to women on college 

campuses, to women on tribal lands, to 

LGBT victims, and to immigrants. It is 

important to remember all of the other 

programs supported by this important 

legislation. 

On this day, when preventive health 

care finally becomes available to 47 

million women, including free domestic 

violence screening and counseling, it is 

worth taking a look at how domestic 

violence impacts healthcare for women 

and families in this country. 

According to a study by the Centers 

for Disease Control, the average cost of 

health care services for women is more 

than twice the average cost for men, 

and this is largely due to the costs and 

impact of domestic violence. 

The CDC estimates the direct health 

care costs associated with domestic violence to be around $4.1 billion every 

year. And we know this is a conservative estimate, because many victims 

never come forward. 

But we have a proven tool in this 

fight, and that is the protections in the 

Violence Against Women Act. Since 

the bill first went into effect in 1994, 

reporting has increased by 51 percent 

according to the Department of Justice. The FBI reports that the number 

of women killed by an intimate partner 

has decreased by 34 percent. And 

VAWA saved $12.6 billion in its first 7 

years alone. 

It is not just that women are safer 

because of VAWA, our economy also 

improves when domestic violence is 

successfully prevented, because fewer 

women are going to the emergency 

rooms, missing work, or deciding they 

cannot care for their children. 

I have had a chance to visit several 

crisis centers in New Hampshire who 

benefit directly from VAWA funding. 

Most recently, I visited the Monadnock 

Center for Violence Prevention in 

Keene, and had a chance to speak with 

caseworkers and survivors. I spoke 

with two women who told me that 

when they decided it was time to leave 

their abuser, they had no place else to 

go. 

And I asked them, ‘‘What would have 

happened if this center wasn’t here?’’ 

‘‘My husband would have killed me,’’ 

replied one woman. 

This is why we need to reauthorize 

the Violence Against Women Act. This 


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