S312 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 12, 2009 

‘‘(1) to limit the production or distribution 

of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum 

product; 

‘‘(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product; or 

‘‘(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any 

petroleum product; 

when such action, combination, or collective 

action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, 

or other petroleum product in the United 

States. 

‘‘(b) SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—A foreign state 

engaged in conduct in violation of subsection 

(a) shall not be immune under the doctrine 

of sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction 

or judgments of the courts of the United 

States in any action brought to enforce this 

section. 

‘‘(c) INAPPLICABILITY OF ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE.—No court of the United States shall 

decline, based on the act of state doctrine, to 

make a determination on the merits in an 

action brought under this section. 

‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General 

of the United States may bring an action to 

enforce this section in any district court of 

the United States as provided under the antitrust laws.’’. 

SEC. 3. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY. 

Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States 

Code, is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

the semicolon; 

(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period 

and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(8) in which the action is brought under 

section 7A of the Sherman Act.’’. 

By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, 

Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MCCAIN, 

and Mr. KYL): 

S. 205. A bill to authorize additional 

resources to identify and eliminate illicit sources of firearms smuggled into 

Mexico for use by violent drug trafficking organizations, and for other 

purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary. 

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise 

today to introduce the Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009. 

This important legislation, which is cosponsored by Senators HUTCHISON, DURBIN, and FEINSTEIN, is aimed at addressing drug-related violence in Mexico by 

reducing the number of weapons that 

are illegally smuggled into the country. 

The ongoing violence in Mexico is 

having a devastating impact on the 

country. In 2008, more than 5,300 people 

were killed in Mexico—this is double 

the number in the previous year. During this last year, there were over 1,600 

deaths just in Ciudad Juarez. Drug 

traffickers are warring with each 

other, assassinations of police and government officials are commonplace, 

lawyers and journalists have been 

killed, and many innocent civilians 

have been caught up in the crossfire. 

Border communities within the 

United States are also being directly 

impacted. Many of the people living in 

this region have strong family ties to 

Mexico and the violence makes it difficult to visit loved ones. U.S. border 

hospitals have had to provide medical 

care to the wounded under armed 

guard. And in New Mexico, we had to 

briefly shut down the Columbus Port of 

Entry due to gun battles in the Mexican border town of Palomas and provide police escorts to school buses passing through the area. At one point this 

last year, the entire police force in 

Palomas resigned due to threats by 

drug traffickers and the Chief of Police 

fled to the United States to seek asylum. 

Besides the horrific human toll this 

violence is having on communities 

throughout Mexico, it also impacts the 

overall economy of the border region. 

Everyday thousands of people travel 

back and forth between the United 

States and Mexico for business and 

pleasure. This flow of people and goods 

is an essential aspect of maintaining 

healthy economic activity on both 

sides of the border. However, the current security situation is hampering 

bilateral trade, new business ventures, 

and tourism. In these tough economic 

times, the violence exacerbates an already bad economic environment. 

The United States has taken some 

important steps to help Mexico fight 

drug traffickers, such as increasing bilateral cooperation and providing substantial financial assistance as part of 

the Merida initiative. However, there is 

much more that we can be doing to 

help quell this violence. One key area 

where more can and should be done is 

with regard to stopping the flow of 

weapons being smuggled into Mexico 

from the United States. 

According to the ATF, about 90 percent of the weapons confiscated in 

Mexico come from sources within the 

United States because firearms are 

much more readily accessible in the 

United States than in Mexico. These 

weapons are the so-called ‘‘tools of the 

trade’’ for narco-traffickers. They are 

the means by which cartels maintain 

control over drug corridors and the instrument they use to execute their 

scheme of violence and intimidation. 

In the four U.S. border States there 

are about 6,600 licensed gun dealers. 

The vast majority of these dealers act 

in accordance with the law, but drug 

gangs exploit the availability of weapons in the region to supply cartels on 

the Mexican side of the border with illegal high-powered weapons. 

The ATF has a very successful initiative in place to combat southbound illicit weapons trafficking, know as 

Project Gunrunner, but they need more 

resources to adequately tackle the 

problem. 

The Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act would provide these much 

needed resources. Specially, this legislation would authorize $30 million over 

2 years to expand Project Gunrunner 

teams in the border region and $19 million to assign agents to U.S. consulates 

in Mexico to assist Mexican law enforcement with smuggling investigations. 

I would also like to make it clear 

that nothing in this bill limits the sale 

of firearms or places any additional restrictions on licensed dealers. This effort is only focused on enhancing the 

investigative capabilities of the ATF 

with regard to arms trafficking in 

order to weed out the bad actors and to 

ensure that weapons aren’t being illegally smuggled across the border. 

The United States has traditionally 

focused on enhancing efforts to prevent 

illegal narcotics from being smuggled 

into the county. While we obviously 

need to dedicate resources toward this 

end, we also should be taking a comprehensive approach that recognizes 

that the northbound flow of narcotics 

is dependent on the southbound flow of 

weapons and currency. Denying traffickers the proceeds of drug sales and 

the ability to heavily arm their cartels 

is essential in reducing the drug flow 

into the United States. 

It is insufficient to simply rely on 

Mexican authorities to stop the flow of 

guns going into their country. Drug 

trafficking is a transnational threat 

and the solution must involve sustained cooperation between the United 

States and Mexico. We must do more 

on our side of the border to disrupt 

weapons smuggling if we are going to 

be successful in combating drug cartels. 

Instability and violence in Mexico is 

taking a toll on communities on both 

sides of the border. I strongly believe 

that this is an issue that deserves more 

attention, and I hope my colleagues 

will support this bipartisan 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. 205 

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 ‘‘Southwest 

Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009’’. 

SEC. 2. PROJECT GUNRUNNER. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

shall dedicate and expand the resources provided for the Project Gunrunner initiative of 

the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 

and Explosives to identify, investigate, and 

prosecute individuals involved in the trafficking of firearms across the international 

border between the United States and Mexico. 

(b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this section, the Attorney General shall— 

(1) assign additional agents of the Bureau 

of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to the area of the United States adjacent to the international border between the 

United States and Mexico to support the expansion of Project Gunrunner teams; 

(2) establish not fewer than 1 Project Gunrunner team in each State along the international border between the United States 

and Mexico; and 

(3) coordinate with the heads of other relevant Federal law enforcement agencies and 

State and local law enforcement agencies to 

address firearms trafficking in a comprehensive manner. 

(c) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Attorney General may hire Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 


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January 12, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S313 

Firearms, and Explosives agents for, and 

otherwise expend additional resources needed to adequately support, Project Gunrunner. 

(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

There are authorized to be appropriated 

$15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 

2011 to carry out this section. 

SEC. 3. ENHANCED INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in 

cooperation with the Secretary of State, 

shall— 

(1) assign agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, 

Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to the 

United States mission in Mexico, to work 

with Mexican law enforcement agencies in 

conducting investigations relating to firearms trafficking and other criminal enterprises; 

(2) provide the equipment and technological resources necessary to support investigations and to trace firearms recovered in 

Mexico; and 

(3) support the training of Mexican law enforcement officers in serial number restoration techniques, canine explosive detection, 

and antitrafficking tactics. 

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

There are authorized to be appropriated 

$9,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011 

to carry out this section. 

By Mrs. BOXER: 

S. 206. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

1965 to establish a program to help 

States expand the education system to 

include at least 1 year of early education preceding the year a child enters kindergarten; to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. 

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I 

rise to reintroduce the Early Education 

Act. Early education is critical to preparing children across our Nation with 

the initial skills and abilities to successfully begin their education. While 

the amount of support for early education has been increasing, great discrepancies remain between the quality 

of programs and the level of access 

from State to State. 

This bill is a step forward in making 

a national commitment to giving all 

children access to high quality pre-kindergarten programs that have been 

proven to have a solid impact on a 

child’s success later in school and in 

life. 

Of the more than 8 million 3- and 4- 

year-olds that could be in early education, just over half are enrolled in an 

early education program. In my State 

of California alone, just fewer than 60 

percent of 3- and 4-year-olds are in 

some kind of preschool. 

The result is that too many children 

enter elementary school unprepared to 

learn. 

Studies have shown that children 

who participate in pre-kindergarten 

programs are less likely to be held 

back a grade, show greater learning retention and initiative, have better social skills, are more enthusiastic about 

school, and are more likely to have 

good attendance records. 

Almost all experts now agree that an 

early education experience is one of 

the most effective strategies for improving later school performance. The 

National Research Council reported 

that pre-kindergarten educational opportunities are critical in developing 

early language and literacy skills and 

preventing reading difficulties in 

young children. 

The future of our Nation’s economy 

depends on the next generation of 

workers, and high-quality early childhood education is key to preparing 

them for their careers. In the long run, 

pre-kindergarten programs pay for 

themselves. Decades of research have 

proven that early education programs 

yield between $7 to $16 for every dollar 

invested. 

My bill, the Early Education Act, 

would create a program in at least 10 

States to provide 1 year of pre-kindergarten early education in public 

schools. The bill would require a dollar 

for dollar match by the States and 

would authorize no less than $300 million annually for these programs. 

These funds would be used by States to 

supplement—not supplant—other Federal, State or local funds. This bill 

would serve almost 150,000 children 

across the country. 

Our children need a solid foundation 

that builds on our current education 

system by providing them with early 

learning skills. I urge my colleagues to 

support this legislation. 

By Mrs. BOXER: 

S. 207. A bill to amend the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for health insurance premiums; to 

the Committee on Finance. 

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I 

am introducing the Health Insurance 

Tax Relief Act to help our Nation’s 

workers and working families deal with 

dramatic increases in health care 

costs. The legislation would allow taxpayers to deduct their health insurance 

premiums up to $2,000 for individuals 

and $4,000 for families. 

While this deduction will certainly 

not solve all of the problems in our 

health care system, it will provide help 

for working individuals and families 

who have seen health care premium 

costs drastically rise. Since 1999, the 

average health insurance premium for 

workers covering their families has 

more than doubled. A recent survey by 

the Kaiser Family Foundation found 

that 40 percent of employers that offer 

health benefits are likely to increase 

the amount their employees pay in premiums. 

This is an issue of fairness. Current 

law provides a patchwork of tax deductions for health care costs depending 

upon an individual’s employer, the 

type of health care plan provided by 

their employer, and/or percentage of 

income spent on health care, among 

other things. 

Unfortunately this patchwork has 

left out many employees who face increasing premiums or are buying high 

cost health plans on their own. This 

legislation rectifies that unfairness and 

will help people meet rising health care 

costs. It would help those currently 

purchasing coverage to continue to do 

so, as well as helping people who are 

uninsured to purchase coverage. 

This legislation is particularly important for employees in small businesses. Many small businesses across 

the country have been forced by the 

rising cost of health care to shift an increasing amount of health insurance 

costs to their employees. These are 

hard working Americans struggling to 

make ends meet in a weak economy. 

Now more than ever we need legislation that provides targeted assistance 

to help families pay for health care. I 

urge my colleagues to support my legislation. 

By Mrs. BOXER (for herself and 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN): 

S. 212. A bill to expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the 

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and for other purposes; to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation. 

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, the Gulf 

of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary 

Modification and Protection Act will 

protect one of the world’s most biologically-diverse and productive marine regions. I am proud to be joined in 

this effort by Congresswoman LYNN

WOOLSEY and Senator DIANNE FEINSTEIN. 

Established in 1981 and 1989 respectively, the Gulf of the Farallones and 

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries have helped protect the special 

marine waters and coastline that are 

quintessentially Californian. My bill 

will protect an even greater part of my 

State’s coast by expanding the sanctuaries’ boundaries to include more of 

northern California’s great coastal 

upwelling area, one of only four on the 

planet. 

Upwelling areas are places where 

deeper water comes up to the surface, 

bringing the nutrients needed by marine algae to grow and support all higher forms of marine life. Though coastal 

upwelling areas comprise only 1 percent of the world’s ocean they produce 

20 percent of its fish. The area from 

Point Arena to Bodega Bay, currently 

outside the sanctuaries’ boundaries, is 

particularly important since it consistently has the most intense upwelling in 

all of North America and an enormous 

capacity to support marine life. I am 

proud that my bill will expand the 

sanctuaries’ boundaries to protect this 

upwelling area. 

The unique productivity of this region is illustrated by the abundance 

and diversity of marine life it supports: 

36 species of marine mammals, including the endangered blue and humpback 

whales; numerous coastal and migratory seabirds, including the black-footed albatross; endangered leatherback 

turtles; and Coho salmon. Expanding 

the existing sanctuaries to include this 

area is necessary to protect this remarkable ecosystem from pollution 

and habitat degradation. 


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