ENSURING CONSUMER PROTECTIONS
Ending Deceptive Sweepstakes Mailings. Led Senate passage of
legislation to toughen the laws governing sweepstakes and end the
deceptive practices used in their mass mailing campaigns.
Ending Abuses in the Private Banking System. Led a year-long
investigation into the private banking system and its vulnerability to
money laundering. Held hearings to highlight several cases of abuse within
Citibank's private banking system and introduced legislation to address
the weaknesses which were revealed during the investigation.
Regulatory Reform. Won Governmental Affairs Committee approval
of legislation, which Levin introduced with Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.,
which would require agencies to consider cost-benefit analyses and risk
assessment prior to making major regulatory decisions.
Day Trading. Through the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, Levin helped lead an investigation and hearings to review
day trading practices. Requested a study by the General Accounting Office
on the validity of the claims of profitability by day trading firms and
the extent to which day trading firms comply with securities laws.
Federalism Accountability Act. Won Committee approval of
legislation which aims to reduce the incidence of unintended federal
preemptions of state or local laws and impose requirements to ensure that
federal agencies obtain and consider input from state and local
governments before issuing regulations.
KEEPING OUR FAMILIES SAFE AND HEALTHY
Limiting Minors' Access to Firearms. Helped lead fight on Senate
floor to close loopholes in federal firearms law. Levin introduced
legislation with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, to prohibit the transfer of
semiautomatic assault weapons, large capacity ammunition feeding devices
and handguns to minors, and to prohibit possession of these weapons by
those under 21, subject to certain exceptions currently in law.
COPS Program. Fought for an extension of the COPS program
through the 2005 fiscal year which would authorize $600 million to hire up
to 50,000 more police officers over five years. The money could be used to
retain current officers hired under COPS, pay overtime and reimburse
current cops for college or graduate school courses to enhance their
skills. $350 million would be used to fund law enforcement technologies,
such as DNA analysis and crime mapping. $200 million would be used for
community prosecutors. In 1999, Michigan received over $34 million from
the COPS program to hire more than 300 new officers.
Medication to combat heroin addiction. Led Senate passage of
legislation, the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 1999, S.324, which
focuses on increasing the availability and effectiveness of drug
treatment. The bill would permit qualified physicians to prescribe certain
anti-addiction medications in physicians' offices if certain strict
conditions are met. The legislation gives states the right to opt out of
the provisions of the bill.
Protecting Michigan's Teaching Hospitals. Cosponsored the
Graduate Medical Education Payment Restoration Act which aimed to help
reduce financial strain experienced by teaching hospitals due to cuts put
in place by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
Medicare Beneficiary Access Act. Original cosponsor of
legislation which would help to restore cuts to providers who were hard
hit by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
Ending Inequity in Home Health Care. Cosponsored legislation to
create a fairer, more efficient home health care system that would help
Michigan's home health providers. The Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, on which Levin is the senior Democrat, held hearings
focusing on the problems which home health operators have experienced as a
result of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA).
Pancreas Transplants. Successfully urged HCFA to revise its
policy regarding Medicare coverage of pancreas transplants, particularly
the requirement that Medicare would only cover a pancreas transplant only
if it followed a Medicare-covered kidney transplant. In response to the
concern raised by Levin and others, HCFA dropped the kidney transplant
pre-requirement, potentially improving the quality of life and extending
the life expectancy of hundreds of thousands of in-need patients.
Taking care of our veterans. Co-sponsored an amendment to
increase funding for veterans' health care by $600 million and supported
an overall increase of $1.7 billion in veterans' health care funding.
Henry Ford Health Systems/Army Tripler Medical Center. Secured
$7.5 million for FY2000 for a collaborative effort between Henry Ford
Health Systems and the Army's Tripler Medical Center to design and
implement automated clinical practice guidelines for healthcare providers
in the military.
EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOOD PAYING JOBS
Consortium for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching with Technology
(COATT). Organized COATT, a partnership involving 11 Michigan colleges
and universities in an effort to give the state the nation's highest
standards in preparing teachers to use technology to enhance student
learning.
Fair Trade. Won Senate passage of an amendment which requires
the President to consider whether a country recognizes basic labor
standards, such as the rights of association, organizing and collective
bargaining, and enforces a minimum age for the employment of children
before granting the country unilateral trade preferences.
Apple Juice Concentrate Dumping. Successfully pressed the
Administration to take tough action to stop the alleged illegal dumping of
Chinese apple juice concentrate that has harmed Michigan's apple growers
by driving down the price of apples. The Department of Commerce determined
that Chinese corporations were importing the concentrate at prices well
below the cost of production and began imposing duties up to 54% the price
of the product.
Automotive Trade with Japan. As co-chairman of both the Senate
Auto Caucus and the Senate Auto Parts Task Force, Senator Levin has taken
the lead in the U.S. Senate to fight for more open markets for U.S. autos
and auto parts in Japan and throughout Asia. Senator Levin won Senate
passage of a provision reauthorizing the private sector industry advisory
group that advises U.S. trade negotiators, the Auto Parts Advisory
Committee (APAC).
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program. Led the
successful effort in the Senate Small Business Committee to reauthorize
the SBIR program, through which small technology companies can compete for
a share of Federal government research and development.
Y2K Readiness. Cosponsored legislation, which was signed into
law April 2, 1999, to assist businesses' efforts to become Y2K compliant.
The Act gives eligible small businesses access to affordable loans so that
they can prepare for or respond to the Year 2000 computer problem. Secured
$20 million in FY 2000 Commerce Justice State Appropriations bill. The
bill included a Levin provision allowing the favorable terms of this
lending program to be applied to loans already granted to small businesses
that were used primarily for Y2K repairs but under less favorable terms
than offered under this program.
Women's Business Centers Sustainability Act of 1999. Helped lead
Senate passage of legislation, cosponsored by Levin, which will increase
funding for the Women's Business Center (WBC) program and enable existing
Centers, which would have previously been ineligible for renewed funding,
to apply for continued financial assistance. The new provision will enable
Michigan's three centers, in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, to
compete for financial assistance. WBC's provide financial assistance and
training in small business management to women.
Teach for Tomorrow. Helped secure grant support for Teach for
Tomorrow, an innovative program using on-line technology to make
technology training readily available to teachers across Michigan.
Ameritech Technology Academy. Worked with Ameritech to create
the Ameritech Technology Academy which will use a $2 million grant from
the telecommunications company to provide training to 2000 Michigan
educators over a two year period, the largest technology based
professional development initiative to date in the state.
Minimum Wage. Cosponsored legislation to raise the minimum wage
to $6.15 in two 50 cent increments, restoring the minimum wage to its
inflation-adjusted level.
Super 301. Levin successfully urged the Administration to
reinstate the Super 301 trade law, which allows the U.S. Trade
Representative to identify and take action against foreign trade barriers
that impose the greatest burden on U.S. businesses and workers. The law
had expired in September, 1997, and the President reinstated it early this
year.
Military Reservists' Business Relief Act. Helped lead Senate
passage of legislation to provide financial and business development
assistance to small businesses owned by military reservists. The
legislation aims to assist reservists, who are called away from their jobs
and businesses to assist a U.S. military operation, by allowing them to
defer existing government-guaranteed small business loans and giving them
access to low interest rate government-guaranteed loans to bridge any
financial gap which may arise from their absence. The bill was signed into
law on August 17, 1999 as part of a larger veterans' bill.
Focus: HOPE. Secured millions in funding to assist Detroit's
Focus: HOPE in its mission to provide education, training and placement in
technological and manufacturing fields. In 1999, Levin secured $1 million
for Focus: HOPE's Information Technologies Center; $1.5 million to expand
Focus: HOPE's Machinist Training Institute; $3 million for a Mobile Parts
Hospital collaborative project between Focus: HOPE and the National
Automotive Center; and led the Michigan delegation in assisting Focus:
HOPE with its successful appeal for reconsideration of a five-year $11.8
million NSF grant.
Rosa Parks Institute for Self-Development. Secured $1 million
for the Rosa Parks Institute, which offers young people hands-on
opportunities to learn about the history of the civil rights movement. The
Institute offers programs such as "Pathways to Freedom," in which young
people trace the history of the civil rights movement through meetings
with national leaders, trips to historic sites across the country and
participation in research projects, and an inter-generational computer
mentoring program in which young people tutor elderly members of the
community in basic computer skills. The program both expands the computer
knowledge of the seniors and gives the young people the unique opportunity
to hear first-hand accounts of American history through the recollections
of their elderly partners. Since 1987, more than 7,000 youth have
participated in the program.
Olympic Education Scholarship (OES) program. Secured $1 million
for targeted, needs-based educational scholarships through the OES
program, which seeks to help America's athletes advance their training at
the U.S. Olympic Training Centers.
MICHIGAN ROADS AND TRANSPORT
Muskegon helicopter station. Helped win Senate passage of $3.1
million to keep the Muskegon Seasonal Air Facility operating through the
2000 fiscal year. A proposed budget which the Coast Guard issued earlier
in the year threatened to close the facility, but Levin and others fought
to keep it open because of the financial, logistic and safety benefits of
the station.
K.I. Sawyer Airport Opening. Led efforts, with Rep. Bart Stupak,
D-Menominee, to secure funding to convert the former military base into a
full-service civilian airport, which opened this fall. Since 1997, Levin
has helped to secure $6.9 million in FAA funding for the airport, which
has been used to construct the passenger terminal, renovate the airport
maintenance building and improve the airport's runways. This year, Levin
also secured $10 million from the Air Force in caretaker and heating
conversion funding.
Michigan's Airports. Won Senate approval of funding to renovate
and expand Michigan's airports, including $500,000 for an instrument
landing system at Harry Brown Airport in Saginaw and $600,000 to replace
the air control tower and terminal facility at Pontiac Airport.
Additionally, Levin won Senate approval of a provision committing to give
priority consideration to funding requests from Bishop Airport, Cherry
Capital Airport, Chippewa County International, Delta County Airport, Ford
Airport, Grosse Ile Municipal Airport, Houghton County Memorial Airport,
Kent County International Airport, Lenawee County Airport, Manistee County
Blacker Airport, Oakland-Pontiac Airport, Sawyer Airport and Tulip City
Airport. Also won Senate approval of a provision to help Oakland County
International Airport relieve congestion at Detroit Metro Airport by
appropriating Airport Improvement Program money which reliever airports
can use to help manage overflow traffic. Oakland County and Willow Run
airports in Michigan would both be eligible for the funding.
MAP Program. Won Senate approval of provision which will enable
Oscoda Wurtsmith Airport to compete for the first time for funding from
FAA's Military Airport Program (MAP), which assists former military bases
in their conversion efforts. Prior to Levin's amendment, eligible bases
had to either be commercial airports or, if they were general aviation
airports, they had to relieve congestion at an urban airport. Therefore
Oscoda Wurtsmith, which is a rural general aviation airport, was
ineligible to apply for funding.
Surface Transportation Facility in Detroit. Secured $2 million
in Intelligent Transportation System grants for Southeast Michigan. The
funding will permit full deployment of the Southeastern Michigan Snow and
Ice Management (SEMSIM) regional project, which will improve Southeast
Michigan winter storm operations through cross- jurisdictional cooperation
and the application of state-of-the-art technology. Levin also helped to
secure $22.5 million for Michigan buses statewide.
Ice on Our Waterways. Secured $13 million to replace the
Mackinaw icebreaker on the Great Lakes and $100,000 to purchase equipment
for the acquisition of ice rescue equipment at the St. Clair Lake Coast
Guard Station.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). Helped lead successful
efforts to continue a moratorium on increases in light truck CAFE
requirements.
MAKING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WORK BETTER
Campaign Finance Reform. Helped lead Senate consideration of
legislation to reform the campaign finance system and close the "soft
money" loophole which allows individuals, unions and corporations to give
unlimited, unregulated money to political parties.
PROTECTING THE GREAT LAKES AND MICHIGAN'S ENVIRONMENT
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). As co-chair of the Great
Lakes Task Force, ensured that 1999 WRDA included provisions beneficial to
the Great Lakes, including: clarification that sea lamprey control
activities are already authorized in the Act; authorization of funds for
phasing in a new system for measuring the water flowing through the Lake
Michigan diversion; authorization for non-governmental partners to
contribute to cost-sharing in the Remedial Action Plan's Technical
Assistance, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration and Beneficial Use of Dredged
Materials programs and Great Lakes Strategic planning; compilation of
Great Lakes Biohydrological Information; authorization for a study of the
economic benefits of Great Lakes recreational boating; technical
assistance to the Great Lakes states in developing water use policy
guidelines; authorization for deepening of a portion of the St. Marys
River; forgiveness of interest on the Soo Locks; technical assistance to
the International Joint Commission and St. Lawrence River board of control
in studying the effects of fluctuating water levels; and reduction of the
non-Federal cost share for environmental dredging.
Fighting to Eradicate Destructive Sea Lamprey. Secured $200,000
for construction of sea lamprey barriers at sites throughout the Great
Lakes basin.
Funding Great Lakes Programs. Helped secure funding for a
variety of important Great Lakes programs, including $390,000 for upgrade
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Great Lakes Water
level gauging stations; $1 million for Army Corps of Engineers research on
control of zebra mussels and other aquatic nuisance species affecting
public infrastructure; $422,000 in additional funding for the grants
program authorized under the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act
of 1998; and $3.5 million to continue the National Ballast Water
Management Program.
Protecting Michigan Waterfronts. Obtained $100,000 in funding
for a study to assess the potential for habitat restoration, ecosystem
enhancement, and erosion control along the Kalamazoo River.
Keweenaw National Historic Park. Won a $1.5 million increase in
funding for the Keweenaw National Historic Park.
Relief for Fire Victims. Secured assistance from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency for Marquette County residents who suffered
severe damage to their homes and businesses as a result of a fire which
burned 5,600 acres in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
PRESERVING OUR AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES
Fire blight Aid to Michigan Fruit Growers. Won financial
assistance for Michigan tree farmers and fruit growers who suffered losses
due to fire blight, a bacterial disease which fruit trees contract,
particularly if the bark is breached. Levin authored a provision, which
the Senate passed last year, which broadened the scope of eligibility for
disaster assistance to include losses due to fire blight and enabled the
farmers relief for their losses. Levin secured funding this year to
support research to help protect future crops from fire blight.
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
Judicial Nominations. Recommended Wayne County Circuit Court
Judge Marianne Olga Battani and Detroit attorney David M. Lawson for
federal judgeships in the Eastern District of Michigan. President Clinton
formally nominated Battani and Lawson, as well as Michigan nominees Helene
White and Kathleen McCree Lewis, who currently await Senate confirmation.
PUTTING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO WORK FOR MICHIGAN
Sewage Overflow System Upgrade for Twelve Michigan Communities.
Helped secure authorization for $30 million in appropriations for
infrastructure improvements within the George W. Kuhn Drainage District,
Oakland County as part of a federal, state, county and local effort to
reduce pollution that impacts the entire region of Southeastern Michigan.
In fiscal year 2000 appropriations, Senator Levin obtained $1.5 million
allocation for this project. Lake St. Clair is an integral part of the
Great Lakes shipping channel, serves basic drinking water needs for many
of the 4 million people in Southeast Michigan, and provides a popular
recreational resource. During heavy rains, there is an overflow of the 12
Towns waste water treatment plant, which causes sewage water to flow
directly into Lake St. Clair. The Lake's ecosystem faces a critical need
for resources to upgrade the Twelve Towns Drain Retention Facility.
Clinton River Spillway. Helped secure $250,000 for a project to
remove silt and guard against future silt buildup at a point on the
Clinton River Spillway to Lake St. Clair where the Army Corps of Engineers
recently installed an inflatable weir. The lower nine miles of the Clinton
River could be choked off in less than two years without immediate action.
Veterans' Cemetery in Detroit Area. Won Senate approval of
legislation directing the U.S. Secretary of Veterans' Affairs to establish
a national cemetery in the Detroit metropolitan area to serve the needs of
veterans and their families. Approximately 927,000 veterans live in
Michigan, 605,000 of whom reside in the Detroit metropolitan area.
Promoting Economic Development in Our Communities. Helped secure
$400,000 to renovate Pontiac's Strand Theatre; $500,000 for economic
development initiatives in Flint, including public improvements to the
Flint Industrial Park and restoration of the Capitol Theater; $250,000 for
the City of Pontiac for economic development activities; $300,000 to Wayne
State University for infrastructure improvements to the Merrill-Palmer
Institute's child care research facilities; $500,000 to Wayne County for
enhancement of geographical information systems to expedite economic
development; $100,000 to the City of Detroit for the Covenant House, a
long-term transitional living facility for homeless adults; $600,000 to
Macomb Township for site preparation, site development and equipment
purchase related to Waldenburg Park; $600,000 to the City of St. Clair
Shores for enhancement of the Jefferson Avenue corridor; and $250,000 for
Northern Initiatives in the Upper Peninsula for the capitalization of a
training endowment fund.
Automotive Research Center (ARC). Secured $3 million to enable
the National Automotive Center to increase its assistance to the ARC. The
ARC funds programs at universities to conduct basic research that can be
applied to military applications.
WORKING TO ENSURE OUR NATIONAL SECURITY
Military Pay and Benefits. Helped enact provisions to
dramatically improve pay and benefits for our men and women in uniform,
including the so-called "triad" of pay and retirement initiatives sought
by Secretary Cohen and the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- a 4.8% military pay
raise for FY2000; reform of the military pay table to increase pay for
mid-career NCO's and officers; and changes to the military retirement
system. These changes are expected to go a long way to address recruiting
and retention problems that the military services have been experiencing.
Kosovo. Led effort to express congressional approval for
successful operations in Kosovo and to learn from our military experience
in Kosovo -- the first large-scale NATO conflict and the first successful
effort to reverse ethnic cleansing in this century.
Arms Control. Led efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction. Helped lead successful effort to modify the
resolution establishing the policy of the United States to deploy a
national missile defense system as soon as technologically possible by
making it clear that it is also the policy of the United States to seek
continued reductions in Russian nuclear weapons. Leader of the
unsuccessful effort to ratify Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Security of Nuclear Secrets. Helped enact provisions
establishing new security requirements for handling of nuclear secrets at
the Department of Energy, including the establishment of a new
counterintelligence czar at the Department and an outside commission to
provide advice on safeguards, security, and counter-intelligence at DOE
facilities. Led efforts to ensure that provisions on reorganization of
Department of Energy would not undermine the authority and ability of the
Secretary to take steps needed to safeguard our nuclear secrets.
Wye Accords. Supported the effort to provide funding for the Wye
Accords. Drafted and organized Senate letters to the President and
colleagues regarding the importance and need to fund implementation of the
Wye Accords.
Defense-Management Reform. Helped enact a series of provisions
to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of health care provided to
military members and their families under the TRICARE program; provisions
promoting reform of Department of Defense financial management systems;
provisions further streamlining the defense acquisition process by
removing additional barriers to the purchase of high tech commercial
items; a series of provisions promoting more effective management of the
defense laboratories and test and evaluation facilities; and a provision
requiring a Quadrennial Defense Review to determine the defense strategy
and resources necessary to execute the National Security Strategy.
Counter-terrorism programs. Helped fund 17 new National Guard
Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection (RAID) Teams to respond to
terrorist chemical or biological weapons attacks in the United States;
helped enact a provision requiring the Department to establish specific
budget reporting procedures for all funds to combat terrorism, both at
home and abroad.
Military Readiness. Helped enact increased funding for military
readiness by $1.5 billion, including substantial increases for the highest
priority readiness items identified by the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- real
property maintenance, base operations, ammunition, training center
support, and depot maintenance.
Future Threats. Helped enact provisions requiring the Secretary
of Defense to report to Congress on the relationship between the defense
budget and current and emerging threats to U.S. national security
interests; helped enact provision requiring an annual report on the
defense capabilities initiative and progress toward closing the gap
between the military capabilities of U.S. and those of our NATO allies.
Seeds of Peace. Secured $860,000 for Seeds of Peace to expand
its unique program to bring children from the Middle East of different
ethnic backgrounds to camp together.
Important Michigan Defense Projects. Helped ensure funding for
M1 tank upgrades; the Heavy Assault Bridge; the Family of Heavy Tactical
Vehicles; the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle; the Crusader Advanced
Field Artillery System; modification programs to support Michigan Air
National Guard F-16 aircraft, including Litening targeting pods and
cameras for reconnaissance systems; Navy sonobuoys for antisubmarine
warfare; and the National Automotive Center in Warren, MI, including
testing of aluminum metal matrix composite track systems for use on
armored vehicles, developing hybrid-electric propulsion systems, and
working on next generation truck technology (21st Century Truck
Initiative). Helped ensure legislative authorization for the construction
of a new Range Support Facility, including new control towers, at Camp
Grayling. Helped to permanently authorize and expand the STARBASE program,
a program that began in 1991 at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base to
ignite the interest of at-risk youth in science, math, technology, goal
setting and positive life choices.
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