AVIATION: The Senate this week will continue its work on the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act, which is the five-year reauthorization for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This long-awaited legislation contains provisions that will prompt the return of commercial flights to Hagerstown Regional Airport by extending its Essential Air Service (EAS) designation for the length of the bill. It also provides critical funding for the next generation of air traffic control, which will make the skies safer for aircraft, pilots, and passengers by utilizing satellite systems rather than less-reliable ground-based radar. As always, I will be watching this legislation carefully, as concerns voiced by the White House and some Republican Senators about select provisions within this important bill (other than EAS) may stall its progress.

ENERGY vs. ECONOMIC SECURITY: Americans are feeling the pinch of soaring fuel prices along with the rest of the world. As co-chair of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), I will participate in a hearing this week examining the global link between economic security, energy, and environmental security. We will hear from experts as we examine the environmental aspects of energy security; specifically, the role that environmental technologies can play in increasing energy security and combating climate change by reducing demand for hydrocarbon resources. Witnesses will discuss the role of alternative energy sources, including biofuels, and what policies are needed to ensure that alternative energy sources do not create secondary problems such as other types of pollution or food shortages.

FORECLOSURE CRISIS: As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, this week I will participate in an important hearing on "Policing Lenders and Protecting Homeowners: Is Misconduct in Bankruptcy Fueling the Foreclosure Crisis?" As a result of the current foreclosure crisis, mortgage defaults have reached record highs, and thousands of borrowers nationwide are stuck in bankruptcy. It now appears that mortgage lenders and servicers, through a pattern of conduct that is at best sloppy, and at worst, fraudulent, have driven borrowers deeper into debt and bankruptcy, forced unnecessary foreclosures, and strained the credit system nationwide. At Tuesday's hearing, the Committee will attempt to get answers about some of these disturbing practices.

ASIAN PACIFIC HERITAGE MONTH: This month marks Asian Pacific Heritage Month, which celebrates the 13.5 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (APIs) in the United States. May was chosen, in 1978, to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. In Maryland, as of 2006, APIs comprised 5 percent of our population, ranking us 7th nationwide. I recently met with a number of API small business people from Maryland and nationwide to discuss issues affecting their ability to thrive in this slow economy. We discussed access to government contracts and capital, as well as the deep impact skyrocketing fuel and healthcare prices are having on their bottom line. I intend to continue this conversation and work to provide appropriate relief to Asian American and Pacific Islander small businesses, and all small businesses, across our state. They all will be part of a positive solution to our current economic crisis.