Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise to offer my congratulations to the City of Sparks, NV, which was recently selected as a finalist in the 2004 All-America City competition.

Sparks is a city of about 80,000 residents in Washoe County, which is in northern Nevada. Under the leadership of Mayor Tony Armstrong, it is a wonderful place to live, even better than it has been in the past.

The All-America City Award is sponsored by the National Civic League, which was founded 110 years ago by Theodore Roosevelt to promote citizenship and democracy.

Since the award was initiated in 1949, more than 4,000 communities have competed for the coveted designation as an All-America City. This year, hundreds of cities began the process, which requires extensive documentation of how the community is responding to challenges. Sparks was selected as one of the 30 finalists.

Nevada is the fastest growing State in the country. Sparks is doing a great job of absorbing growth, while preserving the hometown family atmosphere that makes it so attractive to longtime residents and newcomers alike.

Sparks has also done a great job of revitalizing its infrastructure, especially in the wake of a massive flood a few years ago. Sparks Marina Park and the Victorian Square redevelopment project are two examples of this renewal.

Sparks has always been a great place to live and raise a family. Now it can boast of being an All-America City finalist. Once again, I congratulate the Mayor, City Council and the citizens of Sparks, NV.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, we will be very happy to be on the Defense bill. We on this side have a number of amendments that will be offered immediately. I think they will be substantive amendments and they should not be controversial, at least as far as I know.

I ask the distinguished majority leader if President Karzai is going to speak here tomorrow.

Mr. President, we look forward to working on this legislation. As the leader knows, we have a lot of amendments. I am glad we are able to focus on these today. I am sure we can dispose of a lot of these with the two managers. We have done that in the past. We still have to have several votes, and we will work to do our best over on this side to get votes and move forward.

Mr. President, I have no objection to the Senator speaking, but he has no right to yield to him.

Mr. President, I have no objection if the Senator from Oklahoma wishes to speak. I am simply going to offer a second-degree amendment.

Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment that is now pending be set aside and that I be allowed to call up Senator Leahy's amendment No. 3292.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside, and I call up amendment No. 3307.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, this amendment is very straightforward. The Secretary of Defense, in testimony to Congress several weeks ago, said that he is looking at ways to compensate the Iraqi nationals who were abused in American run prisons. I have no doubt that may be appropriate, but as the Defense Department considers its compensation plan, we should not forget about the American servicemen who were tortured and brutalized in this same prison, the Abu Ghraib prison, during the first Gulf War. I know many of my colleagues will remember the 17 American servicemen--including Colonel Jeff Tice from Las Vegas--who were captured and subjected to weeks of torture, beatings, electrocutions, starvation, and other despicable acts ordered by Saddam Hussein and carried out by the Iraqi intelligence service.

The Federal Government, unfortunately, has turned its back on these heroes. Instead of working with them to deliver some means of compensation for their many injuries,--in fact, the money at one time was Saddam Hussein's money--the Bush administration has been outmaneuvering them at every turn, fighting them in court, moving to vacate earlier judgments they received, and trying to quash any efforts to bring them some relief. In fact, just last week the judgment was rescinded.

I regret to say that the Justice Department has been effective, prevailing on the American POWs in this recent court of appeals case. The American POWs are back to square one. They have nothing except the permanent wounds which they suffered in Saddam's prisons.

My amendment says that as the Secretary develops the compensation plan for the Iraqi nationals, he also needs to include a provision which addresses the injuries suffered by brave American prisoners of war. I don't know what the provision will say or should say, but the Defense Department cannot continue to turn its back on the brave men we sent into battle. I welcome their entry into this debate. They have been silent about this issue for too long. Nothing about this amendment prevents the Iraqis from being compensated; it just asks for some fairness. Our own brave service men and women are entitled to it.

I did not specifically mention that. I said I would be offering an amendment. Senator Leahy will not be here until Wednesday, so he asked that I lay it down. He will not be in the Senate until Wednesday. He has a personal situation that does not allow him to be here until the day after tomorrow. He asked me last week to do this.

Senator Leahy will not be back until Wednesday.

Yes. He has been waiting around. He wanted to lay it down after Senator Kennedy, but, of course, with the circumstances we have had, he has been unable to do that. The only amendment I did discuss with you was mine. I didn't discuss Senator Dodd's.

I thought we were trying to get some amendments down. Some of them, the managers will decide, along with the leadership, as to votes that may even take place this evening. We can pick and choose what will be done with these other amendments. The only thing I mentioned to the distinguished chairman of the committee

is that it is our understanding the junior Senator from Idaho is going to lay down an amendment, which we have no objection to his laying that down, but we would not want to vote on that until there is a side-by- side with Senator Cantwell. That is the issue that has held up this bill for some time.

If the Senator is concerned, I would be happy to discuss this prior to laying down any future amendments.

Senator Leahy has been very patient.

Maybe I should have waited until you offered one on the Republican side before I offered mine.

Our next amendment will be by the senior Senator from Connecticut.

I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Carper), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Corzine), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Edwards), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Jeffords), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) are necessarily absent.

I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) would vote ``yea.''

I appreciate very much the hard work of these two great Senators. I especially appreciate their recognizing the importance of this amendment. We had 17 American prisoners of war, and they were treated very brutally, with jaws broken, electricity applied to various parts of their body. A number of the 17 have permanent damages as a result of this brutal treatment.

They had a large judgment at one time. It was opposed by the Justice Department. Last week, that was knocked out.

I simply want, as the ranking member of the committee said, that these POWs who were so brutalized have equal treatment with the Iraqis who were brutalized in the prison in Iraq. This does not call for a specific sum of money. It just says the Defense Department must come up with a plan for these 17 people before we agree to anything for the Iraqis who the Secretary of Defense has said should be compensated.

It is the fair thing to do. We have these 17 brave American patriots who feel put down by their Government for having had Saddam Hussein's money at one time taken away from them.

I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, while I have the attention of the two managers of the bill, just so other Senators have an idea of what we on this side are planning on doing, I have consulted with the distinguished manager of the bill on our side. Senator Crapo is going to try to offer an amendment sometime tomorrow. Once that is resolved one way or the other, the next Democratic amendment in order will be by the distinguished Senator from Illinois. So that is going to be our next amendment in order following the Crapo amendment. We are having a few little parliamentary problems with that right now, but we will work on that through the evening and tomorrow.

No. If my distinguished friend will yield, Mr. President, what I simply said is that it is my understanding the next Republican amendment in order is the Crapo amendment. We have an objection on our side at this time that that amendment be laid down.

We are going to try to resolve that. What I indicated is that following that amendment, we would likely go to Senator Durbin, unless Senator Cantwell wants to offer hers. But those are our next two amendments in order, and the next one will either be Cantwell or Durbin, whenever she decides she wants to offer hers. That is just an agreement so people know what we are trying to do on our side.

That is right. Until we get the matter resolved with Senator Cantwell and Senator Hollings, we will not be able to go to the Crapo amendment. We are going to work on that. But after that, we have a number of amendments on our side that we want to offer, and I have indicated to the Chair what we plan to do.

One reason I want to do this, I say through the Chair to the distinguished managers, is that Senator Durbin is a very patient man. He has actually three amendments. He is only going to offer one at this time. He always is willing to wait until someone else does something else, and in this instance we believe he should be one of those first Democratic amendments offered because he has been ready to go for some time.

Mr. President, I congratulate Shankari Rajagopal on her outstanding performance at the 77th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Nevada's lone speller at the national competition, Shankari outlasted 219 of 265 contestants to earn a spot among the top 46 competitors. An eighth grader at Churchill County High School, Shankari won the Nevada State Spelling Bee in March to earn the right to participate in the national competition. She had finished 12th and 6th in the State contest the previous 2 years.

Administered by The E.W. Scripps Company in conjunction with more than 250 sponsors around the world, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the Nation's largest and longest-running educational promotion. Each sponsor organizes a spelling bee program in its community, with the local champions advancing to the finals in Washington, DC. This tremendous program helps thousands of students every year improve their spelling and expand their vocabularies through a fun competition.

I was able to visit with Shankari an hour before her last day of competition. She was relaxed and satisfied with her tremendous accomplishment, as well she should be. I was very impressed with her parents who came to Washington, DC, to support her. They too were proud of what she had accomplished, and this helped to put her at ease.

I have seen too many parents, in athletics and other student activities, put such tremendous pressure on their children that it takes away from the pleasure of the student's involvement. But not so with Shankari's parents. I congratulate Jeeks and Karpagam, her mother and father, for doing such a great job of raising their daughter.

The Fallon community and the State of Nevada can take great pride in Shankari's performance in the State and national competitions. It reflects her strong commitment to her education and her tremendous potential. Please join me in congratulating this talented young Nevadan on her impressive achievement.

Mr. President, I congratulate Mr. Alvin McLane, a Nevada Bureau of Land Management, BLM, volunteer, on his selection for the ``Making A Difference'' award. This award recognizes Alvin's strong commitment to preserving the natural and cultural heritage of our public lands.

Mr. McLane is one of seven individuals who received this prestigious national award this year. As a volunteer for the Nevada BLM's Carson City field office, he recorded more than 120 discrete cultural sites primarily in the Dry Lake area of northwestern Nevada. Mr. McLane also instituted a full-scale monitoring program for the area.

Thousands of volunteers throughout the country contribute to the preservation of the 261 million acres of public lands managed by the BLM. Volunteers donated approximately 1.5 million hours last year alone, tantamount to the work of 866 full-time employees with an estimated value of $25 million. Launched in 1996 as a part of the ``Take Pride in America'' initiative, the ``Making A Difference'' program has recognized 87 individuals or groups for their exemplary service.

Mr. McLane has demonstrated a commendable commitment to public service. Please join me in thanking him for his tremendous efforts.

Mr. President, I extend my condolences to the family of Roger

Peltyn, who passed away in Las Vegas on June 3.

Roger left behind his loving wife Sandy, with whom he shared his life for 33 years, and two sons, R.J. and Michael. His passing leaves an empty place in the lives of those who knew and loved him. It also leaves a void in our community.

Roger was a structural engineer, and he was instrumental in building many glamorous structures that are synonymous with Las Vegas--landmarks like the Mirage, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur. He also helped to build many schools, stores, office properties, and much more.

But Roger did not just build structures. He also helped to build a stronger community in southern Nevada. The projects and causes that he adopted are almost too numerous to name: the UNLV President's Council, the Nevada Development Authority, the Clark County Public Education Foundation, the Desert Research Institute, Opportunity Village, and many other charities.

For the past decade, Roger served as president of an organization called Nevada Arts Advocates, which is dedicated to improving the cultural climate in Nevada and promoting the arts. His love of the arts enriched our whole State.

With Sandy by his side, Roger raised millions of dollars for worthy causes. Every Nevadan owes both of them a debt of gratitude.

Roger was born in Brooklyn, and he came to Las Vegas as so many folks do, by way of California. He moved to Las Vegas when Steve Wynn asked for his help during the expansion of the famous Golden Nugget resort. And just a month ago, Roger was still giving Steve Wynn advice about the new resort he is building.

Roger and his partner Jack Martin started a 5 man engineering firm that now employs more than 60 people. That is a testament to the amazing growth of Las Vegas, which would not have been possible without Roger Peltyn.

Nevada will miss Roger Peltyn. He left us too soon. But his legacy will live on in the magnificent buildings he helped to construct, and the community he helped to create. Nevada is a better place because of him.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Jan Liam Wasley, a fellow in Senator Rockefeller's office, be permitted floor privileges during consideration of S. 2400, the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Mr. President, if I could proceed, it is very appropriate that today--I do not know if the distinguished Chair knows this, being as busy as he has been all day--the Supreme Court upheld our being able to pledge allegiance to the flag. They did it on a procedural grounds, but I do not think it matters. We won.

Mr. President, if I can, through the Chair, does the majority leader think those Monday votes will start around 5 o'clock, or has he made a decision?

I announce that the Senator from Montana (Mr. Baucus) and the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) are necessarily absent.

Reserving the right to object.

Mr. President, I want the Record spread with my appreciation for the work done by the chairman, Senator Lugar, and the ranking member, Senator Biden. This is an issue that goes back to the days when the Italian Government was confiscating property and not in any way compensating those whose property was taken. This is an effort to rectify that situation. I cannot adequately express my appreciation to the committee that worked so hard on this issue and to the leadership of that committee. This is very important.

This involves a prominent family from Nevada. They owned property in Italy. The Italian Government wrongfully confiscated the property decades ago, but to date, they have yet to provide compensation to the family.

Adequate compensation is required under treaties we have entered into with Italy. This resolution simply calls upon the Italian Government to make an effort to satisfy this claim and encourages our State Department to work with the Italian Government to see that the claim is resolved. It is noncontroversial and does not cost one penny.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask the record to reflect my appreciation for the courtesy of Senator Frist. He has a very busy schedule. He has people waiting in his office and it would have been very easy for him to go out without giving Senator Lieberman the opportunity to speak. So we appreciate very much his courtesy.

Madam President, will the Senator yield for a parliamentary inquiry?

Madam President, there are a number of people who wish to speak. I know Senator Hutchison wishes to speak regarding our prayer this morning. But it is my understanding the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire wishes to speak. If I could inquire through the Chair, how long does the Senator wish to speak?

If I could, I ask unanimous consent that after the Senator from Texas completes her remarks the Senator from New Hampshire be recognized for 10 minutes, the Senator from Maine for 10 minutes, and the Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer, for 10 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, Ronald Reagan is seen by the State of Illinois as being his birthplace, as well it should. They feel very strongly about the legacy of Ronald Reagan in Illinois. California, of course, is where Ronald Reagan became famous. They have tremendous ties to Ronald Reagan. The State of Nevada has lots and lots of ties to Ronald Reagan. Not only are we a neighbor to the State of California, but the history of Ronald Reagan and the State of Nevada are intertwined. I come to the Senate today to join a procession to praise Ronald Reagan as a great leader and a fine man.

My first trip to the Oval Office was to meet with Ronald Reagan. I was a young Congressman and I was called to the Oval Office to discuss with the President the situation in Nicaragua, aid to the contras. I was joined there by three other Members of Congress. Vice President Bush, at the time, was there. It is the first time I had the opportunity to visit with, in any depth, Ronald Reagan as President of the United States.

There was a time when I was Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, and Governor O'Callaghan was unable to go to an event at Lake Tahoe. I represented the State. Governor Reagan, at the time, and I spent time together, but it was in a public setting and really not a time where you got to know anyone well.

My first trip to the Oval Office was one that I will always remember. Not only was it my first trip to the Oval Office, it was my first experience in sitting down and talking with Ronald Reagan, President of the United States. His personality came through in that meeting. I have often repeated the story of my visit there.

A Congressman asked Ronald Reagan at the time: Mr. President, I'm afraid you are going to invade Nicaragua. President Reagan did not wait a second. He came back so quickly, with that smile on his face, and said: I'm not going to invade Nicaragua, but I want those SOBs going to bed every night thinking I'm going to.

That was Ronald Reagan. His views of the world were views that all of us could understand. He made it very clear to us that he was not going to invade Nicaragua but he was not about to show any weakness to the Nicaraguans. That is exactly how he said it. From where I come, that was talk that I understood.

I have fond memories of Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan, of course, is someone we all watched on TV, ``Death Valley Days.'' But those in Nevada remember him also, and the papers in Nevada have been full the last few days about his entertainment qualities in Las Vegas.

He came to Las Vegas as an entertainer. He appeared on the Las Vegas strip as an entertainer. We were discussing what he did. I don't know what he did, but he came all the time. He was a headliner. I don't know if he sang or danced. I don't know what he did. He made money and they kept bringing him back.

He was born in the Midwest but he was really a son of the West. He stood for a lot of what we now identify with Ronald Reagan. He believed in freedom, independence, and opportunity. These are the values that all Americans share. We probably understand them a little better in the West.

He handled the Soviet Union much as he handled the situation in my first meeting in the Oval Office. He was direct and to the point with us about how he felt about Nicaragua. In the situation with the Soviet Union, he was direct and to the point.

The first breakthrough in peace for Israel in the Middle East came as a result of a hawk by the name of Menachem Begin. Menachem Begin was the leader of the underground against the British. He was someone who fought the British as no one else did. He did it in secret. But he was the leader. And Menachem Begin's own family did not know that he was the leader of the underground until after the British announced that he was. It took Menachem Begin, somebody who was very hawkish, to make a deal with Egypt. None of the other Israeli leaders could have done it because they would have been seen as capitulating to the Egyptians.

The same with President Reagan. No one could take away his Communist- fighting credentials. He had them from the time he was an actor, with the Screen Actors Guild, Governor, and President.

I watched a TV program, and the same speech that Ronald Reagan gave as head of the Screen Actors Guild, he gave as Governor, he give as President. He was a certified anti-Communist. So who could better make a deal with the Communists than Ronald Reagan?

No one could question his credentials, no more than they could question the credentials of Menachem Begin. Had it been Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton, it would not have happened. But no one could question his Communist-fighting credentials, and, therefore, people accepted the deal we made with the Soviet Union, which was good for the world and good for our country.

Ronald Reagan has been a good neighbor to the State of Nevada. The State of Nevada shares a national treasure. It is called Lake Tahoe. There is only one other lake like it in the whole world, and that is in Russia, Lake Baikal. I acknowledge that Lake Tahoe is smaller than Lake Baikal, but so is every other lake in the world. But it is an alpine glacial lake that is a wonder of beauty. Ronald Reagan identified that something needed to be done about this beautiful lake.

I spoke yesterday to Paul Laxalt. Paul Laxalt and I have been political adversaries all of my adult life and a lot of his life. But I do not have a better friend than Paul Laxalt. We are friends. We call each other all the time. We have done that for many years. Even though we have been political adversaries, we are friends.

Anyway, I called Paul Laxalt yesterday and said: Talk to me about your relationship with Ronald Reagan. Everyone in Nevada knows and most everyone knows in Washington--my distinguished friend from New Mexico is in the Chamber who served with Senator Laxalt in the Senate--Ronald Reagan's No. 1 guy in the Senate was Paul Laxalt, period. I do not say that saying, oh, somebody may question that. That is a fact of life. Ronald Reagan said it. That is the way it was.

Paul Laxalt said Ronald Reagan should be remembered for two things by Nevadans. No. 1 is the bi-State compact to which the two Republican Governors, Laxalt and Reagan, agreed. They sent it to the California and Nevada State legislatures, and it was ratified eventually by both legislatures. They recognized that something had to be done to preserve Lake Tahoe.

No. 2 is what he did to stop the MX missile from coming to the State of Nevada. The MX missile--most people don't know what that means--but it was a missile, the MX, with 10 warheads on each missile. It was to cover hundreds and hundreds of square miles through Nevada and parts of Utah. That would have been a blight to the environment there, but it was also deemed to be wasteful moneywise. So Ronald Reagan personally intervened, and that never came to be.

That is what Paul Laxalt wanted the people of Nevada to remember about his best friend, Ronald Reagan--what he did for the State of Nevada. Of course, there were many other things.

Paul told a story that they were campaigning together. Paul Laxalt gave every one of his nominating speeches, the time he did not win and the two times he won. Paul Laxalt gave his nominating speeches. He said Ronald Reagan was such a forgiving man that he never held a grudge. They were campaigning in some northeastern State, and somebody had given a speech--somebody Ronald Reagan had helped a lot--and he gave a speech blasting Ronald Reagan's economic program. He was a Republican, and everybody around Reagan was mad at him. So he was getting ready to give this speech, and he says to Paul: I can't remember, why am I mad at this guy? It was because he did not hold grudges. It was not in his nature.

So it is wonderful we had someone like Paul Laxalt who had such close contact with the President of the United States. But not only did he have contact with Paul Laxalt, President Reagan did many other things for the people in Nevada.

Sig Rogich was a special assistant to the President. Because of Ronald Reagan, Sig Rogich developed a great personal friendship with the first President Bush. They are friends. People wonder why President Bush always comes back to Nevada. It is to see his friend Sig Rogich. He, of course, made Sig Rogich an Ambassador to Iceland, where Sig Rogich was born.

Sig Rogich is an extremely successful businessman. But people should also understand Sig Rogich was head of the Tuesday Team that developed that great campaign slogan for President Reagan: ``It's morning in America.''

Rogich wrote and directed most of those pieces. He was heavily involved in the life of President Reagan. He came and moved back here. But, as a result, not only do we have Rogich back here, but Frank Fahrenkopf became chairman of the National Republican Committee. I talked to Frank Fahrenkopf today. He said Reagan did this in typical fashion. He had been offered the job in 1980. He had a great law practice in Nevada and did not want to come to Washington.

Jim Baker called him and said: The President wants you to give a report about what happened in the 1982 elections--where the Democrats did very well; the Republicans did very poorly. He was asked to come back and give a report.

Frank said: Well, I have to fly all night because I'm going with 10 State chairs. We are going to China.

And Baker said: I think it would be a good idea if you came. The President wants you to come back here.

So he got back here. And Senator Laxalt said to Frank Fahrenkopf: Would you reconsider being the national chairman of the Republican Party?

And Frank said: Well, Paul, I have the same problem. I have this law practice.

He said: Well, think about it. He said he knew he was in trouble when he went to breakfast at the White House and they seated him right across from the President, and the President said: Dick Richards is retiring as chairman of the National Republican Party. He said: We have here Frank Fahrenkopf who has said he is going to think about it.

So he knew right then he was going to be the national chairman because the President asked him to do it. So Frank Fahrenkopf became the national chairman of the Republican Party.

But my favorite Ronald Reagan memento--I have always been opposed to term limits. I have opposed term limits for the House and Senate. I have always spoken forcefully against that. I think it is wrong. It is wrong that we have the 22nd amendment to limit the Presidents to two terms.

Ronald Reagan agreed with me. He did not like term limits. He thought the 22nd amendment was bad. I offered a resolution to do away with the 22nd amendment. I spoke out against term limits. President Reagan, after he had retired as President of the United States, wrote me a handwritten note. Here is what he said: ``Dear Harry, I'm glad . . .''--it is in Ronald Reagan's handwriting, and I have that in my scrapbook. I love my scrapbook and have this in it. I had announced that I supported repeal of the 22nd amendment. Here is what he wrote:

I'm glad you are moving on repeal of the 22nd Amendment.

I've made a number of speeches to national business groups. .

. . In every speech I've announced my support for repeal and

have received an ovation from every audience. I charge that

the 22nd is a violation of the people's right to vote for

whomever they want.

Signed: ``Ronald Reagan.''

Here is the guy. He believed in States rights. He believed in people being able to make their determination, not some arbitrary law that we passed saying: You can't serve in the Senate because you have been there two terms. He believed the people have the right to choose their representatives.

I have a number of pictures with Ronald Reagan. I liked him as a person. I did not agree with everything he did politically, as we all know, but I liked him as a person.

So I stand here today honored that I had a chance to work with President Ronald Reagan, someone with whom I knew and felt comfortable. He surrounded himself with good people. They were not mean-spirited. They were good people. They were pragmatists. I liked the people with whom he surrounded himself.

He is going to be remembered in history, of course, as one of our great Presidents. This is a time to mourn his death, but it is more important to appreciate his life.

I can remember a person with whom I practiced law when Ronald Reagan was President. He said: He has no chance of winning. He is an actor. Look how old he is.

Well, people liked him for who he was, not how old he was or what he had done before he was elected Governor of the State of California. His amazing journey was the American dream come true. He helped bring the dream a little closer to all of us.