Floor Statements

Mr. President, on the paragraph indicating the Feingold amendment regarding the report being considered and agreed to, is there any time on that?

No time. Just reported and agreed to. No objection.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

Reserving the right to object, and I will not object, we are happy to cooperate. I think this will be the 122nd judge we will have approved during this administration. We also hope today by voice vote to be able to maybe approve the 123rd judge.

Mr. President, before the Democratic leader leaves the floor--if I could just engage in a colloquy with him--the leader is so on point. We need to do something about health care. In my office today was a 13-year-old girl from Reno, NV. Her best friend's mother has lupus. This little girl didn't know what to do. As you know, we are way behind the ball on trying to determine what causes lupus and how to cure it. It is a very serious disease, and mostly a disease of women. This little girl on her own painted little lady bugs and sold them for $2 each and made $2,000 for research into lupus. She got a national award.

With all that has been going on--Iraq and Afghanistan are terribly important issues--and as we focus on this tax cut, which is a very important issue, I hope this Congress can devote some time to the 44 or 45 million Americans who have no health insurance and the millions of others who are underinsured. The State of Nevada, I am not proud to say, leads the Nation in uninsured. It has created tremendous problems for the State of Nevada because those people who are uninsured drive up health care costs for everybody. Indigent care and hospital and doctor bills have increased. And, of course, insurance costs more for those people who are fortunate to have it.

I hope the country has heard the message delivered by the Democratic leader--that we need to do something about health care.

This little girl is so desperate in helping her best friend's mother that she painted lady bugs. Her heart is bigger than her body, I am sure. But we need to make sure the National Institutes of Health has all the money they need to do all they can.

In addition, people should have basic health insurance. All the research in the world is important, but it is not the answer for people to have the ability to go to the doctor when they need it.

I announce that the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell), the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Dayton), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller), and the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) are necessarily absent.

I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Dayton) and the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would each vote ``aye.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Dr. Peter Winokus, a Fellow on my staff, be permitted on the floor during the consideration of today's energy bill.

I further ask unanimous consent that when it comes up again he also be given that consideration.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I will object to this in just a minute, but I do want to spread across the record of the Senate that Senator Byrd and other Members of the Senate of the majority believe this sets up an entitlement.

Senator Byrd believes there should be an annual appropriation for this matter, this should not be an entitlement. As I have indicated, there are people on the other side of the aisle who also acknowledge this is the way things should be done.

We hope there can be some agreement. In the interim, until something is worked out, I object on behalf of Senator Byrd.

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

Mr. President, I am happy that this judge is being approved. We are certainly willing to cooperate when we can. I just wanted to briefly respond to the comment of the distinguished majority whip that the system is broken and we have had to have cloture votes on two judges. My math may be off either way, but I think this is the 123rd judge who will have been approved in a matter of a few seconds: 123 during this administration; 2 have been, in effect, turned down-- there is still debate going on on those two--123 to 2.

Statistics show this is the lowest number of vacancies since, I believe, 1959. I could be wrong. But there are a significant number of judges we have approved--as I said, 123.

I understand the seriousness of the feelings of people regarding Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen. But looking at the other side of the picture, 123 to 2 is not bad.

I withdraw any objection I might have laid on the Record.

Mr. President, I simply say that having been in the majority and the minority on a number of occasions, what comes around goes around. We have to appreciate the fact that sometimes we control the Senate. Hopefully, not too long from now--but one never knows--we will be back in control. Someday, there will, again, be a Democratic President. Everybody should understand that what we do here is not for the moment but also for the future.

As I have said, we try to be as cooperative as we can. Sometimes we are not as cooperative as some wish we would be.

Mr. President, I was listening closely. But the Senator said we would take up the energy bill on Tuesday with no amendments in order. Then he said Thursday. Maybe I misunderstood.

I announce that the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller), and the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray), are necessarily absent.

I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``no.''

Mr. President, if the Senator will yield for a brief statement, we have had a number of people on this side of the aisle who have indicated we are to object to any extension of time beyond 6. Even though the vote took a little longer than expected, we cannot extend the time past 6.

I announce that the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller), and the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) are necessarily absent.

I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``no.''

Mr. President, amid all the discussions about reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is easy for us

to lose sight of other humanitarian crises. One particularly pressing yet overlooked crisis is taking place right here in this hemisphere. For almost 40 years, an internal conflict has ravaged Colombia. Rebel and paramilitary groups designated as terrorist organizations by the State Department have committed thousands of kidnapings, executions and other brutalities. With an estimated combined force of 25,000 insurgents, they have disrupted life throughout the country and have displaced nearly 2 million people, creating the third largest internal refugee crisis in the world. The Colombian people are doing everything in their power to fight the rebels and rein in the paramilitaries, but the conflict shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

We should continue to help Colombia battle the terrorists in its midst. In the meantime, however, it would be unconscionable for us to forcibly deport law-abiding nationals currently residing in the United States, thereby placing them in danger of being tortured, kidnaped, or even murdered upon their return to their war-torn homeland. The bill I am introducing today will grant many of these people temporary protected status from deportation until it is safe for them to return to Colombia. The bill will not grant amnesty to any illegal aliens, nor will it place any immigrants on the path to citizenship. It is a purely humanitarian act that enjoys plenty of precedent--refugees from several Central American and African nations have benefited from temporary protected status in the wake of natural disasters and political turmoil. Immigration laws state that this protection covers only extraordinary circumstances, but we must not hesitate to invoke it when those circumstances arise. Extending temporary protected status to Colombians is the right thing to do, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, amid all the discussions about reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is easy for us

to lose sight of other humanitarian crises. One particularly pressing yet overlooked crisis is taking place right here in this hemisphere. For almost 40 years, an internal conflict has ravaged Colombia. Rebel and paramilitary groups designated as terrorist organizations by the State Department have committed thousands of kidnapings, executions and other brutalities. With an estimated combined force of 25,000 insurgents, they have disrupted life throughout the country and have displaced nearly 2 million people, creating the third largest internal refugee crisis in the world. The Colombian people are doing everything in their power to fight the rebels and rein in the paramilitaries, but the conflict shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

We should continue to help Colombia battle the terrorists in its midst. In the meantime, however, it would be unconscionable for us to forcibly deport law-abiding nationals currently residing in the United States, thereby placing them in danger of being tortured, kidnaped, or even murdered upon their return to their war-torn homeland. The bill I am introducing today will grant many of these people temporary protected status from deportation until it is safe for them to return to Colombia. The bill will not grant amnesty to any illegal aliens, nor will it place any immigrants on the path to citizenship. It is a purely humanitarian act that enjoys plenty of precedent--refugees from several Central American and African nations have benefited from temporary protected status in the wake of natural disasters and political turmoil. Immigration laws state that this protection covers only extraordinary circumstances, but we must not hesitate to invoke it when those circumstances arise. Extending temporary protected status to Colombians is the right thing to do, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I apologize to the distinguished majority whip, but

we just received a call from one of the senior Senators indicating at this stage we cannot agree to the expansion of NATO. I will be happy to work with my friend because this is something on which Senator Biden wants to move forward. We will do the best we can, but we just received a call. I will give the name of the Senator to my friend at a subsequent time.

I think we can work it out fairly easily by tomorrow noon or something. If the Senator wanted to stay around for a little bit, we might work on it tonight.