Floor Statements

Madam President, first, I appreciate very much the Presiding Officer coming to the Chamber and helping us at this time of night.

I ask unanimous consent that other than the Johnson substitute and pending amendments, which are listed in this agreement, the following list be the only first-degree amendments remaining in order to H.R. 3082, the Military Construction, Veterans appropriations; that relevant second-degree amendments be in order to the first degree to which offered; that a managers' amendment, which has been cleared by the managers and leaders, also be in order; and that if offered, the amendment be considered and agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no other amendments in order: Johnson No. 2733; Udall of New Mexico No. 2737; Franken No. 2745; Inouye No. 2754; Coburn No. 2757; Durbin Nos. 2759 and 2760; McCain No. 2776, second degree to Inouye amendment No. 2754; Inhofe No. 2774; Coburn motion to commit with instructions; DeMint No. 2779; Menendez No. 2741; Akaka No. 2740; Johanns No. 2752; Warner/Webb No. 2738; Bingaman No. 2749; Levin No. 2755; Feingold Nos. 2746, 2747, and 2748; Webb No. 2756; Gillibrand No. 2762; Mikulski Nos. 2750 and 2761; McConnell No. 2773; Cochran Nos. 2751 and 2763; Ensign No. 2771; Burr No. 2743; that upon disposition of all amendments, the substitute amendment, as amended, be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the Senate then proceed to vote on passage of the bill, as amended; that upon passage, the Senate insist on its amendment and request a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate, with the subcommittee, plus Senators Leahy and Cochran appointed as conferees; provided further that if a point of order is raised and sustained against the substitute amendment, then it be in order for a new substitute amendment to be offered, minus the offending provision but including any language which had been previously agreed to; that the new substitute be considered and agreed to, and no further amendments be in order, with the provisions of this agreement after adoption of the original substitute amendment remaining in effect; further that on Monday, November 16, after a period of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3082, with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the two managers or their designees; that at 5:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the following: Coburn No. 2757 and the Coburn motion to commit; further that prior to these two votes, there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that no further debate be in order to the bill, except any time specified for debate prior to a vote in relation to any amendment on the list.

Madam President, I now send a cloture motion to the desk with respect to the nomination of Judge Hamilton.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote occur upon disposition of H.R. 3082; further, that prior to the cloture vote on the nomination, there be 60 minutes of debate, with the time equally divided and controlled between the chair and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee; and that the mandatory quorum be waived; provided further that the vote not occur prior to 2:15 p.m., Tuesday, November 17; and that the Senate now resume legislative session.

Madam President, we are always glad to see the yellow file at nighttime.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1422 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that a Murray amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Veterans' Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 340 and the Senate now proceed to its consideration.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Res. 349.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed to S. Res. 350.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, that there be no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed to S. Res. 351.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to this matter be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 352.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the matter be printed in the Record.

It is my understanding that H.R. 3962 has been received from the House and is now at the desk. I ask for its first reading.

Madam President, I ask for its second reading, but I object to my own request.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged of Presidential Nomination 933, the nomination of Jeffrey Bleich to be Ambassador to Australia; that the Senate then proceed to the nomination; that the nomination be confirmed and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that no further motions be in order; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record, as if read; and that the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a financial disclosure report be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn under the provisions of H. Con. Res. 210 until 2 p.m., Monday, November 16; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate proceed to a period for the transaction of morning business until 3 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3082, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, as provided for under the previous order.

Madam President, we have worked hard today. We have had a number of Senators go to Fort Hood. We have had a number of speeches today that were extremely good relating to Veterans Day, which is tomorrow. We had a moment of silence for the fallen at Fort Hood. And we arrived at an agreement on a very important bill, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill. I am glad we were able to do that. I wish we didn't have as many amendments as we do, but we have had a number of intervening problems. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who represents the State of Texas, was necessarily detained in Texas. She had to be there, and we understand that. I think a number of amendments listed will be worked out with the two managers. I feel fairly confident we will not have to have all those votes. Senators should expect the next vote, as I indicated, at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate adjourn under the provisions of H. Con. Res. 210.

Mr. President, our Nation mourns every death of an American servicemember. We grieve alongside the families who sacrifice so much while their loved ones serve and hurt even more when loved ones give the ultimate sacrifice.

I can remember the many calls I have made to Nevadans as a result of the deaths of their loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are difficult calls to make when that Nevadan does not come home.

I remember the first call. A young man, a star athlete in high school, was killed. I spoke with his coach, his friend who took care of him. That was the first. I remember the last, just a couple of days ago, a death in Afghanistan.

We are especially heartbroken by last week's tragedy that occurred deep in the heart of Texas. The entire Senate sends its deepest condolences to those who have lost mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives at Fort Hood. Our thoughts are with the troops who have lost their friends and fellow soldiers and those who continue to heal as I speak. These men and women died in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center. This is supposed to be the last place our troops go before they are deployed, in this instance to Afghanistan and Iraq. No one ever suspects it will be the last place they would ever go.

As we mourn, we honor the lives of those who died on that base. We hope for the full and speedy recovery of those who have been injured, and we are thankful for the men and women who came to the aid of the wounded and exhibited the kind of heroism that makes our Armed Forces the best in the world. And, of course, we are especially grateful to Kimberly Munley, who stopped the gunman.

The 13 who died at Fort Hood were from 11 different States, States that border the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Great Lakes, States high in the Rockies and in the Great Plains. These public servants ranged in rank from private to colonel and even included an

Army civilian. The oldest was a husband, a father, and a grandfather from Spokane, WA. He was a civilian, a physician assistant who worked in rural clinics and veterans hospitals. He was 4 years away from his retirement. The youngest was just barely 19 years old, a private first class from northern Utah, who was just months away from deploying to Afghanistan. A 29-year-old sergeant from Wisconsin joined her Nation's military after the September 11 attacks. A 21-year-old from outside Chicago enlisted in the Army to help him afford college, where he dreamed of an education studying music. A 22-year-old specialist from Oklahoma had been married for just 2 months. A 21-year-old private first class from Chicago was 3 months pregnant. A 55-year-old lieutenant colonel was the grandmother to six. A 52-year-old major spoke very little English when he came to this country from Mexico in his teens, but he earned a Ph.D. in psychology, became a teacher, and ultimately chose to serve his country in the military. And Kimberly Munley, a woman who was shot several times. Kimberly was a sergeant and a civilian police officer. She took down the alleged shooter with her pistol, even as she suffered wounds of her own from the gunman. Yes, Fort Hood is home to truly remarkable, selfless Americans.

Our Nation misses those who were murdered, and our thoughts are with those who are now healing as a result of having been wounded in that senseless crime. The appropriate officials both inside and outside the Army will continue to investigate how such a tragedy occurred. The Senate will support them in every way we can.

In the meantime, one of the ways we can support the brave Americans who volunteer for duty is to give them the resources they need when they come home. We are trying to move forward on a package of bills that will make wounded veterans' lives a little easier. Sadly, these bills are being inexplicably held up by the minority. We have a number of very important bills that have been reported out of the Veterans' Committee, and we have not been able to move forward on them. Among other things, these bills will help veterans to get access to the caregivers they need for even the smallest task they cannot handle on their own. These bills will support veterans' mental health services and other health benefits, and they will make sure our veterans do not have to live on the streets.

Right now, a Republican Senator is singlehandedly standing in the way of these bills. Under the rules of the Senate, that is what he decided to do, but that doesn't make it right. I hope he will drop his objection so we can put our veterans' health ahead of whatever issues he is concerned about. The same Senator did this for months on a number of very important environmental bills, some lands bills. In that instance, we gathered all the bills together and put them into one bill and on a bipartisan basis got them out of here. We have done the same with these veterans bills.

These are extremely important, popular pieces of legislation, and we are going to move forward on these as quickly as we can. It would be nice if we could do them before Veterans Day, which is the day after tomorrow. I also look forward to moving ahead the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations that will fund housing for our military families, improve our bases, and support veterans programs.

Tomorrow morning when the Senate convenes, we will have a moment of silence to honor the fallen at Fort Hood. I encourage all Senators to come to the Senate at the time the Senate opens tomorrow for this most important time.

I have spoken with the Republican leader today. He is going to be as helpful as possible in making sure we move forward on this Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill at the earliest possible time. I hope we can do it tomorrow.