Floor Statements

Mr. President, in the State of Nevada, one of the things we so appreciate is this great treasure we share with the State of California, Lake Tahoe, which Mark Twain called the fairest place in all the Earth. Some have said he said: The fairest picture the whole Earth affords. But the picture we get from Mark Twain is it was a beautiful place, and it is. There is only one other lake like it in the world, and that is in Russia. It is a wonderful alpine glacial lake about a mile deep.

It is a wonderful resource we share with California. But as we speak, there is a fire raging on the eastern side of the lake. It has, at last count, burned 2,500 acres, four square miles. It has engulfed and destroyed 250 homes; 500 more are in danger of being lost. Only 10 percent of the blaze has been contained.

One bright spot in this tragedy is that as of now, no injuries have been reported, and we hope these residents and emergency teams remain safe.

Many of these firefighters live in the area. They are battling this fire while their own homes are in danger. If we think about that for a moment, their own homes are at risk, their own families are in harm's way, and they are working to protect the homes and families of others. That is real bravery, and that is what a firefighter is all about. We owe a great deal to these men and women. We will surely owe them much more when this fire is brought under control. There is no way

to protect a firefighter, other than to quote Fire Chief Edward Croker, who was with the New York Fire Department almost 100 years ago. Here is what he said:

I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be

a fireman . . . Our proudest moment is to save lives. Under

the impulse of such thoughts, the nobility of the occupation

thrills us and stimulates us to deeds of daring, even of

supreme sacrifice.

This is as we learned from South Carolina last week upon the death of those nine firefighters. We will keep an eye on this blaze and give the States of California and Nevada--the blaze is burning on the California side at this time--give the States of California and Nevada all the resources we can help them with.

Mr. President, the last physician we had, Senator Bill Frist, was a great public servant. I worked very closely with him over the years I was Democratic leader. The one thing I learned from Bill Frist is that a physician is always a physician. Everything Bill Frist did was through the eyes of someone trying to heal people. I am confident our new Senator, the esteemed Dr. Barrasso from Wyoming, will be the same. As everyone knows, my personal relationship with Bill Frist was a very warm, close one. I believe like most of us who served with Bill Frist, whenever there was a medical problem in their life, whether it was family or a friend, Bill Frist was the first person they went to. I am confident we will now have another physician to go to. I was in a little trouble after Bill Frist left because all I had was my veterinary friend John Ensign to go to. Now we are better off. I wish him the very best, and we are happy to have him with us.

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

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

Mr. President, the Senate will conduct morning business this morning. It will be announced as soon as I sit down. Members will speak for up to 10 minutes each under the order. There will be no rollcall votes today or during Monday's session.

I ask unanimous consent that the title amendment to H.R. 6, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

Mr. President, I know that H.R. 2359 is at the desk and due for a second reading.

I object to any further proceedings at this time, Mr. President.

Mr. President, a few weeks ago, on Memorial Day, I spent a good part of the day in Boulder City, NV, where we have a veterans cemetery. It is new but growing fast. There are almost 25,000 graves in that cemetery which started less than 15 years ago.

On that day, I joined veterans, family, and friends to pay thanks to the Nevadans who have lost their lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

On that occasion, I shared the words of President Lincoln when our country was torn apart by the Civil War. Lincoln said:

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once

again be seen as the last best hope of Earth.

With the war raging in Iraq, with the whole area destabilized, his words ring loudly and clearly. My dream, as Lincoln's, is of a place and time where America will once again be seen as the last, best hope on Earth.

The day before yesterday, PFC Joshua Modgling, of Henderson, NV, lost his life in pursuit of that dream. He was 22 years old. Joshua and Army SFC William Zapfe, from Kentucky, both died of wounds from a roadside bomb. They were 2 of the 15 killed within 36 hours, the day before yesterday, in that bloody civil war raging in Iraq.

There is not much that can be said, other than our hearts are with the families of Joshua and William and all those who knew them. I speak for my colleagues and all Americans in praying that every brave man and woman serving overseas will come home safe and come home soon.

Mr. President, leaving that subject, which is certainly a subject that concerns us all, turning to the subject of this morning, around midnight, when we passed the Energy bill, it was a tremendous accomplishment for this body. As I said yesterday when, with the first vote, cloture was invoked, I hope that set a new tone and pattern in Washington, where we can work together to pass things.

It would be one thing if the bill that was before the Senate for the last couple of weeks was a Democratic bill, but it wasn't. I took what was passed out of the Energy Committee on a bipartisan basis, I took what was passed out of the Commerce Committee on a bipartisan basis, I took what was passed out of the Environment and Public Works Committee on a bipartisan basis and put them into one bill and that is what we have been working on. It is bipartisan legislation.

It is too bad some tried to make it a partisan issue. There is nothing partisan about it. It was a bipartisan bill. But some who do not want any accomplishments in the Senate, who resent the fact we have been able to pass minimum wage; drought relief for farmers for the first time in 3 years; for the first time since President Bush has been President, we have gotten money for homeland security, over his objection--we had tried many times--we got $1 billion; we funded SCHIP; we funded the Government. You know, the Republicans left town and funded the Government only until February 1. We funded the Government until October 1. We passed a balanced budget, even though our majority, because of Senator Johnson's illness, was 50 to 49. Republicans with 55 to 45 couldn't pass a budget. We did, and some resent that.

We have focused attention on Iraq, which has been unfocused for the entire course of that war. We had 80 hearings. The Judiciary Committee has focused attention on the scandals at the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Gonzales. We have reestablished the legislative branch of Government. The Presiding Officer served for many years in the other body, such as I did. The House and the Senate make up the legislative branch of Government, set forth in the Constitution many years ago to be a separate and equal branch of Government--the legislative, executive and judicial branches of Government.

For the first 6 years of this Presidency, there was no legislative branch of Government. It did not exist. The President ignored it because the Republican-dominated House and Senate gave the President a big rubber stamp. We have changed that, and rightfully so, for the American people.

A number of people made possible passage of the bill late last night, or this morning. Senator Bingaman, Senator Boxer. And let me say this about that wonderful Senator from the State of California, Mrs. Boxer. Senator Boxer has one grandchild, Zach. I have watched him grow up. I don't know, he must be 10, 11 years old now. I watched him when he was a little boy crawling around on the floor. She was so excited.

I had the good fortune, my wife and I, to spend a weekend with them in one of their homes in California, she and Stu. They were so excited they were going to have their second grandchild. That second grandchild was born last night about 6 o'clock eastern time. She flew to California and was headed toward the airport, actually had entered the airport, when the vote occurred last night. She was coming back here to be here this morning to take that vote.

She is a real soldier. I so admire Senator Boxer. We came to Washington together in 1982. She was able to go back and spend some more time with her grandson because we didn't need her here this morning, but the vote was that close.

The bill is important. The overall manager of the bill was Senator Bingaman. He did a tremendous job. This quiet, effective man--Stanford and Harvard degrees--has done a wonderful job with this legislation, as he does with everything.

The CAFE standards in this bill which we have passed are so important. For 25 years, we have been trying to get increased fuel efficiency. Each time we have tried we have been defeated. People had enough. Senators had enough. We have voted against CAFE standards for too long. We were told they said that if you voted for increased fuel efficiency, we are going to close production plants, we are going to lay people off, we are going to lose market share.

They were right, except it didn't take increased fuel efficiency. They simply became not competitive. Other cars coming into this market that people wanted to buy, fuel-efficient vehicles, were bought. So we increased fuel efficiency. It is great for this country. It will save millions of barrels of oil every year.

There was legislation that was drafted by a number of people to make this effective. It came out of the Commerce Committee originally, but the people who worked so hard the last few days were Senator Feinstein, Senator Kerry, Senator Snowe, Senator Stevens, and let me say, I have the good fortune in working very closely with the senior Senator from Washington, Mrs. Murray. She is the secretary of the Democratic caucus. I have worked with her very closely.

She is a tremendous Senator, a tremendous asset to me, the caucus, of course the State of Washington, and the country.

One of the quiet, effective Members of the Senate is Maria Cantwell. Those of us who watched her the last 3 days on this Senate floor, making sure there were enough votes to pass the aspect of the bill we call CAFE standards, saw her effectiveness. She, at any given time with votes changing back and forth knew--that piece of paper she carried-- where the votes were. I went to her many times yesterday and said what happens if this happens and what happens if this happens? She knew right away.

Senator Inouye, the chairman of the Commerce Committee, reported that out. He worked with Senator Stevens to make sure that as the matter changed a little bit, it was done properly. I hope I mentioned Senator Kerry's name; I meant to. He is such a believer. He has written books. He is so concerned about the environment.

Words cannot describe how important Senator Cantwell was in our being able to pass this legislation. Of course, my friend Senator Durbin, who is the whip, assistant leader, is always around, always helpful in doing things I and others ask him to do, and does so much on his own.

I wish I could express my appreciation adequately to all of the people whose names I mentioned. If I slighted someone, I certainly did not mean to do that. But I have mentioned some names that have come to my mind.

With strong bipartisan support, we passed an energy bill that will grow our economy, strengthen our national security, and protect our environment. If passed into law, this bill will put us on a path toward reducing our reliance on oil by increasing supply of renewable fuels produced right here at home, and decreasing the amount of energy we use in our cars, homes, and offices.

Why do we say it will strengthen our economy? Because especially in rural America there will be biofuel buildings, factories to make biofuels.

We have done things to protect our environment by reducing greenhouse gases and other toxins that are emitted using fossil fuel. For the first time since 1975, our bill raises standards for new cars and trucks, as I have mentioned, from 25 to 35 miles per gallon,

which is really important. That still puts us behind Europe, Japan, and China, but it is a critical step in the right direction and will save up to 1 billion gallons of gas every day. Think about that--1 billion gallons of gasoline every day. I don't know how big a tank a billion gallons is. I do know that we use 21 billion barrels of oil every day in America, 65 percent of which is imported. I know how big a hole that is. It is the width of a football field, 11 miles long and 10 feet deep.

For the automakers still wavering on increasing fuel efficiency, I say this: Do not fight the change; embrace it. There is no reason our automobile manufacturers cannot do this. There is no reason. Others do it all over the world. Cannot we as Americans do it? Of course we can. They need to embrace the opportunity to build the high performance cars and trucks Americans want to buy and drive and which we so desperately need for the sake of our national security and global warming. It is time for American automobile manufacturers to lead the world once again. That will only come through a commitment to clean innovation.

The next part of the bill that passed reduces crude oil consumption by more than 10 percent over the next 15 years by producing more renewable fuels, by producing them right here at home, more renewable fuels on America's farms, fields, and in our forests, which will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.

We set new energy efficiency standards with light bulbs, light fixtures, appliances, water heaters, boilers, air conditioners, which will save half a trillion gallons of water every year. For a State such as Nevada--Las Vegas gets 4 inches of rain every year--that is dramatic.

Because Government should lead by example, we also dramatically improved the energy efficiency of Federal buildings and vehicles, as relates to energy, which will save billions of American taxpayer dollars.

Senator Boxer has a provision in this bill that relates to the capture of carbon. It is a carbon capture study at the Capitol powerplant, and it also requires 15 percent of every bit of energy we use on this Capitol Hill complex--by the way, there are more than 10,000 employees here--that we need to get that from renewable sources.

We need to invest in the technologies that will drive our energy future, such as carbon capture and storage, that hold the hope of containing carbon emissions from producing power sources before they ever reach the air.

Last night's passage of the Energy bill was a great victory for the American people. Here is why: We will save American consumers tens of billions of dollars annually, cut our oil consumption by 7 million barrels a day within 20 years, reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources now, and take critical steps in these early stages of our fight against global warming. There is a long way to go to secure the kind of clean and safe energy future we need. This bill is a first step, but it is an important first step.

The bill is not perfect. It is unfortunate that in passing this bill the administration and most Senate Republicans blocked an effort to require more of our Nation's electricity to come from renewable sources as well as incentives to spur the production of more renewable fuels right here in America. But this fight is not over. Our friends in the House will pass their bill quickly so we can send it to the President for his signature. But this bill, once again, shows us when we find common ground, we can accomplish uncommon good.

Mr. President, I see that my friend and partner in what happens here in the Senate is here, Senator Durbin.

I have already expressed, Senator Durbin, my appreciation for the work you did in getting to the final passage of this bill. You and I spend so much time alone that I do not often get to say anything publicly about you, so I will take a brief moment to say you and I have been in the legislature, on a national basis, since 1982 together. We have had good days and bad days. That is what legislation is all about. But I so appreciate having you as a partner here in the Senate. You have been stalwart. The people of Illinois are so fortunate to have you representing them in the Senate. I hope I can tell you in this manner how much I admire and appreciate your advocacy, your friendship, and the good work you do for all of our country.

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to executive session and the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of the following: Lorne W. Craner, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation; Alan J. Patricof, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation; Dell Dailey, to be Coordinator for Counterrorism with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large; Reuben Jeffery III, to be Under Secretary of State; that they and the nominations on the Executive Calendar, Nos. 155 through 160, be considered and agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate return to legislative session.

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed en bloc to the consideration of three resolutions submitted earlier today, S. Res. 249, S. Res. 250, and S. Res. 251, that the resolutions be considered and agreed to en bloc, the preambles be agreed to en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc, the consideration of these items appear separately in the Record, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of a concurrent resolution submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that any statements in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 209, S. 1099.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

This morning, I talked about the Energy bill and the work of Democrats and Republicans to get it passed. I failed--and I apologize--to mention two of the most important people for getting that passed, two staff members.

Chris Miller, who works in my office, is such a wonderful, hard- working public servant. Chris is originally from Detroit. He has worked in Congress for 20 years, 18 years with the Senate. He worked for Senator Jeffords and for me on the Environment and Public Works Committee. His work ethic is unsurpassed. He has become a resource for the entire Senate, Democrats and Republicans. During the Energy bill, staff members came to him and some Members themselves came to him, asked where we were. He gave them information as to where we were, where we were going. Chris has a master's degree from the University of Michigan. That is in natural resource management. He has a bachelor's also from the same institution in political science. I told him personally last night, after the bill passed, how much I appreciated his hard work. I want the record spread with the fact that he is an exemplary employee.

I also want to talk about someone I have worked with over the years because he has been in the Senate for a long time, and that is Bob Simon. Bob has a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from MIT in 1982. He is a person with a wide range of knowledge. Before coming to the Senate about 14 years ago or so, he worked at the Department of Energy and the National Research Council for the National Academies of Science and Engineering. He has served in a variety of science- and technology- related positions in the Senate since 1993. He became a staff director for the overall committee the month the Democrats won the majority. He works very well with Senator Domenici, the ranking member and until recently the chairman of that committee.

He is really a good person, works so hard--another example of people we have here on Capitol Hill who are here because they believe in public service. That is why he is here. He is a person who works extremely hard, and his work on this bill was instrumental to its passage.

I ask if the distinguished Republican leader has anything to say?

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 1 p.m., Monday, June 25; that on Monday, 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 reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 800, with the time until 7 p.m. for debate with respect to the motion, with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Kennedy and Enzi or their designees; that at 7 p.m. Senator Sessions be recognized to speak for up to 1 hour.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate today, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.