Floor Statements

Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute in the Record of the Senate to my friend Carole Kell, who is a great Georgian, a great American, and a great citizen of Cobb County. Next week Carole will be honored by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce as the East Cobb Citizen of the Year for her many contributions to the quality of life in Cobb County, GA.

Carole has a long and distinguished record as an educator in Cobb County, where she has lived for over 40 years. During her career, she served as the principal of Dickerson Middle School and Hightower Trail Middle School. I believe education is the most important thing we can provide for our children and for our country's future, and I commend Carole for her dedication to the success of her students over the years.

Carole also has a long history of community involvement in my hometown of Marietta, GA, where she is a well-respected and dedicated leader. Although Carole has retired from the workforce, she has not ``retired'' from her commitment to her community. Hopefully, she never will.

Carole is a longstanding member of the board of directors of the Cobb YMCA and the Business Education Steering Committee of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. She is the chair of the Committee for Election of the Cobb County Commission and chair of the Wellstar Cancer Council.

Carole also serves on the advisory board for Johnson Ferry Community Bank of the South, the Cobb and Douglas Board of Health, and the Cobb and Douglas Community Services Board. In addition, she is a member of the Cobb County Republican Women's Club and a board member of the Cobb Boys and Girls Club as well as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Kell High School, which is named after her late husband.

Carole was an active member of Marietta Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School for children, sang in the adult choir, and helped with the children's choir. She is currently a member of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. Carole has also raised funds over the years for the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia Society, and the American Heart Association.

It gives me a great deal of pleasure and it is a privilege to recognize on the floor of the U.S. Senate the contributions of Carole Kell to Cobb County and the State of Georgia.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize in the Record COL Thomas V. Colella, who officially retired from the United States Marine Corps last month after 30 years of honorable service to this Nation.

Colonel Colella graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1976 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. His first tour took him to Okinawa, Japan, where he was assigned to E Battery, 2nd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment. While assigned to that battalion, he served as a battery officer, forward observer and liaison officer. Colonel Colella then served at the Landing Force Training Command, Atlantic area, as an Aide-de-Camp to the commanding general of the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade. In 1981 he entered the Marine Corps Reserve where he held several line and staff positions including a role as commander of the 4th Battalion, 14th Marines and Executive Officer of the 4th Civil Affairs Group. Most recently, Colonel Colella was recalled to active duty in support of coalition operations in Afghanistan related to Operation Enduring Freedom, where he served as Chief of Staff to the U.S. Defense Representative in Pakistan.

In 1987, Tom joined Korn/Ferry in the firm's Washington, D.C. office conducting senior-level searches for a global client base in the industrial, aerospace and defense sectors. Tom was also called into civilian public service after accepting a position within the U.S. Department of Education in the former Bush administration, and most recently serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in the current Bush administration.

I have been fortunate to have Colonel Colella serve as the chairman of my academy review board since my election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1999. I inherited him from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who also sought out Tom's expertise in the important and extremely difficult academy selection process. His commitment to the young men and women who make up the future of our Nation does not go unrecognized.

I could go on for hours with Tom's biography, but his distinguished career can be summarized in one word: devotion. He is a devoted father; a devoted leader at Korn/Ferry International; a devoted public servant; and he has now finished his career as a devoted member of the U.S. Military. An important chapter in Tom's life is now finished, but I know there are many more chapters left to be written. I wish Tom Colella and his three kids, Nicholas, Andrew and Gregory, the very best, and convey to him my deepest gratitude on behalf of the people of Georgia and the United States.

Mr. President, I rise in full support of the United States-Indian nuclear agreement. I wish to share the two distinct reasons for my support.

First and foremost is the distinguished chairman from Indiana, Senator Lugar. There is not an individual in this Senate and I say probably not an individual in this country who has committed more of their life to preventing nuclear disaster and its proliferation. There is perhaps no one who has worked harder to see to it that the U.S. agreements, as they relate to the security of nuclear power and the interest of our country, have always been nothing but in the best interest of the United States of America.

As a Senator from Georgia, I am well aware that Senator Lugar partnered for many years and still partners today with our Senator, Sam Nunn, in seeking to ensure nuclear proliferation does not take place anywhere in the world and that nuclear materials from existing nuclear nations never fall in the hands of those who would use them in an act of terrorism. I place my confidence first and foremost in the distinguished chairman from Indiana.

There is a second, equally compelling reason; that is, my visit to India in April of this year, just shortly after the President announced the civilian nuclear deal with India. Quite frankly, my initial reaction before I went to India was one of significant concern. I think any time any of us look into nuclear agreements and the sharing of nuclear technology, we should have significant concern. However, I went to India and learned a number of things firsthand that I did not know. I share them with this Senate today because I believe they are important in whether we grant this agreement.

First, I learned quickly that in the 30-year history of involvement in the development of nuclear energy, India has never had a single deviation from its stated original purpose, which was civilian use, and in terms of military, only for minimal deterrence. They have clearly said from the beginning they would never be a first-strike nation, and they have always said that our motivation from a defensive mechanism is minimal deterrence. A 30-year consistent policy like that in any nation is good enough evidence for me in terms of the heart and the intent of that country.

Second, India is a democracy of 1.3 billion people in round numbers in a part of the world of significant importance to the United States of America. They have demonstrated in their cooperation with us in the global war on terror their interest only in peaceful operations of all nations and never in nuclear energy or technology falling into the hands of those who would use it in a devious way.

As the distinguished Senator from Virginia has said, India is a blossoming nation economically, but it suffers dramatically from the coal it has to burn and from the lack of efficient energy sources it now has. This civilian nuclear agreement allows them the opportunity to expand nuclear energy for the generation of electricity and to reduce the pollution in the atmosphere, which is not just India's atmosphere but is the world's atmosphere.

The distinguished chairman from Indiana has worked long and hard on this agreement. I am in full support of this agreement in its draft form and its presented form today. I hope the Members of the Senate will endorse and ratify without debilitating amendments. I have confidence in the chairman and his work. I have confidence in my visit to the people of India and Prime Minister Singh that they will continue to be what they have been: a burgeoning democracy and a great partner with the United States of America.

I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. President, simultaneous with my remarks tonight at Kennesaw University Convocation Center in Cobb County, GA, there is a memorial service where thousands of my fellow citizens are paying tribute to the life, the times, and the contributions of Dr. Robert Lipson. On Saturday night, Dr. Lipson, leaving Kennestone Hospital, was killed in a tragic automobile accident with a motorcycle just two or three blocks from the health care facility to which he had dedicated the majority of his life.

Dr. Lipson was just not any ordinary doctor; he was an extraordinary human being. Dr. Lipson was president and CEO of WellStar Health Systems, the owner and operator of five hospitals in metropolitan Atlanta, in Cobb, Douglas, and Paulding Counties, the employer of hundreds of doctors and thousands of caregivers, and one of the true leaders in modern health care today in our State.

Dr. Lipson, in his time at Kennestone Hospital, did a $68 million capital improvement with an 84-bed residential tower. He brought an open-heart surgical unit to Kennestone Hospital, and at the time of his tragic loss, Dr. Lipson's emergency room at Kennestone Hospital was the second largest emergency room in the State of Georgia and one of the largest in the United States, serving victims of tragic trauma throughout the metropolitan area.

But it wasn't only his leadership as the head of WellStar Health Systems. For 25 years prior to his appointment, he had a practice in internal medicine in our community. He was a leader in his synagogue, Etz Chaim, and brought to that leadership tremendous involvement in our community. He was a gifted photographer. In fact, only 8 weeks ago--8 weeks before his death--his photography was displayed at Kennesaw University for all to see because of his great insight, his great talent, his credibility, and the way he had captured not only our community but all the special places in the world he visited.

So tonight on the floor of the Senate, on behalf of myself and thousands and thousands of citizens in my State, I extend to his wife, his mother, his son, and his daughter our sympathy in this tragic loss but also our pride and joy in the great contributions of Dr. Robert Lipson to the betterment of the health of countless thousands of citizens and the betterment and the health of our community.

I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of the fiscal year 2007 Department of Homeland Security conference report. I want to begin by thanking Senator Judd Gregg for his tireless work on this report, and for his commitment to funding the important initiatives in this bill that are so critical to border security, and securing the homeland. Through his leadership a conference report is before us that is fiscally responsible while also implementing the necessary programs to ensure that we continue defeating the threats to our homeland. I would especially like to touch on a few issues that are especially important to our homeland security initiatives and to my State of Georgia.

I applaud the committee's continued reaffirmation of Public Law 106- 246, stipulating that any new Federal law enforcement training shall be configured in a manner so as to not duplicate or displace any Federal law enforcement program of FLETC.

This conference report contains $2 million for the Practical Applications/ Counterterrorism Operations Training Facility--CTOTF--at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center--FLETC--at Glynco. Since the terror attacks of 9/11, counterterrorism has become a core function for Federal law enforcement agencies, and the CTOTF will provide practical hands-on training in this new state-of-the-art facility. The CTOTF will recreate various settings, both foreign and domestic, that

agents might encounter out in the field, including rural and urban neighborhoods, subway stations, buildings, and roadways. Part of the training site is now functioning, already making use of donated buses, railway cars, and an airplane.

All 82 law enforcement agencies that train at FLETC will have access to the new facility. We are preparing our Federal law enforcement agents to meet their agencies' mission and I am pleased that this conference report recognizes the need to provide them with a realistic training environment. This practical training, in addition to other tactics they learn at FLETC, will also save lives. The students' level of awareness of potential dangers will be raised so that when they encounter similar situations in the real world, they react correctly.

I also applaud the inclusion of an extension of the Rehired Authority. Without the renewal of this authority, FLETC would not have been able to schedule the full training requirements at Glynco and Artesia to meet the initiative for Border Patrol at Artesia, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Detention Officer Training at Glynco. FLETC has demonstrated the need for the authority to be continued.

There were many strong reasons to justify this needed authority, but perhaps the most compelling is that by using annuitants FLETC can save dollars versus hiring--permanent full-time employees, FTE gain demonstrated experience--the current average is 26 years of law enforcement experience--and free up some of the instructors now provided to FLETC by its partner agencies on a temporary basis to be used instead in front line law enforcement operational functions. I applaud the conference and Chairman Gregg for recognizing the importance of this provision.

FLETC is the Federal Government's primary source of law enforcement training. Eighty-two partner organizations subscribe to FLETC for their law enforcement training at the basic--entry level--and advanced training levels. During basic and advanced training, trainees and newly commissioned law enforcement officers are molded into the culture of law enforcement, much like basic trainees and young soldiers in the armed forces. It takes instructors that have the ability to provide realistic instruction to gain the respect of their students as they immerse students into their law enforcement careers. These instructors can come only from the ranks of Federal employees with many years of current and relevant law enforcement experience. Subject areas taught by these instructors include law enforcement techniques and topical areas, such as counterterrorism prevention and detection and border tracking procedures.

It is in the best interest of the Government to have Federal Government employees with state-of-the-art knowledge and experience regarding tactics, policies, and practices of the law enforcement community to provide instruction to trainees, agents, and officers that are beginning their careers. To outsource training for law enforcement functions, even in a partial or fragmented manner, is counterproductive to the overall security and enforcement of the laws of the United States.

The conference report contains a provision making the activities of the staff of FLETC inherently governmental. And while the words ``and hereafter'' would have provided the desired result of keeping this from becoming an annual issuance issue, I thank the conferees for the inclusion of this language and look forward to working with them to strengthen it in the future.

Finally, I commend Chairman Gregg for his commitment to the CBP P-3 program by providing $70 million to extend the life of these valuable assets for another 15,000 to 20,000 hours. These aircraft are an important component to our national law enforcement and homeland security efforts. In addition, they have been critical for FEMA disaster support.

Specifically modified for use in drug interdiction, these aircraft have been invaluable for the homeland security mission as well. P-3 AEW and P-3 Long-Range Tracker aircraft have a highly successful 20-year record of detecting and tracking drug smugglers throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Caribbean basin, and Central and South America. In fact, in fiscal year 2005, CBP P-3s were instrumental in the seizure and destruction of a record-breaking $1.7 billion worth of illegal drugs and recognized by the U.S. Interdiction Coordinator for this feat.

For years, the CBP P-3 AEW has provided surveillance of significant national events which include support of Presidential and Vice Presidential domestic travel; large, terrorism-vulnerable sporting events--the Super Bowl, 2002 Winter Olympics, the Masters--and large city and regional air surveillance during ``high level'' threat status--AEW surveillance and anti-air coordination of the DC area during State of the Union addresses.

The CBP P-3s have been unspoken heroes in providing FEMA disaster support. There are CBP/FEMA plans to use the P-3s to provide post- disaster assessment and monitoring. In addition, the CBP P-3s were very active in hurricane relief efforts for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year. For nearly 2 weeks, they were flying 20 hours a day providing coordination of search and rescue missions, real-time communications links and real-time video to the Homeland Security Operations Center, the CBP Operations Center, and NORTHCOM. These images also were aired on CNN.

These versatile aircraft and their crews have met, and continue to meet, the needs of our country to address a variety of missions. I thank Chairman Gregg for recognizing their important role by extending their service life in a cost effective manner.

I also note the inclusion of funds for a CBP training facility in Harper's Ferry, WV. Given my interest in border security, I look forward to visiting that facility to see firsthand the training that goes on there.

Mr. President, again, Chairman Gregg and his staff are to be commended for their hard work and leadership during a very tough conference negotiation. I appreciate the hard work of my friend, the Senator from New Hampshire, and look forward to working with him in the future on these and other issues.

Mr. President, I am pleased to follow the distinguished Senator from California and the distinguished chairman from Idaho. They make a compelling case. I represent an agricultural State in the great State of Georgia. I understand the difficulties they have outlined. They have also given me a couple of points to follow on to demonstrate how important it is that this Senate, in fact, embrace comprehensive reform but do it in a two-step process where we ensure our borders.

The distinguished Senator from California made the following statement: The reason we have so much illegal immigration today is because Americans don't do the jobs or won't do the jobs. I submit that is partially right.

The reason we have so much illegal immigration today is because it is easier to get into the United States illegally than it is legally. At a time of war on terror, that is a huge problem. We owe it to ourselves to fix our immigration system in a tandem, in-step process that guarantees security and then reforms immigration to meet the demands of American business, American agriculture, and American industry.

We do not find anyone trying to break out of the United States of America. They are all trying to break in, for a very good reason. This is the land of hope, opportunity, and promise. We have to return to the day where the way to come to this country is legally and not illegally. The best way to do that is to make illegal immigration into this country untenable. The way to do that is go from making promises to actually causing reality to take place on our border.

I support the motion to proceed on this House bill, H.R. 6061. I support Senator Session's amendment to the original bill in the Senate to put up a barrier. I support authorizing them. But I remind my colleagues in this body that we do two things that start with ``a'': we authorize and appropriate. An authorization is a promise, and an appropriation is a commitment. It is time in terms of securing our borders that this Senate and the body across the hall made a commitment and made border security a reality.

I commend Chairman Judd Gregg on the tremendous work he has done. Chairman Gregg is precisely correct. We are making progress toward securing the border. However, we have not closed the deal. We have not finished the appropriation. We have not gone from the authorization commitment that it will take to do so. Until we do, we can never have a meaningful immigration reform program.

I suggested, Senator Cornyn has suggested, Senator Sessions has suggested, and Senator Feinstein just made the statement that this is truly a national emergency. If it is, it is truly a time for an emergency supplemental from the President of the United States to fund those things we have all agreed it takes to secure our border.

For the sake of clarity, I will go through those for a second: 6,000 more Border Patrol agents, which, by the way, can be accomplished and trained in 24 months; barriers along the border in those geological and geographic areas that demand barriers, as in southern California years ago. We know how much that cost. That can be accomplished in 24 months. We need the ``eyes in the sky'' referenced in H. Res. 6061, the seamless ``eyes in the sky'' so our manpower can be multiplied tremendously because we have unmanned aerial vehicles patrolling our border, all 2,000 miles of it, night and day. We need to fund the judicial and prosecuting authority along our border to the southwest to see to it that when we make a case, we prosecute. Lastly, we need to build the detention facilities that end the practice of catch and release.

The beauty of going ahead and making the commitment to do it is, immediately upon doing so, those who are here illegally will comply with whatever program we come up with because they will know they can no longer go home. When the border is secure, it works both ways. We can do that. I have not met an American citizen yet in this debate which has been raging for the better part of the last 5 months in the Congress of the United States who wouldn't consider granting legal status to someone who is here illegally if they have cleared the terrorist watch list, if they have demonstrated they have a job, but they don't want to do it until they are sure our border is secure.

History is a great teacher. Twenty years ago, Alan Simpson, from Wyoming, was the author of the American immigration reform bill. The American people were clamoring to do something about the 3 million undocumented and illegal workers who were in America in 1986. People along our borders were clamoring for border security. We passed the Simpson bill. It promised border security. It granted amnesty to those 3 million.

The reality was, we delivered on the amnesty. We looked the other way on border security. And today, we have a 12 million-illegal-aliens problem. If we do a wink and a nod to border security now and reform immigration to attract more, all we will do 20 years from now is have an untenable number of 20, 25, or 30 million.

So H.R. 6061 sends a great message. I might add, the reason it got 96 votes with no dissenting votes on a motion to proceed today, most Members of the Senate have gone home. Most have talked the last 5 months to their constituents. Most know the American people want the border secure. It is a good political vote to authorize those barriers, those fences, and this appropriations. However, it is ultimately our responsibility to see to it that we authorize and appropriate border security and do it in tandem with a reformed immigration program.

By the way, I am always amused by how everyone said we have to get this new reform program in place and don't make the barrier be a trigger for it. That won't work. The truth is, it takes just as long to get the reform program workable as it does to perform those items I just delineated to secure the border. In fact, the verifiable, nonforgeable, biometric ID that we need, we know we can do it in 18 months and have implemented in 24 months. That happens to be exactly the same period of time it takes to get the job done on the border.

It is time we start parsing on the edges. It is time we stop making this a

chicken-or-egg proposition. It is not a chicken-or-egg proposition. Reform of immigration can only take place after we have secured the border. The work it takes to secure the border is exactly the time period it takes to prepare for the new situation of legal immigration.

We are close to a great opportunity to respond to the American people and do what is right. I commend my colleagues who come to the Senate and support 6061. It will send a great signal. But it is only a promise. We need to deliver a reality.

I ask unanimous consent that this letter to me from Richard A. Smith be printed in the Record.

I will not read all of it, but this is an American citizen who wrote this letter today which I think illustrates the critical need for securing our border and ensuring it is done before we open the gates.

More than a full year has passed and still not a shred of

evidence that the House or the Senate fully appreciate the

concern this country has over illegal immigration. The

impression is that government has completely failed its

citizens on this pressing issue.

The United States of America is being invaded by a foreign

country without firing a single shot and our country's

elected officials are apparently incapable of coming to an

agreement or a solution. I could not be more disgusted with

the Congress over this issue. You and your colleagues are

urged to act on this pressing issue.

I don't know how many letters have been written that contain thoughts almost identical to those of Richard Smith, but there have been lots of them. They are by far the preponderance of the communications to this Congress and this Senate.

Let's get H.R. 6061 up for a vote. Let's pass it. Let's make another promise toward border security. But let's come back in a timely fashion. Let's secure our borders and make the commitment and the investment that will take place. Let's reform our immigration process so the way to come to America in the future is the right way, not the easy way because we looked the other way.

Anders Bengsten was the father of my grandfather, whose name was also Anders Bengsten. He was a potato farmer in Sweden. When the famine hit in 1903, he emigrated to the United States of America. In Scandinavia, you don't keep the last name you had there; you take your father's first name, Isak, and add to it ``son.'' That is why most Scandinavians are Isakson, Ericson, Johnson, and Olson. He came to America and became Anders Isakson. He fled because of the potato famine. He landed on Ellis Island. He came legally. I have gone to Sweden and gotten the embarkation and legal papers. I have them at home.

My father was born in 1916, while Anders was still here legally but as an immigrant. My father is an American citizen today because of birthright citizenship. I am a citizen today because Anders Isakson bore that son in 1916. The proudest thing I have on my wall in my den at home is the May 3, 1926, documents that made Anders Isakson a U.S. citizen when he completed his process, 23 years after coming here legally as an immigrant, to become a citizen of the United States of America. There is not a person in this room who respects immigration and the right to come to America and the promise of Ellis Island more than I do. I am a living testimony to its promise.

It is time we return to a pathway to citizenship that is legal. It is time we stop looking the other way and letting people come to America the easy way and the soft way, and say to those who are learning our language, studying our history, those who are pledging allegiance to our country and disavowing their previous allegiance, those who are coming the right way ought to be the stars in the crown of American immigration. It is time we secure our border. It is time we reformed our immigration so the numbers coming reflect the demands of our economy. It is time we stop making promises. It is time we start delivering. America is too important. This issue is too critical to the American people.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside.

Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 4923, which is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 4923 be modified with the Kennedy amendment, which is at the desk.

Mr. President, today, the Senate accepted an important amendment to this port security bill to protect longshoremen and private sector marine terminal operators from any adverse consequences that could result from government cargo screening activities. The amendment was coauthored by Senator Kennedy and myself, and I thank the distinguished Senior Senator from Massachusetts for his leadership on this issue. I also thank the floor managers, Senators Collins, Stevens, Coleman, Lieberman, Inouye, and Murray for their vital assistance.

After September 11, Congress mandated that the administration begin scanning shipping containers upon their arrival at U.S. ports. In response to this congressional mandate, U.S. Customs has begun using so-called ``VACIS machines'' to screen cargo on U.S. marine terminals. These machines are enormous imaging systems that use gamma ray technology to produce radiographic images of the contents inside the shipping containers. Some of these systems are truck mounted and can be passed over containers and others are operated by actually driving the container through the machine. With these devices, Government officials can determine the possible presence of many types of contraband. Eventually, every port in the country will have the machines on site.

There is no question that these machines are crucial to our port and national security, but they also have the potential to expose maritime workers to low levels of radiation. The National Academy of Science recently concluded that exposure to any additional radiation above background levels poses an incremental risk to the exposed individual.

This incremental risk of exposure to radiation, regardless of how small, is enough to trigger significant liability for employers under the Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act.

The amendment that I offer today addresses the issue of this low level radiation exposure in two ways: First, it requires the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to develop and implement new protocols to protect the safety of port workers. If indeed it is possible that radiation exposure can be further reduced, hopefully to zero, we should do so. The tens of thousands of dedicated maritime workers in this Nation's ports deserve nothing less than to know that the Federal Government has done everything possible to prevent any exposure to additional radiation caused by these cargo screening machines.

The second part of the amendment allows the operators of marine terminals nationwide to receive financial reimbursement if their port- based employees become ill due to the low levels of radiation emitted by these machines.

Unfortunately, if we do not include this amendment today, maritime employers will be on the hook for thousands of radiation exposure claims because the Federal Government exposed their workers. Congress has placed the operators of marine terminals in a no-win situation. On one hand, we are asking the industry to support Government port security efforts, while on the other hand leaving them vulnerable to a possible litany of radiation exposure claims from their workforce if they do cooperate.

If a port worker believes that he or she was harmed because the Federal Government exposed the worker to radiation, the worker's complaint is with the Federal Government, not his or her employer.

Accordingly, I only ask for fairness for the businesses that operate marine terminals in Savannah, Boston, Seattle, and other American seaports. These businesses are in no way responsible for any radiation hazard brought about by congressional mandate. All these businesses have done is cooperate with the Federal Government. Therefore, this amendment also stipulates that the Federal Government should reimburse employers for any employee claims of injuries caused by exposure to radiation.

In closing, I thank Senator Kennedy and his staff and the floor managers and their staff for their assistance with this important matter.

Mr. President, I rise to speak for 8 minutes and ask the Chair to give me the signal when I have used that time.

Mr. President, I am really delighted, after some of the things I have read and heard this morning. I decided last night to make the speech I am about to make. This morning, I want to go back to the speech the President made on Monday evening and go back to the President's clarion call for us to unite as a nation behind our effort to win the war on terror.

During the past 3 days--first Monday, September 11, where we all honored and mourned the tragic loss of 3,000 citizens, through today--I have read constant editorials and listened to numerous speeches that imply to me that that sense of unity doesn't really exist. I think the President was right to call for unity.

This morning I rise in an effort to have us focus on what we are really all about, not to point fingers or castigate anybody but to talk about what I believe is the ultimate war between good and evil. What happened on September 11 in 2001 was one of the most tragic events in the history of mankind. What the United States did, and what this President declared, by changing our policy from one of reaction to one of preemption was precisely the right thing to do. There is no doubt that in the last 5 years mistakes have been made. But there is no doubt that the greatest mistake would have been not to respond. It is now time for us to resolve to support this country, our men and women in harm's way, our intelligence agencies, with a resolve to see

it through to its conclusion, understanding that it is going to be a long and difficult battle.

We should not forget that the Cold War lasted half a century. As a youngster at R.L. Hope Elementary School in Atlanta, GA, I remember every week we practiced climbing under our desks as we did drills because we feared a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. It was only when the Berlin Wall came down in the 1990s and communism was finally defeated that the Cold War ended.

This war could be as long and as difficult. But it is different. We fight an enemy with no uniforms, no diplomats, and no capital. It doesn't want what we have. They don't want us to have what we have. They don't want us to have the freedom of speech--for me to do what I am doing here--or for the press to criticize it. They don't want you to be able to bear arms if you are a law-abiding citizen or to go to church on Saturday or Sunday and worship or to not worship at all or the way you want. They don't want you to have the freedom to assemble and gather.

They are using those very inalienable rights of ours against us today and, in some cases, some of us are unwitting accomplices in that criticism. By way of example, we argue and parse about issues of interrogation and some issues of intelligence and surveillance, when every day that we fail to act the other side uses that against us to try to find a way to break us and kill American citizens. How else in the 21st century, in a world of computers and digital technology and cellular technology, can we track terrorists if we cannot listen to them? How in the world can we learn about those who would kill innocent Americans if we cannot interrogate them?

There was an editorial in the Monday paper, September 11, 2006, 5 years after 9/11, in my hometown paper, the Atlanta Constitution. It said, ``Power is found in our ideals not in our weapons.'' That is a great headline. They are right. One of the great ideals that the American people have is that we don't quit. We didn't quit in our revolution or in our Civil War or in World War I and World War II, and we cannot quit now. In this editorial, criticizing us in terms of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, who is the moral authority quoted? None other than Osama bin Laden. The man that is quoted as questioning America's values is the man that relishes cutting off the heads of innocent American citizens, the man who takes pride in calling out and charging terrorists with attacking American citizens on 9/11, and the man who to this very day plots to kill innocent Americans.

We must listen to what they are saying, track what they are doing. When we capture them, we must get the intelligence necessary to save innocent lives. We must unite as a country, a media, political parties, and as a people to stand steadfastly behind this effort and see it through to conclusion.

I personally submit that we are getting pretty close. I think the fact that they are concentrating in Baghdad, the fact that we have seen what we have seen in terms of them trying to portray a civil war is because we have had them on the run and it is their last stand. You see, terrorism doesn't have to beat us on the battlefield. They only have to make us quit and come home. Then they can declare victory. We cannot let that happen.

I conclude my remarks by admonishing all of us, myself included, to join together to find solutions to move forward and support this effort to its conclusion and to its success. We should not tie the hands of our Armed Forces or our intelligence networks behind their backs. We should instead put our arms around them and embrace them, let them charge ahead and continue to track our enemies wherever they are and find out the information that is necessary. Then, and only then, will we be equalized in the war on terror and ultimately prevail.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, Senator Chambliss, in support of the resolution honoring the Columbus Northern Little League, the Little League World Series champions for the year 2006.

I am particularly honored to pay tribute to them because this is deja vu all over again for me; in 1983 another Georgia team, the East Marietta team, where I live, was the first Georgia team to win the Little League World Series. So now, in just 60 years, 2 of the 60 champions have come from our great State.

Saxby and I had the chance to meet these fine young men with the President of the United States just last week on Thursday on the tarmac at Dobbins Air Force Base. They were poised, they were excited, and they were proud.

I also pay tribute to the parents of these young men. If you watched the championship game against the State of New Hampshire when they won the American title, before they went on to play Japan, you saw the parents of these young men, right before the game, sharing their baskets of Georgia peaches with the parents of the New Hampshire team, just as they did with the Japanese team 2 days later. The parents showed the sportsmanship and good will and the care and the compassion that makes Little League Baseball so special.

These are special young men: Matthew Hollis, second baseman and center fielder; Ryan Lang, right fielder; Mason Meyers, right field and third base; Matthew Kuhlenberg, left field; Patrick Stallings, third base; Josh Lester, second base and shortstop; Brady Hamilton, first base, outfield, and pitcher; Cody Walker, catcher; Kyle Carter, pitcher; J. T. Phillips, shortstop and pitcher; and Kyle Rovig, left field and pitcher. And there was the management and leadership brought by manager Randy Morris and coach Richard Carter.

These fine young men played wonderful baseball all the way through the tournament. But in those final two games against New Hampshire and Japan, they soared and played like true professionals--young men who had been taught well, who were respectful, and who knew how to pay the price for victory.

Columbus Northern is our State's second team to win the Little League World Series. Kyle Carter, the pitcher, made history by striking out 11 batters and became the first pitcher in history to win 4 times in the Little League World Series.

We cannot forget Cody Walker's hitting--with the pitch and where it was pitched--and knocking a two-out pitch over the fence in right field for the two runs that won the game over Japan, nor can we forget the great second baseman workmanship of Josh Lester nor any of these fine young men who brought great pride to their State, great pride to their parents, and great pride to the great city of Columbus, GA.

I am pleased to rise today on the floor of the Senate and join Senator Chambliss in acknowledging the great achievement of these young men and encourage the Senate to unanimously adopt this resolution of recognition and appreciation for the Columbus Northern Little League team.

Mr. President, I yield back.

Mr. President, I rise today as a cosponsor of the Salazar amendment--and I thank Senator Collins and Senator Murray for agreeing to accept the Salazar amendment--which authorizes a new Rural Policing Institute within the Office of State and Local Training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GA. I am joined on my side by Senator Chambliss and others as cosponsors and very much appreciate the acceptance of this important amendment.

Modeled after existing programs within the office, the rural policing institute would evaluate the needs of local law enforcement located in rural areas, and develop expert training programs designed to assist law enforcement in training regarding combating methamphetamine addiction and distribution, domestic violence, law enforcement response related to school shootings, and other topics.

By having a program whereby we can send instructors to these police departments rather then have them come to FLETC itself, we maximize our training capabilities and ensure that these officers are able to receive on the job training without reducing manpower.

This is a win-win for our law enforcement personnel, FLETC, and the American taxpayer. I urge passage of the amendment.

I withdraw my suggestion of the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, in 1 last minute on this day, I want to pause to pay tribute to a great Georgian and a great American, an individual we all lost last Friday morning in Statesboro, GA.

On Friday morning of last week, 80-year-old Erskine Russell, former assistant head coach at the University of Georgia and later head coach at Georgia Southern University, died of a stroke leaving the 7-11 near his home on the way to his beloved Snooky's Restaurant in Statesboro, GA. Erskine Russell was a football coach, but he was far more than a football coach. He changed the lives of countless young men in Georgia and changed the attitude of the people of our State about higher education.

Erskine Russell was a man who led the University of Georgia and its defense in 1980 to the national championship. Then, a few years later, he got the opportunity at a fledgling Georgia college--Georgia Southern--to establish a football team. He went there and went to the local sporting goods store and bought a football. He took a drainage ditch that ran by the field and named it the ``wonderful, beautiful Eagle Creek,'' and slowly but surely he recruited young men to come to Georgia Southern to play football.

Within a few years, Georgia Southern went from just having a program to being a national champion. And he repeated that national championship again. But more importantly, all through his life, Erskine Russell did what only he could do: he led by example, not by lecture, what was right about America, what was right about living by the rules, what was right about playing by the rules, and what was right about moral character.

Two thousand people appeared at Paulson Stadium last Sunday to pay their last respects to Erskine Russell--a man who will be missed not just for a short period of time but for the lifetime of all those whose lives he touched.

In conclusion, talking about the lives he touched, when my son Kevin was in the 11th grade at Walton High School in Marietta, GA, he was tragically injured in an automobile accident. He was a junior football player there. Erk Russell took the time to write him a personal note when it was questionable as to whether he might ever play football again or even walk normally again. It was Erk Russell's inspiration and his caring, his challenging someone to overcome adversity, that led to Kevin's complete recovery and a year later his competition on the football field once again.

That is just one vignette. It is just one cameo in a lifetime of service to young people.

I pay tribute tonight to Erk Russell, to his family, and to all those who knew him, all those who loved him, and to all of us who will always treasure the fact that he was our friend.

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

Mr. President, I rise for a moment to address the situation with regard to the pension protection bill. I want to follow up on the remarks by the Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy. I thank Senator Kennedy for his hard work as the ranking member of the HELP Committee. I thank Mike Enzi, the chairman, and I appreciate the patience of Chuck Grassley and his effort in the Finance Committee.

The Senator's recitation of the long and arduous conference committee was absolutely on track. We are within hours of getting a bill to the floor that will protect the pensions of thousands of Americans today and, in the future, make our pension laws 21st century laws in a 21st century economy.

Failure to agree to the bill before we leave will mean disastrous consequences. Airlines in America have needed some special protection for some time in order to do what they want to do, which is honor the pensions of their employees. It is to the great credit of Delta and Northwest Airlines that both companies want to exit bankruptcy and ensure the pension benefits of their employees. This is not only noble, but it is very important. In my State, 91,000 people's pensions and their futures are determined and dependent upon the Senate acting.

Beyond the airline situation, the pension laws of the country have needed to be modernized for some time. We all know the trouble Social Security has had. It has been the same trouble with defined pension benefits. People live longer and there are less workers, and less workers do more work and contribute less to the system. It is important to the companies to be able to amortize their liability over a period of time that is sustainable. It is important that the interest rate assumptions made are realistic, and that we adopt the principle that people do in their own savings, and that is dollar cost averaging-- continuing to put money into whether the market is up or down. It should be the same in terms of protecting pension plans by ensuring that contributions are consistent and meaningful and, in fact, doable.

I have had tremendous help over the past 18 months from many people. I want to particularly thank Mike Quiello, Ed Egee, and Glee Smith on my staff for countless hundreds of hours in working toward the resolution that will soon come to this floor.

I urge my colleagues to join with us in adopting and ratifying, without amendment, the pension protection bill that will be before us. It will be meaningful for many retirees today. It will be more meaningful for every retiree in the future. I end by thanking Chairman Grassley and Chairman Enzi for their tireless work, and ranking members Kennedy and Baucus for their cooperation, and the staffs who put in so much time to make this bill a reality for millions of Americans.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, tonight I thank a number of people and acknowledge their very hard work: Chairman Mike Enzi of the HELP Committee and Ranking Member Kennedy have been indispensable; Senator Grassley, who has been fantastic, along with his ranking member Max Baucus; John O'Neill of the staff of the Finance Committee; Diann Howland and Kara Marchione of the HELP Committee staff; my staff, Ed Eigee, Glee Smith and Mike Quiello; and, in particular, Senators Coleman and Lott, who have worked so tirelessly to bring us to this moment.

For a second I would like to focus on what this moment is. There are three distinct winners tonight. In the short run, the winners are tens of thousands of employees in the airline industry confronted within the next 30 to 60 days with a loss of up to 70 percent of their pensions with them going on the back of the PBGC. They will be grateful for the opportunity this bill gives to allow them and their pensions to be honored.

Secondly, in the long run, tens of millions of Americans employed by some of the greatest corporations in this country whose pensions have come into jeopardy over time because of changes in the workforce, changes in longevity, and the pressures that have been put on the pension system.

Most importantly, the big winner tonight is the taxpayers of the United States. Because this Congress, in a bipartisan fashion, has come together and said: We can modernize our pension laws. We can keep pensions from being defaulted upon and going on the back of the PBGC. And we can prevent the type of failures that in the past have cost the American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

We had an earlier bill that failed tonight. It consolidated many efforts to bring about changes for many Americans. But as we close this session tonight, with the adoption of this particular piece of legislation, we will find the best in this Senate, where Republicans and Democrats have come together to do what is right for the taxpayers.

Lastly, I want to say in particular to the two Senators from Texas and the two Senators from Ohio--Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Voinovich, and Mike DeWine--how much I appreciate their consent for us to move tonight and to work with them to see to it that the concerns they had are addressed in the months and years ahead.

I yield the floor.

Type III supporting organizations and excess business holdings

I ask unanimous consent I be included as a cosponsor of this amendment.

Madam President, the heart and soul of comprehensive immigration reform is first and foremost the foundation of a secure border. When we debated in the Senate the comprehensive immigration bill that was finally passed, Senator Sessions, Senator Cornyn, Senator Kyl, myself, Senator Santorum, and others were sponsors of the amendment that called on the border security being the trigger for any program granting legal status to someone who is here illegally. That still is the case and is still the foundation on which we must build comprehensive immigration reform.

The American people know that in 1986, the last time Congress reformed immigration laws, we granted amnesty and promised border security. We gave amnesty, but we did not secure the borders. That is why we had a 3-million illegal alien problem in 1986 and we have a 12- million illegal alien problem today.

It is absolutely essential, too, as the Senator from Arizona said, to put our money where our mouth is. The amount of money proposed by the Senator is truly an emergency. There is no greater domestic issue in this country than the problems on our southern border with Mexico. There is no greater challenge to American business, industry, and agriculture than to have a functioning and a working and a meaningful guest worker program. None of those can be accomplished without first securing the border so people come to the United States the right way and the legal way.

Our country has always had a pathway to citizenship and it is known as legal immigration. Only with the enforcement of our laws and respect for those laws can we bring about a return to legal immigration into the United States of America.

I have commented often in speeches I have made around my State that this is a great nation in which we live. You don't find anybody trying to break out of the United States of America. They are all trying to break in because we are a nation of hope and promise. But with an absence of respect for our own security on our own border, we ask for and will end up getting significant trouble.

Senator Cornyn has brought to the floor a perfect idea: an emergency supplemental as a part of the Department of Defense authorization to ensure that border security becomes meaningful and becomes real. It is absolutely true, it is a national security issue. And, it is absolutely true that it is a matter of the defense of our Nation. It is fundamentally true that it is the foundation for whatever comprehensive reform this Senate and the House will ever agree to.

I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the Cornyn amendment.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.