Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate

proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3206, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules Committee be discharged from further consideration of S.J. Res. 7 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.

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

The joint resolution (S.J. Res. 7) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

S.J. Res. 7

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in

accordance with section 5581 of the Revised Statutes (20

U.S.C. 43), the vacancy on the Board of Regents of the

Smithsonian Institution, in the class other than Members of

Congress, occurring because of the expiration of the term of

Roger W. Sant of Washington, D.C., as filled by the

reappointment of Roger W. Sant, for a term of 6 years,

effective October 25, 2007.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules Committee be discharged from further consideration of S.J. Res. 8 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.

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

The joint resolution (S.J. Res. 8) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

S.J. Res. 8

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in

accordance with section 5581 of the Revised Statutes (20

U.S.C. 43), the vacancy on the Board of Regents of the

Smithsonian Institution, in the class other than Members of

Congress, occurring because of the expiration of the term of

Patricia Q. Stonesifer of Washington, is filled by the

reappointment of Patricia Q. Stonesifer, for a term of 6

years, effective December 22, 2007.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 276, and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent the amendment to the resolution be agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc, and that any statements related thereto be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.

I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to consideration of S. Res. 285, which was submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 286, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 287, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. 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, en bloc, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 276, S. Res. 236.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, en bloc, and any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 255 and that the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. 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, en bloc, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 277 and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 278 and the Senate then proceed to its consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that the Armed Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 26 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 9:30 a.m., Wednesday August 1; that on Wednesday, following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that there be a period of morning business for 30 minutes, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each and the time under the control of the Republican leader or his designee; that following the period of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 976 and resume consideration of the Ensign amendment No. 2538, with 30 minutes of debate prior to a vote in relation to the amendment, with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Ensign and Baucus or their designees, with no second- degree amendments in order prior to the vote; that upon the use or yielding back of the time, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the amendment without further intervening action or debate; that on Wednesday at 12 noon, Senator Byrd be recognized to speak as in morning business for up to 30 minutes.

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

Mr. President, I rise in strong opposition to the Alexander amendment. It is a bad idea. The amendment would take away $300 million from port security, rail security, and all the grant programs that fund the first responders in each of our home States. It would rob the Border Patrol, Customs Enforcement, and the Coast Guard of the resources they need to keep our Nation safe. It would be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The amendment would take $300 million and give it to departments of motor vehicles. Let me say that again. This amendment takes funds off the border, and gives funds to departments of motor vehicles. That is because the REAL ID Act will require every citizen to obtain a new driver's license from your State. To do that, you will need a birth certificate, your Social Security card, and some way of verifying your current address. It applies to everyone.

It will require States to reissue more than 245 million driver's licenses--let me say that again. It will require States to reissue more than 245 million driver's licenses--only after certifying that the person requesting the document is an American citizen or in the country legally. States are also being asked to build a whole new set of databases and other information technology to link up with the Federal database and with other States.

All in all, the national ID system will cost $23 billion--with a ``B''--$23 billion for the States to implement, and we are going to take away $300 million from port security and rail security and first responders in our home States and think that is going to make a difference.

This amendment would only provide 1.3 percent of that $23 billion cost. That does nothing to help the States. In fact, it is an afront to them to say ``we hear your complaints,'' and then provide them with a 1-percent solution.

Beyond the funding issues this amendment creates, endorsing REAL ID would be a real mistake. The REAL ID Act puts massive new Federal regulations on the States. From new databases and fraud monitoring, to new network and data storage capacity, the States will be tasked with an enormous range of new regulations and new requirements.

Once REAL ID becomes effective, every State's department of motor vehicles will have to play immigration official. DMV workers will be tasked with reconciling discrepancies in Social Security numbers with the Social Security Administration. Departments of motor vehicles will have to require proof of ``legal presence'' in the United States from immigrants.

REAL ID also creates enormous privacy concerns. REAL ID is a national

ID card. Make no mistake about that. Every citizen who wants to get on a plane, who wants to enter a Federal building, and, possibly, who even wants to get a job will have to be a part of it. We should not be funding something such as that without a real debate in Congress about the wisdom of such a program.

One month ago, 52 Senators voted to prohibit the expansion of REAL ID in the immigration bill. I hope we do not retreat from that progress by suddenly agreeing to this amendment to fund--at a 1-percent level--REAL ID. The way to improve our country's homeland security is not by outsourcing it to the States' Department of Motor Vehicles. Our security is improved by hiring more border agents, strengthening Customs and the Coast Guard, and ensuring local law enforcement has the tools they need to prepare for and respond to terrorist threats.

This amendment sets the wrong priorities for homeland security, and I urge its defeat.

I yield the floor.

I thank Senator Byrd for this important clarification. I thank Senator Levin for being such a leader on this issue. I think it is important that people understand that this is not an issue that the northern states just decided to raise in the interest of getting our fair share. It is a matter of national security. The 9/11 Commission's report cites a lack of balance in manpower between the northern and southern borders. They note that the would-be terrorists in the millennium plot were detained on the northern border.

This is not about being parochial. This is about our national security. This is about making sure that we have the resources to stop a terrorist from bringing materials for a dirty bomb in from Canada. It's about stopping the flow of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs like meth and marijuana that come in from the north each year.

So I thank Chairman Byrd for clarifying that the additional Border Patrol personnel and funding contained in the Graham-Pryor amendment is not just going to go to the southern border, but will go to both of our borders. This amendment is vital to our homeland security, and I think that if the northern border gets 20 percent of the resources outlined in the amendment, we will have really done something significant to enhance the security of our 4,300 mile border with Canada. And so I thank the authors of the amendment, one of whom is here with us.

Senator Graham, can you clarify that the intent of your amendment was to make additional Border Patrol agents and funding available for both the northern and southern border?