Floor Statements

Madam President, I will yield back the remaining time on the Democratic side.

I ask unanimous consent the vote in relation to the Kyl amendment No. 1432 occur at 11:30 a.m., with the provisions of the previous order governing consideration of this amendment remaining in effect.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Vitter amendment No. 1375 now be the pending business.

Madam President, I understand this amendment is acceptable to both sides.

I move to reconsider the vote and move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Amendment No. 1378 to Amendment No. 1373

Will the Senator from Montana yield?

My understanding is over the last decade there have been 28 Presidential disasters which occurred in that region.

So 28 times in the last 10 years there has been a major disaster that has been responded to, whether it is a fire in the park, on the Federal land, or a border issue or whatever, so this is not just about Whitefish, am I correct?

It is about the entire region and the ability for all the different agencies to respond, is that correct?

That clarifies the importance for this emergency center. I thank the Senator.

Has all the time been used on this amendment?

I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Madam President, Senator McCain has an amendment that he will speak to in a moment. I wish to let all Senators know I appreciate their cooperation. We are working through a number of amendments on both sides that I am hoping we can get through this afternoon. Senator McCain will speak to his amendment now, and we are hoping to have a vote around 2 to settle that and several others. If Members have an amendment they are working on and have some last-minute language to work on, please get it done because we would like to finish this bill today.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I thank my colleague from Ohio for his statement in opposition to the McCain amendment.

I rise as well to speak on behalf of Senator Byrd who, as we all know, is home recovering from a serious illness. The committee bill does include $39.7 million for the continued expansion of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, Advanced Training Center. The ATC, which opened back in 2005, provides advanced firearms and tactical training to CBP law enforcement personnel and personnel of other Federal agencies.

The center is expanding in phases. It is consistent with this master plan I hold in my hand. This plan actually was transmitted to Congress back in 2007 and was approved then by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security.

This master plan accommodates advanced training consistent with the mission of securing our borders. CBP employees are stationed throughout the Nation at land and border crossings, at airports, at seaports, and other urban environments with a need for practical, unique, progressive, and flexible training.

There is no other training of this kind, I want my colleagues to know, and there has never been a time that it has been needed more.

Senator Byrd strongly--he wants us to know--supports the Advanced Training Center and its mission and is going to continue to fight hard for the security of this great country. Customs and Border Protection needs and deserves the advanced training facility to assure that the more than 50,000 Customs and Border Protection agents, officers, and other personnel have the training they require when they are sent in harm's way.

This facility is expected to train over 3,200 law enforcement and other employees in fiscal year 2009, and that is expected to grow to more than 5,000 each year.

I urge our colleagues to vote against that plan.

I, again, would like everyone to know we are hoping Senator Rockefeller will be back shortly. He will speak on this amendment. We are hoping to set up this amendment for a vote around 2 o'clock.

Madam President, with that, I rise to offer the Dodd-Lieberman amendment No. 1458, which I understand is at the desk.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, we are hoping to get a vote in the next 15 minutes, about 2 o'clock, so we can continue to move this bill forward.

I note that there is a Senator here who wishes to speak in morning business. I am happy to accommodate him, but hopefully we will have this agreement and be able to move forward on that very shortly.

I wanted to advise all Senators.

I ask unanimous consent that at 2 p.m., the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the McCain amendment No. 1378, with the time between now and then equally divided and controlled in the usual form, with no amendment in order to the amendment prior to a vote in relation thereto.

I yield back the time on this side.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. President, we are working with the Republicans at this time to come up with a list of remaining amendments this afternoon so we can make progress. We hope to be able to move forward shortly on a number of amendments that will be pending that we have agreed on.

While we are doing that, the Senator from Illinois would like to speak as in morning business. How much time does the Senator need?

Mr. President, I yield 4 minutes to the Senator from Illinois for morning business.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments be set aside and that it be in order for me to call up the following two amendments en bloc: amendment No. 1459 and amendment No. 1455, as modified.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendments be agreed to en bloc and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc.

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

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments be set aside and that amendment No. 1458 be the pending amendment.

Mr. President, the amendment that is now pending is an amendment that increases fire grant programs by $10 million. It is fully offset. The fire grant programs provide funds to equip, train, and hire our firefighters. The committee provided an increase in the bill because in 2007 there were over 20,731 applications, totaling $3.1 billion, and FEMA could only approve 5,132 of those applications due to limited funds.

I hope we can move quickly to a vote on this amendment. We wish to move forward. I know several Senators have amendments they wish to offer, and if we can move to a vote on this fairly quickly, I think everybody would be amenable to that.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to consider a managers' package.

Mr. President, in a moment I will send a managers' package to the desk. We are waiting for one quick decision. Hopefully, in a moment, I will be sending a managers' package to the desk with a number of

amendments that have been worked out on both sides. We hope to adopt that package.

I know Members have been waiting to get to votes. We have several Senators who require votes on their amendments. We hope to start that fairly shortly, as soon as this package is adopted.

Amendments Nos. 1401; 1447; 1457; 1463, as Modified; 1456; 1454, as Modified; 1466, as Modified; 1465; and 1464, as Modified, to Amendment

No. 1373

So, Mr. President, I send to the desk a managers' package, and I ask unanimous consent that the amendments be considered, and modified, as indicated, where indicated, and agreed to en bloc; and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc; that the consideration of these amendments appear separately in the Record, and any statements relating to their consideration be printed in the Record.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Hatch amendment, No. 1428, as modified, be agreed to.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

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

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the only amendments remaining in order to the Byrd substitute amendment No. 1373 and H.R. 2892, and that at 8:25 p.m. the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the amendments in the order listed; that prior to each vote, there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that no other amendments be in order; further, that upon disposition of the Vitter amendment No. 1467, the Dodd amendment No. 1458, as amended, if amended, be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that after the first vote in the sequence, the vote time be limited to 10 minutes each. The amendments in order are Vitter amendment No. 1467, Dodd amendment No. 1458, Coburn amendment No. 1433, Murray amendment No. 1468, Coburn amendment No. 1434, Grassley amendment No. 1415, and Sanders amendment No. 1430; that upon disposition of the listed amendments, the substitute amendment, as amended, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time, and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill; that upon passage, the Senate insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, and that the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate and that members of the subcommittee be appointed as conferees; further, that if a budget point of order or any other point of order is raised and sustained, then it be in order for the majority manager to offer another substitute amendment minus any offending provision, but including any amendments which had been agreed to, and that no further amendments be in order; that the substitute amendment, as amended, if amended, be agreed to, and the remaining provisions beyond adoption of the substitute remaining in effect; and further, that the cloture motions be withdrawn.

Mr. President, with that, we are ready to vote on the Vitter amendment.

And I will yield back time.

I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I had a chance to discuss amendment No. 1433 with Senator Coburn during the previous vote. I believe he is willing to take a voice vote on it.

I call up amendment No. 1468.

Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the amendment following the vote on the Murray amendment is a Coburn amendment about ensuring that government contracts are competitively awarded. I agree with the premise of the amendment that follows this. However, his amendment is drafted in a way that precludes certain types of contracts that are authorized by statute and have the strong support of Congress. For example, his amendment doesn't acknowledge contracts that are authorized by the Small Business Act, such as minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, businesses owned by service- disabled veterans. The Coburn language also ignores the AbilityOne Program, known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program, which provides job opportunities for blind and disabled Americans through Federal contracts.

The amendment I am offering assures that we do award government contracts competitively but does it in a way that makes sure we take care of small businesses and veteran-owned businesses and women-owned businesses.

I encourage all my colleagues to vote for the Murray amendment.

I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I believe Coburn amendment No. 1434 is in order.

Mr. President, the Senate just adopted an amendment that ensures that the government contracts are competitively awarded. The amendment Senator Coburn is now offering will undo everything we just did to assure that all businesses--small business, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, businesses owned by service- disabled veterans--

will be eligible to bid on these contracts.

I urge the Senate to vote no.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Amendment No. 1415

Mr. President, the next amendment in order is the Grassley amendment No. 1415. I have told the Senator we are willing to take it on a voice vote if he wants to offer it.

I call up amendment No. 1415.

Mr. President, the next amendment and final amendment in order is the Sanders amendment. I believe the Senator will speak.

Mr. President, I rise in opposition to this amendment. I also want fire grants. I want everybody to understand that the committee amendment already has $810 million in it for fire grants. That is an increase of $35 million. We just adopted another amendment to add $10 million to this.

The offset that is in this bill will eliminate all the technology development and design to address capabilities. It decimates the counter-improvised explosive device--IED--technology. It specifically eliminates mass transit-specific counter-IED technologies. It decimates cyber-security research and development. The Senate computers are being attacked today. It eliminates the research to make sure we can stop that. It eliminates development and assessment of high throughput cargo screening technology. The list goes on.

I believe we should be doing all we can for our firefighters. Even the International Association of Firefighters does not support this amendment--although I appreciate the Senator offering this amendment, and I agree with what he would like to do. But the offset decimates much of the technology we need to protect our citizens.

I urge a ``no'' vote.

I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning Program

I welcome a colloquy with my distinguished colleague.

Mr. Menendez. I thank the Senator. I have constituents back in my home State of New Jersey who have highlighted a concern with a current FEMA solicitation for their Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning Program. I am concerned that this solicitation shuts out both small and medium sized businesses. After Hurricane Katrina, FEMA was, rightly so, criticized for issuing sole-source contracts to three very large companies. We need to be sure this pattern is not repeating itself.

I agree that updating the Nation's flood map is critical to managing and reducing the Nation's flood risk, but operating the program to benefit taxpayers by utilizing local, highly qualified businesses, I am sure, will produce the best results for the region, the State, and the country as well.

In addition, I believe that taking local companies, with over a decade of experience and a track record of success, out of regional Indefinite Quantity and Indefinite Delivery contract work is counterproductive and has the potential to cost the taxpayers more money while providing an inferior product.

I thank the Senator from New Jersey for highlighting this issue. I agree that the flood-map program is an instrumental tool in reducing the loss of life and property from floods. The Homeland Security Subcommittee will work with the Senator to review the recent contract solicitation. I am committed to ensuring that DHS invests acquisition dollars in projects that are well planned, competitively awarded, well managed, closely overseen, and best able to serve local needs.

Mr. President, we are now moving to final passage on the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. I thank all our Senators, especially Senator Voinovich, for his cooperation. I want to thank all our staff members, and I will submit their names for the Record. I thank everyone for helping us move this bill forward.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and I move to lay that motion on the table on the last vote.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to morning business.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following colloquy be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following colloquy be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at 2 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at 10 a.m. in room 325 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Healthcare Reform: The Concerns and Priorities from the Perspective of Small Businesses.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety of the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at 10 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the tributes to Senator Coleman in the Congressional Record be printed as a Senate document and that Senators be permitted to submit statements for inclusion until Friday, August 7, 2009.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, July 10; 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 there then be a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

As the majority leader announced earlier tonight, there will be no rollcall votes tomorrow. The next vote is expected to occur around 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

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

I yield my time to the Senator from Ohio, Senator Voinovich.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion upon the table.

The motion to lay upon the table was agreed to.

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

I ask unanimous consent that there be 10 minutes of debate prior to a vote in relation to the Feingold amendment No. 1402, that no amendment be in order to the amendment prior to a vote in relation thereto, with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Murray and Feingold or their designees.

Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the amendment to eliminate congressionally directed allocations of emergency operations center construction funding. The committee bill before the Senate today contains emergency operations center funding of about $20 million. This emergency operations center construction program is an authorized activity under the Stafford Act. The 9/11 Act which was approved by the Senate on a vote of 85 to 8 in July of 2007 reaffirmed this program by approving an amendment to the Stafford Act to adjust the Federal cost share for these projects from 50 percent to 75 percent.

Emergency operations centers are critical to the effective coordination of emergency response, which we all know is necessary to save lives. The State of Texas, for example, has used these Federal funds to improve communications equipment and warning systems for its emergency operations center. The Texas EOC was used effectively in Presidentially declared disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Dean, and others; major flooding in El Paso and Wichita Falls; wildfires in 2006, 2008, and 2009; a tornado in Eagle Pass; and, of course, the recent H1N1 influenza outbreak. The EOC in each one of those cases was the critical node for communication between the layers of government.

The OMB assertion that the EOC program duplicates other programs is really without merit. While EOC construction is an allowable activity under several grant programs, State and local governments have not chosen to use that discretion for this purpose.

Since 2004, only $16.6 million out of the $11.5 billion of other DHS grant funds has been used by State and local governments for EOC construction, only one-tenth of 1 percent. The Emergency Management Performance Grants Program has provided a mere $755,000 to EOC construction. It is clear that the demands for the funds in these programs is great. In order to effectively administer emergency management programs and to equip and train first responders, there is not sufficient funding for EOC construction. In this committee bill, over half of the total amount made available for emergency operations center construction is available for competitive award.

I have listened to the Senator make some very persuasive arguments. I remind all of us that what we are providing is accountability and visibility for where those dollars are going. It is not being done in some bureaucracy where we cannot see it. It is laid out in this bill, and we have heard the arguments of many Senators here on why those funds are being appropriated to where they are. So I urge opposition to the amendment.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, we have had a vigorous debate on the amendment, and I appreciate the passion of the Senator from Wisconsin on this issue. But I again remind my colleagues, what we have had is a very passioned debate, and we have had a thoughtful debate about where these funds are going to go, which, to me, means the Senate is thinking about where their Federal dollars they have out there are going to go and it brings visibility and light. We all have an opportunity now to have a vote on that.

I again urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. President, I believe the time of the Senator from Wisconsin is used up at this point.

Mr. President, if the Senator from Wisconsin yields his time back, I will yield my time back.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

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

Reserving the right to object, can we get the correct number?

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Arizona for offering this amendment. Indeed, Loran-C was established after World War II as a navigational tool for our mariners and aviators. The President has proposed to terminate Loran-C stations on October 1, 2009, with the justification that the federally supported civilian global positioning system is now the primary navigational tool and the Loran-C is no longer needed by the Armed Forces or by the transportation sector or by the Nation's security interests. The Office of Management and Budget has also told us that many agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Defense, do, as the Senator stated, already have backup systems for GPS.

I want to set the record straight about what this committee mark does have in it that is before us. It does provide for the orderly termination of Loran-C beginning January 4, 2010. So the underlying bill does terminate the Loran-C program, and it does so in a way that allows the Coast Guard the time to inform the public and provide for the orderly termination of that program. The committee bill continues operations of Loran-C until January 4, 2010. Then the program is terminated.

Contrary to the sponsor's statement yesterday, there is not $35 million in this bill for Loran-C. This bill does have $18 million. The President in his request did include no funding to pay for the cost to terminate these stations. According to the Coast Guard, which has provided us information, they do need this funding to remove the high- value equipment and electronics hazardous material. They need it to remediate the environmental concerns and to fund a variety of measures to secure the sites until they are fully decommissioned. This money is not to continue the operation of Loran-C. It is to terminate it in a way that is proper and makes sure that while we remove these stations, we are doing it in a responsible way.

What we do in the committee mark is to make sure that the Coast Guard doesn't have to take away money from critical missions--search and rescue or drug interdiction or marine safety or environmental compliance--to terminate this program. We did include funding so that the Loran-C stations could be shut down responsibly.

The administration has sent us a statement of administration policy. I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.

It says:

The Administration appreciates the committee's support for

termination of the Loran-C radio navigation system. The

administration supports the committee's aim to achieve an

orderly termination through a phased decommissioning,

beginning in January 2010, and the requirement that

certifications be provided to document that the Loran-C

termination will not impair maritime safety or the

development of possible GPS back-up capabilities or needs.

So the administration has said that the committee is complying with what they have asked us to do which is to terminate the Loran-C program.

The aim of the amendment is unclear to me. What it actually does is strip the Coast Guard of the authority we have provided in the underlying bill to terminate a program that will indeed save taxpayers $36 million a year.

The way the amendment is written, I oppose it because it will take away what the committee has written in here to terminate the Loran-C program, as the President has requested, in a responsible way, to do it in a way that we deal with the mitigation that needs to be done when we remove equipment such as this. The amendment that has been offered will actually strip the Coast Guard of the authority to do just that.

The committee bill does what the Senator is asking us to do. It does it in a timely and responsible way and does terminate the Loran-C program.

I urge colleagues to support the committee amendment that does it in a responsible way.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, the Senator and I are on the same page. We want to terminate this program. But we have a responsibility, as oversight, to make sure that we do it in a way that mitigates any problems that are out there.

We have high-value equipment. We have electronic hazardous materials that are out there. The Coast Guard--whoever is responsible--has to remediate the environmental concerns. They need to secure these sites where the Loran-Cs are. That is what this funding is for, to make sure it is done responsibly.

If we do not provide the funds in this amendment, the Coast Guard will be required to take the money to do that out of other very important missions that many of us care about, whether it is search and rescue or drug interdiction or marine safety or threats of terrorism. We do not want the Coast Guard to have to take away that money to do that.

I want to specifically say again, the amendment before us, the way it is written, strikes the language that the President requested to provide for the orderly termination by providing authority to sell the Loran-C assets. If this amendment is adopted, they will not be able to sell the Loran-C assets and thereby save taxpayer dollars.

I understand where the Senator is coming from. I know his past concerns about this program. We are going to shut it down. That is what this amendment does. The commandant, who is, in our language, being asked to certify, goes at the behest of the President. As the Senator from Arizona well knows, the President has said he wants the program shut down, and that is what this committee is trying to do, in a responsible way, to save taxpayer dollars in the long run and specifically to be able to sell the Loran-C assets so the taxpayers can regain their money at the end of the day.

I yield the floor.

It is $18 million.

Mr. President, my understanding is the Senator from Maine would like 10 minutes to speak on the McCain amendment. I ask unanimous consent that following the remarks of the Senator from Maine, the Senate vote in relation to the McCain amendment, with no other amendments in order prior to the vote on the McCain amendment, in relation to the amendment.

I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

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

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

Mr. President, we have made great progress over the last day on the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. This is a very important bill that provides for the security of this country.

We have made good progress with a number of amendments that we have worked our way through today. We intend to finish this bill tomorrow. We ask Senators from either side of the aisle to notify either myself or the Senator from Ohio, who is managing for the Republicans on this bill, to let us know this evening if they have any amendments they want to be considered; otherwise they may find themselves not able to offer their amendment.

So we ask all Members to please let us know, the managers of this bill, this evening if there are any amendments you will require a vote on tomorrow. We do intend to finish this bill tomorrow.

I also notify Members that the majority leader intends to file cloture on this bill tonight. If we cannot work our way through it tomorrow, we will be here Friday voting on cloture. So I again ask Members to work with us to finish this bill in a very timely manner.

We have got a lot of work done. We expect that we can finish it tomorrow in a timely fashion if we get the cooperation of all Members. I urge Members to get their amendments in to either myself or the Republican manager of this bill by this evening so we can move forward tomorrow.

Mr. President, I assure the Senator that we do intend to vote on this amendment tomorrow morning. There will be time prior to the vote. We will work out an agreement with the Senator on how much time.

The Senator from Montana is on his way to the floor right now to debate this amendment. I think the Senate has a right to listen to him.

I will say this, having been in the Senate for a long time, we respect other Senators and the knowledge they have about their States. And when they come and talk to one of our committees about a specific need, we listen to them and respect what they know.

I certainly know the Senator from Montana knows this area very well. He has visited it numerous times. He understands the deep concerns that face this region and knows exactly why they need an emergency operations center there. He made a very good argument to the subcommittee, and the subcommittee included it in our mark that is before the Senate today.

The Senator was out on the floor earlier today talking about the importance of having an emergency center located at Whitefish. I will tell all of my colleagues that it is easy to pick out one earmark because it is in someone else's State or region. I am not

from Montana, but I certainly respect the Senator from Montana when he tells me that Montana has suffered numerous natural disasters in recent years, including, I remember, a devastating fire at Glacier National Park.

I do not know all of the geography of this region, but do know that this emergency center in Whitefish, as the Senator from Montana talked to us about it, supports Glacier National Park. That is a national park that all of us have a responsibility for. It is next to an Indian reservation, and Federal land with Federal responsibility. When we talk about an emergency center that assures that we protect the assets of this Nation, I think the Senator from Montana is right in telling our subcommittee that an emergency center is needed there.

The EOCs respond to a lot more than terrorist threats. I remind all of my colleagues of fires, floods, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, and countless other disasters.

I notice that the Senator from Montana is on the floor and he can describe to all of us the importance of this EOC in his region.

Disasters happen anywhere in this country at any time, and our local communities have got to have the tools they need to be able to respond effectively, especially when they are next to national assets such as Glacier National Park and an Indian reservation that the Senator will describe to us. But I want to remind all of our colleagues that these so-called earmarks, congressional mandates that we put into these bills, are here because the Senator has come to the subcommittee, described it to us in detail, put them up on their Web sites, and everyone has an opportunity to look at them.

This subcommittee marked up in subcommittee and full committee and had an opportunity to listen to the Senator from Montana describe the need. We respected the wishes of an individual Senator and his understanding of why this emergency operations center was so badly needed in his State. In having the respect of other Senators, this Senate can do the will of the people.

The interesting thing I think all of us should recognize, in writing out where these are going to be, we actually have them in the light of day. They are held accountable. We do have votes on them. People are able to see them. If we just pass funds over to an agency, these decisions are made without any input from people who live in those States, who know the regions and who know the needs of their communities.

I respect the Senator from Montana when he comes to this subcommittee--and I know Senator Byrd, who chairs this subcommittee-- when he goes to Senator Byrd and makes a case for what he has. Senator Byrd listens to everybody's requests and puts them into these bills. It is done so out of respect for that Senator and the knowledge of his State. I certainly believe the Senator from Montana has made the case. I urge our colleagues to reject this single-minded amendment that simply picks out one Senator's State and says we will not fund an EOC in their State.

I will oppose this amendment tomorrow when we vote on it.

I yield the floor.

We will be voting on this amendment tomorrow morning. There will be time for debate on this amendment as well.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to morning business, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 8, 2009 at 2 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Effects of the Economic Crisis on Community Banks and Credit Unions in Rural Communities.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 8, 2009, in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 10 a.m. in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Climate Change Legislation: International Trade considerations.''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 9 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 10 a.m. in room 562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing titled ``The Federal Protective Service: Time for Reform.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 8, 2009, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife and the Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 to hold a joint hearing at 10 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

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