Floor Statements

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I take this opportunity to congratulate my friend, the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, who has achieved the distinction of being the longest serving Senator in the history of the Senate. Even though this is definitely a noteworthy achievement, what has set Senator Byrd apart from all others who have served as Senators is the dedication he has shown to the duties of his office, his respect for the traditions of the Senate, and his leadership of this body during his service in the Senate.

As President pro tempore, majority leader, and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, he has succeeded in protecting and enforcing the rules of the Senate, first written by Thomas Jefferson during his service as Vice President and the Presiding Officer of the Senate, and he used his leadership skills to successfully lead the Senate in changing the rules when a consensus for modernizing the rules permitted. His insights into the needs of his constituents and his devotion to their well-being have been admirable.

Perhaps his greatest contribution to our understanding of the Senate was his authorship of the ``Addresses on the History of the United States Senate,'' the most comprehensive account of the role the Senate has played over the years.

I commend the Senator from West Virginia for his illustrious and record-breaking career in the Senate, and I wish for him many more years of service in this body.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is approving today the conference report on this supplemental appropriations bill.

The bill provides funding to replenish the spending accounts of the Department of Defense, the Department of State, as well as other agencies and departments of the Government which are engaged in the war on terror. The conference report also makes available needed funding for efforts to repair and rebuild the homes, businesses, and public facilities that were damaged by hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast region last year.

A bipartisan majority of the conferees have reconciled the differences between the two bills and reached agreement on the conference report. The House also approved the conference report by a vote of 351 to 67.

The conference agreement provides a total of $94.519 billion. Of this amount, over $70 billion is provided to carry out the global war on terror and to cover the expenses of ongoing operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Title II of the agreement provides $19.338 billion for hurricane related damage and recovery costs. Title III provides $500 million for agriculture disaster assistance to hurricane affected areas. Title IV includes $2.3 billion for influenza pandemic preparation and response activities. Title V provides $1.9 billion for various border security initiatives. Title VI includes $27.6 million for the Architect of the Capitol to address health and safety concerns in the utility tunnels in the Capitol complex. Finally, title VII includes general provisions and technical corrections.

This conference agreement is the result of hard work and true compromise between the House and Senate, and I am pleased the Senate is prepared to approve it.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I move to reconsider the vote.

Madam President, I thank all Senators for their patience and support during our deliberations on this conference report. I think the vote reflects strong sentiment that we have reached an agreement that is fair. It reflects respect for the administration's budget request and remaining within that budget request.

I appreciate the cooperation of all members of our Appropriations Committee and the full Senate as well.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Has the time allocated under the order for the Democratic side been used?

Mr. President, I am happy to proceed at this point to point out some of the changes made in the conference committee which enabled us to get a conference report agreed to between the House and Senate conferees and to be consistent with the requirements of the administration.

The administration had sent a pretty clear message that a veto of this conference report could be expected if the total amount exceeded the amount requested by the President for emergency appropriations for the war on terror and other needed expenses to help with the recovery from the hurricanes that damaged the gulf coast area of our State.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations had numerous amendments offered during the markup of this legislation, many of which were related to other issues and other needs, all of which our committee thought were legitimate and requests which should be met.

In the conference with the House, it became apparent we were going to have to yield on some provisions we agreed to and put in our bill. The House, likewise, recognized their bill was not perfect either, it could be improved, and some of the Senate suggestions for additional funding in some areas were agreed to by the House.

We wound up with a conference report which recommends $94.43 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, principally in connection with the war on terror; hurricane recovery benefits are made available, principally to the gulf coast region of our country; preparations for a possible pandemic flu problem, which has been a cause for concern in which funds were requested by the administration specifically for that purpose; and other activities related to these principal subjects.

The level of funding is $14.47 billion below the Senate-passed bill but is $2.48 billion above the House-passed bill.

There are some specific areas of interest that were debated in the Senate which I am pleased to report were recognized by the conference committee as worthwhile expenditures and investments of Federal funds. Principally, in our State of Mississippi, the Navy retirement home located in Gulfport, MS, which was virtually destroyed by the hurricane, there was no specific request made by the administration for funding of that. The House hadn't put money in the bill to deal with that specific issue. The Senate did include substantial funding, over $100 million, to deal with that problem. The conferees agreed, yielded to the Senate on that issue. The administration has indicated it will not veto the bill over that provision.

There are other similar provisions along the line where the Senate had insisted that funds be included. Agriculture disaster assistance, for example, had not been requested by the administration.

While keeping with the challenge to restrict the funding for benefits related to damages caused by hurricanes, we did provide, for example, $37.5 million

for the Foreign Service Agency to respond to damages caused by the hurricanes of 2005. Neither the President's request nor the House- passed bill included similar funding.

Of this spending, $5 million is for additional salaries and expenses incurred by the Foreign Service Agency to respond to damages, and $32.5 million is for the Emergency Conservation Program. Real benefits are going to flow from this conference report because of action the Senate had taken and defended successfully in conference with the House. We are assured the administration will use these funds to try to help those landowners and those involved in production agriculture recover from the devastation of these hurricanes.

There are other individual accounts, including one for $25 million for the working capital fund of the Department of Agriculture. This was requested by the President, I point out.

This conference report reflects a fair compromise between what we were trying to do in the Senate bill, point out some areas we thought had been underfunded or left out of other requests by the administration for disaster relief, and still deal with the reality that we have to be responsive and we have to stay within the restraints dictated by good conscience, good government.

This conference report meets that challenge. I am pleased to be able to present it on behalf of the Committee on Appropriations for the Senate and urge it be agreed to.

I don't know if any Senators have requests for time for debate of this bill, but inasmuch as there is time remaining on the Democratic side, I will reserve the remainder of the time allocated to our side of the aisle.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I am happy to yield to the Senator from New Hampshire.

Mr. President, it is not my intention to use all of the time available to this side. I have had no requests for speaking time for any Senator on our side on the conference report. So the disagreement can be obviated very quickly with my assurance that I am going to speak for no more than 3 or 4 minutes, and then I was going to yield back all the time remaining under this conference report under my control. I advised the Senator from New Hampshire of that. That is why he made the request, because it was not going to infringe on anybody's time, considering the order under which we are operating.

I will proceed to conclude the debate on the conference report and let everybody work out their differences on who speaks next and for how long.

I am pleased we were able to get a bipartisan agreement on this conference report. Senate conferees worked together, Republicans and Democrats, to identify the priorities, to have suggestions fully considered and fairly considered. I am proud of the work product of our Committee on Appropriations in the Senate. I am particularly grateful for the support of the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, who is the ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations. He cooperated in every respect in terms of scheduling hearings, working to make sure that our

committee had all the facts we needed to proceed to making a decision on the President's request.

Our staff members are the very best. We are very fortunate in the Senate to have the benefit of the services of Keith Kennedy, who is staff director of the Appropriations Committee, and his counterpart on the other side, Terry Sauvain, is equally dutiful and dependable in his efforts on behalf of our committee. Chuck Keiffer managed much of the floor activity and was at the markup session that we had that ran way past midnight the night we were completing action on this conference report. He was very supportive of the efforts and the needs of our committee. Senator Ted Stevens, former chairman of the full committee, is chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He and his counterpart, Dan Inouye, are two of the finest Senators who have ever served in the Senate. Their responsibility was to deal with the request relating to defense issues. This was mainly a Defense appropriations request the President submitted for the war on terror. But there were other provisions as well related to that conflict and our effort to defend our security interests. There were State Department accounts involved. We had the benefit at the hearings of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all talking about the needs for funding of our activities to protect our country's security.

The chairman of the subcommittee that has responsibility for those accounts in the State Department and foreign operations is Mitch McConnell, who is a distinguished Senator from Kentucky and our assistant leader. He turned in yeoman work, along with his counterpart on the other side, Pat Leahy of Vermont. These are examples of how the committee came together, Republicans and Democrats, and made the decisions that had to be made, negotiated hard and diligently with the House to work out differences between our two bills and considered every request the administration made of the Congress for these appropriations.

I want to single out two other subcommittee staff members. All of the clerks worked hard because almost every subcommittee had a role to play in shaping the final outcome. But on the Defense Subcommittee, Sid Ashworth, who is the clerk, Charlie Houy, who is the Democratic counterpart on that committee, are so dependable and so experienced and dedicated to their jobs, it reflects great credit on the Senate for people such as those I have mentioned today who worked so hard on this conference report. I am delighted to be associated with them and honored to chair the committee. They make my job so much more easy than could possibly be imagined because of their skill and their professionalism and the hard work they turned in to achieve the result we did, not just to pass this bill but to serve the interests of our country.

I am happy to recommend this conference report to the Senate. I yield back the remainder of the time available under the order.

Mr. President, each year many of America's best and brightest high school students come together to compete in the John C. Stennis National Student Congress. For nearly 30 years Harold Keller has been the driving force behind this event, which has provided thousands of young people an opportunity to develop leadership skills and learn about Congress.

Harold Keller is known as ``Mr. Congress'' within the National Forensic League, which encompasses the National Student Congress as part of its comprehensive national speech and debate program. Each year he has worked tirelessly to make the week-long competition run smoothly and fairly. But perhaps more importantly, he has also made time to provide personal encouragement and guidance to many of those who take part.

It is this commitment and compassion that has made him not only an integral part of the National Student Congress but also a memorable force in the lives of many students who have participated through the years.

In addition to his leadership of the Student Congress, Harold Keller is a tireless champion of speech and debate education throughout the Nation. He has spent many weekends away from home conducting local and district tournaments and seminars. Despite retiring as a speech and debate teacher at West High School in Davenport, IA, in 2003, Mr. Keller continues his service on the Executive Council of the National Forensic League and continues to provide leadership and inspiration not only to students, but also to teachers and coaches who view him as a mentor. It was in recognition for his lifelong efforts that the National Forensic League inducted him into its Hall of Fame.

Mr. Keller has faithfully lived his life by the philosophy expressed on a poster which hangs in his office quoting the words of Forest Witcraft:

A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank

account was,

The sort of house I lived in or what kind of car I drove.

But the world may be different because I was important in the

life of a child.

When the 2006 John C. Stennis National Student Congress convenes in Grapevine, TX, June 18-23, with over 420 competitors from throughout the United States, the Stennis Center for Public Service, which sponsors the event, will honor Harold Keller by establishing the Harold Keller Public Service Leadership Award. Beginning next year, the Keller Award will be presented annually to a former Student Congress competitor who has made significant contributions to his or her community, State, or Nation through public service leadership. The Harold

Keller Award will recognize individuals who have best applied the lessons learned through participation in the Student Congress to become outstanding leaders in public service.

There is perhaps no better way to recognize and honor Mr. Keller's commitment and leadership than through this award. Each year, the winner will return to the National Student Congress to serve as a role model and inspiration to the newest class of participants.

In recognition of the establishment of this award and of Mr. Keller's many years of selfless leadership, the Stennis Center will present him with a replica of the small, handleless gavel which sits on the rostrum of this Chamber today. This gavel, a very significant symbol of the Senate, was used by Vice President John Adams to call the first Senate to order in 1789 in New York and has, according to tradition, rested on the rostrum of the Senate during its meetings since then. The replica of the original ivory gavel is sculpted from marble that was once part of the Capitol.

It is hoped that Harold Keller will receive the replica of this historic Senate gavel as a symbol of our gratitude for his patriotism and tireless leadership in providing opportunities for young men and women to prepare for public service. Ultimately, however, the greatest reward for him, and for our Nation, must be the quality and character of the leadership that will come from those who benefited from his hard work, teaching, and guidance.

We pay tribute to Harold Keller for the wonderful leadership opportunities he has provided over the past three decades for American youth participating in the John C. Stennis National Student Congress, and congratulate him on the well deserved honor of having a national award for public service leadership established in his name.

Mr. President, I thank those who have come to the floor today to help honor our former colleague in the Senate, Bob Dole. I don't know of anyone who has had more of an influence on my career in the Senate than Bob Dole, although Howard Baker, who was the Republican leader when I first arrived in the Senate in 1978, also had a great deal to do with my career here.

I don't know who coined the phrase ``compassionate conservative,'' but Bob Dole was the epitome of a compassionate conservative. His legislative record is replete with examples of his leadership to help ensure the formulation and implementation of policies by our Federal Government that recognized the needs of those who were unable to care for themselves, or were unable to make progress economically, without the assistance of the Government.

He authored the Americans with Disabilities Act and helped lead the way for many Americans by his example of how one can overcome disabilities. My friend Gordon Smith mentioned his authorship of the book ``One Soldier's Story.'' That should be required reading for every American. It was a heart-warming yet heartbreaking account of his experiences in World War II in combat and his long road to recovering from the painful and life-threatening injuries he sustained in battle.

You can also look to examples of when he was a leader in the Agriculture Committee on which I had the good fortune to serve as a new member, at a time when he was one of the true leaders in formulating agricultural policy for our Nation. He worked easily across the aisle with Herman Talmadge, the chairman of the committee at that time, and with George McGovern, another leader on the committee from South Dakota. They worked together to help craft improvements in the School Lunch Programs and other feeding programs that assist Americans who are unable to provide for their own nutritional needs. Think about that. This was at a time when the Federal Government was pretty well leaving these responsibilities to State and local governments, charitable organizations, and the Nation's schools to formulate their own response to these challenges.

But we became a Nation whose record of support for dealing with these problems has become a model for the world. As a matter of fact, he and George McGovern created a worldwide nutrition assistance program that today makes food and nutrition benefits available to the poorest of the poor in Africa and many other countries throughout the world.

He was a leader in establishing a modern veterans benefit program and ensuring that a cabinet-level position was available to help administer this program to be sure that all veterans, those who had disabilities or those who deserved pensions and other benefits because of their age or experiences in war, would have those benefits and could be a part of our national citizenship in every sense of the word.

I recall very vividly when we elected Bob Dole as our leader in the Senate on the Republican side. He was a master at getting things done, at working out problems, at bringing people together who had disparate views on subjects that we needed to take action on and deal with. He worked hard. He knew everybody's personal interests and disposition. I was amazed at how he could stand before the Senate and stay there until the late hours of the evening, working out the intricacies of a tax reform bill, which he helped craft as chairman of the Finance Committee, in charge of tax policies for our country.

He was a Senator's Senator in every respect, a warm-hearted, humorous, delightful companion, who enriched the lives of all who served with him in the Senate. I suppose the highlight for me in my relationship with Senator Dole was the nominating convention, when he was selected to be the Republican Party candidate for President of the United States. I was very excited about that. It was a wonderful decision. I could not think of anybody who would be better as President of the United States than Bob Dole. I remember the night that the convention nominated him and he walked out on the stage to accept the nomination. It was really quite an event. Also, that night, I recall while they were counting the ballots on the floor, he invited Chuck Grassley from Iowa, our colleague in the Senate, and me to be with his family up in the suite in the hotel in San

Diego to watch the last votes being counted, and then to proceed into the convention hall to accept the nomination.

Mr. President, we miss Bob Dole's leadership in the Senate. We are delighted, though, the Senate is taking time to recognize the great service that he rendered during his career here.

Mr. President, after a great deal of hard work by both bodies, I am pleased that the Senate now has under its consideration the conference report to accompany H.R. 4939, the fiscal year 2006 emergency supplemental appropriations bill.

Overall, this bill which was requested by the President has two major points of focus. First, it provides needed funding to replenish the spending accounts of the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and other agencies and departments of the Government engaged in the global war on terror through the remainder of this fiscal year. Second, this supplemental includes critical funding for continued efforts to address the damage caused by the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005.

The bill was adopted by the Senate on May 4, and we began discussions with our colleagues from the other body shortly thereafter. A bipartisan majority of the conferees reconciled the differences between the two bills and reached agreement on the conference report on June 8. The House approved the conference report this morning by a rollcall vote of 351 to 67.

The conference agreement provides a total of $94.519 billion. Of this amount, over $70 billion is provided to carry out the global war on terror and to cover the expenses of ongoing operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Title II of the conference agreement provides $19.338 billion for hurricane-related damage and recovery costs. Title III provides $500 million for agriculture disaster assistance to hurricane affected areas. Title IV includes $2.3 billion for influenza pandemic preparation and response activities. Title V provides $1.9 billion for various border security initiatives. Title VI includes $27.6 million for the Architect of the Capitol to address health and safety concerns in the utility tunnels in the Capitol complex. Finally, title VII includes general provisions and technical corrections.

This conference agreement is the result of hard work and true compromise between the House and Senate. This bill provides critically needed funding to our troops in the field and it helps continue the recovery process on the gulf coast. The overall funding level meets the amount requested by the administration, and I hope this agreement will receive bipartisan support in the Senate.

All members have had the opportunity to review the conference agreement, and I am happy to respond to any questions Senators may have about its contents. I do hope we will not indulge in needless delay and proceed with some dispatch in the consideration and approval of this agreement.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Alaska for his comments. He is insightful. He is experienced. He understands the implications that would flow from the failure of the Senate to act promptly in approving this conference report. He is chairman of the Defense appropriations subcommittee. He has previously served as chairman of the full committee. He has had a wide range of experience in the military service himself during World War II. I think we should listen to him and we should act in accordance with his suggestions and recommendations. I hope the Senate will not prolong this debate unnecessarily.

Everybody has a right to be heard. Everybody has a right to express their views. But the opportunity is now. Let's finish talking about this bill this evening and let's vote on it the first thing in the morning--whenever it is the pleasure of the leader for us to do so. I commend him and thank him for his strong leadership.

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

Mr. President, we are happy to have an indication of support for the conference report from the distinguished Senator from Colorado.

I, too, join him in regretting we could not do more for the agricultural producers who sustained setbacks all around the country because of unfortunate weather conditions and other problems earlier this year.

We had, as the Senate remembers, an amendment in the markup of this bill in this Senate Committee on Appropriations adding about $4 billion for a wide range of needs in the agricultural sector. I regret, too, we were not able to sustain that provision in negotiations with the House counterparts on the Committee on Appropriations.

We did have difficulty in expanding the provisions beyond the narrow request the President made for funding for the Departments of Defense and State to continue to wage a successful war against terror and to provide needed assistance in the gulf region for further recovery efforts and rebuilding efforts as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Those were the limitations.

The President had threatened to veto the bill if it contained any more than had been requested by the administration for urgent supplemental funding. We were over the barrel, as they say. In negotiations with the House, this is the best we could do.

The conference agreement is the result of a lot of hard work and compromise, as well, between the House and the Senate. The bill provides critically needed funding to our troops and helps continue the recovery as a result of the damages sustained in Hurricane Katrina. The funding level meets the requests of the administration. We will look at the other needs in agriculture and other areas in the regular fiscal year 2007 funding cycle.

We are having hearings now throughout our Committee on Appropriations and the subcommittees that have jurisdiction over these different areas of responsibilities. I am assured we are going to do our best to continue to meet the needs of production agriculture around the country. It is a vital industry. It is the most important industry in my State, surely. More people are involved in agriculture and in processing agricultural commodities than any other economic activity.

I share the Senator's concerns and assure him we will work to identify the needs in his State and around the country as we go through the appropriations process during this next fiscal year. I thank the Senator for his comments.

I yield the floor and 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 Senate resume consideration of the pending conference report on Wednesday immediately following morning business. I further ask consent that there be 25 minutes of debate controlled by the chairman and 75 minutes controlled by the ranking member. I further ask consent that following the use or yielding back of time, the conference report be set aside, and further that at 10 o'clock a.m. on Thursday, June 15, the Senate proceed to a vote on the adoption of the conference report to accompany H.R. 4939, the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, with no further intervening action or debate.

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

Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Florida for his initiative in bringing this issue in this form to the Senate. I am pleased to cosponsor the legislation with him, Senator Landrieu, and others who may cosponsor this legislation.

We are reaching out to the industry and to experts in related business activities who have experience, a depth of understanding about this challenge we face to give us the benefit of their advice and their counsel.

There are specific recommendations, if they can come to a consensus, on how Government can more responsively address this critical issue. In our State of Mississippi right now, there are people in limbo trying to decide whether they take on the burden of increased costs of insurance, of chances that they may not get insurance they can afford. So rebuilding is slow. Recovery is slow. Businesses are reluctant to embark upon expansion or remodeling, refurbishing, rebuilding, reconstructing from slabs the businesses they had in the gulf coast region.

This is a real dilemma, and it is an economic challenge that no one State can really overcome using the resources of a State government or a national blue ribbon commission, such as the one brought together by Haley Barbour of Mississippi. Our Governor has reached out to the business community and individuals who have experience who could be of help in recovering from the disaster that hit our State.

This is bigger than one State, bigger than our State's commission that Governor Barbour has appointed and that is working hard and making a big difference and making us believe that we can recover, and we will recover. That is a very important part of this situation and this challenge.

I think this is a very important step to take, and it comes at a time when we have laid before the Senate now a conference report making supplemental appropriations to the Departments of State and Defense for the war on terror, but as far as our current domestic challenges are concerned, $19 billion to help sustain the recovery and rebuilding that is underway, recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that were so devastating to our gulf coast region.

Mr. President, I commend the Senator.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination on today's executive calendar: No. 705, Charles Rosenberg. I further ask unanimous consent that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 14. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate proceed to a period of morning business for up to 30 minutes with the first 15 minutes under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee and the final 15 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee; further that following morning business, the Senate then resume consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 4939, the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, as under the previous order.

Today the Senate continued to debate the Department of Defense authorization bill. There are two amendments pending, and the chairman will be working with the ranking member to dispose of those amendments. Senators who have amendments to this bill are encouraged to work with the bill managers in order to get their amendments lined up to be offered. We have briefly interrupted work on this bill to turn to the emergency supplemental appropriations conference report that was made available earlier today. The vote on the conference report will occur at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning. Additional votes will also occur on Wednesday relating to Defense authorization amendments.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 75 minutes controlled by the ranking member on the supplemental appropriations conference report be controlled as follows: Mr. Reid, 10 minutes; Ms. Landrieu, 20 minutes; Mr. Durbin, 15 minutes; Mr. Dayton, 10 minutes; Mr. Harkin, 15 minutes; Mr. Akaka, 5 minutes.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.