Wayne Allard

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. ALLARD. I wonder if the Senator will yield, preserving his time, for a unanimous consent request to move forward with the judge vote we have at 5:40.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that at 5:30 today the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc on today's Executive Calendar: No. 556, the nomination of Raymond Gruender to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit; and Calendar No. 557, the nomination of Franklin S. Van Antwerpen, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit. I further ask unanimous consent that following 10 minutes of debate, equally divided between the chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, or their designees, that the Senate proceed to consecutive votes on the confirmation of the nominations, with no further intervening action or debate; further, that following the vote, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. ALLARD. I am willing to modify it.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, May 20, 2004, at 10:15 a.m. on spam.

Mr. ALLARD. 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 Thursday, May 20, 2004, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on ``Oversight of the Extended Custodial Inventory Program.''

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in open Executive Session during the session on May 20, 2004; to consider favorably reporting the nominations of John O. Colvin, to be Judge, U.S. Tax Court, renomination for a second term; Stuart A. Levey, to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement and Juan C. Zarate, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet for a hearing entitled ``Prescription Drug Reimportation'' during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 20, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. in SD-430.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, May 20, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing on S. 2382, the Native American Connectivity Act.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, May 20, 2004, at 10:30 a.m. in Dirksen Senate Building, room 226. I. Nominations Henry W. Saad to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Jonathan W. Dudas to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United states Patent and Trademark Office II. Legislation S. 1735, Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act of 2003 [Hatch, Feinstein, Grassley, Graham, Chambliss, Cornyn, Schumer, Biden]; S. 1933, Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement (ENFORCE) Act of 2003 [Hatch, Feinstein, Cornyn]; S. 1635, A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure the integrity of the L-1 visa for intracompany transferees [Chambliss]; S. 1129, Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2003 [Feinstein, DeWine, Feingold, Kennedy, Leahy, Specter, Edwards, Durbin, Kohl, Schumer]; S. 2013, Satellite Home Viewer Extension Act of 2004 [Hatch, Leahy, DeWine, Kohl]; S. Res. 362, a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate on the dedication of the National World War II Memorial on May 29, 2004, in recognition of the duty, sacrifices, and valor of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in World War II. [Graham (FL), Biden, Chambliss, Durbin, Feingold, Grassley, Hatch, Cornyn, DeWine, Edwards, Graham, (SC)]

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Thursday, May 20, 2004 on ``FBI Oversight: Terrorism and Other Topics'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 226 immediately following the full committee markup scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 226. Witness List Panel I: Robert S. Mueller III, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. I rise in opposition to the Lott amendment and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, we have to keep in mind that the main mission is to secure the safety of Americans both at home and abroad. I believe we are responding to the terrorist threat. We have stood up Northern Command in the military. We have set up a whole new Department dealing with homeland security. At the very beginning of his administration, President Bush made it a priority to build and transform our military after 8 years of operation and maintenance funding shortfalls under the previous administration. Where does one get the money? If the bases and mission are being transformed, savings have to be figured somewhere. I think it is entirely appropriate, both at home and abroad, to review our mission. I agree with many of the points that are being made on this amendment. We have to look at our bases overseas. Certainly our mission has changed considerably over there. As opposed to a large frontal assault, we are now dealing with a terrorist problem which requires a more mobile and modern military to address that threat. We have the same threat at home, and we also need to look at whether bases at home are meeting the mission of the modern threat from terrorism. Those of us in the Senate have heeded the call of the President and I am pleased we are about to take the next step in maintaining a military fully capable of defending our Nation and meeting our foreign policy goals. I continue to support the President's plan to transform our military. This authorization bill builds on the work we in the Congress have already accomplished toward that end. This amendment tends to undermine that effort. I will take this opportunity to review where we are with BRAC. Congress granted the administration the authority in fiscal year 2002, that is the National Defense Authorization Act, to conduct a BRAC round in 2005, providing a critical opportunity to eliminate excess capacity and achieve additional savings that could be used to modernize and transform our Armed Forces to address emerging global threats. The fiscal year 2002 National Defense Authorization Act improved the BRAC language from previous rounds to ensure future infrastructure satisfies emerging national security requirements and to correct earlier abuses of the process. A 2002 GAO report on the 387 closures and realignments in four previous rounds; that is, in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995, reaffirmed that the Department of Defense generated a substantial net savings of somewhere around $17.6 billion, and expects the annual savings of $6.6 billion in fiscal year 2003 to grow. DOD further estimated in March of 2004 that a BRAC round in 2005 will save $5 billion in 2011 and $8 billion annually thereafter. Now, BRAC is a key enabler for DOD transformation initiatives, including global basing and the rebalancing of Active and Reserve Forces. I believe a delay of the 2005 BRAC round already underway delays the effort for us to modernize our forces. I cannot accept the argument that if we do not close bases that somehow or another we are better off. I think we need to have some savings. We need to save money. In the long run, there is going to be more money available for us to meet the changing threat from the terrorists that we now face today. If we are serious about modernizing our facilities and being ready to meet the changing mission, we need to defeat the Lott amendment and we need to move forward with the provision that we have currently in the Defense authorization bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in opposing the Lott amendment. I yield back my time.

Mr. ALLARD

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

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak for 35 minutes.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Defense authorization bill and ask that we proceed quickly to pass this legislation. I thank Chairman Warner for his leadership throughout this session. Clearly, the outcome of the bill reflects his commitment to our military men and women. We live in a very complicated world, and our national security depends on understanding that complexity, reacting to it appropriately when we must, and keeping ahead of it when we can. I commend Senator Warner for a job well done, both during the committee markup and with the full committee in responding to the recent prisoner abuses in Iraq. I also wish to take a moment to thank the ranking member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Senator Bill Nelson, for his efforts on our portion of the bill. While we do not always see eye to eye, there is much on which we agree, and I appreciate the opportunity to work with Senator Nelson on important issues that confront us. I am also pleased by the work the Armed Services Committee has done on both sides of the aisle and fully support the passage of the Defense authorization bill. At the very beginning of his administration, President Bush made it a priority to rebuild and transform our military after 8 years of operation and maintenance funding shortfalls under the previous administration. Those of us in the Senate have heeded this call, and I am pleased that we are about to take the next step in maintaining a military fully capable of defending our Nation and meeting our foreign policy goals. I continue to support the President's plan to transform our military, and this authorization bill builds on the work we in the Congress have already accomplished toward that end. In fact, since 2001, President Bush and Congress have given the Department of Defense the tools to accomplish the following: Fight the war on terror on the offensive; remove threats to our security in Afghanistan and Iraq; liberate nearly 50 million people; provide a more than 21-percent pay raise to our service men and women; expand the use of targeted pay and bonuses; begin to transform our Nation's defenses; improve readiness rates; increase research and development funding by 56 percent; improve the quality of housing for military personnel and their families through privatization and new construction; double investments in missile defense systems; and deploy the first ever land- and sea-based system this fall. Overall, the Committee tackled the difficult task of simultaneously maintaining the transformational efforts in the department, while ensuring enough resources are available to guarantee success for our deployed soldiers overseas. The defense authorization bill includes more than $422 billion in budget authority for Defense programs and represents an increase of 3.4 percent in spending over the last fiscal year. I believe that this bill helps to maintain the high state of readiness that is expected of our military, and also focuses the Department on the future in terms of research and development programs and technologies. Specifically, the more than $68 billion in research and development and the $11 billion directed toward science and technology programs will continue to ensure that our military is the best equipped and prepared force in the future. These increases over fiscal year 2004 have supported a wide range of new systems including the F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter, the destroyer DDX program, unmanned aerial vehicle programs, the Army's future combat system, satellites, communications equipment, and intelligence systems designed to accelerate the availability and capability of future weapons programs. We must continue to make these research and development investments in order to skip a generation of weapons and transform our military into the 21st century fighting force it must become. Investing 3 percent of the budget toward science and technology has long been our goal and with the bill before us, we move a step closer to that goal. While I am pleased at the focus on the weapons and technology available to our warfighters, it is heartening that the committee has not neglected our most valuable resource--the service members themselves. The authorization includes a 3.5 percent pay increase across the board, and also permanently authorizes family separation and imminent danger pay created originally for Operation Enduring Freedom and continuing to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The men and women in the military make great sacrifices for us all as do their dependents and families. The continued progress of improving their quality of life, compensation, and family housing programs should not be overshadowed by any weapons program. As I stated before, our most valuable resource is the personnel in the armed forces, and we must continue to provide the best possible environment for them. In addition to the resources available for personnel and their families, the authorization also provides the near-term readiness and protection equipment needed for the war on terror. Specifically, force protection measures for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan were given considerable attention by committee members. No resource should be spared to ensure that our warfighters have the equipment and training in place to provide for their safety. To that end, $107 million was added for the rapid fielding initiative, $603 million was devoted toward protection gear and combat clothing, and $925 million was added for additional up-armored Humvees and add-on ballistic armor. Clearly this reflects the committee's concern that our soldiers have all the tools they need to be successful while they fight the war on terror. Turning to the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which I have the pleasure of serving as chairman, we exercised oversight for the Department of Defense budget request for strategic, space, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and intelligence support activities. The DOD budget request in these areas included $8.9 billion in procurement, $28.2 billion in research and development, and $3.1 billion in operations and maintenance. The administration budget request also included $15.4 billion for the Department of Energy nuclear weapons and environmental management programs and activities. The committee bill reflects a net increase of about $80 million in research and development and procurement, and the amount requested in operations and maintenance. It also reflects the requested level of funding for Department of Energy programs and activities. The program supports the development and fielding of transformational capabilities, enhanced readiness, and capabilities directly relevant to defending the homeland from current and anticipated forms of attack. The reductions reflect a thorough examination of the administration's budget request. A number of programs were identified in which excess funds were requested or the requested funds were not executable. Others were based on unrealistic schedules or showed unjustified program growth. The committee reduced these funding requests appropriately. As the chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, ensuring full support of missile defense is my most important priority. As I have stated on the floor many times before, it is abundantly clear how important missile defense is to our country. The development of this program is central to homeland defense and to the protection of our friends, allies and deployed forces against growing threats. Overall, $10.2 billion was requested, and the markup reduces that by a net of about $40 million. Significant funding actions in the markup include an increase of $75 million for the ground-based missile defense element to enhance the ability to operate and test concurrently; a $35 million reduction for long lead items for some GMD interceptors; an increase of $90 million for additional PAC-3 missiles; and a reduction of $200 million for the ballistic missile defense system interceptor project, also known as the kinetic energy interceptor, or KEI. The markup includes two missile defense legislative provisions, including one identical to a provision last year that authorizes the use of this year's missile defense R&D funds to field an initial missile defense capability. The other provision of interest relates to the role of the director of the Missile Defense Agency in the Army's Patriot-MEADS program. The provision is intended to ensure that the Patriot MEADS program remains thoroughly integrated in the ballistic missile defense system. Concerning Department of Defense space programs, the markup sustains the amount requested, but does shift some of the funding. Significant reductions are recommended in the transformational communications satellite, or T-SAT, to try to put the program on a healthier development track; and to the EELV launch program because of a delay in one of the launches for which services were being procured in fiscal year 2005. Significant increases recommended include: $35 million in the advanced EHF program, $35 million in the space based infrared program, $25 million for a new operationally responsive satellite payload effort, $15 million for the wideband gapfiller satellite program, and $15 million for ballistic missile range safety technology. The markup includes three space-related provisions, including one that would establish a panel to examine the future of military space launch, and another establishing a new program element for operationally responsive satellite payloads. The markup includes minor adds for strategic forces and intelligence programs, and no significant legislative initiatives in these areas. Related to the Department of Energy, the markup includes $15.4 billion for the Department of Energy Atomic Energy Act programs for fiscal year 2005, the amount requested by the administration. Of this amount, $7.8 billion is for the National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, a $117.9 million increase above the budget request. Key NSSA increases in the subcommittee mark include: $62.9 million for the Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities, RTBF, program, which will help NNSA continue to reduce the amount of deferred maintenance and repair; $20.0 million for the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program, FIRP, to help revitalize the infrastructure of the nuclear weapons complex. This additional funding will reduce the cost and accelerate the completion of the FIRP program; $35 million for safeguards and security. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Secretary of Energy developed and issued a new design basis threat, which added security requirements across the nuclear weapons complex. This additional funding is to help address the increased needs for safeguards and security, including force multiplying technologies. The subcommittee mark provides adequate funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration to advance directed stockpile work, science-based campaigns, and naval reactors programs. These efforts have been funded at the budget request for fiscal year 2005, a $367.0 million increase over the fiscal year 2004 appropriated levels. The subcommittee mark includes authorization at the budget request for several of the continuing nuclear weapons initiatives, including the feasibility study on the robust nuclear earth penetrator, RNEP, the advanced concepts initiative, ACI, the NEPA study on the modern pit facility, and test readiness enhancements. No funding was requested nor authorized for the engineering development, production or deployment of a new or modified nuclear weapon. As was enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2004, there can be no engineering development, or subsequent phase of development, of a low- yield nuclear weapon nor a robust nuclear earth penetrator without a specific authorization from Congress. No such authorization was requested in the fiscal year 2005 budget request and no authorization is included in the subcommittee mark. Turning to the Environmental Management, EM, program, the subcommittee mark includes $7 billion for these activities. This will be the last full fiscal year of funding for the first three major closure sites, including the Rocky Flats Site, the Fernald Closure Project, and the Mound Closure Project. The planned 2006 closure of the these three sites is very good news for DOE and for the United States. The early closure of these sites is expected to result in a cost savings of over $12 billion. Now that DOE will begin shifting the oversight of the closure sites from the Environmental Management program to the Office of Legacy Management, LM, new challenges emerge. Environmental stewardship responsibilities, pension and health care needs, and community concerns will all require a high level of attention to ensure a smooth transition. The subcommittee mark includes a provision that would authorize the Secretary of Energy to exclude from treatment as high-level radioactive waste, that which is stored Department of Energy, DOE, radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel as long as the waste can be appropriately characterized as low-level or transuranic waste. The subcommittee mark also includes $566.6 million for other defense activities, a reduction of $97 million below the budget request for fiscal year 2005, and $108 million for the defense nuclear waste disposal, a reduction of $23 million below the budget request for fiscal year 2005. These amounts authorized include a $92.4 million reduction to the defense related administrative support account. The committee has consistently rejected funding for this account because the funding is for non-defense activities. Once again, I thank my chairman for his superb leadership. I believe that the defense authorization bill is a good one, and that programs that fall under the purview of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee have been dealt with in a measured and responsible way. The Armed Service Committee and its staff have worked diligently and in a bipartisan manner to ensure our military remains the best equipped and best trained fighting force in the world. I would ask my colleagues that we proceed quickly with the Defense authorization, and urge support of the bill. Mr. President, I yield the floor and my remaining time.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. I ask consent to send an amendment to the desk, which will take the slot reserved for the Miller-Schumer-Bond amendment.

Mr. ALLARD. I ask consent that the pending amendment be temporarily laid aside, that I offer an amendment; following the reporting of my amendment, it be laid aside, and the Senate resume debate under the previous order.

Mr. ALLARD. I ask that the clerk report amendment No. 3118.

Mr. ALLARD. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. ALLARD. I yield the floor. Amendment No. 3112

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise to speak in behalf of amendment No. 3118. This amendment is important to nearly all States in this time of energy shortages. It provides for and encourages the use of renewable energy. I am pleased to have cosponsorship from Senators Miller, Clinton, Schumer, and Chambliss. Passage of the green bonds provision is relevant to the JOBS bill. It is anticipated to create over 100,000 construction and permanent jobs. It also promotes the large-scale development and deployment of renewable energy generation. This will stimulate the market for renewable technologies, such as solar, helping to bring down the cost of technology. I also believe it is important to note that our amendment contains a provision which pays for its costs. In closing, I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this amendment. It is limited only by the amount of total bonding authority and the fact that each State is allowed only one project. I think every State can work to take advantage of the benefits that this amendment will provide. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. ALLARD. I ask that we yield back time from both sides.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I will take a few moments to recognize an organization that embodies the selflessness we hold dear in the United States. In Grand Junction, CO, Homefront Heroes was organized to answer the needs of spouses and family members left behind by deployed soldiers from across the Western Slope of Colorado. On March 29, 2004 the following resolution was passed by the Grand Junction City Council, commemorating the first rally for the troops organized by Homefront Heroes during the Spring of 2003. I ask unanimous consent that the city of Grand Junction's resolution be printed in the Record following this statement.

Mr. ALLARD. I also thank the volunteers of Homefront Heroes for helping the military community in its time of need. Exhibit 1 Whereas our Active Duty Military National Guard and Colorado Reserves men and women have answered the call to protect America from harm. These Service men and women have been deployed around the world, protecting the freedoms we often take for granted at home. Whereas these men and women now fight a war on terrorism, they fight this war with the same pride for Country, Honor and Courage as our forefathers. Whereas our military families have also sacrificed during this same time of war while their loved ones have been deployed. Whereas our military has always protected our Great Nation and we have always honored our service men and women after they have returned, allowing our service men and women to know that we in Colorado support them during their time of active duty and we appreciate what they have endured and sacrificed. Whereas Colorado honors the past, supports the present, and encourages the future of our military men and women. Whereas The yellow ribbon has come to be recognized as signifying Honor, Courage, and Hope for military families and loved ones. Whereas on March 29th, 2003, 2,500 citizens in Grand Junction, Colorado, showed support of our Colorado heroes by having a Lets Support Our Troops yellow Ribbon Rally where everyone wore yellow in support of our heroes; be it Resolved That March 29 shall be Grand Junctions' Salute Our Troops--Remembrance Day. That one day, Coloradans shall show support of our service men and women by either wearing yellow or displaying a yellow ribbon, signifying the Honor, Courage, and Hope our Colorado heroes display.