Barbara Boxer

Mrs. BOXER

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wanted to take some time this early evening to talk a little bit about our energy crisis and gas prices. But I first want to say thank you so much to our leaders, Senator Reid in particular, to Senator Baucus, to all those who helped score a real victory for the Medicare Program for our senior citizens today. It is not every day that a President has a veto overridden, but this President is just out of touch in so many areas. This was one area. Now I truly think we have saved Medicare for the moment, and that is a good feeling.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 9:30 a.m., tomorrow, July 16; 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 the Senate proceed to a period of morning business for up to an hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans controlling the second 30 minutes; I further ask that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 2731, the Global AIDS legislation.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, tomorrow, the Senate will resume consideration of the Global AIDS bill. Senators should expect rollcall votes throughout the day as we work to complete this important legislation.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. 3268, Stop Excessive Energy Speculation Act of 2008, to be introduced by the majority leader today, Tuesday, July 15, notwithstanding an adjournment of the Senate on that day, be considered to have received a first reading, and that the Record remain open today until 8:30 p.m. for that purpose.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mrs. BOXER

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I rise today to express my deep gratitude to the men and women who are fighting the wildfires now raging in my magnificent State of California. Over the last month, a swarm of dry lightning storms sparked more than 1,800 fires across drought-ridden land in California. Governor Schwarzenegger and President Bush have declared a state of emergency in 11 counties and crews are still working to bring under control over 300 fires burning across more than 600,000 acres of public and private land. Three hundred fires, and it is early July, and we do not get rain usually until November. In the fight against these fires, support has come from all quarters, including the National Guards of 11 States. I say to my colleagues all: Thank you for your contribution. Help has come from the U.S. Marine Corps, the Navy, even from NASA. I give special thanks to the more than 18,000--18,000--local, State, and Federal firefighters who have put their lives on the line over the last several weeks and continue to do so to fight these fires and protect our communities. The people of California owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the brave men and women of CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service as well as the California National Guard and all of the local fire departments who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in fighting these fires. Your courage and swift action during this recent series of firestorms have truly been heroic. You have risked your health and your well-being for the benefit of our people, of our communities, and we are all grateful. You are the heroes. Some 233 firefighter injuries have been reported in the past few weeks--233 firefighter injuries--and that is a testament to the great personal risk these men and women undertake every day. These fires are unpredictable. The winds are unpredictable, and the danger shifts at a moment's notice. I am sad to report that these fires have claimed the life of one of our firefighters. Robert Roland, who had been with the Anderson Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Mendocino County for only 3 months, passed away on July 3, 2008, battling wildfires near the town of Philo. He was 63 years old--a volunteer firefighter. One of America's greatest strengths is its spirit of voluntarism, and nowhere is that spirit more evident than in the tradition of volunteer firefighting. We mourn his loss, and we remember and give thanks for his selfless efforts and those of all the firefighters--volunteer and professional-- who put their lives on the line throughout California. The scale of these fires so early in the year is a stark reminder that we cannot afford to shortchange our fire preparedness. Being prepared means making sure adequate resources are available to fight and prevent fires. That is why I have consistently fought against the proposed cuts to the Assistance to Firefighters Program. This program provides Federal grants for equipment and training to local fire departments and emergency medical services organizations. I do not think you need to look farther than the efforts being undertaken to save lives and protect communities right now in California to understand that those proposed cuts are wrongheaded. Preparedness is about more than funding. It also means making sure we have a fully staffed firefighting force on our public lands. I am concerned about the reports of inadequate staffing in our national forests in California. Earlier this year, I called on the U.S. Forest Service to resolve the pay disparities and retention issues that have prevented them from recruiting and keeping qualified Federal firefighters in California. We also need to support the State and local efforts in order to manage the risk posed by wildfires. One of the keys to preparedness is hazardous fuel reduction. Local communities and State agencies that do their part to remove hazardous fuel on local and State lands should not be left at risk for fires because inadequate funds limit hazardous fuel reduction on Federal lands. The Federal Government must be a good partner in not only fighting the wildfires but in preventing them. That is why I have urged that we include $910 million for U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department firefighting and fire prevention efforts--including efforts such as hazardous fuel reduction--in the legislation that Congress is expected to take up this session to address critical domestic priorities. The unprecedented onset of the fire season in California is an important reminder that we cannot afford to continue reducing the resources available for disaster preparedness and expect emergency responders to still be able to effectively protect our communities. They are exhausted. They are working overtime and more. I want to read from a letter I am sending today to President Bush. I wrote this letter after speaking at length with my Governor, Governor Schwarzenegger: With over 300 fires still actively burning in California, I am writing to request that you immediately allocate additional resources to assist with ongoing firefighting efforts throughout my state. Governor Schwarzenegger has informed me that an additional 41 helicopters, 302 hand crews, 616 fire engines, and 773 support personnel are urgently needed to help the thousands of Federal, State, local, and volunteer fire fighters who are working so hard to protect our communities from these dangerous fires. Governor Schwarzenegger also informed me he plans to call up as many as 2,000 more members of the National Guard in addition to the over one thousand members that are currently supporting fire fighting activities. In order to ensure that our National Guard is ready for this mission, I request that the Administration make available out-of-State Federal firefighters to help train National Guard members for fire fighting duties. Active fire crews are currently being taken away from the front lines of fires to train National Guard members, but if Federal personnel were on scene to help train new arrivals, our crews could continue to fight active fires. I might say what is happening is we are taking firefighters off the line to train the National Guard because they need to be extensively trained in firefighting, and we need to get those firefighters back on the line. So if we could have some Federal firefighters sent in, we would be able to keep these firefighters on the line. The Governor has also informed me that he requested the U.S. Forest Service's Maximum Efficiency Level be increased to 100 percent for the current fire season in California. This will allow Federal incident commanders to make tactical firefighting decisions as needed to protect lives and homes without having to receive prior approval from the Office of Management and Budget. I strongly support his request and urge you to grant it immediately. This unprecedented start to the fire season in California has put incredible stress on the State's resources and on the brave men and women fighting these fires. While the support provided by the Administration has been very helpful thus far, the severity of the ongoing fires and the strong potential for more fires indicates an urgent need for additional resources and support. The residents of California need the Administration's continued assistance and cooperation in protecting their lives and property. Madam President, this is one Nation under God, and we know that, and we say it when we pledge allegiance every day here. The fact is, we need to come to the aid of our citizens, whether it is in the devastating floods in Iowa or it is Hurricane Katrina or it is the fire that I well remember in North Dakota or what is happening today in California. We must work together. I want to say right now that I will be making a call to the head of Homeland Security, Mr. Chertoff. I hope he has heard my words. I hope he has received a copy of my letter. We are going to need this help quickly. We expect--and this is right from my Governor--about a 5-month problem here. This is not going to be a momentary problem. We need a long-term commitment from everyone in order to save lives and save property and allow our firefighters a little bit of rest, because when they are exhausted, their lives are put in danger, and we cannot have that. I thank you very much for the time, Madam President, and I yield the floor.

Mrs. BOXER. Well, the CEO, the chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, according to my information, including his last paycheck and bonuses and the rest, made $400 million in 1 year. So no, he is not whining, and Phil Gramm is not whining. That is obvious. They are the winners in this economy with two oilmen in the White House. I wish to thank my friend.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, will my friend yield for a question?

Mrs. BOXER. I am just stunned that Phil Gramm, who is a top adviser to Senator McCain--would you repeat exactly what he said?

Mrs. BOXER. Let me get this straight. Senator McCain's top adviser-- one of his top advisers on the economy--says we are in a mental recession, there is no actual recession, and we are whining about it.

Mrs. BOXER. Let me ask my friend, what does she hear in her State about gas prices from her constituents?

Mrs. BOXER. Is that mental? Do they just think they are unemployed but they are really employed? What is he talking about?

Mrs. BOXER. Will my friend continue to yield?

Mrs. BOXER. I didn't expect to stay here and engage my friend, the Senator from Michigan, but when she read this--I know what her State is going through, and I have to say that California is suffering as well. If it were not for the fact that we have seen companies invest in alternative energy, and that is taking some of the jobs-- and thank goodness--away from a crumbling housing industry, we would be in worse shape. We are not in good shape in California. We have real problems. My friend from Michigan makes a good point. Two men in the White House--and I remember when George Bush was running in the beginning and saying: Well, put two oilmen in the White House, and we will see how we will deal with gas prices. Well, we have seen. Is my friend aware that since George Bush and Dick Cheney--two oilmen--took over the White House, we have seen about a 255-percent increase in the cost of gas per gallon? Is my friend aware of that?

Mrs. BOXER. Let me ask one more question, and then I will leave her to the rest of her remarks. I know she has some thoughts she needs to share. As Phil Gramm, the economic adviser to John McCain, says that Americans are whining, we all know that the middle class is suffering, as the Senator from Michigan said, not just from gas prices but as a result of food prices, health care prices, credit card rates. There is a middle-class squeeze going on that is hitting our people very hard, and they are falling behind by thousands of dollars a year because of increased prices. Now, Phil Gramm, he doesn't feel the pain. He probably is in the top one-tenth of 1 percent of income earners, let me say. I wish to ask my friend, and then I will leave her to her speech, does she know how much the head of ExxonMobil made this year?

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mrs. BOXER. Senator Dodd has yielded me 10 minutes of his time to speak in favor of his amendment to strike the immunity clause. I am wondering how I may get recognition here and how much time does Senator Dodd have left in this debate?

Mrs. BOXER. I wonder if Senator Bond would allow me to take 10 minutes of the 43 minutes Senator Dodd has remaining?

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in strong support of the amendment offered by Senator Dodd to strike the provision from the bill providing immunity to the telecom companies who assisted President Bush with his warrantless surveillance program; in essence, breaking the law they were supposed to live by. I also note that not every telecom company went along with this. There was at least one, Qwest, that refused to go along because they said it would break the law if they did so. I thank Senators Dodd, Feingold, Leahy, and others for their leadership. I know these are difficult debates to have because people could say: My goodness, they are offering an amendment to the intelligence bill and, ipso facto, that must be a bad thing because they are slowing things down. I have to say, when you are standing up to fight for liberty and justice and the truth, you should never be afraid to slow something down. As a matter of fact, it is our job to do so. I do thank my colleagues for their leadership. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this amendment. In my support of this amendment to strike the immunity to the telecom companies who went along with the President's secret and, I believe, illegal program, I wish to say I am not seeking punishment for them. As a matter of fact, I have stated a long time ago that I support indemnification for the telecom companies. I believe Senator Whitehouse took the lead on that. Senator Specter, at one point, I think, was involved in that and others. I thank them for their leadership on that issue. I understand the predicament of a company that is facing the White House and the White House is saying: You need to spy on your customers because we are asking you to do it for the safety of the people. I understand their predicament. But I do believe, at this point in time, to give retroactive immunity kind of makes a mockery of the fact that we are supposed to be a government of laws, not people. We are a government of laws. Do we then come back and say: By the way, there are three laws over here we don't like so we are going to say to the people who broke them, it is OK, because we have looked at it and we think it is OK? This is America. We are a country of laws. So this issue is so important. I can't overstate how deeply I feel about it. We cannot place the interests of the companies and, frankly, of this administration, that doesn't want the truth to come out, ahead of the constitutional rights of our citizens who seek justice in our courts. This administration is so desperate to have this immunity because they have no interest in the American people finding out the truth. In another subject area, I had a press conference today with a wonderful man who stood up and quit the Environmental Protection Agency because they were thwarting him every step of the way as he tried to tell the truth about the real dangers, as a matter of fact, the endangerment posed by global warming. He sent the White House an e- mail, and it was entitled ``Endangerment Finding.'' The White House called and said: Take it back. We don't want to open it. And he said: It is too late. So that e-mail is floating around in cyberspace because the White House knows, if they open it, it becomes public domain. So secrecy is what this administration lives by. This is a blatant example of where they want to keep secret an illegal program. I don't think we should be complicit. I don't think we should enable them to avoid the constitutional scrutiny of our Federal courts. We can't sacrifice--we can't--the truth for convenient expediency. It is not American. We have a system of government that is built not only on our Constitution but on the notion of checks and balances. The Federal courts are doing their job by checking this administration's broad exercise of Executive power. That is why I will be supporting other amendments that will be coming up that deal with this matter. Last week, Chief Judge Walker, of the Northern District of California, issued an opinion rejecting this administration's claim to have ``inherent authority'' to eavesdrop on Americans outside of statutory law. What does this Senate want to do? A lot of the leaders you hear speaking on this want to make it possible to give retroactively to this administration the inherent authority to eavesdrop on Americans outside the law. In the future, we are fixing it. Good, I am glad. I am happy. But you can't then say, but we are going to look back and change the law. It is not right. Listen to what Judge Walker wrote: Congress appears clearly to have intended to establish the exclusive means for foreign intelligence activities to be conducted. Whatever power the executive might otherwise have had in this regard, FISA limits the power of the executive branch to conduct such activities and it limits the executive branch's authority to assert the State secrets privilege in response to challenges to the legality of its foreign intelligence surveillance activities. So we, Congress, limited the power of the executive. We said: You can't assert the state secrets privilege in response to challenges to the legality of its foreign intelligence activities. And here we are rolling over with bravado to say to this administration--and by the way, I would feel the same way whoever was the President, this administration or any administration--oh, you are the absolute ruler, the King. You can do whatever you want. You can roll over. You can do all of that. We need to protect this country from terrorists. We must. I voted to go to war against bin Laden, and I will not rest until he is gone and we break the back of al-Qaida. Unfortunately, that has gone awry. I will be very willing to have our Government listen in on conversations of the bad actors out there, but I don't want good people being spied on. That was the whole reason FISA came into being in the first place. People seem to forget the original FISA was to protect the people from being spied on, ordinary people. Suddenly, it has been turned on its head. I believe the current process works. Our system of government works. The Federal courts are exercising their constitutional duty to review Executive power. So why in this bill are we seeking to stop that process? Why are we attempting to tie the capable hands of the Federal courts and deny our citizens their day in court? Covering up the truth is not the way to gain or regain the trust of the American people. The truth is the basis of the American ideal. I always marveled, as a little girl and as a young woman, growing up, watching as the truth came out about America. I remember my dad, who loved this country so much, saying to me: Honey, you just watch this country. We are not afraid to admit a mistake. We are not fearful of giving people rights. We will stand up and tell the truth, even when we make the biggest mistakes. Covering up the truth is not the way to gain the trust of the American people. Since learning, in late 2005, that the President violated the trust of our people by spying on our citizens, Congress and the American people have struggled to find out what happened. Last week, we celebrated the day we adopted the Declaration of Independence, Independence Day, July 4. In that historic document is the following phrase: To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. ``The consent of the governed,'' that means the law has to be behind you when you undertake to do something such as this administration did. They didn't care about the consent of the governed. They didn't care about the law that was in place. Truth is the centerpiece of justice. I don't see how we ever get to the truth if we grant this immunity. I don't. It is not, to me, about the punishment. As I said, I will be happy to have substitution, to have the Government step in. That is not the issue. We need to get to the truth, and we all know how that happens in our country. The immunity provision in this bill sweeps the warrantless program under the carpet. It hides the truth. The people deserve better from us. I will close with a quote by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: It is during our most challenging and uncertain moments that our nation's commitment to due process is severely tested. It is in those times we must preserve our commitment at home to the principles for which we fight abroad. I hope we will support the Dodd amendment to strike the immunity provision. I thank the Chair.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, recently in Palm Springs, CA, hundreds of people gathered to honor the fine work of Jackie Lee Houston, and to see the plans unveiled for a new plaza to be built in her honor. I am very pleased to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the important work and contributions of Jackie Lee Houston. During the ceremony, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet pointed out the amazing contributions of Jackie Lee Houston. She has been an integral part of the fine work being done at Angel View Crippled Children's Foundation, the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Palm Springs Opera Guild of the Desert, the Stroke Recovery Center, and Desert AIDS Project. Houston is also the sponsor of the ``Jackie Lee Houston Scholarship,'' offering support to residents of the region hoping to pursue post-graduate training in design. It is especially fitting that the new Jackie Lee Houston Plaza will offer an entry to the Palm Springs Convention Center because every year the Palm Springs International Film Festival opens there. It is a project that has had Houston's full support. It is also fitting that the plaza will offer visitors a desert landscape where they cannot just enjoy the native plants, but also help to build a sense of community that is so important to Houston. I am delighted that the amazing community and philanthropic work of Jackie Lee Houston will be memorialized with this plaza in Palm Springs. I commend Mayor Pougnet and the members of the Palm Springs City Council for their efforts in this regard and, of course, send my very best regards to Jackie Lee Houston.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Yolo County Sheriff's Deputy Jose Antonio ``Tony'' Diaz, who was tragically killed in the line of duty on June 15, 2008. Tony Diaz was born in Jacona, Mexico, on September 20, 1970, and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 4 years old. His family settled in Dixon, CA, where he graduated from Dixon High School in 1989. Tony Diaz's family instilled a strong work ethic in him from a young age. As a teenager, he worked in agricultural fields in the summer. Shortly following his graduation from high school, Tony went to work for the California Human Development Corporation where he worked to assist farm workers, and was soon promoted to the corporate office. Tony's strong skills with computers led him to a position in the Yolo County Information Technology Department in 1999 where an assignment with the Sheriff's Department piqued his interest in law enforcement. Tony put himself through the Yuba College Police Academy and became a sheriff's deputy in 2004. As a dedicated member of the Yolo County Sheriff's Department, Deputy Diaz served with pride for 4 years in several areas including court security, transportation and patrol. Deputy Diaz will be remembered as a loving son, a proud father of three daughters, a devoted friend, and respected colleague. Jose Antonio Diaz's brave service and commitment to public safety will not be forgotten.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I think the Senator from Alaska knows full well the amendment she is seeking to attach to our bill, or the substitute she is putting forward, never was approved in the committee of jurisdiction, the EPW Committee. The committee worked long and hard at getting a compromise. Because of Senator Nelson and Senator Martinez and others, we have a bill at the desk that Senator Nelson tried to get done now that passed our committee by an overwhelming vote. As a matter of fact, 13 million boaters, 13 million boaters are going to wake up very unhappy in the morning if Senator Murkowski objects to this bill. Her substitute was never voted on by the committee. As a matter of fact, the individual she asked to offer an amendment never offered it. There was a reason; this was a delicate compromise. I object to Senator Murkowski's amendment to the request. I support strongly Senator Nelson's request to move this Clean Boating Act. It means that 13 million recreational boaters will not have to get a permit to discharge their water pollution, and 13 million recreational boaters are counting on us. I hope Senator Nelson's unanimous consent will be granted.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, is it necessary that I ask to speak as in morning business? I am taking time off my postcloture time.