Barbara Boxer

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. I think if neither amendment gets 60 votes--and I certainly hope the Boxer amendment does, and I expect it would, but I don't know, it might not--I am already working on an alternative I would talk to my friend about right now, which is for us to communicate in writing very strongly to the Justice Department and tell them how strongly we feel. I also wish to make the point that my friend is right. Someday, somebody will write about this. People are already writing about it because of the work we are doing on this matter. The Senator and I have been quite forceful in the way we feel about this. People are writing about it. My hope is that what we do is not create a new kind of select committee. My friend said it has been done before, and he may be right. But why a committee when we can get right to the heart of the matter, which is: Was there a crime? If so, let's get to the bottom of it. I do want to say, and I say this as chair of the Ethics Committee of the Senate, nothing is more important to me than having a fair Ethics Committee that works hard and is objective. Any Member of the Senate can make a complaint any day of the week and it automatically is looked at. I want to reiterate that. If people have an issue, please, let us know. That is why we are there. For those of us who care a lot about this matter, we do need, if nobody gets 60--I hope we will, but if nobody does, this issue does not go away as far as I am concerned. It cannot go away. I think it is very important, the way we deal with this, to understand that if we do something that the House has constitutional objections to and it brings down the technical corrections bill, the irony of ironies is the Coconut Road project doesn't get fixed, it goes back to the crooked way it was handled. We don't want that. We want to fix the Coconut Road problem and we want to have an investigation. I yield the floor to get to the regular order at this time. Amendment No. 4539, As Modified

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, we have a very simple amendment. Sometimes in simplicity is strength. Sometimes in simplicity is power. Sometimes in simplicity you get to the place you want to get. I do not like a lot of words. I believe a few words will say it. Look at what we say here: Consistent with applicable standards and procedures-- which means everybody's rights are protected-- the Department of Justice shall review allegations of impropriety regarding item 462 in section 1934(c) of Public Law 109-59-- That is the Coconut Road project-- to ascertain if a violation of Federal criminal law has occurred. I think we know enough to warrant this kind of amendment. I think we know enough to be concerned. I think we know enough to say to the Justice Department: Please pay attention to this. Do your work. Make a determination and get on with it because this is very serious. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BOXER. I ask for 10 more seconds.

Mrs. BOXER. I want to make the point, if we pass the Boxer amendment today and this bill gets signed into law by the President and we are requiring the Justice Department to do this, then they will be breaking the law. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BOXER. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. BOXER. Colleagues, this is very important. I wish to commend my colleague for bringing this whole issue to the floor of the Senate. But I think we have done something important. We have taken his concerns to heart, and with a very big vote, we have stated that the Justice Department is now required to open an investigation. What the Senator does is set up an elaborate commission of Senators, of House Members; it is political on its face. It will only put off the day until an investigation is done by Justice. Because after having this elaborate commission, Senators investigating House Members, House Members investigating Senators, it is unconstitutional on its face on the speech and debate clause. That will bring down this entire bill. Here is the irony of ironies. If we bring this bill down, the fix of Coconut Road will fall. We fix the Coconut Road problem in this bill. I urge you, please say no to this idea because I feel we have done the right thing on this matter.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1595, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act; that the bill be read the third time, and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, this is a good day for the Senate. It took us a while to get here. I will thank staff in a moment--floor staff as well, and Senator Reid's staff, Senator Inhofe's staff, and my own staff. Before that, I have two unanimous consent requests to make.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 403, H.R. 2828, the Foreign Service Victims of Terrorism Act, which will provide compensation to relatives of U.S. citizens killed as a result of the bombing of United States Embassies in East Africa on August 7, 1998; that the bill be read the third time, and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, we just heard objection, but we didn't get objection, finally, to the technical corrections bill. We are happy about that. You and I serve together on the Environment and Public Works Committee. We know our work is important because we know that no country can be great if it doesn't have an infrastructure that is up to par. The occupant of the chair knows more than most what it means when a bridge collapses. We know what that means. So what we are doing here is a matter of life and death, quite often. This technical corrections bill will make it possible to continue work on over 500 projects that were stymied for various reasons. It is going to put a billion dollars into our economy, and it will provide tens of thousands of jobs. Senator Inhofe and I are very grateful that--even though this was not an easy week and this bill took so many twists and turns and we had to work our way through many issues--we have arrived at the point where it passed. Let me say how much I enjoyed working with my staff and the staff of Senator Inhofe. I am going to read the names of those who deserve to be recognized and thanked. From my staff are Bettina Porier, Kathy Dedrick, Tyler Rushforth, Jeff Rosato, Erik Olsen, Paul Ordal, and the rest of my staff. We do work as a team. I thank Senator Inhofe's staff, and I am sure there are more to be thanked, but the ones I worked with closely are, of course, Andy Wheeler, chief over there, Ruth Van Mark, James O'Keeffe, and Alex Herrgott. We are so grateful to you for being close to us, staying close to us, letting us know when there were problems. We appreciate that. I say to the majority leader, Senator Reid, how much I appreciated his interest in this bill. He really helped us. Bob Herbert, of his staff, Ron Wynch, and Mike Castellano--we had technical issues and legal issues and they were there. If I am leaving anyone out, please know it is not my intention. So many others helped us.

Mrs. BOXER. Yes.

Mrs. BOXER. I thank the Senator. Senator Carper, from Delaware, is one of the senior members on the committee, whom we love working with. He is part of our team. We have a great committee. It is why I like to be a legislator. I want to say, in closing, to floor staff, all of you here, thank you for your patience. You have to answer questions. The pages have to be available to us. You all let us know what is going on and whether we are doing it right or wrong. Of course, in particular, I thank Lula, Tim, and Dave. Without the three of you, we could not have gotten this done. Yes, sometimes when you get to this point, it is a little like making sausage--that is what they say about how a bill becomes a law; it is not a pretty thing. But we got it done. The most important thing is all of the people who helped us from the outside groups--I thank them--such as the construction industry, the construction workers, the transit district operators, the sand and gravel people. You know who you are. You made the point that we should not bog this bill down, that we should get it going. I am delighted we had a victory here with the Water Resources Development Act. We are pleased. Up and coming, we are going to have a markup in a couple of weeks, and then we will get to global warming. I don't know how that will end, but I know it is going to be very exciting. We hope everybody will participate in that debate. Is the Senator from Virginia going to speak? I will yield the floor.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, it is a privilege to be able to offer my most sincere congratulations to the State of Israel as it celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence. I am so proud that Israel has not only survived, but has become one of the most prosperous and successful democracies anywhere in the world. The Israeli National Anthem, Hatikvah, means, ``The Hope.'' That is really what the modern State of Israel has been about over these 60 years. Founded after the horrors of the Holocaust, the Jewish people created a place where their faith and history could be secured and passed from generation to generation. In this place, never again would dictators or fanatics be able to systematically persecute, terrorize, and murder entire communities or an entire people. Hope sustained the Jewish people through 3,000 years of persecution that culminated in the evils of the Holocaust. And for the last 60 years, that same sense of hope for the future has allowed the people of Israel to persevere in the face of continual assaults on its very existence, whether they are in the form of war, terrorism, or assassination. As Israel celebrates this milestone, I am proud to say that the United States has been by its side, offering support and assistance, and watching it grow into an unparalleled partner in promoting the ideals of democracy, personal freedom, and human rights. The United States has also tirelessly supported Israel as it continues to seek lasting peaceful coexistence with its neighbors to bring a permanent end to years of suffering and senseless violence. And we will continue to be there to support them in that effort. When Yitzhak Rabin went before the Knesset in October 1995 to discuss the ratification of the Israeli-Palestinian interim agreement, he said the following: ``Here, in the land of Israel, we returned and built a nation. Here, in the land of Israel, we established a state. The land of the prophets, which bequeathed to the world the values of morality, law and justice, was, after two thousand years, restored to its lawful owners-- the members of the Jewish people. On its land, we have built an exceptional national home and state.'' Israel is indeed an exceptional nation state, and this milestone is a great testament to the hope, faith, and perseverance of the Jewish people. I offer my congratulations to Israel on the 60th anniversary of its founding.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate for a hearing entitled ``The Impact of the Credit Crunch on Small Business,'' on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, beginning at 2:30 p.m., in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet today, Wednesday, April 16, 2008 from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. in Dirksen 562 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Challenges and Solutions for Protecting our Children from Violence and Exploitation in the 21st Century'' on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 2 p.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Personnel Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., in open session to receive testimony from military beneficiary organizations regarding the quality of life of active, reserve, and retired military personnel and their family members in review of the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2009 and the future years defense program.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday April 16, 2008 at 10 a.m. in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to hold a hearing entitled, ``Surface Transportation and the Global Economy.''

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12:45 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, April 17; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for use later in the day, and the Senate then resume consideration of H.R. 1195, the highway technical corrections bill.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. For the information of all Senators, we are working on an agreement to have votes in relation to amendments tomorrow. Those votes could be as early as 1:45 p.m. As a reminder, today cloture was filed on the Boxer substitute No. 4146 and H.R. 1195. Under the rule, the filing deadline for first- degree amendments is 1 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, April 17.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. 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. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 517 submitted earlier today by Senator Salazar.

Mrs. BOXER. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.