Barbara Boxer

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, the budget that passed the Senate was bad. This budget is worse. Though the budget is supposed to set priorities, this budget does not reflect America's priorities. Overall, for domestic needs, this budget cuts $6.9 billion from what was passed by the Senate. That means less for education, less for health care, less for homeland security. It means $4 billion less next year for education than what passed the Senate--and $20 billion less over the next 10 years. This budget begins by failing our kids. It provides $8.9 billion less than what was promised in the No Child Left Behind Act, which was signed into law with great fanfare just 1 year ago. That would leave millions of kids behind, and in the program to help States educate disadvantaged children, it would leave more than 600,000 California kids behind. This budget also cuts afterschool programs by 40 percent-- kicking 570,000 kids nationally and over 81,000 kids in California out of their afterschool programs. This budget fails our young people struggling with rising college tuition. Conferrees stripped out the Senate provision to increase Pell grants for 4.8 million students nationwide and for almost 600,000 students in California. That means a loss of $165 million in Pell grant aid for California students. On health care, this budget fails to address national needs. This budget stripped out the Senate provision adding $38 billion to help the uninsured get health care. On prescription drugs, this budget accepts the President's plan to force seniors into HMOs in order for them to get help to pay for needed medicines. It cuts $100 million over 10 years in Medicaid--putting at risk health care for sick and needy children, their parents, the disabled, low-income workers, and the elderly. On homeland security, this budget leaves us less secure. This budget stripped out the Senate provision providing an additional $2 billion over the next 2 years for port security. This budget cuts support to State and local law enforcement by over $1 billion, including eliminating all funding to hire more police officers and put more police in the schools and eliminating funding for the local law enforcement block grant program. It provides no increase in funding for first responders--those on the front lines of a possible terrorist attack. Incredibly, this budget eliminated the Senate provision that set aside almost $400 billion to strengthen Social Security. For highways, this budget is nearly $25 billion less over the next 6 years than the Senate bill. For transit, it is over $7 billion less over the next 6 years. These cuts will make it difficult to pass a transportation bill--a key to economic growth and alleviating the traffic problems in California. On the tax cut, the budget does too much for the wealthy when more targeted tax cuts with broad benefits would bring dramatically more positive results. This budget increases the overall tax cut to $1.3 trillion over 10 years. The reconciliation tax cut was increased from $350 billion to $550 billion. This was done in order to pass a tax cut that provides 80 percent of the benefits to the richest 10 percent of Americans--and a dividend tax cut that gives 49 percent of the benefits to the richest 1 percent of Americans. I support tax cuts. I support tax cuts that help working people and target growth. I support Senator Schumer's effort to make up to $12,000 per year in college tuition costs tax deductible and create a $1,500 tax credit to help college graduates pay off their student loans. I support increasing the child tax credit and providing a $2,000 tax deduction to help people pay for health insurance. I also support lowering the tax for 1 year on the transfer of capital from abroad for companies willing to invest the savings in jobs at home. And I support increasing the expensing deduction for small businesses. But we can do all of that in a fiscally responsible manner. That is not this budget. This budget favors the wealthy, turns our priorities upside down, and returns us to the days of exploding deficits and debt. I will vote against it.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I am submitting a resolution to support the goals of the Japanese American, German American and Italian American communities in recognizing a ``National Day of Remembrance.'' This resolution will increase public awareness of the events surrounding the restriction, exclusion and internment of individuals and families during World War II. On February 11, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the incarceration of over 120,000 Americans of Japanese, Italian and German ancestry. Not until 34 years later--on February 19, 1976--was E.O. 9066 formally rescinded by President Gerald Ford. Since then, Congress and Presidents Carter, Reagan, and Clinton have recognized the ``fundamental violation of the basic civil liberties and constitutional rights'' of individuals detained and interned under E.O. 9066. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians established by Congress under President Carter concluded that the decision to issue E.O. 9066 was shaped by ``race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.'' In the last half century, organizations, families and individuals all over the country have observed a day of remembrance on February 19 to educate others of the distinct experiences of Japanese, Italian, and German Americans during World War II. Congressional recognition of this ``National Day of Remembrance'' would assist in promoting dialogue and education of Americans on this very important event in our history. We need to recognize and support the efforts to raise awareness of the experiences of interned Americans. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to bring to the Senate's attention His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, on the 52nd anniversary of his ordination. Archbishop Hovsepian is an inspirational and dynamic leader in the Armenian Church, and this milestone anniversary is a symbol of the Archbishop's 52 years of dedicated service and commitment to the Armenian people and the greater community in which he serves. Since 1996, he has served as the Archbishop of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America. During his 50 years of service to his Church and community, His Eminence Vatche Hovsepian has been very active. The Archbishop has met with five Presidents of the United States, along with various religious leaders and political figures from all over the world, created new parishes, Armenian schools and summer camps. His Eminence Vatche Hovsepian has traveled and studied all over the world, thus allowing him to have the knowledge of many customs, traditions, cultures and languages. The Archbishop has spoken eloquently about the Armenian Genocide and the importance that it be remembered by Armenians and people around the world. He has addressed the California State legislature and been warmly received. He is widely known for his good works, including assistance with reconstruction in Armenia after the 1988 earthquake. His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian is a warm, compassionate and charismatic leader who is most deserving of the outpouring of admiration that greets him today and each day. I am honored to pay tribute to him, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Archbishop on this grand anniversary.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I come to the floor to pay tribute to 14 young Americans who have been killed in the Iraqi war. All of these young men are either from California or based out of California. I have already eulogized 20 individuals from California, either born there, raised there, or based there. So we are now talking about 34 of my constituents who have been killed. We pray that the killing is coming to an end. I am sure it cannot come soon enough for all Americans. We pray the POWs will be returned safety. We pray for stability. We pray that we can bring our young men and women home, get them out of harm's way, and share the burden of the rebuilding of Iraq with many nations, so that the people of Iraq can realize their hopes and dreams. SGT Michael V. Lalush, age 23, grew up in Sunnyvale, CA, before his family moved to Virginia in the mid-1990s. He was killed on March 30 in a helicopter crash in southern Iraq. He joined the Marines 2 weeks after graduating from high school in 1997. He was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group 39, Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton, CA. He is survived by his parents, a sister in Los Angeles, and grandparents in Folsom, CA. SGT Brian D. McGinnis, age 23, was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group 39, Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was from St. Georges, DE. He is a graduate of William Penn High School in New Castle, DE, where he was a star member of the wrestling squad. He was killed March 30 in a helicopter crash in southern Iraq. He is survived by his wife, who is living at Camp Pendleton in California, and he is also survived by his parents. PFC Christian D. Gurtner, age 19, was assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-Nine Palms, CA. He was killed April 2 as a result of a noncombat weapons accident in southern Iraq. He is from Ohio City, OH. In March, 2002, while still a high school senior at Van Wert High School, he enlisted in the Marines. His grandfather fought in World War II, and a great-grandfather served in World War I. He also had relatives who fought in Vietnam. His friends have said that Christian loved bowling, the Atlanta Braves, and Ohio State football. CPL Erik H. Silva, age 22, from Holtville, CA, was killed in action in Iraq Thursday. Erik was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton, CA. He graduated from Holtville High, where he played the trumpet, was a drum major, and a member of the varsity golf team. He wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement. He is survived by his mother, living in Chula Vista, CA; two brothers; and a sister, who is currently serving in the Navy. CPT Benjamin W. Sammis, age 29, was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was killed in action on April 4 when his AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter crashed during combat operations in Iraq. His hometown was Rehoboth, MA. He was a sailor, an Eagle Scout, a military school graduate, and a career marine, who had yearned to fly helicopters and jets since he was 10 years old. He is survived by a wife, his parents, and two brothers. PFC Chad E. Bales Metcalf, age 20, was assigned to the 1st Transportation Support Battalion, 1st Force Service Support Group, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was killed on April 3 in a vehicle accident during convoy operations in Iraq. A native of Texas, Chad was born in Lubbock and grew up in Coahoma, where he played high school football. He is survived by his parents, two half sisters, and two half brothers. CPL Mark A. Evnin, age 21, joined the Marines in 2000. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Twentynine Palms, CA. He was killed in action on April 3 during a firefight in central Iraq. Corporal Evnin was from Burlington, VT. In the last letter he sent to his mom, he mentioned that he decided to go to college to study international relations. CWO Eric A. Smith, age 41, lived in San Diego, CA, for a few years in the eighties. During his time in San Diego, he became acquainted with some Air Force pilots who sparked his interest in becoming a pilot. He joined the Army in 1987. Chief Warrant Officer Smith was killed when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed in central Iraq on Wednesday, April 2. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, GA. He grew up in Rochester, NY. Eric played soccer at Brighton High School and graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology. CAPT Travis A. Ford, age 30, lived in Oceanside, CA, with his wife and their 1-year-old daughter. He was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was killed in action on April 4 when his AH-1 Super Cobra helicopter crashed during combat operations in Iraq. He grew up in Nebraska. PVT Devon D. Jones, age 19, was from San Diego, CA. He was killed in a vehicle accident on April 4 in Iraq. Private Jones was assigned to the 41st Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Stewart, GA. He graduated from San Diego's Lincoln High School in 2002. He planned to become an English teacher and serve as a teaching intern at Kennedy Elementary School located across the street from his high school. SGT Duane R. Rios, age 25, was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, CA. He was from Griffith, IN. He was killed on April 4 during a firefight in central Iraq. Sergeant Rios was a 1990 graduate of Griffith High School in Indiana. He is survived by his wife living at Camp Pendleton and his parents. 1stSGT Edward Smith, age 39, was from Vista, CA. He joined the Marines when he was 17. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, CA. He also served as an Anaheim, CA, reserve police officer. He died April 5 as a result of wounds received in combat in central Iraq. Edward was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. He graduated in 1982 from Cosmopolitan Preparatory School. He is survived by his wife and three children. CPL Jesus Martin Antonio Medellin, age 21, was assigned to the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was from Fort Worth, TX. Corporal Medellin was killed on April 7 in central Iraq after his vehicle was hit by enemy fire. He was active in his church. He loved his grandma's tortillas, and he enjoyed spending time with his 11-year-old brother. PFC Juan Guadalupe Garza, Jr., age 20, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was born in Michigan. Private First Class Garza was killed in action on April 8 in central Iraq. Mr. President, 34 men who were either from California or based in California have died in the Iraqi war. The people of California, and I know the people of the whole country, mourn their loss and all the other losses we have had. May these beautiful young Americans rest in peace, may all the fighting end soon, and may we pray for the souls of those we have lost. I cannot help but note that Cpl Mark Evnin, age 21, wrote to his mother and said he wanted to study international relations. I hope and pray, in his memory, that we can forge relations in this world such that war is not a necessary tool; that we can forge relations in this world such that the power of democracy and our ideals will be shared by the people of the world, and that the power of those ideals will lead the whole world to peace.

Mrs. BOXER

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

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation guaranteeing a community's right-to-know about pollution discharges, seepage and potential drinking water contamination by the toxic chemical perchlorate. Perchlorate is the main ingredient in rocket fuel, which accounts for 90 percent of its use. Perchlorate is also used in lesser amounts for ammunition, fireworks, and other products. It dissolves readily in many liquids, including water, and moves easily and quickly. The sources of drinking water for up to 10 million Californians and millions of other Americans are contaminated with perchlorate. Alarming levels of perchlorate have been discovered in Lake Mead and the Colorado River, the drinking water source for millions of Southern Californians. Communities in the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clara Valley, and the Sacramento area are also grappling with perchlorate contamination. In addition, more than 20 million Americans in at least 19 states drink water contaminated with perchlorate. Perchlorate is a clear and present danger to California's public health. Perchlorate poses a variety of serious health risks relating to thyroid function, especially in newborns, children, and pregnant women. Exposure to perchlorate interferes with the thyroid gland's ability to produce the hormones needed for normal prenatal development. This can cause both physical and mental retardation. Perchlorate is also linked to thyroid cancer. Despite the gravity of the situation, we currently have no way of knowing who is dumping it or where they are dumping it. We cannot wait four more years to address this threat while EPA continues to delay regulation and clean ups. Communities need to get moving to protect their drinking water sooner rather than later. Guaranteeing a community the right-to-know about potential perchlorate contamination is a first step. My bill would do just this. First, my bill addresses the legacy of perchlorate contamination by requiring anyone who has stored more than 375 pounds of perchlorate since January 1, 1950, to report annually to the U.S. EPA, beginning no later than June 1, 2005. This does not apply to facilities that store perchlorate for a retail or law enforcement purpose. EPA must annually publish the list of all perchlorate storage facilities in existence since January 1, 1950, beginning no later than June 1, 2005. Second, my bill would also require anyone who discharges perchlorate into the water to report the discharge, its volume, monitoring methods, and remedial actions to the EPA. EPA must publish this information annually in the Federal Register beginning no later than June 1, 2005. Third, failure to report as required under my bill would result in fines. All fines will be deposited into a loan fund for public water suppliers and private well owners to pay for clean water when their water supply is shut down because of perchlorate contamination. Communities have a right to know what is in their water and where it comes from. My bill will ensure that communities have the necessary information to act now to address the health threat of perchlorate. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this important legislation.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation guaranteeing a community's right-to-know about pollution discharges, seepage and potential drinking water contamination by the toxic chemical perchlorate. Perchlorate is the main ingredient in rocket fuel, which accounts for 90 percent of its use. Perchlorate is also used in lesser amounts for ammunition, fireworks, and other products. It dissolves readily in many liquids, including water, and moves easily and quickly. The sources of drinking water for up to 10 million Californians and millions of other Americans are contaminated with perchlorate. Alarming levels of perchlorate have been discovered in Lake Mead and the Colorado River, the drinking water source for millions of Southern Californians. Communities in the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clara Valley, and the Sacramento area are also grappling with perchlorate contamination. In addition, more than 20 million Americans in at least 19 states drink water contaminated with perchlorate. Perchlorate is a clear and present danger to California's public health. Perchlorate poses a variety of serious health risks relating to thyroid function, especially in newborns, children, and pregnant women. Exposure to perchlorate interferes with the thyroid gland's ability to produce the hormones needed for normal prenatal development. This can cause both physical and mental retardation. Perchlorate is also linked to thyroid cancer. Despite the gravity of the situation, we currently have no way of knowing who is dumping it or where they are dumping it. We cannot wait four more years to address this threat while EPA continues to delay regulation and clean ups. Communities need to get moving to protect their drinking water sooner rather than later. Guaranteeing a community the right-to-know about potential perchlorate contamination is a first step. My bill would do just this. First, my bill addresses the legacy of perchlorate contamination by requiring anyone who has stored more than 375 pounds of perchlorate since January 1, 1950, to report annually to the U.S. EPA, beginning no later than June 1, 2005. This does not apply to facilities that store perchlorate for a retail or law enforcement purpose. EPA must annually publish the list of all perchlorate storage facilities in existence since January 1, 1950, beginning no later than June 1, 2005. Second, my bill would also require anyone who discharges perchlorate into the water to report the discharge, its volume, monitoring methods, and remedial actions to the EPA. EPA must publish this information annually in the Federal Register beginning no later than June 1, 2005. Third, failure to report as required under my bill would result in fines. All fines will be deposited into a loan fund for public water suppliers and private well owners to pay for clean water when their water supply is shut down because of perchlorate contamination. Communities have a right to know what is in their water and where it comes from. My bill will ensure that communities have the necessary information to act now to address the health threat of perchlorate. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this important legislation.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am very grateful. Senator McCain is my chairman, Senator Hollings is the ranking member. We will work together on this threat. I have to say when we are dealing with an emergency supplemental bill where we have a study already accepted by my friend, which I am very happy about, which is moving forward, this is not inconsistent with that. This will just move along a little quicker. If you look at the FBI warning, we need to act.

Mrs. BOXER. Reserving the right to object, then I would like 30 seconds to conclude debate.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, we have worked hard to protect aircraft by making sure pilots are equipped to defend the airplane. We need to go an extra step today. The FBI warned us that terrorists with shoulder- fired missiles are a threat to our commercial aircraft. The administration has determined airports are vulnerable to shoulder-fired missiles and they have deployed the National Guard. But we need to do more. We need to adapt countermeasures now installed in our military aircraft for commercial use. It is possible to do this. El Al is doing this. Opponents argue, and we will hear this, we should wait until a study provision I wrote into another bill becomes law. We should not wait because things have moved on since that study. This amendment is not even inconsistent with it. It will, in fact, make the money available for that study. This is about fighting a war on terrorism. I hope we will vote in favor of my amendment and not to table this amendment

Mrs. BOXER. Parliamentary inquiry. Is my friend intending to move to table my amendment or will it be a straight up-or-down vote?

Mrs. BOXER. I just wanted to know if my rationale made any sense.

Mrs. BOXER. I do have a question. I was just going to let the Senator know what had happened and then I was going to ask the question. What happened at that time was this threat had been rising and the administration took action since the time of the study that said to all the big airports around the country, national guardsmen will protect against this threat. Chairman Mica changed his mind after those hearings and I became more concerned. That is the reason why I drafted this to be both a study and a deployment on just a couple of planes.

Mrs. BOXER. I was hoping--I don't have any time left.

Mrs. BOXER. I thank the Senator. I think the Senator makes a very important point that I absolutely supported a study in the committee. Since that has occurred, however, two things have happened. Chairman Mica on the other side invited me to a secret meeting.

Mrs. BOXER. Will the Senator yield?

Mrs. BOXER. Will my colleague yield?

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, Senator Schumer is working hard on a major amendment dealing with first responders. I thank the Senator from the bottom of my heart for all his work on this issue and this amendment. Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton had an experience that no other Senator had. Yes, we had horrific pain in this area with the Pentagon being hit. The Senators from this region dealt with the pain and suffering and grief, but Senators Schumer and Clinton saw something they will never forget--none of us will, they particularly--and they deal with the fallout of this every day. When we talked about trying to get ahead of terrorists and listening to the FBI warnings, the TSA warnings, Senator Schumer said: I want to work closely with you on this. God forbid something like this should happen and a shoulder-fired missile would bring down a commercial aircraft. We would all say, my God, why didn't we do something? We have the technology. I yield to my friend for as much time as he has remaining before Senator Stevens takes time to respond.

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

Mrs. BOXER. The Senator hasn't interrupted my argument; he has made it stronger and better. Also, we know that military transport and refueling aircraft--and you have mentioned this--such as the C-17, C- 130, KC-135, and the KC-10 are some of the models that employ these countermeasure systems that we believe can be and must be used for commercial aircraft. Just going to the Senator's point about the military, they are conducting thousands of hours of training on countermeasures. So to underscore what my friend has stated, we know these systems work. We also know there is a threat. I think if you look at this amendment and all the parts of it, No. 1, it is a modest step because we are not adding new funding; we are simply taking out--there is more than a billion dollars in that particular section--it is $1.135 billion--and we are saying $30 million of that should go to support the research and development and getting these prototypes ready, so we know they can be put on aircraft. Chairman Mica and I have spent time talking about this, as well as Senator Schumer. We have come to understand that as we do this research and development, and the price comes down, when the airlines in the future order new commercial aircraft--and they are spending up to $150 million a copy--to spend an extra million dollars on that is not going to be very much. So we think this is a very responsible amendment. We think it would be foolish and foolhardy not to begin this work right now, because I can tell you, God forbid, if a terrorist were successful, or even unsuccessful but came close to hitting one of our commercial aircraft, everybody in this body would say: Oh, my God, we had our chance and we blew it. We didn't do what we should have done. Whether you look at the fact that these technologies are working on military planes, whether you look at the fact that we have enormous warning from the FBI, and we have seen this administration begin to move forward, if you put this all together, it speaks loudly and clearly in favor of this amendment. This is a chart of recent incidents of attacks. In November 2002, an Israeli jetliner was fired upon seconds after takeoff in Mombasa, Kenya, and al-Qaida is suspected. In May of 2002, an empty shoulder-launched missile tube was found outside Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia, and our military thinks that was from a shoulder-fired missile. In October 1998, we had rebels down a civilian Boeing 727 over the Democratic Republic of the Congo in which 40 were killed. This is just recent incidents, but if we go back 25 years, we see this occurred. I expect Senator Schumer is going to be coming to the Chamber. Until he does, I am going to continue to go over these charts. If we look at any of these charts, we get the picture. This chart shows the groups we believe have access to shoulder-fired missiles. This would make anybody shudder because we know these groups are well funded and active, and we know many of them view the United States of America as their target: Al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Kurdistan Workers Party, Palestinian Authority, Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine, Taliban, Armed Islamic Group, Huta Militiamen, UNITA, Oromo Liberation Front, Somali National Alliance, United Somali Congress, Hark at ull-Ansar, Hizbul Majahideen, Khmer Rouge, Liberation Tigers of Tamil, United State Wa Army, Kosovo Liberation Army, National Liberation Army, and the IRA. We know these groups have access to shoulder-fired missiles. We know some groups, particularly some on the top part of this chart, would like to go after United States interests, given the past and given the present situation. I want to read what Chairman Mica said after he came out of an intelligence briefing on this issue: I went into the meeting somewhat skeptical. I came out convinced that this is probably one of the most serious challenges we face in combating terrorism. I think that's important. Then he said: Since that hearing, I've lost some sleep and have great concern. We are saying this is very important. Honoring our Armed Forces Madam President, until Senator Schumer comes to speak on my amendment, I wish to pay tribute to five additional young Americans who were killed in the Iraqi war who were either from California or based in California. Sadly, these numbers are growing, and I have tried in every case to read their names on the floor. LCpl Patrick T. O'Day, age 20, was from Sonoma, CA, which is not very far from where I live. He was assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, CA. He was killed in a tank accident in Iraq on March 25. His family moved to the United States from Scotland in 1987. He was captain of the wrestling team at Santa Rosa Middle School. He enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Santa Rosa High School in 2001. He is survived by his wife, his parents, his three brothers, and his wife is expecting their first child in September. PFC Francisco A. Martinez Flores, age 21, from Los Angeles, CA, was assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, CA. He was killed in a tank accident in Iraq on March 25. He moved to California with his family when he was 3 years old. He was expecting to become a U.S. citizen in 2 weeks. CPT Aaron J. Contreras was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group-39, Marine Corps Air Station in Camp Pendleton, CA. He was 31 years old. He was killed on March 30 in a helicopter crash in southern Iraq. He was born on the Fourth of July in 1971. His family moved from San Jose, CA, to Sherwood, OR, in the late seventies, and he was a graduate of Sherwood High School. He joined the Marines in 1997. He is survived by his wife and three children, his parents, and four brothers. SSgt Donald C. May was assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, CA. He was from Richmond, VA. He was 31 years old. He died March 25 in a tank accident in Iraq. He is survived by his wife and two children. Cpl Robert M. Rodriguez, age 21, was assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, CA. He was killed in a tank accident in Iraq on March 25. He was from Queens, NY. He was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the Maspeth section of Queens. He was known to treasure his Puerto Rican heritage. He is survived by his parents, four siblings, and 17 nieces and nephews. I have come to this Chamber to honor our fallen military personnel before. We now have 20 men who have died in the Iraqi war who were either from California or who were based in my home State. My State mourns their loss. May these beautiful young Americans rest in peace. May we have a short war. And may we also pray for the wisdom of those who sent our young men and women into their mission. When we speak about the realities of war and how families will never be the same, as we take this bill up to make sure we have the best equipped military in the world and they have everything they need to protect them from harm, we also need to protect civilians from harm, which gets me back to the amendment that is before the body today. We have been warned by the FBI that the chance of a shoulder-fired missile being fired at one of our civilian aircraft is real. We have been warned by the Transportation Security Agency that the threat is real. The administration has deployed National Guard to various airports in our country to try to spot one of these individuals with a shoulder-fired missile. We know there are skeptics who have now come to the conclusion that this is, in fact, a very real threat to our people. We have heard from the travel industry that such an attack would be more than catastrophic, and as we vote more and more funding for our airline industry because we do not want to lose our airline industry, we need to take steps to protect it from further harm as well. We have an amendment that ought to get bipartisan support. We have an amendment that is fiscally responsible. We are not adding more money. We are saying this is a high priority and it ought to happen because if we can get the cost of these systems down below $1 million--right now they are about $1 million a plane. Even that is a small amount when one considers an aircraft costs $100 million to $150 million a copy. If we can get it even lower than that, it becomes less and less of a burden to both retrofit the older planes, the 6,800 planes we have flying now, and make this a mandated safety measure on all future commercial aircraft. There is a lot of support for this amendment. I just hope the Senate will put it in place. I think all of us will be able to sleep a little bit better at night because there are folks out there who want to hurt us. We know that. They look at civilians in a way we have never seen before. On 9/11 we saw that just because you are a civilian does not protect you from terrorists. It is our job to make sure we protect our people from terrorists. I am hopeful Senator Schumer will join us shortly. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BOXER. My friend is right. We know that, right now--before we have even seen research and development in a robust fashion to bring down the cost of these countermeasures--they are about a million dollars per plane. I say to my friend that $1 million on a $120 million aircraft is not too much to ask. We had a big breakthrough because Chairman Mica on the House side, yesterday, came on board on this amendment and is working on the other side. I have spoken to the leadership. I think if the Senate today can come together--I know we are voting so much on party lines now, and I can see that, but if we can come together on this amendment, which doesn't add any money at all, but simply says this is a priority--by the way, it is not only the Senator from Indiana, or the Senator from California, or the Senator from New York saying it is a priority; it is the FBI saying it is a priority. Who knows better what threats we face than the FBI? The TSA is saying it is a priority, too. On Sunday, there was a report in the New York Times saying that the Bush administration has ordered major security improvements at several of the Nation's largest airports after inspections showed that passenger planes taking off or landing at those airports could be vulnerable to attack by a terrorist using a shoulder-fired missile. So the fact is we see--I know at Los Angeles Airport dozens of National Guard troops are deployed. It is a good thing to patrol the perimeter and at road checkpoints, in part, because of concerns about shoulder-fired missiles. So the administration now takes this very seriously. We all know that while the National Guard is going to be very helpful in this regard, and more troops are going to help in this regard--and I support these measures--we know these missiles can reach commercial aircraft up to 12,000 feet. We know that stepped-up patrols of the perimeters are only part of the solution because you can have one of these shoulder-fired missiles pretty far away from the airport--in an apartment building, or anywhere else, or in the middle of a park, and it would be very difficult.

Mrs. BOXER. My friend is so much on point. It is true that the attempt to down an Israel airliner in Kenya failed. However, it is estimated that over the last 25 years, more than 550 people have been killed in incidents involving shoulder-fired missiles and commercial aircraft. I want to show my friend a statement made by a member of the travel industry, as we look at more funding for the airlines, which I think is essential right now given what they have gone through, because we have a war and we had terrorism and we have a recession. This is what Ed Adams, chairman of a big tourism industry group, said: The travel industry is painfully aware of what a successful attack of using a shoulder-fired missile on a commercial airliner could do to the confidence of the traveling public. It is a situation we would prefer not to even imagine, but we must understand the reality of such an event if we intend to prevent it. The blow to the economy, in general, and the travel and tourism sector, in particular, combined with the loss of human lives would be staggering. These costs would certainly outweigh the expense of the precautionary measures you are recommending today to make sure our commercial planes are safe from such a terrorist attack.

Mrs. BOXER. Before my friend leaves the floor, I want to put up the FBI warning we have been given. It is not as if we haven't been warned. That is why I want to make the case to my friends on both sides of the aisle as to how important they are. Given al-Qaida's demonstrated objective to target the U.S. airline industry, its access to U.S. and Russian-made systems and recent apparent targeting of U.S.-led military forces in Saudi Arabia, law enforcement agencies in the U.S. should remain alert to the potential use of the MANPAD'S against U.S. aircraft. When you put that together with the list of terrorist groups that have the weapons, you are so right. The Taliban is at the top. That is why now in Afghanistan we face threats from these shoulder-fired missiles, because they have them.

Mrs. BOXER. I am so pleased my friend would come over and engage in a colloquy with me. I was not aware of where these countermeasures were made. I know there are corporations working on them. He is right. Our military planes are protected--thank God--because these are heat-seeking missiles. They are attracted to these engines. Our military aircraft are protected. It is interesting because if you look at El Al, although they will not confirm or deny that their planes are so equipped, we believe they are. We don't have any specific information, but we believe they are. The point is, we need to now take this technology that is used on military aircraft and do a little more work so these technologies can work on commercial aircraft. That is what the amendment does. I say to the Senator, who I know is a fiscally responsible Member, we don't add any new funds because the first stage, $30 million, we can take out of existing money for research and development and begin to deploy a few airplanes with this system so we can make sure it works before we make a bigger investment.

Mrs. BOXER. Yes.