Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I think the Senator from Vermont has to go to a meeting quickly. How much time do you need?

Mr. BYRD. I yield to the Senator for that purpose.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, Senators know of my good nature, and so some of them want me to yield, which I will do. I am the President pro tempore. I wouldn't ask another President pro tempore to do that. But may I yield to my seatmate, Mr. Dodd.

Mr. BYRD. Of course. I yield to my friend from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, last week my friend--my friend--Senator Thad Cochran, the very distinguished member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, achieved a milestone in his career of public service to the people of Mississippi and the United States. Senator Cochran cast his 10,000th vote, his 10,000th rollcall vote, a record only 27 other Senators have achieved since the founding of this great Republic. A Senator's vote is so much more than a number on the final tally. Each and every vote represents an investment of time, research, and analysis on the part of himself and, in many cases, on the part of the staff, also on a given issue. Each vote is an evaluation of what best serves one's constituents, one's State, and one's country. Over these many years, I have personally noted that Senator Cochran approaches his responsibility with diligence. I have many reasons to know that. He approaches his votes with diligence, with a fine and keen intelligence, with sterling courage--he is from Mississippi--with courage and compassion. This son of public-spirited and politically aware schoolteachers demonstrated all these qualities at an early age as an Eagle Scout--I was never an Eagle Scout; I was a Tenderfoot--as a valedictorian--I know what that means--class valedictorian, as a varsity athlete--I don't know what that means--as a varsity athlete in four sports. Man, that is something, a varsity athlete in four sports. He is a hard worker--I know what that means--at whatever task to which he applies himself. I can't say much more than that. Senator Cochran achieved a scintillating academic record at the University of Mississippi School of Law and went on to serve as a naval officer in the Armed Forces of the United States. The discipline and the critical thinking he learned in those venues has served him well during his tenure in the Congress. The senior Senator from Mississippi has been a Member of the Senate since 1978, and 1978 was when I was serving as the Senate majority leader. He served three terms in the House of Representatives prior to that--and so did I, three terms in the House of Representatives. Throughout this time, Senator Cochran has paid particularly close attention to the needs of his constituents in Mississippi. That was his duty. Most recently, after his home State was hit by the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States, the distinguished Senator--a colleague of his has already spoken of that but I mention it here-- Senator Cochran used his role as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations to advance legislation that provided over $87 billion--that is ``billion;'' a billion is one dollar for every minute since Jesus Christ was born--Mr. Cochran provided over $87 billion in supplemental Federal assistance to the States affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A country western artist once asked in song ``where would we be without the love of a woman?'' ``Where would we be without the love of a woman?'' Undoubtedly, the love and the support of his wife of over 42 years, Rose--I remember Rose--helped Senator Cochran achieve this great milestone. As I have risen to recognize the Senator, I also wish to salute Rose. She was a beautiful lady, very warm smile, Rose. Again, I congratulate my colleague whose record in this Senate has been that of a true Christian gentleman and a man of genuine political humility. I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Hear, hear.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I want to assure all Senators that the Appropriations Committee intends to address the $3.1 billion increase proposed in the Senator's amendment when the Senate takes up the $100 billion supplemental that the President sent to the Congress this week. I have every expectation that the supplemental will be before the Senate next month. Today marks the 131st day of fiscal year 2007. We are debating H.J. Res. 20, a joint funding resolution for the nine remaining appropriations bills that were not completed during the 109th Congress. The Republican leadership, during the 109th Congress, left us with a great deal of unfinished business in the appropriations process. Only 2 of the 11 appropriations bills were enacted into law. Thirteen of the fifteen Federal departments--all but Defense and Homeland Security--are limping along through February 15 under a very restrictive continuing resolution. This is not the fault of the Appropriations Committee. Under the very able leadership of Chairman Thad Cochran, all of the fiscal year 2007 appropriations bills were reported from the committee by July 20. All of the bills were bipartisan bills, with all but one of the bills approved, 28 to nothing, in committee. Unfortunately, the Republican leadership chose not to bring domestic appropriations bills to the floor before the election and then chose not to finish those bills after the election. Instead, Congress passed three very restrictive continuing resolutions. These resolutions, if simply extended, would leave huge problems for veterans and military medical care, education programs, law enforcement programs, funding for global AIDS, for energy independence, and for agencies that provide key services to the elderly, such as the Social Security Administration and the 1-800-MEDICARE call centers. In December, I sat down with my friend, Senator Reid, and the new House Appropriations chairman, Dave Obey, to plot a course for dealing with this problem. We charted a course for developing a bipartisan and bicameral funding resolution that the House and Senate could pass quickly. During January, there were intense negotiations, which included the majority and the minority in the House and Senate. I consulted with Senator Thad Cochran several times during that process, and his ranking members and their staffs were included throughout the process. The resolution that passed the House last week and is now before the Senate is the product of those efforts. The resolution, which totals $463.5 billion and provides funding for the nine appropriations bills that were not completed during the 109th Congress, meets several goals. Namely, first, funding stays within the $872.8 billion statutory cap on spending, the cap which was set during the 109th Congress and which equals the President's request. Second, the legislation does not include earmarks--hear me--the legislation does not include earmarks. The Appropriations Committee took the lead in confronting the earmarks issue. We eliminated over 9,300 earmarks. We will have a temporary moratorium on earmarks until Congress passes the ethics reform bill. Hopefully, that bill will establish greater transparency and accountability in the earmarking process. Once the ethics reform bill is in place with its added transparency, we will establish a more open, more disciplined, and more accountable process for congressional directives in the fiscal year 2008 bills. Third, there is no emergency spending in this resolution. Fourth, for most agencies, funding is set at the fiscal year 2006 level. This formula replaces the current restrictive formula which was based on the lower of the fiscal year 2006 or the unsustainable House- passed level. Finally, the essential national priorities receive a boost in the legislation. To help pay for these essential national priorities, we cut over $11 billion from 125 different accounts and we froze spending at the 2006 level for 450 accounts. While we decided to include a continuing resolution formula for funding most agencies, it was essential that we, on a bipartisan basis, make choices to deal with the many problems that would result from simply extending the current continuing resolution. As noted in the White House Statement of Administration Policy, many of these increases also reflect administration priorities. For example, for veterans medical care, we included $32.3 billion, an increase of $3.6 billion over the fiscal year 2006 level, so that the VA can continue to meet the growing demand for health care for our veterans. For defense health initiatives, we included $21.2 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion over fiscal year 2006, to provide care for military members and their families, including treating servicemembers wounded in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Consistent with the fiscal year 2007 Defense Authorization Act, the President's proposal to charge members of the military $735 million for their health care is rejected. For the Labor, HHS, and Education bill, funding is increased by $2.3 billion, $7 billion above the President's request. Title I grants for our schools are funded at $12.8 billion, an increase of $125 million over fiscal year 2006, which will provide approximately 38,000 additional low-income children with intensive reading and math instruction. In addition, the legislation funds the title I school improvement fund at $125 million to target assistance to the 6,700 schools that failed to meet the No Child Left Behind requirements in the 2005-2006 school year. For the first time in 4 years, Pell grants will expand thanks to the $13.6 billion included in this legislation, an increase of $615.4 million over fiscal year 2006 that will increase the maximum Pell grant by $260 to $4,310. The National Institutes of Health are funded at $28.9 billion, an increase of $620 million over fiscal year 2006, for research to cure debilitating and often deadly diseases. Community health centers would receive $1.9 billion, an increase of $207 million, to finance more than 300 new or expanded health centers. Three hundred million is included for the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, MSHA, an increase of $23 million over fiscal year 2006 and $13 million more than the request, to allow the agency to continue its national efforts to hire and train new mine safety inspectors for safety in the Nation's 2,000 coal mines. The legislation increases funding for Federal, State, and local law enforcement by $1.6 billion. According to the FBI, last year violent crime rose in America for the first time in 15 years. In response, this legislation directs $6 billion to the FBI, an increase of $200 million over fiscal year 2006, to ensure that the FBI not only retains all of its special agents but also completes the effort to double the number of intelligence analysts hired since September 11, 2001. Other law enforcement programs receiving support include State and local law enforcement grants, the Judiciary, Treasury antiterrorism efforts, and other crime prevention programs. Under the continuing resolution now in law, highway funding is frozen at the 2006 level. Under this joint funding resolution, the Federal aid highway program is fully funded at the level guaranteed in the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act by providing an obligation limitation of $39.1 billion for fiscal year 2007, $3.5 billion over the fiscal year 2006 enacted level. The joint resolution includes $4.8 billion for Global AIDS and Malaria programs, an increase of $1.4 billion over fiscal year 2006. The Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety and Inspection Service receive increases of $220 million over fiscal year 2006 in order to improve food and drug safety and to combat the threat of pandemic flu. We also include funds for technology and innovation. The Department of Energy, Office of Science receives an increase of $200 million over fiscal year 2006; the National Science Foundation receives an increase of $335 million, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology receives an increase of $50 million. In an effort to promote energy independence, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs will receive an increase of $300 million over fiscal year 2006. Finally, we also include $785 million to provide agencies with 50 percent of the cost of the January 2007 pay raise in order to avoid RIFS and furloughs. The resolution will avoid the service delays for Social Security and the 1-800-Medicare call centers that would result from extending the current continuing resolution. This is not a perfect resolution--we don't claim that--but it is a thoughtful resolution. By complying with the statutory cap on spending, it is a fiscally disciplined resolution. By eliminating earmarks, it provides Congress with time to pass ethics reform legislation to increase transparency and accountability. By targeting resources toward national priorities, such as veterans and military medical care, we solve the most distressing of the problems created by the existing continuing resolution. On February 2, 2007--that was Groundhog Day, wasn't it--I received a letter from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and AMVETS, urging quick passage of this legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed in the Record following my remarks.

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, adoption of this joint resolution will ensure that we answer some of our Nation's most pressing needs and avoid a totally unnecessary Government shutdown. The last time each of the appropriations bills was signed into law by October 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, was 1994. I was the chairman of the Appropriations Committee that year. I am committed to working with my friend and colleague, Senator Thad Cochran, to bring 12 individual, bipartisan, and fiscally disciplined fiscal year 2008 appropriations bills to the floor this year. I urge swift adoption of the resolution. I thank all Senators. I yield the floor. Exhibit 1 The Independent Budget a budget for veterans by veterans February 2, 2007. Hon. Robert C. Byrd, Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Byrd: On behalf of the co-authors of The Independent Budget--AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars-- we urge you to quickly pass H.J. Res. 20, a bill making continuing appropriations for FY 2007 for the federal government, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently, the VA is operating at FY 2006 funding levels. The stop-gap budget bill, or continuing resolution, funding much of the federal government for the current fiscal year, includes a $3.6 billion increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs while spending for many other agencies was held at the 2006 level. Approving funding for the VA at levels included in H.J. Res. 20 would show that the Senate believes veterans are a national priority. Any attempt to retreat from the levels established in this legislation will have a drastic impact on veterans' health care and benefits services provided to the men and women who have served and sacrificed so much for this country. Without this critically needed funding, the VA will be forced to place further freezes on hiring of critical staff. It will also lead to additional canceled appointments and longer waiting times. The VA will also be unable to address the rapidly growing claims backlog. We hope that the Senate will show its support for the men and women who have in the past and continue to place themselves in harm's way. With these troops still in the field, now is not the time to allow politics to get in the way of doing what is right. Sincerely, David G. Greineder, National Legislative Director, AMVETS. Carl Blake, Acting National Legislative Director, Paralyzed Veterans of America. Joseph A. Violante, National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans. Dennis Cullinan, National Legislative Director, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the Senator for his views. I am absolutely committed to bringing 12 individual bipartisan and fiscally responsible fiscal year 2008 bills to the floor this year. However, for the nine remaining 2007 bills that we must have, we are now 131 days into the fiscal year. Over one-third of the fiscal year is gone, it is over, it is past. I very much appreciate the Senator and his colleagues for joining me in the bipartisan development of this bill, and I believe we must move forward. Again, I thank the Senator very much for his cooperation. I was about to suggest the absence of a quorum, but I yield the floor. I see the distinguished Senator seeking recognition.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the very distinguished Senator just allow me 1 minute to make a response to the discussions that have been going on here? Just for 1 minute.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the Chair, and I thank the Senator. I want to assure all Senators that this resolution does not reduce funding for AIDS. In fact, it has significant increases with regard to funding for base closures. This resolution has a $1 billion increase above the levels available under the current continuing resolution. The remaining $3.1 billion that the Senator from Texas is seeking can be addressed--and I assure her can be addressed--in the war supplemental that the Senate will consider next month. There is no need to cut funding for the FBI, the NIH, for NASA, or for our Nation's highways. I thank the Senator, and I thank the Chair.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. 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, February 8, 2007, at 11:30 a.m. to mark up an original bill entitled ``Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.''

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 10 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to evaluate the present and future of public safety communications.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on issues relating to labor, immigration, law enforcement, and economic conditions in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 9:15 a.m. to hold a hearing on the fiscal year 2008 budget request for international affairs.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 8, 2007 at 10 a.m. in SH-216.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a business meeting to consider pending legislative business, to be followed immediately by an oversight hearing on diabetes in Indian Country, with particular focus on the Special Diabetes Program for Indians.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226. Agenda I. Nominations Norman Randy Smith, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit; Marcia Morales Howard, to be U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; John Alfred Jarvey, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. II. Bills S. 188, To revise the short title of the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, Salazar; S. 214, To amend chapter 35 of title 28, To Preserve the Independence of U.S. Attorneys, Feinstein; S. 316, The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act, Kohl, Grassley, Leahy, Schumer, Feingold; S. 236, The Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act of 2007, Feingold, Sununu, Leahy, Akaka, Kennedy. III. Resolutions S. Res. 23, National School Counseling Week, Murray; S. Res. 36, Honoring women's health advocate Cynthia Doles Dailard, Snowe; S. Res. 37, Designating March 26, 2007 as National Support the Troops Day, Stabenow; S. Con. Res. 5, Honoring the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry and the first and only African-American chemist to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, Obama.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 8, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Would the Senator say that again, please?

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Could do what, may I ask?

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. What is the order that has been previously entered?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, what is the request?

Mr. BYRD. Is that the order that has been established or is that the request?

Mr. BYRD. But the order as established is what, may I ask the Chair?