Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, it is a great pleasure to join with the distinguished Senator from Washington in presenting this bill. He is an extraordinarily fine chairman. I have chaired this subcommittee now for, oh, a good many years, but Senator Gorton is really one of the best subcommittee chairmen in this Senate. I say that without any hesitation. I have no compunctions about saying he is one of the finest chairmen with whom I have ever served in these 42 years in the Senate. I mean every word of it. I have found him always to be very courteous, very considerate, very cooperative; and he is this way with all Senators--not just with me but with all of our colleagues. I could not hope to have a better chairman than he. And if it were not for the honor that goes along with the chairmanship, I would just as soon he kept this. But there is a certain honor with it, so I look forward to the time when I will be chairman of the full committee and subcommittee again. But my hat is always off to this chairman, Senator Gorton. This is an important piece of legislation that provides for the management of our natural resources, undertakes important energy research, supports vital Indian health and education programs, and works to protect and preserve our national and cultural heritage. It is a bill on which Senator Gorton and I cooperate very closely on a bipartisan basis. We know no party in our relationship in this Senate. And that is said without any reservations whatsoever. There is no Republican Party, no Democratic Party where Slade Gorton and I are concerned in working on this subcommittee. And I can say the same with respect to the full committee with respect to Ted Stevens, the distinguished Senator from Alaska. There is no party line in that committee. The programs and activities funded under the jurisdiction of the subcommittee are treated in a fair and balanced way, as is customary for the annual Interior appropriations bills under the chairmanship of Senator Slade Gorton. He is one of the best--if not the best-- subcommittee chairman with whom I have had the opportunity to serve. The bill was reported unanimously by the committee, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage. I will not repeat the summary of the bill just provided by the subcommittee chairman, except to say that, as it currently stands, this measure provides $15.4 billion in new discretionary budget authority. This amount, while less than the administration's request, is nevertheless $628 million above last year's enacted level. The bill, as reported by the committee, has fully utilized the subcommittee's entire 302(b) allocation of $15.4 billion in discretionary budget authority. Consequently, to remain consistent with the Budget Act, any amendments that propose increased funding will have to be fully offset. So if any Senator has any amendment in mind that seeks to add money, that Senator or his staff, or both, should busy themselves about finding an offset because Peter is going to have to pay Paul in this instance. It is going to come out of somebody's funding, and I am determined it will not be mine. So I suggest that Senators look for an offset because they have to have it. In terms of total spending, the Interior bill is by no means the largest of the 13 annual appropriations measures. Yet, despite its relatively modest size, the Interior appropriations bill commands significant attention from Members of the Senate. As is the case every year, the subcommittee received more than 2,000 Member requests seeking consideration of a particular project, or account, or activity under the jurisdiction of one agency or another in this bill. All of these requests are very important to our colleagues and the people that they represent. Unfortunately, because of the constrained spending level under the allocations provided to the Congress, it is not possible to adequately respond to all of these requests. That is what makes the crafting of this bill so difficult. Trying to balance the specific needs addressed by the Member requests on one hand, while remaining within the budgetary allocations on the other hand, is an arduous task, indeed--not as arduous, perhaps, as the problem that Solomon had, but sometimes I wonder. Nevertheless, it is our responsibility--the responsibility of our chairman and myself--to undertake that very difficult assignment, and I commend him for his splendid efforts in meeting the highest priority needs of all Senators. For months now, he has gone to great lengths to work with me and to keep me informed, and to work with my staff to keep my staff informed, of his recommendations throughout the process of marking up and reporting this bill. Throughout this process, Senator Gorton's graciousness--that word is key, ``graciousness''--and his dedication to duty have never wavered, and I am personally grateful to him for all his courtesies. I also express my appreciation to the fine staff members on the majority staff side, as well as members on the minority staff side. We have a new staff person on this side of the aisle--Peter Kiefhaber, German to the core, smart as they come, and hard working. That is what I like about him. He is hard working, he is courteous, and he is extremely efficient. So with that, I think I shall join my chairman in asking Senators, if they have them, to bring their amendments to the floor. It would be my hope, as I used to do when I was chairman, to urge, with the approval of the chairman of the subcommittee, our floor staffs to contact Senators and see if they have any amendments. If they have them, let's draw up a list. Let's know which Senators have what amendments, and let's draw up a list. It would be my hope that at a time not too far away we could get unanimous consent that that be a finite list. Then we could go from there. But I will not suggest that at the moment. I have not discussed that with the chairman. Whenever he is ready to ask his staff on that side of the aisle, I will do the same over here. We will have our leadership make calls to Senators and let us know if we are to anticipate any problems from them. If we are to anticipate such, let us know about it. And because we do have other business, we must get on with it. I again thank my chairman, Mr. Gorton. I thank our staffs.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, tucked into a sheltered green valley in Southern West Virginia is a magical place, a place where fascinating history, natural majesty, and sumptuous comfort have combined since the first days of our nation's founding to create a spot that is justly world-renowned. That place, Mr. President, is called The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It has been a special place for several decades now, overflowing with game for the Shawnee Indians, a spa since colonial days, a place of high society idylls and balls, fought over during the Civil War, a World War II diplomatic internment site and then a rest and recuperation hospital for wounded soldiers, and a secret government relocation site--all cloaked behind the well- bred, white-columned face of a grand southern belle of a resort. Mr. President, in May, my wife Erma and I celebrated our 63rd anniversary. Erma is my childhood sweetheart, the former Erma Ora James. We have written a lot of history together over the past 63 years, and I could not ask for a better coauthor. This year, as we have in the last several years, we celebrated at the fabled Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs. I am certainly not original in my inspiration to celebrate moments of marital bliss there--President John Tyler, the first President to be married in office, spent part of his 1844 honeymoon in White Sulphur Springs. Actors Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher spent part of their 1955 honeymoon there, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy arrived at the Greenbrier on October 11, 1914, for a two-week honeymoon. Many, many, other famous names are inscribed in the Greenbrier's guest register. The history that Erma and I have created together is a blink of the eye compared to that of The Greenbrier, whose healing waters were first enjoyed by hardy colonists in 1778, as they had been by Shawnee Indians for untold years before that. The Greenbrier has been a resort almost since the day in 1778 that Mrs. Anderson, one of the first homesteaders in the Greenbrier area of the ``Endless Mountains,'' as the region was identified on colonial maps, first tested the wondrous mineral waters on her chronic rheumatism. Word of Mrs. Anderson's recovery spread rapidly, and numerous log cabins were soon erected near the spring. The ``summer season'' at the spring was born, albeit in a somewhat primitive state. Still, the fame of the spring along Howard's Creek continued to spread. Thomas Jefferson mentioned ``Howard's Creek of Green Briar'' in his ``Notes on the State of Virginia'' in 1784; that same year, George Washington focused the Virginia legislature's attention on the commercial prospects of the ``Old State Road'' running between the Kanawha River valley, through The Greenbrier's lands, to the piedmont and tidewater sections of Virginia. Along the route of today's roadway between the hotel and the golf clubhouse stands a monument to this vision. The Buffalo Trail monument commemorates the point at which the pre-colonial Indian Buffalo Trail crossed the Allegheny Mountains on its way from the Atlantic Coast to Ohio. This trail became the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, which for over a century carried commerce and development from the settled East to the future states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. By 1809, a tavern with a dining room, a barn, a stable, mills, and numerous cabins constituted a hospitable stopping place along the still-rugged route West. And rheumatism sufferers were joined at this watering hole by others more interested in the creature comforts and social interaction than in relieving joint pain. By 1815, the first spring house was built over the spring head, and a thriving resort was attracting visitors who typically stayed for several weeks at a time. A hotel and many surrounding cottages, some quite sumptuous, were erected over the years. Commodore Stephen Decatur, hero of the Barbary Wars, brought his wife for a 16-day stay in 1817, and Henry Clay of Kentucky, Speaker of the House of Representatives, spent some time at White Sulphur Springs during several summers over some 30 years. The cool mountain breezes under the shelter of ancient oaks, combined with stylish fans and gentle rocking chairs on a shady porch, made the Greenbrier a comfortable spot in those sweltering summers before air conditioning. In many ways, the Greenbrier has changed little over the years. The gracious sweep of lawn, the stately trees, the ranks of white cottages and imposing hotel facades hark back to that earlier era. Many of the cottages, most too sumptuous to be called merely ``cottages,'' have their own special histories. One of the cottages was owned by Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, who was a nephew of the French Emperor. General John J. Pershing, Commander of the Allied Forces in World War I completed his memoirs in the cottage named ``Top Notch.'' Early morning horseback rides are still popular, and Erma and I recently enjoyed the romantic carriage ride through the grounds. Hunting, fishing, and even falconry are still practiced. But more golf courses, tennis courts, and swimming pools encourage a more active lifestyle than in those early days. The Greenbrier is justly famous for its golf and for the Sam Snead Golf School. Though I do not play, I still enjoy the beautifully landscaped courses with their wide sweeps of lawn and water dotted with sandy island obstacles. The partaking of the sulfur water, that elemental component of the original spa experience, is now complemented by health and beauty facilities and services that pamper every part of you. A visit to the Greenbrier has grown ever more restorative over the years. Henry Clay, that great man from Kentucky, the State of the Senator who now presides over the Senate with a dignity and degree of charm and skill and poise as rare as a day in June, often visited at the Greenbrier, as I have said. Henry Clay was an early political fan of the Greenbrier, surely the most gracious and comfortable stopping place on his many trips between Washington and his home in Kentucky. Other well-known figures and luminaries who visited the resort prior to the Civil War were Presidents Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. I have already noted that President John Tyler honeymooned at the Greenbrier. Dolly Madison, Daniel Webster, Davy Crockett, Francis Scott Key, and John C. Calhoun, and many other political notables have also contributed to engrossing dinner conversations there in more recent years, including Senate greats such as Everett Dirksen, Sam Ervin, Jacob Javits, and Barry Goldwater. Other politicians preferred the outstanding golf at the resort, including President Eisenhower, President Nixon (as a Vice President), and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. President Woodrow Wilson has also graced the Greenbrier, though I do not know if he was a golfer. The Greenbrier has always been a favorite spot of other celebrities, as well. The Vanderbilts, Astors, Hearsts, Forbes, Luces, DuPonts, and the Kennedys have sojourned there, as did Prince Ranier and Princess Grace with their children Albert and Caroline. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor danced the night away in the grand ballroom. Bing Crosby has sung there, and Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Rudi Valle, Art Buchwald, Dr. Jonas Salk, Cyrus Eaton, and the Reverend Billy Graham have all made mealtime conversations there sparkle more than the crystal chandeliers in the dining room. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are just two of the sporting greats who have autographed the guest register. Clare Booth Luce wrote the first draft of her most enduring play, ``The Women'', during a three-day stay in 1936. Like Tennyson's brook, the fascinating list of notables could go on and on forever. People watching--that is watching people--has always been a spectator sport at Greenbrier functions! The Greenbrier has experienced trauma as well as galas. During the Civil War, the Greenbrier's location astride a strategic rail line into Richmond, Virginia, put her in the line of fire. Troops were billeted in her guest rooms, but both sides spared a favorite pre-war vacation site and fighting raged along the Greenbrier River. Being in what became Southern West Virginia, during the debate over succession in 1863, the Greenbrier's fate as a West Virginia or a Virginia citizen was uncertain. I am surely glad that West Virginia was the winner! During Reconstruction, the hotel's healing waters also helped to heal the wounds of war, as grand society from both sides of the conflict continued to meet at the Greenbrier. General Robert E. Lee was a frequent visitor. In General Robert E. Lee's single post-war political statement, he led a group of prominent Southern leaders vacationing at the Greenbrier in drafting and signing what became known as ``The White Sulphur Manifesto'' of 1868. This document, widely reprinted in newspapers across the country, declared that, in the minds of these men, questions of secession from the Union and slavery ``were decided by war,'' and that, upon the reestablishment of self-governance in the South, the Southern people would ``faithfully obey the Constitution and laws of the United States, treat the Negro populations with kindness and humanity and fulfill every duty incumbent on peaceful citizens, loyal to the Constitution of their country.'' The war was truly over. In 1869, one of the most famous photographs ever taken at White Sulphur Springs included Robert E. Lee and a group of former Confederate Generals, among them Henry Wise of Virginia, P.G.T. Beauregard of Louisiana, and Bankhead Magruder of Virginia. Other ex- Confederate officers who visited the resort were Alexander Lawton of Georgia, Joseph Brent of Maryland, James Conner of South Carolina, Martin Gary of South Carolina, and Robert Lilley of Virginia. Former Union General William S. Rosecrans visited General Lee while Lee was vacationing one summer at the Greenbrier. The Greenbrier has served the nation well in two other wars, as well--World War II and the Cold War. At the outbreak of World War II, the hotel served as a rather gilded cage for several thousand foreign diplomats and their families, from Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, and, later, Japan. It was then taken over by the federal government for the Army's use as a rest and recuperation hospital for wounded soldiers, before returning, like the soldiers it housed, to civilian life. Much has been made, in recent years, of the Greenbrier's secret life as a covert agent of the U.S. government. In 1992, the existence of an emergency government relocation center built secretly deep beneath the Greenbrier was revealed. The result of an extraordinary partnership between the CSX Corporation and the federal government, the bunker contained facilities to house and operate the entire United States Congress in the event of nuclear attack. It had its origin in plans created by President Eisenhower to ensure the survival of the constitutional system of checks and balances. The President had to convince Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, to go along with the plan, which was carried out in the greatest secrecy for over forty years. The secrecy was necessary, because the bunker at the Greenbrier was not designed to withstand a direct hit, but, rather, to ensure security through a combination of physical design and camouflage. The remote shelter of the West Virginia hills proved a perfect combination of cover, concealment, and denial. Now, the bunker is open to the public for tours. It is fascinating to see the level of detail that was included in the bunker, but it is also sobering to reflect upon the real fear of Armageddon that existed in this country during those years and which justified this kind of contingency planning. As you finish the tour and return to the sunlit world of golf, lazy country walks, luxurious settings, and fine dining that is the hallmark of the Greenbrier experience, it is difficult to recall those not-so-distant times when school children practiced hiding under their desks in the event of a conventional or nuclear exchange. I encourage my fellow Senators, and, indeed, anyone listening, to visit the Greenbrier, to tour the bunker, and to relish the history and the service that are so much a part of this precious piece of West Virginia. Avoid the current high gas prices and road congestion, and take the train as so many have before you. Leave steamy, contentious, Washington behind for a time, and step out at the Greenbrier's rail depot wondering at the beauty, the cool breezes that smell of fresh, clean air and wildflowers. Allow yourself to be swept along by the attentive, unobtrusive service of an earlier age and be deposited in a bright, flower-bedecked room before a pre-dinner stroll about the grounds. You will be walking with the celebrities of the past as you write a wonderful new chapter in your own history. I was mentioning the Amtrak train. My recollection went back to a time in England when the distinguished Senator from Washington, Slade Gorton, and his nice wife Sally, and Erma and I rode the train from London up to York. Oh, my, what a wonderful time we had in York, visiting through the countryside with its narrow roads and its hedges and having our meetings with the British. Those were most enjoyable days and memorable ones. But riding the train in itself is a real treat. I like to ride trains, and I know Slade Gorton does, too. Has he ever told about his bicycle journey across the United States? He and his wife and their children traveled by bicycle, a bicycle odyssey, across the United States of America, all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic. That would be something worth reading about. Better still, talk with him in person about it. I close with the immortal words and images of the poet William Wordsworth, who lived from 1770 to 1850, when the Greenbrier was yet in its early days. But his lines eloquently capture the sights one can now happen upon when strolling through the magical grounds of this wonderful outpost of gentle civilization amid the mountains, and they capture the happiness such beauty inspires: I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. Like the Greenbrier, the forests in West Virginia. I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD. He said, ``we lay waste our powers.'' But I can assure you that the Senator from Tennessee doesn't lay awaste his powers. He is a busy man, and he serves his country and his State in a great fashion. I thank the Senator for his kind words.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, in talking a little earlier with the distinguished Senator from Washington, Mr. Gorton, he indicated to me that we had completed our work today on that bill and we would be back on it tomorrow. I assume he did not anticipate anything further today.

Mr. BYRD

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

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry. Is my name on the matter that was just acted on?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the distinguished majority leader yield?

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, until some understanding is agreed to on the amendment to which Mr. Warner has alluded, I will object.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I support the Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. This measure increases funding for education programs by $4.6 billion from $37,924,569,000 to $42,594,646,000. This increase includes funds to provide for a $350 dollar increase in the maximum Pell Grant award, up to a maximum of $3,650 dollars. The bill also includes an increase of $1.3 billion for special education programs, raising the total appropriations for such purposes from $6,036,196,000 to $7,352,341,000. Furthermore, for the first time, this bill enables local education agencies to use Title VI funds for school modernization and class-size reduction efforts, if they so choose. I am pleased that the bill contains over $40 million in funding for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship program. As the only merit-based scholarship program funded by the Department of Education, this program awards scholarships to high school graduates who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and have been accepted to attend an institution of higher learning. The bill includes nearly a million dollars for the continuation of a program to identify and provide models of alcohol prevention and education in higher education. Alcohol abuse is a devastating problem on college campuses across America, and I hope that this program will provide incentives and form the basis for colleges and universities to better address the problem of alcohol abuse on their campuses. I note that the bill includes a $1.2 billion initiative to address the problem of youth violence, which is also a major national concern. This spring, at West Virginia University, I convened a Youth Summit on Violence that was designed to give young people an opportunity to put forth their ideas on how to reduce violence among their peers. In response to the question, ``What would best prevent violence in the schools?''--the number one response from these young people was to create safe places where they can gather for social activities after school. In that regard, I am pleased that the bill includes $600 million for the 21st Century Learning Centers Program. That very important program supports grants to local education agencies for the purpose of establishing after-school programs. The bill contains nearly $250 million for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and an increase of $2.5 million above the President's request for the Mine Health and Safety Academy. This agency is vital when it comes to protecting the health and safety of our nation's miners. The measure also contains $6 million for black lung clinics, which play a critical role in providing medical treatment to coal miners suffering from black lung disease. Further, the bill includes more than $200 million for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Important research conducted at NIOSH adds to our understanding of occupation- related ailments and diseases. In conclusion, Mr. President, I express my appreciation to the Chairman and Ranking Member, Senators Specter and Harkin, for their efforts in putting together this very important funding bill. These two Senators are vastly experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to matters under the jurisdiction of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee. They have worked on a bipartisan basis splendidly, as is always the case, preparing this Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations bill. I also wish to express my appreciation to Senators Specter and Harkin for facilitating the inclusion of my amendment into the managers' package. My amendment provides $50 million to the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to develop, implement, and strengthen programs that teach American history as a separate subject within school curricula. The importance of America history is too often undervalued in our nation's classrooms. Poll after poll in recent years has alerted us to huge gaps in historical knowledge among our nation's schoolchildren. It is my hope that this amendment will encourage teachers and students to take a deeper look at the importance of our nation's past. Again, I wish to compliment the two fine managers of the bill and the Appropriations staff who have assisted them with preparing the bill. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the Chair for trying to get order. Will Senators please respect the Chair.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Senate will soon take up the FY 2001 Military Construction Conference Report. In addition to meeting the military construction needs of the nation, Divisions B & C contain emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 2000 totaling some $11.2 billion. The supplemental portion of the bill funds a broad array of urgently needed programs. More than $6 billion is provided for the emergency needs of the military. Of that amount, some $2 billion is to cover the cost of our peacekeeping operations in Kosovo; $1.6 billion is to recover increased fuel costs to the military; and $1.3 billion is for health benefits for the military. For the victims of natural disasters, particularly those who suffered the ravages of Hurricane Floyd, some $300 million is provided. And, $350 million is provided in emergency funds to replenish the fire management accounts of the Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service. Those firefighting accounts are totally depleted and must be replenished immediately. The bill also provides $600 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance grants, and more than $600 million is provided to address the costs related to the disastrous fire at Los Alamos, New Mexico. One of the biggest pieces of the supplemental package is $1.3 billion to fully fund the President's request in support of Plan Colombia. The President's anti-drug initiative is an ambitious effort in support of Plan Colombia, a massive undertaking by the Colombian government to fight the alarming rise of heroin and cocaine production and trafficking in Colombia. The intent of the President's aid package to Colombia is laudable; but at this point, there remain more questions than answers as to what the impact of this assistance will be. Our efforts in the past have done little, if anything, to deter Colombia's drug lords. The production of cocaine and heroin has skyrocketed. Some analysts are concerned that increased U.S. involvement in Colombia's drug wars will fuel an all-out civil war in a country already ravaged by guerrilla warfare and paramilitary abuses. For those reasons, I am pleased that this conference report preserves a provision that I originally added in the Senate Appropriations Committee to place restrictions on future funding for U.S. assistance to Plan Colombia, and to limit the number of U.S. military personnel and U.S. civilian contractors that can be deployed in Colombia to support the counter-narcotics effort. The Byrd provision requires the Administration to seek and receive congressional authorization before spending any money on U.S. support for Plan Colombia beyond the funding contained in this supplemental package and other relevant funding bills. The President's request for Plan Colombia is fully funded. This provision simply ensures that, if additional funding is requested to prolong or expand U.S. involvement in Colombia's anti-drug campaign, Congress will have the opportunity to review and evaluate the entire program before green-lighting more money. The goal of my provision is to prevent an incremental and possibly unintended escalation of U.S. involvement in Colombia's war on drugs to the point that the United States, over time, finds itself entangled beyond extraction in the internal politics of Colombia. We cannot ignore the fact that Colombia is embroiled in a civil war, and that narco-guerrillas, who are better-trained, better-financed, and better- equipped than the Colombian army, control much of the country. The government of Colombia is fighting a just, but uphill battle. The United States, in this funding package, is making a major commitment to help Colombia. With the Byrd provision, we are also making a commitment to the people of the United States that Congress will stand guard against this nation's being unwittingly drawn too deeply into Colombia's internal problems. Mr. President, this Administration has, in the past, registered strong opposition to the Byrd provision. I assure the Senate that we have listened to the concerns expressed by the Administration, and have addressed them. We doubled the cap on U.S. military personnel to 500, as requested by the Pentagon, and tripled the allowable number of U.S. civilian contractors to 300. We exempted funding for on-going counter- narcotics programs covered in other appropriations bills, as requested by the Administration. We addressed virtually every issue raised by the Administration, and I hope that the President is ready to endorse this language. It is my opinion that the Administration should welcome the spotlight that this provision will shine on the level of U.S. participation in Plan Colombia. The Administration should also welcome the additional safeguards that this language provides to reduce the possibility of unbridled mission creep and unforeseen consequences. There are some who have expressed concern that this language is too restrictive, and that it will impose too difficult a process to allow the United States to continue its efforts to fight drug production and drug trafficking in Colombia and throughout the region. I believe the process should be restrictive. I do not believe that U.S. assistance to Plan Colombia should be handled on a business-as-usual basis. The political situation in Colombia is too unstable, and the risks to American citizens involved in the counter-narcotics campaign are too high. That said, my provision is not intended to slam the door on future counter-narcotics assistance to Colombia or to other countries in the region, if such assistance is needed and warranted. The war on drugs must be waged aggressively, both at home and abroad. At this point, the President has requested a specific level of funding, $1.3 billion, to finance a specific program. Congress is providing that funding in this appropriations measure. If this President, or a future President, seeks more money, or seeks to broaden or prolong U.S. involvement in Plan Colombia, we merely ask him to present that request to Congress, and to give Congress the opportunity to review, assess, and authorize the entire program. What we do not want to see is U.S. assistance to Plan Colombia quietly ramped up through regular or supplemental funding bills until we suddenly reach the point of having thousands of U.S. citizens deployed to Colombia, and billions of U.S. tax dollars invested in Colombia's drug war, and no way to extricate the United States from Colombia. Mr. President, Congress has a responsibility to exercise oversight over programs such as U.S. participation in Plan Colombia. This provision ensures that we will have the opportunity to exercise that oversight, and to make an informed and deliberate decision on future funding for Plan Colombia. It is a wise precaution to include in a package that will underwrite a costly, complicated, and unprecedented assault on a dangerous and determined enemy.

Mr. BYRD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, having been the Senate Democratic leader, I know that there comes a moment in time when leaders have to step in and act. Our two leaders did that at the critical moment. It is through their leadership that we have reached an understanding in this matter. I thank both leaders. I congratulate them on having done a great service. I say this: Every Senator is in their debt. I also thank my colleague and friend, Senator Stevens, for the leadership he has shown in these appropriations matters. I hope that both of our leaders, in particular, and all of our colleagues will have a very safe and enjoyable Fourth of July.

Mr. BYRD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. BYRD. Please tell your handsome grandson, who has been blessed with a multitude of talents, I am sure, that this year is not the beginning of the 21st century. Tell him it is not the beginning of the third millennium. This is the last year of the 20th century. Regardless of what the media say and many politicians say, this is the last year of the 20th century and the last year of the second millennium. Let him know that, so that he will be raised in truth and will always seek truth.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. I thank the chairman and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee for the excellent work they have consistently given to this legislation, the many times they have brought it to the floor of the Senate. The distinguished Senator from Virginia, Mr. Warner, and I worked together on several amendments. I am always happy to have his cooperation and his cosponsorship. He is a man whose heart is as stout as an Irish oak and as pure as the Lakes of Killarney. As to the distinguished ranking member, the Bible says: Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before Kings. Senator Levin has already stood before Kings and will probably stand before more if there are any left.

Mr. BYRD. I thank both of my colleagues.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, in a few short days, our Nation will celebrate for the 224th time the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For some, the occasion will take on an unwarranted special significance because there are people who have been led to believe--in some cases misled, I would say--that this is the first Independence Day of the new millennium. For them, the celebration requires extra fanfare, even more spectacular displays of fireworks, and an even bigger party, akin to the gala bashes of last New Year's Eve. However, in reality, the millennial Independence Day celebration coincides with the 225th anniversary of the signing next year, in 2001. So I, at least, will reserve my extra sparklers and Roman candles for next year. I will not, however, let any confusion over the new century/new millennium stand in the way of one of my favorite holidays. The Fourth of July is a standout. It is one of the few holidays still celebrated on the actual anniversary of the day, as opposed to being appended to a weekend for convenience's sake. Though sales may beckon from nearby shopping malls, the holiday is not obscured beneath any major sporting event. There are no 4th of July college football championships, no basketball finals, no baseball World Series games to divide families into the camps of the spectators and the ignored. The 4th of July is instead, typically, celebrated by families and friends in the great beauty of the outdoors. Some years, the weather is perfect, with blue skies, moderate temperatures and low humidity, when the American flags are fanned by gentle breezes--the kind of a day that fills me with a sense of exhilaration and anticipation. Other years, the weather is almost unbearably hot and sticky, the flag hangs limply from the pole, and sun screen mingles with sweat to turn picnickers into melting human popsicles. But even these sweltering days can be relieved by mimicking childrens' refreshing runs through a water sprinkler arcing manmade rainbows across the yard, or by dousing the heat with gallons of tart lemonade and sweet watermelon chilled in a tub of ice. On summer days like these, people still resort to rocking chairs on porches and paper fans waved lazily before faces, much as they did when I was a boy in the days before air conditioning. The highlight of the day, is, of course, the fireworks. My favorite time of this holiday comes as the temperatures cool and the skies darken, and the fireflies' display hints of the light show to come. I cannot wait to see my little great-granddaughter Caroline's expression as she is presented with the mysteries of smoke worms, sparklers, and Roman candles. I hope that she will not be so afraid of the explosive booms of the big fireworks that she cannot enjoy the fiery display, the cascades of red, blue, green, and golden sparks drifting down over our heads. It is alright for her to be afraid, of course. After all, those fireworks, so festive now, recall the great battles fought by our young nation to gain its independence from mighty Britain. Two-hundred and twenty-four years ago, on a similar hot summer night, little Caroline's patriotic forbearers might have feared for their lives as the cannons boomed and the flintlocks cracked. The parades we watch today are a faint reminder of the lines of troops that may have tramped with grim faces through colonial towns on their way to battle with the redcoats. So it is, perhaps, good to be a little afraid when watching 4th of July fireworks. It may be the closest many of our children come to reliving this important time in the history of our Republic. Probably most children watching 4th of July fireworks do not fully understand the link between the holiday and this day in our nation's past. That our children know little about history is not news. Poll after poll in recent years has alerted us to huge gaps in historical knowledge among our nation's schoolchildren. Once again, a recent test of young peoples' knowledge of history, in this case, the history of our own nation, has demonstrated a sorry--and if I may add--scandalous ignorance. What is disconcerting about this most recent report is that it reflects the knowledge base of college seniors from some of the best colleges and universities in the nation, not younger children with many years of learning still ahead of them. If those who do not learn from history are truly doomed to repeat it, then I shudder to think how much our future might resemble that silly movie, ``Groundhog Day.'' The test, sponsored by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, and administered by the University of Connecticut, consisted of asking college seniors at 55 top colleges and universities some 34 questions from a high school-level American history test. I was very sorry to read that nearly 80 percent of those tested earned only a ``D'' or an ``F.'' A mere 23 percent could identify James Madison as the principal framer of the Constitution. More than a third did not know that the Constitution established the division of powers in American government. Just 60 percent could correctly select the 50-year period in which the Civil War occurred. Imagine that. Just 60 percent could correctly select--in other words, 40 percent could not correctly select--the 50-year period in which the Civil War occurred--not the correct years, or even the correct decade, but the correct half century! A scant 35 percent could correctly name the President in office at the start of the Korean War. It was, for the record, President Truman. But, 99 percent of these college seniors correctly identified Beavis and Butthead as television cartoon characters. That is a sorry commentary, indeed. Years of experts advising parents to limit and monitor their children's time in front of the television, and to encourage their children to stretch their minds by reading or their muscles by playing outdoors, have come to this--a nation of increasingly overweight children who spend increasing numbers of hours watching moronic and scatological so-called humor on television and who do not learn the history behind some of the most fundamental tenets underlying our system of government. It is a disgrace--a colossal disgrace. Perhaps we should attempt to restrict books and learning, in order to make them more desirable ``forbidden fruits'' in our children's eyes. I do not want to put the blame for this sad state of affairs entirely on parents or even on our lowest-common-denominator-seeking entertainment industry. Another recent review, this time, of high school textbooks by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, slammed biology and science textbooks, in particular, as missing the big picture behind the four basic ideas driving today's cutting edge research. Not one of the two dozen biology texts reviewed by the group, which are aimed at grades 9-12, were considered excellent or satisfactory. Other reviews in the past of history books have illustrated similar deficiencies. I fear that we are nowhere close to answering the century-plus old prayer by Charles Kingsley--``I hope that my children, at least, if not I myself, will see the day when ignorance of the primary laws and facts of science will be looked upon as a defect only second to ignorance of the primary laws of religion and morality.'' We are, instead, closer to fulfilling the prediction by Robert A. Heinlein that ``A generation which ignores history has no past--and no future.'' In light of this dismal knowledge of our national history, I have today offered an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill to provide $50 million--just a little seed corn--to the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to develop, implement, and strengthen programs that teach American history as a separate subject within school curricula. It doesn't mean social studies. That is about all they have today. Some people look upon social studies and claim that is history. I have nothing against social studies, except it is not history. What I am suggesting here by way of this $50 million amendment is that the Secretary of Education award grants to States to develop, implement, and strengthen programs that teach American history--not social studies. The schools may, if they wish, teach social studies. But this is American history as a separate subject within the school curriculum. The importance of American history is too often undervalued in our nation's classrooms. As I have already indicated, poll after poll in recent years has alerted us to huge gaps in historical knowledge among our nation's schoolchildren. It is my hope that this amendment will encourage teachers and students to take a deeper look at the importance of our nation's past. A Supreme Court ruling just a few days ago would take prayer out of our school functions, about which I will have more to say on a future day. It seems that knowledge is already in short supply there. The early patriots who established our great nation, and who inscribed on the Liberty Bell a quotation from Leviticus 25:10, ``Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants thereof,'' would surely be surprised at this sad turn of events. Trained in the classics, steeped in history as surely as that tea was steeped in Boston Harbor's waters, they readily mingled faith and learning, and valued both. I hope that on this 4th of July, some few imaginative parents might encourage their children to see, not the smoke of the backyard grill, but the smoke of battle; to hear, not the explosions of fireworks but the percussive thunder of cannons; and to spark in these young minds not a taste for firecrackers but a taste for history. Our Founding Fathers gambled so much for our freedom. They invested their lives, their families, their fortunes, and the best of their intellects, in winning our freedom and then protecting it with a marvelously thought-out system of government. For 224 years, it has withstood the tests of history. Our Constitution, our government, our nation, has bested every effort to bring it down. It has proved capable of stretching to cover millions more acres, millions more people, and millions of new circumstances, the likes of which Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and their peers could not have dreamed. If we are to appreciate their gift, if we are to carry on their legacy, we must learn about it, care about it, and share it with our children. I would not wish to visit upon our children, through ignorance, the fate of the protagonist Philip Nolan in ``Man Without a Country.'' I believe it was written by Edward Everett Hale. I read it many years ago. It would be well if our schoolchildren and even our adults would read it today. Philip Nolan's sentence in ``Man Without a Country,'' for wanting to renounce his country, was to forever sail upon the high seas never again hearing news from home, not even the name of the homeland that he finally comes to realize that he loves. Our children should recognize the gift that is their birthright, and they deserve sufficient knowledge of their history to appreciate and protect the liberties that they enjoy. I know that my knowledge of our Nation's history, and my study of the documents and lives that shaped it, only deepen my love for my Nation. I have been fortunate. I have been blessed by the Creator, blessed by the God who reigns over the destinies of nations--blessed to live a full life with many opportunities for travel, but always, I share the sentiments in the poem by Henry Van Dyke, ``America for Me.'' America for Me `Tis fine to see the Old World, and travel up and down Among the famous palaces and cities of renown, To admire the crumbly castles and the statues of the kings,- But now I think I've had enough of antiquated things. So it's home again, and home again, America for me! My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be, In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars, Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars. Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air; And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair; And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study in Rome But when it comes to living there is just no place like home. I like the German fir-woods, in green battalions drilled; I like the gardens of Versailles with flashing fountains filled; But, oh, to take your hand, my dear, and [travel] for a day In friendly [West Virginia hills] where Nature has her way! I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to lack: The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back. But the glory of the Present is to make the Future free,- We love our land for what she is and what she is to be. Oh, it's home again, and home again, America for me! I want a ship that's westward bound to plough the rolling sea, To the blessed Land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars, Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak for 15 minutes out of order, without the time being charged to anyone.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator. I apologize for imposing myself at this moment. But I had noticed several quorums of considerable length, and I thought this might be a good time to have a statement made. I thank all Senators. ``The Search for Jesus''

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I found disappointing Peter Jennings' ``The Search for Jesus,'' which aired on ABC Monday night. The promotions for the show promised a pilgrimage to the roots of Christianity, but I think what we were actually given was more of a slide show. All too often we are told by members of the media that they are constrained by time. Broadcasters divvy up air time into 30 seconds, 60 seconds, an hour, 2 hours, and they are constrained by these blocks, which are further constrained by their ability to sell advertisements to support their use of time. In case after case, including that of ``The Search for Jesus,'' too little time is devoted to providing a serious look at important issues. Whatever one's view of Jesus may be, it is hard to deny that few, if any, other lives have so affected our world and humanity as that of Jesus Christ. Here is someone who literally split the centuries in two. The questions and controversies surrounding His life on Earth certainly deserve more than the 2 hours devoted to it by ABC. Two hours--in fact, much less than that when one subtracts the commercial time, which was substantial--hardly scratches the surface. The program presented many provocative ideas. A very limited number of theologians, historians, and ordinary folk had much to offer in the way of researched information, speculation, theory, heartfelt notions, and simple faith. But they were given only seconds here and there to provide us with what may well have been valuable insight and inspirational ideas. If there is a topic that deserves plenty of time, this is it. And, I daresay, as much as it may also cause what to many, including myself, is a distasteful commercialization of religion, this is a topic for which I assume the network easily sold loads of advertising time--as apparently it did for the broadcast Monday night. In this case, what actually aired was light on substance, but heavy on advertising, giving the effort the appearance, at the very least, of a high-toned money grab. I cannot be sure what motivated the show, ``The Search for Jesus.'' Evidently, Peter Jennings and staff spent months preparing for it, conducting interviews, researching, and traveling to Biblical sites. But viewers were certainly done a disservice by the encapsulated version that the network provided. As much as any journalist may try to let others do the talking, to give the experts the floor, and to present a rounded, unbiased view, when it comes right down to it, the finished piece--except on very rare occasions--reflects the decisions, good or bad, of producers and editors who must slice and trim to make their program fit into the time frame relegated to it by the network. The show's conclusion--that Jesus was a man, that he existed--comes as no revelation to anyone who has lost someone dear and found solace only in the Trinity. As the program noted, there were others before and during His time who professed to be the messiah. They came and went, sometimes by execution, and their followers were either executed alongside their leaders or they found new ``messiahs'' in whom to place their faith. But, as the ABC show noted, Jesus was an exception. There was something extraordinary--one might say miraculous--in the way that His death promoted the proliferation of His teachings, and in the fact that, nearly 2,000 years after His crucifixion, He continues to inspire followers around the world. There is, indeed, no need to go to the Middle East to find Jesus. He can be found in any West Virginia hamlet or hollow. He can be found in the arid West, among towering urban buildings, and along peaceful ocean shores. In the words of Job, that ancient man of Uz, ``Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.'' I do not judge the intentions or the views of those who helped to put together ``The Search for Jesus'' program, but I know exactly where to place my faith. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article entitled ``He's everywhere but here,'' be printed in the Record.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order, please. Can we have the well cleared. Unless Senators are voting, Senators should not be in the well.