Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. The Interior conference report. Mr. President, with the indulgence of the distinguished Senator from New Mexico, I ask unanimous consent that at that time I have 10 minutes rather than 5.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from New Mexico.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, 13 years have passed between the time Congress passed national energy legislation and the conference report we are taking up today. This conference report is not perfect, and it does not go as far as I would have hoped in terms of moving the U.S. down a different energy path. It does, however, include a number of positive elements, including several relating to coal and clean coal technologies that I have supported for a number of years. But, if we wait another 13 years and continue to ignore the looming energy threats that remain unaddressed, we may find ourselves woefully behind the rest of the world. If the U.S. is to remain competitive and keep pace with our growing energy demands, then we must take stock, as a Nation, of our energy security and make it a top national priority. We cannot achieve energy independence with continued incremental, piecemeal efforts. It is time to devote new innovation and ingenuity to energy policy and blaze a path forward. We need to be free of the chains of foreign oil. To do that, we must invest in the energy resources that we have here at home. Coal is at the heart of that effort. By encouraging the cleaner, more efficient use of coal in powerplants and other facilities, we help to ensure jobs in West Virginia's coal communities for many years to come. At the same time, we must find more ways to utilize coal as an energy source in the 21st century. West Virginians know that, for the United States to be free of our heavy reliance on Middle Eastern oil, we must make investments in coal, biomass, and other domestic, power-producing resources. We must be prepared to make the hard decisions to make energy security a national priority, not a mere afterthought. For many years, the Middle East has been a hotbed of tumult and strife. An underlying reason for our continued presence in this region is the protection of our oil lifeline. Unfortunately, even if the Congress passes this energy legislation, it will do little, if anything, to reduce our dependence on foreign energy. In fact, we will continue to become more dependent by the day. Instead of disentangling ourselves from this foreign oil dependency, we will be sinking our military and energy fortunes deeper and deeper into the sands of the Middle East. West Virginians and Americans everywhere should understand that there are some very good features of this conference report, but they should not be fooled. Our citizens will see little change in terms of gas prices or natural gas prices. There will likely be few changes in our production or use of energy. I fear the U.S. will continue to ride down the same rocky road for years to come. Regrettably, House Republicans also objected to including in the Energy conference report my commuter tax benefit to help rural workers who are paying exorbitant prices at the fuel pump. Big Oil, which is reaping huge windfalls from fuel prices this year, is denying modest relief to working Americans. This is but one of the many examples of how this bill sidesteps the difficult decisions that ultimately must be made to address energy costs, to reduce our reliance on foreign energy, to substantially improve our domestic energy supply and energy efficiency needs, and to deal with global climate change. We are doing little, if anything, to address seriously these critical challenges. I am delighted to support the inclusion of certain targeted tax incentives that will help promote the next generation of clean coal technologies. I have been working on these issues for more than 6 years and am delighted that the Congress has recognized their value. This would include, for the first time, $1.3 billion to help fund the deployment of the ``next generation'' of powerplants, including integrated gasification combined cycle and advanced combustion-based powerplants. There is also $350 million for a new program to accelerate the use of coal and other domestic resources at industrial gasification facilities. I note that several important coal research, development, and demonstration programs, especially the clean coal technology demonstration program, have been reauthorized and improved upon in this conference report. This legislation makes many promises to the country on energy policy. It makes promises to the men and women who pull the coal from the ground and to those who are finding ways to use that coal more cleanly and more efficiently. To make good on those promises, the administration must be willing to put financial support behind these initiatives. Will this administration do that? Is the President going to request the funding required in his budget to make the clean coal and other important energy programs a reality? In the end, the President will likely have a Rose Garden ceremony and press releases touting its accomplishments. But, given this administration's track record, is this energy bill simply a soapbox to stand on? The final legislation before us is only a way station on a long journey and more work remains ahead. This bill is not the whole answer. It is a start, and I am committed to continuing to work toward that goal. I want to thank Senators Domenici and Bingaman for their continued diligence and hard work in this endeavor. I applaud their efforts to ensure that the consideration of this legislation was open and bipartisan from start to finish. I will vote to support H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005. tax incentives for commercial buildings

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I commend Chairman Conrad Burns and the ranking member, Senator Byron Dorgan, on their work on this legislation. I am pleased that this conference report includes the full $1.5 billion proposed by the Senate to make up the current 2005 fiscal year shortfall in funding for veterans health care. The Interior bill may seem a strange vehicle for this funding, but it was the first vehicle available once the administration confirmed the funding crisis in VA health care, and I thank the managers for preserving this provision in their conference report. It is critically important that the President sign this conference report into law quickly so that this money can be used to replenish the coffers of the VA and make sure that there is no interruption in the VA's ability to provide medical services to our Nation's veterans. Make no mistake about it, this money is needed now--now. We know the VA anticipates an even greater shortfall in fiscal year 2006, and the Senate Appropriations Committee has addressed that problem in the 2006 Military Construction and VA appropriations bill by providing $1.977 billion in emergency funding for VA health care in 2006. The $1.5 billion that is provided in this conference report is specifically intended to address the current--the current--2005 crisis in VA health care funding. The precise amount of the current shortfall remains somewhat murky. The administration, after months and months of denying that a shortfall even existed, first pegged it as $975 million, and then upped--upped--the estimate to $1.275 billion. The Senate, however, fully mindful of the VA's dismal track record in estimating shortfalls, and wisely skeptical of the administration's fluctuating estimates, voted to include a total of $1.5 billion in this bill, with the proviso--get this--with the proviso that the funds would be available both this year and next. This was in sharp contrast to the House, which provided only $975 million in a separate bill to cover the fiscal year 2005 shortfall in VA funding. It is a victory for our Nation's veterans. Hallelujah. It is a victory for our Nation's veterans that the conferees agreed on the Senate level of $1.5 billion, but it will be merely a Pyrrhic victory if the White House tries to balance the books by shortchanging veterans in 2005 to make up some of the anticipated shortfall in 2006. Do not let it happen. It is worth repeating: The Senate Appropriations Committee has addressed the 2006 shortfall by adding $1.977 billion in emergency funding to the 2006 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill. The entire amount of the VA funding included in the Interior bill--$1.5 billion--is available for 2005--for 2005--and I strongly urge the administration, I strongly urge the White House, to spend up to that amount to meet the current health care needs of our veterans. The Senate voted twice, both unanimous votes, to provide $1.5 billion to make up the 2005 shortfall in veterans health care. I think the Senate made its position crystal clear. We did not vote to bank the money for some future rainy day. We voted to provide adequate funding to address an exiting crisis in the veterans health care system, and I, for one, fully expect--I fully expect--the administration to use this funding for the current crisis, and not attempt to horde it--horde it-- horde it--for the future. America's veterans have given much for their country. We have an obligation to give back to them something and to provide for their health care needs. This conference report is a good first step in shoring up the VA's health care budget and, hopefully, leading the way toward more realistic and adequate budgeting for the needs of our veterans in the future. Now, Mr. President, there is another part of this conference report for which the Senate can be very proud. Just a few weeks ago, this body voted unanimously--unanimously--to approve an amendment that I offered, along with Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Senator John Warner of Virginia, to provide $10 million--$10 million--to the national memorial to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That funding remains part of this final conference report before the Senate. There are many in this country who, during his life, did not appreciate the passion that Dr. King stirred in people. There are many who believed his goals could be achieved through different means. And I was one of those people, Robert C. Byrd. I was one of them. And I was wrong. I was wrong. I have come to admire Dr. King. I have come to recognize that his dream--his dream--truly is the American dream. Dr. King spoke of a day when children, regardless of color, regardless of creed, regardless of religious belief, would walk together in peace. Oh, how we need that message today, how we need that spirit today, as religious beliefs are used to divide our people, not to unite us, and as terrorist attacks breed distrust for people who come from different lands. Oh, how we need to recall the lessons that the late Dr. King taught some 40 years ago. During the conference negotiations on this legislation, Mr. President, there was a great discussion on how the Congress could encourage more Americans to contribute to the construction of the King Memorial. This legislation will help. This legislation says that every dollar raised in the private sector will be matched with a dollar from the U.S. Government, up to $10 million. That is why I urge those who believe in the message of Dr. King to take just a few minutes and contribute to this national memorial. Now, Mr. President, I thank the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the gracious Senator from Mississippi, Mr. Thad Cochran, for his support and for his work on behalf of this memorial. Without his support we would not have had this in the bill. We would not be at this moment without his strong efforts. I also thank the senior Senator from Virginia, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Mr. John Warner, for his work, too. Right from the start, Senator Warner stood up and cosponsored this amendment. His influence and his support were vital to this effort. I also thank Senator Pete Domenici for his support of this effort. Finally, let me thank the tens of millions of Americans who continue to build the dream--the dream; ah, how great the dream--that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., voiced some 40 years ago. Achieving that dream is not easy. Despite efforts to put the past behind us and move forward together, there remain those who are determined to look backward. There remain those who would rather promote fear and division than build unity and common purpose. I hope this memorial to the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will remind all of us--all of us--that there is far more strength in unity, far more strength in resolve, far more strength in love of one's fellow man than there ever can be in division, in discord, and in disunity. And so, Mr. President, I thank those who have been so helpful. And I hope that one of Dr. King's favorite Bible passages, which is also one of mine, comes to be a reality. And I have seen it coming to be a reality. It comes from the Book of Isaiah. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together:. . . . That was one of Dr. Martin Luther King's favorite Scriptures. And so I look forward to that day, Mr. President. That day was the hope of Dr. King. And that day is my hope as well. Mr. President, I thank the Chair and thank all Senators. Mr. President, before I yield the floor, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a list of the Senate cosponsors of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial amendment.

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

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, The roses red upon my neighbor's vine Are owned by him, but they are also mine. His was the cost, and his the labor, too, But mine as well as his the joy, their loveliness to view. They bloom for me and are for me as fair As for the man who gives them all his care. Thus I am rich because a good man grew A rose-clad vine for all his neighbors' view. I know from this that others plant for me, That what they own my joy may also be; So why be selfish when so much that's fine Is grown for me upon my neighbor's vine? The appreciation of a good neighbor is among the oldest, most cherished, and enduring of human values. It is a value that transcends both time and space. This value was vividly and eloquently expressed more than 2,000 years ago in the Bible which commands us in eight different passages to love our neighbors: Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8. In fact, this is one of the most repeated commands in the Scripture. In other passages, the Bible tells us how to treat our neighbors, Proverbs 25:17 and Romans 15:2; and in others warns us against mistreating our neighbors, Deuteronomy 19:14, Exodus 20:16, Proverbs 3:29. The appreciation of a good neighbor is also a value that knows no cultural or geographical boundaries. An old Chinese proverb, for example, maintains that ``a good neighbor is a found treasure.'' In the United States, towns and states celebrate Good Neighbor Days. Across the country, municipalities, corporations, radio stations, and newspapers present Good Neighbor Awards. Stores and businesses proclaim ``Good Neighbor Days'' to promote sales. Since the early 1970s, the Federal Government has celebrated an annual Good Neighbor Day. This year Good Neighbor Day will be observed on September 25. The web site for the national Good Neighbor Day points out that ``being good neighbors is an important part of the social fabric that makes ours a great country.'' Indeed it is. Good neighbors are always there when you need them, offering a helping hand, providing comfort. Seldom have I observed a stronger sense of neighborliness than among the coal miners in the West Virginia communities where I spent my boyhood years. Fred Mooney, a leading figure in organizing the West Virginia coal miners in the early Twentieth Century, in his autobiography, ``Struggle in the Coal Fields,'' recalled how his coal- mining neighbors, although themselves quite poor, sacrificed to help him and his family with food and clothes after he had been fired from his job and blacklisted for his union activities. Mooney explained, ``This is the spirit of fellowship, love, and devotion that permeates the life of a union coal miner. He will give until it hurts and then divide the rest.'' That, Mr. President, is loving thy neighbor: ``giv[ing] until it hurts'' and expecting nothing in return. I have observed this sense of neighborliness following mine explosions, floods, and other disasters that have befallen on my state over the years. I will never forget how the people of Buffalo Creek, WV, came together following a disastrous flood in that community. How they worked together and shared together while caring for and comforting each other, thus enabling themselves and their neighbors to survive that horrible tragedy. Being a good neighbor involves most often small, simple acts of kindness. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill, liked to point out that ``all politics is local.'' Being a good neighbor is also local. It begins right over the backyard fence. It involves small, simple acts of kindness, as well as dramatic gestures during catastrophic events. A good neighbor is the friendly face who shows up with a cake or a pie at the house of a family who has a member who is ill. A good neighbor is a person who mows the lawn of the widow down the street. He may be the handyman who is quick to pull out his tool belt when a neighbor has a busted pipe, or a mechanic who starts his neighbor's car on a cold winter morning so he can get to work. He is a neighbor who will cheerfully shovel your sidewalk when it snows, or rake leaves, just to make life easier for you. Such simple acts of kindness are part of the social fabric that makes for a better community, a better country, and a better world. I am thinking now of a neighbor who lives about 3 miles from where I live in McLean, VA. I have known him a good many years. His name is James Nobles. Jim Nobles is a neighbor who is always seeking ways to help my wife Erma and to help me. Many is the time that he has come to my home and sat and talked with my wife, who has gone through a long period of illness, an illness of going on 5 years. Many times Jim Nobles has come by and sat on the front porch with Erma and talked with her. So when Erma and I have been busy or tired, Jim Nobles somehow appears at our door with a basket of food or a cake from the local Giant store. He provides us with transportation if we need it. On cold winter days, often to my surprise and my delight, I have looked out the glass windows, and I have seen him out shoveling the snow from the walkway to the mailbox. I find he has already shoveled the snow off my sidewalk. When he is able, he makes sure that my newspaper is on my porch in the morning. There it is, the Washington Post. There it is, Roll Call. There it is, The Hill. Jim Nobles gets up, comes over to my house, 3 miles from where he lives, and brings the papers off the sidewalk onto my porch. I can always tell that it is Jim Nobles because he also places the newspapers in the same fashion in the same place right there at my door. That is a good neighbor. He comes when my hedges have grown a little too long. He tops off the hedges. He shapes them up. When there are some dead limbs on the trees in my front yard, he cuts off those dead limbs and hauls them away. That is Jim Nobles. Sometimes Jim goes on a vacation. He is retired now. He goes on a vacation. He has a place somewhere down in Virginia, perhaps 100 miles away or more from where we live. Sometimes he goes and spends a few days there at that place. Then what am I to do but go out and get the paper. I have to get up, go out and get the newspaper. It is not a great chore, but it is something. But lo, to my surprise, the newspaper keeps on being delivered to my door. So for quite a while, I wondered, who is the other good neighbor who pinch-hits when Jim Nobles is away? On two or three occasions, I have sat up just to try to catch that other good neighbor delivering that newspaper. I remember on one occasion I got up early and I put a little chair beside the front door and I sat there and watched, waiting for that person to walk up and deliver my paper. Jim Nobles was away. But, you know, that neighbor on that particular occasion didn't come, didn't deliver that paper. So time has gone on, and this morning, I decided I am going to catch this neighbor this time--this good neighbor who delivers my newspaper when Jim Nobles is away on vacation. So there I sat. This time, luck was with me. I saw her come down the street, pick up the newspaper, pick up the Roll Call and The Hill. She came up to the door and put the papers in the spot there and away she darted. It was then that I turned the key in the door. I said, ``Lady, would you wait just a minute? I want to know more about you. What is your name? I want to thank you for delivering this to my door when Mr. Nobles is not here.'' I came to find out that this was a lady from the Philippines. She worked in the area. She doesn't live in the immediate area, but she comes into the area on a bus, she gets off the bus, and on her way to the residence where she works during the day, she stops, picks up the newspaper out there on the sidewalk near my mailbox, walks up to my door, and puts that paper down. Finally, I found this caring, good neighbor whose name I had been wishing to learn. Her name is Ms. Mary Lucas, from the Philippines. I told her this morning that I was in the Philippines 50 years ago this year. I had breakfast at that time with the late President Magsaysay, who was later killed in a plane crash. So there she was, a good neighbor making her way to work, doing a special favor for someone like myself and then going on, not receiving my thanks. This could have gone on a long time, as it had already gone on a long time. I finally found her and found out her name. I must confess that at times I feel a little guilty because I am not a better neighbor. My work in the Senate, my family life, and my other responsibilities prevent me from performing the kind, neighborly acts that Mr. Nobles and Ms. Lucas have performed for me over the years. But they, in the truest neighborly ways, never expressed any complaint. They never want anything in return; they never expect anything in return. They just want to be good neighbors. And they are. Indeed, they are treasures. Mr. President, I wish to take a few minutes of the Senate's time to say how fortunate I am to have such good neighbors. I thought it might encourage all of us to think a little more about being better neighbors. It is the human touch that makes a better community, a better country, a better world. And so on this day in July, in this year of our Lord, I want to thank God for good neighbors, for the inspiration they have given to me and to Erma, for the goodness they have shared with her and with me. I close with a bit of verse by Edgar Guest: I have a kindly neighbor, one who stands Beside my gate and chats with me awhile, Gives me the glory of his radiant smile And comes at times to help with willing hands. No station high or rank this man commands; He, too, must trudge, as I, the long day's mile; And yet, devoid of pomp or gaudy style, He has a worth exceeding stocks of lands. To him I go when sorrow's at my door; On him I lean when burdens come my way; Together oft we talked our trials o'er, And there is warmth in each good night we say. A kindly neighbor! Wars and strife shall end When man has made the man next door his friend. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I opposed the Ensign and McCain amendments Nos. 1219 and 1171 to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, H.R. 2360. These amendments would have shifted $566 million from grants for first responders, including our State and local police officers, firefighters, and emergency health providers, to provide for an increase in detention beds and border security personnel. Those cuts in first responder funds would have been in addition to the $467 million in first responder cuts already included in the underlying bill, resulting in a cut of 43 percent below fiscal year 2005. Such a cut in funding for equipping and training our first responders at a time when the Nation is at risk of a terrorist attack would not be appropriate. In addition, the Ensign amendment would have provided new spending power to the Homeland Security Secretary, which is not necessary or appropriate. Having successfully sponsored an amendment to the fiscal year 2005 Iraq supplemental that added 500 Border Patrol agents, 218 immigration investigators, and detention officers, and 1,950 detention beds, and having worked closely with Chairman Gregg to see that the underlying bill includes robust funding for our border security, I know that such efforts can be achieved without cutting vital funds for our first responders or providing new spending authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security. Indeed, if the amendments were adopted, the funds would likely have sat in the Treasury because the Department could not hire and train more personnel than the levels provided in the committee bill. That is why I, along with a bipartisan majority of the Senate, joined with the chairman to oppose these amendments.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. BYRD. May I make a unanimous consent request before we proceed?

Mr. BYRD. I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators have their names added as cosponsors to the Byrd amendment numbered 1200: Senators Warner, Collins, Murray, Stabenow, Kohl, Sarbanes, Levin, and Cantwell.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, as I understand it, the Senator from Connecticut is concerned the Committee report language could be interpreted to limit the $50 million, which is almost a full third of the funding for EDS procurement, to only technologies currently being piloted.

Mr. BYRD. One of the lessons we learned from 9/11 was the aviation transportation system is only as strong as its weakest link. We know terrorists boarded planes at smaller, mid-sized airports, as well as larger airports. It is important the Department encourage development of technologies that can be used at different airports, and that are being made more effective and efficient.

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Senator from Connecticut for his interest in this matter.

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

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Dodd be added as a cosponsor to my amendment No. 1218.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, my amendment provides an additional $1.3 billion above the underlying bill for needed security funding for our transit systems, intercity rail, freight rail, and intracity buses for a total of $1.4 billion. The funding levels I am proposing in this amendment are based on two bipartisan rail security authorization bills, S. 2273 and S. 2884, which passed the Senate last October. Public transportation is used nearly 32 million times every day, 365 days a year. Thirty-two million times a day is 16 times more than travel on domestic airlines. How about that. According to the Government Accounting Office, nearly 6,000 agencies provide transit services through buses, subways, ferries, and light rail service to about 14 million Americans every weekday. Amtrak, while serving nearly 500 train stations in 46 States, carried an all-time record of ridership of 25 million passengers in fiscal year 2004. Freight rail consists of more than 140,000 miles of track over which nearly 28 million carloads move annually, including over 9 million trailers and containers and $1.7 million carloads of hazardous materials and hazardous waste. Yes, only 2 cents--get this now, 2 cents. My colleagues have heard the expression, ``I want to get my 2 cents' worth.'' Well, only 2 cents on every transportation security dollar in this bill--can you believe it? Only 2 cents on every transportation security dollar in this bill goes to transit or rail security. Can you believe that? Two cents. I remember the days of the 2-cent snack--my, that was a long time ago--and the penny postcard. Two cents. Let me say that again. Someone may not have heard that. Only 2 cents on every transportation security dollar in this bill goes to transit or rail security. The rest, where does it go? To aviation security. When the terrorists blew up trains last year in Madrid, Spain, the administration had no plan, none, for securing transit and rail systems. The horrific bombings a few days ago in London have raised the same question. Are we prepared? What do my colleagues think? Are we prepared? Are we prepared? According to the RAND Corporation, between 1998 and 2003 there were approximately 181 terrorist attacks on rail targets worldwide. Since 2001, I have offered seven different amendments--think of it, seven different amendments--to fund rail and transit security. What do my colleagues think of that? What do they think happened? I will give one guess. I offered seven amendments to fund rail and transit security. All seven were opposed by this administration, and all seven were defeated. Well, Robert Bruce, that great Scotsman, was lying in the loft of the barn, and he saw this spider try to throw its web across the roof on the inside of the barn. He saw that spider try six times, and the spider failed. But the spider then threw once more, seven times, and succeeded. Robert Bruce thought he would try once more. He did, and he succeeded. I offered an amendment seven times that was opposed by the administration. While we cannot secure every train, every station, and every passenger who uses mass transit or rides on trains from city to city, we can, with the additional funding I am proposing, implement prudent, commonsense actions to reduce the risks and consequences of a terrorist attack. I ask unanimous consent that I may have an additional 3 minutes.

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair. We must harden infrastructure, install intrusion and detection systems, and procure cameras, locks, gates, canine teams, and other tools. The Gregg amendment provides an increase of only $100 million for rail and transit security. That level simply will not be enough. It will help some, but it would not be enough to help transit and rail agencies in their efforts to deter a potential attack. For transit alone the estimate of need is $6 billion. I am also concerned that the amendment reduces first responder funds by $100 million. This is a $100 million cut on top of the $467 million cut already in the bill. We should not be cutting funds to equip and train our police and our fire and emergency medical personnel by 24 percent. With regard to the Shelby amendment, I am concerned that it includes only $100 million for securing rail systems. With 25 million passengers riding Amtrak and 1.7 million carloads of hazardous materials being carried on the rails, we must do more. We must do more to secure our rail system. My amendment includes $265 million for rail security. Our thoughts, our prayers are with the victims of the London bombing. The horrific events the world witnessed a few days ago ought to serve as a call to action, a call to action by this Government, our Government, to protect our citizens from future attacks. It is time to act. I urge all Senators to support my amendment. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Salazar be added as a cosponsor to my amendment numbered 1218.

Mr. BYRD. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I ask the question respectfully, would the distinguished Senator wait momentarily, until we can hear from Senator Inouye? If he could wait a couple of minutes, may I ask?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive the applicable sections of that act for purposes of the pending amendment. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. BYRD. Yes.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Feingold, I call up amendment No. 1120. The amendment requires the Department of Homeland Security to report to the Congress on the use of data-mining procedures.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BYRD. The amendment is cosponsored by Senator Corzine. I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I move that the vote by which the amendment was agreed to be reconsidered.