Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2387, as Modified, to Amendment No. 2383

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2430 to Amendment No. 2383

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, a moment ago, the Senator from Iowa, Mr. Grassley, was speaking and described an amendment to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish reasonable regulations relating to stored quantities of propane. On his behalf, I send that amendment to the desk and ask that it be reported.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Iowa for his contribution to the debate and consideration of this legislation. I ask unanimous consent that it be set aside so that I may call up another amendment.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, on behalf of the Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, I call up amendment No. 2405 and ask for its consideration.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be set aside for consideration later.

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2425, as Modified, to Amendment No. 2383

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I will set this amendment aside and take it up in due course in the consideration of the bill.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for just one moment?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased this afternoon to join Senator Byrd in presenting the appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security for the next fiscal year. I might say, having sat here and listened to all the comments of the distinguished chairman, there is another side to the story on some of the issues that he raised, and I assure the Senate that they will have an opportunity to hear the other side.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the distinguished Senator from West Virginia in presenting the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. President, I appreciate very much the courtesies of the distinguished Senator from West Virginia and his staff and all members of the Appropriations Committee during our hearings and the preparation of this bill. We haven't agreed on everything, but this bill reflects our best effort to reach a fair resolution of our differences. I had hoped, for instance, that we could have held the overall level of proposed spending to no more than the President requested in his budget that was submitted to the Congress earlier this year. I am pleased that the bill recommends approval of the President's budget request for border security and includes 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, $1 billion for continued work on the virtual fence, and other tactical infrastructure. Funding above the President's request is added to accommodate an additional 3,000 detention beds. One of the consistent criticisms we hear about the Department is its challenges to hire the right people for the right jobs and to reduce its reliance on contractors. Unfortunately, the bill before us proposes to cut the human resource accounts significantly. These cuts handicap the Department in getting the right people into the right jobs to address many of the issues critics have complained about. We can all agree that the Department should be focused on hiring and retaining the best personnel it can. Succession planning, diversity initiatives, performance management, and workforce relations are all critical issues. By underfunding the programs that are designed to meet these challenges, we run the risk of creating a cycle of unmet promises and potential. This Department is too important for that. I must also express my concern that this bill restricts the obligation of funds in 10 instances. While I recognize this is within the power of the Appropriations Committee and is sometimes necessary, I think we have overdone it in this bill. In three separate instances, this bill provides reductions in funding for the Deputy Secretary of the Department of $1,000 per day if certain deadlines are not met. I would prefer to express our concerns in some other way and at least consider reasons that may have caused the deadlines to have been missed before automatically reducing appropriated accounts. I am equally frustrated with the Department's inability to meet deadlines Congress sets, and I expect the Department to meet statutory deadlines, but this approach is not workable. The report accompanying this bill is harshly critical of the administration's handling of security at Federal facilities. These are Federal facilities which receive protection from the Federal Protective Service, and I do not agree with that. The Federal Protective Service has worked hard to rationalize its fee structure and its mission since joining the Department of Homeland Security. It has not yet finished the process. But the administration remains deeply committed to the safety and security of all Government employees. The report accompanying this bill also criticizes the Department for legislation Congress has passed. It is unlikely that all Senators agree with all of the legislation that is enacted here, but to blame it on the executive branch agency charged with carrying out the law is hard to rationalize. It is unfair and it is wrong. Last year, the Appropriations Committee worked very closely with the authorizing committees to craft a compromise on chemical site security language. Chairman Byrd's leadership last year led to the enactment of a provision in the fiscal year 2007 act that will lead to regulating the chemical sector for the first time. I intend to continue to work with the chairman to ensure sufficient resources are provided to the Department so enforcement of these regulations is achieved. I am pleased the committee is recommending nearly full funding for the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization effort as well as support for the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and infrastructure protection. These are activities which are needed to continue to improve the security of our homeland, and generous funding is fully justified. This bill comes to the Senate floor during a time when our intelligence community has judged that the Nation is, and I quote, ``in a heightened threat environment.'' While there continues to be no credible specific intelligence to suggest an imminent threat, recent events in the United Kingdom serve to remind us of the very serious nature and the potential consequences of terrorist attacks. I hope we can move expeditiously to pass this bill so that we can begin conference with the House. Mr. President, earlier remarks today on the floor of the Senate may have suggested that the Department of Homeland Security isn't doing its job. Well, today, this one day, the Department of Homeland Security will process more than 1.1 million passengers and pedestrians, including 680,000 aliens arriving at our Nation's airports and seaports. Today, the Department will inspect more than 70,900 trucks and containers, 580 vessels, 2,459 aircraft, and 327,042 privately owned vehicles coming into this country. It will house and care for 19,000 aliens in detention facilities. It will screen approximately 2 million passengers and their 1.6 million pieces of checked baggage before they board commercial aircraft. It will make 63 arrests at ports of entry and 2,984 apprehensions between ports for illegal entry. It will intercept 27,000 prohibited items at airport checkpoints, including over 3,000 knives. It will train more than 3,500 Federal officers and agents from more than 80 different Federal agencies as well as State, local, tribal, and international officers and agents. Today, the Coast Guard will save 14 lives, assist 123 people in distress, and respond to 12 oil and hazardous chemical spills. Today, the Department of Homeland Security will naturalize more than 1,900 new citizens. It will conduct 135,000 national security background checks on those applying for immigration benefits. It will process 30,000 applications for immigrant benefits. It will help American parents adopt nearly 125 foreign-born orphans. The Department will help protect an additional 104 homes from the devastating effects of flooding and protect dozens of high-profile Government officials, including Members of this body, the President, and the Vice President of the United States, visiting heads of state, and former Presidents. This list of daily accomplishments provides just a sample of the important responsibilities and roles of the Department of Homeland Security. To accomplish these responsibilities, this bill provides $36.4 billion in discretionary spending and $1.1 billion in mandatory spending for fiscal year 2008. I must point out that this bill provides $2.25 billion more in discretionary appropriations than the amount proposed by the President in his budget submission to the Congress. The bulk of the increase from the President's request level, $1.8 billion, is devoted to increasing grants to States and localities. These proposed increases would come quickly on the heels of nearly $300 million being added for grants contained in the Emergency Appropriations Act, which was enacted in May. The 9/11 Commission Report warned about grant programs becoming entrenched as entitlement programs for State and local governments. We need to make a strong and successful effort to ensure that all funds we appropriate are fully justified. Mr. President, I look forward to considering any amendments Senators may suggest to the bill and to continuing our work to ensure we produce a work product that will reflect credit on the Senate and provide the funds that are important to the carrying out of duties and responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security for the next fiscal year.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we have reviewed this amendment. It is as the Senator from New Mexico said, a matter that has been before the body before and has been previously approved. We have no objection to proceeding as suggested by the Senator.

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask unanimous consent that the following Appropriations Committee staff members and interns be granted the privilege of the floor during consideration of the Homeland Security appropriations bill and any votes that may occur in relation to the bill: Carol Cribbs, Mark Van de Water, Braxton Coombs, Lori Holland, Chase Thompson, and Mary Agnes Ray.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, implementation of the Medicare prescription drug plan has helped provide prescription drug coverage for millions of Medicare beneficiaries who previously did not have access to medications. Many seniors are now paying less for prescription drugs and the savings for the prescription drug program are even greater than expected. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, and health care providers worked together to plan and implement this program and from the beginning, pharmacists played a significant role in making this benefit successful. Pharmacists assisted their Medicare patients in the selection and enrollment process and filled prescriptions for patients, regardless of the guarantee of timely reimbursement. Pharmacists continue to be diligent in serving their patients and providing much-needed medications, despite financial difficulties they have encountered in providing these services. We are introducing a bill today to assist pharmacists as they continue to serve their patients and as they help to continue the success of the Medicare drug benefit. This bill will allow pharmacists to achieve efficiencies in reimbursement for the products they provide to Medicare beneficiaries. This is especially important to the small, rural independent pharmacies in my State. This legislation will also provide incentives for pharmacists and other providers to help beneficiaries better use their medications, adhere to their drug regimens, and utilize cost saving medication therapy management programs. I am pleased to offer this legislation that will help continue the success of the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Mr. COCHRAN

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