Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to bring to the attention of the Senate that my long-time staff member and current chief of staff, Mark Keenum, who has served my office and the Senate so well for the past 17 years in a manner which reflects great credit on the Senate, has been nominated by President Bush to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. His confirmation by the Senate will give him an opportunity for continued public service that will benefit all Americans. I do not know of another person who would bring any better qualifications to this job than Mark Keenum. He has an agriculture economics undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University and also received graduate degrees from that university, including a Ph.D. After completing his studies, Mark served on the faculty at Mississippi State as an instructor and was actively engaged in research in emerging agriculture and aquaculture areas of interest in our State. In 1989 Mark joined my staff here in Washington as a specialist in agriculture and agriculture economics. He has been an outstanding member of my staff, both in helping to develop policy initiatives and in monitoring all the legislation affecting the Department of Agriculture. In my duties as a member and later Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, he provided very valuable advice and assistance in shaping policy there. He was actively engaged in the successful completion of several farm bills. Mark worked to craft the language, negotiate, and iron out differences in conference with the House. He has communicated closely with the administration over the years, all in a very professional and thoughtful way. Mark and his wife Rhonda are close friends of mine. Mark's personal qualities are impeccable. He is courteous and intelligent; he works hard, has a strong sense of responsibility, and has good judgment. I appreciate the way he has helped manage the administrative and legislative functions of my office, as well as the counsel he has provided me for the past 17 years. I am confident that Mark will do an excellent job in helping develop options for the next farm bill. He will be a great resource for the administration, as well as for the Congress. We will miss him here in the Senate. I am pleased to congratulate him on his nomination and extend my thanks to him for the great job he has done in the Senate.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be able to advise the Senate that the Appropriations Committee has completed our work on the bill providing funds for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense for the next fiscal year which begins on October 1. Yesterday, the other body approved the Defense appropriations conference report, which provides new spending authority for the Department of Defense. Included in this bill is $70 billion in additional appropriations to fund operations related to the global war on terror. I expect the majority leader will call up this conference report later today for approval by the Senate. I commend the excellent leadership and hard work of the distinguished Senators from Alaska and Hawaii, the chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and the ranking Democrat on that subcommittee, for putting together a bill that carefully considers the requests made by the administration for this massive undertaking of defending our country, identifying the challenges that we face, which threaten our security at home and abroad. It is a daunting task, but they have brought to this challenge a lot of experience, a lot of keen insight into the needs of our country, and the way the Department has to receive funding on a predictable and regular basis to achieve its goals and carry out its important mission. It is also my hope that the Homeland Security conference report will soon be filed in the House. It includes $34.8 billion in discretionary spending. It also reflects hard work by the conferees on that subcommittee, the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. Gregg, and the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, who were the chairman and ranking minority member of that subcommittee. Our conferees completed work on this bill, and we expect that it will be filed in the House, as I have suggested, I hope, very soon. The Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal year 2007 appropriates $1.8 billion, designated as emergency funding for border security, to help make our borders more secure. I commend the President and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for their leadership and their efforts to help strengthen the capability of protecting our homeland. Four thousand new border agents have been added. Detention facilities have been constructed. Cargo inspection has been improved. Coast Guard equipment and capabilities have been upgraded and modernized. New vehicles for agents have been acquired. New technologies have been acquired, as well, to help control illegal immigration. The capacity to detect weapons of mass destruction have been improved. The timely consideration of both of these appropriations conference reports is very important to our Nation's security. The bills provide the funding to protect our Nation from those who would threaten us. I commend the conferees and the staff members who worked very hard to complete our work on these bills. I appreciate President Bush's leadership in sending the requests to Congress that were comprehensive, very carefully considered. I applaud the leadership of the administration for successfully protecting our homeland. Protecting our homeland is a huge challenge. Every year there are over 500 million people who cross our borders. There are 118 million vehicles and 16 million cargo containers that enter the United States annually. We have 95,000 miles of coastlines, 2,000 miles of common border with Mexico, and 5,000 miles of common border with Canada. These are under the jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Coast Guard. While efforts are being made at home to protect ourselves and our borders, demanding work is being done abroad by our military forces to defeat the terrorists. They have expressed their intention to kill Americans and anyone who stands in their way. The Defense appropriations bill fully funds military pay for our troops and includes an across-the-board pay raise that was requested by the President, as well as procurement of necessary aircraft, ships, and ground equipment to ensure that our military forces are the best in the world. The Defense appropriations bill contains $70 billion of supplemental funding to ensure that our troops have the resources needed to succeed in the global war on terrorism. Mr. President, I commend the good work of our conferees, and I am hopeful that both conference reports will be passed by the Senate this week. It will permit the timely transition to the new fiscal year and prevent potential funding delays that could result in a disruption of programs that are very important to our national security.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I am pleased to join my colleague from Kentucky in commenting this morning during morning business on our efforts to protect against the continuing threats to our Nation, specifically protecting ourselves against the continuing threat from terrorists. I am pleased to see President Bush in recent days presenting to the American people and the world what the facts are, what we have achieved in our efforts to defend our country against the terrorist acts and to protect against those who would harm American citizens around the world. I am pleased to see that we have the strong leadership of the President on this issue and those who are working with him in the administration to carry out his policies and the policies we have identified here to support through votes in the Senate and the House. Secretary Rumsfeld has come under a lot of criticism recently. Many people have been making speeches, calling for his resignation. I think he has done a good job. I think he has been a solid performer to carry out the mission that we have to perform to succeed in the war on terror. The Congress has approved appropriations bills, authorizations for the work that is being done in this very difficult and challenging area. We now have before us in the Senate another appropriations bill providing funds for the Department of Defense. We have a bill that has been approved by our Appropriations Committee funding the Department of Homeland Security. In both of these measures, we have outlined an aggressive effort that should be carried out by our Government to protect our country, and the efforts that we have made and the administration has made are working. They are doing a great job. Recent events in England have shown us how difficult the challenge is for other countries and how sometimes preemptive and decisive action is needed in order to protect the citizens of England and our country as well. We applaud the close working relationship we have with them. We benefit from their efforts, and we are grateful to them for the courage and the skill they have shown in this war on terror. The Congress should continue to support the administration, not take advantage of opportunities for political bickering, partisan nitpicking--whatever one might want to call it. I think we need to take a higher ground in this debate and discussion of what our options are for protecting our country and our people. We don't need the constant drumbeat of partisan criticism against the President and the Secretary of Defense. I think we should consider instead the impressive success of our soldiers, their courage, and the courage of their leaders and the skill of their leaders in mobilizing the resources of our country to guarantee success in the war on terror. Just consider what is going on in Iraq right now. Madam President, under the leadership of President Bush and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and GEN George Casey, our outstanding commander who is responsible for the multinational force that is in Iraq today, we are successfully helping Iraq organize, equip, and train their forces so they can take care of their own security interests. Iraqi security forces are now in the lead and responsible for almost 75 percent of the military obligations and challenges that are faced today in Iraq. There are currently 5 Iraqi divisions, 26 brigades, and 88 battalions that are in the lead in their areas of responsibility in Iraq. More and more of the land area in Iraq is now under the control of Iraqi's own security forces, supported, of course, by coalition government troops who are there as well. The other day, at a news conference in Baghdad, General Casey explained that he can see U.S. troop reductions in Iraq over the next 12 to 18 months because Iraqi security forces are progressing to a point where they can take on the security responsibilities of the country. We have seen a significant step being taken when the Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced it is assuming direct operational control over the country's Armed Forces. That announcement was made today. The Iraqi joint headquarters, under the direction of the Ministry of Defense, will be fully responsible now for the Iraqi Air Force, the Iraqi naval force, and the Iraqi ground forces command. These are facts, Madam President, which we ought to consider and applaud, and our Government and our Department of Defense and our soldiers deserve credit for the successes they have achieved and the strong leadership that has been provided to them. The United States and coalition forces have gradually turned over other security operations in Afghanistan, for example, to NATO forces. This has been a very impressive feat of leadership to bring together the forces of NATO originally responsible for European defense and now enlarged to include areas of concern to other NATO countries in what had been previously considered out-of-area interests. NATO forces have taken control of the International Security Assistance Force in the north, west, most recently in the south, and now are making progress in the east to achieve control and success in defending the security of the people of Afghanistan. There are 37 nation states involved in this effort. We ought to applaud the President, and we ought to applaud the Secretary of Defense for the successes they have achieved in moving us to this point in our dealings with Afghanistan. We have liberated Afghanistan. The Russians had experiences there. We recall their failures and the dangers that continued under the Taliban--the deprivation of rights, particularly of women and children. No schools were available. Now we have moved into a new area of freedom and hope because of the work that these 37 nations have achieved under U.S. leadership and with the U.S. military very actively involved. So today I am pleased to say to the administration and the Secretary of Defense and the President specifically: We are proud of the work you are doing. We are going to continue to support you by providing the funding you need to carry out your missions and protect our country against terrorists and the other threats that we have looming on the horizon. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. The legislation will expedite oil and gas production in areas that are at least 100 miles from the coastlines of Gulf Coast States and will enable our Nation to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy. This will improve our national economy and help increase job opportunities for American citizens across the country. It also authorizes the sharing of 37.5 percent of the revenue from new production of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico with the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Mr. President, 12.5 percent of the revenue from this production will be shared with all States through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The sharing of revenue with States is consistent with the way other areas of the country have benefited from oil and gas production, such as the western Rocky Mountain region, where 50 percent of oil and gas revenue goes to the producing States. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this legislation will reduce Federal spending by $900 million over the 2008 through 2016 period. It increases domestic energy production and saves the Federal Government money. The legislation will open 8.3 million acres to production on the Outer Continental Shelf, and it will do it responsibly. The offshore program will be conducted under Federal environmental mandates, including the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. As unrest in the Middle East continues, the development of an uninterrupted supply of domestic energy becomes more and more important to our national interests. Our economic security depends on it. At the present time, 37 percent of our petroleum comes from the Middle East or Africa. This legislation will reduce our dependence on these foreign sources of oil and gas. American families and businesses feel the impact of increasing energy costs every day. As gasoline prices rise, the heating and cooling of homes becomes more and more costly. The new supply of natural gas which will be made available by the Gulf of Mexico Security Act is enough to heat and cool nearly 6 million homes for 15 years. Small businesses are strained by unexpected increases in the cost of energy. As the cost of raw materials and fuel rise due to supply not meeting demand, the cost of production and transport of goods is passed on to consumers. Disruptions in our supply mean higher prices, lower productivity, and ultimately the loss of jobs--especially in small and medium size businesses. American manufacturers face intense competition from foreign companies who have an energy cost advantage. Increased domestic supplies of natural gas would assist our Nation's industries whose competitiveness relies on natural gas as a raw material. The U.S. agricultural industry, for instance, has been facing a natural gas crisis since 1999. Farmers across the country use natural gas for food processing, irrigation, and in the production of crop-protection chemicals and fertilizers. The U.S. fertilizer industry estimates that in the 1990s, 85 percent of its domestic needs were supplied through U.S.-based production. But today, this industry relies on imports for more than 50 percent of natural gas supplies. This adversely affects businesses such as Terra Industries in Yazoo City, MS, which produces nitrogen fertilizer and relies heavily on natural gas as a feedstock. We must act now to take advantage, in an environmentally acceptable way, of our national resources in the Gulf of Mexico. This legislation will do just that. It is estimated that this legislation will provide us with 5.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.26 billion barrels of oil. The process to begin extracting those resources could begin almost immediately upon the enactment of this legislation. I compliment the distinguished Senator from New Mexico, Mr. Domenici, the chairman of the Energy Committee, for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor of the Senate. The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act is a step in the right direction and will benefit our entire Nation. I encourage its adoption by the Senate.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to recommend to the Senate the confirmation of David P. Jordan as U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. His education, experience, and good moral character equip him with the qualifications to serve with distinction on the Federal bench. I have known Dan Jordan's parents since we were classmates at the University of Mississippi, and I have had the opportunity to follow their son's development and achievements over the years. He had remarkable success as a student and was a gifted athlete at his high school in Richmond, VA, where his father was a professor of history and chief executive of the foundation that maintains Thomas Jefferson's famous house and serves as a center for research as well as programs relating to early American history and public service. Dan Jordan has earned a reputation for integrity and excellence as a lawyer in my State. He is widely respected for his sense of fairness and his keen intelligence. He is highly regarded by the lawyers in our State and was elected chairman of the Young Lawyers' Section of the Mississippi State bar. He is a partner in one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in Mississippi. I am confident he will serve with distinction and reflect great credit on the Federal judiciary. I urge the Senate to confirm him.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to congratulate my friend, the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, who has achieved the distinction of being the longest serving Senator in the history of the Senate. Even though this is definitely a noteworthy achievement, what has set Senator Byrd apart from all others who have served as Senators is the dedication he has shown to the duties of his office, his respect for the traditions of the Senate, and his leadership of this body during his service in the Senate. As President pro tempore, majority leader, and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, he has succeeded in protecting and enforcing the rules of the Senate, first written by Thomas Jefferson during his service as Vice President and the Presiding Officer of the Senate, and he used his leadership skills to successfully lead the Senate in changing the rules when a consensus for modernizing the rules permitted. His insights into the needs of his constituents and his devotion to their well-being have been admirable. Perhaps his greatest contribution to our understanding of the Senate was his authorship of the ``Addresses on the History of the United States Senate,'' the most comprehensive account of the role the Senate has played over the years. I commend the Senator from West Virginia for his illustrious and record-breaking career in the Senate, and I wish for him many more years of service in this body.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I thank all Senators for their patience and support during our deliberations on this conference report. I think the vote reflects strong sentiment that we have reached an agreement that is fair. It reflects respect for the administration's budget request and remaining within that budget request. I appreciate the cooperation of all members of our Appropriations Committee and the full Senate as well. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is approving today the conference report on this supplemental appropriations bill. The bill provides funding to replenish the spending accounts of the Department of Defense, the Department of State, as well as other agencies and departments of the Government which are engaged in the war on terror. The conference report also makes available needed funding for efforts to repair and rebuild the homes, businesses, and public facilities that were damaged by hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast region last year. A bipartisan majority of the conferees have reconciled the differences between the two bills and reached agreement on the conference report. The House also approved the conference report by a vote of 351 to 67. The conference agreement provides a total of $94.519 billion. Of this amount, over $70 billion is provided to carry out the global war on terror and to cover the expenses of ongoing operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Title II of the agreement provides $19.338 billion for hurricane related damage and recovery costs. Title III provides $500 million for agriculture disaster assistance to hurricane affected areas. Title IV includes $2.3 billion for influenza pandemic preparation and response activities. Title V provides $1.9 billion for various border security initiatives. Title VI includes $27.6 million for the Architect of the Capitol to address health and safety concerns in the utility tunnels in the Capitol complex. Finally, title VII includes general provisions and technical corrections. This conference agreement is the result of hard work and true compromise between the House and Senate, and I am pleased the Senate is prepared to approve it.

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is not my intention to use all of the time available to this side. I have had no requests for speaking time for any Senator on our side on the conference report. So the disagreement can be obviated very quickly with my assurance that I am going to speak for no more than 3 or 4 minutes, and then I was going to yield back all the time remaining under this conference report under my control. I advised the Senator from New Hampshire of that. That is why he made the request, because it was not going to infringe on anybody's time, considering the order under which we are operating. I will proceed to conclude the debate on the conference report and let everybody work out their differences on who speaks next and for how long. I am pleased we were able to get a bipartisan agreement on this conference report. Senate conferees worked together, Republicans and Democrats, to identify the priorities, to have suggestions fully considered and fairly considered. I am proud of the work product of our Committee on Appropriations in the Senate. I am particularly grateful for the support of the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, who is the ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations. He cooperated in every respect in terms of scheduling hearings, working to make sure that our committee had all the facts we needed to proceed to making a decision on the President's request. Our staff members are the very best. We are very fortunate in the Senate to have the benefit of the services of Keith Kennedy, who is staff director of the Appropriations Committee, and his counterpart on the other side, Terry Sauvain, is equally dutiful and dependable in his efforts on behalf of our committee. Chuck Keiffer managed much of the floor activity and was at the markup session that we had that ran way past midnight the night we were completing action on this conference report. He was very supportive of the efforts and the needs of our committee. Senator Ted Stevens, former chairman of the full committee, is chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He and his counterpart, Dan Inouye, are two of the finest Senators who have ever served in the Senate. Their responsibility was to deal with the request relating to defense issues. This was mainly a Defense appropriations request the President submitted for the war on terror. But there were other provisions as well related to that conflict and our effort to defend our security interests. There were State Department accounts involved. We had the benefit at the hearings of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all talking about the needs for funding of our activities to protect our country's security. The chairman of the subcommittee that has responsibility for those accounts in the State Department and foreign operations is Mitch McConnell, who is a distinguished Senator from Kentucky and our assistant leader. He turned in yeoman work, along with his counterpart on the other side, Pat Leahy of Vermont. These are examples of how the committee came together, Republicans and Democrats, and made the decisions that had to be made, negotiated hard and diligently with the House to work out differences between our two bills and considered every request the administration made of the Congress for these appropriations. I want to single out two other subcommittee staff members. All of the clerks worked hard because almost every subcommittee had a role to play in shaping the final outcome. But on the Defense Subcommittee, Sid Ashworth, who is the clerk, Charlie Houy, who is the Democratic counterpart on that committee, are so dependable and so experienced and dedicated to their jobs, it reflects great credit on the Senate for people such as those I have mentioned today who worked so hard on this conference report. I am delighted to be associated with them and honored to chair the committee. They make my job so much more easy than could possibly be imagined because of their skill and their professionalism and the hard work they turned in to achieve the result we did, not just to pass this bill but to serve the interests of our country. I am happy to recommend this conference report to the Senate. I yield back the remainder of the time available under the order.

Mr. COCHRAN. I am happy to yield to the Senator from New Hampshire.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am happy to proceed at this point to point out some of the changes made in the conference committee which enabled us to get a conference report agreed to between the House and Senate conferees and to be consistent with the requirements of the administration. The administration had sent a pretty clear message that a veto of this conference report could be expected if the total amount exceeded the amount requested by the President for emergency appropriations for the war on terror and other needed expenses to help with the recovery from the hurricanes that damaged the gulf coast area of our State. The Senate Committee on Appropriations had numerous amendments offered during the markup of this legislation, many of which were related to other issues and other needs, all of which our committee thought were legitimate and requests which should be met. In the conference with the House, it became apparent we were going to have to yield on some provisions we agreed to and put in our bill. The House, likewise, recognized their bill was not perfect either, it could be improved, and some of the Senate suggestions for additional funding in some areas were agreed to by the House. We wound up with a conference report which recommends $94.43 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, principally in connection with the war on terror; hurricane recovery benefits are made available, principally to the gulf coast region of our country; preparations for a possible pandemic flu problem, which has been a cause for concern in which funds were requested by the administration specifically for that purpose; and other activities related to these principal subjects. The level of funding is $14.47 billion below the Senate-passed bill but is $2.48 billion above the House-passed bill. There are some specific areas of interest that were debated in the Senate which I am pleased to report were recognized by the conference committee as worthwhile expenditures and investments of Federal funds. Principally, in our State of Mississippi, the Navy retirement home located in Gulfport, MS, which was virtually destroyed by the hurricane, there was no specific request made by the administration for funding of that. The House hadn't put money in the bill to deal with that specific issue. The Senate did include substantial funding, over $100 million, to deal with that problem. The conferees agreed, yielded to the Senate on that issue. The administration has indicated it will not veto the bill over that provision. There are other similar provisions along the line where the Senate had insisted that funds be included. Agriculture disaster assistance, for example, had not been requested by the administration. While keeping with the challenge to restrict the funding for benefits related to damages caused by hurricanes, we did provide, for example, $37.5 million for the Foreign Service Agency to respond to damages caused by the hurricanes of 2005. Neither the President's request nor the House- passed bill included similar funding. Of this spending, $5 million is for additional salaries and expenses incurred by the Foreign Service Agency to respond to damages, and $32.5 million is for the Emergency Conservation Program. Real benefits are going to flow from this conference report because of action the Senate had taken and defended successfully in conference with the House. We are assured the administration will use these funds to try to help those landowners and those involved in production agriculture recover from the devastation of these hurricanes. There are other individual accounts, including one for $25 million for the working capital fund of the Department of Agriculture. This was requested by the President, I point out. This conference report reflects a fair compromise between what we were trying to do in the Senate bill, point out some areas we thought had been underfunded or left out of other requests by the administration for disaster relief, and still deal with the reality that we have to be responsive and we have to stay within the restraints dictated by good conscience, good government. This conference report meets that challenge. I am pleased to be able to present it on behalf of the Committee on Appropriations for the Senate and urge it be agreed to. I don't know if any Senators have requests for time for debate of this bill, but inasmuch as there is time remaining on the Democratic side, I will reserve the remainder of the time allocated to our side of the aisle. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Has the time allocated under the order for the Democratic side been used?

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, each year many of America's best and brightest high school students come together to compete in the John C. Stennis National Student Congress. For nearly 30 years Harold Keller has been the driving force behind this event, which has provided thousands of young people an opportunity to develop leadership skills and learn about Congress. Harold Keller is known as ``Mr. Congress'' within the National Forensic League, which encompasses the National Student Congress as part of its comprehensive national speech and debate program. Each year he has worked tirelessly to make the week-long competition run smoothly and fairly. But perhaps more importantly, he has also made time to provide personal encouragement and guidance to many of those who take part. It is this commitment and compassion that has made him not only an integral part of the National Student Congress but also a memorable force in the lives of many students who have participated through the years. In addition to his leadership of the Student Congress, Harold Keller is a tireless champion of speech and debate education throughout the Nation. He has spent many weekends away from home conducting local and district tournaments and seminars. Despite retiring as a speech and debate teacher at West High School in Davenport, IA, in 2003, Mr. Keller continues his service on the Executive Council of the National Forensic League and continues to provide leadership and inspiration not only to students, but also to teachers and coaches who view him as a mentor. It was in recognition for his lifelong efforts that the National Forensic League inducted him into its Hall of Fame. Mr. Keller has faithfully lived his life by the philosophy expressed on a poster which hangs in his office quoting the words of Forest Witcraft: A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, The sort of house I lived in or what kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child. When the 2006 John C. Stennis National Student Congress convenes in Grapevine, TX, June 18-23, with over 420 competitors from throughout the United States, the Stennis Center for Public Service, which sponsors the event, will honor Harold Keller by establishing the Harold Keller Public Service Leadership Award. Beginning next year, the Keller Award will be presented annually to a former Student Congress competitor who has made significant contributions to his or her community, State, or Nation through public service leadership. The Harold Keller Award will recognize individuals who have best applied the lessons learned through participation in the Student Congress to become outstanding leaders in public service. There is perhaps no better way to recognize and honor Mr. Keller's commitment and leadership than through this award. Each year, the winner will return to the National Student Congress to serve as a role model and inspiration to the newest class of participants. In recognition of the establishment of this award and of Mr. Keller's many years of selfless leadership, the Stennis Center will present him with a replica of the small, handleless gavel which sits on the rostrum of this Chamber today. This gavel, a very significant symbol of the Senate, was used by Vice President John Adams to call the first Senate to order in 1789 in New York and has, according to tradition, rested on the rostrum of the Senate during its meetings since then. The replica of the original ivory gavel is sculpted from marble that was once part of the Capitol. It is hoped that Harold Keller will receive the replica of this historic Senate gavel as a symbol of our gratitude for his patriotism and tireless leadership in providing opportunities for young men and women to prepare for public service. Ultimately, however, the greatest reward for him, and for our Nation, must be the quality and character of the leadership that will come from those who benefited from his hard work, teaching, and guidance. We pay tribute to Harold Keller for the wonderful leadership opportunities he has provided over the past three decades for American youth participating in the John C. Stennis National Student Congress, and congratulate him on the well deserved honor of having a national award for public service leadership established in his name.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume consideration of the pending conference report on Wednesday immediately following morning business. I further ask consent that there be 25 minutes of debate controlled by the chairman and 75 minutes controlled by the ranking member. I further ask consent that following the use or yielding back of time, the conference report be set aside, and further that at 10 o'clock a.m. on Thursday, June 15, the Senate proceed to a vote on the adoption of the conference report to accompany H.R. 4939, the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, with no further intervening action or debate.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Alaska for his comments. He is insightful. He is experienced. He understands the implications that would flow from the failure of the Senate to act promptly in approving this conference report. He is chairman of the Defense appropriations subcommittee. He has previously served as chairman of the full committee. He has had a wide range of experience in the military service himself during World War II. I think we should listen to him and we should act in accordance with his suggestions and recommendations. I hope the Senate will not prolong this debate unnecessarily. Everybody has a right to be heard. Everybody has a right to express their views. But the opportunity is now. Let's finish talking about this bill this evening and let's vote on it the first thing in the morning--whenever it is the pleasure of the leader for us to do so. I commend him and thank him for his strong leadership. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we are happy to have an indication of support for the conference report from the distinguished Senator from Colorado. I, too, join him in regretting we could not do more for the agricultural producers who sustained setbacks all around the country because of unfortunate weather conditions and other problems earlier this year. We had, as the Senate remembers, an amendment in the markup of this bill in this Senate Committee on Appropriations adding about $4 billion for a wide range of needs in the agricultural sector. I regret, too, we were not able to sustain that provision in negotiations with the House counterparts on the Committee on Appropriations. We did have difficulty in expanding the provisions beyond the narrow request the President made for funding for the Departments of Defense and State to continue to wage a successful war against terror and to provide needed assistance in the gulf region for further recovery efforts and rebuilding efforts as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Those were the limitations. The President had threatened to veto the bill if it contained any more than had been requested by the administration for urgent supplemental funding. We were over the barrel, as they say. In negotiations with the House, this is the best we could do. The conference agreement is the result of a lot of hard work and compromise, as well, between the House and the Senate. The bill provides critically needed funding to our troops and helps continue the recovery as a result of the damages sustained in Hurricane Katrina. The funding level meets the requests of the administration. We will look at the other needs in agriculture and other areas in the regular fiscal year 2007 funding cycle. We are having hearings now throughout our Committee on Appropriations and the subcommittees that have jurisdiction over these different areas of responsibilities. I am assured we are going to do our best to continue to meet the needs of production agriculture around the country. It is a vital industry. It is the most important industry in my State, surely. More people are involved in agriculture and in processing agricultural commodities than any other economic activity. I share the Senator's concerns and assure him we will work to identify the needs in his State and around the country as we go through the appropriations process during this next fiscal year. I thank the Senator for his comments. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Florida for his initiative in bringing this issue in this form to the Senate. I am pleased to cosponsor the legislation with him, Senator Landrieu, and others who may cosponsor this legislation. We are reaching out to the industry and to experts in related business activities who have experience, a depth of understanding about this challenge we face to give us the benefit of their advice and their counsel. There are specific recommendations, if they can come to a consensus, on how Government can more responsively address this critical issue. In our State of Mississippi right now, there are people in limbo trying to decide whether they take on the burden of increased costs of insurance, of chances that they may not get insurance they can afford. So rebuilding is slow. Recovery is slow. Businesses are reluctant to embark upon expansion or remodeling, refurbishing, rebuilding, reconstructing from slabs the businesses they had in the gulf coast region. This is a real dilemma, and it is an economic challenge that no one State can really overcome using the resources of a State government or a national blue ribbon commission, such as the one brought together by Haley Barbour of Mississippi. Our Governor has reached out to the business community and individuals who have experience who could be of help in recovering from the disaster that hit our State. This is bigger than one State, bigger than our State's commission that Governor Barbour has appointed and that is working hard and making a big difference and making us believe that we can recover, and we will recover. That is a very important part of this situation and this challenge. I think this is a very important step to take, and it comes at a time when we have laid before the Senate now a conference report making supplemental appropriations to the Departments of State and Defense for the war on terror, but as far as our current domestic challenges are concerned, $19 billion to help sustain the recovery and rebuilding that is underway, recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that were so devastating to our gulf coast region. Mr. President, I commend the Senator.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 14. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate proceed to a period of morning business for up to 30 minutes with the first 15 minutes under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee and the final 15 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee; further that following morning business, the Senate then resume consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 4939, the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, as under the previous order.