Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 13, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Less Faith in Judicial Credit: Are Federal and State Marriage Protection Initiatives Vulnerable to Judicial Activism?'' for Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 2 p.m. in SD-226. Witness List: Mr. Lynn Wardle, Professor of Law, Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Provo, UT; Mr. Gerard Bradley, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, IN.; and Dr. Kathleen Moltz, Assistant Professor, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Personnel be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 13, 2005, at 1:30 p.m., in open session to receive testimony on active and reserve military and civilian personnel programs, in review of the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2006.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 13, 2005, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on ``The Federal Home Loan Bank System.''

Mr. COCHRAN

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Mr. Leahy requiring a 5-day notification to the committees on appropriations for tsunami funds.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I have requests to make on behalf of managers of the bill with respect to amendments that have been cleared on both sides of the aisle. Amendment No. 401 I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator McConnell.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I thank the Senators.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I now send to the desk an amendment on behalf of Mr. Lugar and Mr. Biden. It deals with an increase in funding for the Department of State's Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization with an offset.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the next amendment is on behalf of Senators McConnell, Leahy, and Obama that addresses the Avian flu virus in Asia, which I send to the desk.

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

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I thank the Chair and thank the Senator.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I appreciate the comments of the Senator. Let me suggest, then, if there is no objection, that we enter into an agreement that we have a vote that will occur at 3:30 this afternoon. Would that be satisfactory with the Senator?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, there is some confusion on my part. I thought the Senators were going to debate this, but there was a suggestion that we could agree on a time for a vote on the motion to waive the Budget Act. So I inquire of Senators whether that is the feeling on the other side. We would be willing to enter into an agreement for a vote to occur at a time certain that might suit the convenience of all Senators.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, there is a question about how much time is going to be----

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the motion to waive the Budget Act with respect to the Murray amendment at 3:30 p.m. today, with debate until the vote equally divided in the usual form and no amendments in order to the amendment prior to the vote.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is my intention to make a point of order in connection with the amendment that has been offered by Senators Murray and Akaka. But I do not want to do that if they are not here on the floor. I will wait to give them an opportunity to make any statements or motions they may deem appropriate. So I do not want to foreclose anyone from having an opportunity to express themselves on that issue. But I do make that announcement just for the information of all Senators, that we have pending before us an amendment that purports to add as a matter of emergency appropriations $1.9 billion to the Veterans' Administration accounts. The administration has not asked for these funds. Testimony before the relevant committees of jurisdiction, the Veterans Affairs' Committee and the Appropriations subcommittee that funds or recommends funding for veterans programs, has not led Senators to request funds for inclusion in the committee mark. So there is a disparity between the proponents of the amendment and what they are urging the Senate to approve and what is being requested as a matter of emergency appropriations. In addition, the language of the amendment actually has a provision that the moneys appropriated under the amendment would be available until expended, which means the funding would carry over into the next fiscal year. We are, right now, having committees consider the funding levels that are needed in the next fiscal year, beginning October 1. So with no requests for funds, with the administration saying they have enough funds to run the VA health programs and hospital programs between now and the end of this fiscal year, we are going to suggest that this is subject to a point of order. It is my intention to make that point of order. Seeing that the Senators are on the floor now, Mr. President, pursuant to section 402 of S. Con. Res. 95 of the 108th Congress, I make a point of order that the amendment contains an emergency designation.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, a vote now occurs on the motion to waive, right?

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. The Senator is correct.

Mr. COCHRAN. I have no objection.

Mr. COCHRAN. Is there a problem with the Senator from Idaho?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we appreciate the comments of the Senators from Hawaii and Washington concerning the situation in our Veterans Affairs Department and the concerns that they expressed about returning veterans who are now moving into the VA system and questioning whether there are sufficient funds available to take care of the needs in Veterans' Administration hospitals and other different health care facilities throughout the country. The subcommittee that has jurisdiction over veterans affairs held a hearing recently during which they questioned the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on this subject. They were assured that the Department is not in a crisis requiring emergency appropriations. The fact is, less than 1 percent of the veterans population is made up of new eligibles who are entering into the Veterans' Administration system, and most of those who are requiring health care assistance and hospital care are older veterans who have already been in the system for a number of years. Because of that, the Department has not asked for any emergency appropriations to be included in this bill. The administration says that sufficient funds exist now in the Department of Veterans Affairs budget to take care of this fiscal year's needs. We are now in April and a new fiscal year will begin in October and we are already considering the request for the administration for next year's funding. We have had a budget resolution adopted. Some of these issues were raised during the consideration of this issue by the Budget Committee. I think the Senator from Washington offered an amendment to the budget resolution along the lines that she is urging the Senate to consider today, and the committee rejected the amendment. That committee reviewed the issue closely and they have included in the budget resolution authority for funding for the fiscal year beginning next October. This Senator's amendment suggests the funds appropriated in this amendment, $1.9 billion, should be made available until expended, which means not only is this a suggestion that an emergency appropriation is needed--although the amendment does not say on its face it is an emergency appropriation--it sounds as if this is in addition to this fiscal year's budget that will go on into next fiscal year. So it is an amendment to this fiscal year's funding authority as well as to the next fiscal year and the next. ``Until expended'' is the way the amendment reads. I am suggesting that the Senate should look at the information we have before us from the administration: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, which is caring for injured veterans now in the military hospital system. These are not veterans hospitals, where those who have been injured in Iraq or Afghanistan are being cared for. Some may later be cared for there, and may be later cared for as part of the veterans system. But those who are returning now are at Walter Reed Hospital or other hospitals in the Department of Defense system. I am not the person in charge of the Veterans' Affairs Committee who monitors veterans' needs on a regular basis. The Senator from Idaho, Mr. Craig, is chairman of that committee. I have discussed the amendment with him. I expect he wants to be heard on the amendment. The Senator from Texas, Mrs. Hutchison, is chair of the appropriations subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the Veterans Affairs funding, and she is available to discuss the merits of the amendment. We have talked informally with her. At this time I hope the Senate will certainly consider the arguments that have been made by the Senators from Hawaii and Washington. I respect their concerns. I know their concerns are shared by other Senators. I share them. I don't know of any Senator who wants to come into the Chamber and vote against an amendment to fund veterans programs. It is hard to go home and explain to veterans why you voted against an appropriation for veterans health care. What we are being told by the administration is the funds are not needed, we have the funds available to care for the veterans population. There may be problems in the system that need the attention of the administration and administrators of individual health care centers and hospitals, and certainly they ought to be addressed and we urge that they are. But it is not a matter of not having the money. If there are problems that need to be addressed we can do that, but we are assured that none of the funds being asked for in this amendment are needed for that purpose. Mr. President, awaiting the arrival of other Senators, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, may I inquire of the Senator? We were in the process of considering the amendment of the Senators from Washington and Hawaii on Veterans Affairs and funding for that Department. The chairman of the committee has arrived on the floor to speak to that amendment. I had told the Senator from Massachusetts I would have no objection to offering his amendment and then setting it aside. I inquire: How much time will Senator Kerry require?