Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I oppose the amendment offered by the Senator from Arizona. The Senator's amendment would have the effect of harming the Senate's oversight capabilities and making it ineffective. The Senator from Arizona argues that if we don't combine intelligence oversight and appropriations into a single committee we are wasting our time with reform efforts. I disagree. The resolution authored by the Senators from Kentucky and Nevada accomplishes all of the goals outlined by the 9/11 Commission and it does it in a way that maintains an established system of checks and balances we have had in the Senate since the Appropriations Committee was established in 1867. The appropriations and authorizing committees serve important but distinct and separate roles, and it would be unwise to combine them. Currently, intelligence funding is shared by five appropriations subcommittees, and intelligence oversight is divided among three committees. Supporters of the Senator's amendment say that if you combine intelligence appropriations and authorization into a single committee, you will centralize and have more powerful oversight. This is not the case. Not since the early 19th and 20th centuries did congressional committees originate both authorizing and appropriations bills. Programs back then were often authorized permanently. Oversight and appropriations functions were separated because it was determined that having joint authorizing and appropriations committees lead to greater spending and less accountability. We don't need to repeat that mistake of the past. Another reason for opposing this amendment is a matter of practicality. The Intelligence Committee meets several times a week. I have heard from my colleagues on the committee that it is the most demanding committee assignment they have. Under the resolution their workload and responsibility will significantly increase. We would be asking the Intelligence Committee to take on even more work by adding appropriations responsibility. It would make their workload enormous. For those who believe the Appropriations Committee divides responsibility for intelligence between too many subcommittees, this resolution addresses that complaint. The resolution would combine all intelligence appropriations into a new Intelligence Appropriations Subcommittee. While I would prefer we leave it to the Appropriations Committee to make the determination on whether this consolidation is warranted, I will support the resolution before us. We have passed already this year, and the President has signed into law, the Defense Appropriations bill. This bill contains most of funding this year for the intelligence agencies of our government. We have not, however, been able to approve this year an Intelligence Authorization bill for the next fiscal year. I do not believe the Senator's amendment serves us well if intelligence funding would now be held hostage to policy disputes in the Intelligence Committee that are holding up passage of an authorization bill. The resolution Senator McConnell and Reid have laid before the Senate is totally consistent with the 9/11 Commission's recommendations and we should approve it.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, my dear friend, and neighbor for many years, Donald M. Dockery III, died on September 7. As a World War II veteran, he was pleased that he lived to watch on television the dedication of the memorial on the Mall here in Washington honoring those who served in that great conflict. He served in Europe as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After the war, he remained in the Reserves and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Donald Dockery was a special friend. He and his family were our closest neighbors when I was growing up in the Byram community, 7 miles south of Jackson, MS. His wife, Stella, and their children, Donna, Kay, and Billy were also very close friends of mine, and my family. Donald's death was like having a death in our own family. He and Stella watched after me as I grew up in the neighborhood. Donald was the personification of a good citizen, the kind who enriches our country with a strong spirit of community. He was active in the boosters club at our school, helping children who needed money for lunch room tickets or a band uniform. He was a very successful businessman. He owned a store and was in the pulp wood and cattle business. He also got into the bottled water business; and, with his father-in-law and his son, he developed their company into a very impressive enterprise. When my father's health began declining several years ago, Donald would visit him every day. Their friendship was steadfast and enduring for over 50 years. It is impossible to measure the influence another person can have on one's life, but I am sure Donald Dockery helped shape my views of the role a good citizen should play in his community and the importance of being a loyal and caring friend. My family and I will miss him very much.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Texas for yielding briefly to me. I take this opportunity to thank the staff members who worked so hard on the appropriations subcommittee for homeland defense for helping ensure the passage of the bill and handling the bill in such a professionally competent way. They all reflected credit on the Senate by their professional way of handling their duties. It was because of their hard work that we successfully completed action on the bill last night. I commend them all. On our side of the aisle, Rebecca Davies is the chief clerk of that subcommittee. She is assisted ably by Carol Cribbs, Les Spivey, James Hayes, Kimberly Nelson, and Avery Forbes. The staff members who served on the minority side were equally professional and helpful in carrying out their duties. I commend Senator Byrd for his cooperation with our efforts to complete action on the bill. I especially thank Senator Reid, the assistant leader, who was actively involved on the floor helping to ensure the orderly flow of amendments. I am very grateful for his assistance as well. My good friend Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was here when he was needed during the handling of that bill, and without his guidance and good judgment on several occasions, we would not have successfully completed action on the bill last evening. But for all Senators who cooperated with us on time agreements and the like, I express my deepest appreciation and thank them. I yield the floor.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, my understanding of the order is another vote will occur on an amendment without intervening debate under the order?

Mr. COCHRAN. I appreciate the Senators' comments regarding the disaster situation in Delaware last September. There are two programs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address a portion of this problem. The first program is the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program which is available to States such as the Senators' which have been declared disaster areas by the President. I am informed by FEMA that funds are available to assist the Glenville community with home buyouts. The other program available to the State is the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program which is a Federal grant program which accepts competitive applications. However, I understand that these programs do not provide the resources to fully buy out the Glenville community at one time.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the Byrd amendment has been presented and discussed by the Senator from West Virginia, the Senator from Michigan, and the Senator from New Mexico. Compelling arguments have been made for the additional funds that would be made available to the Department of Homeland Security under this amendment. The difficulty, however, is that the amendment would provide appropriations that are not consistent with the Budget Act. Section 501 of H. Con. Res. 95, the fiscal year 2004 concurrent resolution on the budget, limits the amount and type of advance appropriations which may be provided for fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The pending amendment would provide advance appropriations for fiscal year 2006 which are not on the list of programs, projects, activities, or accounts identified in the joint explanatory statement of managers accompanying the budget resolution. Thus, I raise a point of order pursuant to section 501(b) of H. Con. Res. 95, the 108th Congress, against the pending amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. I am happy to reserve that right and yield the floor.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we are at a point now where I think we can proceed to dispose of an earlier amendment that was offered. If there is no objection to setting aside the pending Byrd amendment for that purpose, I ask unanimous consent that the Byrd amendment be set aside and that we proceed to a voice vote on the Baucus amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. This vote will be a 10-minute vote. Would the Chair state the question before the Senate?

Mr. COCHRAN. I yield to the senior Senator from Hawaii.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. I am happy to yield.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I was going to respond to the Senator's comments and his amendment which would add funding to this bill in the amount of $470 million for the Department of Homeland Security. I don't know at what point we want to consider the fact that, because of the way it is drafted, the impact the amendment would have on future appropriations for fiscal year 2006 would actually, according to the Budget Committee staff and chairman, violate the Budget Act and that a point of order would lie against this amendment. Reluctantly and with great respect for my friend from West Virginia, I am constrained to make that point of order. Rather than going through all the talking points that my staff has prepared on the subject of the individual amounts to be added by the amendment and the offsets that are identified, which is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, I am constrained to make a point of order.

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to advise the Senate that we have been able to reach agreement to recommend approval of several amendments offered by Senators on both sides of the aisle. I am prepared to propound a unanimous consent request. Amendments Nos. 3589, 3603, 3611, 3633, 3634, 3635, 3638, 3640, 3642, and 3645, en bloc I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following amendments: No. 3589 proposed by Mr. Allard; No. 3611 proposed by Ms. Mikulski; No. 3634 proposed by Mrs. Boxer; No. 3603 proposed by Ms. Landrieu; No. 3640 proposed by Mrs. Boxer; No. 3642 proposed by Mrs. Boxer; No. 3633 proposed by Mr. Reed of Rhode Island; No. 3638 proposed by Mr. Hatch; No. 3635 proposed by Mr. Feingold; and No. 3645 proposed by Mrs. Dole. I understand these amendments are cleared on both sides of the aisle, and I urge that they be adopted en bloc.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the Senate has made progress on this bill. We hope to continue to consider amendments during the remainder of the session today. The leader would like us to complete action on this bill tonight. I hope we can achieve that goal. If we can't, we can go into the next day and try to complete action before noon on Wednesday. But we hope we can complete action today. We urge Senators who have amendments, suggestions for changes in the bill, to come to the floor. We will consider those amendments and deal with them in an orderly way. We hope we can reject most of them. There are some we can agree to. I see my good friend from Connecticut is on the floor and has an amendment. I am happy to yield the floor.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we appreciate very much the offering of the amendment by the Senator from Connecticut. We oppose the amendment, and I have some very persuasive comments I am going to make on that subject. But before I proceed to do so, the Senator from New York has indicated an interest in offering an amendment and describing it to the Senate. I am happy to withhold my discussion of the Dodd amendment. I ask unanimous consent, if the Senator has no objection, to set aside his amendment temporarily so the Senator from New York can offer her amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN

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

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

Mr. COCHRAN

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