Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Nebraska, Mr. Hagel.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, let me compliment the distinguished Democratic leader for his effort to get an agreement under which we could carefully and thoughtfully consider this issue in the Senate. We have reached that agreement, and we have two alternatives now pending before the Senate: The so-called Daschle amendment and the Cochran amendment. For the information of Senators, these are not the only efforts that have been made up to this point to deal with the disaster facing agriculture. In fairness, we have to acknowledge that the administration has been working very diligently to use existing authority to make payments to producers under the authority of current law to deal with the losses being suffered in production agriculture and in the livestock industry. Specifically, the Risk Management Agency of the Department of Agriculture has been supervising the payment of crop insurance benefits and so far $4.1 billion in crop insurance indemnities have been paid to producers across the country. In addition, the Livestock Compensation Program has been utilized to the extent of the payment of $932 million by the Department of Agriculture, and for the Livestock Feed Assistance Program, outlays of $150 million have been made available. Adding up these three specific instances of assistance, we can see that $5.182 billion of benefits have been paid to agricultural producers. I agree with what the distinguished Senator from South Dakota has said: That is not enough. So we come here today trying to define new authorities for the Department of Agriculture under which additional benefits can be made available to compensate farmers for losses that have been sustained because of not only drought, which has been devastating in some parts of the country, but also other adverse weather conditions--excessive rainfall at the time in the South where farmers were trying to get into the fields to harvest cotton, to harvest other crops, and were not able to do so because of the difficult conditions created by excessive rainfall. All of these producers will be eligible for benefits under the Cochran amendment. It will be capped however. The CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, estimates the outlays under this amendment would amount to $3.1 billion. The additional fact to be kept in mind is, under our scoring procedures, trying not to add to the deficit with this amendment, we have offset the spending under the Appropriations Committee bill to which this amendment is added, so that this is not going to be new spending under this amendment. By comparison with the Daschle amendment, the $6.5 billion that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that amendment will cost will be added to the deficit. It is not offset. It is declared an emergency. And under the Budget Act, that is one way of funding disasters that are unanticipated. I am not suggesting it is illegal, but it simply does have budget implications in terms of additions to the deficit that the Cochran amendment does not. We also try to deal with the disaster in terms of defining the areas where benefits could be made available. These basically are in disaster counties, counties that have been declared a disaster under current law by the Department of Agriculture or by the President. Other farmers who are located outside of those designated areas, if they can prove a loss up to 35 percent, may do that, and they will be eligible for compensation just as farmers who are located in the disaster declaration areas. We are trying to make this applicable to those who have suffered disasters. At one point some Senators raised a question about the wording of this amendment I offer today because it appeared to make available benefits to those who might not have had a disaster or may not have suffered any economic losses due to any kind of disaster. We hope we have tightened up the definition of eligibility so only those where there have been declarations of disaster or where they can prove they suffered damages up to 35 percent will be eligible for benefits. We hope we have taken care of that difficulty. We appreciate the fact that Senators are not bashful normally and they were not in this case either when they disagreed with some parts of this amendment as it was earlier drafted and brought this to our attention. We tried to accommodate those concerns, and we think the amendment has been improved to the extent that it merits the support of the Senate. We hope Senators on both sides of the aisle will look at the suggestions we have made carefully. We have tried to cover livestock producers as well as row crop producers. Other specialty vegetable crops and the like are covered as well. We think this is a generous but responsible way to deal with the problem. We hope Senators will vote for the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Texas.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Wyoming, Mr. Thomas.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I call up Cochran amendment No. 204.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I yield 10 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Kansas, Mr. Roberts.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the retirement of the distinguished Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Thompson) will leave a major void in the heart and soul of this body. Rarely have we seen the quality of the work product of a new Senator approach the level of excellence and importance as we have in the performance and contributions of Fred Thompson. He has stood head and shoulders above the crowd, literally and figuratively. It was a rare and most enjoyable privilege for me to serve on the Governmental Affairs Committee when he was the chairman. He assumed the awesome responsibility of leading the committee in its investigation of the election law abuses of the 1996 Presidential election. He was a superb chairman, fair to all, but thorough and diligent in his quest for the truth. He expended an enormous amount of time and energy in that undertaking, and he made every effort to keep to the subject and learn the facts. During it all, he endured criticism, skepticism and sometimes ostracism as he labored to discharge the duties of his chairmanship. I have no greater respect for any Senator than I have for the Senator from Tennessee. He has served well and reflected great credit on the United States Senate and the State of Tennessee. We will miss him greatly. bob smith Mr. President, I have enjoyed serving with Bob Smith in the U.S. Senate. For the last 2 years, we have sat side by side in the Senate. He has occupied the desk that was used in the Senate by Daniel Webster, who was born in his State of New Hampshire, although he represented Massachusetts as a Senator. During votes and deliberations of the Senate we have had opportunities to discuss a wide range of subjects from fishing in the deep south to experiences in the U.S. Navy, as well as the issues under consideration by the Senate. I have grown to know and appreciate Bob Smith. I like him, and I respect him. He is a person who has strongly held views, and he is not afraid to express then, and to fight for them. He has been admired on both sides of the aisle for his efforts to protect the environment. He has been a dutiful and diligent Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he has been an effective supporter of a strong national defense. His leadership has been deeply appreciated by me on the issue of missile defense. He worked effectively to help garner the votes to pass the National Missile Defense Act of 1999 which I authored. He was a cosponsor of that bill and a very enthusiastic proponent of its passage, and its implementation by the administration. We met regularly with Defense Department officials to urge cooperation in the effort to develop and deploy, as soon as possible, a system, or systems, to defend the citizens of our country against ballistic missile attack. He mastered the esoteric subject matter associated with this issue and was an important force in the shaping and carrying out of this new national policy. I will miss Bob Smith. I wish for him and his family much happiness in the years ahead. phil gramm

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to congratulate Commander Jeffery Freeman upon the completion of his career of service in the United States Navy. Throughout his 21 year military career, Commander Freeman served with distinction and dedication. Continuing a family tradition of Naval Service since World War I, Jeff received his commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981 and went on to earn his Naval Flight Officer Wings. Jeff served in four maritime patrol squadrons as a Patrol Plan Tactical Coordinator, Mission Commander, and ultimately as Officer-in-Charge, flying over 3,500 hours in the P-3 Orion aircraft, deploying to remote locations around world, and flying hundreds of hours tracking Soviet and other foreign submarines. Jeff served as a legislative fellow in my office, and he has served in the Navy Appropriations Liaison Office providing support to both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. His family and his fellow shipmates can be proud of his distinguished service. Commander Freeman, his wife Annemarie of Biloxi, and their four children, have made many sacrifices during his Naval career, and we appreciate their contribution of conscientious service to our country. As he departs the Pentagon to start his second career, I call upon my colleagues to wish Jeff and his family every success, and the traditional Navy ``fair winds and following seas.''

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased today to pay tribute to the more than 70,000 Americans and their family members who are currently affected by Spina Bifida, the Nation's most common permanently disabling birth defect. I also want to compliment the Spina Bifida Association of America, an organization that was founded in 1973 to address the needs of the individuals and families affected by Spina Bifida and which is currently the only national organization dedicated solely to advocating on behalf of the Spina Bifida community. Spina Bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs when the central nervous system does not properly close during the early stages of pregnancy. Spina Bifida affects more than 4,000 pregnancies each year, but with proper medical care, people who suffer from Spina Bifida can lead full and productive lives. Today, approximately 90 percent of all babies diagnosed with this birth defect live into adulthood, approximately 80 percent have normal IQs, and approximately 75 percent participate in sports and other recreational activities. However, they must learn how to move using braces, crutches or wheelchairs, and how to function independently. The challenge now is to ensure that these individuals have the highest quality of life possible and to prevent future cases of Spina Bifida. Congress has done much to deal with the challenges posed by Spina Bifida including providing funding to establish a National Spina Bifida Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I was pleased the Senate recently adopted the ``Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Prevention Act of 2002,'' which takes important steps to improve the quality of life for individuals and families affected by Spina Bifida. I also want to thank the Spina Bifida Association of Mississippi for all it has done for the families in our State who are affected by this condition. Specifically, I commend Susan Branson, the president of the Spina Bifida Association of Mississippi, for her dedication and commitment to helping families like her own who each day face the joys and challenges of having a child with Spina Bifida. In October, which was designated as National Spinal Bifida Awareness Month, Susan and her husband, Alan, and their 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, visited Washington and met with me. The Bransons live in Jackson, Mississippi, and in addition to Abigail they have four other children. We talked about their family's experience with having a child with Spina Bifida. When Abigail was born they were told that she would never be able to walk. Today, due to her and her parents' vigilance, advocacy, and commitment, Abigail can now walk with the aid of braces and a walker. The Spina Bifida community and our nation have made great progress over the past three decades. Much work still needs to be done, but I am confident this organization and its chapters are up to the challenge.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the retirement of the distinguished Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Thompson) will leave a major void in the heart and soul of this body. Rarely have we seen the quality of the work product of a new Senator approach the level of excellence and importance as we have in the performance and contributions of Fred Thompson. He has stood head and shoulders above the crowd, literally and figuratively. It was a rare and most enjoyable privilege for me to serve on the Governmental Affairs Committee when he was the chairman. He assumed the awesome responsibility of leading the committee in its investigation of the election law abuses of the 1996 Presidential election. He was a superb chairman, fair to all, but thorough and diligent in his quest for the truth. He expended an enormous amount of time and energy in that undertaking, and he made every effort to keep to the subject and learn the facts. During it all, he endured criticism, skepticism and sometimes ostracism as he labored to discharge the duties of his chairmanship. I have no greater respect for any Senator than I have for the Senator from Tennessee. He has served well and reflected great credit on the United States Senate and the State of Tennessee. We will miss him greatly. bob smith Mr. President, I have enjoyed serving with Bob Smith in the U.S. Senate. For the last 2 years, we have sat side by side in the Senate. He has occupied the desk that was used in the Senate by Daniel Webster, who was born in his State of New Hampshire, although he represented Massachusetts as a Senator. During votes and deliberations of the Senate we have had opportunities to discuss a wide range of subjects from fishing in the deep south to experiences in the U.S. Navy, as well as the issues under consideration by the Senate. I have grown to know and appreciate Bob Smith. I like him, and I respect him. He is a person who has strongly held views, and he is not afraid to express then, and to fight for them. He has been admired on both sides of the aisle for his efforts to protect the environment. He has been a dutiful and diligent Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he has been an effective supporter of a strong national defense. His leadership has been deeply appreciated by me on the issue of missile defense. He worked effectively to help garner the votes to pass the National Missile Defense Act of 1999 which I authored. He was a cosponsor of that bill and a very enthusiastic proponent of its passage, and its implementation by the administration. We met regularly with Defense Department officials to urge cooperation in the effort to develop and deploy, as soon as possible, a system, or systems, to defend the citizens of our country against ballistic missile attack. He mastered the esoteric subject matter associated with this issue and was an important force in the shaping and carrying out of this new national policy. I will miss Bob Smith. I wish for him and his family much happiness in the years ahead. phil gramm

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased today to pay tribute to the more than 70,000 Americans and their family members who are currently affected by Spina Bifida, the Nation's most common permanently disabling birth defect. I also want to compliment the Spina Bifida Association of America, an organization that was founded in 1973 to address the needs of the individuals and families affected by Spina Bifida and which is currently the only national organization dedicated solely to advocating on behalf of the Spina Bifida community. Spina Bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs when the central nervous system does not properly close during the early stages of pregnancy. Spina Bifida affects more than 4,000 pregnancies each year, but with proper medical care, people who suffer from Spina Bifida can lead full and productive lives. Today, approximately 90 percent of all babies diagnosed with this birth defect live into adulthood, approximately 80 percent have normal IQs, and approximately 75 percent participate in sports and other recreational activities. However, they must learn how to move using braces, crutches or wheelchairs, and how to function independently. The challenge now is to ensure that these individuals have the highest quality of life possible and to prevent future cases of Spina Bifida. Congress has done much to deal with the challenges posed by Spina Bifida including providing funding to establish a National Spina Bifida Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I was pleased the Senate recently adopted the ``Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Prevention Act of 2002,'' which takes important steps to improve the quality of life for individuals and families affected by Spina Bifida. I also want to thank the Spina Bifida Association of Mississippi for all it has done for the families in our State who are affected by this condition. Specifically, I commend Susan Branson, the president of the Spina Bifida Association of Mississippi, for her dedication and commitment to helping families like her own who each day face the joys and challenges of having a child with Spina Bifida. In October, which was designated as National Spinal Bifida Awareness Month, Susan and her husband, Alan, and their 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, visited Washington and met with me. The Bransons live in Jackson, Mississippi, and in addition to Abigail they have four other children. We talked about their family's experience with having a child with Spina Bifida. When Abigail was born they were told that she would never be able to walk. Today, due to her and her parents' vigilance, advocacy, and commitment, Abigail can now walk with the aid of braces and a walker. The Spina Bifida community and our nation have made great progress over the past three decades. Much work still needs to be done, but I am confident this organization and its chapters are up to the challenge.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to congratulate Commander Jeffery Freeman upon the completion of his career of service in the United States Navy. Throughout his 21 year military career, Commander Freeman served with distinction and dedication. Continuing a family tradition of Naval Service since World War I, Jeff received his commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981 and went on to earn his Naval Flight Officer Wings. Jeff served in four maritime patrol squadrons as a Patrol Plan Tactical Coordinator, Mission Commander, and ultimately as Officer-in-Charge, flying over 3,500 hours in the P-3 Orion aircraft, deploying to remote locations around world, and flying hundreds of hours tracking Soviet and other foreign submarines. Jeff served as a legislative fellow in my office, and he has served in the Navy Appropriations Liaison Office providing support to both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. His family and his fellow shipmates can be proud of his distinguished service. Commander Freeman, his wife Annemarie of Biloxi, and their four children, have made many sacrifices during his Naval career, and we appreciate their contribution of conscientious service to our country. As he departs the Pentagon to start his second career, I call upon my colleagues to wish Jeff and his family every success, and the traditional Navy ``fair winds and following seas.''

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the election campaign in Arkansas this year which involved Tim Hutchinson and Mark Pryor put me in an awkward position. Former Senator David Pryor was one of my best friends when he was in the Senate. Tim Hutchinson has been a hard working, successful Senator who deserved to be reelected. The voters of Arkansas made their decision and Tim Hutchinson was not reelected. During his 6 years in the Senate, Tim was a forceful, articulate, and effective spokesman for the interests of his State. I observed him at close range, as a fellow member of the Agriculture Committee, speak out for the farmers of his State. He made sure the best programs possible were included in the farm bill last year for the rice, cotton, and soybean producers of his State. He gave particular attention to the interests of the aquaculture industry and the unfair efforts of the Vietnamese basa fish exporters to undermine years of catfish promotion efforts and market development success. In every instance when Tim Hutchinson argued for the interest of the citizens of his State, he did so with conviction and a seriousness of purpose that was very impressive to me. Another example which I recall that made me sit up and take notice was in a nationally televised debate of the William Buckley show which was broadcast from the law school at the University of Mississippi. The subject was the United States-China relationship. The panel included Henry Kissinger, Jim Barksdale, my colleague Trent Lott, and the new Senator from Arkansas, Tim Hutchinson. I was surprised that the young Arkansas Senator not only held his own during this program, but he was the star. He made compelling arguments for his points of view; he knew the facts; and he expressed them in an articulate and persuasive manner. Tim Hutchinson has been a very fine Senator for the State of Arkansas. He has upheld the finest traditions of this body, and we will miss him. I wish him much success in the years ahead. Max Cleland

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I support the confirmation of Judge Dennis W. Shedd of South Carolina as U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit. Judge Shedd has served more than 10 years as a United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina where he has earned a reputation for sound judgement and fairness. Prior to his appointment to the Federal bench, Judge Shedd spent nearly 20 years in the practice of law and public service, including ten years as a staff member of U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. During his tenure in the Senate, Judge Shedd served as Counsel to the President Pro Tempore as well as Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee. While serving on the Federal bench, Judge Shedd has been a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Judicial Branch and its subcommittee on Judicial Independence. He has also participated in community activities where he has helped organize and promote drug education programs in the Columbia, SC public schools. Judge Shedd has handled more than 4,000 civil cases and over 900 criminal matters. No judge currently sitting on the Fourth Circuit has as much Federal trial experience. In the thousands of cases Judge Shedd has handled, he has been reversed fewer than 40 times--less than one percent. In addition, a majority of the ABA's Standing Committee on the Judiciary rated Judge Shedd ``Well Qualified.'' I believe Judge Shedd has demonstrated the character, wisdom, and judicial temperament needed to be an outstanding judge on the Federal appellant bench. I encourage my colleagues to support his nomination.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the reorganization of our homeland security efforts is necessary if we are to achieve a higher level of safety for American citizens. The bill before us improves our security by combining into a single department the federal agencies and programs that today have a role in providing homeland security. Those organizations comprise some 170,000 people. Bringing them together under a single reorganized department will enable us to improve coordination of the Government's efforts to defend the United States against terrorist attacks. By creating the cabinet-level position of Secretary of Homeland Security, the bill ensures there will be a leader of this effort, with the appropriate authority and responsibility to carry out that mission. The creation of a Border and Transportation Security Directorate-- bringing together the Immigration and Naturalization Service from the Justice Department, the U.S. Customs Service from the Treasury Department, and the newly created Transportation Security Administration--will make a single entity responsible for securing our border and transportation systems and preventing the entry of terrorists into our country. The Coast Guard, which also plays an important role in securing our borders, will move from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security. By maintaining the Coast Guard as an independent agency reporting directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security, this bill ensures the Coast Guard will have the resources and advocacy it needs to conduct its important security missions as well as its other missions, such as search-and-rescue and boating safety. This legislation also creates a Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response, which will coordinate the federal government's response to terrorist attacks and major disasters. Combining all the Federal Government's emergency response efforts into a single entity will improve the Government's coordination with state and local entities in preparing for and responding to terrorist attacks. The need for this reorganization is critical to our national security. Its scope is necessarily quite extensive. If this effort is to be effective, the President must have the flexibility to adapt the new department as needed to carry out its mission. This bill provides him the management flexibility he needs while protecting the rights of the Federal workers who will serve in the new department. This bill represents to most extensive reorganization of the Federal Government in over 50 years. By taking resources from existing departments and agencies and placing them in a new organization, it has required a very difficult balancing of competing interests and views. The success of those efforts is a tribute to those who have worked so hard to bring this legislation about. The President in particular deserves praise for bringing together a wide variety of interests and addressing a variety of concerns about the new department. Here in the Senate, Senator Thompson, the ranking member of the Governmental Affairs Committee and one of the sponsors of the compromise proposal before us now, deserves great credit for his efforts to ensure this legislation was both effective and fair. Senator Lieberman, the chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, was one of the first to identify the need for this department and to call for its creation, and he should be commended for his efforts as well. The bill before us is the beginning, not the end, of our efforts to adapt to the new threats we face. After the Department of Homeland Security is created, we may find that other changes will be needed, but this legislation is a very important step to ensuring that our nation, our homeland, and our citizens, are protected to the fullest extent possible from the new and dangerous threats that confront us. I support this effort and I urge all Senators to vote for it. Let's get on with it.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, the tragic death of our colleague, Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, was such a sudden shock to all of us. It was hard to believe he had died. Paul was so full of life, and full of energy and enthusiasm. It was so incongruous, so unbelievable, that his life could be needed so abruptly. But, it was, and we continue to grieve and to miss him. Paul and I were friends. We also collaborated on legislation to help farmers and to find a cure for Parkinson's Disease and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. We often talked about our strategy for accelerating the research that is so important to the effort to conquer these threats to human life. He traveled to my State to see for himself the plight of the poor in the Mississippi Delta. He was sincerely interested in helping alleviate the burdens and problems faced by the poor people who lived in the Delta. I told him about the initiatives we had started and let him know I shared his concerns and that we were trying some new approaches such as the Delta Regional Initiative. Senator Wellstone will always be appreciated for the efforts he made to help those who needed help the most.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I thank the distinguished Senator from Illinois. Amendment No. 4865 To Amendment No. 4586

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, over the last several years the Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services has monitored weapons systems development in Iraq and elsewhere. We have held numerous public hearings on the threat these developments pose to our national security. For the information of all Senators, I am putting in the Record an unclassified description of the subcommittee's findings from the testimony presented to us by the intelligence agencies at our hearings. I firmly believe we are confronted with a dangerous threat to our forces who are now deployed in that area of the world. I am also convinced the President has outlined a strategy for dealing with this threat and with the dangers faced by our homeland which involves the United Nations and the Congress in the decisionmaking process, and we should support him. This support would be clearly illustrated by approval of the Lieberman-Warner-McCain amendment. We should let our friends and adversaries alike know that, as a nation, we are united in our resolve to do whatever is necessary to protect our national security and the safety of our citizens, including the use of military force. I ask unanimous consent that the outline of findings from my subcommittee which I described be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, it was good today to hear the many heartfelt sentiments and compliments being expressed in the Senate about our distinguished colleague from North Carolina. I want to be counted among those who respect Jesse Helms for his conscientious and diligent service in the Senate and for the generosity of spirit he displays and the affection he has for his fellow Senators and the staff and employees of the Senate. If you could ask all of the Senate pages who have served here during the time Senator Helms has been in the Senate who their favorite Senator was, I am sure they would tell you it was Jesse Helms. He takes time to get to know them all and to greet them each day. He really cares about them and he wants them to know they are appreciated. That is the way Senator Helms has treated everyone in the Senate. He has a heart of gold. When Senator Helms was Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, I appreciated the fairness and respect he showed to all of the members of our committee. He was especially helpful to me and I will always be grateful to him for his friendship. I wish for him much happiness and satisfaction in the years ahead.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it has been heartwarming to hear the eloquent remarks about the accomplishments and career of our distinguished colleague from South Carolina. He has been my friend and colleague in the Senate for twenty-four years. It has been a high privilege and honor to work with him and to learn from his example of dedicated service to the citizens of his state. As this session of the Senate nears an end, it is hard to imagine that it will be Senator Thurmond's last term as a United States Senator. Since 1964, he has worked hard to strengthen and protect our country and defend the principles on which it was founded. He can be assured that his has been a successful and remarkable career. I'm proud to join others today in thanking and commending him for his truly outstanding record of public service.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, one of my State's finest Federal Government officials, Roy S. Estess, announced last week his retirement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Mr. Estes had served as Director of the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi since January 20, 1989. He has been responsible for managing the center and overseeing the Center's role as the lead center for rocket propulsion testing and the lead center for implementing commercial remote sensing applications. Prior to becoming Director, he had been the Deputy Director of the Center for nine years. He had played a pivotal role in having the Mississippi Test Facility selected as the test site for the Space Shuttle main engine. Roy graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in aerospace engineering, and he also completed the advanced management program at the Harvard Graduate Business School. Roy has held various engineering and management positions during his 42 years of Government service. Thirty-seven of those years have been spent with NASA. His wide ranging experience with NASA included service as a special assistant in NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, for two consecutive NASA Administrators. Roy also served temporarily as acting director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Among the numerous awards and honors he has received over the years are: the Presidential Distinguished Service Award--twice--and Meritorious Senior Executive Award; NASA's Distinguished Exceptional Service, Equal Opportunity and Outstanding Leadership Medals; the National Distinguished Executive Service Award for Public Service; and Alumni Fellow of Mississippi State University; as well as Citizen of the Year in his home town of Tylertown, MS. We will truly miss having the benefit of the thoughtful, intelligent leadership of Roy Estess. He has been a great friend and a trusted source of good advice and counsel for me throughout my career. I commend Roy Estess on his truly outstanding career and I wish for him much satisfaction and happiness in the years ahead.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, very soon one of our Nation's finest soldiers will retire from active duty after more than three decades of dedicated service to our country. Major General Willie B. Nance, Jr., will retire from the United States Army on November 1, 2002, after serving for 34 years. During his distinguished career, General Nance served in a remarkable range of roles, from buck private to two-star general, from foot soldier to the manger of one of the most sophisticated weapon systems our nation has ever built. General Nance, I am proud to say, is a native of Mississippi, and I believe it appropriate that the Senate take not of his distinguished career as his retirement approaches. General Nance entered the Army in 1968 as a member of the Mississippi All-Volunteer Company, a group of 200 Mississippi volunteers who enlisted at the same time under an Army volunteer enlistment campaign. Having proven himself early as a soldier, he was recruited directly from Basic Training into Officer Candidate School, from which he graduated as the honor graduate in 1969. Commissioned into the Infantry as a second lieutenant, General Nance's early assignments included duties as a rifle company platoon leader, reconnaissance platoon leader, and battalion assistant operations officer in Korea. He also served twice as an instructor at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA. As a young captain, General Nance was a communications officer, battalion adjutant, and company commander in the 3rd Armored Division in Germany. Between these assignments, he completed Airborne training and was an honor graduate from the demanding Ranger course. After 13 years of infantry service, General Nance was assigned to the Army Acquisition Corps. In repeated assignments to acquisition leadership positions, he developed expertise in every area of acquisition management. After serving as an Assistant Product Manager for three years, he became the Executive Officer to the Commanding General of the Department of the Army Research and Development Command, Europe. As a lieutenant colonel, he managed the Bradley Fighting Vehicle TOW missile subsystem. As a colonel, he managed both the Army Tactical Missile System and the Brilliant Anti-Tank munition programs. Between command assignments, General Nance taught acquisition strategy as a professor at the Defense System Management College. In his first assignment as a general, General Nance served for two years as the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command. In this position, he oversaw with efficiency, innovation, and compassion a significant reorganization and reduction of the technical element of the command. From 1996 to 1998, General Nance served as the Army's Program Executive Officer for Tactical Missiles. In this position, he was responsible not only for managing many complex missile programs costing several billion dollars annually, but also for creating a strategic vision that would guide all army tactical missile programs through the Army's transformation process. In 1998, General Nance undertook perhaps his most challenging professional task when he became Program Director and Program Executive Officer for National Missile Defense, and he took that post at a particularly difficult time. He inherited a program that had for years received inadequate funding, and although the missile threat to our nation continued to grow, there were still sharp disagreements among political leaders about how to respond to this threat. Every aspect of the program was under intense scrutiny by the administration, the Congress, and the media. General Nance directed a team of government and contract workers that stretched from Alabama to Alaska, from Massachusetts to the Marshall Islands, and from Colorado to California to Hawaii. Under these difficult conditions, General Nance not only put the National Missile Defense program on sound footing, he guided it to dramatic successes. In October 1999, his team--on its first attempt-- achieved the first successful intercept of a reentry vehicle in space by a missile defense kill vehicle. That feat has since been repeated three times. It now seems almost routine. But there is nothing routine about such complex technical accomplishments, nor the extraordinary leadership that made them possible. In 2001, the Bush administration undertook a strategic review that opened the door to more capable missile defenses, and General Nance helped lead an intensive effort to develop and evaluate new approaches to defending the United States against missile attack. This effort resulted in a fundamental change in the nation's missile defense program. General Nance was selected to turn this new vision into reality when he became the first Program Executive Officer for the Ballistic Missile Defense System. In this role, he implemented the Secretary of Defense's guidance to create a single, integrated Ballistic Missile Defense System out of ten disparate missile defense programs already under way. That effort required a careful balancing of new concepts for missile defense with already ongoing technical work. Under General Nance's leadership in this, his final assignment, the missile defense program continued to make extraordinary progress toward protecting our nation and its armed forces, with the Ground-based Midcourse, Patriot PAC-3, and AEGIS missile defense systems all scoring successes in flight testing. General Nance's vision of a single integrated missile defense system is becoming a reality today and it will be a lasting legacy of his service to our country. But his legacy goes far beyond even that important contribution. It extends to the soldiers he has touched throughout his career, to the example he has set, to the sacrifices he has made in long, distinguished, and selfless service to our nation. I am very proud that General Nance is from Mississippi, and that his wife, Jonnie is also a Mississippian. We are very proud of both of them and we wish them much continued success and happiness together in the years ahead.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask that it be stated.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, under the designation of the Senator from New Hampshire, I yield to the distinguished Senator from Louisiana, Mr. Breaux.