Tom Daschle

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I announced this morning we would attempt to move to proceed to the railroad retirement bill. In consultation with our Republican colleagues, I am prepared to do that at this time. I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1140, the Railroad Retirement Act, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration under the following limitation: that the only amendment in order be a substitute amendment offered by the chairman of the Finance Committee; and following the disposition of the amendment, the bill be read the third time, and the Senate vote on passage, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I ask unanimous consent the motion be considered as read.

Mr. DASCHLE. In light of the objection, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 69, H.R. 10, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING Officer. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, yesterday marked 1 month since the letter containing anthrax was opened in my office. Being at ``ground zero'' in the largest bioterrorism attack ever on U.S. soil has been unsettling and frustrating for many of us. As our Nation prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving, though, there is much for which we in the Senate family have to be grateful. On a personal note, I am deeply grateful that the members of my staff who were exposed to anthrax continue to be in good health and good spirits and they continue to come to work every day, inspiring our entire staff with their courage and dedication. I am grateful, as well, that the other members of our Senate family who were exposed also continue to be in good health. I am grateful to the doctors and scientists who have worked long hours to protect Americans from this threat, not just on Capitol Hill, but in Washington, Trenton, New York and even as far away as Kansas City. I am particularly grateful to a special group of people who have kept the Senate safe and running during this unprecedented time. At the top of that list is Al Lenhardt, the Senate's Sergeant at Arms, and his staff. If there was ever a case of the right person, in the right job, at the right time, it is Al Lenhardt. On September 11, Al had been Sergeant at Arms for exactly 1 week. I don't believe he has taken a day off work since then. The first Saturday morning after the anthrax letter was opened, he was at work in the Capitol, surrounded by scientists and investigators. He had been at work until late the night before. That morning, someone asked him: ``If you had it to do all over again, do you think you'd still take this job?'' Without a moment's hesitation, he replied: ``Absolutely. To be in a position to serve your country--what better job could there be?'' Al Lenhardt is helped in that job by an equally dedicated staff. In addition to keeping us safe, for the last month, the men and women of the Sergeant at Arms Office have played an indispensable role in keeping the Senate running. Only once before--when the British burned the Capitol in 1814--have so many Senators been displaced from their offices. The staff of the Sergeant at Arms Office and the Rules Committee have been faced with a huge logistical challenge, and they have responded amazingly. Senator Dodd and the Rules Committee Staff Director, Kennie Gill, deserve special thanks for the amazing job they did relocating displaced Senate offices. Since October 18, Kennie, the Rules Committee staff and the Sergeant at Arms' Office have set up 129 temporary offices within the Capitol, in the Russell and Dirksen Buildings and at Postal Square. They re-established our computer network. This one task alone involved dropping 650 new LAN lines, laying over a mile of copper cabling, and nearly half a mile of fiber cabling, creating 216 new network protocol addresses for temporary PC locations, opening 73 routers between Senate offices and creating a new Senate fiber network. In addition, Rules Committee and Sergeant at Arms staff attached 700 PCs and 110 printers to the Senate computer network. They have kept our telecommunications system up and running by connecting nearly 600 new telephone lines, 200 new voice mail boxes and 64 fax machines. Members of the Rules Committee and Sergeant at Arms staffs, and the vendors who support them, have worked for weeks straight without a day off. They have worked nights and weekends, putting in thousands of hours of overtime. They have refused to allow the largest bioterrorism attack in our Nation's history to stop the work of the Senate, and for that we all owe them a debt of gratitude. The 1,400 men and women of the Capitol Police force are also working a lot of overtime. Since September 11, they have all been putting in 12-hour days, 6 days a week. That is a minimum. Sometimes they pull double shifts. They work through colds, weekends, holidays, and their childrens' birthdays. They remain at their posts, alert. If you had asked me a month ago whether the Senate could carry on in the middle of a bioterrorism attack, with 50 Senators locked out of their offices, I might have been a little skeptical. But Al Lenhardt and his staff, Kennie Gill and her staff and the men and women of the Capitol Police force have shown us that anything is possible. Together, they have kept the Senate safe and operating in these anxious times. We are grateful to them all.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the majority leader, following consultation with the Republican leader, may proceed to the conference report to accompany S. 1447, the Aviation Security Act; that it be considered under the following limitations: 90 minutes for debate, with the time equally divided and controlled between the chairman and ranking member of the Commerce Committee or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the conference report be adopted, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no further intervening action or debate.

Mr. DASCHLE. That is correct.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, this resolution concerns a request for testimony in a criminal action in Idaho District Court for the County of Kootenai. In the case of Senate of Idaho v. Joseph Daniel Hooper, the Coeur d'Alene city attorney's office has charged the defendant with two counts of misdemeanor telephone harassment, the first of which arises out of calls to Senator Craig's office. Pursuant to subpoena issued on behalf of the city prosecutor, this resolution authorizes a former employee in Senator Craig's Coeur d'Alene office who witnessed the events giving rise to this first harassment charge, and any other employee in the Senator's office from whom testimony may be required, to testify and produce documents at trial, with representation by the Senate Legal Counsel.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 212, H.R. 1042.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill 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. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendment be agreed to.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 191, S. 739.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, this morning the Senate will conduct a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes. At 10:30 this morning, the Senate will consider the Agriculture appropriations conference report under a 1-hour time agreement with a vote on the adoption of the report at approximately 11:30. We also hope to consider the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations conference report during today's session. There will be other business as well, perhaps including some additional nominations. I have just consulted with Senator Hollings in regard to the airport security legislation. He has indicated that negotiations continue. He was encouraged by the progress made overnight. I have discussed the matter at some length with Senator Lott over the course of the last couple of days. It is his view, as it is mine, that we just cannot leave today, this week, until this matter has been completed. I know a number of Senators have been interested in the schedule for the balance of the week. I am not able to give them a definitive schedule with regard to votes, either today or tomorrow, until we know the timeframe involved in completing our work on the airport security bill. It is my hope and expectation that it would be done sometime today. If not, of course, we will then take it up tomorrow, and Senators would be required to stay for the vote on that very important legislation. I ask Senators' patience. As soon as the progress becomes more apparent, we will make a definitive judgment about the time involved in consideration of the conference report later this week. I thank Senators for their attention and yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 207, S. 1202.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the joint resolution be read the third time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.J. Res. 74, the continuing resolution just received from the House and at the desk.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we have a number of other items to be taken up.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill, as amended, be read a third time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements thereon be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am delighted that the Senate has approved a modified version of S. 1389, the Homestake Mine Conveyance Act of 2001. This important legislation will enable the construction of a new, world-class scientific research facility deep in the Homestake Mine in Lead, SD. Not only will this facility create an opportunity for critical breakthroughs in physics and other fields, it will provide unprecedented new economic and educational opportunities for South Dakota. Just over a year ago, the Homestake Mining Company announced that it intended to close its 125-year-old gold mine in Lead, SD, at the end of 2001. This historic mine has been a central part of the economy of the Black Hills for over a century, and the closure of the mine was expected to present a significant economic blow to the community. In the wake of this announcement, you can imagine the surprise of South Dakotans to discover that a committee of prominent scientists viewed the closure of the mine as an unprecedented new opportunity to establish a National Underground Science Laboratory in the United States. Because of the extraordinary depth of the mine and its extensive existing infrastructure, they found that the mine would be an ideal location for research into neutrinos, tiny particles that can only be detected deep underground where thousands of feet of rock block out other cosmic radiation. Recently, I received a letter from Dr. John Bahcall. Dr. Bahcall is a scientist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1998, and is a widely recognized expert in neutrino science and an authority on the potential of an underground laboratory. In a recent letter to me, he explained, ``There are pioneering experiments in the fields of physics, astronomy, biology, and geology that can only be carried out in an environment that is shielded from the many competing phenomena that occur on the surface of the earth. These experiments concern such fundamental and applied subjects as: How stable is ordinary matter? What is the dark matter of which most of our universe is composed? What new types of living organisms exist in deep underground environments from which sunlight is excluded? How are heat and water transported underground over long distances and long times?'' This research, as well as other research that could be conducted in the mine, has the potential to answer fundamental questions about our universe. The National Science Foundation is already considering a $281 million proposal for the construction of this laboratory. I want to thank all of those who have been involved in the development of this legislation. I particularly appreciate the hard work and support of Governor Bill Janklow of South Dakota and officials with the Homestake and Barrick mining companies, who helped us to reach agreement on this legislation. I also want to thank my colleague, Senator Johnson, a cosponsor of this bill, for all of his work. In particular, Senator Johnson's ability to secure the $10 million in transition funds that will bridge the gap between Homestake's closure and the establishment of the laboratory has been critical to this effort. I ask unanimous consent that the letter from Dr. John Bahcall be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered and agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Environment and Public Works Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1389, and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I now ask for its second reading and object to my own request on behalf of my colleagues.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I understand that H.R. 2873, which was just received from the House, is at the desk, and I now ask for its first reading.