Tom Daschle

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I ask unanimous consent that at 10 o'clock Thursday, October 25, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 3162, the counterterrorism bill; that no amendments or motions be in order to the bill, except a motion to table the motion to reconsider the vote on final passage of the bill; that there be 5 hours and 10 minutes for debate, with the time controlled as follows: 90 minutes each for the chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, or their designees; 10 minutes each, controlled by Senators Levin and Wellstone; 20 minutes under the control of Senator Sarbanes; 60 minutes under the control of Senator Feingold; 15 minutes under the control of Senator Graham of Florida; 15 minutes under the control of Senator Specter; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the bill be read the third time, the Senate then vote on final passage of the bill, with this action occurring with no further intervening action or debate.

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I thank both of my colleagues from Oregon for their willingness to work with us. I have already said how strongly I feel about this matter, and the passion expressed by both Senators from Oregon I think is a clear indication of their determination to see this through to ultimate success. We will see success. I am grateful to them tonight.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Senator from Delaware for his clarification, although there was none required on my part.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that upon disposition of H.R. 3162, the Appropriations Committee be discharged from consideration of H.R. 2330, the Agriculture appropriations bill; that the Senate then proceed to its consideration; that immediately after the bill is reported, the majority manager, or his designee, be recognized to offer the Senate-committee-reported bill as a substitute amendment; that the substitute amendment be agreed to; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that the amendment be considered as original text for the purpose of further amendment; and that no points of order be considered waived by this agreement.

Mr. DASCHLE. The Senator from Nevada is correct. It is my hope once we have completed the counterterrorism bill, we could immediately begin debate on the Ag appropriations bill, and if it is possible to complete our work tomorrow night, it is my intention to have no votes on Friday. Obviously, if we are unable to complete our work Thursday night, then there would have to be votes on Friday because we need to finish this bill. That would be the possibility, that if we complete our work, it would be my intention not to have votes on Friday. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes each.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Senator from West Virginia. Again, as Senator Leahy and others have done, I applaud him and thank him for the admonition he has shared with all of us this morning. The importance of getting these bills cannot be overemphasized. The importance of recognizing this particular bill could not be overemphasized. We are fighting a war. This is helping fund that war. The longer we delay the funding of that war, the more complicated our circumstances and, frankly, the more problematic, it would seem to me, the message to those on the front lines. So I applaud the Senator from West Virginia and the Senator from Alaska. I hope we can clarify this matter. I, frankly, do not see the linkage either, and I am not going to be susceptible to that linkage. The administration has to make its decision about whether it wants these bills completed or not. If they are not prepared to weigh in, there is only so much I can do as well. We will do the best we can. I thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for his work on nominations. He had hearings last week. We are going to have four Judiciary Committee votes on nominations on judges this afternoon--I was prepared to have them this morning--and that would not have happened were it not for the leadership of the Senator from Vermont, who has worked on these matters and I thank him for that. It is in that regard that I want to propound a unanimous consent request. He is in the Chamber, but I will make sure our colleagues are aware the Republican leader and I have discussed this matter. I would make the request at this time. Unanimous Consent Agreement--Executive Calendar

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that at 2:15 today the Senate proceed to executive session and consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 472 through 475; that the Senate immediately vote on each nominee with the first vote being for the usual time, and subsequent votes being 10 minutes in length; that upon the disposition of these nominations the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, that any statements thereon be printed in the Record, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. DASCHLE. Will the Senator from West Virginia be so kind as to yield for a unanimous consent request?

Mr. DASCHLE. I now ask unanimous consent it be in order to ask for the yeas and nays on each of the nominees with one show of seconds.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Vermont to answer that question.

Mr. DASCHLE. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed to H.R. 2506, the foreign operations appropriations bill.

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Senator from Vermont. We will attempt to schedule votes on those nominees as well. As you say, it may not require a rollcall. If that is the case, perhaps we could do those as well today. For the interest and information of all Senators, beginning at 2:15 then, this afternoon we will have four rollcall votes. The first will be 15 minutes, followed by a subsequent 10-minute vote on the three remaining judicial nominees. So Senators ought to be here, stay on the floor, and vote so we can expedite these votes at that time. I also say it is my desire to move to proceed to the foreign operations appropriations bill unless there is a colleague on the Senate floor. This will not be a matter that will be taken lightly. If for whatever reason Senators choose to leave the floor, and there is an opportunity for me to make that motion, it will be made. I warn Senators about that possibility between now and the hour of 2:15 this afternoon. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. As in executive session, I now ask for the yeas and nays on the nominations.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I come to the Senate floor today to share with my colleagues a speech that former President Clinton gave earlier this month to the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives. It is an excellent speech that underscores a point many of us have made right here on this floor: the terrorists will not win, because we will not allow them to win. If the terrorists thought they would succeed in dividing us, they need only read this strong endorsement of President Bush by President Clinton. If the terrorists thought they could use terror to force us to withdraw from the world, they need only read this blueprint for greater U.S. engagement across the globe. And, if the terrorists thought that they would get us to succumb to fear, they need only read this testament to the bravery shown by thousands of Americans since September 11. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that President Clinton's October 9, 2001 speech be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I join with my colleague from Nevada in expressing my heartfelt congratulations to the Senator from Connecticut and to others on the committee for their swift action on this bill. This is one of the highlights of the week. I do not know that there could be anything more important than providing good quality health care in all of its iterations to children. That is what this legislation does, and only because of the leadership of Senator Dodd. I commend him. There may be a connection between fatherhood and legislative production on children, but whatever the motivation, as the Senator from Nevada has said, no one has put more time and effort and leadership into the issues affecting children than has Senator Dodd. So it is a good way to end the week. It is another reason that staying in today was important, and we are grateful to him, grateful to the Members of the committee, Republican and Democrat, for the work done. I thank him.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the distinguished Senator from Nevada for his kind and generous words. This has been a difficult challenge for all of us. I am grateful. I note that any time somebody gives me credit for ``standing tall,'' I will take that as the highest compliment. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I noted yesterday I would be coming to this Chamber. I will take a moment, if I may, to provide our colleagues with a short update on the circumstances involving the Senate today. This has been a trying time for all of us, in particular for my office and staff. I am thankful for the outpouring of concern and support we have received, especially from the family of Senators. I am very grateful for their friendship, for their words of encouragement, for the strength they have given me and my staff over these very difficult days. It has meant a lot. I wish to thank as well the many experts who have come to investigate and to help. I wish to recognize Secretary Thompson; Dr. Ken Moritsugu, deputy surgeon general; all of the Health and Human Services staff; Dr. John Eisold, our attending physician of the U.S. Capitol, and all the physicians who are working in his office; MG John Parker of the U.S. Army; Dr. Greg Martin, who has been unbelievable, an incredible help to my staff, to me, and to the entire Senate during this time. There are a number of professionals who work with Dr. Martin at Bethesda Naval Hospital whom I want to recognize as well. Were it not for their effort, we would not be in the position we are today. They have been working around the clock analyzing the thousands of tests that were taken. Though they are not in the Capitol compound, they have had every bit as much to do with our success in dealing with these circumstances as anyone else. So we are extremely grateful to them for their work. I want to thank as well the Centers for Disease Control, including Rima Khabbaz and Ali Khan; the District of Columbia Department of Public Health. Finally, I thank the members of the Senate family who have been working around the clock to address this situation, to coordinate our response, and see to it that the Senate was able to continue its important work. Maybe first, among all of those, I thank our Secretary of the Senate and our Sergeant at Arms for their outstanding work. There were several nights where they literally did not go to bed. They stayed up the entire night working to be able to address the many challenges we were facing as we looked at the logistical and health concerns people had. I also wish to thank Dr. Bill Frist. He was in this Chamber earlier. He has been an amazing resource. While he is not present now, I know I speak for all of our colleagues in thanking him. He again spoke for all of us in a news conference wherein he was able to answer in very understandable ways many of these complicated questions. So I personally thank him, and I know I speak for everybody in thanking him as well. The challenge facing all of these people, and all of us, is unprecedented. To a person, every official I have mentioned has responded in the most admirable way. Their poise, their professionalism, their compassion have been a comfort to all of us, especially to my staff and me. I want to provide an update on where we stand based on Dr. Moritsugu's briefing a few moments ago. It is now 72 hours after this incident occurred, and we now can say we are confident about the health of the public. Beyond the 31 positive nasal swabs I reported yesterday, the results on nasal swabs analyzed to date have all--and let me emphasize all--come back negative. The CDC has determined no further nasal swabs are needed. Tests on all of the nasal swabs collected on Monday will be completed by the end of today, although we may not be in session, so I chose this moment to come and give at least this partial report. A total of 278 swabs were taken Monday. At this time, there are no further positive results. So the number of positive results to date remains at 31. Everyone who has tested positive has been notified by medical authorities. Let me put some rumor to rest because it has been circulating all afternoon that some member of the leadership has been provided with a positive test result. The unequivocal clarification in that regard is, that story is not true. There is no positive result among any members of Senate leadership. Testing also continues on approximately 1,400 swabs collected Tuesday. Of those, preliminary results on approximately 600 have produced no new positives. To this point, the CDC investigation has established the exposure area as the fifth and sixth floors in the southeast wing of the Hart Building. Based on this determination, the CDC has said no further nasal swabs are needed there. People who were on the fifth and sixth floors in the southeast wing of the Hart Building on Monday are being reminded to complete their full 60-day course of antibiotics, regardless of the results of their nasal swabs. Anyone who entered that area but has not received antibiotics should report to the treatment center at the Architect of the Capitol facility on the southeast corner of 6th and East Capitol Streets. A thorough environmental sweep of the Capitol complex began last night. It went on throughout the night and continues today. Those sweeps were conducted by the EPA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Areas were swept in the Capitol, the Dirksen Senate Office Building, the Ford House Office Building, the Capitol Police offsite delivery center where all Capitol mail and deliveries go through security screening, and at this time there are no additional results to report. The sweeps will continue, as we reported yesterday, over the next several days of the other areas of the Capitol complex. The entire Capitol complex will be swept, and so there will not be any area left unattended or unchecked before we are cleared. Numerous additional samples have been taken of the ventilation systems, and these samples are under evaluation. I think it is important to emphasize, too, at this time there is no evidence of contamination in the ventilation system. Because of the extensive work being done, it is not clear when the Hart Building will reopen, but it will reopen as soon as we are absolutely confident it is completely safe. I want to make one final point. The people who work in these buildings, regardless of their political affiliation, have come to the city and to the Congress because they believe in what this Nation represents to its citizens and to the world. Many have made sacrifices to do so. Some are accepting lower pay than they would receive elsewhere. Many are far from their families. All believe that by being here we can improve the lives of Americans and, in the process, make America stronger. That letter may have been addressed to me, but these attacks didn't strike just my office. They struck at the heart of that belief. In the past couple of days, members of my staff, who have every right to be afraid, who have every right to take some time and be with their loved ones, have come to talk to me. More than one has told me they were more proud than ever to show up for work. This attack was meant to undercut that spirit. What I have seen in the past 3 days is all I need to know that the attack has missed its mark. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I also made mention earlier today about making alternative space available for public meetings. I know some Senators and some of our committees had hoped to be able to conduct their business, and because we are not going to be conducting business out of the three Senate buildings, we are acquiring other space for the next 2 days. Senators are encouraged to call the Secretary of the Senate or the Sergeant at Arms for information about that space. There will be rooms available. In fact, I can say we have already allocated a number of rooms, and they will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We will be sure that every committee or every Senator who may seek additional space for whatever purpose can be accommodated. That will not be a problem. So I just encourage you to contact the Secretary of the Senate or the Sergeant at Arms and we will address that as well--I should also say the Rules Committee. Senator Dodd has already been working on accommodating Senators and would also have space available. Please contact the Rules Committee as well and we will be able to take care of any needs Senators may have.

Mr. DASCHLE. Yes.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, for the information of all colleagues, I know there has been some question about when we ought to have the vote tomorrow. To accommodate the most number of Senators, we are going to set the vote for 11 o'clock. That will be the only vote for the day, and it will be on the military construction appropriations conference report. We will accommodate Senators who wish to speak about other matters in morning business both before and after that vote. The Senate will come in around 10 o'clock, and we will spend at least an hour in discussion on the conference report, or in morning business, and then we will set the vote for 11 o'clock. The next vote will occur at approximately 10 o'clock on Tuesday. We will not be in session on Friday or Monday. I thank my colleagues.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, as I did yesterday, I think it might be helpful if I report to our Senate colleagues and to the extended Senate family about circumstances now over the last 24 hours. Let me say, I have been especially appreciative, again, of the services provided to the Senate, especially by our extraordinary Sergeant at Arms and our Secretary of the Senate, who have just done an outstanding job of responding to the many challenges that we have faced over the last few days, especially. I thank Secretary Tommy Thompson for his great cooperation, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Capitol Police for their work, and, finally--and certainly it should have been at the top of the list, if I was listing anybody--our distinguished Republican leader. Senator Lott has been there shoulder to shoulder with me on every one of these occasions and over the course of the last couple of days. Our partnership is strong, but our friendship is even stronger. And that could not be in greater evidence than it has been over the last couple of days. We will have a vote this afternoon on the Interior appropriations conference report. That conference report will come over to the Senate sometime this afternoon. As my colleagues probably know, the conference report is currently being debated in the House. Obviously, I am quite sure it will be adopted. Once it is, and once it is sent over to us, there will be a rollcall vote on the Interior appropriations conference report this afternoon. There will also be a vote on the conference report on the military construction appropriations bill tomorrow. We do not know the time yet. We will certainly notify our colleagues. In part, we do not know the time because I am not sure what the House schedule is; that also will be a piece of business that we will take up. It is my hope that we may be able to take up nominations as well. I will be consulting with the Republican leader and with my chairs in regard to the degree to which Executive Calendar matters could be considered and, hopefully, voted upon either today or tomorrow. So we have a good deal of business that we will be conducting. Again, one of the reasons why is because of the outstanding job that all of our service personnel have provided in accommodating our schedule, as we have continued to work through the immediate challenge that we have faced with the anthrax experience. Mr. President, I could not be more proud of my staff for the way they have conducted themselves, for the attitude they have reflected at every step of the way, the professionalism they demonstrated on Monday, and the attitude and the degree to which they have taken each one of these moments in stride. We have had a good number of discussions and consultations and meetings with members of my staff. It is now at a point where I think we can say that 31 members of my staff, and a certain number of Capitol Police, were found to have tested positive as a result of the nasal swab that was administered to them a couple of days ago. A positive result on a nasal swab simply means they were exposed to the anthrax bacteria. Not one incident of infection has been recorded or reported. There is a huge difference between exposure--as is revealed by the nasal swab, if it is positive--and the actual infection itself. Antibiotics were administered immediately, even though we did not know the results of the nasal swabs, whether they were going to be positive or negative. And because of the early access to the antibiotics, the overwhelming advice I am now being given by all health care personnel is that each of my staff members will be OK. I am gratified to hear that, I am gratified to repeat that, and I will continue to emphasize that fact as we go forward. In part because of the limited exposure, in part because of the opportunity to be administered the antibiotic quickly, in part because of the professional response all the way through this process, we are very confident about our ability to provide for the needs of each of my staff, with every expectation--I would say 100-percent expectation-- that they will be treated successfully. So we feel very good about the current circumstances involving treatment and involving the response to the antibiotics already shown by members of the staff. As many of our colleagues know, the exposure was limited, at this point, to two locations: My office in the Hart Building, Room 509; and the mail room in the Dirksen Building. There is no evidence currently that anyone in the mail room has been exposed to the point where they would receive a positive nasal swab, although we will be getting those test results back in the coming days. About 1,400 people were provided with the nasal swab yesterday. The results of those swabs will not be provided for at least 24 hours. Let me also add that we have been working in close concert with the Centers for Disease Control. Russell 325 will be our information center for the balance of the afternoon. There is a meeting ongoing in SC-5 for senior members of all Senate staff. Chiefs of staff and office managers are certainly welcome. I am quite sure most people have been made aware. We will provide ongoing information in a myriad of additional ways, both technologically as well as telephonically. We will provide that information as we deem it important to share. Again, let me emphasize three things: First, I believe very confidently that we have, as a result of the outstanding work done by all of those professionals who have been on the scene, dealt with this incident in as successful a manner as is possible. I repeat that I am very grateful I can say today that the health care professionals have indicated that my staff will be not only OK but perfectly healthy as a result of the actions that have been taken. We will be closing the offices, the Senate offices: Russell, Dirksen, and Hart, for the next couple of days in order to accommodate the environmental research that will be required to ensure that whatever additional material there may be could be found, if there is some. We have no indication there is any additional information that would lead us to believe it is not confined to the mail room as well as to my office, but we are going to do a sweep of the area. In order to accommodate that sweep successfully, those three buildings will be closed. It is strictly precautionary. I emphasize, there is no evidence to suggest we are doing anything other than what we should to ensure that we can open, with all the confidence that I expect we will have, on Monday morning. We will use the time we have available to us just to ensure that we have checked the entire complex of office space so we can open on Monday without fear of any further exposure. Finally, let me emphasize, we will be in constant contact with every office all the way through the course of the next several days. Of course, we will be in session today and tomorrow. That, too, will facilitate our ability to communicate with all Senators. I thank all colleagues for their great cooperation. We had a good meeting this morning, as we did yesterday, on both sides of the aisle. There were excellent questions. I am proud of our Senators for the leadership they are providing and proud of our Senators for the attitude they take back to their offices and to their States. I am proud of our Senators for the way they have conducted themselves under these unusual circumstances. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I compliment the Senator from North Dakota for his excellent statement. I don't think I could have said it as well. But I really appreciate the passion with which he has expressed himself. These are important bills. We are going through international crises that demand leadership, demand responsiveness, demand that these bills get done. He said it so well. I hope our colleagues have the opportunity to hear him as I just did.