Wendell Ford

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, the distinguished Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] asked me to inform her colleagues that she is necessarily absent today because of a special event in the Mikulski family. Today, her niece, Val, and her nephew, Jimmy, are receiving their college degrees from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In addition, I would like my colleagues to know that Senator Mikulski is giving the commencement address at Johns Hopkins as well. She is also being honored by the university with an honorary doctorate for her outstanding life in public service, her commitment to strengthening higher education, and her work on behalf of the university. On behalf of all my colleagues, I extend the Senate's congratulations to the family on this very happy day. And we know that the Senator and her family are very proud of the accomplishments of Val and Jimmy.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, is it in order to announce that the Senator is going to table this now, make a motion to table now, or wait until the vote comes?

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I would like to clarify the Record. I believe the distinguished junior Senator from Kentucky may have misspoke earlier with regard to the need for this amendment to address payments made by the Federal Election Commission [FEC] from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for settlement of alleged sexual harassment claims. The entire $37,500 payment referred to by the Senator was disallowed by the FEC as a qualified campaign expense and the FEC required repayment of all Federal matching funds used to pay this expense. As my colleague knows, the courts have held that the FEC may only require repayment of disallowed campaign expenses to the extent Federal funds were used. In this instance, the FEC determined that of the $37,500 in disallowed campaign expenses, $9,675 were paid with Federal matching funds. Consequently, the campaign repaid the Presidential Election Campaign Fund that amount. Therefore, no taxpayer funds were used to pay this settlement. But I agree that taxpayer funds should not be used for this purpose and I support the amendment.

Mr. FORD. They would still offer it and then you move to table.

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

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. FORD. How many will be on your side?

Mr. FORD. I thank the Senator for what he is trying to do and for his comity. It is kind of unusual, and I am glad to see it. If we have 20 amendments that will be offered at the end of the 50 hours, we have two options, as I hear you: One is to offer the amendment, or call it up and we can vote up or down or to table; we can do that. Or on the other side, if we have a minute, you offer a minute or 2 minutes on each side, pro and con, on how many amendments? Do you have any figure if they are less than that or more than that?

Mr. FORD. I thank the Senator for his courtesy.

Mr. FORD. You will have four or five amendments to come after the 50 hours?

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, the budget resolution includes a provision that will have a far reaching consequence for this Nation. It assumes elimination of the program that provides for spending limits and public funding in Presidential election campaigns. This provision was enacted with bipartisan support to address the campaign finance abuses of Watergate. This is voluntary program. The American taxpayer voluntarily funds it and candidates voluntarily accept funds from it. It is the only Federal program that the American public directly votes to fund each year. And as long as the American taxpayer votes for campaign spending limits, then we should not eliminate it. What is interesting to this Senator, is that the Republican budget resolution does not affect the 1996 Presidential election cycle. It would allow candidates to continue to take taxpayer money to fund their primary campaigns next year. That means up to approximately $15 million in taxpayer dollars to each Republican and Democratic primary candidate, with a potential $62 million more to the nominee in the general election. Perhaps a different amendment would have been to eliminate this program immediately. That would give our distinguished Republican colleagues here in the Senate who have announced their candidacy for President an opportunity to vote to give back their potential $77 million in taxpayer funds to the Treasury and the American taxpayer in order to help eliminate the deficit. Let me respectfully suggest that it seems a little self-serving to take the money next year but deny it to future candidates. American taxpayers support this program and vote on how much to fund it each year. It is the only Federal program which serves to limit the money chase to the White House. Until we come up with a better system, I urge my colleagues to leave this program in place and support the amendment.

Mr. FORD. When you say you all, who do you mean?

Mr. FORD

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

Mr. FORD. What about second degree?

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. It is at the desk.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the dedication, public service, and patriotism of Col. Joseph W. Cornelison, U.S. Army, on the occasion of his retirement after 26 years of faithful service to our Nation. Colonel Cornelison's strong commitment to excellence will leave a lasting impact on the vitality of our modern war fighters, commanding admiration and respect from his military colleagues and Members of Congress. Colonel Cornelison, a 1969 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, is serving his last day of a 21 month assignment as the special assistant for Environment and Installations, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. He holds a master's degree in public service from Western Kentucky University, and has his juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. From April 1970 to August 1971, Colonel Cornelison was a forward observer, fire direction officer, and artillery liaison officer, 173d Airborne Brigade, Republic of Vietnam. He ensured the effective delivery of direct artillery support to an infantry unit in combat. He then served as battery commander, assistant division personnel officer and assistant battalion operations officer for 101st Airborne Division [Air Assault] in Fort Campbell, KY. As commander, he conducted a tactical standdown of a field artillery battery in Vietnam and redeployed its personnel and equipment to the United States. In the personnel position, was a key player in the assignment of several hundred officers and undertook review of an array of regulatory requirements to identify those that could be eliminated because of redundancy, obsolescence or insufficient value. He also organized and executed an advanced training program for newly assigned personnel. From August 1977 to July 1978, Colonel Cornelison was the law clerk to the Hon. Oliver Gasch, judge of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He assisted the judge in management of his civil docket which included hearings, researching and briefing issues and drafting opinions. He then served as trial counsel, chief of administrative law, and officer-in-charge of Bamberg Branch Office for the 1st Armored Division in the Federal Republic of Germany. In these three positions, he progressed from serving as prosecutor in criminal trials to providing legal support on issues associated with command to serving as city counsel to a major military community. Colonel Cornelison went to serve as assistant to the General Counsel, Office of the Secretary of the Army, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC from June 1982 to December 1983. He developed improvements to debarment and suspension procedures and increasing emphasis on [[Page S7230]] contract fraud discovery and avoidance. He contributed to studies of spare parts procurement and of ways to improve contracting for major weapons. His next position was as chief, Special Litigation Branch (Environmental), Office of the Judge Advocate General, Washington, DC from December 1983 to January 1985. He organized a team of five attorneys and two engineers to assist Department of Justice in a lawsuit filed against Shell Oil under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. He then served as General Counsel [SJA] for U.S. Army South and Joint Task Force Panama from July 1985 to June 1989. He managed the delivery of all legal services within the command. Colonel Cornelison's next assignment was as special counsel to the Assistant Attorney General (Civil Division) for Department of Justice from July 1989 to June 1990. He was selected to serve in this capacity under a fellowship through the Army War College. He represented DOJ on an interagency group responsible for implementing a Presidential executive order calling for a drug-free, Federal workplace, serving as liaison to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and advising on settlement of litigation. He served as chief, Environmental Law Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General for the Department of the Army from June 1990 to March 1991. He managed the Army's environmental litigation and provided legal advice to the Army staff and executed the Army's environmental program. From March 1991 to September 1993, he was executive to the Judge Advocate General for the Department of the Army. Served as personal advisor and executive assistant to the Army's senior military lawyer. He managed an office of 74 lawyers and 47 support personnel, $3,000,000 budget, and assisted in providing legal support to the Army worldwide. Colonel Cornelison currently is serving as assistant for Installations and Environment, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. He serves as a liaison between Congress and the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as an advocate of the Department's legislative program. Our Nation, the U.S. Army, his wife Ella and his family, can truly be proud of the Colonel's many accomplishments. A man of his extraordinary talent and integrity is rare indeed. While his honorable service will be genuinely missed in the Department of Defense, it gives me great pleasure to recognize Col. Joseph Cornelison before my colleagues and wish him all of our best wishes in his new and exciting career.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, last month, one of my State papers, the Lexington Herald-Leader, ran a story about why people don't vote. One of the top reasons people cited for not voting, was because they always forget to register. Thirty-one-year-old Tracey Adkins told the paper that ``My husband's a preacher, and we move a lot from town to town. It's hard when you move a lot. It's inconvenient.'' She couldn't remember the last time she was registered, but said she would ``definitely register the next time she renewed her driver's license through the motor-voter law.'' Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the President signing this bill into law, and the culmination of years of work. But more importantly, it's another milestone in this country's long history of working to assure all American citizens have the ability to exercise their right to vote. From women's suffrage in 1920 to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to extending the right to vote to 18 year-olds in 1971 to removing physical barriers for the elderly and disabled in 1984, Congress recognized that the right to vote is perhaps the clearest expression of democracy at work. When Tracey Adkins goes to renew her driver's license she'll join tens of thousands of other Kentuckians who took advantage of the new system--tens of thousands of other Kentuckians who now have no obstacles between their opinion and their Government. In Kentucky, voter registration has skyrocketed to record levels, gaining 76,550 new voters since January 1. And it's estimated that motor-voter is responsible for two-thirds of those new potential voters. In the first quarter of this year, over 2 million Americans nationwide registered to vote under the new law. At this rate 20 million will be registered by the next Presidential election. Not only are we experiencing the largest voter registration increase in our country's history, but as Becky Cain, president of the League of Women Voters said, ``The 1996 electorate will be larger, more diverse and more reflective of the American people.'' And, nearly 10 years of opposition to this legislation has proven to be completely unfounded, from arguments about the high cost of implementation to the fear that somehow Democrats would benefit more than Republicans. Statistics show that new registrations in Kentucky are almost evenly divided between Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Barbara Jorden once said that the ``stakes are too high for Government to be a spectator sport.'' As more and more Americans found themselves in the bleachers simply watching the political game, they were encountering a Government that knew little about their problems, and even less about the way the average citizen might want to see those problems solved. But motor-voter sent a clear message to these disenchanted Americans that Government belongs to them, its future guided by their individual vote. Because, it is only through their participation that the democratic process can work effectively, efficiently, and equitably. So, as we celebrate this second anniversary, we do so knowing that with each new registered voter, this Nation becomes a little stronger, our course a little steadier, our future a little brighter.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. And the largest debt.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey [Mr. Bradley] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, those not familiar with the workings of the Senate might find it strange that the first amendment offered by proponents of this budget resolution is one they will vote against. Let me explain why. Last night, I heard one of the most disrespectful speeches I have ever heard on the Senate floor. I saw one of the most disrespectful charts I have ever seen. What I saw was disrespectful of the President of the United States personally and of the office of the Presidency. The amendment before us is a further attempt to embarrass the President. In January 1993, President Bush presented his last budget to Congress as required by law. That budget showed deficits climbing to $320 billion by fiscal year 1998. I do not intend to offer President Bush's last budget as an amendment, but I do ask unanimous consent to have a summary of that budget printed in the Record so the Record will show the contrast. Compare the numbers in the last Bush administration budget with the underlying amendment.

Mr. FORD. What a difference 2 years has made. What it means to me is also a loud signal that those on the other side of the aisle have no intention of developing a bipartisan approach to deficit reduction. I think that is regrettable. I do not intend to vote for either the pending amendment or the underlying budget resolution. It is still my hope that we can find a bipartisan solution at the end of the day. But not by offering amendments like this one, for political purposes. I think it is unfortunate and I urge its defeat.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from California [Mrs. Boxer] is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, today I wish to congratulate Sergeant Major of the Army [SMA] Richard A. Kidd, who will retire on June 30, 1995. SMA Kidd's service to our Nation spanned more than 33 years during which he distinguished himself as a soldier, leader, mentor, spokesman, and adviser to the Chief of Staff of the Army. Let me briefly recount to you the career of this dedicated and professional soldier. A native of Morehead, KY, and product of a military family, SMA Kidd enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1962. During his more than three decades of loyal service to the Nation, he has held and served in every infantry enlisted leadership position from squad leader to command sergeant major. He is a combat tested leader with two tours in Vietnam where he served with the 1st Cavalry Division (1966-67) and returned as an infantry adviser with the United States Military Assistance Command- Vietnam (1970-71). SMA Kidd has also had multiple tours in Korea and Europe. Before becoming the ninth Sergeant Major of the Army, he was command sergeant major of I Corps, America's Corps, and Fort Lewis, WA. He has served as command sergeant major of numerous organizations including the 9th Aviation Battalion, Fort Lewis, WA; 2d Battalion, 2d Infantry, South Korea; Commandant, 1st Armored Division NCO Academy, Katterbach, Germany. After his tour in Germany, he returned to Fort Lewis where he served consecutively as command sergeant major of the 4th Battalion, 23d Infantry Regiment; 3d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division [Motorized]; and 9th Infantry Division [Motorized]. When SMA Kidd was selected to become the Army's senior enlisted representative in July 1991, the cheering Americans and victory parades welcoming home the victors of the Persian Gulf war were but a faint memory. Two short years earlier, the Berlin Wall had fallen, signaling America's triumph in the 50-year-old cold war and the Army size by a third. The biggest challenge facing SMA Kidd was communicating the Army's strategy to make cuts while, at the same time, maintaining a quality trained and ready Army. He focused on providing soldiers and their families with accurate and timely information so that they could make educated and informed decisions about their future in a shrinking Army. That was achieved through regular interviews with both internal and external communication print and electronic mediums. In so doing, he established a reputation, trust, and rapport with soldiers and their families as a caring leader who listened and truly represented soldiers. SMA Kidd's distinguished 33-year career epitomizes the consummate professional soldier--one who loves being a soldier and being around other soldiers, is technically and tactically proficient, dedicated, motivated, physically fit, mentally alert, and morally straight. But above all, he is a loving and caring husband and father whose service was enhanced by his wife, Sylvia, and their two children, Shelly and Ryan. To them, too, the Nation owes its gratitude. SMA Kidd, a professional and proud infantry soldier--on behalf of the Congress of the United States and the people we represent, I offer our sincere thanks for your service.