Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1634 and H.R. 3650, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bills be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bills be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for the information of colleagues, the bills, as stated, S. 1634 and H.R. 3650, are to address the issue of responding to the emergency of the national disaster which has occurred and in some ways is ongoing in the Gulf States. This allows our Federal court system to continue its operation. This legislation requires it to do so. This likely will be among a series of bills we will address over the coming days and weeks that respond to the disaster itself and to service the victims of that disaster, the people who are still in that coastal area of Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama, to the victims who have been displaced, and to help volunteers and those people who are pitching in around the country, both government and private sector, as we come together to respond to this disaster that may well be the largest natural disaster we have seen in the last 100 years. The pending legislation is the Commerce, Science, and Justice appropriations bill. In this bill, as has been discussed, are a number of provisions related to Katrina and our response to Katrina, things such as the small business disaster loans. We will be, in fact, on that bill shortly, and the chairman will be here. I encourage Members to come over and talk to the chairman and ranking member. We want to move expeditiously with this appropriations bill, in part, because it does have Katrina-related issues in it. I would love to be able to finish this bill this week, if at all possible. Second, just for the information of our colleagues, the House will pass, at some point today or this afternoon, our second supplemental request to respond to this disaster. We have passed a $10.5 billion bill in an urgent emergency session last Thursday night. The Senate addressed it. This will be a second supplemental. As most know, it is more than $50 billion, a very large sum, but that is the appropriate sum, as a second phase, as determined by our appropriate personnel and staff. The House will pass that later today. Once they pass that, it will come to the Senate either this afternoon or this evening. I want to make sure our members know we will have rollcall votes today. It may well be tonight, but we need to pass the supplemental as soon as we possibly can.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. We will be very brief. I appreciate the consideration of the distinguished Senator from California. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3673, the supplemental appropriations bill from the House, with 90 minutes of debate equally divided, with 30 minutes from the majority side under the control of Senator Coburn, with no amendments being in order. I further ask consent that following the use or yielding back of the time, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage without any intervening action or debate. Let me modify this. We will proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3673 immediately following the statement by the Senator from California and the Senator from Texas.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Thursday, September 8, 2005, the majority leader be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Monday, September 12, at 5:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to a period for morning business for 1 hour with the time equally divided between Senator Inhofe or his designee and Senator Reid or his designee, and that following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 167, S.J. Res. 20. I further ask consent that if the motion to proceed is agreed to, the statutory time limit be reduced to 2 hours equally divided, and that following the use or yielding back of time, the joint resolution be read a third time and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage of the resolution.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 189, H.R. 804.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a 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. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Senators should be aware that the next vote will occur at noon today. The Senate will also recess early this afternoon during the funeral for Chief Justice Rehnquist as a further mark of respect. If necessary, we will return to session later today to consider any additional Katrina-related legislation or tributes. This week, we also anticipate a further supplemental appropriations bill relative to the efforts in our Gulf States. We will consider that bill as expeditiously as possible to continue the recovery and rescue efforts. Finally, I remind my colleagues that tomorrow we will begin consideration of the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill. The measure has important hurricane-related issues, including small business disaster loans and Justice Department law enforcement assistance grants. Votes will occur during the remainder of the week as we consider these matters.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, just a short while ago, the Senate proceeded as a body to the U.S. Supreme Court to pay final respect to the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. We continue this morning with tributes to the Chief Justice. Senators will be able to come to the Senate floor until 12 noon to make those statements. Order of Procedure I ask unanimous consent that at 12 noon today, the Senate proceed to a vote on the adoption of a resolution honoring the life of Chief Justice Rehnquist.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, last Saturday, in the wake of one terrible loss, our Nation suffered another loss, a quiet loss but one that was also deeply felt across the land. We learned that William H. Rehnquist, the 16th Chief Justice of the United States, had passed away. Karen and I and the entire Senate family extend our deepest sympathies to his family and to his friends. Our Nation mourns the loss of a great leader. William Rehnquist was an American hero--a World War II veteran, a lifelong public servant, a brilliant legal mind, and a jurist of historic consequence. He was an inspiration to all who knew him. This was especially true in his final months as he stoically fought the cancer that would eventually claim his life. Since October 2004, when the Chief Justice announced he had thyroid cancer, his chin remained up and his mind focused and devoted. Today, that optimism, that determination, that strength of spirit in purpose remain an encouragement to us all. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know William Rehnquist during my tenure in the Senate. I am honored to call him a friend. But even more, perhaps the most one can say of any leader, I simply feel blessed to have lived in his time and in the country that so benefited from his wisdom. William Rehnquist was born on October 1, 1924, in Milwaukee, WI. The son of William Benjamin Rehnquist, a paper salesman, and Margery Peck Rehnquist, a multilingual translator, he spent his childhood in the Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood, WI, where he attended public schools. Even as a young student, William Rehnquist expressed interest in public service, telling others he wanted to ``change the government.'' Well, he did exactly that. William Rehnquist grew up in an era marked by grave challenges and extraordinary triumphs. He saw our Nation rise from the depths of the Great Depression to defeat the threat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. On December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, William Rehnquist was 17 years old. Shortly thereafter, he signed up to fight, joining the Army Air Corps, serving at home and abroad from 1943 to 1946. After the Armed Forces, with the help of the GI bill, William Rehnquist went on to college. At Stanford, he earned a bachelor's and master's degree in political science and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. But his academic journey was far from over. He took a brief hiatus from Stanford, heading east to Harvard for a second master's degree, this time in government. In 1950, he returned to Stanford ready for law school and the defining point in his life. From Stanford, William Rehnquist would graduate first in his class that included none other than his future colleague on the high Court, Sandra Day O'Connor. As a law student, he was known for his astute ability to defend conservatism and for his bright legal mind. One of his professors described William Rehnquist as ``the outstanding student of his law school generation.'' This same professor would later introduce him to Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson. In a private interview, William Rehnquist convinced Justice Jackson to award him with a coveted clerkship with the Supreme Court, despite Rehnquist's initial thoughts that he had been ``written [off] as a total loss'' by Justice Jackson. After completing his clerkship, he married Natalie Cornell. The coupled settled in Phoenix, where they raised three children--James, Janet, and Nancy--and where Justice Rehnquist would practice law for 16 years. As a young lawyer, William Rehnquist was known to wear loud shirts and ties, prompting even President Nixon to refer to him as ``the guy dressed like a clown.'' But clearly, Nixon was impressed by what he saw on the inside of the young lawyer from Phoenix. President Nixon selected Rehnquist to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. In 1971, President Nixon nominated William Rehnquist again, this time to replace Justice John Marshall Harlan as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. William Rehnquist was overwhelmingly confirmed by a Democratic Senate by a vote of 68 yeas and 26 nays. In 1986, President Regan nominated Justice Rehnquist as Chief Justice, and the Senate, by a wide margin once again, confirmed him to serve as the 16th Chief Justice of the highest Court in the land. Today, I echo what my good friend and former colleague Senator Bob Dole said of the Chief Justice during that confirmation debate now two decades ago. He was a man of ``unquestioned integrity, incorruptibility, fairness, and courage.'' During my tenure in the Senate, I had the privilege of getting to know the Chief Justice, or ``the Chief'' as the law clerks called him. And since our first introduction, I found William Rehnquist to be thoughtful, intelligent, and, I must say, quite humorous. A skilled writer and avid historian, Chief Justice Rehnquist is the author of a number of books on Supreme Court history and the American legal system. Many articles have been written about William Rehnquist and his successes as Chief Justice of the United States, and in almost every one of these articles, he is praised for his superb ability to efficiently manage the Court. Speaking to this point, Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White once said: I have never ceased to marvel how one person could possibly carry out all of the tasks given the Chief Justice and yet also decide cases and write opinions as the rest of us do. Yet Chief Justices do them with regularity and, of the three Chief Justices with whom I have served, the man who now sits in the center chair in the courtroom . . . seems to me to be the least stressed by his responsibilities and to be the most efficient manager of his complicated schedule. A former adviser to the Chief Justice said that Justice White's comments mirrored his own observations. He said that William Rehnquist's rigorous work ethic and dedication to efficiency is reflected on his staff, which he, in fact, reduced when he became Chief Justice, relying on only three clerks, although he was authorized to have four. The former adviser described William Rehnquist as a man who could do twice the work of the average judge in half the time. Having worked alongside William Rehnquist on the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, I couldn't agree more. I treasure the days we spent together on this Board of Regents. In his capacity as the chancellor of the Smithsonian, he served as chairman of the Smithsonian's Board of Regents. I, in that capacity, saw firsthand the Chief Justice's commitment to that institution, the Smithsonian, attending every meeting despite his very busy day job at the Court. He even hosted planning meetings for board staff and liaisons of the Supreme Court in the Natalie Cornell Rehnquist Dining Room, named after his late wife of 38 years. Recently, he brought the entire Court to the Smithsonian's American History Museum to see the Brown v. Board of Education exhibit. As he did on the Court, since the Chief Justice became chancellor, he emphasized the importance of efficient management in the Smithsonian's affairs, and he brought a certain sense of distinction to our work for the Smithsonian. Moreover, he inspired me to always be mindful of our duty to history, our place in preserving the strength of this Nation we serve. In recent months, while the ongoing debate in the Senate regarding judicial nominations was occurring, I thought a lot about our Federal courts and our judges. I have often wondered what are the most important qualities to look for in an individual who is being considered for a lifetime appointment on the courts. I have looked to the Chief, and I have seen those qualities embodied in his approach to the law--commitment to judicial restraint, fairness, integrity, impartiality, even temperament, openmindedness, and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. What is more, William Rehnquist was a man not only of high intellect but common sense--a unique combination reflected in the clarity of his opinions. I witnessed firsthand William Rehnquist's intelligence, his temperament, and his commitment to equal justice under the law when he became only the second Chief Justice to preside over Presidential impeachment in the trial of President Bill Clinton. A friend of mine and a former administrative assistant to the Chief Justice said: What impressed me most about the manner in which he presided over the impeachment trial was his astute and facile recognition of and respect for the traditions and rules of the Senate. I knew he would provide impartial leadership but he also adjusted his superb management skills appropriately to the Senate's traditions. At the conclusion of the trial he was praised by the Leaders of both parties. It was another demonstration of the rare combination of high intellect and common sense that he possesses. To this day, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle continue to remember the Chief Justice for his efficient managerial skills and his steadfast respect for the Senate during the impeachment trial. In an atmosphere of partisanship, the Chief Justice was a constant reminder of the solemn legal duties our Constitution requires of the Senate. The Chief loved the Court. He held a deep respect for the law and its traditions, and in turn his colleagues, even those with different judicial philosophies, held a deep respect for him. A former colleague who often decided cases differently than the Chief Justice, Justice Harry Blackmun, praised William Rehnquist as a ``splendid administrator'' and often testified to his fairness and commitment to the coherence and cohesion of the Court. Once the Court's leading liberal, Justice William Brennan called Chief Justice Rehnquist ``the most all-around successful'' Chief that he had known and described him as ``meticulously fair.'' Another liberal on the Court, Justice Thurgood Marshall, described him as ``a great Chief Justice.'' In his 19 years as Chief Justice of the highest Court in the land, Chief Justice Rehnquist never placed himself on a higher plane than his colleagues. To fellow Justices, his law clerks and secretaries, he was sensitive, humble, and ever respectful. I am confident that the President's nominee to the Chief Justice's seat, Judge John Roberts, will bring the same dignity to the job and earn the same level of respect from his colleagues. Judge Roberts, after all, learned from the best. From 1980 to 1981, he was clerk to then Associate Justice Rehnquist. Having come to know John Roberts these last few weeks, there is no doubt in my mind that he has the skill, the mind, the philosophy, and the temperament to lead the Supreme Court. With his passing over the weekend, the Supreme Court loses one of the most prolific scholars and brilliant legal minds ever to sit on the Federal bench. His passing marks a sad day for America, but it is also a day to reflect on our great fortune to have had William Rehnquist in the service of our Nation. For over 33 years, Chief Justice Rehnquist generously offered America his brilliant mind, his unwavering leadership, and his fair and impartial judgment. He was the embodiment of all of the ideal qualities of a judge, and his humility, wisdom, and superb managerial skills allowed him to become one of the most memorable, influential, and well- respected Supreme Court Justices in our history. Many feel that history will remember the Chief for presiding over the Senate during impeachment trials, for his participation in landmark decisions, for his perseverance in fulfilling his duties through ailing health. I believe William Rehnquist will be most remembered for his magnificent leadership and management, his ability to build consensus, his compassion and respect for others, and his fair and impartial review of each and every case that came before the Court. The imprint of William Rehnquist's gavel will not fade fast. No, it is indelibly stamped upon the face of American history and the legacy of the law we uphold. America was blessed to have William Rehnquist as Chief Justice and today he enters the history books as one of the greatest Chief Justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. May God bless William Rehnquist and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, tomorrow the Senate will turn to the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill. The managers will be ready to go through amendments and expedite consideration of this important bill. I encourage our colleagues who may have amendments to work with the managers tomorrow morning in order to schedule consideration. In addition to that measure, we anticipate a further supplemental appropriations bill to arrive from the House. We will need to act quickly on that emergency funding to continue our efforts in our Southern Gulf States. Therefore, there will be votes during Thursday's session of the Senate, and I will announce Friday's voting schedule tomorrow once we can gauge our progress.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the time until 1:30 be equally divided, and at 1:30 the Senate stand in recess until 3:30 today as a further mark of respect to Chief Justice Rehnquist, provided further that when the Senate reconvenes at 3:30 there be a period for morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to consideration of S. Res. 235, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following morning business on Thursday, September 8, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 137, H.R. 2862. I further ask that the committee-reported substitute be agreed to as original text for the purposes of further amendment, with no points of order waived by virtue of this agreement.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 8. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved and the Senate proceed to a period for morning business for up to 60 minutes, with the first 30 minutes under the control of the minority leader or his designee and the final 30 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee; provided that following morning business, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 2862, the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill as under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I did have the opportunity to travel to the gulf coast and participate, not as a Senator but as a volunteer physician, and to see firsthand the tremendous response on the ground among our medical personnel, our health personnel, and our volunteers, but also to witness firsthand that scope of human suffering and need that was caused by last week's catastrophe, which affected those three Gulf States and indirectly affected the entire region--indeed, the entire country. What I saw was staggering. Hurricane Katrina now stands as the largest natural disaster in American history. Ninety thousand square miles, an area larger than the United Kingdom, have been utterly devastated. Many of my colleagues have had the chance to fly over that region. As we all know, many of our colleagues and their families have been directly and personally impacted. The cities are flooded, the entire coast along southern Mississippi destroyed, towns demolished, farmlands turned to swamp, transportation, distribution channels totally wiped out, and local communication destroyed, slowly coming back but totally destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of residents affected across these three States are now displaced. In our leadership meeting a little while ago, we went around the table. Everybody has received the displaced persons in numbers of thousands and thousands. Many of these people have health problems, short-term and long-term problems, that must be addressed. It is going to take all of us pulling together to do this. Secretary Leavitt, Health and Human Services Secretary, estimates that thousands of innocent people have died in the hurricane's wake. As the floodwaters recede, more and more bodies, unfortunately, will be found--people who were unable to escape the torrential flooding that took place shortly after the hurricane struck. The loss is so profound that none of us will be able to express what we have seen or what we feel in words. I have had a chance to be in other areas, in Sri Lanka after the tsunami and in the Darfur region in Sudan. Everybody says, Is this worse? How do you compare it? You can't compare it; all were tremendous tragedies. But I will say that what I had the chance to see there, in terms of the mass of humanity in that convention center and in the New Orleans airport, I can't compare it to anything I have seen, even having seen such tragedies elsewhere in the world. One of the other things I need to mention early on is that human connection you do see when you are in the middle of a response such as this--the compassion, the concern. You saw patients lying together on scores and scores of stretchers, hundreds of stretchers that were on the floor, and you have one patient leaning over, taking care of another patient even though they didn't know each other. Patients were taking care of themselves, especially early on when there was a clear shortage of personnel to respond to that initial disaster, as people came flowing into the airport. You had rescue workers from all walks of life, volunteers from college campuses, health personnel from what are called DMAT or disaster medical assistance teams from around the country, all enduring crushing heat and exhaustion to pour out their hearts and use those skills they had, whatever those skills, so we could maximize that response to those people being evacuated from this place. Volunteer workers were from the State of the distinguished President pro tempore, the State of Alaska. I had the opportunity to work side by side with them, and with volunteers from Hawaii and from Tennessee. I saw a number of my colleagues from medical college, from Vanderbilt in Nashville, and Boston, MA, where I worked in the past. They were contributing in such a positive way. Many people were so moved by the stories they read they got on the road and went to that Gulf State region to volunteer their services. They didn't ask; they didn't pay attention to the redtape or people who said stay away, and went in. They were all very useful as they poured out their hearts to those who were suffering from this catastrophe. I have to also mention the Knox County Volunteers, because the sheriff's department there sent down several helicopters early on, again before even being asked, and they were very instrumental in dropping food and dropping supplies and helping people trying to evacuate their homes. I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with them for both days, both at the convention center where we spent time, as well as at the New Orleans airport and, indeed, over in Mobile, AL. They were there and all along the Mississippi coast, as we touched down there. I will have more to say about what I have been able to observe in those experiences because I think it does reflect both the misery but also the great compassion and the pulling together, the great spirit of the American people that we are going to absolutely have to call upon as we continue to address this tragedy. We in the Senate are acting. We are acting aggressively and responsively and early. We are going to continue to do so. This has become our major priority, even though there are a lot of other issues we are addressing. We have the skyrocketing energy prices, gasoline prices, and oil prices. We have the ongoing war in Iraq. We have the judicial nomination which is underway. And we have the response to Katrina. The response to Katrina right now, because it is an ongoing catastrophe, an ongoing natural disaster, needs to be first and foremost. We are acting and we are going to continue to act aggressively. Last Thursday night we came in and the Democratic leader and I helped usher through, in a highly unusual emergency session, the $10.5 billion aid bill. As we said then, that was only the beginning. We have so many urgent responsibilities now that we will be working together in a bipartisan way to address these issues. Last Tuesday we sent out a note to all committee chairmen to begin bringing their legislative proposals to us. Over the next 48 hours we will be talking to each of the chairmen and ranking members, to pull together their ideas both for the immediate response and the midterm response and the long-term response. There are a lot of human, practical needs that have to be addressed right now. The Federal Government has a major role as we look at health and we look at social services and we look at housing and we look at food and we look at shelter, and then, in the longer term, solutions to putting the Gulf Coast back on a fast track to recovery and to rebuild, and rebuild with a goal of even greater prosperity in the future. The Energy Committee is conducting hearings today and will be addressing the supply/demand issues. There will be many more hearings addressing these issues. I have encouraged our Members to look at some of these real warning flags that have arisen, things such as the price gouging and excessive profit taking by energy companies and by oil companies. These are issues we have to be aggressive with, especially in this time of need. Even before the hurricane hit, having spent about 2 weeks traveling across Tennessee, listening, we heard again and again the price of gasoline and diesel at the pump was wiping out any margins of even survival for many farmers and people who rely on our transportation industry. I do want to call upon the energy industry and the energy sector to be a responsible corporate actor. If not, there is going to be a real focus placed by this Congress because they absolutely must respond appropriately. I mention that because of the reports, people calling in about price gouging and excessive profit taking. If that is occurring anywhere, it absolutely must be reported immediately to the Department of Energy and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We have asked the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to conduct vigorous oversight hearings on what went wrong during those initial days and hours, and what lessons we can learn from this awful tragedy. Most of our response and energy needs to be focused on the victims right now, both their evacuation and responding to their needs, but at the same time that committee will begin their vigorous oversight hearings in an orderly way to collect the appropriate information. Emergency response was unacceptable early on and in many ways I saw it firsthand as a medical volunteer. We have to fix it. Those sorts of things should not happen in America today. Every issue before us we will be addressing. Again, we are just coming back in. I look forward to doing that. One of the biggest problems on the ground will be the issues surrounding communications, command and control structures, and we will be addressing the longer term issues of housing long term but also temporary housing, and issues such as health coverage and unemployment insurance, getting power back, restoring the ports back to activity, dredging channels for those displaced, and making sure their insurance coverage--if they were so lucky to have insurance--is actually provided to them in a timely way. Let me close by simply saying I am humbled and inspired by the tremendous generosity of all Americans who have given so much of themselves and their time and their energy over the last several days-- and their money--and the resources of compassion. I thank you and I know America thanks you. We are going to have to continue to invest. We are going to have to continue to pull together. The Senate is rolling up its sleeves. It has done so. We are at work and will work aggressively to respond appropriately. I am confident that America will be able to meet the challenges that lay ahead. Through all of this, we will be made stronger and better and more unified and more hopeful as we pull together as a government and as a people in this time of crisis. The American people are leading the way, and together we will all be able to overcome these challenges. The Supreme Court Tomorrow, I will have more to say about Chief Justice Rehnquist and the nomination of Judge Roberts for Chief Justice. Today, let me briefly say the Senate and the Nation mourn the loss of the Chief, as he was affectionately known by so many of us and known on the Supreme Court. We will all miss Chief Justice Rehnquist--from his brilliant legal mind to his efficient and effective administration of the Supreme Court. We look forward with confidence as the President's new nominee for Chief Justice, Judge Roberts, is considered. Judge Roberts learned from the best. He was, in fact, a clerk, as we all know, for then-Associate Justice Rehnquist. There is no doubt in my mind that Judge Roberts has the temperament, has the skill, and has the mind to lead the Supreme Court for decades to come. With that, we have a lot to do. I know the Democratic leader has a statement. Then we will have time this afternoon after our lunches for people to come back and make statements as well.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, tomorrow the Senate will pay its respects to the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Senators will be able and are encouraged to make statements tomorrow morning relating to the passing of Justice Rehnquist. We will be voting at noon tomorrow on a resolution which expresses the sense of the Senate. The Senate will recess during the funeral ceremonies as a further mark of respect. As I mentioned earlier, we will begin consideration of the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill on Thursday this week.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in a few minutes, we will be voting on a resolution expressing our deep and heartfelt sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I know I speak for all when I say that the Senate and the American people stand by the good people of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi who have suffered so deeply and who have lost so much. We are committed to helping them recover and rebuild. Last Thursday night, we passed $10.5 billion in aid, but this is just the downpayment. There is still much hard work ahead. One of our most important and pressing duties is to conduct a thorough investigation from top to bottom of the initial emergency response. There is no question that in many places the early emergency response was simply unacceptable. No one who saw the news and the mounting discomfort and despair at the Superdome and the convention center could say otherwise. We need to find out what went wrong and what went right, and we will. We need to find out what we need to do so we are never, ever caught unprepared again. As I mentioned this morning, I traveled to the gulf coast this weekend, not as a Senator but as a volunteer physician. A major problem I saw firsthand was a very basic one, one of communications. It is so ironic, and this is why it is so important that we provide the oversight, because Congress has appropriated funds for communications and for the interoperability of communications, but I didn't see any of that on the ground. People worked without functioning radios when I arrived, and literally within that large terminal and one of the large main rooms there, people could not communicate from one side of that room to the other. Doctors and nurses had to use runners to shuttle through the airport. It simply did not make sense. It does not make sense in America. Many other challenges I saw we will be addressing on the floor of the Senate in the appropriate oversight mechanism. Our full attention at this juncture needs to be directed to saving lives. The President has stated this again and again. Literally as we speak here today, there are people in those second and third floors of homes who have not yet been rescued. Every major city houses the poor and the elderly and the infirm, and every American city is a potential target of a disaster or an attack, either natural or otherwise. There can be no excuses for inaction. Senator Susan Collins and Senator Joe Lieberman, the chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, have announced their oversight hearings. Again, our attention needs to be on saving and sustaining those people who are suffering as we speak, but at the same time we have a mechanism that is underway to begin our very serious, very important responsibility of oversight as to what did not go well and what needs to go much better in the future. I do want to assure the American people that the Senate is hard at work. We have rolled up our sleeves. We began with the passage of the $10.5 billion the other night. It is very likely that in very short order, we will have a much larger supplemental come through, maybe within the next several days, on the Senate floor, and it will require yet another supplemental funding bill in the future. We are determined that New Orleans, where I was Saturday and Sunday; or Biloxi, where I was on Sunday; or Mobile, also on Sunday--really that entire coast-- will recover and that we will rebuild in a way that is bigger and better and stronger. That is the future to which we are committed. We have many hurdles to face in the meantime, and we will address those aggressively. We faced urban disasters in our history. As former Speaker Gingrich said in the last couple of days: A large chunk of Chicago was burned all the way to the ground, and it came back stronger than ever. He also mentioned San Francisco, leveled by an earthquake only to reemerge a much more beautiful and more prosperous city. America has never shied from a challenge. We are a nation of people who have come to these shores to work hard and to dream big. It is in our national DNA. It is what makes us great. This weekend, I saw the incredible generosity and caring and compassion and outpouring among volunteers and military personnel and Guard personnel and medical and health professionals from all over the country--citizens helping one another, patients in adjacent gurneys helping one another, pouring out their hearts and their time and their resources. It was humbling and it was inspiring. I am confident that together we will meet the challenges that lie ahead and emerge more prosperous and more united than ever. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Con. Res 52, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 6 at 2:30 p.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony regarding oil and gasoline pricing.