Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. If you need 30 minutes in morning business, we would like it equally divided. Because we have such a full day tomorrow, I want to have this first vote at 10 o'clock. We would be happy to come at 9 o'clock in the morning, you take 30 minutes, or we will divide the hour 30-30.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, if the Senator would yield.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today the Senate returns to regular business. Last week the Nation and the world bid a final farewell to President Ronald Wilson Reagan. The services and ceremony were fitting tributes to our 40th President. I remind my colleagues that we will be printing a memorial book that will include all of the floor tributes and services related to the passing of our former President. For those Members who were unable to speak on the floor, we will allow Senators to submit statements on Ronald Reagan until June 25 in order to have those tributes printed in the memorial book. Rotunda Tributes to Former President Ronald Reagan At this time, I ask unanimous consent that the tributes during the Rotunda services by our distinguished President pro tempore, currently in the Chair, Speaker of the House, and our Vice President be printed in today's Congressional Record.

Mr. FRIST. I will use leader time.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today following the 60-minute period for morning business, we will resume consideration of S. 2400, the Department of Defense authorization bill. That will begin our third week of consideration on the Defense authorization bill. It is important that we finish this critical piece of legislation this week. I hope Senators will cooperate to that end. The amendments have been reviewed, and Chairman Warner and Senator Levin will be looking to schedule floor consideration of those amendments. Last week, I announced we will vote on Defense-related amendments this evening beginning at 5:30 p.m.. Although we have not locked in any votes at this time, it is my hope that this afternoon Members will come to the floor with their amendments so we can begin voting promptly at 5:30. We will alert all Senators when we reach consent concerning these votes. In addition, this week we will need to consider a number of judicial nominations which were delayed from last week. Members should be prepared for consecutive votes on these nominations. We will be scheduling those votes throughout each day. On this side of the aisle, we are not going to need rollcall votes on each of these nominations. I will be talking to the Democratic leadership to see if the Senate can act at least on some of these noncontroversial judges without a rollcall vote in the interest of schedule and time. Finally, we face a number of scheduling challenges this week with other events that are going on. So it is important we use each Senator's time efficiently. We will be trying to accommodate as many of those events as possible. But we absolutely must have the cooperation of all Senators in order to get our work done this week. I will turn to the assistant Democratic leader for his comments, and then I have a statement to make in morning business.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, it is my understanding he will be speaking tomorrow. The details of that will be announced later today. But it is my understanding it will be early in the morning to a joint session of Congress.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, 10 days ago I had the opportunity to travel to Iraq to visit our troops on the front line and the troups serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On that same trip to Baghdad, I had the opportunity to spend time with Ambassador Jerry Bremer as well as the new Prime Minister of the Iraqi interim government. He was appointed Prime Minister 3 or 4 days before our arrival. His name is Dr. Ayad Allawi. He happens to be a neurologist who spent part of his time and his training in England several years after I had the opportunity to do some of my training in England. Also during this trip, we had the opportunity to discuss with, listen to, and receive briefings from our Nation's senior military officers who are currently leading our efforts in Iraq. I was joined by my colleagues Senator Bob Bennett and Senator John Ensign. I will take a few moments to share with my Senate colleagues some of what we saw and learned on this trip. We didn't say very much about it because of the tributes last week. But about 8 days ago we were in Baghdad in Iraq. Some of what I will say you have heard before, but a lot of it you have not heard in large part because the media--both the media in Iraq and here in the United States--tends to cover the terrorist events, and it is very appropriate, but tends not to see what is going on on the ground in terms of what our soldiers see and what the Iraqi people are seeing. Given what we read and what we see in the media every day, we had the same experience today of waking up and opening the newspaper with yet another terrorist act. We expected to see things getting worse and worse on a daily basis. We expected to find a mission that was struggling, demoralized troops, collapsed infrastructure, and distressed Iraqi people. However, we found the opposite. We found hope. We found optimism. We found progress. Yes, we were there when terrorist activities were occurring, but in balance to that, and juxtaposed, we saw tremendous success. We went, in part, to encourage others. We actually came back very encouraged and inspired. The transfer to sovereignty, I am absolutely convinced, having just been there, will be successful. The transfer of responsibility is well underway. Again, I did not realize fully until going over there 9 days ago that most of the responsibility has already been transferred to the interim Iraqi government. The 33 new ministers have all been appointed. Most, or a majority of them, are already running their cabinet position or their department. The new Iraqi government, the interim government, which will serve until the elections, appears to be very strong. People have tremendous respect for these leaders. We began our trip in Kuwait. On the outskirts of Kuwait City, we visited Camp Wolverine. We were briefed there by the Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, LTG Lance Smith. We learned how the command is fighting throughout the very large theater that begins in East Africa, the border being the Sudan area and extending across the globe to the ``Stans.'' That entire theater is aggressively and with a great deal of success carrying out its responsibility, including fighting this war on terror. The 25 or 26 countries are all involved, both as a region and also as individual countries, in fighting this war on this global network of terror. In countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, we are actively engaged in combat operations. They were described in great detail to us. Alongside our coalition partners and others, we are fighting a preventive war with diplomacy and economic and other nonmilitary means. It is a global effort. It is a comprehensive war on terror that is being fought. Like weeds in a garden, our commanders realize if you do not take action promptly, aggressively, and broadly, terrorism will take root, it will grow deep, and it will spread uncontrollably. After our briefings, Senators Bennett and Ensign and I met with the service men and women, the soldiers who are out there literally on the front line day in and day out. In Kuwait City there is an entryway where everybody coming to that part of the world is channeled--our soldiers--as well as when they exit to go home on leave for a few weeks. It is remarkable how our soldiers are briefed and debriefed and that transition is made. Later that day we had the opportunity to dine with soldiers from our respective States. I had the pleasure of sharing a meal with many soldiers from Tennessee, including Tech SGT Kenneth Clark from Millington, MAJ Jon Hays from Chattanooga, MSG John Russell from Bluff City, and SGT Otis Fox from Memphis. I understate when I say that being able to have a meal with them, with the Tennessee flag up next to us, made me and Tennessee quite proud. The next day we spent in Iraq where, as I mentioned, we met with Ambassador Bremer and his staff. This is a view from the ground from where we were 8 to 9 days ago. He made very clear he is encouraged by the caliber of the new Iraqi interim government. It was in that meeting that I realized much of the responsibility for sovereignty has already taken place. The new ministers are actually up and running right now. We also had an update on the Iraqi economy and reconstruction efforts, which, again, are doing much better than what our media or a sampling of our media in the United States would ever imply. The statistics speak for themselves: Unemployment is nearly half of what it was before the war; inflation has been cut in half; oil production is nearly nine times higher than it was a year ago at this time; bank deposits are up; microcredit loans are flowing. From a medical standpoint, 85 percent of the Iraqi children have been immunized, and 240 hospitals--all of the hospitals--have been opened. As we walked through hospitals, they are open and serving people. There is actually some very good equipment there that Saddam had purchased, but it was sitting in containers for years and years after he purchased it and left in the hallways. That equipment is now being brought online. Over 1,200 preventive medical clinics are operating. The CPA and the coalition forces have completed over 18,000 individual reconstruction projects. About $7 billion to $8 billion of the reconstruction money has been committed as of June 5. We also learned that the reconstruction money which is so important in terms of giving hope to the Iraqi people but also in rebuilding the infrastructure has begun to flow much more freely now that a lot of the contracting issues have been worked out on the ground. These projects are going a long way in terms of reinvigorating the Iraqi economy, getting the country back on its feet, and giving hope to that individual Iraqi person or that individual Iraqi family after decades of neglect of this infrastructure, with no hope for decades because of Saddam Hussein. Reducing unemployment is a critical need. That is why the reconstruction money, in part, is so important. Unemployment must be improved before we will have a truly secure situation on the ground. It is critical to move toward a full-blown democracy in Iraq. I mentioned I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Allawi, who I was very impressed with. He is a British trained neurologist, a longstanding opponent of Saddam Hussein's regime. He is the new Prime Minister. He will serve for the next 6 months. He is a man of great character. He shares our strategic goals and approach. He had talked to his country the day before and was covered extensively by the media in that part of the world. He talked about the sacrifice the United States has made, the fact that, yes, the security and elections are first and foremost, but it will be important to have the coalition forces and the United States present as we turn over to sovereignty but also help them rebuild their police forces and rebuild their military. We were the first delegation to have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Allawi, and, again, we were very impressed. I will say more about that meeting tomorrow. Regarding the cabinet itself and the 33 ministers, I asked the people on the ground about the 33 ministers who have been appointed. They are a broad, very educated group, very diverse group, geographically representative. There are six women. Two out of three have Ph.D.s. It seems to be both from a civilian--the Iraqi people--and a military viewpoint there is a tremendous amount of respect for the quality and the caliber of this cabinet. A highlight for me personally, which occurred later in the day, was to visit the U.S. military hospital in Baghdad. Again, as a physician, it was invigorating to be able to meet our doctors and our nurses, our thoracic surgeons, our vascular surgeons who are treating anywhere from 70 to 100 patients in that facility every day. We were able to meet a number of our service members who were being treated in the hospital who had been injured in the last several days. Again, to see their real patriotism, their pride, their optimism, even though they had just been injured the day before, was really gratifying. I met with Greg Kidwell, a soldier from Clarksville, TN, who is serving in the military and serving his country by caring for patients in the hospital. It is a very impressive hospital facility. As a physician, as someone who spent 20 years in hospitals, this is top- notch, high-quality care from some of the most competent and dedicated professionals our country can muster. Following the visit to the hospital, we visited with the 1st Armored Division near Baghdad. We had lunch with soldiers from the 1st Armored Division. Again, a number of Tennesseans who worked with the 1st Armored Division, such as SP Tim Griswold of Fayetteville, MSG Ron Miller of Clarksville, CAPT Mike Loveall of Gallatin, and SP Michael Johnson of Chattanooga were there. We were joined by several other soldiers from the 168th Military Police Battalion from Tennessee as well. Afterwards, we were briefed by senior officers from the division. They gave us an overview of the situation, which was interesting because it was their responsibility to address the soldier militias. We had the opportunity to talk to them. This was several days after they had a huge amount of success in terms of addressing and defeating many of Muqtada al Sadr's militias in a number of cities throughout the south, having been moved from Baghdad down south. It is clear to them, and everybody we talked to, that Sadr is not supported by most Iraqis, but only by the disenfranchised and a fringe element. Quite clearly, we owe the success of the 1st Armored Division to the competency, training, and motivation of our soldiers, and the overall success in all these activities to the success of our soldiers and our marines who risk their lives on a daily basis to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. Later that afternoon, we journeyed to the headquarters of the Multinational Forces Iraq, which was formerly the CJTF-7. Again, we had a comprehensive overview of the situation in Iraq. We left there impressed with our troops, with their character, with their courage, and with their determination to so selflessly accomplish their assigned mission. They are answering the call to duty to bring freedom and security so others may live free of tyranny. I say all this saddened and well aware of the news that was presented last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; and that is, this increased level of terrorism and violence in Iraq, including the murder of the Deputy Foreign Minister, Bassam Salih Kubba, which is a terrible loss. But we must be aware of and I think it is important for the American people to understand both what we were told and what we saw. We were told by our military commanders, we were told by the Prime Minister, and we were told by the President of Iraq, who was here this past week, that there is going to be an increased level of terrorist activity. The terrorists want to defeat--they say the United States and they say the coalition, but they want to defeat any government, any governing authority. So that level of terrorism is likely. We should not be surprised if it increases between now and June 30, and indeed after sovereignty is passed off to the Iraqis in the weeks after the new government takes hold. After June 30, the relationship between the United States and Iraq is going to be one of a strategic partnership, as we move from an occupying force to that of a mission and a very large embassy there. Our focus is going to be twofold. No. 1 is going to be security and No. 2 is to make sure, in terms of a strategic partnership, that these elections occur and that they occur in a free and fair way. So it is security and elections. That is what the focus will be over the next 6 months. We, of course, will continue with the reconstruction progress that has been made, improving the Iraqi economy. At the same time, we will continue to fight terrorism now in partnership with the interim Iraqi government. The terrorists want, and the terrorists have as their objective, to derail the sovereignty to the Iraqi people. They are targeting the growing middle class in Iraq. They want to keep Iraqis out of voting booths. They want to keep them out of hospitals. They want to keep them out of schools. They want to keep them out of markets. And they want to accomplish that through fear. But it is clear, in talking to the Iraqi people and the civilians and our military, that they simply are not going to succeed. That is what we left with: They simply are not going to succeed. Most Iraqis do not support these groups. They understand the terrorists are attacking the people of Iraq. It is going to be very helpful that when the Prime Minister, who had not met anybody from our legislative branch--the first words he said to me and to the Iraqi people were, using the Iraqi voice: The terrorists are not after you, the United States, and not even after the coalition. The terrorists are after the Iraqi people. Every action--blowing up an oil line, blowing up a water line--hurts the Iraqi people, not the United States and not the coalition itself. That voice coming from the Iraqi leadership I think will be hugely helpful. Iraqis do not like the U.S. occupation in and of itself. They are a proud people and they want that sovereignty. Yes, we are going from occupation to mission. Iraqis do want freedom. They do want democracy. But the President this week, with whom many of us had the opportunity to meet, and the Prime Minister said the goal is democracy. Last week--and I will close shortly--the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a new U.S. resolution. The resolution outlines that transfer of sovereignty to the new interim Iraqi government and the role of the coalition forces after June 30. The world community is now united behind the Iraqi people, and with every passing day the Iraqi people, with the coalition's help, are building the capacity to govern themselves. As in the past, we must stay the course. We will stay the course. We will keep true to the principles. We will have continued faith in our superb Armed Forces. We know that history in the end will be on our side. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I appreciate the comments of my colleague. Indeed, it has been a different week, a very solemn week, and a week that has required all of us to work together from an organizational standpoint and to pull together what has been almost a celebration of this legacy of Ronald Reagan. This evening members will gather in the Senate Chamber and right around that period of time a number of people will be proceeding to the arrival ceremony. It will indeed be a historic moment for the Senate, for this body, but indeed for the American people. Over 150,000 well- wishers are expected to line the streets as President Reagan's flag- draped caisson is drawn up to this building, the Capitol, by a single riderless horse. In the past 5 days, we have witnessed a remarkable unity in the country, a fraternity of spirit in many ways. Partisanship has fallen away, and old political foes have set aside disagreements. Americans have come together to celebrate the remarkable achievements of a truly remarkable man. Lifeguard--the pictures are imprinted in everybody's mind--radio announcer, actor, Governor, father, husband, and finally President of the United States. Ronald Wilson Reagan achieved extraordinary heights. But he would tell you, I suspect--and it was reflected in so many of the comments among his friends and colleagues over the last several days--that he was simply being an American, fulfilling the American dream. He described the American dream once as ``a song of hope that rings through the night air; vivid, tender music that warms our heart when the least among us aspires to the greatest things.'' Ronald Reagan brought that song back to our hearts. He believed we could achieve great things, that America could achieve great things, and because of his unshakeable belief in freedom and liberty and democracy and his ironclad faith in progress, his love and respect for his fellow citizen, we did. We triumphed over the Soviet empire. We created one of the longest economic expansions in American history. We regained our strength and our optimism. We remembered the special privilege it is to be an American. But we also remembered that freedom is not for us alone. It is the right of every man and woman across the globe, in every age, in every civilization. In 1964, two decades before he would be reelected in a landslide victory carrying 49 of the 50 United States, Ronald Reagan told the Nation: You and I have the ability and the dignity and the right to make our own decisions and determine our own destiny. As we would learn later, it was our destiny to choose Ronald Reagan to be our leader, our standard bearer, and our hero. The history books will record Ronald Reagan as one of our greatest Presidents. Of this I have no doubt. And the American people will remember him with love and with affection for generations to come.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, we are going to do our wrap-up business, have a couple of closing statements, and then we will adjourn for the ceremony tonight.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 341, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules Committee be discharged from further consideration of S.J. Res. 38 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 1 p.m. on Monday, June 14. 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 reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business for 60 minutes, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; provided that following morning business the Senate resume consideration of Calendar No. 503, S. 2400, the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration Calendar Nos. 546 through 571, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we will be in discussion with the Democratic leadership, but I think around 5 o'clock or not before 5 o'clock. I think it is important we make substantial progress Monday. We set aside, very appropriately, this entire week in honor of President Reagan, and it means that if we are to finish the business before us, we will need to start fairly early Monday and work hard through the day and the week.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I wish to make a few remarks regarding President Ronald Reagan. It was in January 1977, as Jimmy Carter prepared to take the oath of office as President, that Ronald Reagan met with the man who would become his chief foreign policy adviser for the next several years, Richard Allen. The two spent several hours together discussing in detail the vast array of issues. As Allen recalls--and some people have heard this on the news--as he has recounted it, Reagan said a whole range of memorable things, but none was more profound than this: My idea of American policy toward the Soviet Union is simple and some would say simplistic. It is this: We win and they lose. What do you think of that? Ronald Reagan's words would have been shocking to the trained ears of any foreign policy expert of that day. The consensus was the cold war simply could not be won. We could not defeat communism. That is what people thought. That is what they felt. All we could do was to hope to contain the Soviet Union and chip away at the fringes of its influence. After his meeting with Ronald Reagan, Richard Allen never looked at the world in the same way. When Ronald Reagan entered the White House and laid out his vision for winning the cold war, America never looked at the world the same way. And when Ronald Reagan left the White House and events he helped put in motion came to pass, the world, indeed, would never be the same. What were the reasons for Ronald Reagan's historic foreign policy success? How did he come to leave a more indelible mark on the world than any American President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt? First, Ronald Reagan believed in a strong military to defend our Nation and to protect peace. He marshaled the resources from this body for a remarkable 35-percent increase in defense spending during his Presidency. Critics accused Reagan of unnecessarily provoking the Soviet Union and putting America on a path to nuclear war. But for Ronald Reagan, a strong national defense was an instrument for peace. It was Government's first and foremost duty to its people. He knew the Soviet Union could not match our capacity to fund our national defense, and should the Soviets attempt to keep pace, as they did, the Communist state would be unable to sustain itself. Second, Ronald Reagan believed that America, our allies, and our common values were on that winning side of history. The destiny of mankind was not to live in the shadow of tyranny, dictatorship, but to be guided by the light of liberty, by the light of democracy. That was the destiny. As Reagan said in his watershed Westminster speech: The march of freedom and democracy . . . will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self- expression of the people. Third, Ronald Reagan viewed the world through a lens of moral clarity. He believed there was right and wrong and good and evil, strength and weakness, but, most importantly, he was not afraid to talk about the world as he saw it or use his words to help shape the world in that vision. He called the Soviet Union the ``evil empire.'' Why? Because the Soviet regime was repressive and godless and imperialist. In 1987, he stood before the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and challenged the Soviet leadership: Mr. Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. Within months, the wall was torn down. The cold war was won, and the new and lengthy era of peace for America and among the major powers of the world was born. In this week of tribute to the life of Ronald Reagan, let us remember the simple ideas upon which his foreign policy was based: a strong military as an instrument of peace; liberty and democracy as the destiny of mankind; and the moral clarity to see the world as it was and what it should be. Let us also remember that without the courage and the character of Ronald Reagan, his ideas would have remained just ideas, and the world would have remained the same. As Reagan once wrote of his determination to stand up for what he believed: But bearing what we cannot change and going on with what God has given us, confident there is a destiny, somehow seems to bring a reward we wouldn't exchange for any other. It takes a lot of fire and heat to make a piece of steel. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning the Senate has convened again to allow Members to pay tribute to the life of Ronald Wilson Reagan, our 40th President. Later this morning, at 11:30, the Senate will honor that life by voting on a memorial resolution regarding President Reagan. I expect that to be the only vote of the day. Order of Procedure I ask unanimous consent that the final 10 minutes prior to the vote be equally divided and reserved for the two leaders.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we will conclude our business by 3 p.m. today in order to allow the Capitol to prepare for this evening's services. The Rotunda service will begin at 7 p.m. tonight, and all Senators are asked to be in the Senate Chamber at 6:15 p.m. in order to depart at 6:25 p.m. to take our place in the Rotunda for the ceremony. Each Senator's office has received a fairly extensive memo outlining today's and the rest of the week's events, including plans for the Friday service, and that memo provides details for the Senators. A final note. In looking ahead to next week, when we finish today, we will adjourn until Monday. On Monday, we will resume consideration of the Defense authorization bill, and it is my expectation to have multiple votes on Monday, probably stacked in the afternoon. We will need to make considerable progress on Monday on the Defense authorization bill in order to finish the bill as early as possible next week. I thank my colleagues who have come to the floor in the last several days to give eloquent remarks regarding the life and legacy of Ronald Reagan.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, these past few days we have seen an extraordinary outpouring of affection for our 40th President, Ronald Wilson Reagan. In a few short hours, he will lie in state under the Capitol dome where dignitaries from around the world and citizens from across the country will pay their respects to the man from Dixon. In his 1982 State of the Union address, President Reagan told the Nation: We don't have to turn to our history books for heroes; they are all around us. In life, Ronald Reagan was a hero to millions. To the freedom fighters in the Soviet Union, to his fellow citizens striving toward that American dream, Ronald Reagan told the world that we are meant to be free. He was a man of faith and deeply held convictions. Like James Madison, Ronald Reagan believed that in the creation of our Republic was the hand of God. He believed our freedoms flow not from the State but from the Almighty. Our task was and remains to awaken in the people this essential truth. I close with a story I believe captures Ronald Reagan's remarkable character, his courage, and his vision. It was 1997. From a news report was a story of an emigre. Walking in Arm and Hammer Park near his home, Reagan was approached by an elderly tourist and his 12-year-old grandson, Ukranian emigres now living near Toledo, OH. They spoke with him for a moment and the grandfather snapped a picture of the boy sitting with the former president. An article about the encounter and the picture appeared first in the Toledo Blade and then in newspapers around the country. The other day, the grandfather recalled their meeting. We went to the park for a picnic with our friends, he said, and then he saw President Reagan. And we began to cheer him and said, Mr. President, thank you for everything you did for the Jewish people, for Soviet people, to destroy the Communist empire. And he said, yes, that is my job. Ronald Wilson Reagan was raised in a small town. Part of him remained a small town citizen all of his life. Not in the self conscious way one thinks of a politician stumping on the campaign trail. Ronald Reagan's small town roots informed the way he viewed the body politic--what he believed people wanted from life, from each other and from government. As he explained, when a person grows up in a small town, You get to know people as individuals, not as blocs or members of special interest groups. You discover that, despite their differences, most people have a lot in common . . . [W]e all want freedom and liberty, peace, love and security, a good home, and a chance to worship God in our own way; we all want the chance to get ahead and make our children's lives better than our own. We all want the chance to work at a job of our own choosing and to be fairly rewarded for it. Ronald Reagan believed that the government should serve the people. He believed that the strength of our economy came from the creativity, ingenuity and productivity of the individual, not from the plans and schemes of government bureaucrats or intellectual elites. This view of America's economic success guided his economic policies here at home, and, in no small way, shaped his political policies abroad. When Ronald Reagan became President, the American economy was in a shambles. Inflation was in the double digits. Interest rates were soaring. Americans had to wait in endless lines to pump overpriced gas. Real incomes had stagnated and the American worker was demoralized. In his 1989 ``Speaking My Mind'' collection of essays and speeches, Ronald Reagan reflected that: Here we were, a country bursting with economic promise, and yet our political leadership had gone out of its way to frustrate America's natural economic strength. It made no sense. My attitude had always been--let the people flourish. So, he set about slashing Federal income taxes and cutting burdensome regulations. It was his mission to free the American worker and unleash the American entrepreneur. When he came to office, the top marginal tax rate was 70 percent. By the time he left, it was a mere 28 percent. His sweeping tax reforms overhauled the tax code and removed 6 million taxpayers from the tax rolls. At the same time, President Reagan gave Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker free reign to tighten the money supply and bring down inflation. Together, these policies worked. True to the President's forecast, as the economy grew, so, too, did tax revenues. Tax revenues increased faster than GDP. By 1990, the economy had grown by a third--or as the Wall Street Journal put it, ``roughly the size of Germany.'' Over the course of his presidency, the economy created 19 million jobs and the stock market hit a record high. America enjoyed the longest economic expansion up to that time. Throughout, President Reagan was assailed for the growing deficit. In typical Washington fashion, he got the blame for adverse economic numbers, but never the credit for economic success. Contrary to his critics, however, the Federal deficit fell from 6.3 percent of GNP in fiscal year 1983 to 2.3 percent in 1988. The deficit actually shrank as a percentage of Gross National Product. At the time, his policies were dubbed, ``Reaganomics.'' Now, they're considered common sense. President Reagan's guiding principle was simple, yet profound: government policies should grow the economy, not manage [or redistribute?] it. The impact of this idea was so great that, now, even the other side of the aisle speaks of targeted tax cuts and tax credits, and no longer openly campaigns to raise our taxes. Indeed, President Clinton crystallized the Reagan Revolution when he declared, ``The era of big government is over.'' President Reagan believed in the dreams and dignity of the individual. As he said in his second inaugural address, ``There are no limits to growth and human progress, when men and women are free to follow their dreams.'' Ronald Reagan reminded the American people that economic liberty and human freedom are two sides of the same coin. Some call it the Reagan Revolution. Others call it the Reagan Restoration. I prefer the latter term. The man from Dixon--lifeguard, radio announcer, actor, governor, father, adoring husband, and President of the United States--restored not only our confidence, but our fundamental understanding of the source of America's greatness: the American people. Indeed, America was blessed to have such a President. Now he will enter the history books as one of our greatest. God bless Ronald Wilson Reagan. God bless America. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. On Monday, following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the Defense authorization bill. Chairman Warner and Senator Levin have been reviewing the submitted amendments and will be here on Monday to resume work on that bill. I expect Members to come to the floor to offer amendments on Monday. We anticipate setting votes on amendments for Monday afternoon. On Monday, we will order any votes to begin at 5:30 on those amendments to be disposed of. Again, I encourage Members to work with the chairman and the ranking member to schedule consideration of their amendments. There were a large number of amendments filed, and I hope that most of those amendments will not be offered. It will be a busy week next week as we return to regular business. We need to proceed expeditiously toward completing our work on the Defense authorization bill by the conclusion of next week. With that said, I again thank all of my colleagues who have participated during these past several days in honoring our former President.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent the Senate stand in adjournment under the provisions of S. Res. 371 as a mark of further respect for President Ronald Wilson Reagan.