Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask for their second reading, and in order to place the bills on the calendar under rule XIV, I object to my own request en bloc.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk, and I ask for their first reading, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. FRIST. In order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceeding en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask consent at 12 noon tomorrow the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the DeMint amendment No. 4921, as amended; further, that notwithstanding the adoption of the amendment 4927, the second-degree amendment be modified to reflect a perfecting amendment.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, about an hour ago a number of Members of the House and the Senate, principally leadership, participated in a wreath-laying ceremony by the President at the Pentagon. The President has participated over the last 48 hours in similar events in New York, earlier today in Pennsylvania, and later at the Pentagon today. A number of colleagues have come to the Senate to offer statements in remembrance of that day 5 years ago and that question of: What were you doing? Whom did you talk to? What were your memories? Whom were you with? This is a familiar question and one we have all gone back over the course of the last several days and thought about. I remember where I was. I remember exactly what I was doing. I remember whom I was with. I was across the street in the Russell Building with my chief of staff, Emily Reynolds, at the time, who is now Secretary of the Senate. We were in a meeting with a colleague of mine, Senator Hutchison, talking over issues, when a member of her staff came in and told us that a plane had struck the Twin Towers. At that time, it was thought initially to be a corporate plane, but as a pilot it was very clear to me that would not have happened by accident. While our discussion continued for a few moments, someone wheeled in a television, and then, dumbstruck, we watched that second plane strike the tower. Shortly thereafter, of course, we heard there was smoke coming from the Pentagon, where we were a few moments ago. Clearly, we were under attack. I remember my first phone call home. We all remember our phone calls, reaching out to touch others whom we loved. I called my wife Karyn. Immediately, we talked about what should be done with our three boys who were at school in Washington, DC. Of course, later that afternoon, we were standing on the steps of the Capitol with so many of our colleagues, spontaneously, together, breaking out in ``God Bless America,'' to let the world know that America will not cower to such terrorism. Indeed, in about 30 minutes, a number of our colleagues from both the House and the Senate will, once again, go to those Senate steps. Those are the moments that are indelibly etched into my mind in terms of where I was and whom I was with. But it really goes out to the people we were just with over at the Pentagon, as I talked to one man I never met before whom, as we were waiting just prior to the ceremony, I turned to and introduced myself. He told me his story, his story of Amelia, who, on her second day of work, indeed, her birthday, September 11, 5 years ago, at the Pentagon was struck and died. And then there are the images of all the first responders--the law enforcement, the firefighters, the police, and the volunteers--and the family responses. All of those feelings come tumbling in. Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives to those vicious acts of terror that day. The attacks shattered the longstanding illusions I had through my entire life of safety and security, at least in this great country of ours. Indeed, we found ourselves hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. Instead, we pressed on, pushing every hindrance aside with resolve, calling upon our most fundamental beliefs about America, many going back over the ensuing days addressing what makes us uniquely American. We pressed on, coming together and sending forth thousands of those first responders, thousands of those policemen, paramedics, construction workers, and other rescue workers to Ground Zero and the Pentagon. I remember a few days after the Pentagon was struck going out and welcoming an entire delegation of first responders from Tennessee, with that American flag displayed so proudly and that Tennessee flag right next to it. We pressed on, facing down that economic shock and developing new respect for our economy's natural resilience and a new respect for the economy's ability and resiliency to bounce back. We pressed on, immediately in this body, addressing issues of intelligence, of making sure we not only mobilized our troops but we supported them with the very best equipment that we could. We pressed on by taking the fight to the enemy because we knew that if we did not, that fight would come to us. With the passage of 5 years' time, some things begin, inevitably, to blur. That is why in some ways it is so useful to have remembrances like what we have had over the course of today. We forget a time when we had a great fear of even boarding airplanes. We forget a time when we held our children--and those days, weeks, and months afterwards; it was so, so, so close--but we forget that time of holding our kids just a little bit longer with that hug before they went off to school. And we forget a time when we felt that hatred in the heart of our enemy. The feelings that were once so vivid, so sharp--that shock, that anger, that fury--the fear began to lose the jagged edge with time. In part, that is part of this Nation's healing-- coming together, responding in a healing way to a catastrophe--because we should not live in fear. We cannot be a nation that lives in fear. Salesmen go out traveling on business, families who are out traveling on vacations should not fear boarding that plane to fly. Parents loading their children on a bus, they should not fear sending them off to school. But there is also a danger in forgetting. There is a danger in having time pass and letting those memories fade because as time fades we also start to forget the enemy who took those 3,000 lives so prematurely. We forget the intentions they harbor and the agenda they champion. There was a stark reminder for me yesterday, as I joined Senator McConnell and Senator Specter, as we went to Guantanamo Bay, to the detention facility there. And when you walk those grounds--a remarkable place in and of itself and the entity itself in terms of treating those detainees in a safe and humane way, which is very possible--in walking those grounds, it causes you to think back to 5 years ago, to what precipitated that event which caused the loss of 3,000 and destroyed the lives of so many thousands of others. We cannot become complacent because if we do, we will be struck again. Our enemy remembers. Our enemy plans. And I was reminded again and again yesterday, as I toured those grounds, our enemy continues to plan, continues to plot, continues to conspire--conspires to see us lose in Iraq, plots to drive us out of Afghanistan, plans to attack us here, right here, again in the United States. We know that because over these last 5 years, at least 11 times such plots have been promoted. That is why we cannot afford to grow complacent. We cannot afford to let our resolve waiver. We have to continue to press on. We have to continue to strengthen our security. That is why on this floor, in the bill that has been talked about this afternoon and the bills we will address over the coming days, we are focusing on a security agenda. It is an agenda that includes replenishing our critical supplies for troops on the ground--we just finished the Department of Defense appropriations bill on the Senate floor last week--eliminating vulnerabilities and closing the gaps in port security, the bill on the floor today; and, indeed, in the near future, creating military commissions to try the enemy combatants, the terrorists who are captured on the field of battle, and bolstering the terrorist surveillance program to make sure our law enforcement and our Government are appropriately equipped to be able to detect terrorism before an event happens. Here in the Senate we have worked tirelessly to ease the burden on our memories. That is why we are safer now than we were 5 years ago. Consider there has not been a successful terrorist attack against the homeland. But safety and security are not static points in time. They are not static statistics. They are dynamic, in constant flux. So as we take time today to remember the horror as well as the courageous actions of 5 years ago, let us also remember there is much more we can and we must do to bring the terrorists to justice and to ensure the events of 9/11 are never repeated.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 565, which was submitted earlier today.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, September 12. I further ask unanimous consent 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 the transaction of morning business for up to 30 minutes, with the first 15 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee and the final 15 minutes under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee; further, that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 4954, the port security bill. I further ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. to accommodate the weekly policy luncheons.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, tomorrow we will continue to work through the port security bill. Members wishing to offer amendments should be consulting with the bill managers and be ready to debate their amendments tomorrow and Wednesday. Members should note that we will be voting throughout the day tomorrow, and the first vote will be at noon on Senator DeMint's national hazard alert system. In a few moments, Members of Congress will be marking the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 with a ceremony on the Capitol steps. Senators are reminded to meet in the Chamber by 5:45 p.m. to walk over as a body for the 6 o'clock ceremony.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the provisions of S. Res. 565 as a further mark of respect for those who died as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration, and the Senate now proceed to H. Con. Res 449.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we return to session for the consideration of the port security bill. Last night we were able to complete work on the Defense appropriations bill, with a final vote of 98 to 0 on passage. Following that vote, we began consideration of port security, with opening statements which began last night and continue this morning. I stated last night that we will not be voting on amendments today, but we do anticipate Members will come forward and offer and debate amendments over the course of business today and Monday. The two leaders will then work with the managers and begin stacked votes on those pending amendments for Tuesday morning. Having said that, I ask Senators to make themselves available today and Monday to debate their amendments. I again remind my colleagues of the joint leadership event on Monday which will observe the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11. We will have a brief ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday on the east front of the Capitol. All Senators are invited to participate. Mr. President, I turn to my colleague from Missouri. I have a short statement on port security, but I know the Senator has other scheduling issues today. I will defer to him and then make my statement on port security following his remarks.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, with passage of the Department of Defense appropriations yesterday, we took another major step forward making America safer and more secure. We hit a few bumps and distractions along the way, but the end result was passing the Defense appropriations bill. Under the tremendous leadership of the President pro tempore, who is occupying the chair, we passed a bill that makes America, and continues to make America, safer and more secure. We helped to bring to our troops the cutting-edge technologies and resources that they need and will continue to need in fighting the war against terror. It is important to share with our colleagues and the American people that in these appropriations bills, pending bills that are coming to the Senate, we are addressing a lot of issues that are not the principal focus of the bill but are very important issues to address, issues of concern and focus of the American people. I refer to an element of border security. Most Members, as we traveled around the country and through our States over the last several weeks and during August, heard again and again that the American people expect us to focus on security at our perimeter, at our border, and at our ports. We are on the port security bill today. In addition, it is important to note, for border security interests, over the past 2 years we have made huge progress in funding initiatives along our border, as reflected in the bills, the Homeland Security appropriations bill and the bill we passed yesterday, the Department of Defense appropriations bill. If we examine the last 2 years, we see how much progress, indeed, has been made for the border. We have added 3,736 new Border Patrol agents, for a total of 14,555. We have added in these bills 9,150 new detention beds, for a total of 27,500. We have added, in these bills, 370 miles of border security fencing and added 461 miles of vehicle barriers along that Southwest border. We have added $682 million for border tactical infrastructure and facilities construction. As for detention personnel, we have added 1,373 detention personnel, for a total of over 5,500. People ask about Customs and Border Protection officers. Indeed, we have added 460 new Customs and Border Protection officers for seaport inspections, for a total of 18,321 officers at ports of entry. For the Coast Guard, in these bills, we have added $7.5 billion for the Coast Guard maritime border security, including $4 billion for Coast Guard port security and $2.1 billion for deepwater assets. I mention these figures and this data because that is what we have done over the last 2 years in the supplemental bill, the Homeland Security bill, and the Department of Defense appropriations bill. In fact, spending on border and immigration enforcement has increased from less than $4 billion prior to 9/11 to over $16 billion today--a fourfold increase. Catch and release has been ended. Apprehensions are up along the border by 45 percent. We are acting. We are funding. We are controlling the borders. We have a long way to go, but we are delivering on border security. Security and safety are not static states. They are dynamic, which means we must constantly take steps, which we are doing on the floor to bolster them. Earlier this year, I took a trip to the west coast and toured the Long Beach Port in southern California. It was amazing. I took an aerial tour, talked to all of the people there from security to the people handling the containers. Over 13,000--13,000--containers come through that one port every day. It is the largest port in the country. It is the third largest in the world. It is not far from Los Angeles or LAX where 62 million passengers pass through annually. To say the least, this part of the country is a major front on the battle to protect our ports from terrorist attacks. I am delighted we did turn to the port security bill last night. We have much to do over the next several days--with opening statements made last night and over the course of the day. The bill before us now will provide the structure and resources necessary to strengthen our seaport vulnerabilities and better protect the American people from attack that might occur through those ports. It addresses security throughout the international cargo supply chain-- from factory gate in a foreign country to screening in the U.S. port of final destination. The U.S. maritime system includes more than 300 sea and river ports, with more than 3,700 cargo and passenger terminals. More than 95 percent of all U.S. overseas trade, excluding trade with Mexico and Canada, arrives by ship. The top 50 ports in the United States account for about 90 percent of all cargo tonnage, and 25 U.S. ports account for 98 percent of all container shipments. Most of the 60,000 U.S. port calls made each year are foreign owned and crewed. Less than 3 percent of U.S. overseas trade is carried on U.S.-flagged vessels. What all this means is that ports are a significant choke point for an enormous amount of economic activity for this country. In and of themselves, they, therefore, represent an attractive target for terrorists. Equally significant is that ports clearly facilitate the transportation of something from one place to another. Goods arrive at and depart through these ports--by ship, by rail, by truck--so it is not inconceivable that terrorists could use ports as a conduit to smuggle into this country. Just imagine the damage if a terrorist smuggled a dirty bomb in a cargo container off a ship calling on a U.S. port. Once unloaded, it could be transferred to a waiting tractor-trailer or train and from there target anywhere in this country. Just imagine if terrorists seized control of a large commercial cargo ship and used it as a collision weapon for destroying a bridge or refinery on the waterfront. Imagine the damage if terrorists sank a large commercial cargo ship in a major shipping channel, thereby blocking all traffic to and from that port. These are not pipedreams. They are legitimate threats. Remember when the USS Cole was attacked by a bomb-laden boat during a refueling stop in Yemen? Had that occurred in a U.S. port, not only would the port of calling be shut down but very likely officials would halt the entire U.S. maritime transportation system, as they did in the days immediately following 9/11. Studies suggest that such a disruption in trade would reverberate throughout the country, costing billions of dollars. The 9/11 Commission--if we look back at their recommendations-- concluded that ``opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime and surface transportation'' as in commercial aviation. That is why we have elected to bring this bill to the floor of the Senate. That is why the bill before us is so very important. It provides the Department of Homeland Security with the additional authorities and vital tools necessary to improve maritime security and to foil plots to injure or destroy our ports, to the detriment of our people and to the detriment of our economy. Effective port security is a critical component of national security. And the bill before us now is a critical component of effective port security. I look forward to a thoughtful and engaging debate over the next several days and do hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this very important piece of legislation.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to Calendar No. 432, H.R. 4954, the port security bill.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and further that it be considered as original text for the purpose of additional amendments and for debate only this evening.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning the first 30 minutes of session will be devoted to a morning business period for Senators to make statements. Shortly after 10 a.m., we will resume our work on the Defense appropriations bill. We worked into the evening last night and voted on a couple of the pending amendments. Therefore, we will finish the bill during today's session. The two managers can update us when we return to the bill, but it is my hope we can finish the bill early today and move on to other business. I know I can speak for the chairman and say it is imperative we do not delay this defense funding bill any longer and we move toward passage quickly. Several committees have been meeting on the issue of port security. We should be ready to begin that important Homeland Security bill next. We will have further updates during today's session as to the timing of finishing the Defense bill as well as the next order of business.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on this last rollcall vote, No. 235, the distinguished Senator from New Mexico, the current chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the former long-serving chairman of the Budget Committee, Senator Pete Domenici, cast his 13,000th vote in this Chamber--13,000 votes. Senator Domenici now joins a very historic and select club of Senators who can claim this distinction. Senators now cast more votes than ever in each Congress, so while historical records are not perfect, the Senate Librarian says that we are safe to conclude that among all Senators who have served since the beginning of the Republic, Senator Domenici is in a class of only eight. Since the beginning of the Republic, only seven other Senators have similarly cast more than 13,000 votes in their careers in the Senate, and four of them are serving today. The club of seven now becomes the club of eight with Senator Domenici's last vote here today. Those other seven Senators are Senator Clayburn Pell, the current President pro tempore, Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Daniel Inouye, Senator Ernest Hollings, the late Senator Strom Thurmond, and with over 17,733 votes, the all-time record, Senator Robert C. Byrd. Senator Domenici, I know I speak for all of your fellow Senators when I say congratulations on this achievement. But more importantly, thank you for your tremendous service over the years to New Mexico, to your country, and importantly to the U.S. Senate. (Applause, Senators rising.)

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the next vote will be on passage of the Defense appropriations bill. I congratulate the managers. It has been a job well done. We are going to be on the port security bill tomorrow and on Monday. The managers are here, and they are ready to debate and take up amendments. We will not be voting tomorrow. I remind my colleagues that we have scheduled an event on Monday at 6 o'clock to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We invite all Members to participate. There will be no more votes tonight. We will not be voting tomorrow. We want to have all opening statements tonight and tomorrow on the port security bill. We will have announcements tomorrow morning as to whether we will be voting on Monday. The Democratic leader and I will make that announcement.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, just for the purpose of our colleagues' schedules, we will not be voting Monday evening. Monday is September 11. As we said, there will be an event here at 6 o'clock, and I encourage all our colleagues to participate. But a number of our colleagues did ask whether we will be voting Monday evening, and we will not. So there will be no rollcall votes on Monday. We are going to turn to the port security bill, a bill that has been the subject of a whole lot of work by a number of our colleagues by both sides of the aisle. We have three committees that have parts of jurisdiction here. It is a very important bill. As we work to secure this country and secure the safety of the American people, we absolutely must address the issue of port security. So I am very pleased we are bringing that bill to the floor. We will address it tonight and tomorrow and Monday, and hopefully we can finish it shortly thereafter. I talked to the Democratic leader, and the managers on both sides of the aisle will be working to gather the amendments. We will be discussing and talking about those at the appropriate time.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

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