Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I object to the proposed modification.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 7, the Charitable Giving bill. I further ask unanimous consent that all after the enacting clause be stricken; that the Snowe amendment and the Grassley-Baucus amendment which are at the desk be agreed to en bloc; that the substitute amendment which is the text of S. 476, the Senate-passed version of the Charitable Giving bill as amended by the Snowe and Grassley and Baucus amendments, be agreed to; that the bill as amended be read a third time and passed; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; further, that the Senate insist upon its amendments and request a conference with the House; and lastly, that the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees with the ratio of 3 to 2; and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 264, a sense-of-the- Senate resolution regarding Veterans Day, which was introduced earlier today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday there be 20 minutes equally divided for debate prior to a vote on the adoption of the conference report to accompany the Department of Defense authorization bill; provided further that immediately following that vote, the Senate proceed to a vote on the adoption of the conference report to accompany H.R. 2559, the Military Construction appropriations bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I now ask unanimous consent that Senate resume consideration of the bill at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 267, H.R. 2861, VA-HUD appropriations bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we have a number of Senators who believe strongly that we ought to go ahead and bring this bill up, that we should debate it, and that on Veterans Day we should have that opportunity to vote on that bill, if at all possible. Therefore, I will not agree to put the vote off until tomorrow. We will be bringing it to the floor, and I think then we will have discussion, debate today, on this Veterans Day. We will see how it goes, and we may or may not be voting later tonight. Mr. President, reclaiming the floor, thus, we have Members who would like this rollcall vote. Having said that, I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 1588, the National Defense Authorization Act, and I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I move to reconsider the vote and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today, our forces for freedom encircle the globe. Our military men and women will observe Veterans Day in almost all of the world's time zones. In the skies, on the ground, and under the water, they will pause to remember. In a few moments, we, too, will pause to remember. As Senators, we have had the opportunity to work alongside so many who served our Nation so ably, and so nobly, during our country's struggles on behalf of freedom--heroes such as Strom Thurmond and Bob Dole, heroes such as John McCain and Bob Kerrey, heroes such as Max Cleland and Chuck Hagel, heroes such as Dan Inouye. We have seen how they and others have sacrificed and suffered for a cause greater than themselves. Their nobility and grace, in war and in peace, stand as examples to all in our new century and in the new conflict we fight today. We work in an institution that values unlimited speech--sometimes speech over everything else. But in my years of working alongside these heroes, I have discovered a lesson that runs true for all of them. To me it has been in these silences, the times they have not joined in with the majority of their colleagues, that they have demonstrated their strength. Our Nation is a cacophony of noise, a symphony of sound, from that factory floor to the market floor, from Main Street to Wall Street. It is the so-called roar of democracy that makes us unique as a nation and as a country. But this morning we are called to silence. Why? In our Nation's battles throughout her last two centuries, many have paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and liberty. This moment of silence we will shortly observe is the silence of those voices stilled forever, of sons and daughters no longer returning home, of husbands and wives no longer there for each other, of mothers and fathers no longer there for their children day and night. In the pain of these sacrifices, our warriors have built our country and saved our world. They have stood as freedom's sentinel and as liberty's shield. They have fought the fights to which history has called us and won the victories that faith has dared us. Our Nation is the beacon of liberty for so many people around the world, and it is the valor and dedication of the many heroes, sung and unsung, throughout the Nation's past 200 years--those who sleep forevermore--who have made it so. We honor them today not with noise but with silence. As the hour of 11 a.m. approaches, I ask that we do observe this moment of silence. I come from the great State of Tennessee. We have our share of hallowed war dead. We have our share of heroes, including perhaps one of the most famous Medal of Honor winners, Sergeant York. In a chain of events still astonishing today, he led a small squad of just 7 men in charging a machine gun nest mercilessly attacking his position, ultimately capturing 132 prisoners. An observer termed what he did ``a call to courage.'' I encourage every American today to also take a moment of silence and look for those who have answered that call to courage. All throughout our country, every day our veterans merit our support, our respect, our thanks for advancing the cause of liberty here at home and indeed around the world. They took what was granted to them by their fathers and, with their service and with their labors, they passed it on to their children, bringing America still free into a new century. We pass legislation on their behalf to express the thanks--our thanks--of this grateful Nation. Today's silence is for them as well. Now our country fights a new enemy, faceless and hateful. It fights in new ways, bringing new terrors and threats and intimidations to our fellow Americans. That is the final lesson our moment of silence teaches us this morning. Together let's remember the strength of silence and, as we resume our labors here today, just as our Armed Forces work today around the world, let us move ahead with a little less noise and a little more fortitude.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we will acknowledge and pay tribute to our veterans with a moment of silence beginning at 11 a.m. Following the moment of silence, we have a number of Members who would like to make statements regarding Veterans Day. Those tributes will continue until 12 p.m., and I invite Senators to come to the floor during this period. Also, we have a resolution honoring this country's veterans and we will consider that resolution during today's session. At noon, it is my expectation to begin consideration of the Syria accountability bill. That bill will be considered under the 90-minute debate limitation and, therefore, Members can expect a vote on passage following today's policy luncheon. The Senate will recess today from 12:30 until 2:15 to accommodate the Republican Party luncheon. The Senate will recess tomorrow for that same period for the Democratic Party luncheon to meet. Today, I would also hope to consider the Defense authorization conference report. Chairman Warner will be here for his statement, and it is my hope we could reach a short time agreement to finish that legislation on this day. The Military Construction appropriations conference report is available and should be addressed as well. Having said that, we will have rollcall votes today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, I know Members have been wondering about the schedule. There will be no rollcall votes tonight. We were prepared to have votes throughout today and this evening, procedural or otherwise, but I think that will not serve any useful purpose at this late hour. The best course is probably to step back for the evening and begin fresh tomorrow, which we will do. Today we were to begin considering a very important appropriations bill, Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill. As a matter of fact, that bill has been pending since shortly after 1 o'clock today. Unfortunately, we were able to make no progress on that bill today. That was successfully obstructed. I indeed respect every Senator's right to do just that, and the distinguished minority whip was within his rights to hold the floor throughout the entire afternoon and this evening. We were prepared to offer and vote in relation to amendments to the Commerce-Justice-State bill, but that was not possible. We were told last week the other side of the aisle would not be offering their amendments today, on Monday. The two managers were working together to move forward on amendments that would be offered by Members on this side of the aisle today. Indeed, Republican Members were present today to offer and debate those amendments. I take it the other side of the aisle did not show up to do the Nation's business as it pertained to this Commerce-Justice-State bill. I have stated repeatedly in the Senate that there is much, much work to do and that there is little time remaining to do it. Later this week, indeed, we will focus on judges as part of the unfinished business that remains before this body. I will continue to bring to the floor to the best of my ability each and every appropriations bill. If the other side of the aisle does not want to debate and discuss those bills as they are brought to the floor, that is their right. Today our focus was on continuing the appropriations process. It is obvious that delay will occur on every front. Then, indeed, I think that is unfortunate given the amount of business we have to do. I am sure that at some point in the future we will hear speeches about work that we did or did not get done or we were late in doing, and there will be Senators bemoaning the fact that the Senate has been unable to finish our business. Today was a missed opportunity to make progress on these important appropriations bills.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask that there now be a period of morning business with Senators speaking for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent 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.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 293, S. 1657.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, November 11; I further ask that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business until 12 p.m., with the time equally divided between Senator Hutchison or her designee and the minority leader or his designee. I further ask consent that at 11 a.m. tomorrow on Veterans Day, the Senate will conduct a moment of silence as a tribute to the war dead of the United States. I further ask consent that the Senate recess tomorrow from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. for the weekly party lunches; provided further that the Senate recess during the same period on Wednesday.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. For the information of all Senators, tomorrow the Senate will begin a period of morning business until 12 p.m. The morning business time will be devoted to Senators who wish to make tribute statements to our veterans. We are also attempting to clear a resolution related to our veterans during tomorrow's session. Following morning business, the Senate will return to legislative session. There are many crucial legislative items that the Senate should complete action on over the next couple of days, including the Syria accountability bill, Department of Defense authorization conference report, Military Construction appropriations conference report, the VA/HUD appropriations bill. Senators, therefore, should anticipate rollcall votes throughout the day.

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 previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, let me close this out and then we can turn to the bill. I ask all of our colleagues to spend the appropriate time and do our best to cooperate to finish this important bill, which I tried very hard to finish last week with the understanding that we would bring it up this week and we would finish it this week. We cannot point fingers on either side of the aisle because there are challenges on both sides of the aisle. I ask this in order for us to finish the Nation's business. Last night on the floor--I know we have the Syria accountability bill and Military Construction, which we are going to get. The problem is that we have to finish the business we have on the floor. We have to continue the appropriations process as we go forward, and we cannot do it unless people come together and understand there is an urgency that requires cooperation. I go back to my original comments. I understand there is objection to going to Commerce-Justice-State. I will continue to discuss that as the day goes forward. I would like to lay that down today at some point.

Mr. FRIST. I am happy to yield.

Mr. FRIST. Again, people were here very late last night. I encourage the managers to do everything humanly possible to finish the Internet tax bill. If, after aggressive work, we cannot do that, then we can make a decision. By the end of today, I would like to lay down the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill. If that is the case, I would plan on going to that on Monday. We can talk about the appropriate time. For us to finish our work, we have to keep moving, and it is important to lay down that bill today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we are about to wrap up here in just a couple of minutes. But just from my standpoint, based on the comments that have been made, we still have no one disavowing the contents of the memo or the intent of the memo. All I ask at this juncture is, Who wrote it? Who was it intended for? Who was the recipient? Second, I ask for someone to stand up and disavow either the intent or the content of the memo. Third, an apology to the chairman, who it certainly seems to me there is an intent to in some ways embarrass and subtract from the integrity he has brought to that committee. Those three things. Just to respond very briefly about some other business, we share the minority whip's concern about getting our business done. I have mentioned that November 21 is the target date for us to adjourn. I am pleased that we have been able--speaking to the legislation that we mentioned--to lock in a time agreement on Syria accountability. It was a priority of mine. It is a priority on my side of the aisle, and on the other side of the aisle. And I can assure our colleagues that it will be done early next week. I am not sure exactly what that date would be but sometime early next week. There are Members on both sides of the aisle who desire to speak on the Syria Accountability Act. I urge them to be available early next week, Monday or Tuesday, or they might not get that opportunity. I understand both sides of the aisle want to progress quickly to this important piece of legislation, the Syria Accountability Act. On MILCON, I am prepared to move on that conference report. If the minority whip is willing, I am prepared to lock in a 20-minute time agreement to allow the managers to make short statements and then to allow us to finish that measure. I ask the Democratic whip if he would allow us to proceed to that when we proceed to the conference report, that it be considered, and that a short time agreement be part of that agreement.

Mr. FRIST. Reserving the right to object, Mr. President, it is interesting to me; comments have been made over the course of the day that there was some attempt to figure out how time would be divided, and I believe the allegation has been made that had been discussed with me before. We have not gotten to that point yet. So I am a little bit surprised about some of the statements which were made earlier. As we discussed the judicial issue and the filibusters that are ongoing, which are unprecedented--partisan filibusters in this country on the judicial nominees--I do think it is critically important that we have the opportunity on both sides to be heard. The plans will be, after we finish the appropriations process over the next several days, that at that point in time we will turn to the judicial nominees. We will be debating two nominees who haven't yet been considered on the floor of the Senate. The intention has been made very clear that the Members on the other side of the aisle will filibuster. Therefore, I look forward to an active debate between both sides of the aisle. We would be happy to talk to the Democratic leadership about how the time will be divided.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I want to spend the next several minutes commenting on a matter that I regard, as majority leader of this body, to be one that is very serious. As is the case with a number of my colleagues, in fact, most of the U.S. Senators, we have been given the opportunity to reflect on the publication of a very disturbing internal memorandum, a memorandum that lays out a blatant, partisan strategy to use the Senate Intelligence Committee to politically wound the President of the United States. That is unacceptable. There is really no other way to read this memo. I am deeply disappointed that anyone--that anyone--would have a plan to so politicize the Intelligence Committee of the U.S. Senate, to render it incapable of meeting its responsibilities to this institution, to the U.S. Senate, and, indeed, to the American people. Moreover--I had hesitated to come to the floor to address this directly, but now is the time to do that--the response by those behind this memo has been miserably inadequate, has been disappointing, and has been disturbing. We are at a time of peril in our Nation's history. As our intelligence agencies and our Armed Forces in the Middle East are at war against our mortal enemies, those responsible for this memo appear to be--and anybody can read this memo. It is available now. The copy I have here is actually on the FOXNews Web site. But if you read it, those responsible for this memo appear to be more focused on winning the White House for their party than on winning the war against terror. Those priorities are wrong. They are dead wrong. As majority leader of the U.S. Senate, as one responsible for preserving the integrity of this institution and the direction of this institution, it is incumbent upon me to make sure we address this matter properly, appropriately, and adequately. In the aftermath of the war in Iraq, the failure thus far to find deployed weapons of mass destruction is a legitimate matter for inquiry by this body, this institution, for our colleagues. After all, for nearly 10 years--throughout the 8-year tenure of President Clinton and the first 2 years of President Bush--the U.S. Congress and the White House were given a steady flow of information by the intelligence community that suggested such weapons did exist. In fact, it was this information that precipitated, in 1998, the U.S. military attack Operation Desert Fox, ordered by President Clinton at that time, and, in part, Operation Iraqi Freedom, ordered by President Bush in 2003. Thus, if there is incomplete or imprecise information that had been provided to President Clinton or President Bush and the U.S. Congress over a 10-year period, the intelligence community should be asked to explain. That is what the Intelligence Committee is expected to do; it is really charged by this body to do; and that is exactly--that is exactly--what Senator Roberts, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, set out to do. Last spring, Senator Roberts, as chairman of the Intelligence Committee, made a commitment, jointly with Senator Rockefeller, to conduct a thorough review of U.S. intelligence on the existence of and the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. The review was also intended to cover Iraq's ties to terrorist groups, Saddam Hussein's threat to stability and security in the region, and his violations of human rights, including the demonstrated actual use of weapons of mass destruction; namely, chemical weapons against his own people. The review was intended to examine the quantity of information, the quality of U.S. intelligence, the objectivity, the independence, the accuracy of the judgments reached by the intelligence community, whether or not those judgments were properly disseminated to policymakers in the executive branch, as well as to this body and the Congress, and whether any influence was brought to bear on anyone to shape the analysis to support policy objectives. Thus, that was the initial charge and what, in fact, has occurred over the past 5 months. The Intelligence Committee staff has reviewed thousands of documents. It has interviewed over 100 individuals, including private citizens and analysts and senior officials with the Central Intelligence Agency, with the National Security Council, with the Defense Intelligence Agency, with the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and even the United Nations. It is indisputable the chairman of that Intelligence Committee, Senator Roberts, has complied in good faith with the nonpartisan--the nonpartisan--commitment which he made to his Democratic colleagues. Most recently, this nonpartisan commitment was manifest, once again, in a series of very direct, no-nonsense letters directed to the administration, demanding the immediate production of documents and interviews necessary to move the Iraq review forward. Senator Rockefeller, himself, formally recognized, on the floor of the Senate, the fundamental good work performed thus far when, on November 5, he stated on this floor, and I quote: I have been vocal in my appreciation of the absolutely excellent job done to date by the staff on the aspects of the investigation they have been asked to perform, which is reviewing the prewar Iraqi intelligence. They have done a superb job, absolutely superb job. The words of Senator Rockefeller. The chairman of the committee, Senator Roberts, has acted with the utmost attention to that nonpartisan tradition of this critically important Intelligence Committee. That nonpartisan tradition--and it is unusual to have nonpartisan traditions in this body--but it has always been preserved, for good reason, in that Intelligence Committee. The tradition is reflected in the committee's founding resolution, S. Res. 400, enacted in 1976, as a result of nationwide concerns at that time about intelligence activities in earlier years. The committee's nonpartisan tradition has been carefully cultivated and respected over time, over all these years, by its members. The tradition is part and parcel of the committee's rules, which extend the prerogatives of the minority, that are not found in any other committee in this body. For a quarter century there has been a consensus in the Senate that the committee's nonpartisan tradition must be carefully safeguarded. Nothing less is acceptable. Why? Because this committee deals with information that is unique, that is privileged information, because of the dangerous and sensitive nature of the subject matter for which the Intelligence Committee, this committee, has unique oversight. I come to the floor because that critical tradition has now been willfully attacked. How can I say that? By this memo. You read the memo. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has been harmed by a blatant partisan attack. I have no earthly idea who wrote this memo. I do know why. I don't know who it was intended for, but I do know why. If you read the memo, you can look. It is a sequence of steps spelled out. The sequence of steps proposed in this partisan battle plan for the committee itself is without question intended to sow doubt, to abuse the fairness of the committee chairman, Senator Pat Roberts, to undermine the standing of the Commander in Chief at a time of war, and to launch a partisan investigation through next year to continue into the elections. The memo lays clear that over the past several months there has been a partisan design at work ``to pull along the majority.'' According to the memo, the good will, the sense of fairness, the nonpartisan approach of the chairman of the committee, Senator Roberts, is still seen as providing ample ``opportunity to usefully collaborate'' in attacking the President of the United States. That is an abuse of the chairman of that very committee. This whole idea of leading that chairman or the committee along is simply unacceptable and out of the spirit of this committee. Again, it is something we simply cannot tolerate. Finally, in the memo the author proposes that once the committee can be duped no longer, a partisan core of Senators can ``pull the trigger'' on another investigation. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence simply cannot function. Worse than that, it cannot fulfill its purpose for us without a complete understanding of what is at work in this matter. I thought it would come forward over the last 48 hours, but it simply has not. That is unacceptable. Thus I suggest we take the following three steps. First, I don't know who wrote this memo, but as majority leader of the Senate, I do ask the author or authors to step forward, to identify himself or herself or, if there are several people, to stand up with that information for the full Senate. We would be much better equipped to understand the level of intent behind this partisan strategy as well as the depth of the problem within the committee itself. It is necessary to know who the memo was intended to go to, who was to receive that memo. It was obviously written as a strategy. Who was that memo to be delivered to? Was it intended for political purposes beyond what is permitted in the Senate rules? Second, it is reasonable to expect, I think--in fact, I know--that the author or authors and the designated recipient or recipients disavow once and for all this partisan attack in its entirety. It is hard to believe this disavowal has not come forward given what is at stake. The Senate cannot permit a committee chairman with the integrity of Senator Pat Roberts to be subjected to such abuse. The Senate as an institution should not permit a committee upon which all of us are so dependent--because of its privileged status with access to information, we are dependent on that committee to make decisions--to be so misused or potentially misused for partisan purposes. Third, I expect there to be a personal apology to the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Roberts, for the manipulative tone and the injurious content of this document. Senator Roberts is one of this body's most distinguished Members. He is a friend. He is a trusted colleague. He served in this body for 7 years, rising to that position of trust as chairman of one of the Senate's most respected, most important, most critical committees, especially at this time of war. Senator Roberts, with his straight-talking manner, has the complete trust of colleagues on both sides of the aisle. He served this Nation in uniform, in the Marine Corps, in the House of Representatives. His integrity is unimpeachable. He is doing an outstanding job as chairman of the Intelligence Committee. But only with the fulfillment of the three steps I outlined--No. 1, who wrote it and who was the intended recipient; No. 2, a total disavowal of the writing of this and, more importantly, the intent of this memo; and No. 3, an apology to the chairman--will it be possible for this important committee to resume its work in an effective manner, in a bipartisan manner, a manner that is deserving of the confidence of 100 Members in the Senate as well as the confidence of the executive branch. In light of this partisan attack, Chairman Roberts and I have taken the opportunity to discuss the scope of the unfinished work on the review of the prewar intelligence in Iraq. It is our view that the committee's review is nearly complete. Together we have called upon the administration to provide the remaining requested materials. We have jointly determined that the committee can and will complete its review this year. To the authors of this memo, there will be no more pulling along and no more useful collaboration on partisan schemes, borrowing from the malicious intent of this memo. This must be addressed forthrightly. I call upon my colleagues to pay attention to this memo. It is something we can resolve and we must resolve over the coming days.

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, for the information of all Senators, on Monday the Senate will begin debate on H.R. 2799, the Commerce-Justice- State appropriations bill. The bill managers will be here on Monday to work through any amendments to the bill. We will be debating and voting on amendments throughout the afternoon. Senators who have amendments are asked to contact the bill managers as soon as possible. As you have heard, there are a number of other issues we will be addressing early next year. The Syria Accountability Act, the Military Constructions appropriations conference report, the Department of Defense authorization conference report, the Energy and Water appropriations conference report, and VA-HUD appropriations bill, as well as other items that are cleared for action. We will be in session every day next week--Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We have a lot of business to do, and it requires that for us to complete the business.