Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, again, I thank all of our colleagues for working very hard, especially the managers of this bill, to complete it tomorrow night or tomorrow afternoon, or as soon tomorrow as possible. I think we will be able to accomplish that goal.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the Senate will be in a period for morning business until 10 a.m. to allow Members to continue to make statements in support of the troops. At 10 a.m., the Senate will resume consideration of the supplemental appropriations bill. The chairman has been talking to colleagues on the other side of the aisle regarding the lineup of amendments. Senator Boxer will go first, and we will try to reach a 30-minute time limitation on her amendment. I understand that following Senator Boxer's amendment, Senator Bayh will be prepared with an amendment regarding bioterrorism, and Senator Graham of Florida will have an amendment regarding VA health. We have also had discussions about stacking the votes on amendments until early afternoon to accommodate some scheduling problems. We will be prepared to do that tomorrow morning. The Senate will complete action on the supplemental appropriations bill tomorrow. I thank the two managers for their diligent, hard work, and I especially thank the assistant Democratic leader for helping to expedite the completion of this important bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask for a division vote on the resolution of ratification.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 5, Treaty Document No. 106-48 on today's Executive Calendar. I further ask unanimous consent that the treaty be considered as having been passed through its various parliamentary stages, up to and including the presentation of the resolution of ratification; that any statements relating to the treaty be printed in the Record as if read; and that the Senate immediately proceed to a vote on the resolution of ratification; further, that when the resolution of ratification is voted upon, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be notified of the Senate's action, and that following the disposition of the treaty, the Senate return to legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 103, which was submitted earlier today.

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

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of calendar No. 58, S. 380.

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 previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I take a couple of moments to comment on the actions in support of our troops in Iraq. First, our condolences, as always, go out to the families of those who have lost loved ones. Being from Tennessee, I particularly express my sympathies to the family of Marine LCpl Patrick Nixon from Gallatin, TN, who was killed while attempting to secure a critical bridge across the Euphrates River in Nasiriyah. I also offer our prayers and condolences for those who have lost loved ones, and also offer prayers to those in the field fighting for us. I commend the tremendous performance of our Armed Forces and continue to be amazed by their degree of professionalism, their boldness, and the courage they represent each and every day. There will be tough days ahead, as we all know, but we all feel the steady progress being made. I take a moment to commend the Navy SEALs and Army rangers who rescued PFC Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Nasiriyah where she was being held. Most people had the opportunity to see the very dramatic footage a few hours ago of her being rescued by those special forces. We join with her family and friends in Palestine, WV, in celebrating her recovery. This is one more example of the outstanding flexibility, training, and performance of America's military men and women. I should mention, because it relates to a trip I took this weekend in visiting the base at the 101st Airborne in Tennessee, I had the opportunity to visit with Major General Petraeus's wife, Holly Petraeus, whom I first met 11 years ago when they previously had been stationed at Fort Campbell. I got to know her at that point in time and saw her when General Petraeus and I had the opportunity to start the Army 10-miler together a few months ago. I say ``start'' because I am a slow runner; when we started the race, he took out ahead of me after the first 20 yards. General Petraeus now is on the front page of the Washington Post. The opening paragraph: U.S. Army troops seized the southern edge of this key Euphrates River city today as Iraqi militia fighters appeared to retreat in the face of overwhelming firepower. . . . Shortly before 2 p.m., Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne, drove in an armed convoy up a rocky escarpment into Najaf, urged on by clapping Iraqis who gestured impatiently for the Americans to press deeper into the city center. It gives me a great deal of pride for the 101st Airborne to be able to hear these real-life stories of the bravery and boldness of General Petraeus. I was with Holly Petraeus this past Sunday at the 101st Airborne. She hosted Karen, my wife, and me to lunch and attending a church service. She is doing a tremendous job of keeping up the spirit of all the families there and has become a real focal point for the community efforts in Hawesville, KY, Clarksville, TN, and on the base to support our troops. We have a lot to be proud of, with tough days ahead. Meanwhile, the Senate will be addressing the supplemental emergency spending in order to support our troops, as well as the underlying budget, which I hope to complete--which we will complete by April 11. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 11 a.m. to allow Members to continue to make statements supporting our troops who are participating in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. At 11 a.m., the Senate will begin consideration of the supplemental appropriations bill. Amendments are anticipated to that measure. I take this opportunity to encourage Members to notify the managers as early as possible today if they intend to offer any amendments. Our goal will be to complete the supplemental by tomorrow sometime. I would love the opportunity to finish it today, but I think realistically we should have as our goal to complete it tomorrow at some point. In order to do that, it will be critical for our colleagues to bring to the managers any amendments they may wish to offer. At 2 p.m. today, the Senate will conduct the fourth cloture vote in relation to the Miguel Estrada nomination. Following that cloture vote, the Senate will resume consideration of the supplemental appropriations bill. The Senate will complete action on the supplemental this week. Therefore, I inform all Senators to expect rollcall votes throughout the day.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, this morning the Senate will be in a period for morning business until 10 a.m. Members who wish to make statements in support of our troops are encouraged to do so over the next hour. At 10 a.m., the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Timothy Tymkovich, to be Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit. Under the previous order, there will be up to 6 hours for debate on the nomination. It is hoped that the nomination will not require all of the 6 hours and that we will be able to yield back time and have a vote a little bit earlier. The Senate will recess at 12:30 p.m. for the weekly party luncheons. We are also attempting to reach agreements on several other pieces of legislation, including the CARE Act, the FISA bill, and other bills relating to our Armed Forces personnel. We will also continue to process nominations, including judges, as they become available. As a reminder, a fourth cloture vote will occur on the Estrada nomination during tomorrow's session. Finally, I expect the Senate to begin the supplemental appropriations bill on Wednesday, if that bill becomes ready for floor action. I hope we can expedite the consideration of that bill this week so that we are able to continue the flow of resources to our troops in the field. Therefore, all Senators should expect a very busy week with rollcall votes each day. Madam President, I yield the floor. I wish to make a brief statement about our troops, but I will be happy to yield.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, we are now 12 days into Operation Iraqi Freedom. As I mentioned yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the post of the 101st Airborne Division this weekend. It was a remarkable opportunity for me, and I wish to share with you a couple of my thoughts on that visit. Our troops over the last 12 days have advanced 220 miles and now are sitting about 50 miles outside of Baghdad. We are all exposed, on the television and through our briefings, to the repetitive pounding of military targets day and night throughout Iraq. The key point, I believe, is that we do keep building our momentum both in Iraq and in America. We have achieved many key objectives, and we will--there is no question--we will achieve our ultimate objective, and that is to disarm Saddam Hussein and to liberate the Iraqi people from his oppressive rule. I am confident about that for so many reasons, but a lot of it has become real to me in a very personal sense after my visit to the 101st Airborne Division. For example, SP John G. Young is assigned to the A Company, 8th Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He left Fort Campbell on March 1 of this year for Kuwait. He is crew chief on a CH-47 somewhere in the Iraqi desert. He is newly married. He is expecting a child in a few months and is doing an extraordinary job in Operation Iraqi Freedom. We thank him, we thank his mother, and we thank his wife for their courage. At the 101st Airborne Division, Karyn, my wife, and Jonathan, my son, and I attended church services with the spouses and children of the Fort Campbell 101st Airborne Division. There are 50 chaplains as part of the 101st Airborne Division and 46 of those chaplains are overseas in Iraq and Kuwait. Seeing these families and the faces of these very young children as the pastor gathered them around the pulpit and came down and sat on the floor with the children asking them what their impressions were, what they pray for--the children were very young, 2, 3, 4, up to about 7 years of age. One said: I pray for my daddy who is somewhere in the desert. Another little girl raised her hand as they sat, about 20 of them, around the pastor, and said: I pray that Saddam Hussein quits doing bad things to other people. The innocence, the understanding, and the wisdom of these young children was very apparent. I also had a chance to talk to Michele Schumer, whose husband is a member of the Special Forces and is currently deployed in Iraq. Michele is the mother of a child in kindergarten and has another child on the way. We talked to Adra Barna, a mother of 3-year-old twin girls, who clearly had her hands full as we watched her manage them during the church service. Her husband is deployed in Iraq as well. I talked to Julie Sparkman. She and her husband are newlyweds. It is hard for anyone at any point to be separated, but to be separated shortly after marriage clearly introduces all sorts of feelings that we all can share with Julie and her husband. Having just been married, imagine the fear when there was that first grenade attack at Camp Pennsylvania: Was my husband involved in that or not? Was he injured or not? He was not, but again, we can personalize in many ways the experiences that result from the tremendous service of these young men and women. Above all, these families are patriotic. I thought the atmosphere would be very somber. In truth, it was very upbeat, optimistic, and energetic. These young spouses are so proud of their husbands being able to serve all of us and able to literally put their lives on the line for those causes of freedom, democracy, and peace. In closing, the families of Fort Campbell did ask me to share with the President their support and their prayers for the tremendous job he is doing as Commander in Chief. They are concerned about their loved ones but proud they are able to serve the United States of America. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today the Senate will be in a period of morning business for the next 3 hours, until 6 p.m. The first hour of morning business will be devoted to statements regarding our brave men and women in the Armed Forces. Following those statements, there will be additional time for Senators to give tributes to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Under a previous order, at 6 o'clock the Senate will proceed to a vote on the confirmation of Theresa Springman to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Indiana. That will be the only rollcall vote during today's session. Tomorrow morning, by previous agreement, the Senate will consider the Tymkovich nomination to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit. The vote on that nomination will occur sometime on Tuesday upon the use or yielding back of the 6 hours of debate. Throughout the week, we will continue to schedule votes on nominations, as necessary. I would also expect another cloture vote in relation to the Estrada nomination this week. In addition, we are working on time agreements for the consideration of several other important bills, including the CARE Act, the FISA bill--the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act--several bills relating to our Armed Forces personnel such as the ``Troops Phone Home'' bill, a bill regarding the delay in reservist pay, and a bill relating to the Survivor Benefit Plan annuities for surviving spouses. Later in the week, when it becomes available, the Senate will begin consideration of the supplemental appropriations bill. We need to pass that bill as soon as possible to ensure that the appropriate resources are made available for the war in Iraq. Members should therefore expect a busy week with rollcall votes each day.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, a little later today or tomorrow, I want to share with my colleagues at the appropriate time a visit I had with the 101st Airborne families in Clarksville, TN, yesterday. I had the opportunity to go by and visit with those families, attend church, and to spend the early afternoon with them and have lunch with them. It was a remarkable experience for me, Karen my wife, and our son Jonathan. Over 17,000 women and men have been deployed from that particular post over the last several weeks. Those 17,000 are now in Iraq and Kuwait as part of the 101st Airborne air assault team. The pride we as a family felt in them, the stories that they told us, I will be sharing with my colleagues over the next several days. But just the lasting impression I had was this juxtaposition of feeling, as we talked to the moms and dads and children, of concern for their husband or their spouse and, yes, an insecurity about their safety, which is natural, as we would all feel, but at the same time an optimism, a feeling of being able to contribute to the United States of America and our great democracy. They were upbeat. They were optimistic. They were patriotic. And that sort of juxtaposition of feeling was something that was a real privilege for me and my family to experience. The one thing they did all say, as we finished church and went to lunch, was: Make sure, when you go back to Washington, that you let your colleagues know and let the President of the United States know how much we appreciate their leadership, their support for our troops abroad. Let the President know that we are keeping him and his family in our prayers. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 3 p.m., Monday, March 31; I further ask 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 for their use later in the day, and there then be a period of morning business until 6 p.m., with the time equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, and statements limited to 10 minutes each. I further ask consent that the first hour be equally divided between Senators Hutchison and Lincoln or their designees.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. For the information of all Senators, the Senate will reconvene Monday, at 3 p.m. This will allow Members to attend services for our departed colleague, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. When the Senate convenes, the first hour of the morning business period will be devoted to statements regarding our men and women in the Armed Forces who are engaged in conflict in Iraq. Following those statements of support, there will be additional time for Senators to give further tributes to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Under a previous order, the next vote will occur at 6 p.m., on Monday, on a district court judge. And under the order, on Tuesday morning, the Senate will consider the Tymkovich nomination to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit. The vote on that nomination will occur at some time on Tuesday, upon the use or yielding back of the 6 hours of debate. Next week, the Senate may also consider any other legislative or executive items that can be cleared for action, including executive nominations that have been reported and are on the calendar, other measures supporting our troops, FISA--that is, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act--the CARE Act, and the supplemental appropriations. I look forward to another productive week. And I wish everyone a safe and restful weekend.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that at 9:30 a.m., on Tuesday, April 1, the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of Calendar No. 55, the nomination of Timothy Tymkovich, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit; I further ask consent that there be 6 hours for debate, equally divided in the usual form, and that following the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination, with no further intervening action or debate; I finally ask consent that following the vote the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that at 6 o'clock on Monday, March 31, the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of Calendar No. 77, the nomination of Theresa Springmann, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Indiana; further, I ask that the Senate then proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination; that after the vote, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 85, on today's Executive Calendar; I further ask unanimous consent that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 44, S. 330.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I want to take just one final moment and comment on our troops overseas. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair met today at Camp David, just a few hours ago. Today we passed in this Senate unanimously a Senate resolution to commend the members of the coalition for their support of this noble cause. On this day of Prime Minister Blair's visit, I want him to know, and I want the Record to reflect, that the Senate and the American people are grateful for his courage, for the courage of the British people and, above all, for the courage of the British troops fighting shoulder to shoulder with the American troops in Iraq. We have seen more evidence of the brutal tactics of Saddam Hussein's regime: Iraqi soldiers dressed in civilian clothes; Iraqi soldiers surrendering and then firing on coalition forces; military equipment placed in residential areas and near cultural sites; even reports of Iraqi soldiers using women as shields and giving weapons to children. These and other horrific acts that we have been able to witness firsthand as they played out over the last 7 days lead us only to strengthen our coalition's resolve. Let there be no doubt, we are engaged in a just war against evil. We continue to see the courage of our troops. I am especially proud as a Tennessean of the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell. It is Fort Campbell, KY. But if you look on a map, you see almost all of it--I have to be careful--almost all of the land, the majority of the land, is in Tennessee. The 101st Airborne, as we all know from the media coverage, has been dispatched to the battlefield. I have had the opportunity to look at a number of photographs. Although I know it is difficult for my colleagues in the room to see, I just want to share one of those photographs. The caption underneath it reads as follows: U.S. Pvt. Elizandro Gonzales, of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Air Assault, prepares his M249 light machine gun before pressing forward to the north, Thursday, March 26, 2003 in Iraq. And the caption continues to read: Gonzales said that he and the rest of his ground assault convoy were ready to take the fight to the enemy. That is the caption from the reporter who was with the photographer who took this individual picture. I show that picture and mention it because I look forward to the opportunity of joining members of the families of many of these soldiers on Sunday at Fort Campbell so that I can personally express my appreciation for the sacrifices they are making, their families are making, and their friends are making overseas for all of us. Mr. President, our prayers and our people continue to be with our brave men and women in battle in Iraq.