Kay Hutchison

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I have a motion which is in order, but I need to hold off because another person involved is not here. I have given him my word that I would wait. So if Senator Levin has something to proceed with, I suggest that Senator Levin proceed.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I just ask how long does Senator Kennedy expect to speak?

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Chair.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, we are still in negotiation on the point. If no one else is here, may I make my statement on behalf of Bob Gates?

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that we be able to move that adjournment time until after the motion I wish to make is done and Senator DeMint has a chance to respond.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I would like to take this opportunity to speak on behalf of Dr. Robert Gates to become the next Secretary of Defense. I am very pleased to stand in support of this great man. I have gotten to know him, working with him as president of Texas A&M University and, before that, as the head of the Bush Library there. I have found him to be a thoughtful, visionary leader who is a perfect fit for what we need in the Department of Defense at this crucial time. I was very pleased to see the Senate Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly and unanimously approve his nomination and bring it to the floor. I thank Chairman Warner and Ranking Member Levin for acting expeditiously on the nomination because, of course, when there is a transition in place, you need to have the leader confirmed. American military personnel are bound by the core values of duty, honor, and country. GEN Douglas MacArthur articulated this during his famous address to cadets at West Point in 1962. Dr. Bob Gates certainly understands the meaning of these values. Dr. Gates had not anticipated returning to Government service. He said he has never enjoyed any position more than being president of Texas A&M University. That makes me proud in itself. But in wartime, he said he could not refuse the President's request. Over the last 40 years, Dr. Gates has gained experience that makes him uniquely qualified to serve as our 22nd Secretary of Defense. He stands ready to provide leadership that America needs to achieve victory in the war on terror. He has been a commissioned officer in the Air Force, serving in the Strategic Air Command. He holds a Ph.D. in Soviet history from Georgetown University. He has held numerous positions within the intelligence community, including Director of the CIA and Deputy National Security Adviser. In 2002, he became president of Texas A&M, our Nation's sixth largest university. Most recently, he was also a member of the Iraq Study Group that has just made its report today. He was a member until his nomination as Secretary of Defense. I believe that also has provided him with a good background on what is needed on the issue he faces so starkly right now; that is, what we do in Iraq, what do we do that allows the Iraqi people to have a government that is stable, a government that cannot be overrun by outside forces, and a government that will be stabilized itself for the good of its own people? Dr. Gates' background is going to be perfect also at this particular time because he has worked across the aisle. He has worked in intelligence, which is not a partisan issue. So I believe his experience and his ability--acknowledged by all--to work with others is the right formula for leading our Department of Defense and working as one of the President's closest advisers. I am very pleased that he has accepted this huge challenge. Texas A&M is a great university. It is a university that has a unique spirit, and it is a military spirit. So many of our heroes from past wars have graduated from Texas A&M University. He has kept this military connection, his intelligence connection, and his ability to work with others, all making him the very best choice for the President. I, for one, know this man and am very confident that he is the right choice. I look forward to working with him to make sure we are doing the right thing in the war on terror, which is bigger than just Iraq. It is Afghanistan. It is all over the world where terrorists are harming people and are taking away part of the freedom for which we stand. And we don't want that to happen. We have to beat the terrorists, and I want to beat them where they are, not have them come to America ever again and hurt American citizens and people who live and work in America. I think Bob Gates is the right person to advise the President, to work with the President, to implement the President's policies and bring this war to a conclusion with only one thing to be said, and that is, a conclusion that is a victory. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise today to speak on behalf of the brave men and women who are defending our country around the world and for those valiant veterans who have served and are now home. On November 14, this Senate passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill. I was on the Senate floor for 5 hours, and every Senator had ample time to debate any part of this bill. Several Senators spoke. In the end, this bill was agreed to by the entire Senate by a unanimous vote. It is a good bill. It is a bipartisan bill. It is one that we have worked on together for months. We are at war. We have to care for the men and women fighting this war, and we have to take care of them when they return. This bill funds the vital infrastructure our brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen and women need to defend our country. They must have the funding to operate bases with sufficient facilities and protection so they can fulfill the mission we ask of them. The bill also provides critical dollars to care for those veterans who were injured in battle. This bill provides funds for medical services and mental health treatment for veterans suffering from the wounds they received in battle. They are not only suffering from obvious wounds, thousands are suffering from traumatic shock and mental anguish. Thousands are suffering from diseases for which we don't even have a treatment. This bill funds the research for that treatment. As a nation, we ask our men and women to defend and protect us. We owe it to them. We have an obligation to care for them. It is a moral obligation and one that I feel is my responsibility to fulfill. If we adjourn without completing our work on this bill, we will let those men and women down. We will let down every American they swore an oath to protect and serve. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5385, the Military Construction appropriations bill; that the Senate insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, let me say right upfront, I hope this objection will go away sometime today. I think we are talking about whether something is done in writing or whether it is semantics. I didn't have to agree to what was in the letter that was written to the leader because our Military Construction bill meets all of the criteria they set forth. I didn't have to agree to their letter because everything in our bill is authorized or it is in the President's bill or it is in the future years' designations of priority by the Department of Defense. That is called a FYDP. It meets those criteria. We don't put provisions in our military construction conference committee reports that are not in the House or Senate bill. All I can do is give my word that this is not going to turn into an omnibus. I am giving my word it is not going to be an omnibus. It is going to be the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill that was passed unanimously by the Senate. I hope that all of the relevant parties will be able to sit down because I can't call this up for a vote. It would be spread out for so long as to lose the ability to go to conference. The House is planning to go out of session at the end of this week. I would stay here for 2 weeks to finish this bill because there is so much in it that is important. It is all new starts. This bill is filled with the priorities that the Department of Defense has in facilities on military bases all over this country, including quality-of-life housing for our military men and women. It has veterans affairs priorities and increases in funding for mental health and for research into post- traumatic stress syndrome. There are many items in this bill that will not be covered in a continuing resolution. I hope we will all be able to sit down together. I hope the House will cooperate if we send this conference committee request to them. I am prepared to work all night and all day tomorrow to try to fit all of the timeframes. Let me end by saying that we are very close between the House and the Senate. I think we can work out the differences between the House and the Senate. I am saying right now this will not turn into an omnibus appropriations bill. It will be a bill that funds military housing and quality of life for our men and women in the military and their families, and it will have the new starts that cannot be covered by a continuing resolution. We certainly meet the criteria or the Senate wouldn't have passed the bill unanimously. So I am not saying the Senator from South Carolina is wrong in his statements about what happens in conference committee reports in many other areas and in the history of the Senate. He is right. Sometimes a conference report will turn into an omnibus, and sometimes you find things that are not in either the House or Senate bill. But I am saying today that would not be the case in our bill, nor has it been the case that I can remember in past bills. Maybe I am forgetting something. But by and large, our bill is straightforward. And by and large, our bill is supported by the entire Senate. It is not very far from the bill that the House passed, and I think if we all put our minds to this and put away--I don't think our leadership would be required to sign a letter and I don't think the chairman of the Appropriations Committee should be required to sign a letter. I think we should be good for our word around here. If we are not, then we have lost the spirit of this institution. So I am saying today that I am going to go back to the drawing board. I am going to work with the Senator from South Carolina and the Senators from Oklahoma. I am going to work with my counterparts on the House side, and I am going to try to get a bill through here, and I am not going to stop trying for the rest of the time that one of our Houses is in session. I think we owe it to our men and women in the military, we owe it to the veterans who have already served. We owe it to those people who are coming back here without limbs that we are funding at additional levels, not only the prosthetics but also the training on how to be proficient in using those artificial limbs. Madam President, I think we can do it. I am committed to trying, and I hope everybody who is involved in this process will also try. Let me also add that my counterpart, Senator Feinstein, who is the ranking member of this subcommittee, is in full support of this bill. I have talked to her about the issue I am trying to address, and she is ready to go to conference. I do believe that if we will sit down and talk with everyone who is interested, everybody would be satisfied that we will keep our word and we will do what we intended to do, anyway, which is conference a bill that is going to take the differences in the House and Senate bills and resolve those differences. That is what we are supposed to do, and that is what I am committed to do. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be dispensed with.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5385, the Military Construction appropriations bill, that the Senate insist upon its amendments, request a conference with the House, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, there was never any other intention. I have discussed this with Senator Cochran, chairman of the committee. I discussed it with Senator Frist, our leader. I have discussed it with the ranking member, Senator Feinstein. And most certainly we will bring back a conference report that has either material in the President's budget request, something that has passed the House or the Senate in this bill, and all of the projects will be duly authorized on the military construction side. On the Veterans' Administration side, we worked very closely with the authorization committee, Senator Craig, Senator Akaka, and others to assure that we have the approval of the committee leaders for all of the veterans' expenditures. I have to say to the Senator from South Carolina that there are some very important initiatives in the Veterans bill that would not be covered in a continuing resolution. And there are very important commitments for new starts in the Military Construction bill that are necessary for us to keep pace with the BRAC project and with other military housing and quality-of-life projects that are included in the bill. It is going to be a Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill with the priorities of the Senate. This bill passed unanimously in the Senate. We would go forward with the clear understanding that this is going to be a military construction and veterans affairs and military quality-of-life conference report.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, this is a major step forward. I have been working with Senator Feinstein to try to get conferees appointed for our bill. There is time in this session for the House and the Senate to come together and put a bill forward in the conference report that will do what is right by our military who are serving our country and protecting our freedom, who are in harm's way as we speak. There is time for us to take care of those good people. There is most certainly time for us to take care of our veterans and to make sure that the priorities which we have set this year, for heaven's sake, are passed in this session of Congress. If anyone says to me we don't have time to have a conference, they are wrong. It is 12:40 in the afternoon. It is Wednesday. I will work all night, if necessary, and so will our great staff working with the House, if the House will sit down with us. Our military personnel and our veterans deserve what is in this bill. It is a bill which passed unanimously. The House passed a bill overwhelmingly as well. It will move our military quality of life up. That is certainly our intent. This could not have been done without everyone's cooperation. I think that is what the people of America expect from the Congress. They deserve it. That is what we are going to give them. I want to particularly say that Senator Frist and Senator Cochran have been instrumental in allowing us to go forward. There has been a lot of emotional talk and rhetoric around what we do in these last few days of this session of Congress. I think everyone, including the Senator from South Carolina and the Senators from Oklahoma, have all risen above certain emotional feelings and have said: Yes, we are going to work together. I am very pleased that we are. I am going to yield the floor in one minute and roll up my sleeves and try to get the Military Affairs, Quality of Life, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill in shape for us to pass this session of Congress and send a good conference report to the President of the United States, who I know will sign the bill. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be laid aside.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I urge the adoption of the amendment.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Amendment No. 5125 has been already approved; is that correct?

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 5126 offered by Senator Feinstein.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 5129 offered by Senator Craig.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 5141.