Kay Hutchison

Mrs. HUTCHISON

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I want to announce for our colleagues that it is our intention in the next 15 minutes to finish this bill and go to final passage. We are intending to voice-vote final passage. However, we are still working out two amendments: an amendment by Senator Reid and an amendment by Senator Allen. I cannot say for sure that there will not be a record vote on one of those amendments, but we are trying to avoid that. I will just say the disposition of the Reid and Allen amendments will be the last measures in this bill to be agreed to, and we will then go to final passage. I would just tell my colleagues we are hoping not to have any more rollcall votes, but it is not totally clear yet. I hope to be able to finish this by 7 o'clock. I will report back. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, we are now ready to go to final passage. I ask for a voice vote on passage.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I think that finalizes the bill, the Military Construction appropriations bill and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill for 2007. I thank all of my colleagues for their cooperation and patience, especially my colleague, Senator Feinstein, my ranking member who has been such a great colleague to work with on this bill. Her staff and my staff have done an incredible job. I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to going to conference and having our military personnel be housed and have the equipment that is in the Military Construction bill which they so readily deserve. Especially, I have to say that funding the veterans and their needs is a special privilege for all of us because we have young men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan as we speak with injuries that we want to assure are cared for and healed, and where necessary that we have the rehabilitation which they so richly deserve. I think we have done a good job of covering these needs. I am very pleased that we have taken one more step to finalize this bill.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator McCain's legislative fellow, Navy LCDR Damien Christopher, be granted floor privileges during the debate and any votes concerning H.R. 5384, as well as any related amendments.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5385, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and related agencies appropriations bill for 2007. I further ask consent that the committee- reported substitute be agreed to as original text for the purpose of further amendment, with no points of order waived by virtue of this agreement.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, it is my pleasure today to bring the fiscal year 2007 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and related agencies bill to the Senate for consideration. The bill provides $16.26 billion for military construction, $77.9 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and $143.5 million for the related agencies. The bill provides the much needed resources for the Department of Veterans Affairs to care for our brave veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as those who have served with honor in our past wars. We fully support our veterans and appreciate the sacrifices they made for our country, by increasing the VA's funding by $6.45 billion from last year's enacted level to the President's request of $77.9 billion. This year, we are proposing to bring medical services and medical administration under one account. This merger of the two accounts will give the VA the flexibility to manage and budget all medical services operations, including hospital staff personnel, from one account for better management, organization, and efficiency. The funding for the new combined medical services account is $28.7 billion, which is $3.1 billion above last year's level and equal to the President's request. The funding recommendation also includes the full request of $3.6 billion for medical facilities; $412 million for medical and prosthetic research, which is equal to last year's level and $13 million above the President's request; $429 million for major construction; and $85 million for grants for construction of State extended-care facilities. This bill bridges a significant funding gap in fiscal year 2007 for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The administration's budget request included legislative proposals for the VA's health care system that would have instituted new enrollment fees and increased the copayments for prescription drugs, both of which would have been paid by veterans. Revenue estimate for those proposals was $795 million. The administration assumed this revenue in the VA's budget request. The subcommittee has denied these proposals and has provided the $795 million difference for VA health care. The bill also contains additional resources in the areas of advanced prosthetics, recognizing that veterans returning from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom are experiencing the loss of limbs due to combat injury. The bill provides much needed funds for military construction. With the impending return of troops as a result of the current overseas rebasing effort, which our subcommittee recommended and strongly supports, BRAC, Army modularity, and the global war on terror, our service men and women are in a time of great transformation, and the funds will be provided for these accounts. It is important that they receive these facilities to enable the transformation. We are also continuing to press our NATO allies to share the burden of construction costs for NATO facilities and have been successful. The bill provides necessary funds for the rebasing effort as well as continues the emphasis on family housing initiatives within the Department of Defense. It also provides $1.1 billion for Guard and Reserve components which is $215 million above the requested level. The bill includes funding totaling $5.2 billion to implement the BRAC 2005 decisions. This is an increase of $3.7 billion over last year. We do recommend a minor cut of 7 percent to this account because we found flexibility in supplies and equipment will not be needed next year because of the slow pace of BRAC implementation. I would emphasize, however, that no BRAC construction projects are affected. Putting our bill together was certainly a bipartisan effort. Let me say now we are giving notice to Members on both sides of the aisle that we plan to come forward tomorrow about 2:15 with all of the amendments we have had requested so far, and anything a Member might want to put in this bill needs to be in our hands by close of business today, 5 o'clock. We wish to finish up the bill, deal with the amendments at 2:15 on Tuesday, and have our vote then lined up for later in the afternoon on Tuesday, in the 5 o'clock to 5:30 range. So we are giving notice, and we hope if there are any amendments we have not already been given, anyone with that kind of request will come forward. I thank Senator Feinstein, the ranking member, for her partnership. We have worked so well together throughout our time on this subcommittee. We actually have been chairman and ranking member, both of us. I have been chairman and she has been ranking member, and we have been the other way, and I think we will be the other way come January. I know it will make no difference. I know we will meet the needs of military construction. We will meet the needs of our veterans. We will do it the right way, and we will do it in agreement, because we have the same goals--that we honor our veterans with the services they deserve and that we provide for our military housing and military construction and cleanup for BRAC in the most responsible way. I couldn't ask for a better working relationship than I have with my ranking member and her staff. I look forward to the years to come. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I agree with Senator Feinstein's statement completely that we should pass this bill. I think it would be irresponsible, honestly, for us not to fund the priorities and the increases that are in this bill for our veterans and our military construction projects. So I will make every effort to ensure that we do have this bill go to conference, and I think we will be very close with the House on the conference items. I do believe we can get this bill to the President. Frankly, I think there are other appropriations bills that would be in the same situation. We have new projects in many of the pieces of legislation. I cannot think of an appropriations bill that is not bipartisan. So it is my hope that we can keep the priorities and spending that we have worked very hard all of this year to produce in all of the appropriations bills, rather than rely on a continuing resolution that does not take into account the bipartisan efforts that have been made to fund the priorities of today. That is especially true in our bill because it is ongoing, defense-related items, but I think there are other bills that have the same kinds of priorities and necessities as well. So we will work together in our bipartisan way and try to make sure that happens. I will just say once again that if any of our colleagues have amendments, now is the time to notify us, by the close of business today, 5 o'clock. It is our hope to dispose of amendments starting at 2:15 tomorrow. I am told that votes could occur any time after 2:15, and the offices will be appropriately notified. Let me end by saying that I, too, want to give so much credit to Senator Feinstein's staff and my staff who have a great working relationship. They work the long hours and they do so much behind the scenes that makes everything come together--the amounts that we have in the budget resolution and the allocations on the Appropriations Committee and all of the different factors that go into an appropriations bill. They do a great job. I thank Senator Feinstein's three staff members, and my three staff members, who were named by Senator Feinstein earlier.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

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

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Rose Fabia, a detailee to the Appropriations Committee from the Department of Veterans Affairs and a staff member on our committee, be granted floor privileges for the duration of debate on H.R. 5385.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Monday, November 13, 2006, at 2:30 p.m. to consider the nomination of Susan E. Dudley to be Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 563, S. 3661.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I ask unanimous consent the amendment at the desk be agreed to, the committee-reported amendment, as amended, be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. That is correct.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I object.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to an immediate en bloc consideration of the following bills: Calendar No. 393 to 400, 403 to 410, 420, 533, and 584.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I respectfully ask the Senator from Oklahoma if I could do the other two pending unanimous-consent requests and then allow the Senator from Oklahoma to speak for 15 minutes; and then, after that allow either Senator Cornyn or Senator Leahy, or both, along with myself, to speak on the previously agreed to bill for up to 15 minutes.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we finish the unanimous-consent requests that have been cleared on both sides, that there be speakers recognized in the following order: Senator Coburn, Senator Chambliss, Senator Conrad, and a Republican slot; further, that Senator Cornyn and Senator Leahy and myself be allowed to have 15 minutes following that to discuss legislation previously passed.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I amend my unanimous-consent request to put Senator Dorgan following the Republicans.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous-consent that the two agreed-to energy en bloc requests be granted first; following that, Senator Coburn for 15 minutes, Senator Chambliss for 10 minutes, Senator Conrad for up to 30 minutes, a Republican slot for 10 minutes, and Senator Dorgan for 20 minutes. I need to also have time reserved for Senator Leahy, Senator Cornyn, and myself following that order for up to 30 minutes.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bills, as amended, if amended, be read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, we have four unanimous consent requests that I think have been cleared. I also want to reserve time for Senator Leahy and Senator Cornyn, after the unanimous consent request, to say whatever they wish to say.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4001, introduced earlier today.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.