Kay Hutchison

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I want to say first how much I appreciate Senator Hatch, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who has done an incredible job under very trying circumstances on the nomination of Priscilla Owen. Senator Hatch saw early on what an outstanding person we have in Priscilla Owen, and though on a straight party-line vote she was turned down by the committee last year, and was unable to get to the floor even for a vote this year, with Senator Hatch's leadership she has been able to come out of committee, again on a straight party-line vote. I am very hopeful she will get a fair chance for a floor vote because she is one of the most outstanding people I know. She has waited 1 year and 11 months. That is when the President first nominated her for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Priscilla Owen was among the group of 11 judicial nominees announced by President Bush on May 9, 2001. She is the kind of judge the people of the Fifth Circuit need on the bench, an experienced jurist who follows the law and uses good common sense. She has been nominated to a vacancy that has been classified as a judicial emergency and that should be filled expeditiously. Justice Owen is an 8-year veteran of the Texas Supreme Court. She is highly qualified. She graduated cum laude from Baylor Law School in 1977. Thereafter, she earned the highest score on the Texas bar exam. Before joining the Texas Supreme Court in 1994, she was a partner in a major Texas law firm where she was a commercial litigator for 17 years. She has used her legal talents to help those in need. She has worked to improve access to legal services for the poor. She fought to increase funding for these programs. She has also helped organize a group known as Family Law 2000, which seeks to educate parents about the effects of divorce on children, and to lessen the adversarial nature of legal proceedings when a marriage is dissolved. Justice Owen enjoys broad support. The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has voted her unanimously well qualified. To merit this ranking, the ABA requires that the nominee must be at the top of the legal profession in his or her legal community, have outstanding legal ability, breadth of experience, the highest reputation for integrity, and either have demonstrated or exhibited the capacity for judicial temperament. I would say her judicial temperament has been proven in the 1 year 11 months that she has waited for confirmation because the way she has conducted herself has been exemplary. She has been available to meet with any Senator. She has answered every question. She has gone back into records to make sure that she was answering exactly correctly. She has maintained complete silence about this process about which I am sure she has some strong opinions. But I think she has shown her judicial temperament by being very much on an even keel, basically saying: I would love to be on the Fifth Circuit, but I am very happy on the Texas Supreme Court. Of course, she is well regarded by those who know her best. We do elect judges in Texas. In 2000, Justice Owen was reelected to the Supreme Court with 84 percent of the vote. She was endorsed by every major newspaper in Texas--every one. The Dallas Morning News called her record one of ``accomplishment and integrity.'' The Houston Chronicle wrote she ``has the proper balance of judicial experience, solid legal scholarship, and real world know- how.'' Despite the fact that she is a well-respected judge who has received high praise, her nomination has been targeted by special interest groups that have mischaracterized her views. Let me read the words of former elected attorney general and Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Hill, Jr., a lifelong Democrat, denouncing the false accusations about Priscilla Owen's record by special interest groups. Their attacks on Justice Owen in particular are breathtakingly dishonest, ignoring her long-held commitment to reform and grossly distorting her rulings. Tellingly, the groups made no effort to assess whether her decisions are legally sound. . . . I know Texas politics and can clearly say that these assaults on Justice Owen's records are false, misleading, and deliberate distortions. That is a quote from former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, John Hill, elected as a Democrat. Senator Hatch has taken the extraordinary step of holding a second hearing on Justice Owen in order to get the record straight and because Senator Leahy, the ranking member, really insisted that she have another hearing. She did so well in those hearings. I watched them after I introduced her. Once again, her evenhandedness and her legal brilliance came through. One issue that came up during the hearings involves Texas's parental notification statute. I believe Justice Owen has demonstrated that she is a judge who follows and upholds the law, and in this line of cases she has consistently applied Supreme Court precedent to help interpret uncertainty in the statute. The cases in question deal strictly with statutory interpretation of Texas law, not with constitutional rights. These are not abortion cases. They are issues of parental involvement. They are notification--not consent--laws. Forty-three States have passed some form of parental involvement statute. During two lengthy committee hearings, Justice Owen defended her decisions as consistent with U.S. Supreme Court rulings. In addition, almost all of the cases that came to the supreme court were cases in which she voted to affirm the district court and the circuit court of appeals rulings. So it would have been highly unusual for the supreme court to overturn the trier of fact and the first appellate court. I hope my colleagues will see that her methods of statutory interpretation are sound and that she is an exemplary judge. I urge my colleagues not to filibuster this well-qualified nominee but to give her an up-or-down vote. I hope we will confirm this outstanding supreme court judge from Texas who has waited almost 2 years now for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals appointment. If there were anything in her record against integrity or competence or judicial demeanor, it would be a different case, but that is not the case about Priscilla Owen, whom I know well, whom I have been with on many occasions. I know the people who appear before her court. She is rated outstanding by all who know her, who are giving any kind of an objective view. I hope this Senate will not do to Priscilla Owen what has happened to another well-qualified nominee, Miguel Estrada, who also has a sterling academic record, who also has a record of integrity and experience. I hope this Senate will not start requiring 60 votes, where the Constitution requires a simple majority for qualified nominees. Let's have a vote up or down. We do not need a new standard. In fact, if we had a new standard, it should go through the constitutional process. We should have a constitutional amendment that says Supreme Court and circuit court and district court judge nominees will be required to have 60 votes. It would take a constitutional amendment to do that. But Miguel Estrada is being required to have 60 votes. I hope that is not the standard we put on Priscilla Owen. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, today I am going to continue what the Senate has been doing since our troops started the invasion of Iraq, and that is to take the first period before we go on to the business of the day to salute the troops who are in the field protecting our freedom. Today, I want to salute the members of the 507th Maintenance Company. This is the company out of Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX, who really were the first to be captured, the first prisoners of war shown on Iraqi television. Some of them have now been recovered, but there are still five missing. The rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch was a moment of triumph but also sadness, as the celebration was tempered by the recovery of the remains of fallen soldiers who were later identified as her comrades in arms. General Renuart at CENTCOM described the rescue this way: A special ops soldier called to Private Lynch saying: Jessica Lynch, we're United States soldiers and we're here to protect you and take you home. . . . As he walked over to her bed, took his helmet off, she looked up to him and said: I'm an American soldier, too. General Renuart also described the recovery of the remains of the soldiers who had been killed because they were told by the same sources that there were remains of other soldiers on the ground outside the hospital where Jessica lay. He said: At the same time, the team was led to a burial site, where, in fact, they did find a number of bodies that they believed could be Americans missing in action. They did not have shovels in order to dig those graves up, so they dug them up with their hands. And they wanted to do that very rapidly so they could race the sun and be off the site before the sun came up; a great testament to the will and desire of coalition forces to bring their own home. That one line says all you will ever need to know about the character of the young men and women in the military today, who refuse to leave their fallen comrades behind: They dug them up with their hands, and raced the sun. On Friday evening, the families of those whose remains were recovered were officially notified that their loved ones had been killed in action. We mourn their loss. They were PFC Lori Ann Piestewa, the first American woman soldier killed in the Iraq war. This is a picture showing the two friends, PFC Jessica Lynch and PFC Lori Piestewa. They were at Fort Bliss the day of their deployment. They were roommates and friends. Private First Class Piestewa was a Hopi Indian, one of the few American Indian women serving in the military. She was PFC Jessica Lynch's good friend and roommate. ``Our family is proud of her; she is our hero,'' her brother Wayland said Saturday. ``We are going to hold that in our hearts. She will not be forgotten. It gives us comfort to know that she is at peace right now.'' Behind me are the pictures of some who have died in action, and I am going to speak about each of them. In Texas, there is a town called Comfort that lived up to its name by embracing and comforting the parents of SP James Kiehl. In Comfort, TX, the parents of SP James M. Kiehl are being comforted by their friends and neighbors. The 6-foot 8-inch soldier was a high school basketball player and a member of the band. The people of Comfort, moved by James' death, created an impromptu memorial where basketballs, flower arrangements, personal notes, and even baseball bats have been left as tributes to James. His father summed up the family's feelings this way: We just want everyone to know we support the President and the troops, and we believe in what James went over there for. James Kiehl's wife, Jill, is staying with her parents in Des Moines, IA, and is expecting their first child next month. In Mobile, AL, Rev. Howard Johnson, Sr., buried his son, Army PFC Howard Johnson, Jr., from the same pulpit of the Truevine Baptist Church where he had stood so many times offering words of comfort to his congregation. Reverend Johnson said of his son: Howard, you out ran me, but I'll see you in the morning. SGT Donald Walters of Kansas City, MO, fought in Operation Desert Storm and had followed in his father's footsteps by joining the military. His father, Norman Walters, is an Air Force veteran and said this about his son: He was a patriotic guy. He felt it was his duty to serve his country. Sergeant Walters leaves behind a wife and three daughters. MSG Robert Dowdy and PVT Brandon Sloan were both from Cleveland, OH. Master Sergeant Dowdy's brother-in-law had this to say about the career soldier: He was ready to accept the challenge. That's the type of person he was. He knew going in what he was in store for and who he was and what he was about. Private Sloan's father, the Rev. Tandy Sloan, proudly said his son ``was very committed to the cause of country.'' PVT Ruben Estrella-Soto was from El Paso, TX. This is his graduation picture. His father said his son had a lot of desire to do something with his life, and wanted to go into the military so he could get education. CWO Johnny Villareal Mata was from Amarillo, TX. He played football on the Pecos High School Eagles football team and graduated in 1986. Soon thereafter he joined the Army. The family remembered him this way: Our hearts are saddened, and we share the pain with the other families. He will be deeply missed and will never be forgotten. SP Jamaal Addison of Roswell, GA, is remembered by his step- grandmother as ``a mild-mannered, quiet child'' who attended Bible study every Wednesday night before joining the Army. The 507th Maintenance Company still has five soldiers who are prisoners of war. They are SP Shoshana Johnson, SP Edgar Hernandez, SP Joseph Hudson, PFC Patrick Miller, and SGT James Riley. I have talked with Claude Johnson, Shoshana's father, several times. He and his wife Eunice are caring for Shoshana's 2-year-old daughter. These five have not been seen publicly since several hours after they were taken prisoner March 23, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has not yet been able to visit them in captivity. We join all Americans in urging the Iraqi Government to treat those prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Convention, just as we have treated the thousands of Iraqi prisoners we hold. We pray those prisoners of war from the 507th Maintenance Company will be returned safely to their families. We pay tribute to them today for the sacrifices they have made. I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Minnesota for a wonderful statement. Certainly, every single life that is lost over there is appreciated and will be appreciated forever in the hearts of Americans because those young men and women are protecting the freedom we enjoy. David Bloom, a constituent of the Senator from Minnesota, was also protecting our way of life. He was protecting the freedom of the press. He was serving so well to do that. I knew David personally, as most Members did, because he was such a special person and he did his job, worked hard, and was here a lot. We very much miss him and we know so many of his colleagues miss him, as well. Mr. President, I wish to talk about T.R. Fehrenbach, a constituent of mine, who wrote what many think is the definitive book on the Korean war called ``This Kind of War.'' It is appropriate today. We have been amazed at the technological capability of our military in the war in Iraq. They have launched missiles, dropped bombs, and delivered other ordnance on the battlefield with pinpoint accuracy. I came across a picture today reminiscent of our soldiers from an earlier era that reminds me of some basic truths that apply no matter how much technological capability we might acquire. I have a picture of American troops from the Army's 101st Airborne Division marching into Bastogne during World War II. This was the counterattack against the Germans. We see the 101st Airborne Division. I have another picture taken last week of the 101st Airborne Division, nearly 60 years later--a column from the First Brigade march into Najaf, Iraq, on Wednesday, April 2, 2003, doing basically the same thing. These photographs demonstrate an old axiom about military operations that was written by Ted Fehrenbach in ``This Kind of War,'' a book about the Korean war: Americans in 1950 rediscovered something that since Hiroshima they had forgotten: You may fly over a land forever; you may bomb it, atomize it, pulverize it and wipe it clean of life--but if you desire to defend it, protect it, and keep it for civilization, you must do this on the ground, the way the Roman legions did, by putting your young men into the mud. I know Ted Fehrenbach and I know he would have said today, by putting your brave young soldiers and marines in the mud, because what he is saying essentially is the same today as it was in 1950. And that is, if you want to protect a land and keep it for civilization, you must have our young men and women willing to go in on the ground. The truth is still the same today. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. We have Senator Dayton and Senator Cornyn, and if there is any time left I will take it.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, if I can just assure that we are covered.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise to speak against the amendment. I respect my colleagues, Senator Talent and Senator Bond very much. I am very sad and very sorry about the situation with the TWA employees. It was a difficult situation when TWA was in bankruptcy. A number of airlines sought to take over TWA. American was the one that was willing to do it. There were agreements made at the time. American offered to preserve the jobs and pensions of the TWA employees at the time if the unions would agree to waive their seniority rights from TWA. That was the agreement. If American had not stepped up to the plate, all of the TWA pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and ticket agents would have lost their jobs immediately and their pension funds would have been wiped out. Instead, American not only persevered their jobs but fully funded the TWA pension funds. Everyone hoped the aviation industry would recover and that everyone would stay employed. It is still the hope of every American employee that the TWA former employees who have been laid off will be hired back. American is committed to hire back former TWA employees before anyone else. However, the TWA employees took this matter to the National Mediation Board. The National Mediation Board has rendered a decision reinforcing the original agreement. TWA's pilots and flight attendants have appealed. That is their right. This case is still in litigation. It is completely inappropriate to bog down a wartime appropriations bill with language that would attempt to pit winners and losers in a battle between unions or between any union and management. This amendment is coming at a time when American's unions are set to vote on the most significant cost restructuring proposal in U.S. history, with $1.8 billion in proposed union concessions. Interference with these negotiations at this time could impact that vote and push the world's largest airline into bankruptcy. Of course, if that happens, everyone at American, not just the former TWA employees, could lose their jobs. I do sympathize, and I hope very much the little bailout that we are giving the aviation industry, will result in American staying strong and being able to hire back everyone who has had to be laid off. That is the purpose of the bill today. Regretfully, I must raise a point of order and offer an objection to amendment No. 499 on the grounds that it is legislation on an appropriations bill and thus violates rule 16, paragraph 4 of the Senate rules.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I certainly support the sense of the Senate. We all want fair treatment. If the aviation industry had stayed viable and we had a good economy, I believe every employee would have maintained their employment status and there would have been more hires. However, we all know the economy is in a very precarious situation. The aviation industry has been hit hard since September 11, particularly American. And they do not want these layoffs. That is the only alternative they have. I know the first people hired back when business picks up are going to be these employees who have been laid off. I certainly support the sense of the Senate. We all want fair treatment for all of the employees of American Airlines.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about joy and also apprehension. In Palestine, WV, they are celebrating the rescue yesterday of PFC Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital. I am sure most people who watch C-SPAN have also seen the incredible pictures of that operation, seeing our Navy SEALs, our Army special forces, our Marines teaming up to go in and take a hospital because they had information that some of our prisoners of war might be there. It was a great act of courage on their part. We are all celebrating the return of Jessica Lynch. In her Army hometown of El Paso, TX, they are celebrating. Her rescue has given hope and comfort to the families of the other missing or captured members of Fort Bliss's 507th Maintenance Company that they, too, might be returned to their homes and families. Retired MSgt Claude Johnson, father of prisoner of war SP Shoshana Johnson, was thrilled to learn PFC Jessica Lynch had been found. I quote: I am very, very, very glad that Jessica has been returned and that she is safe. As I have said previously, it is not just about Shoshana. It's about all the prisoners who are over there, and I hope and pray that each and every one of them can come home safe, just like Jessica did. The rescue of Lynch gives everybody hope that the rest of [those missing or captured] will be returned. I talked to Mr. Johnson early on after Shoshana was taken captive and was shown on Iraqi television. She is a former Army personnel person. I was able to share with him the great attention that all of us are giving to all of those prisoners of war and missing in action. I told him that everything would be done to find them and to rescue them if possible. We hope this is the first of good news. But we also know that our forces are doing everything possible to determine if there are others there and also to try to get them home if they are. We commend the brave marines and special ops forces and the SEALs who were involved in this dramatic rescue. As details come out, I know we will be even more proud of what they have achieved. Now we hope that in the days ahead there will be other good news for those families of soldiers from Fort Bliss and Fort Hood; that they, too, will be reunited with their families. All of America is riveted on that wonderful story, but we also know there is more news to come, and we will wait anxiously to hear about others. I also want to take time to discuss personal stories we get from the field because the press over there is seeing the individual sacrifices our young men and women in the military are making that show so much about our values. I want to share one of those vignettes. Then I want to ask my friend and colleague from Idaho to also do the same because he, too, has troops from Idaho in the field. This morning I start by talking about CPT Chris Carter. This comes from Chris Tomlinson, the Associated Press, from Hindiyah, Iraq. I want to show this picture because it illustrates exactly what these forces are doing. This is a story that goes with this picture. You see in this picture a woman in a black veil sitting on a bridge. Here are the American troops who are trying to take this bridge. ``We've got to get her off that bridge,'' he said. Capt. Chris Carter winced at the risks his men would have to take. Engaged in a raid on this Euphrates River town, they were battling for a bridge when, through the smoke, they saw the elderly woman. She had tried to race across the bridge when the U.S. soldiers arrived, but was caught in crossfire. At first they thought she was dead, like the man sprawled in the dust nearby. But during breaks in the gunfire that whizzed over her head, she sat up and waved for help. Carter, a 32-year old Army Ranger, ordered his Bradley Fighting Vehicle to move forward while he and two other men ran behind it. They took cover behind the bridges' iron beams. Carter tossed a smoke grenade for more cover and approached the woman, who was crying and pointing at a wound on her hip. She wore a black abayah, a robe common among older women in the countryside. Blood soaked through the fabric onto the pavement around her. Medics put the woman on a stretcher and into an ambulance; Carter stood by, providing cover with his M-16 automatic rifle. Then she was gone, and the battle raged on for the town of 80,000 about 50 mile south of Baghdad. By the end of the day, the Army unit would fight street to street, capture or kill scores of Iraqui soldiers, blow up a Baath Party headquarters and destroy heaps of ammunition and mortars. No US. soldiers were killed, but from the beginning officers in the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment described the mission as ``hairy.'' ``Yeah, hold a strategic bridge with one infantry company that has only two platoons--a hell of a mission,'' Lt. Col. Philip DeCamp, the battalion commander, said with a smile. I yield to my colleague from Utah.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Idaho for sharing that story with us. It reminds us of what is being done that we might not see over here, but it is those one-on-one things that that Iraqi father is going to remember. I want to do another story from the field. This one is written by Julian Barnes of U.S. News and World Report. He is with the 101st Airmobile Division Apache Pilots. Here we have the picture of an Apache helicopter firing an antimissile flare. This was taken April 7. The story: Chief Warrant Officer Ted Hazen has been flying attack helicopters for years. Last week, he finally flew one into combat. ``It was everything I expected,'' he says, ``and not anything like I expected.'' It was the first deep-strike attack by the 101st Airborne Division, and Hazen was at the controls of the command chopper, helping direct the fleet of Apache Longbows into battle some 50 miles south of Baghdad. In front of him, the other pilots locked on the Republican Guard tanks and armored vehicles and let loose their hellfire missiles. ``I saw that first shot go out and bang, hit,'' he says. ``Then there was a hellacious secondary explosion. Flames went 100 feet into the air.'' After engaging the first tank, the Apaches' fuel began running low. A squadron of British Harrier jets continued the attack as the Apaches turned south, back to base. But heading home is almost as tough as attacking. Powerful tailwinds can cause blinding brownouts. The first two of the 101st's Apaches crashed while trying to land. Hazen is philosophical. After all, it's tricky business trying to land a big chopper totally blind. How tricky? ``The best thing to say,'' Hazen mused, ``is open your garage door, turn your lights off, line yourself up, go 20 miles per hour and hit your brakes and see if you stop in time.'' That sort of thing brings it home. I wish to read an article about the 173rd Airborne Brigade. This is a picture of the paratroopers who took the airfield in northern Iraq. A U.S. soldier stands guard next to his colleagues digging in near the Harir airstrip. They are excavating earth into trucks northeast of Arbil in northern Iraq. Harir airfield is in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq where U.S. soldiers from the 173rd Airborne unit parachuted into position. The article is by Bay Fang, U.S. News & World Report. He is with the 173rd Airborne Brigade: The man is covered in mud. ``I landed in a puddle,'' he says sheepishly. ``It was a great landing, other than where I landed.'' He and the other members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade dropped into northern Iraq the night before, but they still have not had a chance to clean up. They are fanned out across the airstrip here, dun-colored figures dotting the lush green fields, diggings foxholes, setting up their guns. Another paratrooper checks a jeep-mounted machine gun and gestures at the fields and mountains shrouded in mist. ``I have total sympathy for the men in Vietnam, walking through the rice paddies,'' he says. ``I don't see how they did it. This isn't half as bad. And it's tough, this terrain out here.'' Up the road, a special forces officer haggles over a truckload of wood his men need for heat. They chose to send the troops in by parachute rather than plane, he says, for reasons of both efficiency and psychological impact. ``It sends a dramatic message to the whole region that U.S. forces are here,'' he says. ``I think we can say that the northern front is already underway.'' The north has indeed begun to move. Late that afternoon, I hear that Iraqi forces have pulled back from the ridge overlooking Chamchamal, the frontline town where I have been staying, to positions just outside Kirkuk. Kurdish fighters, known as peshmerga-- Described as ``those who face death''-- and curious townspeople have rushed up the mountainside. Some are here to inspect the area inhabited by their enemy for the past 12 years. Some have come to loot. But most are simply tourists, hoping to visit places once forbidden to them. Arivan Ahmed stands on the remains of a hilltop bunker. He used to pass through this place every day on his smuggling run from Kirkuk to Chamchamal and bribe the soldiers at what was called the Challenger checkpoint. ``They sometimes took my shoes from me, so I would have to go back barefoot to Chamchamal,'' he says. That was before the American bombing started and all traffic stopped. ``I used to be very afraid every time I came through here. Now I am just happy to stand here on this ground.'' He holds a rusty hammerhead in his fist that he scrounged from the rubble, and says that is enough of a memento for him. The road is now open 12 miles deep into what was Iraqi territory. All along it, I see scenes of defiance and celebration. A man drives a bulldozer into a cement plaque in the middle of the road. It bears pictures of Saddam Hussein-- wearing a western-style suit on one side, and Kurdish dress on the other. It takes him 15 minutes to topple the plaque, and he wipes the sweat off his forehead with a laugh. ``It is very strong--he spent all of Iraq's money on plaques like these!'' he says. I just wish I could go to Baghdad and do the same to the man himself.'' The peshmerga express the same impatience with beginning the drive down south. But their commanders, sensitive about being seen to cooperate with America, make sure we understand that their forces will not move in unilaterally. It is not the peshmerga taking the newly vacated regions, they say, it is the people themselves. ``These areas we are moving into, they belong to us,'' says Gen. Rostam Hamid Rahim, the top peshmerga commander from Kirkuk. ``The citizens have moved back to the liberated area, and we are just protecting them.'' At the end of the newly opened road, Kirkuk shimmers like a mirage on the horizon, still about 12 miles away. ``It is the Jerusalem of Kurdistan, and we would like to be free,'' says the mayor of Chamchamal, walking briskly toward it as the sun sets. He and everyone else here want to return soon, fighting their way through if necessary. But they have a new phrase for their suppressed hopes: Instead of inshallah, meaning ``God willing,'' it is Insha-Bush.'' This is the picture taken that first day after the paratroopers landed in the north of Iraq. I will show a few more pictures because I do believe that pictures say a thousand words. A lot of people have seen the pictures from the field of our troops in combat doing everyday activities. I want to show some pictures about what life is like over there for our soldiers. Here our soldiers are sleeping next to their tanks on a highway that they have taken. They just laid down on the cement, covered their heads, and are taking what I am sure is a long hoped for respite right in the middle of the day because they have been moving at night. They are taking the rest when they can get it. We see a couple of soldiers just cannot sleep. They are awake and talking. But some of them are sleeping with their rifles on and their boots on the ground. This is another picture showing soldiers sleeping. This was during that sandstorm that many of us saw. These soldiers are wrapped up, trying to protect their faces, their noses from inhaling that dust and sand. We see one soldier sleeping sitting up with a rifle on his lap, and we see another soldier laying down also with a face mask on trying to protect from that dust. Clearly, they are so tired that they will sleep anywhere. These are troops digging trenches, trying to set up for potential warfare. They, too, are trying to rest before the battle that might ensue. We see them sleeping in their trenches, standing in their trenches that they just worked so hard to dig. We see the trucks that are lined up to protect them in case there is an enemy out there. That is a fitting end to showing what our troops are enduring every day as they are on the front lines fighting for every one of us, fighting for our way of life, fighting for our right to speak on the Senate floor, the right to be in the Galleries listening, the right to watch C-SPAN2 cover the Senate every day. They are fighting for the right of each of us to kiss our babies in the morning as we go off to our jobs or as we give them the chance to play with some of their friends. Every one of the activities we are doing every day is being protected by those men and women in the field as we speak today. We are starting the Senate every morning with 1 hour of tribute to our troops, talking about something that has happened that shows American values shining through to the people of the world. We are doing this to honor our troops, to let their families know we will not forget them for 1 minute, and that we appreciate what they are doing every single minute of the day. We will do this every day our troops are in the field in Iraq, until this war is over. I yield the floor.

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

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I begin by saying I appreciate Senator Enzi. Senator Enzi came to the floor to speak about a subject very important to him. I asked him if he would mind letting us spend this entire hour in a tribute to the troops. He readily agreed. I appreciate his courtesy because we are reserving the first hour of every day when our troops are in the field to giving tribute to them, talking about some of the events that have happened in the field, talking about some of the acts of heroism, the individual acts, showing pictures of what life is like over there. I have done that on several occasions. I will again. Today I want to talk about our prisoners. As the distinguished Chair understands--the Presiding Officer at this time is the other Senator from Texas--Texas is the base for the largest number of our active-duty military. One in 10 active-duty personnel calls Texas home. It is the home base for 114,000 active-duty service members. California comes in second with 107,000. North Carolina comes in third with 86,000. So we do feel a personal effect of this war. We also feel a sense of pride that it is our young men and women, along with all of those from the other States, who are out there on the front lines, protecting the freedom we enjoy so much every day. I would like to talk about some of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and some of those about whom we are not sure at this time. Cpl Brian Matthew Kennedy, U.S. Marine Corps, 25 years old, from Houston, TX, grew up in Glenville, IL. He called his mom on March 18 to tell her he was about to go into action. ``It was very short and very special,'' she says of the call. Three days later, he died, when his Sea Knight helicopter crashed in Kuwait. He said to his dad: We are ready. We are ready. We are trained. We are ready to go. He was very proud. His parents are very proud of him. SSgt Phillip Jordan, U.S. Marine Corps, 42 years of age, Brazoria, TX: Everyone called him Gump because he was so relentlessly upbeat. His son Tyler, 6, wants to be a marine like his father who was killed in a fire fight after a group of Iraqi soldiers feigned surrender. Some are missing. Specialist James Kiehl, U.S. Army, 22, Comfort, TX, a computer technician with the 507th Maintenance Company: Kiehl was among the missing in the convoy ambush near An Nasiriya. His father Randy has been monitoring war news on two televisions, three phone lines, and a computer, keeping up a strong front and a strong face for the media, just in case they showed James any footage from back home. PVT Ruben Estrella-Soto, U.S. Army, 18, El Paso: His father opposed his enlisting but he wanted to study engineering, and he was enthusiastic about going into the military and getting his education. He disappeared in the ambush on March 23 along with his friend Edgar Hernandez, who later turned up on Iraqi TV. But Estrella-Soto's fate was unknown. ``Not knowing anything is hard,'' Ruben Estrella, Sr., told reporters. CWO Johnny Villareal Mata, U.S. Army, 35, Pecos, TX: Mata grew up in a desert town just 200 miles from Fort Bliss, where his 507th Maintenance Company is based. SP Edgar Adan Hernandez, U.S. Army, 21 years old, Alton, TX: ``He's got a noble character,'' his mother, Maria de la Luz Hernandez, says in Spanish. She then inadvertently slipped into the past tense: ``He was a good brother, a good son, respectful to the whole world.'' Hernandez, though, she believes is really alive. And he, too, was shown on Iraqi TV. Captured: Army SP Shoshana Johnson, 30 years old, El Paso, TX: Her name means ``rose'' in Hebrew, the inspiration of an aunt who once worked as a nurse in Brooklyn. But her family is Panamanian American, and although she grew up in an Army family, she never expected to find herself on the front line. She is funloving, her younger sister Nikki says. She also says, ``She is outgoing, independent and trustworthy-- definitely not the kind of person who stays in front of the TV day in and day out.'' Shoshana's dream was to be a chef, but culinary school costs a lot of money, and Army cook was close enough. It seemed safe enough, too. But early on the morning of March 23, her father, Claude, was flipping through the channels looking for a cartoon show for Shoshana's two-year-old daughter, Janelle. He happened to catch a newscast on the Spanish language network, Telemundo. ``They said five Americans had been captured in Iraq. I caught one African-American female, 30 years old, from the 507th. Her name was Shana. I said it's got to be her.'' It was. Now her large extended family, including more than a dozen cousins, is watching and waiting. They are inspired by the relatives of Elizabeth Smart who helped stay in the forefront of the press until their 15-year-old kidnapped daughter was returned. ``We just want her to be treated humanely,'' Nikki told Newsweek, ``and to return home swiftly and safely.'' I talked to the mother of one of those killed in Afghanistan last week and she said, ``What I want is to make sure that my son did not die in vain.'' I assured her that her son did not die in vain; that the war on terrorism is going to protect the freedom for children and grandchildren throughout America, and our staying vigilant and staying on course will ensure that none of those who are already dead or are missing will be forgotten. They have paid a heavy price for freedom and we will always revere and respect them for what they have done for our country. That concludes the tributes for today. The Senate is setting aside 1 hour every day for people to come to the floor and talk about some of the wonderful acts that are being done by our young men and women on the field as we speak today--protecting the way of life we have come to enjoy.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce a bill with Senator Bingaman that takes an important step toward modernizing the Internal Revenue Code. Decades ago, investment companies which manage mutual funds were limited in the amount of income they could receive from investments in partnerships. At the time, this restriction was established to address legitimate concerns and protect the interests of investors. Ownership interests in partnerships can be illiquid, so it is difficult to get one's money out of the investment. Partnerships are also not required to be transparent in their financial statements, so it could be difficult for investors to accurately assess a business However, the world has changed. Some partnerships have been able to go public and offer shares on the stock markets, so the problem of liquidity is solved. By going public, they must meet much higher standards of financial transparency, including regularly publishing audited financial statements for investors. Currently, 50 publicly traded partnerships trade on major U.S. stock exchanges; 14 of these companies are headquartered in my home State, Texas. Unfortunately, tax laws have not reflected this change in the business and financial worlds. Mutual funds are still restricted in how much they can invest in any partnership, including those that are publicly traded. This significantly impedes the ability of these companies to raise capital. It limits their ability to grow and create jobs. Publicly traded partnerships play an important role in the economy. About half are in the energy sector, actively involved in building and operating infrastructure to gather, process and transport oil and natural gas. These partnerships also include timber and real estate companies. It is clear we need a healthy energy sector to ensure the availability of oil and gas at reasonable prices. The bill Senator Bingaman and I introduce today will lead to a dramatic increase in the flow of capital to these companies. Mutual funds, which often purchase a majority of equity offerings, will be able to participate in stock offerings from publicly traded partnerships. This will expand the investor base and lower the cost of capital, ultimately helping to lower energy prices. Our bill will also provide millions of investors an opportunity, through their mutual funds, to participate in another investment opportunity if their professional mutual fund managers believe it is an attractive investment. It is wrong for the Federal Government to use the tax code to make decisions for investors. The bill we are introducing will modernize our tax laws so families can make their own financial planning decisions. This legislation will also provide an important source of capital for key areas of the economy. I hope my colleagues will support this long overdue improvement.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce a bill with Senator Bingaman that takes an important step toward modernizing the Internal Revenue Code. Decades ago, investment companies which manage mutual funds were limited in the amount of income they could receive from investments in partnerships. At the time, this restriction was established to address legitimate concerns and protect the interests of investors. Ownership interests in partnerships can be illiquid, so it is difficult to get one's money out of the investment. Partnerships are also not required to be transparent in their financial statements, so it could be difficult for investors to accurately assess a business However, the world has changed. Some partnerships have been able to go public and offer shares on the stock markets, so the problem of liquidity is solved. By going public, they must meet much higher standards of financial transparency, including regularly publishing audited financial statements for investors. Currently, 50 publicly traded partnerships trade on major U.S. stock exchanges; 14 of these companies are headquartered in my home State, Texas. Unfortunately, tax laws have not reflected this change in the business and financial worlds. Mutual funds are still restricted in how much they can invest in any partnership, including those that are publicly traded. This significantly impedes the ability of these companies to raise capital. It limits their ability to grow and create jobs. Publicly traded partnerships play an important role in the economy. About half are in the energy sector, actively involved in building and operating infrastructure to gather, process and transport oil and natural gas. These partnerships also include timber and real estate companies. It is clear we need a healthy energy sector to ensure the availability of oil and gas at reasonable prices. The bill Senator Bingaman and I introduce today will lead to a dramatic increase in the flow of capital to these companies. Mutual funds, which often purchase a majority of equity offerings, will be able to participate in stock offerings from publicly traded partnerships. This will expand the investor base and lower the cost of capital, ultimately helping to lower energy prices. Our bill will also provide millions of investors an opportunity, through their mutual funds, to participate in another investment opportunity if their professional mutual fund managers believe it is an attractive investment. It is wrong for the Federal Government to use the tax code to make decisions for investors. The bill we are introducing will modernize our tax laws so families can make their own financial planning decisions. This legislation will also provide an important source of capital for key areas of the economy. I hope my colleagues will support this long overdue improvement.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank our distinguished majority leader for visiting with the families of our troops from the 101st from his State. All of us are personally visiting with families of people who are there, and particularly in my case, I spent quite a bit of time talking to the families whose loved ones are either missing in action or are verified prisoners of war. There is nothing more rewarding than talking to these incredible people who are afraid of what might be happening. They are, of course, going through something that all of us hope we will never have to go through, but they are very strong. They trust that we are doing everything possible to inform them, to find out the whereabouts of these prisoners or missing persons. Most certainly, our military--this is something I personally ask in our briefing sessions--is trying to find out exactly where these prisoners or missing people are located. They are working through the Red Cross to try to have a Red Cross representative see these prisoners just as the Red Cross representatives are being able to see the Iraqi prisoners who are being held by the allied forces. So it is a tough time for these wonderful people of America who are supporting their loved ones in this very trying time for them. All of us want to be reminded that there are specific laws, international laws, called the Geneva Convention, about the treatment of prisoners. Article 17 explicitly prohibits inflicting physical or mental torture and any other forms of coercion on prisoners in order to obtain information of any kind, including publicizing photographs where they can be recognized. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer questions may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind. Article 23 of the Geneva Convention prevents a prisoner from being sent to or detained in areas where they may be exposed to the fire of the combat zone, and in no case can prisoners be used as human shields. The Geneva Convention also requires access to the prisoners by officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross. We have informed the Iraqi Government that we intend to treat their prisoners with dignity and abide by the Geneva Convention. We most certainly are appealing to the Iraqis to let in the Red Cross personnel. One of the benefits of the so-called embedded media is that they are on the scene with our military and are able to provide some very candid photos of our troops in action. I want to show a few more of the photos. I started some of them last week. I think these photos really speak more than a thousand words about what it is to be at the front. We see the pictures on television, but I wanted to display some of the still pictures showing how we are treating prisoners of war and the people of Iraq as our allied soldiers are coming upon them. This photo shows a U.S. marine helping an injured prisoner of war moments after securing the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. It was taken on March 23 of this year. U.S. Marine LCpl Marcco Ware of Los Angeles carries an Iraqi soldier who was injured in an attack on Ware's outfit on Tuesday, March 26, 2003. This unit has been attacking LCpl Ware's unit, but he found this injured soldier and is carrying him to safety. I am very proud of the character and courage of our forces and the way they are treating those who are in their care. At the same time, we have seen our soldiers paraded on Iraqi television in clear violation of international law. We applaud our troops' bravery, courage, and professionalism. Our prayers are with them and their families in this most difficult time. President Bush has demanded that the Iraqis immediately comply with the Geneva Convention. I urge all of those who might have information that could be helpful to the Red Cross in getting in to see our prisoners of war to bring that forward. I encourage the Iraqi Government--if there is any shred of dignity--to make sure they abide by the Geneva Convention, just as our forces are abiding by it. I know so many in the Senate are reaching out in their individual States, trying to make sure that we touch the families who are suffering so much. In churches throughout my hometown of Dallas, they have prayer lists including every person who is connected to a member of that particular parish. Those young men and women are being named individually in those prayers. I think all of us are touched. We have Texas embedded media. I close with part of a piece in the San Antonio Express that was written by Sig Christenson, their military correspondent who is embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division: March 25: It was a little after 3 p.m. today when the little slice of Iraq that we occupy dimmed. A vicious sandstorm, almost certainly the worst one yet for the 3rd Infantry Division troops that have been here for months, swept over the sandy plateau we took from 200 or so Iraqi troops this past Sunday. ``Wow, it's dark,'' Airman 1st Class Dan Housely said. Not to mention surreal. In less time than it takes to watch a rerun of ``The Beverly Hillbillies,'' the once-overcast but relatively clear desert was a swirling mass of sand. An orange hue descended over the landscape, creating a scene resembling Viking probe photos of Mars. Sand gets into everything around here, and especially seems drawn to your sinuses and ears. Take a ``Baby Wipe bath,'' as soldiers call it, and you'll clear out clumps of dirt from your ears--day after day. Outside, gale-force winds kick up the sandy floor and turn each fine grain into a weapon. . . . Within an hour, I had a headache that pulsated at the back of my skull. It could be worse. We hold the high ground and have lots of firepower, but that won't stop Iraqis loyal to Saddam Hussein. Already we've lost a soldier within walking distance of my cot--he was shot dead--and our troops have encountered Iraqis wearing American military uniforms close to our camp. If today's battle for a bridge outside An Najaf is any example, we can expect a determined, fierce resistance all the way to Baghdad. Iraqi regulars and elite militia driving trucks took on 70-ton M1A1 tanks, coming at them again and again. That kind of fanaticism is cause for my imagination to go wild as I prepare to sleep. A sandstorm gives perfect cover to infiltrators and snipers out here, and as I worked today I found myself frequently looking out my Humvee. It could become a habit. Mr. President, I appreciate very much Senator Lincoln from Arkansas sharing this hour with me, and the rest of the hour on our side will be managed by Senator Thomas of Wyoming. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I will take some time this morning to show some pictures that speak more than 1,000 words. They are pictures from the field. They show how the mightiest force in the world is connecting with people on an individual basis. I start with a picture showing PFC Joseph DeWitt, age 26, of the 7th Calvary Regiment carrying an Iraqi boy who was injured Tuesday, March 26, in the fight at Al Faysaliyah. The picture speaks for what America is. Here is this private, 26 years old, carrying this little boy to safety. You can see the terror on his face, of the little boy who is saved today because Private DeWitt cared. An unidentified U.S. soldier gives candy to Iraqi boys as he patrols in the southern border city of Safwan, Friday, March 21. Waving Iraqi civilians greeted members of the 1st Marine Division as they entered the town of Safwan. An Iraqi child waves as a convoy of 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division drives through a southern Iraqi town Sunday, March 23, 2003. Children wave at members of the British 2nd Royal Tank Regiment as they arrive in Basra, southern Iraq, Saturday, March 22. All of the missing in action and POWs in this conflict are from Texas bases. They are either from Fort Hood or Fort Bliss. In addition to the great mission, I feel a personal connection in this conflict because I know the pain and agony the loved ones are going through at this time and, of course, I think every day, every hour, every minute about those who are actually in captivity or about whom we do not know. I have tried to make contact with as many as I could. It has been difficult because many of them are in such stress they probably do not want to talk to people they do not know or members of the press who might be calling them. I have not connected with all of them. However, every conversation I have had has been uplifting. I have gotten more out of these conversations than I could ever give back. I have talked this morning to Michelle Williams, the wife of CWO David Williams, from Fort Hood, one of those captured by the Iraqis when the Apache helicopter he was in crashed. Michelle is also in the service. She is at Fort Hood. I talked to her this morning. She has not been talking to the press but one of her major concerns is that somehow she could get a message to her husband: That she is thinking of him, that she loves him very much, that their children are fine, but she just wants some way to make sure that message gets to him--if it is the Red Cross that could take a letter; we will certainly try to be helpful, as the Army will try to be helpful--if it is a message he might hear, that she has given, we want to do everything possible to try to get that message to him. She is strong and brave and waiting for a happy reunion with her husband when he is able to come home. I talked to Mark Kennedy and his wife, Mrs. Kennedy, this morning. They are the parents of Brian Kennedy who was killed in action when his helicopter crashed in Kuwait. Brian was their only son. Again, they said to me the personal outpouring of support and love and attention they have received because of the loss of their son has made their ordeal better. They feel the Army has done everything it can to make this terrible situation as positive as possible. They asked me to take a message to the President, which I will certainly do. They said, please tell the President that they support him, that their son had called in just 2 days before he was lost. He said: Don't worry about me. We are good to go. We have been trained. We believe in this mission. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy want us to know that they supported Brian Kennedy and what he was doing. They know the importance of this action to freedom for everyone in America. I will take that message to the President because these are people who have taken the greatest loss imaginable. They understand their son will be forever respected and revered by Americans in perpetuity, for the loss that they have and the giving of his life to make sure that our way of life is enduring in perpetuity, that freedom and America as the beacon of freedom to the world will prevail because of people such as Brian Kennedy and CWO David Williams. Those are just two families with whom I have had contact. They are very special people. Their families are very special people. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. I know all Americans feel that as well. I am pleased to be able to start this tribute to our troops as we will do every day our troops are in the field protecting us, to let them know how much we care and how brave we know they are as we watch on television the kinds of weather they are enduring, in addition to all of the normal horrors of war, sandstorms that are so thick it looks as if it is night when it is day. They are enduring a lot for us, and we want them to know we appreciate it. My last word is that I hope anyone who hears our message will not forget the Geneva Convention; that the treatment of our prisoners of war--and any we do not know who are prisoners--will be humane and in line with the Geneva Convention because I know for sure America is giving medical treatment, food, water, and care to those Iraqi prisoners. We would always comply with the norms of war, including humane treatment of prisoners. I hope if there is any modicum of honesty and integrity in the Iraqi military, they will be treating our prisoners in like manner to the way their prisoners are being treated. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, we were hoping certainly after Senator Reid's tribute to Senator Moynihan that we could have the hour evenly divided to talk about our troops in the field, which we are hoping will be the case every morning while our troops are in the field, so that we can honor them in this way.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I am grateful to Senator Reid for making that concession. Senator Moynihan had the greatest respect of all of us. I hope we will all honor him, and the Senator allowing us to go forward with this hour that we intend to set aside every day we are in battle in Iraq is very helpful. I appreciate it very much. Madam President, I know Senator Voinovich has a special message about the invocation this morning, and then we would like to proceed. Senator Lincoln will be managing the floor for the Democrats. I and Senator Crapo will be managing the floor for the Republicans. Madam President, the majority leader, Senator Frist, and the minority leader, Senator Daschle, have agreed that the Senate will open every day now with this hour of tribute to our troops. It will be set aside for that purpose only as our way of letting them know that we will remember everything they are doing, we think of them every day, and we appreciate their service to our country. This is our way to emphasize that this is first and foremost on our minds, and everything we do will be with them in mind. I thank the Chair.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I yield to the Senator from Ohio.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the majority and minority leaders for setting aside this time for Senators to talk about events in the battlefield. While our troops are in the field in the Iraqi conflict, I certainly hope we will set aside an hour every morning for Senators to talk about happenings in the field, tributes to the troops, and other related incidents. I can think of no better way to start the Senate every morning than to pay tribute to those who are in the field as we speak. All of us have seen the graphic pictures on television of the sandstorm and our troops continuing to make their way forward toward Baghdad, even though the pictures show that it is so dark that even in the daytime they have been hampered by these horrendous sandstorms. I am particularly moved by the prisoners of war and the missing in action. All of us were riveted this weekend to the television that showed our first prisoners taken. There have been quite graphic pictures of these prisoners taken by the Iraqis and published on television stations overseas. They have not, mostly, been published over here. Certain parts have not been published at all. I say, first, that every single one of the missing or prisoners are from Texas bases, they are from Fort Bliss or Fort Hood--every single one of them. I have talked to some of the families. I have tried to reach some but I have not been able to. But it really brings it home when you hear that this has happened and you feel as if you know these people because they are so close to home. I want to reiterate what the President of the United States has said--all of our leaders. We hope the Iraqis will treat the prisoners of war as Americans are treating the Iraqi prisoners of war. Americans are giving the Iraqis medical treatment. They are giving them food and water. I think one of the most poignant early pictures from the field was a marine giving water from his canteen to an Iraqi soldier who had surrendered. It is my fervent hope that the Iraqis will show a good side in complying with the Geneva Convention so they will not harm these prisoners or in any way treat them improperly, certainly not humiliate them in any way. There will be more stories of heroism as we go through the coming days and weeks. Today I wish to share some remarks from British Army LTC Tim Collins, who spoke to his troops just before they moved into their first battle against Saddam's forces. These words are stirring and they give us a glimpse into the hearts of those who are carrying out the job in Iraq, who are doing the job so well, part of a coalition of freedom-loving people. I don't think anyone in America will ever forget the incredible support of the British Government and the British Army. There are many other governments and armies that have come forward. We are up to 45 countries in support of this action, the last I heard. But I particularly was touched by Lieutenant Colonel Collins's speech to his men. He said: There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly. It is my foremost intention to bring every single one of you out alive, but there may be some among us who will not see the end of this campaign. We will put them in their sleeping bags and send them back. There will be no time for sorrow. . . . Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send. As for the others, I expect you to rock their world. Wipe them out if that is what they choose. But if you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory. It is a big step to take another human life. It is not to be done lightly. . . . I know of men who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts. I can assure you they live with the mark of Cain upon them. If someone surrenders to you, then remember they have that right in international law and ensure that one day they can go home to their family. The ones who wish to fight, well, we aim to please. . . . We go to liberate, not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country. Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there. . . . You will see things that no man could pay to see and you will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. You will be embarrassed by their hospitality even though they have nothing. . . . Colonel Collins and his men formed the first battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment. Colonel Collins is from Belfast and most of his men are from Northern Ireland. We are very proud to have them among our coalition. I think I speak for every American in saying we support our troops, we support our allies, and we support everything they are doing in the field as we are here, enjoying the freedom they are fighting to keep for us, for our children and our grandchildren. We will never be able to fully repay the debt to those who have lost their lives, but we will always remember them. We will respect them. We will duly honor them as time goes by, as one of those brave souls in the history of our country who have allowed us to keep the freedom that is the beacon to the world. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, this resolution we are talking about today is for those brave men and women who are in harms way as we speak, close to midnight their time, far across the oceans. America's thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of them--Active Duty, Reserve, Guard, Americans, and our loyal allies. September 11, 2001, was a brutal wake-up call for our Nation, one that our President refuses to ignore. By disarming and liberating Iraq, these troops are working to prevent a 9/11 with a weapon of mass destruction. Today we are entering a new phase in the campaign to root out terrorism wherever it is bred. How did we get to this point? In 1993, terrorists bombed the World Trade Center, killing 6 people, wounding more than 1,000. In 1996, terrorists bombed the U.S. military living quarters at Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 brave Americans and wounding scores more. In 1998, followers of Osama bin Laden attacked U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing and wounding hundreds. In 2000, bin Laden followers attacked the USS Cole in a harbor in Yemen, killing 17 sailors and wounding 39 more. But sadly, it took 4 hijacked airplanes being turned into weapons of mass destruction and the loss of nearly 3,000 lives for us to respond, and this time the terrorists and those who harbor them will know the United States of America is resolved to preserve our freedom. Our President will not waiver. Congress will not waiver in our support of our President and our troops. There are those in this world who hate America and what it stands for. They despise our love for freedom, our passion for democracy, and our tolerance of other religions and beliefs. Their hatred led them to recklessly kill thousands of innocent civilians in our country and abroad. September 11 brought a sea change in our national security strategy. We now know that deterrence alone is not enough. Our new strategy in this new kind of war articulates a policy of preemption. It is when we fail to act or fail to lead that our enemies strike. The President has said we will not give Saddam Hussein the opportunity to attack. The Iraqi dictator seeks to make weapons of mass destruction, and those weapons would find their way into the hands of terrorists. So coalition forces from our allied nations are on the ground with us in Iraq, and we commend them for their bravery and their unwavering loyalty to our Nation and their pursuit of freedom. For 12 long years, Saddam Hussein has treated the world with lies and contempt. Diplomacy, sanctions, and 17 U.N. resolutions failed to do the job. His brutal campaign for decades against his neighbors, his own people, and the world is coming to an end as we speak because brave men and women are doing the job for us. The men and women on the front lines in Iraq, the anxious families waiting back home, and the thousands of National Guard and Reserve forces who have been called to duty must count on the American public to stand by their side until the very end. We will not fail them. In Congress, we must ensure our Armed Forces have every resource necessary for a swift and successful campaign. We will not fail to provide. It is our duty, as the beacon of freedom for the world, to ensure that Saddam Hussein's brutal reign comes to an end. This is our tribute to those in the past who fought for the liberty we enjoy, and it is our commitment to pass the torch of freedom to future generations. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to submit an important resolution recognizing the Girl Scouts of America. On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low assembled 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia for the first Girl Scout meeting. Girl Scouts of America has a current membership of nearly four million girls and adult volunteers. It is the preeminent organization in the United States committed to inspiring girls and young women with the highest ideals of character, conduct, and service to others. As the first National organization for girls to be granted a Federal charter by Congress, Girl Scouts offers girls of all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to grow, develop friendships, and gain valuable life experiences. The Girl Scout initiatives has enabled more than 50 million women in the United States to participate in community service projects, cultural exchanges, athletic events, and educational activities that teach self-confidence, responsibility, and integrity. Girl Scout initiatives have reflected the Nation's changing social and economic climate. For example, the National organization recently began a campaign to encourage girls to develop an interest in math, science, and technology as a way to create greater diversity in the workforce and to help bridge the techno-gender divide. Today, one in nine girls is a member of the Girl Scouts, and over two-thirds of our female doctors, lawyers, educators, and community leaders were once Girl Scouts. I am proud to say that I, too, was a Girl Scout. I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues in introducing this legislation, which would designate the week beginning March 9, 2003, as ``National Girl Scout Week.''

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, when the Founding Fathers wrote our Constitution, they said that judicial nominees would be confirmed by the advice and consent of the Senate. Clearly that has always been a majority vote. They specified in the Constitution when a larger vote was necessary, such as treaties, which require two-thirds. In fact, when the 25th amendment to the Constitution was approved by the Senate in 1965, the Vice President of the United States, if appointed, would be required to receive a majority vote of the House and Senate for confirmation. So to say that a judge should require a supermajority is to amend the Constitution without going through the process. That is what is happening today with Miguel Estrada. We are being required to muster 60 votes. We know we have 55 because we have had a vote now. We have had a cloture vote, and 55 people in the Senate believe Miguel Estrada should be confirmed for the Federal bench. And yet he is not confirmed because we have a higher threshold. We can't amend the Constitution through a filibuster. We cannot take away the power of the President's appointments that are given in the Constitution with a filibuster. This is different from any other filibuster. A filibuster on an issue is a legitimate tool. But a filibuster on a judicial nominee takes the balance of power and skews it in favor of the legislature over the President's right to have his people appointed to the Federal bench. The Senate needs to look carefully at the precedent being set. It is not right in a judicial nomination to hold a 60-vote threshold when the Constitution clearly says 51.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senators Voinovich, DeWine, Mikulski and Warner to offer health legislation that will bring great benefits to many of our Nation's families. Bacterial meningitis affects 3,000 people across the United States each year. Approximately 10 percent of patients with bacterial meningitis die despite receiving antibiotics early in the course of the disease. Meningitis occurs most frequently in infants and young adults living in dormitory settings. The disease can result in permanent brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, limb amputation, kidney failure or death. In 2001, Lydia Evans entered her sophomore year at North Texas University as a healthy 20-year-old. Now she's lost both of her legs, parts of seven fingers and endured 15 surgeries and intensive physical therapy. She is a victim of a terrible, yet little-known disease called meningococcal meningitis. Carolyn Waghorne of Dallas contacted me after the tragic death of her son, Carter, who contracted meningitis at boarding school in 1998. Mrs. Waghorne has led the battle in our State to create awareness about the dangers of the illness. After hearing her story, I knew we needed to help educate all Americans about this devastating--yet preventable-- disease. My bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Director of the Centers of Disease Control, CDC, to develop and make information available about bacterial meningitis. In addition, it would provide information about the availability and effectiveness of bacterial meningitis vaccinations for children and adults. The information would be distributed at institutions, including child care centers, schools, universities, boarding schools, summer camps, detention facilities, and other entities that provide housing in a dorm-like setting. Meningitis is spread through close contact such as coughing or sneezing and direct contact with persons infected with meningitis. The bacteria cannot live outside the body for very long, so the disease is not as easily transmitted as a cold virus. Many healthy people carry the bacteria, but if a person has a suppressed immune system they may contract the disease. A spinal tap procedure enables doctors to diagnose meningitis, and if the disease is discovered, it is treated with antibiotics. The disease can result in permanent brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, limb amputation, kidney failure or death. The CDC reports that two-thirds of cases on college campuses could have been prevented with a vaccine. In fact, the Advisory Commission on Immunization Practices, part of the CDC, recommends what this bill provides. I commend the Senators for their support and hope other Senators will join us in this effort to prevent the tragedies that befell Lydia Evans and Carolyn Waghorne as well as thousands of families every year. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senators Voinovich, DeWine, Mikulski and Warner to offer health legislation that will bring great benefits to many of our Nation's families. Bacterial meningitis affects 3,000 people across the United States each year. Approximately 10 percent of patients with bacterial meningitis die despite receiving antibiotics early in the course of the disease. Meningitis occurs most frequently in infants and young adults living in dormitory settings. The disease can result in permanent brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, limb amputation, kidney failure or death. In 2001, Lydia Evans entered her sophomore year at North Texas University as a healthy 20-year-old. Now she's lost both of her legs, parts of seven fingers and endured 15 surgeries and intensive physical therapy. She is a victim of a terrible, yet little-known disease called meningococcal meningitis. Carolyn Waghorne of Dallas contacted me after the tragic death of her son, Carter, who contracted meningitis at boarding school in 1998. Mrs. Waghorne has led the battle in our State to create awareness about the dangers of the illness. After hearing her story, I knew we needed to help educate all Americans about this devastating--yet preventable-- disease. My bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Director of the Centers of Disease Control, CDC, to develop and make information available about bacterial meningitis. In addition, it would provide information about the availability and effectiveness of bacterial meningitis vaccinations for children and adults. The information would be distributed at institutions, including child care centers, schools, universities, boarding schools, summer camps, detention facilities, and other entities that provide housing in a dorm-like setting. Meningitis is spread through close contact such as coughing or sneezing and direct contact with persons infected with meningitis. The bacteria cannot live outside the body for very long, so the disease is not as easily transmitted as a cold virus. Many healthy people carry the bacteria, but if a person has a suppressed immune system they may contract the disease. A spinal tap procedure enables doctors to diagnose meningitis, and if the disease is discovered, it is treated with antibiotics. The disease can result in permanent brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, limb amputation, kidney failure or death. The CDC reports that two-thirds of cases on college campuses could have been prevented with a vaccine. In fact, the Advisory Commission on Immunization Practices, part of the CDC, recommends what this bill provides. I commend the Senators for their support and hope other Senators will join us in this effort to prevent the tragedies that befell Lydia Evans and Carolyn Waghorne as well as thousands of families every year. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce legislation to improve the deplorable housing situation in the valley region of the Texas border with Mexico. Our colonias are among the most distressed areas of the country. In 1993 when I ran for the Senate, I visited with a woman named Elida Bocanegra who led me through the streets of the colonia where she lived. Elida showed me her community and, quite frankly, I couldn't believe I was in America. Since my election to the Senate, I have worked to improve living conditions and the quality of life for people such as Elida, helping to secure more than $615 million for the colonias of my State. In fact, my first amendment as a Senator authorized $50 million for a colonias clean-up project. Despite third world living conditions, colonias, or underdeveloped subdivisions, have grown in population. Along the 1,248 mile stretch from Cameron County to El Paso County in Texas, there are more than 1,400 colonias that suffer from such conditions as open sewage, a lack of indoor plumbing, and poor housing construction. The Colonias Gateway Initiative Act establishes annual competitive grants for nonprofit organizations which work to develop affordable housing, improve infrastructure, and foster economic opportunities. My bill would authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award $16 million in the fiscal year 2004 and appoint a nine-member advisory board consisting of colonias residents and service providers to facilitate communication. This bill will bring quality-of-life improvements to those who need it most, providing the most basic services like indoor plumbing. It will also provide funds to build affordable housing. This piece of legislation I introduce today will fulfill the most basic needs of these communities. As you can see, the Colonias Gateway Initiative Act will assist our neediest people, foster economic opportunity, and vastly improve the quality of life. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the bill be placed in the Record.