Kay Hutchison

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I will yield to Senator Bingaman in the spirit of going back and forth, but I would like to ask that Senator Craig be able to follow Senator Bingaman.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be recognized for up to 5 minutes.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Arkansas, who has the great name Senator Hutchinson. PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Arkansas for 5 minutes, under the previous order.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I know this is a difficult time to be presiding, but I did want to finish the discussion of the education proposal that is being put forth by President Bush. We have had several speakers this morning talk about the importance of addressing education as the first priority of our new President, George W. Bush. I think you can tell from the debate that Congress is ready to go on this issue. We have been looking for accountability and flexibility in the Federal role in education since I came to Congress, and probably since Strom Thurmond came to Congress, because we know the difference between America and most other countries in the world is that we value every child getting a quality education. So we know that public education is the route that every child must take to succeed in life. If we fall down in public education, we will see the crumbling of the foundation of democracy in America. That is why President Bush is putting this as a first priority, and why Congress is going to work with him to do it. I think what President Bush is talking about is exactly the right approach--that we are going to give incentives for creativity, for flexibility, that we are going to go for every child to have the best education that we can potentially give that child. But we are not going to sit back and say that year after year after year, if a public school fails, we are going to keep pouring money into that failing school and leave those children at risk. That is what we are saying. We are saying if a school fails for 3 straight years, we are going to empower parents and school districts and States to say there is an alternative and we are going to let you look at the options and select another alternative for your child. That is the bottom line of what we are talking about today. So we are going to put a lot more money from the Federal level into public education. We are going to give our schools every chance to succeed, and we are going to help them succeed. But, Mr. President, this is accountability that we are going to put into the system because we are not going to let a child be left behind because all the bureaucrats and the politicians in Washington are talking about accountability but not deciding what it is. We are going to decide in the next few months what it is and we are going to set a standard and we are going to require that standard be kept. That is what President Bush is doing. Congress is going to work with him to do it. I applaud the President, and I am anxious to work with him to make sure that every child has the ability to reach his or her full potential with a public education in our country. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I amend that by asking unanimous consent that the majority leader be recognized immediately following Senator Durbin.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

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

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 12 introduced earlier today by Senators Boxer and Feinstein.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

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

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. For the information of all Senators, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. Following morning business, the Senate will recess for the weekly party conference lunches. In the afternoon the Senate is expected to begin consideration of several cabinet nominations. Senators therefore can expect votes with respect to these cabinet nominations during tomorrow afternoon's session of the Senate.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask that the Senate stand in adjournment under the provisions of S. Res. 12, following the remarks of Senator Stabenow and Senator Reid.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Helms, I ask unanimous consent that six bills that are at the desk be considered read the first time with an objection to the request for their second reading.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess from the hours of 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. for the weekly policy conferences to meet.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until the hour of 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 23. I further ask unanimous consent that on Tuesday, immediately following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business until 12:30 p.m. with Senators speaking for up to 10 minutes each with the time equally divided in the usual form.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Record remain open until 5 o'clock today for the purpose of adding original cosponsors to those bills introduced during today's session and, further, that Senators have until 5 o'clock to submit legislation and for committees to report executive matters.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the proceedings of Saturday's Inaugural Ceremony be printed in today's Record.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I have another bill to introduce. This is cosponsored by Senators Frist and Crapo. It is the Careers to Classrooms Act of 2001. Once again, this is a bill that has already been passed by Congress, but it has never made it into law. I am very hopeful that this President will sign a comprehensive reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and included in that I hope will be Careers to Classrooms. There is no question that many, if not most, of our States are facing huge teacher shortages. This is one of the most critical needs in our public schools today. It is most pressing in our inner-city and rural communities. Ironically, the biggest enemy to hiring a sufficient number of teachers is our booming economy. A recent college graduate with a degree in math might expect to make $25,000 to $35,000 in a starting position as a high school math teacher. That same graduate could easily make twice that much in the private sector, especially in the red hot computer field. We have some issues we have to deal with--increasing teacher salaries, increasing teacher benefits--and we know that, but there is more we can do. What we need in our public school systems in America is more creativity. What we want to do with our reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is to put more incentives for creativity in our public schools. I am a total product of public education. I grew up in La Marque, TX, a small town of about 15,000 in Galveston County, and attended and graduated from its public schools. Then I attended the University of Texas and the University of Texas Law School. You will find no bigger advocate for public education than this Senator. I owe so much of what I am to the teachers who took the time to help me become the best that I could be. Teachers are the backbone of our schools. You can design a state-of- the-art, fully computerized school connected to the Internet 24 hours a day with every modern textbook and piece of science equipment, but at the end of the day, if you do not have quality teachers, all of that equipment really does not mean that much. Adding to the growth in the population of our public schools is an effort in many public school systems to hire more teachers to reduce class size. The approach I am putting forth today will ensure that more teachers are available, more can be hired, and that they are better teachers, qualified teachers, teachers with real world experience and knowledge that can be taken into the classroom. Careers to Classrooms builds upon a tremendously successful Department of Defense program that takes experienced, qualified military service men and women and helps them transition into the classroom as teachers. That program is known as Troops to Teachers. it has placed over 4,000 qualified, certified teachers in our Nation's public schools, including over 600 in my home State of Texas. The Troops to Teachers Program seeks out and helps place into schools members of the military with at least 10 years of military service and skills in high-need areas, such as math, science, computers, and languages. Typically, these experienced service personnel obtain their certification in a year or less utilizing one of the many different alternative certification programs now in place in over 40 States. My provision essentially builds upon this proven model and extends it to the application in the context of civilian professionals and others with skills. What we want to do in Careers to Classrooms is take individuals with demonstrable skills in high-need areas and give them a chance to go into the teaching profession, especially mid-level professionals who would like to change careers and go into teaching. The program would provide limited stipend assistance for individuals enrolled in State alternative certification programs, and those who agreed to teach in rural schools, schools with the most pressing teacher shortages and schools with the highest percentages of students from low-income families, would also get stipends to help them with this alternative certification to get them in the classroom faster than if they were going through the whole college course and curriculum that includes all of the teacher education courses. High-need schools would also receive funding assistance to help compensate for the added teacher mentoring, training, and other costs associated with bringing-in prospective teachers under an alternative certification process. Our legislation specifies priority disciplines in which we want to focus to recruit teachers. In particular, the proposal emphasizes sciences, math, computer literacy, and foreign languages. These are where our teacher shortages are most acute. I particularly thank my colleague from Tennessee, Senator Frist, who suggested adding outstanding recent college graduates to be eligible to participate in the Careers to Classrooms proposal. Senator Frist correctly pointed out that in addition to encouraging midlevel career professionals, we want to have these young, top-flight college graduates who did not go through their college's education degree program but who do have the academic achievement and the mastery of these skills to be able to become excellent teachers. I also thank Senator Crapo of Idaho who has also been helpful in adding the provision that encourages individuals to go into our rural areas with this Careers-to-Classrooms-added incentive to become teaching professionals. Our Nation's parents and teachers do not need more Federal control, they do not need more bureaucracy, they do not need more red tape. What they need is to be empowered with greater choices and options to find the education path that is best for them. We need to make those options available to them, to do so in a way that is new, that is innovative, that is flexible. Simply heaping more money on failed systems and programs has been exhaustively proven to lead to failure. The policies of the past have failed. No. What we need to do is work with our new Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, who has made creativity the benchmark of his success in the public schools in Houston, TX. We need to go forward in a bipartisan Congress, with President Bush, to make public education the best education in our country. Careers to Classrooms will put our qualified teachers in the classroom. It will give them the ability to be certified in an alternative certification program very quickly so that they will be a resource to our young people. We want to encourage more people to go into the teaching profession because if we do not have good teachers, we are not going to have a successful country. We will not have young people able to go into our great economy and the opportunities that our economy would offer if they do not have the basic skills that are given by good teachers. I hope this year Careers to Classrooms will become law. I hope we will see more and more of the qualified people in our country decide to take up the teaching profession and be mentors and role models and teachers to our young people.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, for 4 years now, I have introduced a bill to eliminate the marriage penalty tax. I have said all of these years that I do not think Americans should have to choose between love and money. They should be able to get married and not be penalized because they do. But in fact 25 million married couples in America today do pay a penalty just because they got married. The sad thing is, the average penalty they pay is about $1,400. That is $1,400 that a young couple would like to have as they are starting their lives together, for the things they want: Like the down payment on the new house or the new car or the expenses associated with having children. We want them to be able to have the money they earn to make their choices rather than having Uncle Sam take $1,400 more just because of what amounts to a glitch in the Tax Code that requires these married couples to pay this penalty. The bill I have just introduced today, S. 11, is cosponsored by Senators Brownback, Lott, Nickles, Allen, Bunning, Burns, Crapo, Frist, Gramm, Hagel, Kyl, Ensign, McConnell, Murkowski and Warner. This is a bill that I hope will have broad bipartisan support because, in fact, we have passed it twice and sent it to the President with bipartisan majorities in the past. The President has chose to veto the bills before, but today we have a new President who I believe will sign marriage penalty relief. It was part of President Bush's campaign. When we send him Marriage penalty relief for the third time in a bipartisan way in Congress, I believe President Bush will sign it. I am very pleased this bill will double the standard deduction for married couples. Today, if you get married the standard deduction that two single people would have is not double. We want to double the standard deduction. Two people getting married who have two incomes but do not itemize would receive a increase of $1,500 in their standard deduction. That is what we want to do. Secondly, we will double each tax bracket for married couples filing a joint return. For example, if a couple is in the 15-percent income tax bracket but they get married and are thrown into the 30-percent bracket, we want to provide them relief such that they will effectively remain in the 15 percent bracket. This bill would widen the 15-percent bracket by $9,000 for married couples. Congress passed this legislation, and it was vetoed. Today, I am introducing this bill. I know we are going to pass it in this Congress, and I know it will be signed. This is the beginning of a new day in our United States of America, and we are going to eliminate the marriage penalty this year. I will count on it.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I have another bill to introduce. This is cosponsored by Senators Frist and Crapo. It is the Careers to Classrooms Act of 2001. Once again, this is a bill that has already been passed by Congress, but it has never made it into law. I am very hopeful that this President will sign a comprehensive reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and included in that I hope will be Careers to Classrooms. There is no question that many, if not most, of our States are facing huge teacher shortages. This is one of the most critical needs in our public schools today. It is most pressing in our inner-city and rural communities. Ironically, the biggest enemy to hiring a sufficient number of teachers is our booming economy. A recent college graduate with a degree in math might expect to make $25,000 to $35,000 in a starting position as a high school math teacher. That same graduate could easily make twice that much in the private sector, especially in the red hot computer field. We have some issues we have to deal with--increasing teacher salaries, increasing teacher benefits--and we know that, but there is more we can do. What we need in our public school systems in America is more creativity. What we want to do with our reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is to put more incentives for creativity in our public schools. I am a total product of public education. I grew up in La Marque, TX, a small town of about 15,000 in Galveston County, and attended and graduated from its public schools. Then I attended the University of Texas and the University of Texas Law School. You will find no bigger advocate for public education than this Senator. I owe so much of what I am to the teachers who took the time to help me become the best that I could be. Teachers are the backbone of our schools. You can design a state-of- the-art, fully computerized school connected to the Internet 24 hours a day with every modern textbook and piece of science equipment, but at the end of the day, if you do not have quality teachers, all of that equipment really does not mean that much. Adding to the growth in the population of our public schools is an effort in many public school systems to hire more teachers to reduce class size. The approach I am putting forth today will ensure that more teachers are available, more can be hired, and that they are better teachers, qualified teachers, teachers with real world experience and knowledge that can be taken into the classroom. Careers to Classrooms builds upon a tremendously successful Department of Defense program that takes experienced, qualified military service men and women and helps them transition into the classroom as teachers. That program is known as Troops to Teachers. it has placed over 4,000 qualified, certified teachers in our Nation's public schools, including over 600 in my home State of Texas. The Troops to Teachers Program seeks out and helps place into schools members of the military with at least 10 years of military service and skills in high-need areas, such as math, science, computers, and languages. Typically, these experienced service personnel obtain their certification in a year or less utilizing one of the many different alternative certification programs now in place in over 40 States. My provision essentially builds upon this proven model and extends it to the application in the context of civilian professionals and others with skills. What we want to do in Careers to Classrooms is take individuals with demonstrable skills in high-need areas and give them a chance to go into the teaching profession, especially mid-level professionals who would like to change careers and go into teaching. The program would provide limited stipend assistance for individuals enrolled in State alternative certification programs, and those who agreed to teach in rural schools, schools with the most pressing teacher shortages and schools with the highest percentages of students from low-income families, would also get stipends to help them with this alternative certification to get them in the classroom faster than if they were going through the whole college course and curriculum that includes all of the teacher education courses. High-need schools would also receive funding assistance to help compensate for the added teacher mentoring, training, and other costs associated with bringing-in prospective teachers under an alternative certification process. Our legislation specifies priority disciplines in which we want to focus to recruit teachers. In particular, the proposal emphasizes sciences, math, computer literacy, and foreign languages. These are where our teacher shortages are most acute. I particularly thank my colleague from Tennessee, Senator Frist, who suggested adding outstanding recent college graduates to be eligible to participate in the Careers to Classrooms proposal. Senator Frist correctly pointed out that in addition to encouraging midlevel career professionals, we want to have these young, top-flight college graduates who did not go through their college's education degree program but who do have the academic achievement and the mastery of these skills to be able to become excellent teachers. I also thank Senator Crapo of Idaho who has also been helpful in adding the provision that encourages individuals to go into our rural areas with this Careers-to-Classrooms-added incentive to become teaching professionals. Our Nation's parents and teachers do not need more Federal control, they do not need more bureaucracy, they do not need more red tape. What they need is to be empowered with greater choices and options to find the education path that is best for them. We need to make those options available to them, to do so in a way that is new, that is innovative, that is flexible. Simply heaping more money on failed systems and programs has been exhaustively proven to lead to failure. The policies of the past have failed. No. What we need to do is work with our new Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, who has made creativity the benchmark of his success in the public schools in Houston, TX. We need to go forward in a bipartisan Congress, with President Bush, to make public education the best education in our country. Careers to Classrooms will put our qualified teachers in the classroom. It will give them the ability to be certified in an alternative certification program very quickly so that they will be a resource to our young people. We want to encourage more people to go into the teaching profession because if we do not have good teachers, we are not going to have a successful country. We will not have young people able to go into our great economy and the opportunities that our economy would offer if they do not have the basic skills that are given by good teachers. I hope this year Careers to Classrooms will become law. I hope we will see more and more of the qualified people in our country decide to take up the teaching profession and be mentors and role models and teachers to our young people.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, for 4 years now, I have introduced a bill to eliminate the marriage penalty tax. I have said all of these years that I do not think Americans should have to choose between love and money. They should be able to get married and not be penalized because they do. But in fact 25 million married couples in America today do pay a penalty just because they got married. The sad thing is, the average penalty they pay is about $1,400. That is $1,400 that a young couple would like to have as they are starting their lives together, for the things they want: Like the down payment on the new house or the new car or the expenses associated with having children. We want them to be able to have the money they earn to make their choices rather than having Uncle Sam take $1,400 more just because of what amounts to a glitch in the Tax Code that requires these married couples to pay this penalty. The bill I have just introduced today, S. 11, is cosponsored by Senators Brownback, Lott, Nickles, Allen, Bunning, Burns, Crapo, Frist, Gramm, Hagel, Kyl, Ensign, McConnell, Murkowski and Warner. This is a bill that I hope will have broad bipartisan support because, in fact, we have passed it twice and sent it to the President with bipartisan majorities in the past. The President has chose to veto the bills before, but today we have a new President who I believe will sign marriage penalty relief. It was part of President Bush's campaign. When we send him Marriage penalty relief for the third time in a bipartisan way in Congress, I believe President Bush will sign it. I am very pleased this bill will double the standard deduction for married couples. Today, if you get married the standard deduction that two single people would have is not double. We want to double the standard deduction. Two people getting married who have two incomes but do not itemize would receive a increase of $1,500 in their standard deduction. That is what we want to do. Secondly, we will double each tax bracket for married couples filing a joint return. For example, if a couple is in the 15-percent income tax bracket but they get married and are thrown into the 30-percent bracket, we want to provide them relief such that they will effectively remain in the 15 percent bracket. This bill would widen the 15-percent bracket by $9,000 for married couples. Congress passed this legislation, and it was vetoed. Today, I am introducing this bill. I know we are going to pass it in this Congress, and I know it will be signed. This is the beginning of a new day in our United States of America, and we are going to eliminate the marriage penalty this year. I will count on it.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to note a very important event for the city of Abilene, Texas. On December 2 of this year, the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra celebrated its 50th anniversary. This is one of Abilene's oldest performing arts organizations. This great symphony orchestra enriches the cultural life of this city in a unique way. It has drawn top quality musicians to this wonderful city. Abilene is now a city where talented musicians can also teach and perform. When the Philharmonic started in 1950, concerts were held in the old Abilene High School with audiences of less that 100 people. Now, the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra performs in the Abilene Civic Center with crowds averaging 2,000. I would not only like to acknowledge this organization for their 50th anniversary, but also the enormous impact they have had on the Abilene community.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the Houston arrival of a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile--a state-of-the-art pediatric mobile healthcare unit. It is one of the first in an innovative initiative of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, known and respected worldwide for its dedication to improving children's health. In cooperation with its local affiliates and local hospitals or health systems, RMHC has begun rolling out these Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles to bring free medical and dental services to children in underserved communities. The Houston Ronald McDonald Care Mobile will be operated and staffed by the Harris County Hospital District. It will travel, on a regular schedule, to schools, churches, apartment complexes and other neighborhood sites where need is great. This RMHC partnership will significantly strengthen the District's capacity to serve the county's disadvantaged children and their families. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles are a far cry from the usual converted vans and school buses. They are specially-designed pediatricians' offices on wheels, with two patient examination rooms, a laboratory, reception and medical records areas and, in some cases, a hearing screening booth and dental hygiene room. The units are also staffed to deliver first-rate care. Staffing will vary according to local needs but is likely to include a pediatrician, a pediatric nurse, and a manager. There may also be a social worker, a dental hygienist, an asthma specialist and/or medical residents, nursing students, and interns in training. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles will go directly into underserved communities. They will provide primary care, including immunizations and medical screenings; diagnosis, treatment, referral, and followup for serious medical and dental conditions; and health education for children and their families. Staff will also help eligible families obtain government-assisted health insurance and will partner with communities to address critical local childhood health needs. Our children are our nation's most precious resource. We are all beholden to the Ronald McDonald House Charities for bringing vital health care to the underserved so that they may learn and play and grow up strong. This truly is giving back to the community at its finest.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about a very sad time. It has been a sad time for America. I want to focus on the sadness in Texas. Mr. President, last week Texas laid to rest three of her sons, killed in the terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole. Seaman Timothy Gauna of Rice, Petty Officer Ronchester Santiago of Kingsville, and Fireman Gary Swenchonis of Rockport, were killed in the October 12 disaster. Since then, I have visited with the families of these three sailors. I met with some of them at the Cole memorial service in Norfolk, VA. Fine, loving individuals, they are trying, as we all are, to make sense of the senseless. These young men had their lives ahead of them. They wanted to go to college, to travel, to raise their own families. They volunteered for the Navy because they loved their country and wanted to give something back, and now they are gone. It may not be possible for us to understand the magnitude of this loss to the families involved. Can we know the anguish of Mr. Swenchonis, whose son Gary was laid to rest in the same cemetery as Gary's grandfather? A son with just 2 months left on his enlistment? Will we ever understand the loss of Rogelio Santiago, a Navy veteran himself, who was planning a trip with his son Ron to his native Philippines in December? Have we ever experienced the bewilderment of Sarah Gauna, who said she would never hang up the phone with her boy until she had made him laugh, as she waited days to learn the awful truth about Timothy? We cannot feel the depth of sorrow of these families, but we are all diminished by their loss because U.S.S. Cole was a small patch of American soil and on that patch we lost our own. Today, as we come and go in our ordinary routine, life is anything but routine for those they left behind. Today, the U.S.S. Cole, crippled but proud, has begun the long journey home. She is under tow for a rendezvous with another larger vessel that will literally carry her home to America. The ship is cold. It is dark and quiet. But the spirit of the fallen Texans and the 14 others who lost their lives carries on in the valiant efforts of their 300 shipmates. They saved the ship and they mean to rebuild it to fight another day. In the words of her Commanding Officer, ``We're going to get this ship back home [and] put back together so that she can again sail and defend American freedom throughout the world.'' That is exactly what is going on today in so many other distant places across the globe. Today we remember the Cole, but she was just one representative of a proud service that is still on watch. Today as most Americans get up for work, have breakfast with their families, perhaps attend a son or daughter's school play or athletic event, we may not think much about the tens of thousands who left their families alone on a pier months ago to sail into harm's way, expecting, but not really knowing for sure, if they would come home. Just today--November 1--on, over, or under the seven seas, more than 41,000 sailors and marines are standing watch on the bridge of a warship, landing aircraft onto the deck of a carrier, manning nuclear power plants leagues beneath the surface, training to land ashore from the sea. These thousands do not count a much greater number ashore who repair the ships, maintain the aircraft, and perform a host of other activities that mark an ordinary day in the life of a superpower. Those young men and women are out there serving under our flag in places where they are not always welcome but whose presence is reassuring. Every once in a while, we hear from them. Not when they are landing their fighter onto the rolling deck in pitch blackness, scared but exhilarated all the same. We do not read about it when they bring their ship alongside an oiler, two 10,000-ton machines just 90 feet apart at 15 knots for 3 hours replenishing their stores at sea to extend the reach of freedom. There are no cameras there for the 19 year-old Marine guard at the gate of the overseas naval installation at 3 o'clock in the morning who must decide in an instant whether the vehicle approaching him is loaded with explosives or is just a shipmate coming back from liberty. They do not seek our recognition, but at times, that is demanded of us. Unfortunately, now is one of those times. At a time such as this, we cannot believe what we see but we marvel at the courage and dedication of these young people. I received an e-mail message that has been circulated around the world, shared with me by Knox and Kay Nunnally, whose son attends the Naval Academy. A helicopter pilot from the U.S.S. Hawes recorded what he saw when he was assigned the task of taking airborne photos of the stricken Cole pierside in Yemen, just days after the tragedy. His words bring home to us just what it is we ask of our sailors and marines: I will tell you that right now there are 250-plus sailors just a few miles away living in hell on earth. You can't even imagine the conditions they're living in, and yet they are still fighting 24 hours a day to save their ship and free the bodies of those still trapped and send them home. As bad as it is, they're doing an incredible job. The very fact that these people are still functioning is beyond my comprehension. Whatever you imagine as the worst, multiply it by ten and you might get there. I wish I had the power to relay to you what I have seen, but words just won't do it. I do want to tell you the first thing that jumped out at me--the Stars and Strips flying. I can't tell you how that made me feel . . . even in this God forsaken hell-hole our flag was more beautiful than words can describe. The U.S.S. Cole and her crew is sending a message: even acts of cowardice and hate can do nothing to the spirit and pride of the United States. I have never been so proud of what I do, or of the men and women that I serve with as I was today. Mr. President, it has been said that young fighting men and women don't endure the risks they do for such lofty goals as patriotism, freedom, democracy, or all the other reasons why older generations send young generations into war. Rather, these young men and women fight for the buddy next to them in the foxhole; in the next bunk over; in the back of the cockpit. If that is so, then there can be no greater honor for Timothy Gauna, Ron Santiago, and Gary Swenchonis than that their sad and painful deaths force us to remember, through them, their shipmates and all the other thousands of American fighting men and women who are out there doing the extraordinary everyday, just so that we can live our everyday lives. As we remember the words of the Navy Hymn, we honor the memory of these three Texans by calling to mind those they left behind: O hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. The time that has been allocated, the 10 minutes to the majority and 1 minute to the minority, should go forward, after which it would be equally divided.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I object.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Let me just say, our Governor has made it a role for the Governor. He has been a leader. He had a program; he worked with the legislature to enact it; and it is successful. I thank the Senator for the question.