Daniel Inouye

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, on behalf of Senator Byrd, I call up amendment No. 2571 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. INOUYE. I thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. INOUYE. This matter has been requested by two Members of the caucus, the National Guard caucus. They would like to say a few words about it. If I may, can we set this aside?

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to consider the following list of amendments that I will identify, if not pending, then once this agreement is entered, the amendment be considered called up for consideration; and that the amendments be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc; that no amendments be in order to the amendments included in this agreement; further, that if there are modifications to any of the listed amendments, then the amendment be modified and agreed to, as modified: Nos. 2563, 2585, 2617, 2559, 2562, 2568, 2614, and 2615; and further that amendment No. 2569 be withdrawn.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I would like to advise the Senate that the committee has no objection to the Kaufman amendment and we accept it.

Mr. INOUYE. I thank the Senator.

Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, at this moment--and I repeat, at this moment--there are 10 amendments ready for voting--10. I have been advised that most of them will require rollcall votes. So may I advise my colleagues to prepare themselves for a long evening. In addition to that, there are 10 other amendments that we are in the process of discussing and negotiating which may require rollcall votes. So this may be a long night. The leadership has advised me that voting should begin in about 15 minutes, at 5:30. Since we have some time, and in anticipation that one of the amendments would be the one from the Senator from Oklahoma, I wish to say a few words about that. Amendment No. 2569 Madam President, I rise to oppose the amendment of the Senator from Oklahoma which seeks to increase the operation and maintenance funding by $294 million in the Department of Defense bill by reducing the funds available for research and development activities by that same amount. I understand the Senator incorrectly assumes that the operation and maintenance account is underfunded due to a change in current year inflation. Economic recovery means that projected inflation is now higher than anticipated a few months ago. My colleague is correct that inflation assumptions have changed. However, the budget adjustment the Senator finds objectionable does not only correct for the current year inflation; in fact, the committee reviews the historical price growth embedded in the budget baseline. Due to the recession, inflation in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 was below the levels built into the budget. Therefore, the fiscal year 2010 budget base was inflated over actual experience. The bill before us adjusts for that baseline error. The operation and maintenance title is fully funded to meet the Department's needs. There is no shortage. Let me repeat that: The O&M account--or the operation and maintenance account--is fully funded. The committee is deeply concerned that the critical operational needs of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are financed. We want to be certain that every member has the equipment, gear, training and support they need. The bill meets these needs. And we fully fund family support programs, base operations, and major equipment maintenance. The proposed amendment would add $294 million in unneeded funds, an action that could promote waste and expenditures on low priority programs. I note the amendment does not specify what program is underfunded or would benefit from this transfer. This amendment would move funds for unidentified purposes, which undermines the careful program-by-program review which the committee accomplished. On the other hand, it unduly penalizes the resource and development activities of the Department. The R&D title is already below the President's requested funding level. Research and development is the seed corn for the future. It is the basis of all the technological improvements that have proved invaluable in making our fighting forces the most capable in the world. This blunt axe approach to cut funds and undermine the future is uninformed, unexplained, and untargeted. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to oppose this measure. I yield the floor. Madam President, I have been advised that the statement I made that we may begin voting at 5:30 has slightly changed. We will now begin voting about 6 o'clock. So may I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. INOUYE. If I may, Mr. President.

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

Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Georgia for presenting his amendment. I am pleased to advise him that Senator Cochran and I have discussed this matter. We would like to see this passed. We agree with the Senator.

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

Mr. INOUYE. Under the Senate bill, the MDA could continue to work on this interesting technology.

Mr. INOUYE. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. INOUYE. I am pleased to engage the senior Senator from Texas in a colloquy.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I listened to my leader with great admiration. I wish him to know that I support his action in support of the health reform measures before us. The leader touched upon two problems. One was that each day in the State of Nevada, 221 men, women, and children will go to bed and the next morning find themselves without health insurance coverage. I believe it should be noted that, as we speak, over 15,000 men, women, and children of the United States will wake up in the morning finding that they have no insurance coverage--15,000 a day. That means close to half a million every month. This is not acceptable. I don't think we should tolerate this and set it aside. Mr. President, my leader, the very distinguished Senator from Nevada, brought up the matter of the death panel. It is the responsibility of physicians throughout this land, when confronted with terminal cases, to tell their patients of the condition. They should also notify the patients that as long as they want care and life-sustaining medicine, it will be done. But I believe it is the right of the patients to suggest that they would like to rest. Three years ago, I lost a wife. We were married for 57 years. It wasn't an easy moment, believe me. One evening--and I have never discussed this publicly before--as I sat near her, she said, ``I have something I would like to discuss with you that is very important.'' She looked at me and said, ``I will be dead in 10 days.'' I said, ``Now, you must be kidding.'' She said, ``No, I have discussed this matter with the doctor. We all know it is terminal. This cancer is beyond control, and I don't wish to continue this agony. I hope you will support me.'' She said, ``I will be OK for a week, but on the seventh day I will go into a coma. During those 7 days, I would like to discuss with you certain things, such as where my funeral services should be held.'' She kept all these details. There was no death panel. What the doctor did was to provide her with comfort--comfort of her emotions, her senses. She passed away happy. She knew that things were going to be done. I am sorry to see--and it hurts me to see--fellow Americans distort a good aspect of health care and turn it into something murderous. They should be ashamed of themselves. Mr. President, our leader is a good man. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 1, 2009, at 9:30 a.m., in SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 1, 2009, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 1, 2009, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 1, 2009, at 10 a.m., to hold a hearing entitled ``Afghanistan's Impact on Pakistan.''

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 1, 2009, at 10:30 a.m., in room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 1, 2009, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a hearing entitled ``Violence against Women: Global Costs and Consequences.''