Daniel Inouye

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. INOUYE. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2566

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, the Senator from Oklahoma has proposed an amendment to strip the Defense bill of the earmarks in the O&M appropriations. As I have said previously, the Defense Subcommittee reviews the entire budget and adjusts funds based on that review. Funds in the O&M budget are not reduced with the intent to fund earmarks. Earmarks in O&M provide additional funds to repair facilities and enhance security on our military bases, augment maintenance efforts, and equip our military members with personal protection devices. During this debate, the Senator from Oklahoma has spoken about his concerns to provide adequate funding for the National Guard. I share that concern. I would point out that if this amendment is adopted, it would decrease funding in excess of $75 million provided by this subcommittee to National Guard units in nearly 20 States.

Mr. INOUYE. I hope my colleagues will vote against it.

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. Mr. President, there is no opposition to the amendment.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Senator Baucus's 11,000th Vote

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise to oppose this amendment which seeks to eliminate funding on the C-17. I am certain the Senate is aware that Vice Chairman Cochran and I proposed and the committee unanimously accepted our recommendation to reallocate $2.5 billion to procure 10 additional C-17s. Last week, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to defeat the Senator's amendment which would have deleted funding for the C-17 program. I believe the sense of the Senate is very clear. Continuing with the C-17 program is a high priority. It is a critical national security enabler, providing the airlift our forces need for today's fight and for years to come. I oppose the amendment.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, the McCain amendment rests on the assumption that congressional earmarks are for special treatment in awarding these contracts. But DOD's own inspector general concluded that the Department conducts identical oversight on earmarks and items funded in the President's budget. The McCain amendment also eliminates small business set-asides for earmarks. These set-asides benefit minority-owned, women-owned, disabled-veteran-owned businesses. My amendment applies competitive contracting to earmarks for for- profit entities on the same basis as items in the President's budget, and protects funding for small businesses. The items funded by Congress or the President ought to be awarded using the same rules of the road. I urge Senators to support my amendment. The amendment is No. 2623. I call that up.

Mr. INOUYE. I ask further reading be dispensed with.

Mr. INOUYE. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, the McCain amendment purports to save tax dollars by requiring competition for earmarks for all businesses. However, it should be noted that if this amendment passes, small businesses would have to be competed against the big companies; women businesses will have to be competed; business by small Indian companies, Native Americans, will have to be competed, and disabled veterans. We have a choice here.

Mr. INOUYE. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 2605 be called up.

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

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, this amendment has been cleared by both sides. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. INOUYE. I fully understand the Senator's concerns and support funding to meet our Nation's requirements for the HMMWV fleet. The HMMWV has proven its value over the years deployed in combat, in training at home and in homeland defense missions. I can assure you that we will carefully consider these factors as the fiscal year 2010 bill is completed.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, today, I rise in support of this resolution commemorating the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC, to sainthood. Joseph De Veuster, was born in Tremolo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840. At the age of 19, he entered the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary and took the religious name of Damien. After his brother fell ill, Damien obtained permission from the Superior General to take his place for a mission in the Hawaiian Islands, although he was not yet an ordained priest. After a six-month boat ride, he arrived in Honolulu on March 19, 1864, and was ordained to the priesthood two months later. During this time in Hawaii, an outbreak of Hansens' disease, also known as leprosy, occurred. Patients were sent away to the small island of Molokai to prevent the disease from spreading. Several priests took turns coming to Molokai to offer spiritual aid for three months at a time, but Damien chose to never leave, instead sacrificing his own life for those with Hansen's disease. He worked tirelessly and continuously to turn this remote island into a colony of hope. He offered encouragement and spiritual guidance to those who were less able to help themselves. He built houses, chapels and hospitals and even built coffins and dug graves for those who lost the fight from Hansen's disease. In 1884, Damien contracted Hansen's disease himself but continued working until months before dying on April 15, 1889. His remains were brought back to Belgium in 1936, and now rest in the crypt of the church of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts at Louvain, where he first entered religious life. On April 15, 1969, as a gift from Hawaii, a statue of Father Damien and a statue of King Kamehameha I, were unveiled at the Capitol Rotunda. He was declared Venerable by Pope Paul VI on July 9, 1977, the first of three steps that lead to sainthood. On June 4, 1995, Pope John Paul II declared him Blessed Damien, and his feast is on May 10, the day he entered Molokai. In observance of Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC., I urge my colleagues to support this resolution recognizing his canonization to sainthood by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Daniel Akaka be added as a cosponsor to this Resolution.

Mr. INOUYE

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

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 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. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. INOUYE. I commend the Senator from Pennsylvania for his amendment. I support the intent and the purpose of that amendment. However, I have been advised there are certain technical changes that have been recommended for better acceptance by this body. So if I may ask that the Senator's staff and the staff of the committee get together, I think we can work it out.