Daniel Inouye

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, in behalf of the managers of the bill, we have no objection.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote occur at 4 o'clock.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise to speak in opposition. I have spent many hours in discussions on this program with supporters of this program. I have listened to their arguments. And, believe me, I have put in much thought about this matter. I have concluded that this is not the time to begin development of a conventional Trident missile. Instead, the chairman and I agree--and the Appropriations Committee concurred--that before proceeding to develop this or any alternative program, the Congress needs to have a truly independent study. As such, the bill includes $5 million for the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study to examine the conventional Trident and other alternatives. I think most Americans are not aware of what we are speaking of when we say a Trident submarine or Trident missile. A Trident submarine is a nuclear-powered submarine that carries 24 tubes. Each tube can have a nuclear-tipped missile, an intercontinental ballistic missile. All of the military is well aware of this. The Russians know about this. The North Koreans know about this. The Koreans, the Japanese, the Chinese-- it is no secret to them. And the proposal is to have four of these missiles conventional, not nuclear. That sounds reasonable. The argument is that the Russians know that if we fire one, it is not intended to be an attack because if we were to attack a nation, we would have hundreds flying. But let's turn this around a bit. What if one of those Russian missiles--and they have nuclear-powered submarines that can shoot out from their tubes intercontinental ballistic missiles--let's say they fired one toward Canada, and because of the curvature of the Earth, it has to fly over Washington, DC, or New York City, and the Russians told us: No; we are not firing at you. We are firing at Canada. What do you think our reaction would be? Would we say, go right ahead? The least we will do is put our country on full alert. What is full alert? It is the finger is right over the button, and sometimes a mistake can be made and sometimes the finger gets a bit too heavy. No. 1, we don't need the conventional warhead. No. 2, the risk is too great. How would the North Koreans take it if they saw a missile flying in their direction? How would the Chinese take it? There is no transparency. Today, yes, we can call up on all the nations and say we are going to test a Trident missile, and it is going to fly out of here and it is going to land there, and they can all watch and monitor. But if we were out to demolish something, the question is, Will we notify the world? The answer is obvious. If you want a surprise to get Osama bin Laden, are we going to tell the whole world, ``Yes, we are going to fire into that mountain because we want to get Osama bin Laden''? Guess how long he will stick around. The committee did the right thing by setting aside $5 million for an independent agency to make the study, not some agency connected to the Department of Defense. I hope my colleagues will vote against this amendment.

Mr. INOUYE. Yes.

Mr. INOUYE. I concur with the chairman. The Senators have my commitment that I will work with them on this important funding during conference negotiations. KC-135 Tanker Replacement Program

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Henry Kuualoha Giugni Kupuna Memorial Archives Bill. Henry Giugni was my dear friend. He was an important part of my life for nearly half a century. He tirelessly and proudly served the people of Hawaii as my chief of staff. After leaving my office, he eagerly and enthusiastically dedicated himself to serving the Senate and the citizens of the United States as the Senate's 30th Sergeant-at-Arms. In the days following his passing on November 3, 2005, I was deeply touched by the hundreds of people who reached out to me, and shared, through conversations and letters, their memories of Henry. The stories were poignant. They were filled with love and affection for a bear of a man who--while he could be gruff and outrageous at times--could never camouflage his gentle soul and his willingness to help others, especially those who were less fortunate or who were just beginning their careers. The shared memories of Henry revealed that he enriched lives, served as an inspiration, and gave hope. Similarly, this bill, which bears Henry's name, will not only honor him, but more importantly will serve the people of Hawaii, especially the descendants of the islands' first settlers. It will also help Hawaii's unique native traditions and culture to flourish. By establishing a digital memorial archive at the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media, this bill will enrich the lives of the people of Hawaii and those who live beyond Hawaii's shores. The digital archive will be a 21st-century way of inspiring and giving hope by preserving the invaluable lessons and insights from the collective memory and history of Native Hawaiians. During the years that Henry was a young boy attending school, the history of Native Hawaiians and Hawaii was rarely--if ever--taught in Hawaii. It was only relatively recently that Hawaiian history became an essential part of the curriculum of Hawaii's schools. Henry was proud that he was part-Hawaiian, and he was proud that someone like him, from humble beginnings, could find success in Washington, in an environment vastly different from his roots in Hawaii. While he became an acquaintance of presidents and kings, his heart was always with the native people of Hawaii, who are still struggling for their moment in the sun. In addition to creating a digital archive and preserving the traditions and culture of Native Hawaiians, this legislation will support initiatives to develop Web-based media projects from the archive to create educational materials that can be used to enhance the education of indigenous students. It also can serve to inspire higher educational achievement by indigenous students by sharing with them the stories and histories of accomplished individuals with indigenous backgrounds, such as Henry. So although Henry is no longer with us, his mentoring and sharing spirit will live on through the digital archive created by this bill. Through the archive, Henry will always be the embodiment of the kupuna--the respected elder who has much wisdom and insight to share. My colleagues, please join me in supporting the Henry Kuualoha Giugni Kupuna Memorial Archives Bill.

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Kennedy I ask unanimous consent that his Navy detailee, Tom Crowley, and his State Department Fellow, Richard Driscoll, be granted full floor privileges during consideration of the Defense appropriations bill.

Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Michael Wiest, a Navy fellow in the office of Senator Mikulski, be granted the privileges of the floor for the duration of consideration of H.R. 5631.

Mr. INOUYE

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

Mr. INOUYE. No objection.

Mr. INOUYE. We have no objection.

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

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. amendments nos. 4778; 4773; 4760, as modified; 4796, and 4771

Mr. INOUYE. Yes.

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

Mr. INOUYE. No objection.

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

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 4802 to H.R. 5631 be the pending business after the conclusion of the Sessions amendment.

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

Mr. INOUYE. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. INOUYE. We have no objection.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I wish to join my colleague from Connecticut in commending our leader from Rhode Island for the role he has played in bringing this to our attention. The men and women of the Army and the Marines are fortunate to have the Senator looking after their interests. I thank him very much.

Mr. INOUYE. I commend my colleague from Connecticut. I concur fully with my friend that when we are prepared to send men and women into combat and in harm's way, the least we can do is provide them with appropriate equipment to carry out the mission and to return home safely.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, we have checked the amendment, and we find that it is worthy of consideration. We approve of it. Amendment No. 4762