Daniel Inouye

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I wish to associate myself with the remarks of my distinguished colleague from Alaska.

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. How many companies are involved?

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

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

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. INOUYE. It was objected to because it was not authorized.

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Minnesota wishes to be recognized.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

Mr. INOUYE. I am humbled by those very generous remarks. I thank the Senator very much.

Mr. INOUYE. Very seldom am I at a loss for words, but I must say I am extremely grateful to my leaders for their generous remarks. I am humbled.

Mr. INOUYE. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. INOUYE. On behalf of the Presiding Officer and myself, we are humbled by the Senator's generous remarks.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, Today I am pleased to report H.R. 5010 to the Senate with the Appropriations Committee's recommendations for funding the Department of Defense for Fiscal Year 2003. The Bill before the Senate totals $355.4 billion in new appropriations for the Defense Department. This is the largest spending Bill the Senate has ever considered. It is $35 billion more than was approved for FY 2002 and nearly $700 million more than recommended by the House last month. In light of the threat to this Nation, I believe the increase is well warranted. I want to point out to my colleagues that while the Bill is the highest in history, the total recommended is still $11.4 billion below the President's request. A request for $10 billion was originally presented by the President for contingency costs for the global war on terrorism. This amount is being withheld by the Appropriations Committee to be allocated at a later date. On July 3, the President submitted a sketch of how he would like these funds appropriated. Unfortunately, no details on the use of the funds were provided. Therefore, the Committee has not allocated the funding to the Subcommittee yet. I should point out that the measure that passed the House also did not address the $10 billion contingency amount. Over the next several months we will work with the Administration to identify the specific needs for this funding. We expect that a supplemental Bill will be forthcoming to allocate the full $10 billion to DoD. The remaining $1.4 billion decrease reflects transfers made to other defense related activities to cover pressing requirements for military construction and nuclear weapons related programs in the Department of Energy. These are not under the jurisdiction of the Defense Subcommittee. The priorities for this Bill remain the same as last year. First and foremost, we must ensure that we provide what the men and women in uniform need. To that end, we have fully funded the request for a 4.1% across-the-board pay raise; funded the newly authorized benefits for our military; provided funding to cover the authorized end strength for our Active, Guard, and Reserves; funded the Tricare for Life program for our military retirees; and, fully funded the Defense Health Program. Second, we have included funding for all the Defense Department's transformation programs. We recommend full funding for the Army's Interim Armored Vehicle. We have increased funding for unmanned aerial vehicles. We recommend an increase of $278 million in the Army's future combat system. And we provide an additional $70 million to support the planning and deployment of the New Interim Army Brigade Combat Teams and strongly encourage the Defense Department to deploy all six Brigades. Third, we recommend funding all the investment priorities of the Defense Department. This includes full funding for the F-22, full funding for the Navy's DDX, increased funding for four more F/A-18 aircraft, full funding for 15 C-17 aircraft, full funding for V-22 aircraft purchases, and increasing funding for Navy shipbuilding. Fourth, a major initiative in funding for the bill is to improve fiscal discipline in the Department of Defense. This Committee and our colleagues in the House have been concerned for several years with the increased cost growth in Navy ships. This year alone the total unfunded liability for the Navy in this area has increased by $1 billion to $4 billion. The Committee has carefully reviewed the request and reallocated resources that are not required at this time, in order to increase funding to pay off these existing bills. In total, the Committee recommends $1.4 billion to cover these must pay bills. We have discussed this matter with Navy officials and they concur that this is the best approach to get their financial house in order. Fifth, the bill recommends adding $585 million to purchase 15 C-17 aircraft. The Air Force recommended a risky scheme, already rejected by the House, to finance the C-17 Program incrementally. This proposal could have required us to cut C-17 production to 12. The recommendation will ensure that we continue to produce 15 C-17's under the approved multi-year contract. Sixth, the Committee has mirrored the recommendations approved by the Senate regarding ballistic missile defense. The bill provides $6.9 billion for ballistic missile defense programs. In addition, as authorized, the Committee recommends $814 million to be allocated at the discretion of the President for either counterterrorism or missile defense. In total, the $7.7 billion recommendation is the same as requested by the Administration. Finally, I want to thank my Co-Chairman, Senator Stevens and all of his hard work on this bill. The Committee held 12 hearings to review the Defense Department's budget. The recommendations that we have put forward here reflect what we learned in those hearings, and in our meetings with senior DoD officials and members of the public. I believe this is a very good bill and urge your support.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I hope the Senator agrees that this amendment can be set aside temporarily to accommodate the request of the chairman of the Finance Committee who wishes to study the measure. I can assure you, sir, this matter will be considered.

Mr. INOUYE. With that understanding, I ask unanimous consent that this measure be temporarily set aside.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I have a list of amendments. These amendments have been cleared by both managers and their staffs. No objections have been voiced. Furthermore, these amendments do not add a single dollar to the bill. These are earmarks. With that, the first amendment on behalf of Senator Allen; variable floor rocket propulsion, earmarking $5 million; next amendment for Senator Breaux, naval warfare tech center, earmarking $7 million; The next amendment for Senator Bennett, Army Tooele Depot, earmarking $4.5 million; Next amendment for Senator Cleland, microelectronics, earmarking $3 million; Next amendment for Senator Collins, TRP composites, earmarking $2 million; Next amendment for Senator Conrad, Internet-based diabetes management, earmarking $5 million; Next amendment for Senator Dayton, live fire ranges, earmarking $3.7 million; Amendment for Senator DeWine, Army weapon materials, earmarking $5 million; Next amendment for Senator Ensign, PRC-117 radios, earmarking $500,000; Next amendment for Senators Frist and Thompson, expandable light shelters, earmarking $5 million; Next amendment for Senator Kyl, extended range warfare, earmarking $10 million; Next amendment for Senator Santorum and Senator Specter, land forces readiness, earmarking $3 million; Next amendment for Senators Santorum and Specter, civil reserve space, earmarking $1 million; Next amendment for Senators Voinovich and DeWine, viable combat avionics, earmarking $2 million. Mr. President, I send the amendments to the desk en bloc and ask that they be considered and agreed to en bloc.

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.

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

Mr. INOUYE

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Ms. Elizabeth Schmid, a Presidential management intern assigned to the Appropriations Committee, and Ms. Lela Holden, a legislative fellow in my office, be granted the privilege of the floor during consideration of H.R. 5010.

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that MAJ James Clapsaddle, an Air Force fellow in the office of Senator Carnahan, be granted the privilege of the floor during the duration of the debate on the Defense appropriations bill.

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. I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. INOUYE. I send to the desk for immediate consideration an amendment by Senator Tim Hutchinson.