Carl Levin

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this week, the Million Mom March entered the tenth week of its ``Halt the Assault'' bus tour. The bus tour is traveling across America in a pink RV and making stops in nearly every major metropolitan area in the country. Their message is simple. They are asking Congress and President Bush to act now to reauthorize the assault weapons ban. They are in Illinois this week and they will be in my home State of Michigan at the beginning of August. I hope folks in each State will join them to help convey their important message. In addition to banning 19 specific weapons, the ban makes it illegal to ``manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic'' firearm that can accept a detachable magazine and has more than one of several specific military features, such as folding/telescoping stocks, protruding pistol grips, bayonet mounts, threaded muzzles or flash suppressors, barrel shrouds, or grenade launchers. These weapons are dangerous and they should not be on America's streets. The ban was designed to reduce the criminal use of military-style semiautomatic firearms, and it has done just that. According to statistics reported by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, from 1990 to 1994, assault weapons named in the ban constituted 4.82 percent of guns traced in criminal investigations. However, since the ban's enactment, these assault weapons have made up only 1.61 percent of the crime-related guns traced. According to the Brady Campaign, throughout the 1980s, law enforcement officials reported that assault weapons were the ``weapons of choice'' for drug traffickers, gangs, terrorists, and paramilitary extremist groups. In response, our Nation's first responders asked Congress and President Bush to limit access to such weapons so that our streets and communities might be safer. In order to keep these deadly, military-style weapons out of our communities, America's moms are joining gun safety groups and the law enforcement community in urging us to extend this critical gun safety law that is about to expire. Without action, firearms like UZIs, AK- 47s, and other semiautomatic assault weapons could begin to find their way back onto our streets again. Unfortunately, despite Senate passage of a bipartisan amendment that would have reauthorized the ban, it appears that this important gun safety law will be allowed to expire on September 13, 2004. The House Republican leadership opposes reauthorizing the law and President Bush, though he has said he supports it, has done little to help keep the law alive. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in thanking America's moms for their efforts in the battle to reauthorize the assault weapon ban.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Hopefully, we can work out a time agreement after we see the second-degree amendment.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Which is the reason--if I can be recognized?

Mr. LEVIN. That is my question to my friend from Virginia. My question is, Is the objection to his language that it is a criminal statute--if this, for instance, simply restored the civil penalty for this material overvaluation of a good and service, would the Senator from Virginia still object to it?

Mr. LEVIN. I do understand that. There is no reason both of these amendments should not be adopted. They are perfectly consistent with each other.

Mr. LEVIN. I understand that.

Mr. LEVIN. I understand the position, or the statements of the Senator from Virginia. Much of his opposition to the language of the Senator from Vermont is that it is in the form of a criminal statute.

Mr. LEVIN. I listened to most of the debate--I had to leave for a moment.

Mr. LEVIN. I wonder if my friend from Virginia would yield for a question relative to his amendment?

Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 3438

Mr. LEVIN. Well, there are a lot of outstanding amendments.

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, first, let me congratulate our good friend from Illinois for his leadership and determination to offer an amendment which will reflect our best instincts, our best values and our laws, both domestic and international laws to which we have subscribed. This amendment reaffirms the military's high standards, which are embodied in the Army's own field manual. Army regulations, which are cited in the ``findings'' sections of this amendment, explicitly require that all prisoners will receive humane treatment. They prohibit, among other things, torture and all cruel and degrading treatment. The high standards in the manual, which are reinforced by this amendment, protect American soldiers. It is not just the right thing; it is not just representing our own values. This protects American soldiers. If we lower our standards, it is only going to encourage others to engage in the torture or mistreatment of American prisoners of war in enemy custody. The reaffirmation of our commitment to treat detainees humanely preserves our ability to demand full protections for American prisoners of war. This amendment is a clear way of reaffirming to the American people and to the world that the United States recognizes it is legally bound by international agreements. Indeed, we have promoted, we have been the leader in producing many of those international agreements relative to torture. We are going to comply with those obligations. There is one rule that applies to all. It applies to us. It applies to every other country. And we accept--indeed, we promote and proclaim-- the wisdom of that rule. I congratulate the Senator from Illinois.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I commend the Senator from Connecticut. I think this amendment is essential if we are going to make a statement about who is going to do the interrogating of prisoners. We are bound by treaties, and when these treaties are ignored, this country is damaged. We cannot have contractors where there is no accountability. You can fire a governmental employee. You can demote a governmental employee. You can discharge someone who is in the military who is doing the interrogating. When a contractor does this, there is no accountability except criminal law with all of its difficulties. An Army memorandum dated December 26, 2000, that is still in effect today, made the express determination that gathering tactical intelligence is an inherently governmental function. According to our law, ``Contracts shall not be used for the performance of inherently governmental functions.'' We must make a critically important statement here today: We are going to hold people accountable for the kind of abuse that occurred. The only way you can do that is by having governmental employees-- either uniformed or civilian--carry out these interrogations.

Mr. LEVIN. If the Senator will yield, in fairness to our colleagues, we do have listed a number of amendments from a number of colleagues who expect--and I think reasonably so--their amendments would be addressed before this bill goes to final passage. I wouldn't want to give an assessment that we are near the end because there are many Senators. We are, by the way, successfully reducing the number of amendments. We want to give credit to Senator Reid as always for his Herculean efforts in this regard. We have, under his leadership on our side, been able to successfully reduce the number of outstanding amendments, but there are still many left.

Mr. LEVIN. If we spend a couple more days, yes, we are near the end.

Mr. LEVIN. I subscribe to my leader's comment.

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

Mr. LEVIN. The reason I sought the floor to ask the Senator from Virginia the question is because the argument he makes seems to be based on a premise that there is a civil penalty history to this language but not a criminal penalty history. It would seem to me that would be greater protection for any potential defendant or contractor because there is a higher standard of proof. But putting all that aside, my question is, then, would there be any objection to simply restoring the civil penalty for that violation, material overvaluation of any good or service? Since the Senator says there is a history in terms of civil penalties for that activity, then I was very curious to find out whether he might object if we simply restore the civil penalty for that violation.

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

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Stabenow be recognized for her approximately 5-minute statement, and that I then be recognized for my statement.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 380, submitted earlier today by myself and Senator Stabenow.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last night before 22,000 fans, a gritty bunch of Detroit Pistons achieved one of the biggest championship basketball upsets in history. In a league that has long emphasized the role of its star players, the Detroit Pistons bring to mind another famous team, the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal hockey team, and remind us that teamwork, perseverance, desire, and defense win championships. The Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars and his staff, with the full and total support of the owner Bill Davidson, put together a team not built around one or two superstars but on the solid play of all of its members. In their effort to build a team that could advance through the playoffs and win a championship, the Pistons made a midseason trade for Rasheed Wallace, a talented and multidimensional power forward. In a league where bold season-changing trades are rare, this move gave the Pistons a potent front court scoring option and another rebounding and shot blocking presence to compliment two-time defensive player of the year Ben Wallace. Throughout the series the Pistons were the true definition of a team, with each and every Piston contributing in some way during their run for the championship. NBA finals MVP Chauncey Billups, who has played for five teams in his short career, looked at home with the Pistons and played a stellar series on both ends of the court. For this year, at least, they could have renamed MVP the MVT for the ``most valuable team,'' because this was truly a team effort. It must have been extremely difficult for the people who selected the MVP to single out just one Piston because they truly were a unit. In Larry Brown, the Pistons had obtained a coach who over the course of 31 years of coaching had developed a reputation as a keen student of the game, able to motivate players and respect his players and make gametime adjustments with great skill. Focusing his players on his favorite mantra--play the right way--Coach Brown was able to prove that by sharing the ball and sharing the glory, even the star-studded Lakers could be defeated. Over the course of the season Coach Brown became the first coach in basketball history to win both an NBA and NCAA championship title. The country may have viewed the Pistons as the underdog, but thanks to Coach Brown, his players remained hungry for a championship and always believed in their hearts that they were up to the challenge. So our heartiest congratulations to the Detroit Pistons, as the players, coaches, staff, and fans celebrate their third NBA championship. The effect of these finals will be felt for a long time. As a Detroiter and proud citizen of Michigan, I know the huge impetus, the wonderful momentum, the great feeling that pervades and permeates my home State tonight. Since Detroit is now home to both the WNBA and NBA champions, perhaps Detroit, long known as Hockeytown USA, will now be recognized as Hoopstown USA as well. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and that any statements relative to the resolution be printed in the Record without intervening action or debate.

Mr. LEVIN. I thank our friend from Georgia for his patience as we let out our feelings about what happened yesterday in Detroit.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I will ask unanimous consent the resolution relative to the Detroit Pistons victory be introduced in 1 minute, but first I ask unanimous consent that I temporarily turn the floor over to Senator Biden. Then I will introduce this unanimous consent resolution, Senator Stabenow will be recognized for 5 minutes, I will be recognized for 5 minutes, and then Senator Miller will be recognized for 8 minutes after that.

Mr. LEVIN. 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.