Carl Levin

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Within their own funds.

Mr. LEVIN. I would say there are two answers to that. First, since this would be a new level--a new ceiling--the Secretary of Defense would have authority to go 2 percent above this additional level. The ceiling would be higher. So the Secretary would have that same discretionary 2 percent, but it would be above a higher ceiling. That is the first answer. The second answer, it seems to me, is that the Senator from Georgia and the Senator from Arizona have identified in their amendment a problem which we all understand exists, and they have focused this issue into an amendment. That amendment, if adopted, it seems to me, gives additional momentum. We have to seek new ways to try to meet that end strength--to try to fund it. We have to look to additional ways to try to fund it because the tradition which the Senator from Virginia pointed out is that we have traditionally funded the authorized end strength. That means we have one of two options, or three. Either we have to tell the Department of Defense that they have to find the funds to do this within their own funds or we have to find the funds to do it at our own conference, or the third option is that we would begin a new tradition, which is that we don't fund the authorized level. That would be the least desirable of all three. But, nonetheless, it would be a new tradition. Let me just sort of summarize that. We can either direct inside of our conference report that the Department of Defense fund the authorized end strength with the amendment of the Senator from Georgia, or we can find the funds ourselves to do that in conference, or we can just simply not follow the tradition, which I happen to think is a good tradition, but, nonetheless, is an option.

Mr. LEVIN. That we should also try to maintain the Senate position on this, which is that the ceiling would be raised and the floor would not be raised. That remains. It leaves it as a discretionary matter, as the Senator from Georgia clearly said, with the Department of Defense. We would do our best, as we always have, to find the funding for that higher level. We may leave it up to the military to find it within their own funds with the direction from us in report language--the conference managers' language directing the military to find it within their own funds. There are a lot of possibilities. But the point the Senator from Georgia made, and the Senator from Arizona as cosponsor made, it seems to me, is that it is unassailable that we have overused our reservists. We have to find a way to correct that. This is an effort to push us in that direction. It leaves it as a conferenceable issue because the floor in the House is raised to where the ceiling is, but in the Senate bill, with the amendment of the Senator from Georgia, if adopted, the floor remains the same. It is the ceiling which is raised. It gives us some important added impetus to add end strength--as it should. I think we all agree that we have to find a way to do this in order to reduce the overuse of reservists.

Mr. LEVIN. Will the Senator from Virginia yield?

Mr. LEVIN. The Senator from Georgia and the Senator from Arizona have identified a very critical unmet need. In fact, the Army has already indicated it is going to try within its own funds to increase its end strength. So by the time we actually get to conference, we may find that they have already achieved what this amendment urges them to do and authorizes them to do. That is the point, No. 1. No. 2, it seems very clear from the answers of the Senator from Georgia that this is a discretionary matter--that it does not raise the floor; it raises the ceiling, unlike the House, which does raise the floor. The amendment of the Senator from Georgia raises the ceiling but leaves the floor where it is. Therefore, the discretion remains. Given those clear responses I think this amendment is something we should support because I think the responses leave the discretion with the Department of Defense, unlike the House bill. That makes this a conferenceable item.

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, On May 14, Department of Defense officials announced that they intended to classify details of future flight tests of the national missile defense system. This occurred after the Senate Armed Services Committee had completed its work on the Defense authorization bill, so we were unable to address this issue in the committee version of the bill. The issue needs to be addressed, however. The administration claims that placing a shroud of secrecy around the national missile defense testing program is necessary to prevent details of its operation from being revealed to potential enemies. One can argue whether such secrecy is truly needed, since we are many years away from deployment an effective national missile defense systems. What is not arguable is that Congress has a right and obligation to know the results of such critical tests, regardless of whether they are classified. The amendment offered by Senator Reed and myself would ensure that Congress gets regular reports, classified as necessary, on the results of each national missile defense flight test, 120 days following the test. The reports should describe the objectives of each test, and whether the objectives were met. Such information is absolutely essential for Congress to be able to understand and evaluate the performance of the national missile defense system. The word in the modified amendment is ``thorough.'' This amendment ensures that constitutionally mandated oversight will, in fact, continue to be respected. I hope all of my colleagues will support this important amendment.

Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 4170

Mr. LEVIN. The amendment has been cleared.

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

Mr. LEVIN. I congratulate the Senator on her amendment, which we have accepted. It takes an important step in assuring that we are going to have the kind of Navy that we need, for which our Quadrennial Defense Review provides. Her amendment is going to help us get to the point we must reach that not only identifies the need, but the roadmap. Her amendment makes an important contribution. As chairman of the Emerging Threats Subcommittee, she has become a true expert. She was way ahead of her time in identifying the threats that have befallen us. As chair of that subcommittee, she has become an expert on the Navy. Her contribution to the committee is immense, and I thank her for that.

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

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I hope we can now adopt this amendment. I thank the Senator from Georgia for his persistence on this issue. He has identified a critically important unmet need for this country. We have reservists who have been away from their jobs for a much longer period of time than anyone intended. We have to address that issue. The Army has told us they are going to do their best to address this issue. The Navy has listed the increase in end strength as their No. 1 unfunded priority. So I think the need is there. The focus upon this unmet need by the Senators from Georgia and Arizona will help us to, hopefully, advance this to the point where we can actually find the funds for the increase in end strength. One way or the other, we have to address this issue.

Mr. LEVIN. No, not on the floor.

Mr. LEVIN. Will the Senator yield for a quick comment?

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

Mr. LEVIN. Sounds good.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, for the Committee on Armed Services I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the Records on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that these nominations lie at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I would like to congratulate the Children's Aid Society of Southeastern Michigan (CAS) on its 140th anniversary. In that time CAS has been an organization dedicated in service to children, youth, and families. For nearly a century and a half, CAS has been a dynamic and compassionate presence in the Michigan community. CAS, the oldest child welfare agency in Michigan, is a non-profit, non-sectarian private organization dedicated to the preservation and quality of family life in Southeastern Michigan based in Detroit. Begun in 1862 by members of the Presbyterian Church to help Civil War orphans, CAS has expanded in the years since to help hundreds of thousands of troubled children and families. CAS aims to build strength within the family unit by providing a variety of comprehensive child and family-focused services, seeking to create the foundation for a better and healthier society. The services that CAS provides are innovative and humanistic, viewing each individual and problem as unique. For example, the Work Works program gives high-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 17 training in employment skills and helps them in finding a job. Alumni of the program help other staff teach the skills of positive self-esteem, work ethics, and job readiness. Another program, Moving Families in the Right Direction, aims to prevent delinquency and school dropout by strengthening family functioning and relationships. Staff go into homes, schools, and the community to conduct counseling sessions and group work with youth between the ages of 10 and 17 who have been referred to them by the Police Department or Juvenile Court. By giving at-risk children and families early attention, CAS tries to help prevent the family break-up and juvenile delinquency that plagues so much of our country today. CAS also provides day care and has programs for early childhood education, mental health, child abuse, teen families, and parents. Southeastern Michigan and the larger Detroit metropolitan area are deeply indebted to the work CAS has done for families and children over the last 140 years. Year in and year out CAS has fought to hold families together and ensure the welfare of children. The vital support services that CAS provides help children and parents deal with the difficult personal and societal issues they face in the 21st century. Having performed these important social services for over 140 years is indeed a tremendous accomplishment and deserves hearty commendation. I know my Senate colleagues will join me in congratulating the Children's Aid Society of Southeastern Michigan for 140 years of success and in wishing it a fruitful future that only adds to its rich legacy of compassion.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, let me thank my ranking member. I can't imagine having someone to work with who is better than Senator Warner. This has been a long relationship and a trusting relationship. It makes all the difference in getting legislation addressed, much less passed in this body. I thank my staff, David Lyles, and crew, Judy Ansley and her staff, who, again, worked in a bipartisan way to make this bill happen, to make it possible for us to pass it. I think this is almost record time. This is only the second time in the last 10 years, I believe, where we have been able to pass the Defense authorization bill prior to July 1. We have resolved our differences in a way which has contributed to the security of the Nation. We have had our disagreements. We are here to have disagreements, to try to resolve them, and where we can't resolve them by compromise, to have votes. That is what we have done. We again succeeded. I also thank our majority leader, Senator Daschle. I thank Senator Lott, Senator Nickles, and particularly, I single out, to his embarrassment, again, Senator Reid of Nevada. He makes the wheels run on this floor. He provides the oil and the grease which makes it possible for the wheels of this little buggy of ours to keep going. Without him, I can't imagine how we would be able to function as efficiently as we do with all of the inefficiencies to which we all know the Senate is subjected.

Mr. LEVIN. I want to thank the sponsors of the legislation that was included as section 1203 in the fiscal year 2003 National Defense Authorization bill for bringing this matter to my attention. Of course the responsibility to initiate and expand the type of activities provided for in section 1203 of the bill rests ultimately with the President. As you are the original sponsors of this provision, I will honor your request and will urge the conferees to make the needed changes during the conference process. The Price-Anderson Act

Mr. LEVIN. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this amendment, as modified, would add, with an offset, $1.9 million for buying upgrades for Marine Corps training devices to support live-fire training and live-fire range control systems. I believe the amendment has been cleared.

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

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 4077, on behalf of Senators Miller and Cleland, and send a modification of the amendment to the desk.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, we have one amendment which has been cleared.