Carl Levin

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. LEVIN. The Senator from Maine is quite correct in her observation and assessment that medical treatment is a part of war that sometimes may be taken for granted, and that the medical care of our service men and women is an area of defense that should not be overlooked. Particularly in the area of military combat casualty care, the Department must consider any initiative that could have benefits for saving the lives of men and women whose service to our nation puts them at risk of severe injury.

Mr. LEVIN. I thank the distinguished Senator from Maine for highlighting the critical nature of this research, and for voicing her support for investments in the well-being of a most precious national asset--our men and women in uniform, who will fight and risk their lives for each of us.

Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 1679

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

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this amendment would require the Department of Defense to have a program to address the accidental detonation of munitions and to report on this program along with the budget request. I believe this amendment has been cleared.

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

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, will the leader yield.

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, if the majority leader will yield for one moment, this bill has provisions in it which we need to pass. There is a special pay provision in it for short wartime specialties, for instance. We have special provisions which will allow us to hold onto enlisted members in high priority units who otherwise might leave the military. We have special reenlistment and enlistment bonuses in this bill. We have a targeted pay raise of 4\1/2\ percent for everybody. And we have targeted pay raises of between 5 and 10 percent for special categories. This is a vital bill for the success of our military. The problems we have now are no longer related to the jurisdiction of this committee. We think we have resolved the last problem, or we are close to resolving the last problem that relates to the jurisdiction of this committee. Everybody else is willing to have their amendments placed on this list so we have a finite list. We are not trying to preclude anybody from offering amendments of any kind. It is just a list of their amendments and a finite list. I thank the majority leader for his patience. I thank Senator Reid for his extraordinary effort to get us to where we are. I express disappointment that we can't get that finite list so we can proceed to complete this important bill, but to report to him and to our colleagues that the problem we think we have now is not related to the jurisdiction of the Armed Services Committee, and that is too bad.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a nominations hearing on ``Homeland Defense'' on Tuesday, September 25, 2001, at 11 a.m., in Dirksen 106. Witness list: The Honorable John Ashcroft, United States Attorney General.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet on Tuesday, September 25, 2001, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a business meeting to consider the following nominations: Brigadier General Edwin J. Arnold, Jr. to be a Member and President of the Mississippi River Commission; Nils J. Diaz to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Marianne Lamont Horinko to be Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Environmental Protection Agency; Patrick Hayes Johnson to be Federal Cochairperson, Delta Regional Authority; Harold Craig Manson to be Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Department of the Interior; Paul Michael Parker to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Department of Defense; Mary E. Peters to be Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation; and Brigadier General Carl A. Strock to be a Member of the Mississippi River Commission. In addition, the following will be considered: S. 950, Federal Reformulated Fuels Act; S. 1206, to reauthorize the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965; S. 1270, to designate the United States courthouse located at 8th Avenue and Mill Street in Eugene, Oregon, as the ``Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse''; and Several GSA Building and Lease Committee Resolutions.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 25, 2001, at 11 a.m., to hold a nomination hearing. Nominees: Mr. Dennis Schornack, of Michigan, to be Commissioner on the part of the United States on the International Joint Commission, United States and Canada; Mr. John Danilovich, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica; and Mr. Roy Austin, of Pennsylvania, to be Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. Additional nominees to be announced.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 25, 2001, at approximately 2:30 p.m., to hold a Business Meeting. Nominees: Ms. Charlotte Beers, of Texas, to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy; Mr. Ralph Boyce, Jr., of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia; Mr. Kenneth Brill, of Maryland, to be Representative of the United States of America to the Vienna Office of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador; Mr. Kenneth Brill, of Maryland, to be Representative of the United States of America to the International Atomic Energy Agency, with the rank of Ambassador; Mrs. Patricia de Stacy Harrison, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Educational and Cultural Affairs); Mr. Hans Hertell, of Puerto Rico, to be Ambassador to the Dominican Republic; Mr. Robert Jordan, of Texas, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Mr. Michael Malinowski, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Nepal; Mr. Jackson McDonald, of Florida, to be Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia; Mr. Kevin McGuire, of Maryland, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia; Mr. Kevin Moley, of Arizona, to be Representative of the United States of America to the European Office of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador; Mrs. Arlene Render, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cote d'Invoire; Ms. Mattie Sharpless, of North Carolina, to be Ambassador to the Central African Republic; Mr. R. Barrie Walkley, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea; and Mr. John Wolf, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Non- proliferation). Additional nominees to be announced.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Andrew Rumbaugh, a fellow in Senator Bill Nelson's office, be granted the privilege of the floor during consideration of this bill.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendments Nos. 1661 through 1670, En Bloc

Mr. LEVIN. No. It allows competition where there is none now. The Federal prison system now can declare a monopoly for something, and declare that no private sector can bid on an item that it wants to supply to the Federal Government. That prevents the private sector from bidding. We would say that is not right. Let the private sector bid, and if the Prison Industries folks can produce it cheaper or better, fine. But if they can't, and the private sector is doing it cheaper or better, then the private sector ought to be allowed to compete.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, we support Senator Warner's amendment. It is obvious the circumstances have changed in a massive way. Senator Warner knows, probably more than anybody I know of, firsthand, what the necessity is out there. We certainly support his amendment.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am happy that is not quite the way I heard him at this time. Perhaps we will be able to figure out some approach where this matter can be resolved. I emphasize that the right to compete with the private sector is in the bill. The amendment which will be offered would have to be written with language that allows competition in the bill.

Mr. LEVIN. We are going to be disposing of the Bunning amendment tomorrow morning at 9:15. What we are hoping for is that other people with amendments--if debate ends early enough tonight on the Bunning amendment--will come forward with their amendments so we can debate those amendments and then set votes on those amendments tomorrow.

Mr. LEVIN. They are being paid about 35 cents an hour. No one in the private sector can compete for a job if he has to compete with prison labor on that basis. Let me say that I fundamentally disagree with the Senator from Texas on that issue. That is not the issue in the language in this bill. The issue in the language in this bill has to do with simply allowing the private sector to compete. This is one of those cases where the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the NFIB are in total agreement. We can debate this later. It is not often that you get those organizations together. But in this case they are because the issue is so fundamental. Will our private sector be allowed to bid on Government purchases or can the Federal Prison Industries have a monopoly on some items even though they are charging the Government more despite their 50-cents-an-hour payment on labor--whatever they pay--despite the fact they make no benefit payments to the prisoners. Despite all of that, in many cases they still are charging the Government more than the private sector can charge the Government. Let the private sector, for heaven's sake, bid on items which their own Government is buying. It is unthinkable that we do not allow the private sector to bid on items which their own Government is buying. It is unthinkable to me.

Mr. LEVIN. Senator Reid is here so we will leave that conversation for him.

Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent, so that we can sequence amendments, if the Senator from Oklahoma is willing, that we now set aside the pending amendment and the underlying amendment to allow the Senator from Oklahoma to offer an additional amendment, and then part of that unanimous consent agreement will be we will then immediately, after he lays down his second amendment, come back to the Bunning amendment.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, then there would be additional debate available on this amendment because there has been no time agreement relative to this amendment.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Monday, September 24, 2001, at 3 p.m., to hold an open hearing: Re counter-terrorism.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet on Monday, September 24, 2001, from 12 p.m.-3:30 p.m., in Dirksen 192 for the purpose of conducting a hearing: Re long-term care.