Carl Levin

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. It has been cleared.

Mr. LEVIN. I have no objection.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, as I understand, the request was that amendment No. 3751 be modified. Is that correct?

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. I thank my good friend from Arizona. I can withhold my statement. It is not that long, but I will be here in any event. I am happy to yield to Senator Kyl for his statement on this or any other matter.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. If confirmed today, I understand that Madelyn Creedon will be the first woman to be placed in charge of the safety and reliability of America's nuclear deterrent. I cannot imagine any individual who would be better qualified to handle this awesome responsibility. We will miss Madelyn Creedon on the Armed Services Committee, but I think we all know that the committee's and the Senate's loss will be the country's gain. In closing, I first thank Madelyn Creedon for her dedicated service on the staff of the Armed Services Committee. I congratulate her on her nomination by the President to this important position in the Department of Energy. Finally, I thank Madelyn Creedon for her continued willingness to serve the country. And I thank her family--her husband Jim, her daughter Meredith, and her son John--for their sacrifices in supporting her in this demanding position. Exhibit No. 1 United States Senate, Washington, DC, April 11, 2000. Hon. John Warner, Chairman, Hon. Carl Levin, Ranking Member, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC Dear Mr. Chairman and Senator Levin: I regret that I am unable to appear before your committee today to introduce a fellow Hoosier and offer my support for the nomination of Madelyn Creedon to the position of Deputy Administrator of Defense Programs at the Department of Energy. My responsibilities as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee have required my presence at an important oversight hearing. It is always a source of great pride to see Hoosiers making valuable contributions to our country's security. Madelyn has an outstanding record of service to the U.S. government. She has served with distinction as Associate Deputy Secretary for National Security Programs at the Department of Energy, as General Counsel for the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, and here in the Senate as Minority Council of the Senate Armed Services Committee. It has been in the fulfillment of this last assignment that I have had the opportunity to observe and work with Madelyn. As you know, Mr. Chairman, I am a strong supporter of U.S. nonproliferation efforts in the former Soviet Union. These programs have continually garnered bipartisan support because of the outstanding efforts of dedicated Members of Congress and staff on both sides of the aisle. Madelyn's efforts in this area have made tremendous contributions to the successful implementation of these important programs. Her oversight and legislative analyses of these programs have improved our country's national security. I am confident that she will provide the same level of expertise and dedication if confirmed as Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the Department of Energy. It is with great enthusiasm that I offer my strong support for Madelyn's nomination, and I am hopeful that members of the Armed Services Committee and the full Senate will concur. Sincerely, Richard G. Lugar, United States Senator.

Mr. LEVIN. Do I have 1 minute left?

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I am pleased to come to the floor today and support the nomination of a very talented and a highly qualified member of the Armed Services Committee staff to be the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs of the newly created National Nuclear Security Administration. Madelyn Creedon has served her country for her entire professional life in a variety of important national security positions. She has served as Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy, working closely and directly with Deputy Secretary Charles Curtis. She was the general counsel for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, and she has served as minority counsel to the Committee on Armed Services and counsel under my predecessor, Senator Sam Nunn. She spent 10 years as a trial attorney in the Department of Energy. Madelyn Creedon's nomination for this important position was unanimously reported to the full Senate by the Armed Services Committee on April 13. After working with her for more than 8 years on the Armed Services Committee, I know firsthand of her extraordinary understanding of the national security programs of the Department of Energy and of her passionate commitment to the success of these programs and to the national security of the United States. There are few people who have Madelyn Creedon's depth of experience and her knowledge in the nuclear weapons programs of the Department of Energy. Last month the Senate confirmed the nomination of Gen. John Gordon to be the Under Secretary of the Department of Energy and the head of the new National Nuclear Security Administration. All of us are aware of the significant challenges General Gordon is facing in this position. The Administrator of the new National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for maintaining the safety, security and reliability of our Nation's nuclear warheads; for managing the Department of Energy laboratories; for cleaning up some of the worst environmental problems in the country; and for addressing security problems that continue to undermine pubic confidence in the Department of Energy. As one of the senior deputies in the National Nuclear Security Administration, Madelyn Creedon's knowledge and experience in all of these areas will be of great assistance in helping General Gordon address the challenges he is facing. I had a discussion with General Gordon last week. He told me that he wants Madelyn Creedon to be his deputy Administrator for Defense Programs, and he is anxious for Madelyn Creedon to get to work as his Deputy Administrator. Madelyn Creedon is well known and respected by Senators on both sides of the aisle. Prior to her confirmation hearing in the Armed Services Committee, Senator Warner and I received a letter from Senator Lugar. I would like to quote just a few sentences from Senator Lugar's letter: As you know, Mr. Chairman, I am a strong supporter of U.S. nonproliferation efforts in the former Soviet Union. These programs have continually garnered bipartisan support because of the outstanding efforts of dedicated Members of Congress and staff on both sides of the aisle. Madelyn's efforts in this area have made tremendous contributions to the successful implementation of these important programs. Her oversight and legislative analyses of these programs have improved our country's national security. I am confident that she will provide the same level of expertise and dedication if confirmed as Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the Department of Energy. It is with great enthusiasm that I offer my strong support for Madelyn's nomination, and I am hopeful that members of the Armed Services Committee and the full Senate will concur. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of Senator Lugar's letter be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, what is the pending business?

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

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, first, I thank my good friend from New Mexico for support of the Creedon nomination. It is important his support be there and his voting for her is a very significant step on his part. I know how deeply involved he is in the issue and how hard he fought for the creation of the semiautonomous agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration. She has satisfactorily assured him and all of us she will fully carry out this law. As a matter of fact, when she was helping the staff when this bill was in the Senate, she helped us work out the bipartisan bill that passed the Senate by a vote of 97-1. The good Senator from New Mexico was very much in the forefront of that effort to create the bipartisan effort that we successfully created in the Senate. Again, there was only one vote against the bill as it passed the Senate, and she helped us perfect that bill. I want to give her some credit. Perhaps even more importantly, the responsibility of whatever bumps that have been along this road are ours, not hers, because she staffs us. Just the way we want her to be the right arm of General Gordon, so she has been staffing us as well and carried out that role very well. We are, as Senators, responsible for our staff's work. If there is disagreement on this with some of the difficulties in creation of this particular semiautonomous agency or in the way it has been implemented, those disagreements lie with the Secretary of Energy or, to the extent they are legislative, lie with perhaps some Senators but not surely with our staffs who are carrying out our wishes, as we want and expect her to carry out General Gordon's wishes.

Mr. LEVIN. It is a fair assessment, and I think General Gordon is ready to have Madelyn there assisting him and will be a big boost. That is what he told me on the phone. The Senator from New Mexico recounted a conversation with General Gordon. I had a similar conversation with him. I wanted to be sure he truly wanted Madelyn Creedon because he was not the administrator at the time that nomination was forthcoming. I wanted to be sure he was, in fact, desirous of having her as his deputy, and he is so desirous and very much supports the nomination. We now can proceed to that vote, and, hopefully, she will receive an overwhelming vote of support.

Mr. LEVIN. I will just use one of my minutes to fill in part of the record, and then we want to proceed to a vote. Madelyn Creedon has also served as Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy for National Security Programs. It is a very important part of her background where she worked directly with then-Deputy Secretary of Energy Charles Curtis. In addition to being minority counsel for the Armed Services Committee, she served as counsel under my predecessor, Senator Nunn, when he was chairman of the committee. So there are some additional important facets of her experience. As the Senator from Arizona mentioned, and as the Senator from New Mexico mentioned, General Gordon, who is the new person to run the agency, to run this new semiautonomous entity, specifically told me not just that he has no objection, but he supports her being both appointed and confirmed, and he had no objection to my putting it that way. So the person for whom we have voted and confirmed overwhelmingly to run this semiautonomous agency is anxious to get her on board and very much supports her nomination and confirmation. With that, I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, it has been more than a year since the Columbine tragedy, but still this Republican Congress refuses to act on sensible gun legislation. Since Columbine, thousands of Americans have been killed by gunfire. Until we act, Democrats in the Senate will read some of the names of those who lost their lives to gun violence in the past year, and we will continue to do so every day that the Senate is in session. In the name of those who died, we will continue this fight. Following are the names of some of the people who were killed by gunfire one year ago today. July 10, 1999: Thomas Carson, 72, Houston, TX; Vincent Coleman, 22, Irvington, NJ; Joseph Horter, 79, Philadelphia, PA; Gregory Jones, 29, Miami-Dade County, FL; Ricky Lane, 38, Mesquite, TX; Edler Monestime, 51, Miami-Dade County, FL; Cashonda Miller, 18, Kansas City, MO; Gene Pailin, 17, Dallas, TX; Michael Perry, 31, Miami-Dade County, FL; Tristan Thompson, 23, Houston, TX; David Woods, 21, Kansas City, MO; Unidentified male, 27, Newark, NJ; Unidentified male, 31, Portland, OR. In addition, Mr. President, since the Senate was not in session last week, I ask unanimous consent that the names also be printed in the Record of some of those who were killed by gunfire last year on the days from June 30th through July 9th. June 30: Edwin Cruz, 23, Chicago, IL; Jermaine Demps, 26, Detroit, MI; Stephen Gawel, 37, Detroit, MI; Arron Green, 19, Detroit, MI; Herth Hawks, 25, Charlotte, NC; Blake King, 17, Gary, IN; Donte A. Marshall, 22, Gary, IN; Benjamin McCoy, 18, Gary, IN; Edward Perry, Jr., 27, Baltimore, MD; Sharon P. Robinson, 51, Oklahoma City, OK; Jessie Wilburn, 48, Dallas, TX; Unidentified male, 50, Nashville, TN. July 1: Craig Butler, 44, Philadelphia, PA; James Hopkins, 20, Baltimore, MD; Michael Okarma, 56, Seattle, WA; Derrick Owens, 26, Bridgeport, CT; Gloria Pickett, Detroit, MI; Angel Rivera, 23, Philadelphia, PA; Frankie Rivera, 29, Philadelphia, PA; Mark Spann, 18, Baltimore, MD; Anthony Stroud, 12, Houston, TX; Unidentified male, 14, Chicago, IL. July 2: Antonio Baker, 21, Charlotte, NC; Keith Carter, 34, Detroit, MI; Eric Harvey, 14, Nashville, TN; Tae-Dong Kim, 59, San Antonio, TX; Ahmed Massey, 14, Rock Hill, SC; Derren Minnick, 30, Philadelphia, PA; James Ortiz, 39, Houston, TX; Michael A. Smith, 25, Chicago, IL; Unidentified male, 18, Newark, NJ. July 3: J.C. Addington, 81, Dallas, TX; Kelton R. Austin, 24, Chicago, IL; Patricia Austin, 38, Akron, OH; Norberta Bachiller, 48, Miami-Dade County, FL; Raymond Castillo, 19, Dallas, TX; William Brock Crews, 24, Washington, DC; Gerald Crowder, 21, Atlanta, GA; Ronald V. Daily, 56, Oklahoma City, OK; Ricky Davis, 22, Chicago, IL; Augustine Garza, 18, Chicago, IL; George Green, Jr., 47, Dallas, TX; Reginald Griffin, 15, St. Louis, MO; Anthony Hawkins, 16, Houston, TX; James Jones, 40, Baltimore, MD; Carl Peterson, 45, Superior, WI; Luis Rebolledo, 25, Chicago, IL; Salvador Romero, 35, Detroit, MI; Kenny Sharpless, Detroit, MI; Jeremy Thalley, 16, Denver, CO; Shawn Washington, 28, Oakland, CA. July 4: Souksevenh Bounphithack, 34, Minneapolis, MN; Charles Butler, 52,Washington, DC; Quinn Johnson, 28, Miami-Dade County, FL; Eric McCara, 39, Detroit, MI; Kenneth C. Rutledge, 22, Chicago, IL; Mark Russell, 35, Akron, OH; Gerardo Silva, 21, Chicago, IL; Demario Stephens, 18, Oakland, CA; Won J. Yoon, 26, Bloomington, IN. July 5: Dewayne Allen, 21, New Orleans, LA; Jason Anderson, Pine Bluff, AR; Jill H. Barringham, 53, Seattle, WA; Melvin Blagman, 19, Philadelphia, PA; Davattah Brown, 37, Gainesville, FL; Lewis J. Fennell, 52, Oklahoma City, OK; Brian Paylor, 18, Baltimore, MD; Jose Pantoja, 27, Houston, TX; Unidentified female, 67, Nashville, TN; Unidentified male, 74, Honolulu, HI; Unidentified male, 18, Newark, NJ. July 6: Alicia Arellano, 23, Elkhart, IN; John Thomas Crowder, 34, Washington, DC; Darren Franklin, 13, New Orleans, LA; Eugene Glass, 29, Detroit, MI; James Hartsock, 66, Houston, TX; Raymond E. Johnson, Pine Bluff, AR; Doffice Kelly, 48, Fort Wayne, IN; Mark Kingsbury, 25, Washington, DC; Ronald Powell, 26, Kansas City, MO; Tamica Tyler, Pine Bluff, AR; Kevin Walter, 40, Detroit, MI; Linda A. Winters, 35, Chicago, IL. July 7: Lugene Akins, 41, Rochester, NY; Allen G. Barrousse, 40, New Orleans, LA; Imon T. Boyce, 20, Oklahoma City, OK; Theodore M. Goode, 26, Oklahoma City, OK; Eric Goodloe, 20, Gary, IN; Kevin Gore, 17, Philadelphia, PA; Duskie M. Murrow, 20, Oklahoma City, OK; Angel Ortiz, 26, Holyoke, MA; Peter Quattro, 24, Miami-Dade County, FL; Delfino Vega, 21, Chicago, IL; Unidentified male, 43, Bellingham, WA; Unidentified male, 57, San Jose, CA. July 8: Renee Battle, 29, Chicago, IL; Bruce Bensch, 52, Miami-Dade County, FL; Devon Campbell, 19, Louisville, KY; Roberto Carmona, Jr., 17, Chicago, IL; Curtis J. Crawley, 19, Rochester, NY; Jerrod Crump, Pine Bluff, AR; Vickie A. Owensboro, 36, Memphis, TN; Jesus Gomez, 24, Seattle, WA; Nathan Goodman, 17, Dallas, TX; Julia Matlock, 39, Nashville, TN; Curlenzo Stith, 29, Baltimore, MD; Francisco Terrazas, 19, Chicago, IL; Maurice Thomas, 26, Chicago, IL; Margie Villarreal, 24, San Antonio, TX; Juan Yanes, 80, Miami-Dade County, FL. July 9: John Amado, 22, San Bernardino, CA; Mark Barton, San Francisco, CA; Michael Day, 20, Washington, DC; Michael Gloria, 17, Mesquite, TX; John Hendricks, Detroit, MI; Lindell Kendall, 16, Macon, GA; Russell H. Lee, 39, Seattle, WA; Benjamin Lindsey, 34, Atlanta, GA; Miguel McElroy, 18, Minneapolis, MN; Oren W. Nevins, 69, Oklahoma City, OK; Tony Paxton, 28, Miami-Dade County, FL; Freddie Poyner, 15, Baltimore, MD; Michael Randell, 33, Tulsa, OK; Anthony Whitney, 27, Kansas City, MO; Unidentified male, San Francisco, CA.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. If the leader will yield, it would be very helpful--I know it is difficult, and I have not had a chance to speak to my chairman about this, but if we knew in advance about when we would start the evening proceeding, I think that would help us line up some amendments.

Mr. LEVIN. That would be good.

Mr. LEVIN

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

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, we do not object. Quite the contrary; we thank the distinguished chairman of our committee and the leaders, both majority and minority, for their good work, and also Senator Reid, who has worked so hard on this, and all the other Senators who have cooperated to make this unanimous consent agreement possible. I also thank Senator Byrd, who has been waiting very patiently, so we could dispose of this important measure.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I notice our staffs are smiling as well because this has been a big effort on their part. With all the years we have put in together, we will not be able to catch up to Senator Byrd, but we are going to keep using him as our role model.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I appreciate the interest of my friends from North Dakota in the EB-52 and share the sentiments of the distinguished Chairman on this matter. The B-52 is a viable candidate for the EW mission in light of its large payload, intercontinental range, reliability, and airframe maintainability beyond 2040. It is my understanding that it is being studied as a dedicated EW platform candidate and must receive full consideration.

Mr. LEVIN

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, we have no objection to this package. We support it.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues Senators McCain, Feingold and Lieberman in voting to send to the President H.R. 4762, a bill that hopefully will lead to closing one of the gaping loopholes in our Federal campaign finance laws. I use the words ``lead to'' because we aren't closing the so-called 527 loophole here today-- we are forcing the disclosure of the contributors who use the loophole. Just as the disclosure of soft money hasn't yet ended the soft money loophole, this disclosure won't automatically close the 527 loophole. Most of our reform work lies ahead. But, our action today will hopefully give us momentum toward ending both the Section 527 loophole and the soft money loophole. Having been in the Senate over 20 years, now, I've witnessed how slow and frustrating the legislative process can be, and I've also witnessed how we as an institution can come together quickly and directly when we see a compelling need to do so. Senators Lieberman, Daschle, McCain, Feingold and I introduced legislation in the Senate, similar to H.R. 4762, in April of this year. With the upcoming November elections we were ever aware of the explosion in sham issue ad campaigns by anonymous contributors across the country that the public was going to experience this year without Section 527 reform. We wanted to beat the clock and get this legislation in place in time to have an effect on this year's campaigns. With the leadership of a committed group in the House, and a significant bipartisan majority supporting such reform in the Senate, we have been able to do that. I commend the many dedicated House members and Senators who worked to bring this vote about over the past few weeks. The reforms we are passing today will have a meaningful effect on the campaigns being run this year. The Section 527 loophole allows undisclosed, unlimited contributions. These are stealth contributions--tens of millions of dollars of stealth contributions that are off the campaign finance radar screen. How does that happen--that an organization that claims--on its own--to exist for the purpose of influencing an election can receive unlimited contributions and kept them secret? Well, it happens because these organizations seeking a tax exemption under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Service Code say one thing to the IRS to get the tax exemption and say the opposite to the Federal Election Commission to avoid having to register as a political committee. The Internal Revenue Service Code defines an organization subject to a tax exemption under Section 527 as an organization, ``influencing or attempting to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any Federal, State or local public office . . .'' The Federal Election Campaign Act defines a political committee which is subject to regulation by the FEC and that means disclosure as an organization that spends or receives money ``for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office.'' So people creating these organizations are claiming, with a straight face, that they are trying to influence an election in order to get the benefits of one agency while representing they are not trying to influence an election in order to avoid the requirements of another. We often say, ``You can't have it both ways,'' but persons forming these organizations, Mr. President, turn that saying on its head. They are, so far, having it both ways, and our campaign finance system and the respect and trust of the American people in our elections and government are paying the price. Section 527 was created by Congress in the 1970's to provide a category of tax exempt organizations for political parties and political committees. While contributions to a political party or political committee are not tax deductible, Congress did provide for a tax exemption for money contributed and spent on political activities by an organization created for the purpose of influencing elections. At the time Congress established the tax exemption, it assumed that such organizations would be filing with the FEC under the campaign finance laws for the obvious reason that the language for both coverage by the IRS and coverage by the FEC were the same--``influencing an election.'' Consequently it was assumed that Section 527 didn't need to require disclosure with the IRS, since the FEC disclosure was considerably more complete. The legislation before us would require Section 527 organizations to file a tax return, something they are not required to do now, and disclose the basic information about their organization as well as their contributors over $200. As good and important as this bill is, however, it does not stop the unlimited aspect of these secret contributions, nor the unlimited contributions permitted through the soft money loophole. This victory today is but one battle in the overall campaign to enact the McCain- Feingold bill, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to make that happen.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. The idea would be, after this package of cleared amendments is adopted, we would offer a unanimous consent agreement to limit the bill to relevant amendments on the list, which would include Senator Byrd's amendment on bilateral trade because that probably is relevant under any circumstances.