Joseph Lieberman

Mr. LIEBERMAN

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I note the presence of a friend and colleague from Hawaii, a distinguished member of our Homeland Security Committee. I yield the floor to him.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I have an amendment that I send to the desk.

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

Mr. LIEBERMAN

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, I wish to very briefly thank Senator Sessions for his tribute to Archie Galloway. I had the privilege to work with Arch and traveled with him at least a couple of times. He is a patriot. He served his country in many different roles, including the last period of time working with Senator Sessions, to the benefit of the Senate and his country. I wish him the best in the years ahead, and I look forward to continuing our friendship.

Mr. LIEBERMAN

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, today I speak to the memory of Deanne Stone of Framingham, MA, a dear friend of mine who passed away on Sunday, February 4, at the age of 67. I am deeply saddened by Deanne's death and will keep her friends and family in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Those of us who were lucky enough to know Deanne could not help but be touched by her kind and generous spirit. Throughout the town of Framingham, where she lived for 46 years after marrying her husband Harvey, she was known for being willing to help anyone who asked. Mr. Stone recently told the Boston Globe that one young man recently approached him to tell him that whenever he needed help with a school project, he knew that Mrs. Stone would be the best person to whom to go. In addition to always being willing to help her friends and neighbors, Deanne was also involved with many philanthropic efforts. Deeply inspired by her Jewish faith, Deanne believed in the power of individuals to make a difference through community service. To this end, she worked for numerous charitable organizations, developing a reputation as a dedicated and prodigious fundraiser. Throughout her career, Deanne worked for both the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and B'nai B'rith International, for which she served as regional director for New England. Deanne was also deeply involved with various educational organizations. She worked with both the Maimonides Jewish Day School in Brookline, MA, and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. She also worked with the Foundation for Children's Books, a Boston-based organization dedicated to promoting literacy among young children in the hope of instilling in them a love of reading and learning. Deanne was inspired to get involved with this organization while visiting schools in Roxbury, MA. Deanne would interact with the students, be amazed at how intelligent they all were, and wondered why many of them were not succeeding in the classroom. She believed that if these young people could be taught to love reading at the earliest age possible, they might gain a sense of discovery that would inspire them to achieve academically. Such a dedication toward education is not surprising, coming from someone who was as dedicated a student as Deanne. While attending Weaver High School in Hartford, CT, where she was born and raised, Deanne was involved in numerous extracurricular activities, including a stint as editor of the high school's newspaper. Even with so much on her plate, she was still valedictorian of her high school class in 1957. Five years later, she graduated from the prestigious Brandeis University. Mr. President, when looking back at the life of a person as warm and altruistic as Deanne Stone, who affected so many people in such a positive way, it is excruciatingly difficult to find the words to sum it up, while also doing Deanne justice. Be that as it may, I believe Deanne's sister, Barbara Gordon, another dear friend of mine, put it best when she wrote in a letter that was read aloud at Deanne's funeral that ``The world will be emptier without my sister Deanne, but the world is a better place for her having been in it for 67 years!'' I couldn't have put it better myself.

Mr. LIEBERMAN

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to receive testimony on Afghanistan.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a hearing during the sessions of the Senate on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 10 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to evaluate the Universal Service fund.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet for a hearing on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 10 a.m. in SD-406. The purpose of the hearing is to review state, local and regional government approaches to address global warming.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``Medicare Payment for Physician Services: Examining New Approaches''.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to conduct a markup on Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 10 a.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226. Agenda I. Matters Carried Over from Previous Meeting: S. 236, The Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act of 2007, Feingold, Sununu; S. 378, The Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, Leahy, Specter, Durbin, Cornyn, Kennedy, Hatch; S. 442, The John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act of 2007, Durbin, Specter, Leahy, Biden. II. Nominations: Thomas M. Hardiman to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit: John Preston Bailey to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of West Virginia; Otis D. Wright, II, to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California; George H. Wu to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California. III. Bills: S. 261, Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007, Cantwell, Specter, Durbin, Kyl, Feinstein, Feingold, Kohl; S. 376, Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007, Leahy, Specter, Kyl, Cornyn, Grassley, Sessions. IV. Resolutions: S. Res. 78, Designating April 2007 as ``National Autism Awareness Month'', Hagel, Feingold; S. Res. 81, Recognizing the 45th anniversary of John Glenn's becoming the first United States astronaut to orbit the Earth), Brown, Voinovich.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 1, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security be authorized to meet on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 3 p.m. for a hearing regarding ``Improving Federal Financial Management: Progress Made and the Challenges Ahead,''

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 2 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 380, to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, and for other purposes.

Mr. LIEBERMAN

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

Mr. LIEBERMAN

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, with the authority of the Homeland Security and the Governmental Affairs Committee--that is, the consent of a majority of the Members--I now withdraw the committee-reported substitute amendment.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, while the two leaders are here, I want to thank Senator Reid for designating this urgent legislation which would implement the previously unimplemented or inadequately implemented recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. I also thank Senator McConnell, the Republican leader, for his cooperation and consent to moving this forward quickly on the Senate floor. This bipartisan cooperation, obviously, is justified by the subject matter, homeland security, and in that regard I want to thank, again, Senator Collins. We switched titles in this session of Congress, but as I said to her when that happened, nothing else will change but our titles. She has been a wonderful partner and coworker on this measure once again, and it is in that spirit that we invite amendments, as Senator Reid said, from our colleagues who may think that, as good as the bill is, it could be better, and we urge them to come forward quickly. In our committee, only one amendment was divided on a party-line vote. The rest were totally nonpartisan, and I hope that is generally the way things will go on the Senate floor as we consider the amendments brought forth. Yesterday, to expedite matters, Senator Collins and I both made our opening statements, so we do not have those opening statements now. Therefore, we look forward to the Senator from California coming to the floor as soon as she can to offer an amendment, which I note will concern visa waiver sections of the measure. Senator Collins has another amendment which we will go to if Senator Feinstein does not come soon. I thank the Chair and, for the moment, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, on behalf of the Senator from California, Mrs. Feinstein, I call up amendment No. 271.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, there are discussions going on between the Senator from California and others to answer a question or two about the amendment, so for the moment we are going to leave it pending, and I yield for my colleague from Maine.

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

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, Parliamentary inquiry: Am I correct that the Feinstein amendment, No. 271, is the pending business?

Mr. LIEBERMAN. I have been informed the questions one Member was raising about the amendment of Senator Feinstein have been resolved. I now urge we adopt the amendment.

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