Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 96, S. 423.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I see that you have your bright tie on tonight. Maybe tomorrow you will feel differently.

Mr. LOTT. I further ask unanimous consent that the amendment by Senator Warner and Senator Hutchison be next in order tonight. How much time will be needed?

Mr. LOTT. If you have an amendment you really would like to have considered, particularly if it may require a vote, we would really like to know about that amendment and then get an agreement on some time limit in the morning if at all possible.

Mr. LOTT. I move to lay it on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. LOTT. I assume you would have already filed it probably, but you don't have to. We are not looking for amendments, by the way. We are discouraging them, I might say to the Senator.

Mr. LOTT. With 30 minutes, equally divided, on that----

Mr. LOTT. The Senator from South Dakota and I have found that when we do that, it tends to invite amendments. We are not urging or inviting amendments.

Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor so we can begin the vote. Amendment No. 636

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following sequenced votes be limited to 10 minutes in length.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, before we begin the last vote, after consultation with the Democratic leader, I have a unanimous-consent request I would like to make. If we can get this agreed to, we would have this remaining 10-minute vote and then we would go on to debate on the amendments we have identified, with the votes to occur in the morning on these issues at 9:45. So I ask unanimous consent that, following the stacked votes, Senator Bingaman be recognized to modify his amendment No. 799, and that there be 30 minutes of debate, equally divided in the usual form, and that no second-degree amendments be in order and, following the expiration or yielding back of time, a vote occur on or in relation to the Bingaman amendment at 9:45 on Friday.

Mr. LOTT. Part of what we are trying to do is to get an agreement to have debates tonight so we can have votes in the morning at 9:30 or 9:45. I thought there was a need just to have a vote at 9:45. Our intent is to finish the defense authorization bill tomorrow. In order to do that--we understand that, other than the three amendments we may get agreement on tonight, there may be three amendments or so tomorrow. We are going to try to identify those and get time agreements and have the votes so that we can, hopefully, get out of here by 12:30 tomorrow. So if the Senator would be willing, we could have the debate tonight and then if you want to, in the morning, come in at 9:30 and have 15 minutes more of the time equally divided, in addition to the 30 minutes tonight, and have the vote at 9:45 because of other considerations, I think that would be a good arrangement.

Mr. LOTT. I understand.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, just so the Members will understand fully what the Senator from New Mexico is doing, his amendment, as I understand it, would knock out $118 million, leaving only $28.8 million to be available for the space-based laser program. I rise to offer my support for this space-based laser and to oppose the amendment to strike funding of this important program. Clearly, one of the most serious threats facing us today is that of ballistic missiles. As rogue nations or terrorist organizations have the ability to develop more sophisticated means to deploy weapons of mass destruction, it is incumbent upon us, then, to develop the wherewithal to render those threats ineffective. Increasing funding for other programs, as the Senator originally intended, by taking it out of the space-based laser would have been a mistake, and I think to have this kind of cutback down to only $28 million reduces our ability to really develop the sophistication and the degree of the development of the program that we have the capability to reach. It is time that we actually do something on this now. We have talked about it, we have had funding, we have had progress made, there has been real development capability reached, yet we continue to sort of shove it off and say, ``Someday. Right now this threat is not serious enough.'' I maintain it is very serious. We currently have no effective defense to counter the ballistic missile threat, particularly in the early launch phases when defensive measures are the most effective. I think the American people would be alarmed if they had an opportunity to stop and think about this, the fact that we have not developed this effective defense to this threat. Space-based laser offers potentially one of the most effective solutions to this threat, utilizing relatively mature technologies for boost phase missile defense because we have been working on this, because we have expended funds in this area. So not only does this capability provide an effective protective blanket, but it also serves as a strong deterrent against the launch in the first place, as the boost phase interceptor ensures a destroyed missile falls within the short range of the launch site. So that is a very important factor. It would be a deterrent to launching in the first place, if you knew it might, as a matter of fact, land generally in the area or in the country that fired such a missile. This inherent capability offers the initial and most effective defense against ballistic missiles. Coupled with terminal and midcourse defenses that we are now procuring, it provides an architecture that is robust to a wide variety of threats. Moreover, the program is achievable, it is achievable, within current technical and political constraints. The program received a very positive endorsement from the Ballistic Missile Defense Office Independent Review Team which has assessed the program as low risk and capable of achieving a 2005 launch goal, yet it is fully compliant with the ABM Treaty. It in no way commits to us an operational system, but it is absolutely essential to the research and development efforts that preserve our option for such a program in the future. Space-based laser is clearly the future national missile defense system of choice. It affords us the opportunity to protect the Nation, our military forces and our allies against the ever-growing threat for ballistic missile-deployed weapons of mass destruction. In fact, I think it is the greatest threat that we face today in the world. We cannot ignore it. We should not delay taking actions any further. The early boost phase negation potential that spaced-based lasers can provide is essential. It is a critical component of our future national defense. We must ensure that the space-based option is carried forward with vigor and a sense of priority. If we cut it down to only $28 million, or something short of $29 million, we are not going to be able to go forward with this mature program in a vigorous way in one that gives it priority. By the way, the people we have running this program now are very good and they are doing a good job. They have gotten the Secretary of Defense's attention to this program. So as this technology matures, I think it is clear that we now are at the point where we should build a demonstrator and show that, in fact, it will work. I thank the Senator from New Hampshire for the work he has done on this, both in the committee and on the floor. Senator Smith is prepared to debate this issue further. Without his efforts, without his attention, this program would not be where it is today and we would not be able to go forward with it in the way we need to now. I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment to cut the bulk of the funding for the space laser program. Mr. President, I thank the chairman again for his support in this area. This is something we clearly should be doing. I hope the amendment will be defeated. I yield the floor. Privilege of the Floor

Mr. LOTT. So in the bill now there is about $145 million?

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I was going to get the agreement on the Bingaman amendment and then we would go on through some other information here.

Mr. LOTT. We would like to have debate on three identifiable amendments tonight, with three votes occurring in the morning, stacked, at 9:45. This can be one of those three that we would like to have debated tonight and voted on first thing in the morning.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, let's get the unanimous-consent request, and I believe the Senator could do it right at that point before we go to the vote.

Mr. LOTT. If I could ask the Senator to respond to this question: Would that knock out the entire funding for the space-based laser?

Mr. LOTT. If I could be recognized to speak on this amendment. Does the Senator from New Mexico wish to modify his amendment? I would like to make sure I am speaking on the amendment that is before the body before I speak on this amendment.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I wish to speak on that amendment, but I will withhold while Senator Kyl asks for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, what is the pending business now?

Mr. LOTT. I understand that there may be as many as four or five additional issues to be resolved on this bill. I encourage all Members who have amendments that they really are serious about identify those to the managers of the legislation tonight, and any votes ordered on those will be stacked. We will try to get a unanimous-consent agreement on the time on those remaining amendments when we come in, in the morning. So there will be no further votes this evening, with the first votes to begin tomorrow morning at 9:45. We really need the Senators' cooperation so we can complete this legislation. I thank the Senator from South Dakota for his assistance in this effort.

Mr. LOTT. Let me clarify what it is, since it has been changed. The request is that we have 30 minutes of debate tonight after the stacked votes on the Bingaman amendment, that there be no second-degree amendments in order, that when we come in at 9:30, we will have 15 minutes, equally divided, on the Bingaman amendment, with the vote beginning at or about 9:45. So that is the first part of the request.

Mr. LOTT. I don't think the request was made. I yield to the Senator from Virginia.