Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and say farewell to an outstanding Naval Officer, Commander Michael Lipski, upon his departure from my staff. Commander Lipski was selected to work as a Navy Fellow in my office during the First Session of the 107th Congress due to his outstanding professional reputation and superior knowledge of Defense programs, industry, and the military construction requirements process. It is a privilege for me to recognize a fellow Mississippian for the devotion to duty, exceptional performance, and outstanding professionalism he has provided to the United States Senate, the Department of Defense, and our great Nation. Commander Lipski entered the University of Mississippi in 1979 and was commissioned as an Ensign upon graduation in 1984. After his completion of the Navy's Surface Warfare Officer School in 1985, he served as Auxiliaries Officer and Main Propulsion Assistant on USS Oliver Hazard Perry, FFG-7, where he earned his qualification as a Surface Warfare Officer. In 1988, Commander Lipski became an Assistant Professor of Naval Science at Florida A&M University where he instructed Midshipmen in ship systems engineering, weapon systems theory, shipboard operations and navigation. While at Florida A&M, he also earned his Craftmaster qualification and served as the Officer-in- Charge of the Naval Sail Training Vessel Dolphin, NSY-29. In December 1989, Commander Lipski was designated a Civil Engineer Corps Officer and served on the staff of the Officer-in-Charge of Construction, Mariana Islands as an Assistant Resident Officer-in-Charge of Construction. After leaving Guam in 1992, he was assigned to Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Cutler, ME, as the Public Works Officer and Officer-in-Charge of Naval Facilities and Engineering Command Contracts. After a follow-on assignment to the Naval Postgraduate School, where he earned a Masters degree in Financial Management, Commander Lipski served as the Public Works Officer at the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, MS. While in Gulfport, he superbly managed over $60 million in military construction projects. He also wrote a Master Plan for Seabee Base Gulfport that led to over $100 million in quality of life and mission support military construction projects that have greatly improved the operational capability and morale of the Seabees and their families stationed in Gulfport. Prior to joining my staff in January 2001, Commander Lipski served with distinction for two years on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations ensuring that our sailors and their families had top- notch bachelor quarters and family housing to live in. Commander Lipski quickly became a valued member of my staff where he led several legislative initiatives that enormously benefitted the Department of Defense, the Navy, and the State of Mississippi. He worked hard to ensure that the Defense authorization and appropriations bills for fiscal year 2002 included legislative provisions and specific programs aimed at modernizing and recapitalizing our military and improving the quality of life of our service members and their families. Specifically, he did a great deal of research and analysis that led to a complete rewrite of the statutes governing the management and oversight of the Armed Forces Retirement Homes. This new legislation will ensure the financial viability of our Armed Forces Retirement Homes and quality care for the residents well into the 21st century. Commander Lipski also articulated a successful case for adding $28 million in military construction projects for Mississippi's military bases. Commander Lipski's strong leadership, hard work, and vision led to congressional actions that will ensure our military is properly equipped and trained to meet head-on the challenges it will face in the future. Commander Lipski is married to the former Jill Daria Wiltzius of Spooner, WI. He is the son of John and Eleanor Lipski of Long Beach, MS. Mike is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Mississippi, a member of the Navy Acquisition Professional Community, and a member of the Society of American Military Engineers. His many awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and numerous other service awards. Throughout his career, Commander Lipski has served the United States Navy and our Nation with excellence and distinction. He will be sorely missed on Capitol Hill but his return to the Naval Service will benefit Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the Navy's commands in the southeastern United States, and our great Nation. On behalf of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I wish Mike and Jill ``fair winds and following seas.''

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and say farewell to an outstanding Air Force officer, Major Jeff ``JoBu'' Prichard, upon his departure from my staff. Major Prichard was selected as an Air Force Fellow to work in my office during the First Session of the 107th Congress due to his outstanding professional reputation and superior knowledge of Defense issues, the United States Air Force requirements process, and the military presence in my home State. He has been a valued team member and it is a privilege for me to recognize his many outstanding achievements and the superior service he has provided the United States Senate, the Air Force, and our Nation. Major Prichard, a native of the State of Mississippi, graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant through the Reserve Officer Training Corps, ROTC. Since then, Major Prichard has spent the majority of his career patrolling the world's skies as an Air Force fighter pilot. Following flight training, he began his service flying the F-15C ``Eagle'' in the 67th Fighter Squadron, 18th Tactical Fighter Wing in Okinawa, Japan. During this tour, Major Prichard was selected as a member of the 18th Wing team that won the 1992 Worldwide William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Competition and he out flew all competitors to win the coveted ``Topgun'' Trophy. After his tour in Japan, he reported to the 60th Fighter Squadron in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, where he deployed in support of Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti and Operation SOUTHERN WATCH where he lead 34 combat missions patrolling the skies over Iraq enforcing the no-fly zone. Also during this tour, Major Prichard attended the Air Force's Weapons School at Nellis AFB, NV, and in September 1996 was handpicked to return as an instructor. In 1999, Major Prichard left the cockpit to serve on the staff of the Secretary of the Air Force in Washington, DC, as the Air-to-Air Missile Program Manager and then was selected to serve as a Military Legislative Fellow during the 1st session of the 107th Congress. Major Prichard quickly became a valued member of my staff sharing his proven operational experience and insightful knowledge on a number of Department of Defense issues, including defense health care, operational beddown of C-17 and C-130J aircraft, various weapons systems, military construction, and university research programs. Specifically, Jeff was instrumental in helping the Air Force craft a C- 130J Roadmap for future beddown of operational assets that took into account Congressional concerns. He helped me articulate a successful case for adding funding for additional maintenance training simulators and military construction projects that will help ensure the successful beddown in Jackson, MS of the first ever C-17 aircraft assigned to the National Guard. He helped craft new legislation that will ensure the financial viability of our Armed Forces Retirement Homes and the quality of life for the residents well into the 21st century. He also provided extremely valuable inputs in helping to craft legislation that established the future site of the Air Force Memorial while preserving as much acreage as possible for the Arlington National Cemetery. Major Prichard's coordination with the staffs of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee led to over $28 million in additional military construction funding for Mississippi's military bases and yielded over $100 million in research, development, test, and evaluation funds for universities in Mississippi. Major Prichard is married to the former Wendy Lynn Hurlbert of Minneapolis, MN. They have three children, 10-year-old daughter Sydney, 8-year-old son Jeffrey Jr., and 5-year-old daughter Hailey. Among Major Prichard's many awards and decorations are the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and Air Force Achievement Medal. Major Prichard will return to the Air Force at Langley AFB, Virginia, where he will once again control the skies in the F-15C. I have appreciated greatly Major Jeff Prichard's contributions to my team and I will miss him. On behalf of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I wish Major Prichard and his family ``Good Hunting and Godspeed.''

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I believe Senator Daschle has appropriately described the procedure that is being employed in this situation. It is highly appropriate we begin this new year by trying to work through the amendments and the process that can get us to an economic security package. I do think the economy needs some stimulus. I do think we need additional unemployment compensation. I think we need to look at ways to give incentives to small businessmen and women to create jobs so we have growth in the economy, so we are not just trying to help our people make sure they have something to live on this week but so they can get and have a good paying job in the future. We could debate about when we should have done it and how we should do it, but the fact is we should do this. We have talked back and forth during the past 24 hours about the best way to proceed. I obviously thought the best way to proceed was to call up the House-passed bipartisan bill, have it open for amendment and debate and see how it moved and to get a vote on that, but we could not come to agreement to get that done. We also looked at coming up with this so-called common approach with the four components and limiting amendments. Part of the problem was the fourth item, the Federal assistance to the States. The way it was going to be introduced was not in the bipartisan House-passed package so it was thought this was not a common approach provision by our people. There also was some resistance, I think in both conferences, to say we can only have two or three amendments. I believe by having an opportunity to offer amendments on both sides after a reasonable period of time Members are going to make a decision. We need to go ahead and get this done and get it to conference or, if we cannot come to agreement on something, it deserves to go forward. It is going to be difficult because at this point procedurally 60 votes are required for amendments or substitutes. We will have a full debate. We will have a chance to offer amendments, and I think it is necessary and appropriate that we try to get a stimulus package done. So after a lot of discussion back and forth, this is the best procedure we could purpose. We did not require a vote on the motion to proceed to the bill that was being used to call up this procedure, and we are not filibustering it. We want it resolved. I think this could get it resolved, but it is going to be tough. It is going to take some give and take on both sides. We have to try to come up with something that will enjoy bipartisan support to get 60 votes. We will see if we can get that done. It is certainly worth the effort. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, if I may take just one moment. I see Senator Daschle is getting ready to propound some unanimous consent requests. Let me take a moment to say to the managers of the legislation and the chairman and ranking member of the committee, I know this has not been easy. There have been a lot of great ideas on both sides of the aisle as to how we could improve it or change it. You have been tenacious, you stuck with it, and you produced a good piece of legislation that is important for our country, important for our men and women in uniform. This very morning the President called and said he was pleased with the result and he appreciates the leadership the Senate gave in this area. I commend all of you, Senator Inouye, Senator Stevens, and Senator Byrd, for the work that has been done here. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I see the Senator from Louisiana will be seeking recognition in a moment. I will be relatively brief. Let me say to Senator Byrd from West Virginia, I stayed on the floor because even in all the tumult here this afternoon, as we were trying to get final agreement on a number of bills or establish disagreement, I learned that Senator Byrd was going to give a speech on foreign policy issues. I have heard him speak on this subject before and found it very interesting, thoughtful, and thought provoking. That is why I stayed and listened because I wanted to hear what the Senator from West Virginia had to say in this area. As I suspected, I found it interesting and useful. I hope the administration will review these remarks, and I hope those in the Middle East who are involved in a very dangerous situation on all sides will take into consideration what has been said there. For years I have been concerned that our policy didn't always make sense. We seemed to be giving money to all sides with no assurances and sometimes not even participation by those who received that aid. I have always thought it was almost contradictory, maybe even hypocritical. This is a volatile part of the world. It is a place where the pages of history do reflect conflict and bloodshed. We all hope and pray for a peaceful solution. I do think it is going to take an extraordinary effort. First, the Palestinians have to be prepared to accept peace and security with Israel. Israel has to be prepared to seek a negotiated peace agreement. All have to be participants, including other Arab countries in the world receiving aid from America. And America has to be prepared to press these points on them. I say to Senator Byrd, I appreciate his taking the time. More Senators should think about this subject and express themselves. We should take a look at our foreign operations appropriations process more closely, maybe consider making some changes next year. We also need to take advantage of this time in which we find ourselves with support from countries that have not traditionally been our allies, a number of people who are working with us against whom we had been taking unilateral sanction actions. We should review all of that. The world is different now. It is an opportunity, as we move forward in fighting terrorism, completing the action in Afghanistan, and looking at where terrorism may be in other parts of the world. It is going to be an opportunity for this administration, under the leadership of President Bush and Secretary Powell and his other advisers, such as Condoleezza Rice, to change our thinking and to improve our position and our relationship with a number of countries around the world. I thank Senator Byrd for his remarks this afternoon. I do commend them to all Senators when they have an opportunity.

Mr. LOTT. I am glad to yield to Senator Byrd.

Mr. LOTT. Yes, bioterrorism.

Mr. LOTT. That is the bioterrorism legislation, I might say to the Senator from West Virginia. It has been very laboriously worked through by Senator Craig, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Frist. This is an area where we need to do more. This is only authorization. It would still be subject to the appropriations process. But it does authorize a great deal more activity in very critical areas such as public health service. And, of course, Senator Roberts also worked to get a food aspect of that in agriculture. Agriculture terrorism is an area where we have to be concerned, too. I think it is good legislation. I appreciate Senator Byrd's making that observation and agreeing that we could move it. Once Senator Reid returns to the floor, we will renew our unanimous consent request at that time.

Mr. LOTT. We need to do it because he has been in my office several times explaining it. I would like to get it done because I have heard enough to be convinced.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I do want to say on other matters that we passed this afternoon and on which we didn't get to comment too much, I am glad we did what we did with regard to victims' tax relief, the spouses who lost loved ones in the Twin Towers and at the Pentagon. I met with a group of them, most of them women, but a man also. It was one of the most cheerful things I have experienced. These are women, most of them young women with children, some of them pregnant, some of them with no income right now; some of them hadn't gotten much in terms of charitable assistance. I was floored to learn that we taxed charitable contributions or receipts to individuals who had been hit by a disaster such as this. I think we should say as to the funds they receive from charitable contributions, these spouses who have lost their loved ones, not only should they not have to pay taxes on the charity they receive but no American should. I have gone back and checked on the history now and found out how that happened. At one point there was a budget need for $10 billion. So they said, we can just do a tax on charitable receipts for 5 years and that will take care of this $10 billion hole. So I am glad we did that. I appreciate that there were Senators from all over the country on other issues, such as Senator Baucus and the Senator from New York, who were willing to put aside very important issues to them to make sure we didn't leave this issue on the table. Terrorism Reinsurance

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, another issue I was very sorry we couldn't work out was the terrorism reinsurance. We should have moved that today. We should have moved it a month ago. What happened was Senator Gramm, Senator Dodd, and Senator Sarbanes came to agreement on a bill in the committee of jurisdiction, the Banking and Financial Services Committee. It had some limits on liability. But then it was basically taken away from those Senators, and they were told we were not going to do it that way. The bill that Senator Daschle asked consent to move this afternoon did not have any limits on attorney's fees or any prohibitions on punitive damages. And Senator McConnell then said: We should move the bill, but we should have at least a vote on whether or not there should be any limits on liabilities. That is all we were asking, not that it just be included, which it should have been because that was what was in the committee, but that we have an opportunity to vote on that. And, by the way, as an old whip, I had counted the votes, and the votes were here in the Senate to pass that bill with no punitive damages allowed and some limits on liability. Otherwise, we would have lawsuits being settled and attorney fees and punitive damages coming out of the Federal Treasury if we had a terrorist attack that invoked this terrorism reinsurance. So I hope we don't have a situation at the end of the year where buildings will not be able to be built because they won't get loans because there won't be terrorism insurance. Maybe too much won't happen between now and the end of January or early February, but we need to address this issue. When we do, it should have some reasonable tort reform included, as the Federal tort claims law now provides. One other brief point, and I will yield so others may speak. Mr. President, in the 29 years I have been in Congress, the House and the Senate, we have worked through a lot of difficult issues. We have committee action, we pass things in the House and Senate, we have intense negotiations in conference, but at some point we bring it to a conclusion and we pass it. I have never seen an issue that more work went into than this stimulus package with no result. The President was personally involved. The President personally made concessions. The House and the Senate were involved. We set up a system of negotiators involving Senator Baucus, Senator Grassley, and Senator Rockefeller. We finally had a bill before us this afternoon that would provide stimulus for the economy, tax incentives for businesses, big and small, and for individuals to be able to keep a little more of their taxes, lowering the 27 percent tax bracket down to 25, helping people who make as low as $28,000 for an individual, and $40,000 for a couple--not exactly wealthy people, and not even middle income, if you get down to it--and assistance for unemployed, increased benefits for them, and a new precedent of health insurance coverage. We could not even get it up to a vote. I believe if we would have had a vote on that issue today, there would have been 60 votes to override a point of order. I would not want to have to go back to my State and explain how I voted against a bill that provided additional unemployment compensation, health insurance coverage for the unemployed, expensing for small business men and women, and rate cuts for middle-income individuals. I don't think I could have defended that. Therefore, I would have voted for it, and I believe 60 or more Senators would have voted for it. But it is here. I hope the economy begins to show continued growth. There is good news for the third week in a row. Unemployment claims are down. We have a robust, dynamic economy in America. Maybe it won't be needed. But if we come back in late January and February and it is still stumbling along, and we are not seeing positive signs of real recovery, we are going to have to revisit this issue. We should also revisit the issue Senator Domenici raised--the payroll tax holiday--and put that in place of some of the other provisions in this bill. This bill is pretty expensive already. I think we need to take some things out of this bill. That would provide a quick, immediate impact on the economy. If we didn't collect that 12.4 percent payroll tax for 1 month on individuals and employers, that would have an impact immediately. So that may be something to which we will have to return. There will be a lot of accusations back and forth as to why we didn't get it done, but I will say I think for the American people, no matter how it happened, it is a shame we didn't complete work on that piece of legislation. I hope next year we will start on a positive note and pass a national energy policy bill, and pass an agriculture bill that has better policy in it than the one we considered, and also pass trade legislation that would help the economy. I think we can do those things, a lot of other good things, and a stimulus bill if the economy calls for it. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT. Yes, and I do so.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I thank Senator Reid for moving this very important Bioterrorism Preparedness Act forward. I commend Senators Frist, Kennedy, and Gregg for their work. We intend to work with the House and get this passed quickly when we return. I thank Senator Reid.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, the supplemental spending portion of the Department of Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002, H.R. 3338, including funding for the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs' Justice Assistance account. Among the authorized uses of these funds are research and development to support counter-terrorism technologies, training for first responders, and grants for State and local domestic preparedness support. The scope of events for which our communities are attempting to prepare is broad, including release of radiological, chemical or biological agents, explosions, armed confrontations, and hostage-taking. While the details of how these situations would affect a community and the appropriate responses differ due to local circumstances, weather, and topography, similar methods for planning for, detecting, and monitoring these events may apply nationwide. It has come to my attention that technology and supporting online services are available to communities to provide emergency responders with the information necessary to manage and mitigate damage from such terrorist acts that have the potential to endanger individuals and entire communities. These systems are capable of monitoring from a remote location the release of radiological, chemical, and biological agents over open terrain or urban environments. Taking into consideration real-time weather conditions from multiple meteorological sensors, these systems can assess the need for evacuations and the potential for human loss or harm and physical damage. I appreciate that the Office of Justice Programs works hard, both within its research and development arm, the National Institute for Justice, and in coordination with other Departments and agencies, to develop new technologies and standardized equipment and training to assist State and local responders with their preparations for these type of events. It seems an appropriate use the funds provided by this bill to the Office of Justice Programs to assess the capabilities of such systems and their utility for State and local entities with domestic terrorism responsibilities, and to work with other departments and agencies to include such systems in standard equipment lists for domestic terrorism response. I ask the Senator from New Hampshire, who is the ranking member on the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Department of Justice, whether he agrees with that assessment.

Mr. LOTT. I thank my distinguished colleague for his assistance in this matter. boeing 767 leasing provision

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Has the unanimous consent request been agreed to?

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I seek recognition, but in view of what we have just agreed to, I know the Senator from New Jersey wants to be heard. I yield the floor to him.

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I will be brief because I know we want to finish up the debate on the Defense appropriations conference report and get a recorded vote. There are Senators who would like that to occur sooner rather than later, so I will not belabor the point. I am glad we worked out the agreement on the victims' disaster of September 11. I appreciate the cooperation all the way around. One can tell by the discussion that one of the reasons some of these other meritorious items were not added is that once we had one, there would be two, three, four, and we could not get all those worked out in the short time we had, and we stood the chance of losing the victims' tax provisions. I am glad we did that. Also, I understand many of these provisions, including the New York provision, are in the stimulus package that has been voted on by the House. We are going to eventually get a stimulus package, and I hope and expect that provision will be in the bill. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of H.R. 3529, which is the stimulus package received from the House. I further ask unanimous consent that there be 60 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form; further, I ask that at the expiration or yielding back of that time, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage of the bill, with points of order waived. Before the Chair rules on this unanimous consent request, I add that if there is any additional debate time--if 2 or 3 hours would be needed--I will certainly amend my unanimous consent request to accommodate more debate.

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I want to make sure I understand the proposal: That we would not have a vote on that addition but to just include it in the package. Is that correct?

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, under those conditions, I would have to object. Let me just say that if we can set it up in a way to have a rollcall vote on that rather than a voice vote to make that very substantial change, I think we need to do both, and therefore I would have to object to that modification.

Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. It is my understanding there are concerns with the Police Corps Program. It appears that funding from within the current fiscal year is not being made available to certain States.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I yield myself leader time so I may respond. I know Senator Daschle might want to close the debate. Let me just emphasize on this issue, first of all, I don't believe this is a record. I think if you go back and search the record, we have spent as long as 30 days on an agriculture bill. We could go back and forth over what the length of time was. The important thing, though, is to get the right thing done. This legislation does not expire until next year. We are not going to get a conference agreement on this legislation whether we complete action now or next week or sometime before the end of the year. The conference will go well into the next year. I suspect this will be a pretty difficult and long conference. There is no need to continue to have this vote. Unfortunately, this is the most partisan farm bill I recall seeing in my 29 years in the Congress. Farm bills are almost always, if not always, very bipartisan in the way they are brought out of committee and the way they are considered on the floor. Unfortunately, that has not been the case here. Farm legislation is very important. We should make sure, when we come back next year, this is the first issue pending and complete action. In the meantime though, we should keep our focus on the three appropriations conference reports, seeing if we can get a bill through that will help the families and the unemployed on the stimulus package, and see if we can get an agreement on the terrorism reinsurance and bioterrorism. Those are the issues we really can do, should do, and I hope we will do. I urge my colleagues, do not rush to judgment. Let's not be forced to invoke cloture when there are important amendments that would be cut off, such as the one Senator Grassley has on limitations. There is no need to be panicked here. We can do this. We can do it right. We cannot cut off our colleagues who have good amendments. We can complete action in due time and get a good farm bill well before the law expires.