Patty Murray

Ms. MURRAY

Ms. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to hold a Roundtable Discussion during the session of the Senate on Monday, March 26, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the Roundtable is to discuss the progress of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme and to receive information on lessons learned for policymakers who want to better understand how a market-based trading program could operate efficiently and effectively in the United States.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to Morning Business with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Ms. MURRAY

Ms. MURRAY. Mr. President, today Senator SESSIONS and I are pleased to introduce the Striving Readers Act. This bipartisan bill will help America's middle and high school students gain the literacy skills they need to succeed in school and graduate ready for college and the workplace. I want to thank Senator Sessions for his work on this issue and for shining a light on his State's success in raising literacy achievement. I also want to thank our original cosponsors Senators Akaka, Bingaman, Dodd, Kerry, Lincoln, Burr, Cochran, Domenici, and Lott for partnering with us. Finally, I offer thanks to our staff, Kathryn Young and Liz Stillwell, who have worked on this bill, and the Alliance for Excellent Education, the International Reading Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals for their work. Our bill addresses a serious problem. Today 8 million middle and high school students across the Nation cannot read well enough to succeed in school. This contributes to their likelihood to disengage and drop out. Those that do graduate too often falter when they begin college or work and then need remediation. All around the country educators and stakeholders are working to improve literacy, and this bill gives us a way to support their efforts. We know that literacy is at the base of every academic subject, and it is crucial to student academic success. Our bill will engage and reinvigorate those students on the brink of failure. The Striving Readers Act constitutes a comprehensive effort to give States, districts, and schools the resources they need to ensure every student reads and writes well enough to succeed. It would provide grants to every State to develop State literacy initiatives that guide and support districts and schools to improve reading and writing. It would provide grants to districts and schools to assist students who are below grade level and to train teachers in core subjects in literacy strategies for all students. It would also provide new information on what works for struggling readers by conducting evaluations of programs. This bill could not come at a more important time. In Washington State, 66 percent of 8th graders read below ``Proficient'' on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. These students, who are at the bottom in terms of achievement, are more likely to drop out than those at the top. Among this group, minority students' scores are of particular concern. Seventy-three percent of Washington State's African-American students and 85 percent of Hispanic students read below the ``Proficient'' level. These students are falling behind, and they need our support. I'm pleased to report that my State has made great efforts to remedy the problem of low literacy levels. My State launched the Washington State Reading Initiative in 2003 to provide support to struggling readers in every grade, including middle and high school. Since then, our K-12 Reading Model has attracted national attention as a systematic reform model. Our program includes statewide training for teachers to identify and provide intervention for students at all grade levels. My State trains teachers in all subjects to teach reading strategies to students. And my State provides guidance to teachers and administrators for applying best practices in classrooms. But they should not have to continue these efforts alone. The challenges we face in Washington are not unique; every State struggles with adolescent literacy. Nationally 71 percent of 8th graders and 65 percent of 12th graders read below grade level. It should not surprise us, then, that only 34 percent of American teenagers graduate with the skills they need to do well in college or in the workforce. If we are to remain globally competitive, Congress must authorize and fund a significant adolescent literacy investment for every State. The Striving Readers Act would fulfill this need. As a country, we currently only substantially support reading initiatives through the third grade. International comparisons of reading performance placed American 11th graders close to the bottom, behind students from the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, and other developing nations. The Striving Readers Act will help support these middle and high schoolers and help our Nation raise its literacy levels to compete in a global market. Students are not the only ones who pay the price for low literacy achievement. With every student who falls behind, our economy suffers. The National Center for Education Statistics found that 53 percent of undergraduates require remediation. One-half of these students required a remedial writing course, and 35 percent took remedial reading. That means community colleges spend $1.4 billion every year catching kids up to where they should have been when they graduated. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy reports that America's businesses and colleges are spending $16.6 billion each year to teach graduates what they should have learned in middle and high school. This is a costly consequence of failing to intervene in a timely manner. We must not continue to make this mistake at the expense of students' futures. The good news is that research shows we can help struggling students make progress. For example, research shows that adolescents with lagging literacy skills can master college material if they receive high quality literacy instruction in school. In fact, a recent study by ACT found that students with better literacy skills in high school do better in their math, science, and social studies courses--both in high school and in college. Better literacy is the foundation for improving student achievement in all subjects, lowering dropout rates, and ensuring students do well when they go on to college or the workforce. The Striving Readers bill provides a path for this. Specifically, the Striving Readers bill would: Help States create statewide literacy initiatives, share data on student progress to parents and the public, and improve teacher training and professional development in literacy so that all students receive high quality instruction. Help districts and schools create plans to improve literacy, including targeted interventions for students way below grade level, top notch assessments for all students, training for teachers in every subject to incorporate literacy strategies, and regular data to improve teaching and learning. Allow districts and schools to hire and place literacy coaches, train parents to support the literacy development of their child, or connect learning inside the classroom with learning that takes place outside the classroom. Ensure States, districts, and schools participate in a rigorous evaluation that demonstrates student progress. Require the Federal Government to complete an overall evaluation of the program to determine its impact on the Nation's middle and high schools. The Striving Readers Act comprises a necessary and urgent investment in adolescent students. We created the Reading First program to strengthen students' reading skills in the elementary grades. While I do have major concerns with the implementation of this program, the intent of the law and the commitment to elementary reading skills is undoubtedly positive. But with reading proficiency stagnating after 4th grade, it is clear that we need a significant investment in the higher grades as well. In crafting the Striving Readers bill, we took steps to correct and guard against implementation concerns, and I believe that this bill will provide the critical resources, training, and evaluation to implement high quality adolescent literacy initiatives around the country. I introduced the PASS Act, first in 2003, and in subsequent legislation, to take a comprehensive approach to improving student achievement in our Nation's high schools, including use of literacy and math coaches, as well as research-based support for high schools with the most need. The Striving Readers Act will complement this and allow States and schools to effectively address the literacy needs of adolescents in 4th grade and up. Now is the time to invest in literacy for older students and make their success a reality. This issue cannot wait any longer. I hope that my colleagues in the Senate will join Senator Sessions and me in supporting the Striving Readers Act. And I hope we will authorize Striving Readers as part of No Child Left Behind so that children in every State have the reading skills they need to succeed in school, college, and the workplace.

Ms. MURRAY

Ms. MURRAY. Mr. President, today Senator SESSIONS and I are pleased to introduce the Striving Readers Act. This bipartisan bill will help America's middle and high school students gain the literacy skills they need to succeed in school and graduate ready for college and the workplace. I want to thank Senator Sessions for his work on this issue and for shining a light on his State's success in raising literacy achievement. I also want to thank our original cosponsors Senators Akaka, Bingaman, Dodd, Kerry, Lincoln, Burr, Cochran, Domenici, and Lott for partnering with us. Finally, I offer thanks to our staff, Kathryn Young and Liz Stillwell, who have worked on this bill, and the Alliance for Excellent Education, the International Reading Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals for their work. Our bill addresses a serious problem. Today 8 million middle and high school students across the Nation cannot read well enough to succeed in school. This contributes to their likelihood to disengage and drop out. Those that do graduate too often falter when they begin college or work and then need remediation. All around the country educators and stakeholders are working to improve literacy, and this bill gives us a way to support their efforts. We know that literacy is at the base of every academic subject, and it is crucial to student academic success. Our bill will engage and reinvigorate those students on the brink of failure. The Striving Readers Act constitutes a comprehensive effort to give States, districts, and schools the resources they need to ensure every student reads and writes well enough to succeed. It would provide grants to every State to develop State literacy initiatives that guide and support districts and schools to improve reading and writing. It would provide grants to districts and schools to assist students who are below grade level and to train teachers in core subjects in literacy strategies for all students. It would also provide new information on what works for struggling readers by conducting evaluations of programs. This bill could not come at a more important time. In Washington State, 66 percent of 8th graders read below ``Proficient'' on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. These students, who are at the bottom in terms of achievement, are more likely to drop out than those at the top. Among this group, minority students' scores are of particular concern. Seventy-three percent of Washington State's African-American students and 85 percent of Hispanic students read below the ``Proficient'' level. These students are falling behind, and they need our support. I'm pleased to report that my State has made great efforts to remedy the problem of low literacy levels. My State launched the Washington State Reading Initiative in 2003 to provide support to struggling readers in every grade, including middle and high school. Since then, our K-12 Reading Model has attracted national attention as a systematic reform model. Our program includes statewide training for teachers to identify and provide intervention for students at all grade levels. My State trains teachers in all subjects to teach reading strategies to students. And my State provides guidance to teachers and administrators for applying best practices in classrooms. But they should not have to continue these efforts alone. The challenges we face in Washington are not unique; every State struggles with adolescent literacy. Nationally 71 percent of 8th graders and 65 percent of 12th graders read below grade level. It should not surprise us, then, that only 34 percent of American teenagers graduate with the skills they need to do well in college or in the workforce. If we are to remain globally competitive, Congress must authorize and fund a significant adolescent literacy investment for every State. The Striving Readers Act would fulfill this need. As a country, we currently only substantially support reading initiatives through the third grade. International comparisons of reading performance placed American 11th graders close to the bottom, behind students from the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, and other developing nations. The Striving Readers Act will help support these middle and high schoolers and help our Nation raise its literacy levels to compete in a global market. Students are not the only ones who pay the price for low literacy achievement. With every student who falls behind, our economy suffers. The National Center for Education Statistics found that 53 percent of undergraduates require remediation. One-half of these students required a remedial writing course, and 35 percent took remedial reading. That means community colleges spend $1.4 billion every year catching kids up to where they should have been when they graduated. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy reports that America's businesses and colleges are spending $16.6 billion each year to teach graduates what they should have learned in middle and high school. This is a costly consequence of failing to intervene in a timely manner. We must not continue to make this mistake at the expense of students' futures. The good news is that research shows we can help struggling students make progress. For example, research shows that adolescents with lagging literacy skills can master college material if they receive high quality literacy instruction in school. In fact, a recent study by ACT found that students with better literacy skills in high school do better in their math, science, and social studies courses--both in high school and in college. Better literacy is the foundation for improving student achievement in all subjects, lowering dropout rates, and ensuring students do well when they go on to college or the workforce. The Striving Readers bill provides a path for this. Specifically, the Striving Readers bill would: Help States create statewide literacy initiatives, share data on student progress to parents and the public, and improve teacher training and professional development in literacy so that all students receive high quality instruction. Help districts and schools create plans to improve literacy, including targeted interventions for students way below grade level, top notch assessments for all students, training for teachers in every subject to incorporate literacy strategies, and regular data to improve teaching and learning. Allow districts and schools to hire and place literacy coaches, train parents to support the literacy development of their child, or connect learning inside the classroom with learning that takes place outside the classroom. Ensure States, districts, and schools participate in a rigorous evaluation that demonstrates student progress. Require the Federal Government to complete an overall evaluation of the program to determine its impact on the Nation's middle and high schools. The Striving Readers Act comprises a necessary and urgent investment in adolescent students. We created the Reading First program to strengthen students' reading skills in the elementary grades. While I do have major concerns with the implementation of this program, the intent of the law and the commitment to elementary reading skills is undoubtedly positive. But with reading proficiency stagnating after 4th grade, it is clear that we need a significant investment in the higher grades as well. In crafting the Striving Readers bill, we took steps to correct and guard against implementation concerns, and I believe that this bill will provide the critical resources, training, and evaluation to implement high quality adolescent literacy initiatives around the country. I introduced the PASS Act, first in 2003, and in subsequent legislation, to take a comprehensive approach to improving student achievement in our Nation's high schools, including use of literacy and math coaches, as well as research-based support for high schools with the most need. The Striving Readers Act will complement this and allow States and schools to effectively address the literacy needs of adolescents in 4th grade and up. Now is the time to invest in literacy for older students and make their success a reality. This issue cannot wait any longer. I hope that my colleagues in the Senate will join Senator Sessions and me in supporting the Striving Readers Act. And I hope we will authorize Striving Readers as part of No Child Left Behind so that children in every State have the reading skills they need to succeed in school, college, and the workplace.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I rise to support the Baucus amendment as opposed to the Cornyn amendment. I am thrilled this budget before us addresses health care in a responsible way in the amendment from this side. We provide up to $50 billion for this critical Children's Health Insurance Program over the next 15 years that will allow eligible children, who are not today enrolled, to be able to get the coverage they so necessarily need, and it is a critical step. I commend the authors on this side and Senator Conrad for his tremendous work on that amendment. I rise also to thank Senator Conrad for his tremendous leadership in finally bringing us a budget that redirects the priorities of America's working families. Our families across the country want us to focus on strengthening our country from within. That starts by investing at home in our schools, as Senator Kennedy talked about, and in our infrastructure, and in our communities. That is exactly what this budget does. It still provides every dollar the President asked for for Defense spending over the next 5 years. Americans want us to make investments in our future in a responsible way. Every family knows the importance of fiscal discipline and the importance of keeping a balanced budget. They expect the Federal Government to share that responsibility. With this budget, we are restoring an important pay-as-you-go rule that means we are being responsible today, and we are not burdening our grandchildren with new debt tomorrow. American families, we know, also need relief from taxes that are too much today squeezing the middle class, and the budget Senator Conrad has put forward provides relief from the alternative minimum tax for 2 years and avoids any tax increases. I commend him for his responsible approach. With this budget, we are proving we can invest in our people and our communities and our security without sacrificing the future. It is important to note, as we debate the budget today, that it reflects a new direction for our country. I recall last November when the American people demanded a change, and this budget reflects that call. It says across this country that we will no longer see our veterans shortchanged on their medical care; we will no longer see our communities facing very painful cuts in housing; we will no longer have our ports having gaping security holes they have faced for too long; no longer will our schools be so underfunded; no longer will community health care be undermined continuously at the Federal level; and importantly, no longer will we keep forcing more debt onto our children and grandchildren, without a plan to bring this budget back into balance. On this side, we have said for a number of years there is a better way, and this budget proves that. I recognize, as we all do, we cannot fund everything everybody wants. No budget can. But this budget, I believe, moves us in the right direction in a responsible way, and that is a dramatic new start for this Senate. Last year, we were struggling to protect critical needs. This year, we are investing in them. I wish to highlight some of the national priorities in this budget. We know the Bush administration has not adequately funded veterans health care. Now, as we begin the fifth year of this war this week, that becomes more and more evident across the country--whether it is our veterans, who have been struggling to get mental health care, or are waiting in long lines for benefit claims, or a lack of focus on the signature issue of this war, traumatic brain injury, that we have seen highlighted in the press over the last several weeks, or seeing that veterans are shortchanged at medical facilities, as we saw with Walter Reed. This budget we are presenting to America increases our support for veterans by $3.5 billion over the President's proposal. In fact, the total $43.1 billion we are now investing in veterans' care represents a full 98 percent of the independent budget. That is the budget that has been devised by our veterans service organizations that, as we all know, clearly have proven to be fairly accurate in what they have told us they needed over the last years. Our budget also, importantly, rejects the President's proposal that would have imposed new fees and higher drug copayments on some of our veterans. Those fees would force more than 100,000 of our veterans to leave the VA health care system, and that was wrongheaded. I have seen personally the detrimental effects of underfunding veterans health care. As everybody knows, I have fought very hard on this floor to fix the administration's funding blunders and had to work hard here to increase veterans funding by $3 billion in 2005 and 2006. By increasing funding for veterans, this budget finally does what the administration has failed to do, and that is recognize the service and sacrifice of those men and women who have paid the price of this war. We heard Senator Kennedy a few minutes ago make a strong statement on education. This budget begins to invest here at home in our schools. We have seen years of painful cuts. After that time, we have produced a budget today that addresses the needs of American families who worry so much about finding and affording educational opportunities for their children. This budget provides the largest increase in funding for elementary and secondary education programs in 5 years. That is going to make a real difference for families across this country. We increase funding for the Department of Education by $6.1 billion above the President's budget and restore all of the painful cuts he proposed--in Perkins grants, Pell grants, Head Start, No Child Left Behind, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Those are not just names of programs; those are real children who are impacted by the lack of funding we have seen, and this budget restores that. I can tell my colleagues that as a former educator and a parent, I know the importance of having the full partnership of the Federal Government in supporting our children and our students. I am so glad this budget strengthens the partnership and eliminates harmful cuts. I also wish to mention the important investment in this budget in securing our ports. Last year, I worked with other Senators on both sides of the aisle to pass the Safe Ports Act. Unfortunately, even with the passage of that authorization, the President didn't adequately fund this vital program for the security of our country. We, in this budget, increased funding for the Safe Ports Act and provided $400 million for the Port Security Grant Program. That funding means more radiation detectors, more partners in safe trade, and more customs officials who are needed in order to facilitate our trade. I am very proud that this budget takes real steps, concrete steps to improve port security, while also making sure we maintain and improve our trade efficiency. Finally, I give my personal thanks to Senator Conrad and his staff for their tireless work in leading the fight on this budget. It has been a privilege to stand at his side on the Budget Committee and to work with him to right this fiscal ship. This budget, once again, invests in the true priorities of the American people while keeping the needs and aspirations of our future generations in mind. I look forward to passing this budget so we can move forward with the new direction the American people have demanded. I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Last year, the White House changed that procedure by slipping a change into the PATRIOT Act reauthorization. With that change, the White House was then able to install interim U.S. attorneys indefinitely without going through the normal Senate approval process. This bill which is before us now restores the role of the Senate in confirming interim nominees. This legislation will force the White House to work with the Senate and home State Senators. This bill is an important step to protecting the U.S. Attorney's Office from the politicization it has suffered. I urge my colleagues to take a step forward for justice and pass this critical reform today. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent for 1 additional minute.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, every American needs to have confidence in our system of justice, but in the last few weeks that confidence has, frankly, been deeply shaken. Each day, we get new evidence that the Bush administration injected partisan politics into a process that requires independence, and each day we get more proof this administration has not been telling the truth. I am here today on this floor to support the bill to restore the Senate's constitutional advise and consent in confirming nominees to serve as U.S. attorneys. I am deeply troubled by the many ways the Bush administration has politicized the administration of justice because it threatens all Americans. Recently, we learned that the administration's political meddling reached into my own home State of Washington, and it led to the firing of a U.S. attorney who had received an excellent job performance review only months, months before he was fired. When I asked for answers, the Justice Department told me things that were not true. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty assured me the firing of John McKay was performance related. I didn't believe it at the time, and, unfortunately, the past few weeks have only confirmed my suspicions. As the facts come out, the administration's untruths are coming to light. First we were told the White House had no role in the firing. Now we learn this whole scheme originated in the White House. At first we were told the firings were performance related. Now documents have disclosed that the Justice Department was evaluating U.S. attorneys based on their loyalty to the administration. We were also told a significant change in the PATRIOT Act was needed for national security and would not be abused. That also was not true. Every day, this story gets worse and worse and climbs higher up the political ladder. Now we have learned that senior officials in the White House, including the President's former counsel, Harriet Miers, and his top political adviser, Karl Rove, were key players in these firings. Why should folks at home care if the White House and Justice Department are politicizing the Office of the U.S. Attorney? It matters, and it matters for two reasons. First, any American can become the subject of a civil or criminal investigation by a U.S. attorney, an investigation that could upend their life or ruin their reputation, destroy their business, and ultimately cause the Government to take their life or their liberty. That is a tremendous amount of power, and we need to make sure the people who wield that power are launching investigations based on the facts and based on the law--not based on political pressure. Second, after all the ways the Bush administration has undermined the rights and liberties of our citizens, we need to vigorously stand up and fight back whenever new abuses come to light. I believe we could have gotten the facts sooner if we had gotten straight answers from the Attorney General from the start. Unfortunately, Mr. Gonzales can't seem to get his stories straight. At a press conference last week, he said he didn't know about it, but he is responsible for it. He said mistakes were made, but the firings were appropriate. He said he believes the U.S. attorneys should be independent, but they can be fired for any reason. Two years ago, I voted against confirming Alberto Gonzales as the Nation's top law enforcement officer. As I said in February of 2005, he ``lacks the independence and honesty to be Attorney General.'' I also said his troubling record would not assure public confidence in the fair administration of justice. I take no joy in saying that my fears have been borne out. How did we get here? Last year, when Congress updated the PATRIOT Act, a change was inserted at the request of the White House. This change was not debated. It was made without the knowledge of many of us here in the Senate. Today, we know that change to the PATRIOT Act played an important role in this entire scheme. It significantly lowered the difficulty of removing any U.S. attorney and replacing him or her without consulting anybody. We need to end these abuses. I support the bill that is before the Senate today because it will restore the Senate's role in confirming U.S. attorneys, and it will also restore a critical check on the administration's power. Traditionally, when there has been a vacancy for a U.S. attorney, the White House has sent a nomination over here to the Senate. Last year, the White House changed that procedure.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Timothy Williams for his 35 years of service at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This month, he is retiring as director of the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System. I want to thank him for his many years of hard work and leadership. Our country makes a solemn promise to our servicemembers and their families, and every day dedicated VA employees help keep that promise. Director Williams faced many challenges in providing care in the Puget Sound, from increasing caseloads to difficult budgets. Through it all, he approached those challenges with unparalleled respect, understanding, and compassion for our veterans. Throughout the country, the VA is recognized as providing some of the best health care in the Nation. The VA has led the way in pioneering electronic medical records and critical health research, much of which has been done in Seattle and Tacoma under the direction of Director Williams. On behalf of the constituents I represent, I want to thank Director Williams and all of the dedicated VA employees who have worked so hard to reach those milestones. Director Williams has been a tireless champion for veterans. Working closely with Veterans Service Organizations, individual veterans, and the congressional delegation, he was always willing to work with people, to listen to their needs, and to sit down and discuss what is possible. From hosting the VA's Wheelchair Games in 1995, to establishing one of the Nation's best spinal cord injury centers, to renovating the cancer clinic and bringing a Fisher House to the Seattle campus of the VA Puget Sound, Director Williams leaves behind a great legacy of championing the needs of veterans. Circumstances were never easy for the VA's Puget Sound health care system. Tight budgets forced Tim and his entire staff to do more and more with less and less. As demand for care increased, Director Williams expanded the ability for the VA to treat more veterans. In fact, he oversaw the doubling of the patient care area to meet the demands. Tim and his staff worked to expand the VA's efforts to treat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan through the Deployment Health Clinic. The clinic focuses on the care of veterans who are experiencing health concerns related to a specific deployment. At the clinic, veterans receive a comprehensive evaluation, benefits counseling, and assistance with compensation and pension claims. Deployment Health Clinic staff will continue to provide veterans with their primary medical care as well as their mental health follow-up. Today, the VA is facing tremendous challenges. A whole new generation of veterans is entering the system, and many will need care and support for a lifetime. As the VA takes on these new challenges, I know Director Williams will be missed. I hope his legacy lives on throughout the VA's Puget Sound health care system and throughout the VA. I have said many times that VA staff members are truly our unsung heroes. Director Williams is one of those heroes. Whether attending veterans' gatherings in Port Angeles about efforts to expand VA care on the Peninsula, or working with the difficult issues facing the Walla Walla VA Medical Center, Tim approached his job with integrity, honesty and a dedication to America's veterans. Director Williams, I wish you all the best in the future, and thank you for your distinguished service.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, the Senate is about to vote on the Murray resolution. There should be no question that the Members of the Senate support our troops. We all do. In this resolution, we want to make sure we go on record saying we support our troops from the time they go to battle and are sent on their missions to the time they come home. We make very clear in the Murray resolution that this Senate will go on record saying the support of our troops extends far beyond their mission in the field. It means when they come home and are sent to Walter Reed or one of our other medical facilities, we will support them with what they need. It says we will support their families throughout their lifetime, if that is what it takes, for their service to this country. I hope this is passed on a strong, loud, bipartisan vote. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, America's troops deserve our Nation's full support every step of the way--from when they enlist, to when they train, to when they deploy, to when they return home. Tragically, this administration has failed our troops every step of the way. Today, Democrats are saying enough is enough. We are going to give our troops everything they need, and we are not going to be a rubberstamp for the President's war without end. I am very proud today to offer the Murray resolution in support of our troops, and I am pleased our majority leader, Senator Reid, strongly supports this resolution. We have been fighting to finally have a debate in the Senate for months. Now we are having that debate, and today we have to do three things: We need to adopt the Murray resolution that says we support our troops every step of the way. We need to reject the Gregg resolution that blindly follows the President. And I hope we pass the Reid resolution that sets a new direction in Iraq. The Murray resolution I have offered affirms we will provide our troops with everything they need to be safe and to complete their missions. We will provide everything they need in terms of training, equipment, logistics, and funding, and we will provide everything they need when they return home. Now, some here have a different idea. The Gregg resolution will tie the hands of Congress and would, importantly, leave all decisions to President Bush. Well, we know how that has turned out. If Congress--we who are elected by our constituents at home--surrenders its voice, we could see our troops being stuck with more of the same--more Americans being stuck in the middle of a civil war and more veterans coming home without the care they need. We do not need more of the same, in my opinion. We need a new direction. The Murray resolution shows we can have a new direction in Iraq, and we can give our troops all the support they need. So shortly we will all have a choice: Either you can blindly follow the President or you can say: We--here--are going to stand up to our own responsibility to support our troops, and we can also push for a new direction in Iraq. Now, the Gregg resolution says we have to support the President. The resolution I have offered says: We--here--have to support our troops. The Gregg resolution would simply make Congress a rubberstamp for a failed policy. The resolution I have offered says that Congress--us, those of us elected here in the Senate--have a voice, and we have to use that voice to help our troops. I suggest to my colleagues if you are happy with the war in Iraq, go ahead and vote for the Gregg resolution. It will keep us locked on the same path. If you are OK with returning troops waiting months in a crumbling military hold unit--or waiting years for their benefits--then vote for the Gregg resolution and keep us locked on the same path. But if you think our troops do deserve our support and do deserve better, vote for the Murray resolution. If you agree our troops deserve equipment to keep them safe, vote for the Murray resolution. If you agree our troops deserve the training that will help them succeed in their missions, vote for the Murray resolution. If you believe our troops deserve better when they come home, importantly, vote for the Murray resolution. If you believe Congress needs to use its voice and its power to give our country a direction in Iraq, vote for the Murray resolution. Our troops deserve better than what they have been provided so far. This President sent our troops into battle without the lifesaving armor and equipment they need. This President left our troops on the battlefield without a plan, without a clear mission, and without being honest about the costs--all costs--of the war. This President shortchanged health care and benefits for our returning servicemembers, leaving brave Americans, as we now know, to languish in squalor at Walter Reed and facilities across our country. Haven't we had enough of that? Didn't Americans send us a clear message last fall that enough is enough? It is time, I believe, for a new direction. The resolution I have offered recognizes that Congress has a role to play in supporting our troops. We have a voice also to push for a new direction, and we are going to use our power we were elected to use to help the brave men and women who proudly wear the uniform of the U.S. military. I would say to all of my colleagues today, if you vote against the Murray resolution, you don't really support our troops. Don't vote against our military and don't vote to tie our own hands. Use this opportunity today to tell our troops: We are all here for them and their families; from the time they head off to battle through the rest of their lives, we are there for them. Most of all, I hope the Senate votes to support the Reid resolution so we can change the direction in Iraq. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the previous agreement be modified to provide that if any of the resolutions receive 60 votes, the preamble be considered agreed to.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I yield myself 6 minutes from the leader's time on our side.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, by now, most Americans have heard about the appalling conditions at Walter Reed, as exposed by the Washington Post articles. Those stories detailed conditions which not one of us should have to endure, especially our injured troops who have sacrificed so much for this country. The Washington Post uncovered rooms with mice infestation, moldy walls, and holes in the ceilings. Their series also showed the administration is failing to provide adequate medical care for our injured troops who face inexcusably long waits for the most basic care. If squalid living conditions and lack of adequate medical care are not bad enough, troops face a daunting maze of paperwork for the simplest things. One serviceman had to show his Purple Heart to even prove he had served in Iraq. Others told us that when they returned from Iraq, their uniforms were caked in dirt and blood, and they were forced to spend endless hours trying to secure new, clean uniforms. A severe shortage of caseworkers means patients endlessly search for answers to routine questions. Mr. President, our service men and women are not the only ones facing bureaucratic nightmares. We also learned of problems their families face when they try to visit their loved ones at Walter Reed. From a lack of translators for families of Hispanic soldiers, to complicated and outdated forms for hotel reimbursement, relatives find themselves spending countless hours on paperwork--time which could be spent with their injured sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers or mothers. Despite White House efforts, it was eventually revealed that members of this administration had known for years of the problems that plagued Walter Reed. The President's response to Walter Reed has been slow and more media strategy than substance. Unfortunately for our troops, the administration has tried for weeks to paper over problems instead of offering us real solutions. Days after the first reports, administration officials repeatedly attempted to play down the problems. They painted walls and held press conferences and told America that the problems were overblown. But the press and the American public didn't buy it; they have been misled too many times by this administration. Stories on the President's failure to care for our injured troops continue to appear. After 2 weeks of endless news on the horrible conditions at Walter Reed, the administration decided fall guys were needed. First to go was MG George W. Weightman, the head of the hospital. The second--a bit higher on the food chain--was Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey. Finally, yesterday, the administration fired Lieutenant General Kiley, the Army Surgeon General and former head of Walter Reed. On top of the fall guys, the administration has created numerous commissions to review the care of our injured troops and veterans. Mr. President, while firing people who were involved in failures and creating panels to review problems are usually positive steps in the right direction, in my view, the administration's history, unfortunately, leads me to be fairly skeptical. For one, while Army Secretary Harvey, Lieutenant General Kiley, and Major General Weightman ignored for years the problems at Walter Reed, the buck stops with the President. As the White House spokesperson said a few weeks ago, the administration has been aware of this for some time. Real accountability is not just finding fall guys; it is publicly owning up to failures and, even more important, changing course. Moreover, it is unlikely the panels are the solutions they seem to be. In the past 7 years, we have seen many recommendations from many commissions--including those from the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group--simply be ignored by the White House. What good are fall guys and commissions if they produce no real change? It is now undeniable that the administration has failed our troops and veterans. What is needed, and what these men and women deserve, are real solutions that will meet the needs from the battlefield to the VA and everywhere in between. Our forces in battle deserve adequate body and humvee armor, communications gear, and equipment to jam IEDs. What they don't need is another day in the field without those items. Our injured heroes returning from Iraq deserve adequate mental care, treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and they deserve less bureaucratic redtape. What they don't need is another report of the administration's failure to care for them or a White House media strategy to cover those failures. Our veterans of Iraq deserve benefit checks to be mailed on time so they can provide for their families and are not forced into homelessness. What they don't need is another day without the benefits they deserve. In the end, what all of our brave men and women need is an end to this administration's excuses. Democrats know what our troops deserve. We know they deserve a Congress that will not hide this administration's mistakes and will, instead, provide solutions. Lastly, Democrats took steps toward that goal. The HEROES, Honoring and Ensuring Respect for Our Exceptional Soldiers, plan will ensure that our service members no longer fall through the cracks and fail to receive the treatment they deserve. It calls for increased oversight and coordination between the various committees overseeing our troops and our veterans. This effort is especially important because so many of us know the problems at Walter Reed are not unique. Instead, I fear much of the health care system for our troops is broken because we failed to do our job. From poor facilities to long waiting lines to overwhelming redtape, the system is failing our troops. We need a comprehensive look at this problem and we need comprehensive solutions. Our troops and our families deserve no less. Mr. President, I was stunned over the weekend to see that some of these brave men and women who have been injured in Iraq are now facing the indignity of being sent back before being cleared for duty. According to a Salon.com article from March 11, several dozen injured soldiers at Fort Benning, GA, are being sent back to Iraq as part of the President's escalation plan. Those soldiers, the article tells us, have various medical problems that should prevent them from returning to battle. But the President is sending them anyway. Let me quote directly from the article: As the military scrambles to pour more soldiers into Iraq, a unit of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, GA, is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records. On February 15, Master Sgt. Jenkins and 74 other soldiers with medical conditions from the 3rd Division's 3rd Brigade were summoned to a meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon. These are the men responsible for handling each soldier's ``physical profile,'' an Army document that lists for commanders an injured soldier's physical limitations because of medical problems--from being unable to fire a weapon to the inability to move and dive in three-to- five second increments to avoid enemy fire. Jenkins and other soldiers claim that the division and brigade surgeons summarily downgraded soldiers' profiles, without even a medical exam, in order to deploy them to Iraq. It is a claim division officials deny. Mr. President, that report is very disconcerting. If it is true, it represents a new outrage and yet another example of how the administration's failure to plan for the war is being taken out on our brave women and men. MSG Ronald Jenkins, who is one of the soldiers who told Salon he was ordered to Iraq even though he has a spine problem that doctors say would be damaged by Army protective gear, said: This is not right. This whole thing is about taking care of soldiers. If you are fit to fight, you are fit to fight. If you are not fit to fight, then you are not fit to fight. I could not agree with Master Sergeant Jenkins more. This whole thing--the war, the buildup, the aftermath--must be about taking care of our soldiers. Mr. President, far too frequently, taking care of our soldiers has been little more than an afterthought for this administration. Unfortunately, the list of failures we see goes on and on. Stories emerge every single day and, still, with this war, set to enter on Monday its fifth year, this administration has failed to make caring for our troops a top priority. There has been more than enough time to address problems facing our troops. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the administration has failed our Armed Forces. Mr. President, the administration and Republicans in Congress owe our troops, their families, and our veterans a lot more. I am not going to sit idly by and wait for them to act, and I am not going to wait for another commission. I am going to continue to be out here on almost a daily basis to talk about it, to fight for our troops, for our veterans, and their families. They deserve nothing less. I thank the Chair. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I listened to the majority leader talk a few minutes ago about going out to do his morning exercise and hearing once again of nine soldiers who were killed today in Iraq and the heavy burden all of us have as we sit and listen to the debate about Iraq and how we should proceed and how we cannot ever forget the burden it places on so many families and will continue to be on so many families for years to come. I have been out on this floor several times to talk about the administration's failure to care for our troops. I am sure it is not going to be my last time; in fact, I am positive it will not be my last time. I am going to keep talking about these men and women and their families who have been impacted so dramatically and what we are doing as a nation to make sure we are there for them every step of the way. Unfortunately, the list of failures is very long--too long. Recently, we heard about the obstacles of service men and women with traumatic brain injuries when they return home from battle. I have seen these men and women. I have watched what happens to them. It is not a couple of days. It is not a couple of months. It is a lifetime of dealing with a traumatic brain injury and how it impacts them, their families, their ability to be able to be productive, their family's ability to be able to put food on the table and continue to care for the person. It is a long-term cost. It is part of the cost of the war, and it is a burden we should all be sharing and as of yet have not been sharing. We have heard about the shameful treatment of patients at Walter Reed Hospital. We have all felt so compassionate as we listened to these men and women and the squalid conditions they lived in. I am here to tell my colleagues, this is a syndrome, the ``Walter Reed'' syndrome. It is not just at Walter Reed. We are hearing from men and women across the country who have been impacted by this war and have been sort of the forgotten stepchildren of this war, left in a facility somewhere, and their families are struggling every single day, every single minute to deal with these young men and women. Sometimes they are older. I have talked to men and women who are in their 50s who are members of the Guard and Reserve who have been impacted. Some are grandparents. This morning the President announced that one of our former colleagues, Senator Bob Dole, will join with former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, who will cochair a panel to look into the problems at the Department of Defense and the veterans health care system. I am pleased the President finally, after 4 years, is putting an emphasis on this crisis. I think he has chosen two very well- qualified individuals to lead this panel, but I remain very concerned. First of all, let me remind everybody that the President received recommendation after recommendation from panel after panel during this administration, and time and time again he refused to implement their suggestions or simply ignored them. We see that on the Senate floor today. We are out here debating the 9/11 Commission. They released their findings years ago. Few of them have been implemented. It has taken a shift in power from Republicans to Democrats to finally implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations. Even more recently, the Iraq Study Group, another bipartisan, highly regarded commission, released its findings on a path forward in Iraq. The President applauded the members of the group, said they were great, but he has ignored their recommendations. Instead, he has left it up to us in Congress to try to bring a new direction to the war in Iraq. So we are right, I believe, to be wary of this new step from the President--two good people, Bob Dole, Donna Shalala, and another highly regarded commission to look into this. I know those members will take their time and evaluate everything. But once they make their recommendations, my question to all of us is: What will the President do with them? The President knows how to talk the talk, but I am pretty worried he doesn't know how to walk the walk. I am here this morning to say our troops don't need any more rhetoric. They do need a lot of action. That is why the Senate Democrats are determined to address these problems, not just at Walter Reed--of course at Walter Reed but beyond that--through comprehensive action aimed at taking care of the men and women who serve us from the battlefield all the way to their local VA and for a lifetime, if that is what it takes. We need decisive action, not commission after commission and report after report that the President can simply choose to ignore. I hope this commission will, as well as the group actually who has been set up by Secretary Gates, who has responded, I believe, in a strong manner, I hope they come forward with positive ideas that will benefit our troops. But I also promise to our troops, to our men and women, to our veterans, and to all their families that we in this body are not going to sit idly by and wait for another commission report or for this President to act. Lost in the news coverage last week of this whole Walter Reed fiasco was a report on the President's failure to provide adequate mental health care for our Armed Forces. That report which was lost in all of this was a military psychologist-led task force, and they told us 30 percent of our troops meet standards for having a mental disorder, but less than half of them ever receive care. Thirty percent of the men and women we send to Iraq and Afghanistan come home with what is termed a mental disorder. Yet less than half of them ever receive care. The stories I hear from these troops and from their families and the people whom I talk to are heartbreaking. My staff this past week spoke to one soldier who returned from his second tour in Iraq and is suffering from a severe case of post- traumatic stress disorder. He said that at his hospital, if you are not missing a limb, you are virtually invisible. If you are not missing a limb, you are virtually invisible. To me, that is appalling, and I fear that is not an isolated case. Sometimes those in need choose not to seek help, but for many of them, the ones who want and need mental health care or who their families know need mental health care and are trying to get them into the system, the services haven't been available. Amazingly, only 40 percent of the Army and Navy's Active-Duty, licensed clinical psychologist positions are filled. Only 40 percent of them are even filled. The psychologists who are on staff report being worked to the bone and having a low motivation for work. I talked to a psychologist myself recently on a visit, and he told me he was doing the same thing he did during the Vietnam war, and he said to me: I don't know if I can do this anymore. These psychologists are worked to the bone and they are tired. They are tired because they see men and women who are not getting the care and they are worried they can't keep up--almost 4 years into this war, 4 years into this war. To me, this is so unacceptable. It is unacceptable that there are severe staffing shortages in mental health care when men and women need help. An equally troubling conclusion of the report--that was lost last week because we are so focused on Walter Reed, but I think we need to focus on it--was that our National Guard and Reserve Forces are being particularly hit hard by the shortage in mental health care. We know that Guard and Reserve members come from some of our smallest communities, and they have sacrificed so much for this country. They have left loved ones and left their jobs for months to go over and police an Iraqi civil war. For the President's escalation plan, now we are seeing many of them being forced to go back a second, third time--and I even talked to one soldier who is going back the fourth time--without the necessary break. These brave men and women accepted these realities without complaint. Two to one, they say to me: I am honored to serve my country. Despite all that has been asked of them and all they have given, this administration is not providing the mental health care they need. However disturbing these findings are--and they are horribly disturbing--the worst aspect is that there has been report after report after report, year after year after year, detailing the lack of mental health care. Last year, as I have said on the floor before, the Government Accountability Office found similar problems. Last spring, in an unusually candid interview--almost a year ago now--the VA's Under Secretary for Health Policy Coordination, Dr. Frances Murphy, said mental health care services are inadequate and that when services are available, ``waiting lists render that care virtually inaccessible.'' This is the President's administration, his Veterans' Administration and Under Secretary there, who has been telling us for almost a year now that waiting lists render mental health care services virtually inaccessible. What has this President's response been? Total silence. I ask: How does that fall on the ears of these soldiers and their families? This administration has known about these problems for years. But we have seen no changes and no improvements. With minimal amounts of sleep, our service men and women work longer days than you and I can imagine. They see things none of us should ever witness: bodies blown to pieces, mutilation, the blood of their fellow soldiers on the streets of a country we have no place being. All of this is for a war we were misled into supporting. There were no weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein was never connected to al-Qaida, and nobody can say we are spreading democracy to Iraq today. In truth, we are fighting a war with no cause. These stresses and images from a pointless conflict take a toll on our troops. It takes a toll on their families. They suffer mental stress, which is no surprise to anybody; it ought to be expected. As Americans across this country--but especially Senators--it is our solemn duty, as those who have not seen the horrors of battle, to care for those who have. Even more so, as the one who sent Americans to Iraq, it is the duty of the President. Providing mental health care for our children falls under this duty-- a duty that, sadly, this President has failed to fulfill. So I came to the floor this morning to remind my colleagues--my Republican colleagues and this President--actions speak louder than words. Talk does not improve the quality of the living conditions, and it doesn't make adequate mental health care available. Talk is cheap. Eventually, after a lot of talk and no action, words catch up with you. That is what we are seeing today. The Bush administration says they have provided for our Active-Duty warriors and our veterans, but story after story, report after report proves otherwise. Unfortunately, it is pretty clear to all of us now that from enlistment to retirement, this administration has failed our troops. It is time for us to take action. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues on this floor to have action and not just words. I don't want to see report after report, all this year long and a year from now, stories that continue. We have a responsibility, when we send men and women overseas to fight for us, that we are on this floor fighting for them. This Congress, so far, has failed to do that in many ways. This White House has done it day after day. I call on all of my colleagues to step up at every step of the way as we approve bill after bill, supplemental budgets, authorization bills, to stand up and speak out for our troops and no longer ignore the reality of this war. Mr. President, I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, since this body recessed 10 days ago, I have been outraged to see report after report after report detailing this administration's complete failure to care for our troops and for our veterans. What is worse, since we returned on Monday, I have heard several of our Republican colleagues attempt to question our patriotism and our support for those troops. So I felt compelled this morning to come to the floor to speak up. For more than 4 years, this administration has failed to plan for the true cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have demanded blind loyalty from Congress, asking us for rubberstamps for their emergency budgets, avoiding oversight, and pursuing their own strategy in the face of criticism from Members of Congress, from generals, and the American public. Yesterday Senator Martinez, I thought, encapsulated the White House position better than I ever could. He said: At a time of war, the Congress should do only one thing, which is to support our President, to try to unite behind our troops and unite behind our effort. I couldn't disagree more. As elected Members of Congress, and even as mere citizens of this country, we can and we must question the policies implemented by our Government. That is our job. It is our responsibility. At no time is that more important than in a time of war when the lives of our bravest men and women are on the line. But my colleagues don't have to take my word for it. General Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional hearing recently: Our troops understand the need for debate back home and are sophisticated enough to know that debate does not equate to lack of support. But that important debate, that important discussion, and all oversight was stifled for years. Unfortunately for everyone, for the first years of this war Congress was under Republican control and that led to a stunning lack of oversight, an outrageous number of rubberstamps, and an impotence from this Congress that should shame us all. Well, those days are over. I don't have the time this morning to outline each and every failure I have seen by the administration. I don't have the time to detail the many ways the administration has failed our troops, our men and women who are serving us. I don't have time to detail how many ways the administration has failed the men and women who serve us when they come home and go into the VA system. So instead I want my colleagues to know I am going to be here on this floor speaking frequently and loudly, because I think it is so important to get this administration once and for all to pay the troops and our veterans the attention they deserve 4 years into this war in Iraq. My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to supporting our troops from the battlefield all the way back to their local VA and everywhere in between. We have worked very hard to ensure they get the care they deserve, the care they have earned. My real worry is that this administration continues to be slow to react to these problems and rarely, if ever, takes proactive measures to stop the many problems before they even begin. From sending our troops to war without the critical armor they need to protect themselves, to housing them in squalor at Walter Reed as we heard about a week ago, to leaving them to fend for themselves when they need mental health care, this administration is utterly failing our servicemembers, our veterans, and all of their families. Nowhere is that failure more apparent than in the handling of what will one day, I believe, become known as the signature wound of this war, and that is traumatic brain injury. Right now it is estimated that 10 percent of our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered from these traumatic brain injuries because of their service. One of the big problems with traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is it is an unseen wound and too often it is misdiagnosed. Many times, unless a servicemember is involved directly in an IED incident and is bleeding, he or she won't be documented as having been involved in that explosion. Even if they are two or three tanks behind where the IED exploded, they can get the impact and be a victim of TBI and not know it. As a result, I believe the actual number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with TBI will be even higher than the statistics we are now seeing. We owe it to these men and women in uniform to come on this floor and say: We are going to do everything we can to help you. We should say: We will screen for TBI, we will document TBI, and we will not fail to treat veterans suffering from the signature wound of this war. It is clear our system today is not catching all of the TBI patients this war is producing. I hope every one of my colleagues saw the special broadcast last evening. ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff detailed his own experience with a traumatic brain injury. I was personally moved by Bob Woodruff's struggle with his injury, by his family's unrelenting hope for recovery, and their ongoing work toward triumph over this horrible situation. While Bob Woodruff has seen a tremendous recovery from his horrendous injury, I fear the care he received has not been duplicated for thousands of other troops when they return home. He detailed several cases of soldiers who were suffering from injuries not unlike his own, and the lack of care they received was clear when they left our flagship care centers for some of the smaller local hospitals. While so many of us know this injury has become the signature wound of this war, I fear last night's program once again showed us that this administration and the VA in particular has not stepped to the plate to handle the crush of troops with brain injuries who are returning from war each and every day. What is worse, I am very concerned that we do not even know today the real number of troops who are suffering from traumatic brain injury. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, the place that gathers all of this information on these injuries, has so far refused-- refused--to release it publicly. That information is collected at taxpayer expense, and that information, I hope, could provide us with a baseline of how many of our troops have suffered from a traumatic brain injury. That is a critical and important starting point for dealing with these terrible injuries. What we do know is that while the Department of Defense claims that less than 30,000 troops have been injured during this war, 205,000 troops have enrolled for care at the VA. Let me say that again. The Department of Defense claims that only 30,000 troops--only? That is a big number, 30,000 troops--have been injured, but 205,000 troops have enrolled for care at the VA. To me, those numbers don't add up. So yesterday I asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to provide us with the data that has been compiled by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center on the actual number of TBI victims. We don't have this information yet, but I see no reason why it shouldn't be shared with Congress and the American people. In addition, I was heartened to hear, I have to say, yesterday that the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a long overdue step forward, finally announced they will begin screening every recent combat veteran for TBI. But we have to do a lot more. We can't simply take the Department of Veterans Affairs at their word. Their record of care and openness has left a lot to be desired. As every Member of the Senate knows, we went through that debate several years ago where they denied time and time again they were short-funded and then came and told us: Yes, they were indeed billions of dollars short, and we had to provide additional dollars in the supplemental to make sure our veterans were getting the most basic care. The lines are still long. Veterans are not getting care. We are now dealing with a high number of TBI victims of this war and we are not dealing with it realistically. We have to develop a system to address traumatic brain injuries, from the battlefield all the way back to the VA hospitals and beyond. Screening is absolutely critical. Pre- and post-deployment screening has to be done. This signature wound has to be a top priority at each and every step along the path to recovery for these wounded members of the armed services. The bottom line is we have not yet offered our brave men and women a real plan to take care of them when they come home. The Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs must come together to solve these problems plaguing the system. Too many of our men and women get lost in the transition between the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs. I pledge to them and I pledge to our fighting men and women and to all of their families that this new Democratic Congress is going to hold them accountable for their inaction and finally ensure that we are going to give these men and women what they deserve when they come home. We hear a lot in this body about who supports the troops. Well, I say to my colleagues that each and every one of us has a responsibility to support these troops, particularly those who are injured, particularly those who come home with TBI and other injuries, not just when they come home but far into the future, and we have not yet budgeted responsibly to do that. We have not provided the programs to do that. We have not done everything we can. This is one Senator who is going to keep talking until we get it done. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays on the nomination.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. It is very important that we each understand the impact of not passing this joint funding resolution with the additional $3.75 billion in funding formula to each and every one of our States. The failure to pass this resolution is also going to have a painful impact on hundreds of thousands of Americans when it comes to housing. In this bipartisan bill, we worked to make sure our vulnerable families would not be thrown out in the streets or face out-of-reach rent increases. We provided critical support for section 8 homeless assistance grants, housing equity conversion loans, HOPE VI, and public housing operating funds. If we do not pass this joint funding resolution and continue on a CR, that would mean housing vouchers are going to be lost, many of our low-income residents will become homeless, renters will be displaced or face unaffordable rent increases, and many of our seniors are going to lose a valuable source of equity. And importantly, efforts to replace deteriorating public housing units will be eliminated. Clearly, for all I have walked through, the consequences of not passing the joint funding resolution are going to be severe for some of our country's most vulnerable families. It is clear that our communities across the board are going to pay a very high price unless we pass H.J. Res. 20 before us. I urge my colleagues to vote to allow our low-income families to keep a roof over their heads. I urge my colleagues to vote to keep our safety inspectors on the job, to keep highway construction projects moving forward, to help our local law enforcement fight crime, and I urge Senate colleagues to vote to give our veterans the care and benefits they have earned. I urge my colleagues to support H.J. Res. 20; otherwise, you will have to tell your veterans and your police officers, your commuters, your air traffic controllers, your public housing tenants, your housing advocates, and your airline passengers, pilots, and flight attendants why you voted against them. I urge my colleagues this afternoon to vote for cloture and then allow us to finish H.J. Res. 20 so we can put the funding in place that is sorely needed in every area in our local communities and for the people we represent. I yield the floor.