Claire McCaskill

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. And the Republicans will not let us vote on it?

Mrs. McCASKILL. I am confused.

Mrs. McCASKILL. Why would the Republicans not let us vote on their bill?

Mrs. McCASKILL. That is why we vote, to determine whether there is dissention.

Mrs. McCASKILL. Madam President, could I ask a question of the Senator from New York through the Chair?

Mrs. McCASKILL. With all due respect to my friend and colleague from New York, I thank him for the answers, because I was confused that the Republicans are keeping us from voting on a Republican bill. But it is not the House we need show anything. We have a tendency around here to get focused on the back and forth among ourselves. It is the American people we need to show that we are capable of standing up, casting a vote, seeing whether it passes or fails, and then negotiating and finding a way forward. I would say to my colleague from New York, if the Republicans in the Senate are not willing to vote on their own legislation, then you have got to scratch your head. I thank the Senator for the opportunity.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and congratulate St. Louis-based Concordia Publishing House on their 2011 Baldridge Award and overall commitment to excellence. Founded in 1869, Concordia Publishing House, CPH, serves as the publishing arm of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, LCMS, and provides members of the LCMS community with resources for Christian worship and education. Throughout its history, CPH has grown both in size and scope while providing the very best products and services to customers around the world. CPH's successful customer-focused business model distinguishes their business as one of the best in the industry and has earned noteworthy praise. With a near-perfect customer satisfaction score, CPH's customer call center was ranked a center of excellence by a Purdue University study for 3 consecutive years. CPH pairs their outstanding customer care with state-of-the-art products and technology. From being one of the first St. Louis companies to utilize an IBM online data filing system, to delivering eProducts on iPhones and iPads, the company has always embraced the latest technology in service of their clients. CPH's rank as one of the ``Best Christian Workplaces in the United States'' in 2009, 2010, and 2011, illustrates their focus on employee satisfaction and well-being. Named after the 26th U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Malcolm Baldridge, the Baldridge Award was established by Congress in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness and performance of U.S. businesses. It is the highest Presidential honor for business performance. Recipients serve as role models not only for their peers in the nonprofit and business sectors but for every American organization that strives for a higher standard of performance and overall excellence. The 2011 Baldridge Award winners were selected from a field of 69 applicants. Applicants were evaluated based on seven areas defined by the Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; managements, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; operations focus; and results. Mr. President, 142 years after its founding, Concordia Publishing House continues to fulfill their mission to provide the LCMS community with the best possible products and services. Concordia Publishing House is an exemplary model of a customer-focused, quality-driven business that provides important resources to its community. It is my pleasure to recognize Concordia Publishing House for their well- deserved 2011 Baldridge Award.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I have offered an amendment to the Defense authorization bill that unfortunately we are not going to get a chance to vote on, but I want to begin talking about it because I think this is something we need to do as we appropriate money for our military for the next year. I wish to start by saying that I support the mission in Afghanistan, but after years of work on wartime contracting issues and looking at the way we have spent money through contracting in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I have come to a stark and real conclusion about the money we have wasted and continue to waste in this effort. We are building infrastructure in Afghanistan that we cannot secure and that will not be sustained. Since 2004, the Defense Department-- just the Defense Department, not the State Department--has spent more than $6.9 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan on humanitarian stabilization projects that include infrastructure, energy, and road construction. Primarily, this has occurred through what is known as the CERP fund. ``CERP'' stands for ``Commanders Energy Response Program.'' This began as an effort in the war against insurgencies, the counterinsurgency effort, the COIN strategy. This began as a good idea where the commanders on the ground would have money they could directly access to do small neighborhood projects, to win the hearts and minds, to secure a neighborhood, to stabilize a community. These projects were envisioned, when I first came to the Senate, as fixing broken panes of glass in a shopkeeper's window. This program has morphed into something much different than what was envisioned at the beginning of the counterinsurgency effort in Iraq. These $100 projects, $1,000 projects, are now hundreds of millions of dollars. In fiscal year 2010, more than 90 percent of the spending in CERP was for projects over $\1/2\ million. At its height in 2009, the authorizations for CERP spending in Afghanistan and Iraq reached $1.5 billion. And-- this is the kicker--the military building large infrastructure projects has not shown a measurable impact on the success of our mission. I have stacks of studies, and I am such a wonk; I have actually read all of these studies. These are just a few of the studies that have been done by inspectors general, by special inspectors general, by the DOD inspector general, by the Wartime Contracting Commission that Senator Webb and I put into place to look at all of the wartime contracting issues. Even our own troops have studied the expenditure of these funds. I want to quote their conclusion in a recent study that was completed by the troops that are, in fact, fighting this effort in Afghanistan. Despite hundreds of millions in investments, there is no persuasive evidence that the Commander's Emergency Response Program has fostered improved interdependent relationships between the host government and the population--arguably the key indicator of counterinsurgency success. I go on, a direct quote: The effectiveness of CERP in advancing our counterinsurgency objectives in Afghanistan has yet to be operationalized or well documented. The relationship between development assistance and counterinsurgency is being increasingly challenged in the academic and practitioner fields with only unsubstantiated assertions and the occasional anecdote offered as counterargument. There are no clear objectives for a program that funds everything from immediate emergency relief to multi-year, multi-million dollar road projects. The lack of proper incentives and accountability measures have rendered CERP and similar funds an extractive industry for construction companies, nongovernmental organizations, and multiple Afghan government ministries, fueling rather than fighting corruption, community insecurity and insurgent coercion. Finding and defeating terrorists, fighting the Taliban, securing strategic victories against al-Qaida, training the Afghanistan military and police--all of these things I support. But this amount of money being spent on large infrastructure projects that cannot be sustained we must end. In an unprecedented fashion, our military--not the State Department-- has embarked upon these massive projects. This year, for the first time in this authorization, there is now a new Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund to get around the limits that have been placed on the size of projects in the CERP fund. I call this fund the ``son of CERP.'' It has now been documented that they want to go even larger and even bigger with these large multimillion dollar projects. I cannot stand by as we spend billions on roads, electrical grids, and bridges in Afghanistan, knowing the incredible need we have in this country for exactly that kind of investment. These projects are not being built in a secure environment. We are paying off people to try to keep the contractors safe. And it has been documented that some of that money has gone right into the hands of our enemy. That must be stopped. These projects, in many if not most instances, cannot be sustained. I can give a number of examples. But all you would have to do is travel around Iraq and see the empty, crumbling health care centers built with American taxpayer dollars, the water park that is a twisted pile of rubble that is no longer operational, all of the investments that were made in oil production and electricity generation that were blown to bits. I can give specific examples in Afghanistan. How about hundreds of million of dollars spent on a powerplant--the latest technology: duel fuel--and nobody there knows how to operate it. And they cannot afford to operate it, so it stands by as an empty, hulking potential generator for backup power, while they buy cheaper electricity from a neighboring country. For the first time, the Department of Defense has requested and received $400 million in authorization in this new Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund. We should limit our military to the small projects that CERP was originally intended for, not produce contracts to major, multinational corporations. All of these reconstruction funds should be pulled, and my amendment would do just that. We would pull all of this money out with the exception of projects under $50,000. That would be as much as $700 million that we could immediately put directly into the highway trust fund in this country. That is what my amendment does. It will transfer that investment from a nonsecure environment, in areas these projects cannot be sustained, to the very needy cause of infrastructure investment in the United States of America. Let's do this. Let's stop these large projects that cannot be secured and be sustained. Keep in mind, as much as $700 million would be pulled, and that is a small fraction of what we are spending in Afghanistan. The authorization for next year is more than $100 billion. So anyone who tries to say this will cripple our mission in Afghanistan does not understand the numbers. Of the moneys we are spending in Afghanistan, the vast majority is about personnel: to train the Afghan military, to train the Afghanistan police department, to fight the terrorists who are there, the Taliban, al-Qaida in the areas near Pakistan. All of that remains. A very small percentage of this would be pulled. But it should be pulled, and it should be pulled today. We should take this investment and put it in roads and bridges right here in our country. I hope this amendment will have success when we look at the appropriations process. I think it is time we stop this funding, and stop it now. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the life of Daniel G. McKay who passed away on November 10, 2011. It is with deep sorrow that I offer my condolences, to his wife Sharron for the loss of her beloved husband, to his two sons: Dan Jr. and Mark, and to his three grandchildren; Jesse, Dana and Danny. A native of St. Louis, MO, Dan grew up in north St. Louis and attended Central High School. He began his career after high school as a truck driver and worked for over 30 years as a driver for several local companies. Dan assumed leadership in the Teamsters and spent much of his life and career working tirelessly to secure the rights of working men and women. Within Teamsters' Local 600, Dan held several leadership positions including business representative, recording secretary and President. His passion for helping others also led Dan to become President of Teamsters Joint Council 13 in 2002, representing over 25,000 Teamster families in Missouri. Dan also held several positions in the Missouri Kansas Nebraska Conference of Teamsters. He retired from both Local 600 and Joint Council 13 in March, 2010. It is with great humility and respect that I honor Dan today. His dedicated leadership improved the work experience for many Missourians, and under Dan's leadership the Teamsters organized and educated workers so they would know their workplace rights and could participate fully in our democratic society. Dan touched the lives of many, and improved the quality of life in the community at large. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has lost a friend and an advocate, and I have lost a dear friend, advisor, and confidant. Dan was afraid of no one when it came to defending his friends or confronting his adversaries. When I explained to him one time that his political support of me was going to cause him trouble, he said, ``Nothing that I can't handle. We are in this together.'' Dan will certainly be remembered for his gruff but engaging personality as well as for his many accomplishments. Dan was tough, but under that tough exterior was a huge heart filled with love for his family, for his community and for his brothers and sisters in labor. Dan's life and commitment to others serve as an inspiration to me and to all Missourians. Our State has truly lost a leader and a hero. I extend my deepest sympathies and sincerest condolences to Dan's family in their time of bereavement, and I invite the Senate to join me in honoring the life and accomplishments of this son of Missouri.

Mrs. McCASKILL

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

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 315, introduced earlier today.

Mrs. McCASKILL. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the Record.

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, in St. Louis this fall, we had much that was special and different. We had the rally squirrel that ran through one of the playoff games. We had the saying ``happy flight,'' and ``happy flight'' became synonymous with a team that was chocking up improbable victories night after night, day after day. I am going to term this speech a ``happy speech.'' I have had to give a number of speeches on the floor of the Senate since I have been blessed enough to be given this opportunity to serve my State. Sometimes I come to the floor angry. Sometimes I come to the floor frustrated or upset. Sometimes I come with a passion for a piece of policy that I think is essential in terms of our government operating the way we would want it to operate. Today, I just come happy. I just come happy with the notion that our team provided the kinds of thrills that baseball yearns for in this country--especially at these moments when many families are faced with long days and tough decisions as they try to right the ship as we travel through a very difficult economy. The 2011 World Series was an unlikely one for our Cardinals. It wasn't supposed to happen. Bookies made a lot of money off the World Series this year because the Cardinals weren't supposed to be in it. The Cardinals were 10\1/2\ games out with 30 days to go. In fact, the Cardinals secured their wild card berth on the last day of the season at the eleventh hour. As a wild card team, they weren't supposed to do well. They weren't supposed to defeat Philadelphia. That just wasn't going to happen. Philadelphia has one of the top three payrolls in baseball, right? That wasn't going to happen. Well, it did. We won against Philadelphia and then took on the mighty Brewers, the winner of our division, and, of course, we won that also. Then it was on to the Texas Rangers, who were supposed to win this year because they had won last year, and we weren't supposed to be able to compete with the depth and breadth of the Texas lineup. Well, as everyone now knows, that is not how the story ended. This was a special World Series. It was a unique World Series. It was competitive. It was fun. And I was lucky enough to be at some of the games. In fact, I was at game 3 when Albert Pujols put on a show for the world. He showed everyone why he is the best player in baseball-- three towering home runs in one World Series game. All of a sudden his name was being used in the same sentence as Lou Gehrig. It was a special night to watch the Cardinals pound the Rangers in Arlington, TX, but the Rangers came back the next night to win and the next night after that. So the Cardinals returned to St. Louis once again with their backs against the wall. Once again, everyone assumed it was over because all the Rangers had to do was win one game. And that is when game 6 occurred. I was fortunate enough to be at game 6, and I am saving my ticket stub for generations to come. People in St. Louis are going to claim they were at game 6, so I am going to save the proof. None of us will ever forget game 6. At our eleventh hour, trying to win our 11th world championship, in the year 2011, our hometown guy--right from St. Louis, graduated from Lafayette High School--walked to the plate in the 11th inning, after the Cardinals twice, with two outs and two strikes, saved the game by getting a hit--twice; not once but twice--so there we were in the bottom of the 11th with the score tied, and our hometown guy, at the eleventh hour, in the 11th inning, in the year 2011, cracked the bat, and that ball sailed out for a home run, and suddenly we had secured the most improbable and exciting victory in World Series history. Now, maybe that is hyperbole, but, honestly, I don't think so. Find someone who watched that game who knows baseball, and they will tell you that was among one of the very best World Series games in the history of American baseball. And what a history that is. With that one crack of the bat, Cardinal Nation became Cardinal World, and all of the world stood in amazement as we cheered like crazy for our Cardinals. What did this team do this year? We had a masterful manager whom we will miss very much. We had David Freese, our hometown guy, who rose to the occasion when we needed him. We had Albert Pujols. We had Carp, who was amazing as a pitcher. We had a bullpen that rose to the occasion when necessary, after they had been maligned through most of the season. We had Yadi, we had Craig, and we had so many of our players who did what had to be done when it had to be done to deliver a World Series championship to a city that loves them more than we love the arch and more than we love our beer. For years now, young people will hear over and over that old cliche about refusing to quit. You can never give up. And I have to tell you the truth, it is a cliche I have used with my kids when they were moping around and grumbling: Oh my life is horrible. You say to them: You can't quit. You can't give up. Well, this team is going to allow parents in St. Louis and beyond for many years to say: See. See what happens when you don't give up. See what happens when you refuse to quit. You can win a championship if you just refuse to die. And that is exactly what our Cardinals did. On behalf of Cardinal Nation and thousands of people around this country who were proud of what St. Louis represented--a fall classic with our classic Cardinals bringing home the victory for a city that loves them--God bless them all. And God bless the fans who understand it is okay to cheer for a sac fly, who understand baseball better than most fans around the country. They will now wait anxiously for spring training so we can begin once again our love affair with the St. Louis Cardinals. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to MG William Howard McCoy Jr. who is retiring on January 1, 2012, after 37 years of exemplary active Federal service in the U.S. Army. He has served our Nation with dignity, honor, and integrity, including serving multiple tours at Fort Leonard Wood in the great State that I call home, Missouri. MG William Howard McCoy, Jr, is a native Texan and a 1974 graduate of Texas A&M where he earned a bachelor's degree in construction engineering. He was then commissioned through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and entered the U.S. Army as second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers. He later went on to earn a master's of business administration from the University of Phoenix. Following the Engineer Officer Basic Course, his first assignment was to Germany. From 1974 to 1975, Major General McCoy served as a platoon leader, and later as an executive officer, in the 237th Engineer Battalion, 7th Engineer Brigade, VII Corps, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. His next assignment was as project officer, director of training developments, U.S. Army Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, VA. From 1980 to 1981 he commanded Company B, 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, TX. From there he deployed to be an engineer advisor, as part of the Technical Assistance Field Team at the U.S. Military Training Mission in Saudi Arabia. From 1981 to 1983, he was assigned as a project officer with the Southern Colorado Project Office, U.S. Army Engineer District Albuquerque in Pueblo, CO. It was during this time when he would meet and marry his lovely lifelong partner, Jill McCoy. With renewed vigor, from 1983 to 1986, he was assigned as the engineer staff officer for the Directorate of Engineering and Housing, Installation Support Activity in Europe and later became the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, 56th Field Artillery Brigade, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. He was then assigned as engineer staff officer, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer for U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. From 1986 to 1989 he served in numerous positions at Fort Hood, TX. Initially, he served as plans officer, Corps Staff Engineer Section, III Corps and later he served as the operations officer and executive officer of the 17th Engineer Battalion, 2d Armored Division. Following his assignment to Fort Hood, he returned to Virginia to attend the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk. From 1989 to 1991 he served in the Pentagon as a staff officer for the Force Development Directorate for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Headquarters, Department of the Army in Washington, DC. Following this tour at the Pentagon he was nominated and selected to be a research fellow for the RAND Army Fellowship Program in Santa Monica, CA. From 1992 to 1995 Major General McCoy served as the executive officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer, U.S. Army South, at Fort Clayton, Panama. He then transitioned to become the commander, 536th Engineer Battalion (Combat)(Heavy), U.S. Army South, Fort Clayton, Panama and Joint Task Force Builder, El Salvador/Uruguay, later OPERATION SAFE HAVEN, Panama, and later, Joint Task Force Builder, El Salvador. Due to his outstanding performance and unlimited potential, he was selected to study at the Army's prestigious professional academic institution, the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA. After graduating from the Army War College, from 1997 to 1998, Major General McCoy became the deputy director for the Maneuver Support Battle Lab, U.S. Army Engineer Center, Fort Leonard Wood, MO. In 1997, he was once again assigned to Europe as the Director of the Engineer Operations Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer, U.S. Army Europe, and Seventh Army, Germany. From 1998 to 2000, Major General McCoy transitioned to be the Commander, 130th Engineer Brigade, V Corps, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany and OPERATION TASK FORCE HAWK in the country of Albania. From 2000 to 2003, Major General McCoy served as the Chief of Staff, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. He later became the Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. In 2003, Major General McCoy became the commander, 18th Theater Army Engineer Brigade and simultaneously as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer, U.S. Army Europe, and Seventh Army, Germany. During this period he led his unit during OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM/Joint Task Force-North in the country of Turkey. Upon returning from overseas, from 2003 to 2005, Major General McCoy was assigned as the assistant commander, U.S. Army Engineer School/ Deputy Commanding General, Initial Military Training, Fort Leonard Wood, MO. However, his tenure in the States was short-lived and Major General McCoy once again answered the call to duty by becoming the Commander, Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM in Iraq. He returned from his deployment to Iraq and from 2006 to 2008, Major General McCoy served as the commanding general, U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center and Fort Leonard Wood, Fort Leonard Wood, MO. From 2008 to present, Major General McCoy has been assigned as the deputy, the inspector general, Office of the Secretary of the Army and Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC. In August 2010 he became acting, the inspector general. During his career, Major General McCoy steadily rose through the ranks and excelled at each assignment. He served in commands at the tactical, operational and strategic levels, as well as installation commands, during times of peace and war. At every command he effectively led our men and women in the accomplishment of the mission. From domestic to overseas assignments, and as a platoon leader to acting, the inspector general, Major General McCoy was ever mindful that the Army's most precious assets were those who wear the uniform and the civilians who work in the service of our nation's military. He ennobled this diligently through his thoughts, decisions, and actions. Major General McCoy's personal awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with four Oak leaf Clusters), the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with three Oak leaf Clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (with two Oak leaf Clusters), the Army Achievement Medal (with Oak leaf Cluster), the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Ehrenkreuz in Silber, and the Silver Order of the DeFleury Medal. Throughout his lifetime of military service, MG William Howard McCoy, Jr. showed extraordinary professionalism, valor and integrity, and dedication to the mission. He leaves a legacy of tremendous leadership and genuine concern for the soldiers and civilians of the U.S. Army. Furthermore, he attributes his success to the loving support of his wife Mrs. Jill McCoy and his children. General McCoy may have only spent several assignments in Missouri, but his career embodies classic Missouri values: love of country and family; selfless service; ``show me''--or, in other words, speaking with one's actions not words; and being humble. I wish Major General McCoy and his family the very best in retirement and I congratulate Major General McCoy on a fabulous career of service to our Nation and to the cause of freedom.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, today I congratulate Dr. Henry Givens, Jr. on his retirement and to thank him for his many years of leadership and service to the field of education. For over 50 years, Dr. Givens has been a champion of higher education and has fought to improve the lives of Missouri's students. It is my pleasure to honor him today. A native of St. Louis, MO, Dr. Givens attended public schools and received his bachelor's degree from Lincoln University, a master's degree from the University of Illinois, and his doctorate degree from Saint Louis University. Dr. Givens began his career in education as a fifth and sixth grade teacher in the Webster Groves School District in suburban St. Louis. After his work with the Webster Groves School District, Dr. Givens became the principal of the first prototype magnet school, Douglas Elementary School in St. Louis, MO. Under Dr. Given's guidance, Douglas Elementary faculty debuted revolutionary teaching techniques that are now standard classroom practices, helping to modernize Missouri's school systems. In 1973, Dr. Givens continued to break new ground when he became the first African-American assistant commissioner of education for the State of Missouri. Dr. Givens spent 5 years in that position before becoming president of Harris-Stowe University in 1979. When he first assumed leadership, Harris-Stowe State College offered one degree--elementary education--and had only one building. During Dr. Givens' 32 years as president of Harris-Stowe, the university expanded and upgraded facilities, tripled student population, and added 13 new degree programs. Dr. Givens' determined leadership shaped Harris-Stowe into the outstanding university it is today. In addition to his accomplishments in the field of education, Dr. Givens is affiliated with numerous national and local professional and social organizations and has received over 125 awards and recognitions for his service to his community. President Obama recently appointed Dr. Givens to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Finance Advisory Board, and Dr. Givens has served as the chairman of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statewide Celebration Commission for Missouri since its inception in 1986. It is my pleasure to honor Dr. Givens today. His dedicated leadership has improved the quality of the educational experience for Missourians. He has undoubtedly touched the lives of many and improved the quality of the community at large. Mr. President, I ask that the Senate join me in congratulating and honoring Dr. Henry Givens, Jr.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I ask the Senate to join me in honoring the work of Dr. Doris Jones Wilson, a music legend and icon in the St. Louis, MO community. For over 65 years, she has worked as an instructor, arranger and performer of music from every genre. Dr. Wilson's retirement marks just one more wonderful milestone in a life of service. It is my pleasure and privilege to ask the Senate to pause for a moment to honor Dr. Wilson today. Dr. Wilson is a beloved member of the St. Louis community. She first earned a bachelor of music education degree from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. She continued her education at Washington University in Saint Louis earning a master of arts in teaching and later a doctor of education in music education. Following her studies, Dr. Wilson went on to become a professor of music and director of the Concert Chorale of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis. Dr. Wilson recently retired from her position as minister of music for the West Side Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. Dr. Wilson has received numerous awards and commendations over the course of her career that recognize the exceptional impact her work as a musician, teacher and choral director has had on the music community. I was so humbled to learn that this previous September, the Kennedy Center featured a special performance of one of her most popular arrangements, ``Even Me.'' This is only one in a long list of honors. In 2004, Hampton University awarded her the Living Legend Award of Ministers and Choir Directors. She received the Missouri Arts Award from the Missouri Arts Council in 1998 and the Excellence in Teaching Award from Emerson Electric in 1997. In 1994, Dr. Wilson was honored with the Stellar Performer Award from the St. Louis American newspaper for outstanding leadership in music education. That same year the Bahamas Department of Tourism wrote Dr. Wilson a letter of commendation for Concert Choral Performance. In 1981, Dr. Wilson was awarded the Gold Medal for Concert Choral at the International Music Festival. As a Representative of the great State of Missouri and a resident of St. Louis, I am proud and humbled by the life and career of Dr. Wilson. I have no doubt that she has touched the lives of many students with her wonderful gift and spirit. The education and wisdom that she has passed on as a music educator will live on in the work her students do and the people they become. I truly believe that the impact her work has had on the St. Louis community is immeasurable. Mr. President, I ask that the Senate join me in congratulating and honoring Dr. Doris Jones Wilson on her retirement.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate and commend the Honorable James W. Symington and the American Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation on the success of their exhibit ``The Czar and the President, Alexander II and Abraham Lincoln.'' Housed in the magnificent Palace of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the State Archives of the Russian Federation in Moscow, the display included an impressive collection of documents, art, and personal artifacts of Czar Alexander II and President Lincoln. The exhibit debuted in St. Petersburg with great fanfare on April 26, 2011, with representatives from the American Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation, ARCCF, and Russian government officials in attendance. Russian Minister of Culture, Mr. Alexander Avedyev, and ARCCF chairman James W. Symington, presided over the ribbon cutting, while the Kremlin's Presidential Band provided entertainment. The exhibit was widely covered by the Russian media, and featured in the Washington Post and the New York Times. Timed to correspond with the 150th anniversary of the emancipation of the serfs and the beginning of the Civil War, the exhibit explored the commonality of Czar Alexander II and President Lincoln as liberators who ultimately met a tragic end. Although they never met personally, they exchanged warm correspondence, and shared a somewhat unexpected friendship. Through a study of these two leaders, visitors became acquainted with the often unexplored history of mutual respect and friendship during the Civil War era. ``The Czar and the President'' closed on July 31 after receiving rave reviews. Reviews of the exhibit can be read below. I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating Mr. Symington and the ARCCF, and thank them for their continued dedication in preserving the cultural and historical ties between the United States and Russia. Mr. President, I ask to have printed in the Record a copy of the text of the guest book. The material follows. The Guest Book from the Exhibition, The Czar and the President, Alexander II and Abraham Lincoln, The Liberator and the Emancipator

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to Mr. Amos McClure, who passed away on October 1, 2011, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in St. Louis, MO. A veteran of the Korean war, during which he was taken prisoner, Amos lived the life of an American patriot. Just out of high school, Amos joined the U.S. Army in 1948 at the age of 17. At the U.S. Armed Forces Institute in Fort Lewis, WA, he became an expert rifleman before specializing in heavy infantry during the Korean war. On November 29, 1950--just 19 days shy of his 20th birthday--Amos was captured by the enemy while serving his nation in Korea. He spent almost 3 years as a prisoner of war, until his release on August 8, 1953--Armistance Day. Amos was shot and wounded as a prisoner of war. But Amos was a survivor and his strength and determination helped him overcome both the physical and emotional wounds that were inflicted on so many American POWs. For his service, and in recognition of the sacrifices he made for his country, CPL Amos McClure received numerous military awards, including the Prisoner of War Medal. Amos returned home from serving in Korea to marry his sweetheart, Norma Jean Southerland. They were married for almost 52 years before she passed away. They leave behind five children. After his discharge, Amos worked for the Atomic Energy Commission as a storage battery technician. Later, as a civilian for the U.S. Air Force, he worked as a storage battery technician before moving to St. Louis to become a service manager and electrician until his retirement in 2004. I honor Amos today out of appreciation for the sacrifices he made on behalf of his fellow Americans, for his contributions to his community, and for the example he set for his children. He had the benefit of a strong family support system and a work ethic that allowed him to move forward from the horrors of war. His spirited approach to life is emblematic of the courage, honor, and strength of our veterans who fought for our freedom. I join his family, the people of Missouri, and all Americans, in saluting Amos McClure's courage, and I humbly recognize him for all that he has done and for all that he endured for this country. Amos McClure was a true American hero.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I try to listen very carefully to folks at home. I would not quarrel with my friend from Alabama in saying that it is very clear to me--and it has been clear to me for a long time--that Missourians are very worried about spending in the Federal Government. In fact, my friend from Alabama and I started work on this before, if one can say--we were trying to cut spending before cutting spending was cool. He and I were working this floor for votes to try to do something about spending long before last November's election.

Mrs. McCASKILL. Yes.

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I thank my friend from Alabama. There is nothing wrong with walking across the aisle and finding common ground. Frankly, it is what I thought would be common when I came to the Senate. It is kind of what I learned in the history books; that it would be common. I have been watching what is developing, knowing my folks at home want us to cut spending. I certainly have been part of wanting to cut spending. I have watched this debt ceiling approach. It is like watching a movie and watching a car driving along, and you are in a camera above it and you see what is ahead, and you see this cliff and you see this car driving toward this cliff, and you are thinking, as you start tensing--Oh, surely, you are not going to go over the cliff. Well, they have an opportunity to avoid going over the cliff. They are not going to go over the cliff. We are not going to see these people die. They are not going to drive over that cliff. They are not going to knowingly drive over a cliff. I have been thinking for the last several weeks: There is no way people who are elected--because they love their country--are going to let the car go over the cliff. I have to tell my colleagues, I am worried. What do we have to do to keep from going over the cliff? Make no mistake about it. It is a cliff. It is a historic moment for our country. Never before in the history of our country have the world markets been worried about whether the United States of America will pay its bills. Never has that happened before in our history. So what does it take? Well, it is not complicated what it takes. It takes one basic ingredient: compromise. To keep from going over the cliff, all we have to do is compromise. I will tell my colleagues, reading my mail and listening to phone calls that have come in on the answering machine--and I am going to take phone calls myself over the weekend--what Missourians are now saying: Please don't go over the cliff. Please compromise. I am confident that is what most Missourians want. Compromises have already occurred--big compromises. Most of us on this side of the aisle believe the way we get at our long-term debt structure is a responsible approach that includes some revenues. I advocate cleaning out the goodies in the Tax Code so we can lower tax rates. I don't understand how we can vote to gut the Medicare Program and at the same time vote to continue writing checks to Big Oil. I cannot conceive how a Member votes that way. I cannot imagine I would vote to keep writing a taxpayer check to the most wealthy and profitable corporations in the history of the world at the same time I was voting to put Medicare on a voucher program. That would be saying to seniors, if they are 83 and they have three chronic illnesses, and they run out of Medicare coverage, they are on their own. I can't imagine doing that. But we compromised. We compromised and said: OK, we will set revenues aside, for now. You will not vote for revenues, Republican Party. Members of the House in the Republican Party, you will not vote for revenues. So we took revenues off the table. By the way, some people in my party were not happy with that. I got those phone calls: Why did you capitulate? Why did you give in? We gave in because we care about our country, and we don't want to go over the cliff. That is why we gave in. So we gave in on revenues. The Republicans wanted us to cut spending by more than we raised the debt ceiling. It is a political thing we need to do, not required by the economics, but we have done that. So now we put revenues aside-- compromise. We have said we are going to cut spending by more than the rise in the debt ceiling. Now the only thing we have not compromised on, the only thing--which I think is, really, when we think about it--I didn't think, frankly, this may have been as big of a deal until I stand here today--is to do this again in 6 months, to leave this loaded gun on the table. We are going to leave this loaded gun on the table for our economy? People can talk to small businesses right now and learn they are scared about what is going to happen next week. Will they be able to borrow money? Will people be able to afford to borrow money to buy cars? Will they be able to afford to borrow money to buy homes? We talk about the economy going in a tailspin, and we want to keep that loaded gun on the table for another 6 months? There is no way we can provide the certainty in this kind of economic climate if we leave the loaded gun on the table. So the only thing we have not agreed to that is in the Boehner plan-- well, it depends on which plan it is. They keep changing it to try to get enough votes. I don't know what it is today. But the only thing we are not going to budge on is saying to this country and our business community and our job creators: We are going to kill job creation for sure for the next 6 months by telling you we want to repeat this ridiculous exercise in 6 months. We are not going to do that. The irony is, the people who want us to do that are the people who have been preaching certainty: We have to have certainty. By the way, let's do this again in 6 months. We have to have certainty. It is important we do this again in 6 months. I know the leader is working on trying to get a compromise today, and I am confident that before the day is over there will be some kind of compromise that will be before this body that we will have a chance to vote on. I will tell my colleagues this: People will never hear me brag about refusing to compromise. Some of my colleagues from Missouri who serve in the House of Representatives are willing right now to brag about refusing to compromise. They are willing to say it is a good thing to go off the cliff. I will never brag about refusing to compromise because I don't think that is what we do here. When we look back in history, America's brightest moments usually happened around the table of compromise. The most difficult questions this country has wrestled with through the years, we have forged a way forward through compromise, and that is what we needed to. That is what we need tomorrow. That is what we need as we approach the edge of the cliff. So my last message I will leave with my colleagues across the aisle is this: We have shown our willingness to compromise. Please show us yours. Please show us yours and allow us to vote. Allow us to vote on the compromise. If my colleagues don't want to vote for the compromise, then don't vote for it. But allow us a chance to vote for it. Is that too much to ask, just to allow us an opportunity to move to a vote, to avoid this country having a permanently diminished status in the world? I don't think that is too much to ask. So let us vote, and if my colleagues can't compromise on the substance of the compromises that will be put forward, at least allow our voices to be heard by allowing a vote. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be equally divided.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, Missouri is full of amazing Americans. At the very top of this list is my friend, Frankie Muse Freeman. She has been selected to receive the extraordinary honor called the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest national honor. Each year, the NAACP selects only one person in this country to receive the prestigious Spingarn Medal in recognition of particularly outstanding achievement. We in Missouri are so proud of Ms. Freeman for her many accomplishments, including receiving this most distinguished award. While I am honored to come to the floor and congratulate Frankie Freeman, I regret that I will not be able to be in St. Louis, at the St. Louis City and County Freedom Fund Dinner to deliver these remarks and celebrate this great woman and her many admirers and supporters in the St. Louis area. Frankie Freeman is an amazing story. She is 94 years old and still has the passion to serve her community. At age 16, Ms. Freeman enrolled in her mother's alma mater, Hampton Institute. In 1947, before the Presiding Officer or I were ever born, she earned a law degree from Howard University Law School. During that time period, as one might imagine, there really were not law firms that hired either women or African Americans, much less an African-American woman. So what did Frankie Freeman do? She decided to open her own law firm. She began her practice with divorce and criminal cases and with a huge dose of pro bono cases. After 2 years she became legal counsel to the NAACP legal team that filed suit against the St. Louis Board of Education in 1949. In 1954, Freeman was the lead attorney for the landmark case, Davis v. St. Louis Housing Authority, which ended legal racial discrimination in public housing in St. Louis. In the almost 60 years since that decision, Ms. Freeman has tirelessly fought for civil rights at home in St. Louis and across the Nation. She has endured abuse and discrimination, but through it all she worked with intellect and dignity while employing one of her very best weapons, a warm and friendly personality and a very quick smile. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson appointed her to serve as the first woman on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She continued to serve on the Commission under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter. Recognizing that there was still much work to do to end discrimination, Ms. Freeman joined with others to help form the bipartisan Citizens Commission on Civil Rights. Frankie Freeman's work has earned her many awards. She holds honorary degrees from multiple universities, including Hampton University, the University of Missouri, St. Louis University, Washington University, and Howard University. Now she has been inducted into the National Bar Association's Hall of Fame. Despite this long history of accomplishments, Frankie Freeman still knows what is important--serving the community she loves. At age 94, she remains active in her local community by volunteering at her church. Throughout her career, she has served on several local boards, including the National Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and the United Way of Greater St. Louis. Along the way, she also found time to write a book about her life, which I highly recommend to anyone for an inspiring story, a uniquely American story of a woman who had a vision at a time when women who looked like her weren't supposed to have a vision. Ms. Freeman will become the 96th recipient of the Spingarn Medal this July when she is honored during the NAACP national convention in Los Angeles. Past Spingarn medalists include Maya Angelou, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This impressive list of exceptional Americans whose company Attorney Freeman will now join gives you a sense of the caliber of person Attorney Freeman is. There is no doubt that attorney Frankie Freeman is deserving of this distinction. I am so proud of her for being honored with this recognition of her lifelong dedication to justice and civil rights. She is such an inspiration to me, and she has been an inspiration to thousands of young people during her life, an inspiration to so many Americans, regardless of race, an inspiration for what she stands for and what she has accomplished in her lifetime. I am so grateful to call her my friend, and I thank her for all she has done for the people of St. Louis, the people of Missouri, and the people of this great Nation. Congratulations and thank you, Frankie Freeman. Mr. President, I will spend a few moments talking about the Economic Development Administration. There are lots of times we debate legislation on the floor, and we do it in almost an academic way. We think of the proposals in the abstract. Unfortunately, there are many times we don't think about the real consequences of legislation. This year, at this time, this legislation feels very consequential to me. It feels very consequential because of what my State has gone through. The Economic Development Administration plays a substantial role in making Federal resources available to assist communities that are affected by disasters to rebuild and recover. As my colleagues in this Chamber are well aware, the first half of this year has been devastating to my State. Since the start of the year, 28 States have suffered at least one federally declared major disaster. Missouri has been particularly hard hit, starting with the severe storms on New Year's Eve. We also had severe flooding along the Mississippi River, multiple tornadoes, including one that struck and caused severe damage to St. Louis and, obviously, the historic tornado that has, in fact, done such damage to the community of Joplin. We are also expecting additional extensive flooding along the Missouri River in northwest Missouri. Many families there are steeling for the worst as we wait for the waters to arrive. When disaster strikes, the Federal Government steps in, as it should, to support the efforts of State and local government, nonprofit groups, and the faith community to help communities recover and rebuild. In Missouri, EDA works with all 19 regional planning commissions in a collaborative role to help carry out projects deemed important by local elected officials and community leaders, particularly in the event of a natural disaster. The Economic Development Administration's explicit mission includes the assistance of regions ``experiencing sudden and severe economic dislocations, such as those resulting from natural disasters.'' I just visited with people from a radio station in Joplin. The man I visited there was on the air for 23 straight hours. This radio station turned out to be one of the few methods of communication that everybody could rely on in the immediate hours after the tragedy struck. Eight of the twenty-eight employees who work at that radio station lost their homes, including the man who was on the air for 23 straight hours. There has been severe dislocation that has occurred in Joplin, MO. Two thousand homes were wiped away, clean gone. Another 6,000 structures, including homes and businesses, were severely damaged and are uninhabitable. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people in Joplin, MO, who woke up that Monday morning--in fact, hadn't been to sleep the night before because they were busy huddling in rubble or were camped out at a relative's home because they had no place to go. In the past few years alone, EDA has provided similar assistance in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota after disasters hit communities in those States. EDA has already stepped up in Joplin and established a $3 million revolving fund to assist small businesses in the area, so that people have a place they can go back to, in terms of their work, after this kind of disaster. We have a long history in this country of rolling up our sleeves and working together in difficult times. The Federal Government has always been a partner in those efforts, providing financial and technical support. The Economic Development Administration has been part of this support. It is my hope the EDA will continue to provide this invaluable service. That is why this legislation is more important than words on a page. It could make the difference between someone being able to stay in the community, being able to go back to work, being able to put the pieces back together after a tragic loss. I hope my colleagues take this seriously and move quickly and promptly to support this legislation. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. McCASKILL

Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, this is a place that runs on words. The Senate is a place where there is always a great deal of speeches given and words spoken. Every once in a while, something comes along in life when words are completely inadequate. What happened in my State in the last few days is very difficult to express in words. I did want to take a few moments to recognize an incredible occurrence in the southwest portion of my State. Having been there all day yesterday and arriving very early in the morning and spending time with the people of Joplin--with Missourians who have come to Joplin from every corner of our State, with Federal officials, I do want to take a short amount of time to recognize the tragedy and to rejoice in the response. So many parts of this response, in fact, are the kinds of things we should celebrate. But the loss of life is staggering. An F-5 tornado, we now know, is the strongest tornado classification--in fact, this is the most devastating tornado we have had in this country in almost 60 years. The loss of life is staggering--122 lives. It is, unfortunately, a reality that that toll will probably continue to rise--I hope only slightly--in the coming days. But yesterday, there were another five or six confirmed deaths. The loss of property--over 8,000 buildings were damaged; 2,000 homes are gone. When I say gone, I mean gone. I have responded to many natural disasters in Missouri during my time as a public official--a lot of tornadoes and flooding. I have never observed a scene that even comes close to what I observed yesterday. Walking among the rubble, you realize that what you are walking through is people's lives that have been spread far and wide, and that, in many ways, cannot be recovered, cannot be made exactly as they were before. From the air, the swathe of damage was incredible. We were able to get up there--because the weather finally cooperated--to look at the damage from the air. Governor Nixon and Mr. Fugate, the Administrator of FEMA, and I, with other officials, went up in helicopters yesterday morning. As you look down upon Joplin, from the air it looks like a stave mill. Through the middle of Joplin, miles and miles long and wide, surrounded by green, it looks like a massive amount of toothpicks. The trees are all gone. Many hundred-year-old trees are lying on their sides. The trees--what is left standing of them--have most of the bark ripped off by the force of the wind that swept through Joplin shortly before 6 p.m. on Sunday evening. The emotional toll of this devastation is one you can't calculate. But you see it on people's faces. What I observed yesterday was friends and neighbors who were standing by hoping for a miracle, and firefighters dug under the rubble at the Walmart hoping they would find someone there who was alive. I witnessed other people going through the rubble of their homes. In talking to them, I think the initial reaction for the people of Joplin was intense gratitude that they were alive. Now it is being replaced with the reality of their loss and what they have lost--from schools, to churches, to a hospital that employs over 2,000 people in a community of just 50,000. This is an incredible loss. But the pain is palpable on these people's faces, and that is why it is so important that we don't lose sight of what they are going to need over the coming weeks, months and, yes, even years. The response I witnessed, in terms of what was on the ground, was remarkable--from Federal, State, first responders in local communities, and obviously the officials of Joplin, Missouri, all working together seamlessly as a team. The Federal Government--unlike many disasters where they wait several weeks to declare a disaster--obviously understood that the flexibility and the immediacy of the response was incredibly important in this instance, and they declared a disaster within 18 hours. FEMA had people on the ground. Within 12 hours, the National Guard deployed. They had National Guardsmen there before midnight. Since that moment on, more and more people have been responding with more and more assets to help the people of Joplin and the recovery effort. I want to call out particularly the fire chief in Joplin and the city manager there who have done remarkable work. The fire chief lost his home. As I walked through the firehouse going to the command center, I heard barking in one of the rooms. I said, ``Is that a K-9 unit?'' They said, ``No, the fire chief is living here with his family because his home is gone. That is his dog.'' So as he lost his home, he obviously had to turn to the important job of initially fighting fires, and then, obviously, participating in an unprecedented effort of search and rescue over the following 48 hours. I am very proud of our National Guard. We have over 200 guardsmen there as we speak. They have done, as always, remarkable work. I talked to one man who had just finished duty in Poplar Bluff, with the flooding, and immediately came over to help in Joplin with the tornado response and recovery. The State of Missouri Governor Nixon has been on the ground for much of the last 72 hours, along with his team. He is bringing his cabinet heads to Joplin to work on various parts of this over the next 48 hours, along with subcabinet members from the Federal Government, housing, HHS, to be of assistance. Let me take a minute to talk about the first responders. I am so proud of the police and firefighters I encountered yesterday. I am so proud of these men and women. As I looked around, I realized there were search and rescue teams from every corner of our State. Task Force 1 from central Missouri and almost 100 Kansas City firefighters were there. I had an opportunity to visit with many of them as they were attempting a rescue on the scene yesterday afternoon. At 3 o'clock in the morning--yesterday morning--a caravan from St. Louis of over 100 firefighters and all of their equipment and assets rolled down I-44 to get to Joplin to help their brothers and sisters, in terms of this effort. St. Francis County, Camden County--you name it--from all over the State, police and firefighters and public safety officials responded to Joplin. Frankly, people need to realize that the assets spread all over Joplin today, the emergency vehicles, K-9 units, HAZMAT teams, mobile rescue units that allow people to do very difficult rescues in very difficult circumstances--the vast majority of those assets were bought with Federal dollars. The vast majority of that equipment that came to these Missouri departments came from Federal grants. A lot of these guys worked without sleep for days. As I talked to them and thanked them, it was almost as though they resented being thanked because, to them, this is what they do. I tell you, one thing yesterday gave me was an incredible passion to fight for these folks' pensions and salaries. These are not the people who are causing economic chaos in this country. These are not the people who deserve to be diminished in public discussions about what they receive for their work. These are the best we have, and they deserve every dime of pension they have bargained and fought for. I am so proud of Joplin for its response. This is a community of great faith. This is a community that will come together, as a lot of Midwest communities do in circumstances when their neighbors are in trouble. Everywhere I have gone--in fact, our phones are ringing off the hook--people are saying: What do we need to do to help Missourians? The most important thing people can do right now is give blood, donate to the Salvation Army and Red Cross, and wait to hear from the officials from Joplin about when volunteers are needed. Right now, too many volunteers swarming into Joplin could cause more problems than it could solve. People need to check with the local Red Cross in Ozarks, and they need to check in with the city Web site. When there is a call for volunteers, it will go out, and those volunteers will be needed. But for now, the most important thing people can do is give money and blood. The other thing I think we can do for all of the people who lost their lives in this tragedy is to have a plan when there is a tornado warning. Many families--and I think we are guilty of it in the Midwest maybe more so than other places in the country because we hear sirens and tornado warnings a lot. I grew up with that in Missouri. I will be honest, I probably have never taken it seriously enough. But that will not happen again in my life. My family will have a plan. My family will know where to go and what to do if, in fact, there is a tornado warning. Don't ever assume a tornado warning is not serious. These sirens rang at approximately 5:17 in the afternoon, and the tornado touched ground at approximately 5:41. So there was 20 minutes there. By the way, the weather people here deserve a great deal of credit. Nobody visually sighted this tornado. It was all done through radar. The fact that they were able to identify this tornado and make that warning 20 minutes ahead of time was very important. I cannot imagine the loss of life we would have had if it hadn't been for that 20-minute warning. Having said that, there were people who were not taking it seriously. There were people who didn't know exactly where to go or what to do. So, please, have a plan for your families as a tribute to all those who lost loved ones in Joplin on Sunday night. We will survive this, with God's grace and determination. Joplin will roar back because of the values that are held so dearly in that part of our State--in fact, in our entire country. We will come together, and we will do this. But make no mistake about it, the satellite cameras are going to pack up sometime in the next 48 hours. All those satellite trucks are going to go back from where they came. This will fade from the front pages. Just like the junior Member from Minnesota who is presiding right now, at the point in time the bridge collapsed, there was a great deal of attention, and then the attention goes away. In this instance, we are going to need to sustain the support to this community far beyond the headlines, far beyond the satellite trucks going home. We have to get these schools open in September. We have to get this hospital rebuilt. We have to make sure this community is not left stranded without the assistance it needs. There is no question that we have to be careful about the way we spend Federal money. But with all due respect to Congressman Cantor, I have a hard time believing that if this were in his congressional district, he would be talking about how additional disaster relief would not be available unless we found some other program from which to take it. It must be available. This cannot be a political football. We must provide the assistance. That is what Federal tax dollars are for, to provide assistance when there is no assistance available for communities and for States because of the wrath of Mother Nature. We must be there for them. We all must stand with Joplin. All of America must stand with Joplin. And we will. My heart goes out to the families for their losses. I congratulate the people of Joplin for their response. I say ``bless you'' to all those first responders. Through the greatest tragedy sometimes comes the greatest strength. I yield the floor.