Don Nickles

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar order No. 464, H.R. 2070.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, at the conclusion of this week, I compliment the majority leader, Senator Lott, for his leadership and tireless efforts to get a lot of things moving. After a long week, a lot of work was done to complete, for all practical purposes, the Department of Defense bill, which we will be voting on early when we return. Also, I wish to compliment Senator Daschle and Senator Nunn, as well as Senator Thurmond, Senator McCain, and Senator Warner for their leadership in passing this very important bill. They have put in a lot of effort and time in the last couple of days. Some were wondering whether or not we would be able to pass the bill. In addition, I compliment the majority leader, because during the process this week, he was able to break the logjam on the minimum wage bill. Again, that was one that we have been wrestling with for a long time, and we will be voting on that when we return for debate on July 8 and a vote on the July 9, as well as action on the TEAM bill. I compliment him on that. It is a little disappointing that we have not yet made greater progress on the so-called health bill, the Kassebaum-Kennedy bill. As a matter of fact, there has been an objection placed by Democrat Members on appointing conferees. That is very unusual. It has been 40 some days now that they have opposed appointing conferees on that piece of legislation. I hope they will reconsider. I heard Senator Kennedy speaking on that earlier today. He was critical of the medical savings accounts provisions. I think we made a very generous offer on medical savings accounts. Hopefully, that will be resolved and we can complete action on that bill which will solve a lot of problems for preexisting illnesses and coverage for small business, allowing deductibility. That is important legislation that is broadly supported by Congress. Hopefully, we will have appointees and go to conference. By and large, I compliment the majority leader. He has had a very active and successful week.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Missouri [Mr. Ashcroft], the Senator from Missouri [Mr. Bond], and the Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain] are necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Rhode Island [Mr. Chafee], the Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Cochran], the Senator from Oregon [Mr. Hatfield], and the Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Inhofe] are necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Oregon [Mr. Hatfield] is necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina [Mr. Helms] is necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I would like to compliment my colleague from Oklahoma for his diligent attention to this issue, and make clear to the distinguished Chairman that I share his concerns. I would respectfully remind the Chairman that the Defense Department's recommendation to the Commission on this matter was based on the Army's stated intention to decrease the basic training load at Fort Leonard Wood and increase basic training at Fort Jackson, SC; Fort Knox, KY; and Fort Sill, OK. According to the Department's recommendations to BRAC, each of these installations was to receive 1,400-1,500 basic trainees from Fort Leonard Wood, approximately one basic training battalion each.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, one, I compliment the Senator from New Hampshire for offering this amendment. This amendment deals with the issue of Filegate. It is not related to the Department of Defense bill. The chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Thurmond, requested that he set this amendment aside or withdraw it so we can move ahead with the Department of Defense bill. I understand Senator Thurmond's request. Senator Gregg has assented to that request. But I think his amendment is an important one and it is a timely one. There were very serious actions or deeds taken by officials in the White House that are very troubling. Over 400 FBI files were requested and received by White House officials, almost all of which are on Republicans who previously worked in the White House. They were requested in December 1993 and beyond so, in other words, all those officials had left the White House at least a year before, some quite some time before that. Yet, FBI files were requested as if for access to the White House, when those individuals did not need access to the White House. That is a serious problem. It may have been a crime. I remember one individual became somewhat famous during Watergate. Chuck Colson went to prison for misusing or disclosing an FBI file. FBI files are very privileged information. I know in my tenure in the Senate I have only seen them a few times, primarily on judges for confirmation or possibly U.S. attorneys or marshals or something. But I remember, every time we had an FBI file brought to my office, it was for my eyes only. While I had access to that FBI file I did not Xerox it, I could not make notes from it. I was not entitled to take that file home. I was not entitled to keep it in my office alone. During access to that file, there was an FBI agent present or a Senate staff person who had a particular clearance. So in other words, in the Senate we really protect FBI files, as we should. The files are locked up. They are not opened for staff. They are not opened for rummaging through the files. As a matter of fact, it is against the law to do so. The Privacy Act, which was passed post-Watergate, was passed to protect individuals, to make sure that those files would not be misused or abused. That information should be kept secret for very limited access purposes, to make sure that individuals that have very high security operations or needs would be cleared, to make sure there are no real problems. This is maybe the most serious abuse of FBI files in history. It remains to be seen. The Senator from New Hampshire is saying that the individual primarily responsible for that, Mr. Livingstone--he is still on salary, still on paid vacation, I guess. He is on leave but he is being paid. That is troubling. The Senator had a resolution that said he should be terminated. He should be terminated. I know I have heard that not just from Republicans, but Democrats alike. So, Mr. President, I compliment the Senator from New Hampshire for, one, bringing this issue to the floor of the Senate. I note there will be hearings tomorrow dealing with this issue. Mr. Livingstone, and others, will be testifying before Congress. This is important. It is vitally important that Congress get to the bottom of it, find out the information. But in the process, it is troubling to think that at least one of the individuals that was responsible for it is not only on leave, but he is also on paid leave, that he is on a paid vacation, I guess, at taxpayers' expense. So the Senator from New Hampshire, I think, had a resolution that if we vote on--I might mention he has withdrawn it so the Senate can proceed. I ask our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee to return to the floor so we can conduct business on the DOD authorization bill. He has withdrawn it so we can proceed. He agreed to the request by Senator Thurmond, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, to move forward. I respect the Senator from New Hampshire for his willingness to do so. I respect the Senator from South Carolina for his desire to move this bill forward. He also has a right to reoffer it at a different time, just as the Senator from Arkansas has for an amendment dealing with pharmaceuticals. He offered it last week; he withdrew it. He has a chance to offer it again. That is his right. It may be germane to this bill to some extent but somewhat limited in its germaneness. It is my hope, too, that we will pass this bill. So, again, I thank the Senator from New Hampshire for his action in bringing this issue to the floor of the Senate and also for his willingness to withdraw the amendment so we can proceed and move forward with this bill tonight and hopefully make significant progress on this bill tonight. Mr. COATS addressed the Chair.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Grams] is necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Grams] is necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Grams] is necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from New York [Mr. D'Amato] and the Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Grams] are necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, there has been no formal agreement. I will tell my colleagues that we are trying to complete this bill. We have a lot of amendments. I understand the request of the Senator from Vermont. I think it is the intention of the majority leader to press on tonight, probably until--this time has not been announced but I will guess until about 9 o'clock and then probably continue later to stack votes for a later time. It is vitally important that we move forward. I will consult with the majority leader and will report back very soon.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I appreciate the comments of my colleague from Illinois. I might mention the Senator from Arizona asked for a time limit on his amendment. If Senators and opponents of amendments are willing to enter into time agreements, it makes it a lot easier to stack votes. So for us to be cooperative, I share the concerns to be more family friendly, and if it is possible for us to stack votes for this evening so there might be time for people to have dinner with their families, or something, but to do that it is really essential to have time agreements and have a couple of other amendments in order. So if we have maybe some more help in reaching those time agreements and ordering the next amendment, that would certainly be of help. Mr. McCAIN addressed the Chair.

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from New York [Mr. D'Amato] and the Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Grams] are necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES. Will the Senator yield just for a moment? I just would like to clarify with the majority leader that there will be no more votes tonight; is that correct?

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to thank Senators Thurmond and Nunn for their assistance in getting this provision included in the Defense authorization bill. I also want to thank the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee for their patience and understanding in working with my staff on this issue. This land transfer will put Oklahoma well on its way to getting a new national veterans cemetery. This process was started nearly ten years ago, but for one reason or another has been slow in moving forward. The transfer will conclude years of searching for a location by utilizing this land now a part of Ft. Sill. Getting property upon which to locate a veterans cemetery has been a major struggle, and, obviously, this land transfer solves that problem. I am very pleased that this provision will be in the bill for the veterans of Oklahoma who wondered if this day would ever come.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. NICKLES. How much time remains?

Mr. NICKLES. I will be very brief. I compliment the Senator from South Carolina for his leadership. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment. This amendment would strike $300 million of money that is used for research and development for missile defense. It is kind of a shocking thing for most Americans to find out that we do not have capabilities now to shoot down incoming missiles if you think the primary responsibility of the Federal Government is the protection of our people, the protection of our freedom. Yet, we do not have the capabilities today to shoot down an incoming missile from wherever it comes from. It may come from a belligerent nation, it may come from other rogue nations, it may come from someone getting control over missiles in the former Soviet empire. But we do not have the capability to shoot them down. That bothers me. Somebody might say, well, we have the Patriot. The Patriot worked semisuccessfully in the Persian Gulf war. It shot down some Scud missiles when they were right over their backyard. Not very effective. As a matter of fact, we had American soldiers who lost their lives in Saudi Arabia because of Scud missiles that were 20-some-odd years old that landed in that neighborhood. The Patriot did not stop these. They stopped some missiles. It is not effective. We need to be able to have the capability to shoot down missiles before they end up in our backyard. The threats are becoming more serious all the time, and we need to be moving now in research and development so we will have the system capability sooner rather than when it is too late. When you have North Korea firing missiles in the direction of Japan, when you have China firing missiles in the direction of Taiwan, when you have China making implicit threats to the United States, and even specifically Los Angeles, you realize this is a much more dangerous world than it was 3 years ago. We are now using our money to help Israel develop missile defense capabilities. I support that. But it is very ironic that we do not give ourselves the capability and enough resources to develop missile technology to defend ourselves against an incoming missile, whether it be an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile, with whatever warheads--nuclear warheads, biological or chemical warheads. We should not leave ourselves defenseless. I am afraid that if we adopt the amendment by our friends on the other side, we are doing just that--we are cutting back too much. People like to call missile defense star wars, and maybe they score political points by doing so. But they leave us without the capability of moving forward rapidly, as quickly as possible, to shoot down incoming missiles. The No. 1 priority of the Federal Government should be the protection of our people, the protection of our freedom. We need to have the capability to destroy incoming missiles from whatever source. We need this money. I compliment the chairman of the Armed Services Committee. I hope our colleagues will vote to delete and vote against this amendment. I yield the floor.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from New York [Mr. D'Amato] is necessarily absent.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Close Up Foundation on the celebration of its 25th anniversary. I would like to start this tribute by recognizing Close Up's Oklahoma roots. A fellow Oklahoman, Harry Janger, encouraged and guided his son, Steve, in the creation of the Close Up Foundation. While we are saddened by Harry's passing earlier this year, his legacy lives on. Steve Janger, the president and founder of Close Up, is a native Oklahoman. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, the former president of the university's alumni association, and a continuing supporter of the university. Steve's family still resides in Oklahoma and he visits home as often as possible. The strength Oklahoma gives to Close Up does not end with Steve Janger. He has involved many other Oklahomans on the foundation's board of directors. From the beginning, Close Up has benefitted from several distinguished graduates of the University of Oklahoma--Tom Kenan, Max Berry, and Gordon Zuber. Several years later, Joel Jankowsky, another distinguished Oklahoman, joined the Close Up board. These Oklahomans and the other board members serve without compensation and devote many hours of work to ensure the well-being of the foundation. Their hard work and commitment has paid off. Close Up is the Nation's largest civic education organization, bringing approximately 25,000 participants a year to Washington for its various citizenship education programs. Close Up has participants from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Pacific Island territories. Their principal program is the Washington High School Program. In addition, Close Up has developed programs for various special constituencies, in keeping with their mission of trying to reach at-risk or underserved students. This commitment has resulted in the creation of the program for new Americans, the program for Older Americans, a program for American Indians and Alaska Natives, and a program for Pacific Islanders. Close Up's participants include all kinds of kids, from the academically gifted to those who struggle to stay in school. There are students with disabilities, students from inner cities, rural areas and suburban areas. There are students from all ethnic backgrounds and from all economic situations that are served by Close Up's efforts. Congress has appropriately recognized the importance of Close Up Foundation's work with students from virtually every background imaginable. The uniqueness of Close Up is that it takes all of these students and puts them together for a week of learning. What results are strangers becoming best friends, young people breaking down stereotypes, and all of them learning the important lesson that as different as we all are, we all share the common bond of American citizenship and the responsibility for ensuring its continued greatness. Mr. President, I want to congratulate Steve Janger, all of the other Oklahomans, and the thousands of people who have been associated with Close Up for the past 25 years. I wish them great success as they begin their work for another 25 years.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 258 that I now send to the desk.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. To our leader, I say that you embody what we think is great about a leader. That is character. That is integrity. That is loyalty. You have earned the respect not only of your colleagues, you have earned the respect of all Americans. To our leader, again, a man from Russell, KS, you are our friend. You will always be our friend. We wish you and Elizabeth every success this year.