Ted Stevens

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Respectfully, that is not how I understood my discussion with the majority leader. We discussed doing this bill tonight. There will be a window. This is the night of the Republican dinner. Some of us have agreed to stay and debate the amendments on the supplemental so that it might be voted on in a very short window tomorrow and get it to the House tomorrow so they can finish it so we can get it back by Thursday or Friday. Unless we do that today, I for one am going to give up on the supplemental.

Mr. STEVENS. Madam President, it is a very serious matter we would like to discuss with the Senate. I do hope the Senate will come to order.

Mr. STEVENS. Better not said, but you are right.

Mr. STEVENS. Madam President, I just received word from the House of Representatives that they are scheduling two appropriations bills on the floor, and they have bipartisan agreement to finish by Thursday night. That is why this dialog right now is very important. We do have to go to conference with the House before they leave. I join the Senator in making the inquiry.

Mr. STEVENS. Will the Senator yield for one moment?

Mr. STEVENS. Will the Senator yield for one more inquiry?

Mr. STEVENS. If the Senator will yield for a moment, because of my negotiations with the House, I urge that we set a time limit on when we are coming back, if that is agreeable to the leadership, and that we announce that amendments must be presented to us at the desk by noon.

Mr. STEVENS. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. STEVENS. Is there some way to set a time limit so we can go to the House and let them know? They have schedules to meet, too. I urge that we have some way to get an agreement that we have this bill called up tonight and we debate any amendments tonight and all amendments must be debated tonight and that we vote tomorrow. That seems to be agreeable with the majority leader. I hope it is. But the main thing is to get us some way that we know how many amendments are out there, I say to my good friend. I spent 8 years as a whip. I know your task is difficult. I think we have a right to ask for disclosure of the amendments that would be offered to the supplemental and have it done by a specific time today.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, the Climate Change Strategy and Technology Innovation Act of 2001 asks for a commitment of the 107th Congress to Develop bold, innovative technologies to better understand global climate change. I thank my friend Senator Byrd for introducing this Bill and I am proud to be an original co-sponsor. On May 29, I chaired an Appropriations Committee field hearing in Fairbanks, AK on the impact of global climate change on the arctic environment. Witnesses included Dan Goldin, the Head of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration; Scott Gudes, the acting head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Dr. Rita Colwell, the Director of the National Science Foundation, Charles Groat, the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey; and experts from the International Arctic Research Center and the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute. Many of the Witnesses noted that recent climate change activity likely stems from a number of factors, including natural variances and human activity. The degree to which any particular phenomenon or activity is contributing to climate change is not well understood. However, regardless of cause, there has been a dramatic warming trend in the arctic areas of Alaska. Pack ice that usually insulates our coastal villages from winter storms has shrunk by 3 percent a year since the 1970's. Increased storm activity has caused significant beach erosion that may displace entire communities. Sea ice is also thinner than it was 30 years ago. The northwest passage has been ice free for the last three years. Forests appear to moving farther north and west as the permafrost melts. We need better research capabilities to understand global climate change, better planning capabilities to react to climate change impact, and better energy technology infrastructure to keep pace with America's growing energy needs. Senator Byrd's bill will create a process for the United States to seriously and responsibly address the climate change issue. I look forward to working closely with him to pass this important legislation.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5 minutes.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, is it in order for me to speak now on a matter not connected with this nomination?

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

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I call to the attention of the Senate the Veterans History Project that is currently being developed by the Library of Congress. This is a project that is dear to the hearts of all Americans and a project to which the Congress gave our unanimous support when we passed Public Law 106-380 last fall. Jut as a new memorial on the Mall will honor our WW II veterans, a living memorial to all our war veterans will be created by the Veterans History Project. This project, which is part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, will collect oral histories, along with letters, diaries, photographs, and other papers from veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars, as well as from those who served in support of them. The Veterans History Project will create this national collection by creating partnerships and encouraging participation from a wide range of veterans' organizations, military installations, civic groups, museums, libraries, historical societies, students and teachers, colleges and universities, and citizens and the families of our veterans nationwide. This is an important national project and one that we should continue to support. Of the 19 million war veterans living in our Nation today, nearly 1,500 of them die each day--1,100 of them having served in World War II. While their own monument is under construction, we can build a lasting national collection that will preserve their wartime memories, actions and experiences. Through this national project we have to encourage local projects and local archives that will collect oral histories of all our war veterans for our children and our children's children. This is a project worthy of consideration by all Senators as they return home for Memorial Day. That is the reason I come to the Chamber. I thank our colleagues in the Senate, Senator Chuck Hagel and Senator Max Cleland for bringing this opportunity to us and to the citizens of our great Nation--a lasting democracy due to the sacrifices of the men and women honored by the Veterans History Project. I will support funding for this project and for the operations of the Library's American Folklife Center, where the veteran's collections will be preserved and shared with all. Nearly all of us have worked closely with the American Folklife Center. Many of you will recall the recent Local Legacies Project, done for the Library of Congress bicentennial last year, and other programs it has undertaken over the years. As we approach Memorial Day I ask the Senate to reaffirm our commitment to our veterans and show our support for the Veterans History Project. As a grateful nation, we must preserve and honor their memories for generations to come.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I am delighted to follow our leader, speaking about our former majority leader, Howard Baker, and his lovely lady, Senator Kassebaum. As one whose home is closer to Tokyo than it is to Washington, DC, I welcome this appointment. This is the century of the Pacific. If one really studies geopolitical affairs in this world, they can only come to the conclusion that the Pacific is going to be the region of great interest to the world, of great potential, and of great strife if we are not careful. I am delighted the President has chosen Howard Baker to become the Ambassador to Japan. He has shown his leadership on the floor of the Senate and in activities he has participated in around the world since he left the Senate. His wife, as we know, is one of the distinguished leading ladies of this country. The President is very smart. He gets two Ambassadors for the price of one. We will welcome him going to Alaska on his way to Japan and on his way back because he is a great friend. It was my privilege to serve with Howard Baker. During the 8 years he was the leader I was assistant leader, and I consider him one of the finest Americans who has ever lived. I am glad to see he continues being willing to serve our country, and I shall vote for him. I yield the floor.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I want to publicly thank my great friend and long-time companion, Senator Inouye, for his kindness in pairing with me on two votes during the last 2 days. I had made a commitment to my granddaughter to be present at her graduation from high school, and I decided to keep that commitment. But we knew there would be close votes. I talked to my good friend, and he gave me this commitment he would pair on votes on which my absence might make a difference. There are few friendships in this world that are stronger than my love for my great friend from Hawaii, a committed and dedicated American, and one who has been recognized by our country for his heroism at war. But he showed last night, once again, that he is a true friend as far as I am concerned. I publicly thank him for that.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to make a statement for 2 minutes.

Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I believe that it is time to honor the sacrifices of the World War II generation. Eight years after Congress authorized the construction of this memorial, and six years from the first of 22 public hearings on its site and design, the memorial's construction remains delayed by a procedural issue involving the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), one of the agencies required by law to approve the memorial, and a lawsuit filed by a small group of opponents. This legislation would remove those obstacles and require the construction process to promptly go forward. The legislation accomplishes that goal as follows: Through sections one and three, the site and design for the World War II Memorial are finalized, expeditious construction is directed, and the prospect of further delay through judicial challenges or other re- considerations of the selected site and design are eliminated. Section one also includes a provision regarding design modifications which is solely intended to address the highly unlikely event that a technical impossibility could occur in the course of construction that might require a limited deviation from the selected design. In light of the careful review the existing plans have already been subject to by the memorial's design, engineering, and construction management professionals, the General Services Administration (GSA), the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), the National Park Service (NPS), the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), no exercise of this authority is expected. Moreover, as a result of these provisions, funds donated for the Memorial would not be diverted to preparation of the additional mock-up of the Memorial or further presentations on the selected design that have been requested of the NPS by NCPC to administratively redress that agency's procedural issue resolved by this legislation. The second section directs that the procedural steps of the Commemorative Works Act shall be used for the approval of those few aspects of the Memorial not already finalized. These items are essentially the color of the granite, the flag poles, sculptural elements, the wording of the inscriptions to be placed on the memorial, and final adjustments to the level of lighting. These matters will be presented in due course by the NPS, representing the Secretary of the Interior and acting on behalf of the ABMC, to the two approving commissions designated by the Commemorative Works Act: the CFA and the NCPC. To further place this legislation in context it is important to briefly describe the extensive, democratic deliberative process through which the site and design were selected. After receiving Congressional approval in October 1994 to locate the Memorial within the National Monumental Core, many public hearings regarding site selection were conducted including meetings of the National Capital Memorial Commission (NCMC), (May 9 and June 20, 1995), the CFA (July 27 and September 19, 1995), and the NCPC (July 27 and October 5, 1995). In the course of these meetings, the CFA and NCPC, in consultation with the ABMC and NCMC, reviewed eight proposed sites for the Memorial. Through review of these proposals, the possibility of including the Rainbow Pool in the site for the Memorial arose at the June 20, 1995, NCMC public meeting. As the deliberations continued pursuant to the Commemorative Works Act, the appropriateness and potential of the Rainbow Pool as a site for the Memorial became readily apparent. The Rainbow Pool Site was approved at an open, public meeting of the CFA on September 19, 1995, and the NCPC on October 5, 1995. President Clinton formally dedicated the Rainbow Pool site on Veterans' Day 1995. In 1996, a national two-stage competition to select the designer for the Memorial was conducted in accordance with the GSA's Design Excellence program. Over four hundred entries were reviewed by a distinguished Evaluation Board that selected six competition finalists. From these six finalists, a design jury composed of outstanding architects, landscape architects, architectural critics and WWII veterans, independently and unanimously recommended a design team headed by Friedrich St. Florian of the Rhode Island School of Design. The Evaluation Board concurred and ABMC approved the recommendation on November 20, 1996. On January 17, 1997, President Clinton announced the Friedrich St. Florian team as the winning design team, with Leo A. Daly, a pre-eminent national firm, serving as architect-engineer. Through the Commemorative Works Act process, the World War II Memorial design underwent three general phases of public review and approval: design concept, preliminary design and final design. The Memorial design has evolved through input and participation by the reviewing commissions and the public. In particular, at public hearings held in July of 1997, both the CFA and the NCPC considered Friedrich St. Florian's initial design concept and reconsidered the approvals of the Rainbow Pool Site. Both commissions reaffirmed selection of the Rainbow Pool site on more than one ocassion; however, both also requested the consideration of substantial changes to the design concept. The design team subsequently undertook extensive efforts to address all concerns raised by the reviewing commissions and the public. Over the course of three years and nine more public meetings, the Memorial design continued to evolve to its finally approved form. As a result of the extensive public participation and careful review by the respective commissions and other governmental agencies, the final design is one which enhances the site, preserves its historic vistas, and preserves the Rainbow Pool by restoring it and making it a part of a national commemorative work. Finally, in the course of authorizing this Memorial, Congress asked the American people to support the project through voluntary donations. They certainly responded. The memorial fund-raising campaign, under the leadership of Senator Bob Dole and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO of FedEx Corporation, received financial support from half a million individual Americans, hundreds of corporations and foundations, dozens of civic, fraternal and professional organizations, 48 state legislatures, 1,100 schools, and more than 450 veterans groups representing 11 million veterans providing the funds necessary to construct the Memorial. I would like to thank my fellow World War II veterans Senator Inouye, Senator Thurmond, and Senator Hollings for joining me in this amendment. I would also like to thank Senator Thompson, Senator Murkowski, Senator Bingaman, and Senator Thomas for their co- sponsorship and for their hard work on this important legislation. I also want to thank the sponsor of this legislation, Congressman Stump, for all of his work and dedication to insure that World War II veterans will see the monument to their service. It is my hope that the House will act quickly on Congressman Stump's bill with our amendment. With this legislation, we will ensure that the Memorial is created within the lifetimes of a significant number of those we honor.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. The Senator from Montana has graciously agreed to let me make a short statement, and I ask for recognition.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Today the Senate will begin final remarks on the Dayton amendment with regard to IDEA, with a vote to occur momentarily. There will then be brief remarks and a vote on the Voinovich amendment on Head Start. Therefore, Senators may expect two votes at approximately 9:05 a.m. Under the order, Senator Byrd will be recognized for up to 30 minutes following these votes. The Senate will then begin the 20 hours of consideration of the reconciliation bill. Senators may expect votes throughout the day and into this evening in an effort to use a significant amount of the time on the reconciliation bill. A vote on final passage is expected no later than Monday night. I thank my colleagues for their attention. I yield the floor.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be excused from the voting in the Senate until 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday, commencing at the adjournment today.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, for the leader we thank the visiting Chaplain for his prayer.