J. Thurmond

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Let me say, Mr. President, that I would find it unconscionable if the Department of Defense were to be deliberately withholding a study that we sought in connection with our legislative responsibilities. We need to get to the bottom of this matter and I intend to do so.

Mr. THURMOND. I oppose this amendment offered by Senator Harkin, and I will make my statement short. We have had the debate on defense spending, and I do not need to repeat those arguments. The level of defense spending was set with the Administration in the budget agreement. This agreement was widely supported by this body and should not be disregarded. Some of my colleagues have argued that the money for defense is unnecessary and they have always found other uses for this money. Thankfully, Mr. President, this body has not agreed with these arguments and has provided the resources necessary to meet our national security needs. Mr. President, the budget agreement does not fully fund defense. The budget agreement represents what funds are available. The fact is, Mr. President, our Armed Forces have been reduced. Since the end of the cold war, the active military end strength has been reduced from 2.2 million men and women to a little over 1.4 million. Annual defense spending continues to decline from the build up of $400 billion to about the $260 billion, in equivalent, inflation adjusted dollars. Mr. President, I am not opposed to increasing the funding for veterans' health care, but not at the cost of our national security. We have been warned of funding problems in defense. We must not further reduce defense spending, but instead, reverse the downward trend we have experienced over the last decade in defense spending. I sincerely hope we will heed the hard lessons we have already learned, and not have to learn the same painful lesson over and over? Mr. President, I strongly urge all of my colleagues to oppose this amendment and not further aggravate a serious underfunding of our defense. I thank the Chair, and yield the floor.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to this amendment. I share the Senator's concerns regarding the need to provide adequate resources to such worthy projects. Therefore, the bill we have before us fully authorizes the President's budget request for the Department of Defense Child Development Program. The committee has also recommended an additional $23.0 million in this bill to construct five new child care centers. Unfortunately, the Defense budget has declined so dramatically over the past several years that we cannot afford to reduce other programs below their current levels without significantly jeopardizing near and long-term military readiness. Furthermore, I believe that this amendment has some technical problems. I yield the floor.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Michigan.

Mr. THURMOND. I congratulate Senator Wellstone for being willing to come down this early to offer an amendment.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I yield time to the distinguished Senator from Michigan.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. THURMOND

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

Mr. THURMOND. I yield such time as he needs.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I yield the remainder of the time on our side to the able Senator from Indiana.

Mr. THURMOND. How much time do we have left?

Mr. THURMOND. I urge the adoption of the amendment. THE PRESIDING OFFICER. If there be no further debate, the question is on agreeing to the amendment.

Mr. THURMOND. I yield back the remainder of time on this side.

Mr. THURMOND. It has been cleared by both sides.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I yield myself 3 minutes.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. The Senator from Tennessee is correct. We must preserve our capability to manufacture weapons and weapons components, and we must maintain ongoing weapons surveillance and assessment activities. The four weapons production plants--including the Y-12 plant in the Senator's home state of Tennessee--are key to achieving these goals.

Mr. THURMOND. I agree with the Senator that the staff of Y-12 have worked hard to bring operations back up to full speed. I was very pleased to see that, earlier this month, Y-12 resumed the last of its production missions: Enriched Uranium Operations.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was rejected.

Mr. THURMOND. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Mr. THURMOND addressed the Chair.

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

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. THURMOND. I appreciate how important this matter is to the Senators from Tennessee, South Dakota and Washington. I say to the Senator that, while I cannot make preconference agreements on outcome, I will work with him to try to retain the House provision in final conference agreement.

Mr. THURMOND. I understand the position of the Senator from Alabama. As he knows well, I support the accelerator alternative. He also understands well that the dynamics of the House Senate conference preclude me from making any pre-conference agreements on conference outcomes. However, I assure the Senator from Alabama that despite my own interests, and my position as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, that I will not work personally to disadvantage the Bellefonte alternative in the conference. With this understanding, I am prepared to accept the Senator's amendment.

Mr. THURMOND. I want to commend the able Senator from North Carolina for offering this amendment. Fort Bragg is the logical place for this National Guard Armory. I appreciate his bringing this matter up. It not only concerns my State but many other States, too. The Senator from North Carolina has done a good job, and we are proud of him.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I wish to commend the able Senator from Indiana on his excellent remarks on this subject. I now yield to the able ranking member of this committee, Senator Levin. Mr. LEVIN addressed the Chair.