J. Thurmond

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Yes.

Mr. THURMOND. Madam President, will the able Senator allow the other amendments to go forward before we take up his amendment?

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, we have had a lot of talk here. It is about time for action now. At this time, I yield to the able Senator from Virginia, Senator Warner. Incidentally, for the record, Senator Warner served as a sailor in World War II. In his career he served in the Marines; he served as Secretary of the Navy. He is the ranking Republican on this committee. He has had vast military experience. I am very pleased at this time to yield him such time as he desires.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a military fellow on assignment to my staff, Major Joann Eberle, be permitted access to the Senate Chamber during the consideration of S. 2057, the FY-1999 defense authorization bill.

Mr. THURMOND. Madam President, we have been on this amendment now for hours. It is time to vote and take some action. I urge adoption of the amendment. Mr. CLELAND addressed the Chair.

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.

Mr. THURMOND. I urge adoption of the McCain amendment.

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. THURMOND. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. I want to thank the able Senator from Maine for the excellent remarks she made on this subject. Mr. President, I am sympathetic to the Brownback amendment, however, last year, the Congress established a commission to review the conduct of military training and gender-related issues, we should await the outcome of its findings. That commission is constituted and working. One of the areas which the commission must specifically address in its final report is a recommendation as to how to provide for a safe and secure living environment for young men and women in basic training. This amendment would preempt the work of the commission by establishing a statutory requirement that basic trainees be housed in separate barracks. I join Senator Brownback and others in insisting that the military services provide a safe and secure environment for all military personnel, but especially those in basic training who may be the most vulnerable. On June 8, 1998, Secretary Cohen asked us not to legislate a specific solution as Senator Brownback's amendment does. Secretary Cohen urged that we give the Service Chiefs the flexibility to house and train their personnel in the manner determined to be most effective for that service. We all recognize that each of the four services is unique. Each service has its own culture, history and traditions. I agree with Secretary Cohen that we should not legislate how they must house and train their personnel. Mr. President, I could support an amendment that would require the Service Secretaries to provide for a safe and secure environment without specifically requiring a standard solution for three of the four services. Senator Brownback's amendment goes beyond requiring a safe and secure environment and will require millions of dollars in military construction and renovation projects to make their barracks conform to the requirements in the amendment. I prefer to allow the Congressional Commission to do its work and make its recommendations next March before we act. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Privilege of the Floor Mr. President, while I have the floor, I ask unanimous consent Mr. David Landfair, a military fellow in the Office of Senator Mike DeWine, be granted privilege of the floor during the pendency of S. 2057, the fiscal year 1999 Department of Defense authorization bill.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, the Senate Armed Services Committee expressed its views regarding base closure when it voted 10 to 8 against an amendment that would have authorized additional base closure rounds. I fully support that decision although I have an open mind on future legislation, especially if the Administration makes a better case for additional rounds and the rounds are scheduled after the current base closure activities are completed. In regard to the amendment before us, I believe it will have little if any impact on whether or not we will close additional bases. The amendment is in reaction to the Department's threat to close bases by attriting personnel below the 300 threshold set by section 2687 of title 10. While I do not believe that this is an idle threat, reducing the threshold to 225 personnel will have little or no impact. To close or realign bases under section 2687, the Department of Defense must notify Congress as part of its request for authorization of appropriations and must provide the Congress an evaluation of fiscal, local economic, budgetary, environmental, strategic, and operational consequences of proposed closures and realignments. One of the most important drawbacks to the section 2687 process is the requirement to complete a full environmental study under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act before a closure or realignment decision is made and sent to Congress. While such studies are under way, usually for a period of 12 to 18 months, litigation is likely to arise, effectively derailing the proposed closure and realignment. Additionally, individual actions can be thwarted by withholding the appropriation of funds to execute a closure or realignment. Section 2687 has effectively prevented DoD from reducing its infrastructure through closures or realignments at any of its significant facilities. Mr. President, this legislation is unnecessary and I urge the Senate to reject the amendment. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter from the BENS Tail-to-Tooth Commission, and a letter from Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I commend the able Senator from Georgia for the manner in which he has handled this bill. There is nothing more important than education. I started out my career as a schoolteacher. I taught school for 6 years in Edgefield and McCormick Counties and then went to the State senate and spent most of my time in the State senate on education matters. I believe we should do more in the field of education; that is the hope of the future. And I hope the Congress will pass this bill and do it promptly. Mr. COVERDELL addressed the Chair.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. I thank the able majority leader for his remarks and his plan of action. It is the least we can do in the Senate to cooperate with him. He has outlined the procedure here to get results, and we all ought to help him all we can to go forward with this bill and other matters before the Senate.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Water and Power Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Indian Affairs be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 24, for purposes of conducting a joint committee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1711, a bill to amend the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to provide for a final settlement of the claims of the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes, and for other purposes; and S. 1899, the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation Indian Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 1998.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Immigration, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 24, 1998 at 2:00 p.m. to hold a hearing in room 226, Senate Dirksen Building, on: ``The H-2A Program: Is It Working?''

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. THURMOND. I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, the amendment has been cleared on this side.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I urge the Senate to adopt the amendment.

Mr. THURMOND. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. amendment No. 2944 (Purpose: To provide for payments to certain survivors of captured and interned Vietnamese operatives who were unmarried and childless at death)

Mr. THURMOND. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2945 (Purpose: To clarify the recipient of payments to Vietnamese operatives captured and interned by North Vietnam)

Mr. THURMOND

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

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. As I understand, we are due back on this bill at 12 o'clock tomorrow. Is that correct?