John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, may the manager of the bill address the Senate for a moment?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the way we run is the managers usually try to get recognition. What we would now like to do, Mr. President, is to have the Senator from Oklahoma address his amendments--for what period of time?

Mr. WARNER. I thank the Senator from Oklahoma. The Senator from Florida desires recognition, so I would ask the Senator from Florida if he could give a rough estimate of the time he would like following the Senator from Oklahoma. Fifteen minutes. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Oklahoma now be recognized for a period not to exceed 20 minutes, to be followed by the Senator from Florida.

Mr. WARNER. Could we act on the UC request, Mr. President?

Mr. WARNER. I thank our colleague. It will be given careful consideration. It relates to an important subject matter. I understand the Senator from Colorado has about 10 minutes, followed by Senators McCain, Graham, and Warner for 1 hour.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we now turn to the three Senators. I would like to take 1 minute to address both Colorado Senators. I followed with interest your amendments. I do hope we now have on the record a clear statement of support by the Secretary of Energy. Am I correct in that?

Mr. WARNER. Yes.

Mr. WARNER. I thank the Senator. Now, Mr. President, we would like to commence the 1 hour. I yield the floor so Senator McCain can gain recognition. But I would want to say this is a subject that is enormously important. I commend Senator McCain and Senator Graham. It merits the full attention and hopefully the support of the Senate. These are issues that go far beyond just the question of detention. It goes to the perception of the great Nation of which we are privileged to be citizens, the United States of America, as it relates to how we treat those people who come into our custody in the course of defending freedom, on battle fields, and elsewhere in the world. I have such great respect for Senator McCain. I yield the floor. Amendment No. 1557, as Modified

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I suggest we take up the other one--you and I have discussed it--as soon as the other one is completed because I am a cosponsor on the one that is now pending.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I commend Senator McCain. I have been privileged to know him ever since I was Secretary of Navy in the closing years of the war in Vietnam. I know no military family that has served our Nation with greater distinction than the McCain family. This is a subject about which my dear friend has knowledge that none of us possess. I have absolute confidence they are doing the right thing. The two of us do have some technical differences of opinion. His amendment is predicated on the Army Field Manual which he mentioned is being revised. The current Army Field Manual basically dealt with State-sponsored conflict. I have every reason to believe that the follow-on manual, in due course, presumably in both classified and unclassified form, will be completed. Amendment No. 1566 There is another approach here. I ask unanimous consent, if it is agreeable, to set the McCain amendment aside temporarily and ask amendment 1566 be brought up.

Mr. WARNER. There are considerable parallels between the two amendments, with the exception that the subject should be adjusted to the Secretary of Defense. He may well designate the Army Field Manual as his work product, but then I would need, under the amendment, the assurance that equal emphasis is put on the detention phase as well as the interrogation phase. Recent history has shown we must have uniform standards for detention and interrogation across the Department of Defense. We cannot have different standards for different theaters. Soldiers, as Senator McCain pointed out, have to be trained and well understand the rules and regulations as they relate to both detention and interrogation. That is the goal of the McCain amendment. I wholeheartedly support it. It is best to entrust the entire subject to the Secretary of Defense and hold him accountable, as opposed to the designation of the specific document which is in the process of being changed. Amendment No. 1557, As Modified Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate return to consideration of the McCain amendment.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, seeing our other colleague, Senator Graham, I yield the floor. But I also see Senator McCain.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, if I could reply to my good friend, you are absolutely right. And I know that chapter as you do and have studied it. But under the law, the Secretary of Defense is still the head of the Department, and as such I suppose he can alter the field manual of the Army and make it less in the present form and in the revised form in due course. But I think it is important we have a clear chain of authority and accountability. I look up the chain, and there are the laws established by the Secretary of Defense as opposed to those who might be involved in drawing up the Army Field Manual. I presume the Secretary of the Army is at the top of that pyramid. But that is the reason I put in this amendment. I say to my good friend from Arizona, I hope we can sort this out before final passage and possibly amend it. I will withdraw mine because I want you to take the lead in every respect on this important amendment. If I might add, I say to my friend from Arizona, there is another important amendment you needed to get completed.

Mr. WARNER. Well, whatever.

Mr. WARNER. Fine.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I accept my good friend's critique, but I do point out, as the Army Field Manual is under revision, there will be both a classified and unclassified portion of that manual.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am well aware of the efforts of my good friend from Michigan to get documents from the Department of Defense and his modest success and some lack of success. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I yield to the distinguished Senator from South Carolina such time as he deems necessary. Could the Chair advise us as to the amount of time remaining under the hour that I requested?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the field manual amendment has been laid aside for the moment. This goes to a second amendment which is----

Mr. WARNER. Yes, Mr. President, I suggest that we have amended the present one which is referred to as the Army Field Manual, and I am a cosponsor on that. Now there is a second amendment. I submitted to the Senator a suggestion, I believe that is----

Mr. WARNER. Let's bring that up now and have that pending.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we would like to have the Senator from Arizona take such time as he desires to explain this. I wish to be added as a cosponsor to this amendment. Then we will yield the floor to the Senator from Alabama to speak for up to 10 minutes on the subjects of these three amendments. Then the balance of the time will be accorded to the Senator from South Carolina to bring forth his amendment.

Mr. WARNER. That is correct. Would the Chair advise of the three Senators in the original order, what is the time remaining for each.

Mr. WARNER. I can't hear the Chair.

Mr. WARNER. I yield from my 9 minutes such time as the Senator from Arizona may need.