John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we are prepared to proceed with the amendment on important aspects of missile defense by our colleague from California.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, and no second degrees prior to the vote.

Mr. WARNER. That runs us into about 35 minutes on your time.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may require. I would like to enter into a brief colloquy with our colleague from California. If we can keep the answers short, I want to frame, for those Members following this debate, my perception of what your amendment does. I start by pointing out that last year, this body, this Congress, in a conference report, approved 20 ground-based interceptors--they have been authorized--16 of which will be based at Fort Greely, AK, and four of which will be placed at Vandenberg, CA. They are being fielded as part of a missile defense test bed. This test bed is required for operational realistic testing and provides some measure of operational capability which serves as a basis for the IDO. Is that basically a correct statement of what we did last year?

Mr. WARNER. What we did last year, this body authorized moving ahead on 20 test bed sites, 16 in Alaska and the balance in your State. Am I correct?

Mr. WARNER. Is not the purpose of your amendment to stop that process?

Mr. WARNER. I say to our colleagues, this issue was acted upon last year. Money was authorized and appropriated. The program is underway. The effect of this amendment is to cancel what the Congress did last year. I yield the remainder of our time. I think a vote is now in order.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I wish to advise Senators, Senator Levin and I have conferred. We have the next amendment following this vote to be provided by the Senator from Rhode Island, Mr. Reed, No. 3354. I reserve the right to put on a second-degree amendment. As soon as we provide the second-degree amendment to the other side, it is my expectation, during the course of the deliberations, we will be able to work out a time agreement.

Mr. WARNER. That is correct. There is no restriction. Offer the amendment.

Mr. WARNER. It momentarily will be available. I think we can yield back all time. I didn't know whether the Senator wanted another minute to speak to the amendment. Did she ask for it?

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

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we have advised the Senate that the Senator from Rhode Island, Mr. Reed, will have an amendment. Mr. President, if the Senator is ready to send his amendment to the desk, then I would like to send up a second-degree amendment, and we will proceed. Mr. REED addressed the Chair.

Mr. WARNER. Yes.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, at this time I send an amendment to the desk in the second degree to the pending amendment.

Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER. Are the yeas and nays ordered on the underlying amendment of the Senator from Rhode Island? If not, I so ask.

Mr. WARNER. That is correct.

Mr. WARNER. It is just an advisory for Senators. But I understand that my leader will be making that request.

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

Mr. WARNER. Then how do you proceed to do any testing if you stop the test bed?

Mr. WARNER. We will take on this side equal time with 1 minute prior to the vote.

Mr. WARNER. Reserving the right to object, could we state no later than 12:30? We may be yielding back time.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Lieutenant Colonel Michael J. Delaney of our Army's Office of Legislative Liaison. Lieutenant Colonel Delaney has distinguished himself as an outstanding American soldier from the great State of Virginia and will soon complete over 23 years of selfless service to the Nation in the United States Army. His dedication to Soldiers, commitment to excellence, and performance of duty has been extraordinary throughout his career and, especially over the past 4 years, has cemented the positive relationship between Congress and the U.S. Army. He will retire on August 1, 2004. Over his 23 years of selfless service, Lieutenant Colonel Delaney served in a succession of command and staff positions worldwide. As a junior officer, he stood at the forefront of freedom during the Cold War in Germany. From the Cold War frontline, Lieutenant Colonel Delaney earned his wings as an aviator and qualified on a variety of rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft. During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Lieutenant Colonel Delaney commanded an aviation unit based at Fort Belvoir. Despite the wide dispersion of his unit throughout the combat theater, they were able to successfully accomplish their mission due, in no small part, to his exceptional and inspirational leadership. Lieutenant Colonel Delaney has since served in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility. For the past 4 years, Lieutenant Colonel Delaney has served as a congressional liaison for the U.S. Army. Perhaps this assignment was pre-ordained, as Lieutenant Colonel Delaney's wife, the former Susan Fanning, served as staff to Senator Paul Laxalt of Nevada. His mother- in-law, Shirley Fanning, also has a history with the Senate as she served on the staffs of Senators Everett Dirksen and Strom Thurmond for 25 years. Lieutenant Colonel Delaney's work as a legislative liaison and as the Chief of the Programs Division enabled the Army to provide this Congress the information we need to accomplish our constitutional duties. His efforts have been exceptional and noteworthy in working with Congress during a critical time as the Army undertook transformation, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and during our current efforts with the Global War on Terrorism. Throughout this critical time Lieutenant Colonel Delaney has fostered a personal relationship between Congress and the U.S. Army. Lieutenant Colonel Delaney holds degrees from George Mason University, B.A., 1981, and the Naval War College, M.S., 1996. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Master Aviator Badge. Lieutenant Colonel Delaney represents the epitome of what the Army seeks in a congressional liaison and the country expects from our officers. His service to the Nation has been exceptional, and Lieutenant Colonel Delaney is more than deserving of this recognition.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Five minutes to follow the Senator from New York.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, could I inquire of the Presiding Officer, are these three votes 10 minutes each?