John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, with the consent of the leadership on both sides, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House on the joint resolution, S.J. Res. 13, conferring honorary citizenship of the United States on Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, also known as the Marquis de Lafayette. The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: S.J. Res. 13 Resolved, That the joint resolution from the Senate (S.J. Res. 13) entitled ``Joint resolution conferring honorary citizenship of the United States on Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, also known as the Marquis de Lafayette'', do pass with the following amendments: Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert: That Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, is proclaimed posthumously to be an honorary citizen of the United States of America. Strike out the preamble and insert: Whereas the United States has conferred honorary citizenship on four other occasions in more than 200 years of its independence, and honorary citizenship is and should remain an extraordinary honor not lightly conferred nor frequently granted; Whereas Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette or General Lafayette, voluntarily put forth his own money and risked his life for the freedom of Americans; Whereas the Marquis de Lafayette, by an Act of Congress, was voted to the rank of Major General; Whereas, during the Revolutionary War, General Lafayette was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine, demonstrating bravery that forever endeared him to the American soldiers; Whereas the Marquis de Lafayette secured the help of France to aid the United States' colonists against Great Britain; Whereas the Marquis de Lafayette was conferred the honor of honorary citizenship by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Maryland; Whereas the Marquis de Lafayette was the first foreign dignitary to address Congress, an honor which was accorded to him upon his return to the United States in 1824; Whereas, upon his death, both the House of Representatives and the Senate draped their chambers in black as a demonstration of respect and gratitude for his contribution to the independence of the United States; Whereas an American flag has flown over his grave in France since his death and has not been removed, even while France was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II; and Whereas the Marquis de Lafayette gave aid to the United States in her time of need and is forever a symbol of freedom: Now, therefore, be it Amend the title so as to read ``Joint Resolution conferring honorary citizenship of the United States posthumously on Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette.''.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I yield to our leaders. They have an important matter.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, again, I have taken the floor several times to give just one Senator's viewpoint. I am almost at a loss for words to describe the tragic situation that has unfolded in the past 24 hours, or 36 hours--whatever the case may be--where a plane that was manufactured here in the United States delivered a missile into a residential area controlled by the Palestinians and brought about the deaths of many innocent people. It is characterized and described at length in the article which appeared in this paper and the papers across the world today. The raid, as told by the reports, took the life of an individual who has brought about great harm to the people of Israel over a long period, but along with that life went the lives of many children and innocent people. Preceding this use of force--again, use of force which is perceived by the Israeli leadership as necessary to protect the integrity of their sovereign nation and the safety of the people, and I will not debate that at this point in time--preceding this event were the tragic bombings by humans going into the Israeli areas with the bombs strapped to them giving up their lives and taking the lives of innocent people on the streets. And on and on it goes. What do we do about it? I reiterate that I have spoken about this on this floor several times, and I intend to this time formalize it in a letter which I will be sending perhaps tonight or early tomorrow morning to the President of the United States. The thoughts in that letter are basically the same thoughts that I have said on this floor two or three times, and also at the time that the NATO Ambassadors came to visit the Congress of the United States. We had an informal meeting hosted by several of our colleagues. I was invited to speak. The very thoughts that I am referring to tonight I shared in that meeting some 2 weeks ago. Our Nation recently celebrated our traditional Fourth of July holiday. It is normally a time of joyful reflection of our history, of patriotism, and just plain, old-fashioned summer fun. Thankfully, it was a peaceful day for America. But when we entered that holiday period, I remember so well that we were confronted with yet another warning by responsible individuals in our Government of a possible terrorist attack. In varying degrees in varying places here in our great United States, it had a dampening effect. I remember that so well. A number of constituents--who I am proud to represent in Virginia, which adjoins the Nation's Capital--called to inquire whether it was safe to go down and watch the fireworks on The Mall. We gave them encouragement, in our opinion, to do so. I myself was in the area during part of that day. Indeed, there was an enormous outpouring of our citizens and visitors from all around the world who enjoyed those fireworks that night. I say that thankfully it was a peaceful day. But we ended that holiday period confronted with that warning. It is, indeed, prudent that our citizens be warned of such threats. There is no criticism of what I believe is a very responsible and prudent program of persons in our Government entrusted to make the decision to alert our people when they have reason to believe because of intelligence gathering that they should promulgate those warnings. I, however, have to ask myself: Do these warnings continue indefinitely? Will people begin to ask of me and my colleagues, of our President and of all those in positions of authority, what is the root cause of this hatred towards the United States? Are we in leadership positions doing everything we can to learn of those causes, to lessen that hatred, to tell the truth about America's cause for freedom, and how our men and women of the Armed Forces--as the Presiding Officer knows so well having served in the military himself--have gone forth from our shores throughout these 200-plus years of this Republic only in the cause of freedom-- never have taken a square mile of property and kept it. Temporarily, we have administered certain geographic areas throughout our history, but never used force to acquire land to augment this Nation. People will begin to say: Has our Government done everything it can do? I think our President has exhibited--in the past, today, and will in the future--extraordinary leadership, together with his principal Cabinet officers and his military men and women for whom he is Commander in Chief. The scourge of terrorism in the 21st century is a complex and multifaceted problem. None of us fully understand all the root causes and all the means with which we have to deal with it. This Chamber, hopefully next week, will resonate with a strong debate on the bill for homeland defense. We will soon be giving final approval to the division in the military of commander in chief, forces north. Just think, Mr. President, CINC, commander in chief, for homeland defense, which means marshaling all the military assets and other assets of this Nation to try to protect our citizens against further terrorist attack. There is not a single cause for this terrorism and hatred but many, including disparate economic development around the world, lack of political and economic opportunity in many regions, the alarming spread of radical fundamentalist religions, the dogmas, especially Islam, amongst those feeling disenfranchised from the mainstream of the world, and the tyrannical rise of ethnic conflicts after decades of repression by communists and other tyrannical regimes. In this environment of perceived hopelessness and despair for many people, particularly the world's youth, seemingly unsolvable events continue to fan the flames of anger and hatred that lead to irrational acts, acts which are almost beyond comprehension. This is manifested in the individual acts of terror we witness almost daily on the streets of Israel against the freedom-loving people of the State of Israel and in the recruitment of angry young men and women into radical terrorist organizations that encourage them to vent their anger in most destructive ways, most notably human suicide of themselves and against the innocent citizens of Israel. Israel really has no recourse but to strike back in a manner that clearly indicates not only to the Palestinians but to the rest of the world that it is a sovereign nation and has the right to exercise every possible resource of that nation to protect its people. Solving the conditions that have bred this hate and total disregard for peaceful solutions will be complex, but it must be systematically addressed. Again, clearly, our President and his administration have shown leadership. But is our Congress showing leadership to help? Can more be done by others? These are the questions I ponder daily. Clearly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, prolonged over a period of time that none of us ever envisioned, contributes, in some measure, to the unrest and anger in the Arab world directed towards the people of this great United States of America. I cannot quantify it--I do not think anyone else can--but clearly that conflict is part of the root cause of hatred against us, hatred which is causing us to create a brand new Department of Government, Homeland Defense, an entirely new military command, to take all types of precautions in our daily life--whether it is at the airports or people just coming to visit here in the Congress of the United States-- with security measures. This conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians often is presented and distorted in a very biased manner to the citizens throughout that region by the media in the Arab nations. We must confront that. We must take actions which are clear to show that we want to bring about peace in that region. We have to address the disaffection and dissatisfaction felt by the people of that region. Each act of violence by either side in this unending conflict erodes hope for the peaceful future for Israel--it is in this article--and for the peaceful future of the people in Palestine. In fact, each act of senseless violence in the Middle East further erodes hope that someday we can be more secure here at home. All reasonable options to bring about an end to this violence and indiscriminate loss of life must be considered. We can never, ever abandon hope. We must act together to renew hope in this land of the Middle East, the land of faith, the land from which so much history has emanated for the rest of the world. One option I believe must be considered--and I said this many times here on the floor--is the use of NATO peacekeepers. But that can only be achieved if certain criteria are met. First, I call upon the administration to explore, with the other member nations of NATO: Are they willing to take on this task, a task with unknown risks? Clearly there are risks, but the quantum of risk is unknown. Are they willing to take it on if these conditions are met-- first, the people of Palestine and the people of Israel, ask them to take on this obligation to maintain conditions of stability. That is the first. Second, if both the Palestinian people and the people of Israel, through their respected, elected leaders, will pledge to cooperate in every way with those NATO forces. Now, Mr. President, there is a perception in the world that the Europeans are more sympathetic to the Palestinian causes, and that we here in the United States are more sympathetic to the Israeli causes. But NATO bonds us together, as we have been for these 50 years, in one constituted force. And we would then go, as a constituted military organization, for the stated purpose, only, of trying to bring about stability, so that the diplomatic discussions, not only between the leaders of the Palestinian people and the leaders of the Israeli people can commence, but other leaders in the world, who desire, can step up. There are those who have looked at this problem, and I respect them, and they disagree. I ask unanimous consent an article by a noted author, Mr. Kagan, be printed in the Record following my remarks.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I and other Members of the Senate from time to time have taken the floor to address the tragedies which daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly come forth in the Middle East. Today, we were greeted by a headline in the Washington Post: U.S. Decries Israeli Missile Strike, Ponders The Effect On The Peace Bid. I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record following my remarks.

Mr. WARNER

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

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an exceptional leader--Lieutenant General Mike Nelson, United States Air Force, Retired--in recognition of his remarkable career of service to our country. General Nelson has a truly distinguished record, including 35 years of commissioned service in the U.S. Air Force uniform, that merits special recognition on the occasion of his retirement as President of The Retired Officers Association (TROA). Born in East Los Angeles, California, he graduated from Stanford University and entered the Air Force as a second lieutenant in 1959, then earned his pilot's wings the following year. His subsequent military career exemplifies what the Air Force expects from its best and brightest. General Nelson demonstrated valor and leadership throughout his 35 years of dedicated military service to his country, and has been a positive role model and mentor for countless officers of all services in his dedication to protecting the welfare of those who serve and sacrifice in uniform. That dedication and excellence has not diminished in his subsequent service to our nation's military community since 1995 as President of The Retired Officers Association, the position from which he is now retiring. Under his thoughtful and inspired leadership, The Retired Officers Association has played a continuing, vital role as a staunch advocate of legislative initiatives to maintain readiness and improve the quality of life for all members of the uniformed service community--active, reserve, and retired, plus their families and survivors. General Nelson has been a key supporter of the Armed Services Committee's efforts to improve long-term retention and readiness through a competitive compensation and retirement package for active and reserve forces, restoration of lifetime health care and fair disability treatment for retired personnel and their families, and enhancing protections for the survivors of deceased service members. Guided by his personal leadership efforts, TROA has been an invaluable source of information in the committee's deliberations on a long list of compensation and benefits issues during this extraordinarily productive period. General Nelson's long and exceptionally distinguished career of leadership and personal dedication to protecting our Nation and those who serve in our armed forces is an inspiration to all who care about maintaining a strong national defense. Our very best wishes go with him for long life, well-earned happiness, and continued success in service to his nation and the uniformed service members whom he has so admirably led and served. As a former Sailor and Marine, I offer General Nelson a grateful and heartfelt salute.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. But still under the amendment of the Senator from Georgia maintains the discretion to go to new levels or not.

Mr. WARNER. With discretion.

Mr. WARNER. I understand. But when we put in our end strength, the Secretary still has the discretion. To the credit of our Secretary, he has, if I understand--and I pose this to the Senator from Georgia as a question-- already exercised his discretion with regard to the Marine Corps, and has gone to that level with the Marine Corps and found the funding to achieve it in this bill. Am I not correct?

Mr. WARNER. Fine. But am I not correct that the Secretary has already taken the action to meet the purport of the amendment by the Senator from Georgia as regards the Marine Corps?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, that was essentially a reiteration of your basic argument for the amendment. My question was very narrow, very focused, and required, really, a yes or no answer. Has not the President already, with the Secretary of Defense preparation of the budget, reached the figures for the Marine Corps with an increase and paid for it?

Mr. WARNER. Fine. And it is my thought that in due course the Secretary of Defense will address each of the other services. So long as it is my understanding from this important colloquy that in no way does your amendment alter title X, alter that discretion, then, Mr. President, I shall not bring up my second-degree amendment to it. The purposes of that amendment have been achieved during the course of this colloquy.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the concerns of the Senator from Virginia, and perhaps others, have been satisfied. We are prepared to accept the amendment on a voice vote.

Mr. WARNER. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I thank our colleague, a valued member of the committee. We can clear two amendments; am I correct?

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

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, we will continue to clear amendments. The Senator from Virginia was on the floor with the distinguished majority whip last night clearing a package of amendments. The amendment I am going to offer was in that package. Simply because of clerical oversight--and staff had worked 15 hours yesterday--it was dropped. Amendment No. 4169

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I send this amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, this is an amendment requested by the Department of Defense relating to certain basic allowances for housing in order to facilitate efforts to construct barracks for the most junior enlisted personnel. I understand it has been cleared on the other side.

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

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I send to the desk an amendment.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, reserving the right to object--I shall not--the Senator submitted the amendment to me. I have been in consultation with the Department of Defense. We came back with certain modifications. The Senator has modified this amendment consistent with those recommendations that I received from the Department of Defense. I have no objection to the Senator modifying the amendment.

Mr. WARNER. We have no objection, Madam President.

Mr. WARNER. Reserving the right to object, it is my understanding there is no amendment connected with this; is that correct?