John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, June 14, 2000 at 10 a.m. for a business meeting to consider pending Committee business.

Mr. WARNER

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we have had a discussion with the leaders on the other side of the aisle. I think there is a consensus that with the current objection to laying aside the Smith-McCain legislative package, which is the pending business, together with the Warner-Dodd amendment, which also needs a UC to lay aside, we cannot do either of those at this time. So the consensus is we go into a period of morning business, and at the hour of 11 o'clock the Senator from Virginia be recognized.

Mr. WARNER. That is correct. I understand that is under the rules guaranteed. We should, I think to accommodate our distinguished colleagues who have been waiting----

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I will consult with my distinguished leader on that subject.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, given the shortness of the hour, we should yield the floor so our colleague can finish. Perhaps there are others who wish to speak, too.

Mr. WARNER. Yes.

Mr. WARNER

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

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, momentarily, we will vote on the nomination of a very distinguished citizen of our country. I want to elaborate in these few minutes about his distinguished career. We know he has been nominated to be the first Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, as well as the first administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy. We are all familiar with General Gordon's record. He took on many challenging assignments over these years in the Department of Defense and currently is Deputy Director for the Central Intelligence Agency. I would like to go back and give a brief history of the establishment of the National Nuclear Security Administration and the position for which General Gordon has been nominated. The Administration was established by title 32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000. That consolidated all of the national security functions of the Department of Energy under a single, semi-autonomous organizational unit. This reorganization represents the most significant reorganization of the Department of Energy in more than 20 years. The Congress did not take this action lightly. We established this new entity in response to a multitude of reports and assessments which called for changes in the Department of Energy's ``dysfunctional'' organization structure. The reports include the 1997 ``120-day study'' issued by the Institute for Defense Analysis, the 1999 Chiles Commission report, and the 1999 Foster Panel report--just to mention a few. However, the most compelling report was issued by President Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in June 1999. That bipartisan report stated that: . . . real and lasting security and counterintelligence reform at the weapons labs is simply unworkable within DOE's current structure and culture. To achieve the kind of protection that these sensitive labs must have, they and their functions must have their own autonomous operational structure free of all the other obligations imposed by DOE management. The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board went on to make the following recommendations to the President and Congress, (1) create a new semi-autonomous agency and (2) streamline the management of the DOE weapons labs management structure by abolishing ties between the weapons labs and all DOE regional, field and site offices, and all contractor intermediaries. The committee was very careful to fully implement the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board's bipartisan recommendations, exactly as they were presented to President Clinton. The overarching goal was to establish, for the first time in many years, a clear chain of command for the Department's national security programs. Some disagree with the final product, but I believe we accomplished that goal. It is now time for General Gordon to make this new entity work. I have been trying for some weeks to get this nomination up. Just think: Last year, we passed structural reforms. It was signed into law by the President. And here we are almost a year later--just today-- about to confirm the President's nominee to head this new entity. We have vested a considerable amount of authority in the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; that is, General Gordon. We trust that he will use it in the best of U.S. national security. I have come to know this fine man very well over the months that I have worked with him in connection with this nomination. I can tell the Senate without any equivocation that I do not know of a more qualified person, a man whose background, whose achievements, whose every step in life better qualifies him, including a character I think that is beyond question, to take on this important responsibility. With regard to some details about him, the general entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program in 1968. His early assignments were in research and development and acquisition where he was involved in improving the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile--ICBM--and in developing and acquiring the Peacekeeper ICBM. He served with the U.S. Department of State in the politico-military affairs. Later, he commanded the 90th Strategic Missile Wing, the only Peacekeeper ICBM unit. He served in the National Security Council in the areas of defense and arms control, including oversight and completion of START II negotiations. The general then became senior member of the staff of the Secretary of Defense, and later the Director of Operations, Air Force Space Command, responsible for overseeing and developing policy and guidance for the command's operational missions. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the biography of General Gordon.

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

Mr. WARNER. I thank the Chair. Under that ruling, without objection on my part, time will be charged equally to both sides. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, today the United States Army came to the U.S. Capitol to honor one of its most distinguished retired officers. Colonel Les Brownlee is currently serving as Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee, having previously served as a staffer on the Committee and in my Senate office. He is known and respected throughout our nation's military and defense industry. This award--for his lifetime of extraordinary leadership in uniform and with the Senate--is well deserved. I ask that the introduction by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, General Jack Keane, and the citation be printed in the Record of the U.S. Senate which Colonel Brownlee has served for sixteen years. His record of public service stands as an inspiration for all.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, it would be no longer than the day or day after we return from the July 4 recess.

Mr. WARNER. July 11 or July 12.

Mr. WARNER. Could we make it July 12? I am not in a position to know exactly when votes are ordered on the return.

Mr. WARNER. It does not foreclose earlier consideration. I thank my colleagues. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, could I interrupt the proceedings here momentarily and get the attention of the distinguished Democratic leader and the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee? Early this morning, I say to the distinguished minority leader, on the subject of General Gordon, we talked and I talked to the majority leader. I think there is a consensus that tomorrow morning at some point his nomination can be voted upon. Could we, at the conclusion of this day, before it is finished, at least represent that?

Mr. WARNER. I thank our distinguished leader.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, America awakened in the last 24 hours to another very distressing disclosure of an alleged breach of security practices at the Los Alamos Laboratory, again relating to what is the greatest threat every hour, every minute of the day to this Nation; that is, from nuclear weapons. We are not here to prejudge any facts at the moment. From the standing rules of the Senate, rule XXV, I read: The Committee on the Armed Services has jurisdiction over national security aspects of nuclear energy. Clearly, this problem falls within our domain. As chairman, in consultation with the ranking member, we will move very swiftly. We will establish a hearing date as soon as we can to develop those facts that can be publicly disclosed and such facts as must remain classified. The Armed Services Committee has dealt with this issue for over a year. In the authorization last year, we had a hard fought debate on this floor about establishing a new entity within the Department of Energy. Indeed, we did it. It was signed into law, and it is ready to go. Our committee also has jurisdiction over the nominees to head this new entity. I refer the Senate to item 1010 in Nominations, Gen. John H. Gordon, United States Air Force, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, Department of Energy. That was May 24. I am writing a letter to the majority leader today and, indeed, to the distinguished Democratic leader, asking that this nomination be brought up immediately. There are allegations that certain Senators think that the law that was passed last year has to be changed. That is a matter that can be brought up before the Senate at any time. But I do not think this Nation should sit 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day longer on the nomination of this outstanding American, who has impeccable credentials, to take over this whole problem of security in the Department of Energy and is waiting to do so. Let us act on this nomination. I am certain the distinguished majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, will move to see that this is done at the earliest opportunity. I hope it is done today. I will advise the Senate later today with regard to the hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. This is a matter of serious concern. At the hearing, we intend to call Secretary Richardson, General Habiger, who is the Chief of Security Operations, and Mr. Ed Curran, Chief of Counterintelligence. It may or may not be a counterintelligence matter. We don't want to prejudge the facts. But action is needed by this body, first on the nomination, and then to look into this situation. There is nothing that poses a greater threat to the United States of America, indeed, to our allies, than that from nuclear weapons. It is ironic. This particular alleged security breach is basically in the same location of the previous incident involving Wen Ho Lee, as I understand it, probably the same floor, same corridor. We have testimony in the record, which I will add to the record, of the Secretary of Energy, who has appeared repeatedly before the committees of the Congress. This incident is clearly on Secretary Richardson's watch; let there be no mistake about that. He has repeatedly advised the Congress that he has put in place such regulations and other measures as to protect the United States, protect this Department from such alleged security breaches it faces this morning. Mr. President, I am speaking after consultation, of course, with the majority leader's office and Senators Domenici and Kyl, who have worked with me on this matter for some 18 months.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, will the Chair advise the Senate with regard to the standing order?

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Last month, I had the privilege of addressing the graduating class at Virginia Tech University. During the commencement ceremony, three Virginia Tech students, Class President Lauren Esleeck, Graduate Student Representative Timothy Wayne Mays, and Class Treasurer Rush K. Middleton, addressed the graduating class and those in attendance. The speeches given by these three students were so eloquent and so inspiring, that I felt it was important to share them with my colleagues in the United States Senate and with the people of the United States. To date, I have been able to obtain copies of Ms. Esleeck's speech and Mr. Middleton's speech. It is my pleasure to ask that these speeches be inserted into the Congressional Record. The speeches follow: Speech of Rush K. Middleton, Class Treasurer Only July 4th, 1939, Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with a terminal illness that would cripple and kill him in the prime of his life, stood before 60,000 adoring fans at Yankee Stadium and proclaimed, ``I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.'' How could a man who was so surely facing death profess that he was more blessed than those who sat around him and viewed their own deaths as nothing more than a distant shadow. The answer is quite simple: Lou Gehrig did not measure his fortune by the number of home runs he hit, the number of games he played, or the sum of money he earned. Instead, confronting his own mortality, he calculated the worth of his life by the people that surrounded him. For, unlike the countless tangible rewards and honors that were bestowed upon him, the friendships and relationships he established would not perish with his physical passing. How does the Class of 2000 want to measure its worth? Do we wish to be defined by the jobs that we accept, the salaries we earn, or the number of promotions we receive? Or would we rather be characterized by the unbreakable bonds that we established with the people around us? I would challenge our Class to pursue the latter. My challenge is this: That we should leave this amazing institution with high expectations of what we will accomplish in our years as alumni. That we remain true to VPI's motto of Ut Prosim, ``That I may serve,'' honorably serving our community, our family, our church, and our alma mater. Let us remember that we have but one chance on earth to dedicate ourselves to the task of helping our fellow man. If we give of ourselves, we give the most appreciated gift, and the one gift which no sum of money can possibly buy. As we pen these final lines in the collegiate chapters of our lives, surrounded by family, friends, faculty, and peers, let us remember that we should strive to define ourselves by these relationships, and not by those material items that will surely fade into our past. If we can accomplish this goal, we can say with confidence, just as Lou Gehrig did, that we are luckiest people on the face of the earth. God bless each one of you, and God bless Virginia Tech. Thank You.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I yield such time as my distinguished colleague desires.

Mr. WARNER. I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

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

Mr. WARNER. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 3219 (Purpose: To modify authority to carry out a fiscal year 1990 military construction project relating to Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Virginia)