John Warner

Mr. WARNER

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

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we have, I think, news that will be received as good news. The distinguished Senator from Colorado and the distinguished Senator from Oklahoma, at the suggestion of the chairman, got together and they resolved the amendment; am I not correct in that?

Mr. WARNER. The purpose of interrupting our distinguished colleague is to advise the Senate, because many Senators are engaged in other activities right now and the sooner we let them know there will or will not be a vote, it will be helpful to them and the chairman. I understood the Senator just now to indicate this thing was settled.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I was engaged in conversation with Senator Sessions, and he told me it was an absolute. I spoke with the Senator from Colorado just now and I felt I got an absolute answer.

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

Mr. WARNER. I think we can agree now that the time agreement on that would be, why don't we say, 40 minutes. At the conclusion of that, again, I have to advise my good friend I will move to table. So I ask unanimous consent that there be 40 minutes to be equally divided between the Senator from New Hampshire and the two managers of the bill, and then we will have a vote.

Mr. WARNER. The Committee's urging of the Secretary of the Air Force to designate a new mission for the C-141s of the Air Force Reserve was in no way meant to neglect the similar urgency in the Tennessee Air Guard. Moreover, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the importance of strategic airlift to our ability to project force globally. the Guard and Reserve are a critical part of the total force equation. Let me assure the Senator from Tennessee that I strongly support his efforts to have a follow-on mission designated for the 164th Air Wing in Memphis.

Mr. WARNER. Again, let me assure the Senator from Tennessee that I am confident working with the Armed Services Committee and the Air Force that this issue will be resolved soon.

Mr. WARNER. So, Mr. President, we would start at 7:00. All debate would be concluded at 8:00. The Senator from Virginia will move to table, at which time we will have a record vote.

Mr. WARNER. Will the Senator yield for a question on my time?

Mr. WARNER. Senator, we have had many debates on the floor of the Senate about this very divisive war. The Senator from New Hampshire, from the very beginning, has been absolutely clear as to his views, and I respect them. I differ with them, but I respect them. I will not go over the entire history of what I and other Senators have said about this. These are those Members who believed that once the commitment was made by this Nation as an integral part, as a full partner, of NATO, to the other 18 nations, that was it; it was to support our troops and to do what we can. What worries me about the amendment is that it would send a signal to Milosevic: Hang tough. This is the man who, as just clearly stated, has divided the whole world, has divided every precedent of human rights. Would it not send a message to him to hang in there? No matter what we are able to inflict, hang in there, because on October 1 the United States pulls out of NATO and leaves it to the other 18 nations if they wish to carry on? That is my first question. The second question: What do we say to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and the other nations flying missions, some eight or nine nations flying missions? What do we say to them? They are in the cockpit right now, taking risks, risking life and limb. Did the Senator think about stopping it as of tonight? That was an option I am sure the Senator considered. Those are the two questions I pose to my good friend.

Mr. WARNER. The first part of my question was, Does this not send a signal to Milosevic to just hang tough and disrupt every effort being made, whether by the United States, Germany or, indeed, Russia, in trying to negotiate some diplomatic resolution? I understand that the Russian delegation could be arriving within the next 48-72 hours. The Deputy Secretary of State, Strobe Talbott, is finishing--if he hasn't already today--some discussions in Russia relating to that mission. It seems to me that the diplomatic process would come to a standstill. Milosevic will say to his people, we have stayed this long, stay the course. If the United States pulls out, I think Milosevic could go to his people and say there is little likelihood that the other nations might continue on. And, furthermore, look who is flying the missions. Over 50 percent of the tactical missions are by U.S. pilots. Over 70 percent of the support aircraft, the tanker aircraft, the intelligence aircraft, are all flown by the United States. It would have the effect of disabling NATO from carrying on if it so desired.

Mr. WARNER. I thank my colleague for taking questions. I did not mean to importune the distinguished Senator.

Mr. WARNER. As I said when we began the debate, I respect the views of my long-time friend. He comes from a distinguished military family. He served, himself, in the uniform of the United States. We have a very diverse group in the Senate with regard to their views on this conflict. There is not a one of us who was not deeply concerned before we became involved in this conflict. We are in it now. I salute here tonight the professionalism that has been shown by the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States, in particular, and joined by their counterparts from some eight other nations in the air, and the other NATO nations in one way or another that have participated in this conflict. We are in it because our generation cannot tolerate what we have seen Milosevic do to human beings. To do so would be to reject, indeed, what other men and women have done in previous generations to bring about freedom for others: World War II, followed by Korea, followed by Vietnam. We are there to protect freedom. We are there to protect the rights of human beings to have some basic quality of life and ability to exist. I remember the peak of this event. When we got started, it was just before Easter. I went back to my constituents and, indeed, they asked me: Why should we be there? I said: Could you be at home on Easter Sunday, sharing with millions and millions of Americans the experience of your respected place of religion, sharing with your family a bountiful meal, and watch the pictures of the deprivation, the murder, the rape, the mayhem inflicted by Milosevic and his lieutenants on fellow human beings? Yes, they are Kosovars; yes, they are far away; yes, they speak a different language. I was there in September. I traveled in Kosovo, in Pristina, in Macedonia. At that time, I saw these people being driven from their homes. Not distant from where we were driving--we were permitted by the Yugoslav Army to take certain roads--we could see the burning houses; we could hear the shells. The war was in full progress in other areas several miles distant from the route that we took. We could not stand by, as a free people, and see in Europe a repetition of the horrors that visited Europe in World War II. So we are there. My vote tonight in opposition to my good friend is because I am pledged and committed to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and the other nations. I am pledged and committed to the survival of NATO, not just as a political entity but for what NATO stands for, the principles for which it stands. I encourage my colleagues to do likewise. We will somehow, as a collection of free nations, bring this tragic conflict to a halt. When and exactly how, none of us knows.

Mr. WARNER. We understand that the Banking Committee intends to take a close look at the Defense Production Act, but may not be able to do so prior to the September 30, 1999 deadline. The Armed Services Committee is happy to accommodate the Banking Committee, as we did last year, and include a one-year extension of the Defense Production Act in the DOD authorization bill.

Mr. WARNER. So we will endeavor tomorrow morning, without specifying exactly how and when we will do it, to bring up the Allard amendment. Senator Harkin has 20 minutes, and we will divide, say, another 20 minutes between the distinguished ranking member and myself, should we need it. That would be a total of 40 minutes on the debate. I think maybe I will say 15 minutes between the two of us and 15 minutes to Senator Allard, 20 minutes for Senator Harkin. I think that should do it. We will just have to establish the time that we will vote on the Allard amendment tomorrow morning. This will be the last vote for tonight, and Senators can expect early on in the morning that we will address the Allard amendment. Mr. President, I move to table the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. WARNER. The order was to be handed to me. We were not able to resolve the Allard amendment, so that will be the recurring order of business tomorrow morning. Of course, the Lott amendment is still in place; am I not correct, Mr. President?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 2 minutes to address the Senate with regard to tomorrow's schedule prior to the vote so Senators coming to vote can depart and know what will take place tomorrow.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I understand my time has concluded. I say to my friend, I respect you, but I vote against you. I shall move to table at the appropriate time. Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire addressed the Chair.

Mr. WARNER. What do we say to the young men and women flying these missions? Their mission tonight, tomorrow night, and into the indefinite future is to carry out the orders of the Commander in Chief of the United States and the guiding military group in NATO. They salute, march off, get in the cockpit, fly off, and take risks. In my judgment, they are making some slow but, nevertheless, steady progress in degrading the military machine of Milosevic. When they fly home, they drop their orders, and they can at least say it was another chip away toward the end result and the five basic points that NATO has laid down to resolve this conflict. If we are to pass this and they fly the mission, they will wonder: Am I going to be the last person to die on the last day of this war, which would be September 30, 1999?

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Let me amend my unanimous consent request to incorporate the request from the Senator from Texas.

Mr. WARNER. The most I can advise the Senate is we will have the vote at 1:45 today on the BRAC amendment. Thereafter, as quickly as I can, I will advise the Senate, after consultation with the ranking member, as to what the next amendment will be. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, at this time, it is my understanding that the Senator from Kansas will address the Senate regarding the BRAC amendment.

Mr. WARNER. We will continue with the debate and hope we can begin to bring this thing to some proportion of closure. We will take a relatively short time on our side, because it is a bill provision; the Senator is on a motion to strike. It is very clear what we are trying to do on this side, to help this administration get ratification, help America get ratification of START II. That is the sole purpose for this provision. It has been in there 5 years for that purpose. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each.