John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. I thank Senators DeMint and Coburn for working with us last night on an important issue not only to the underlying question of how this body is going to handle certain desires of individual Senators to get funds to their States, but it is the preservation of the jurisdiction of the authorizing committee, of our authorizing committee as well as other authorizing committees in the Senate. So that is fundamental to the resolution of that problem, and I think we have made progress there.

Mr. WARNER. Now, Mr. President, I would suggest the Senator should now move to morning business and get off this bill. We are cleared on this side.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I share the views of my distinguished good friend. Mr. President, I have been informed--and I will await the leadership to make the formal announcements--but I do believe we are going to move to some votes, hopefully, this afternoon on our bill.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, actually it was a series of appropriations. The committee approved it in the House and the Senate--the House Armed Services Committee. When it came to our committee--at that time I was the chairman--we decided this contract was not right, and a lot of work subsequent to that has been done to try to correct it. The Deputy Secretary of Defense contacted me yesterday. I look upon this latest development with some concern because this airplane is needed for the U.S. inventory. But I thank the Senator for his support through the years. It was our committee that stopped that contract which we felt was faulty at that time, and the rest is history.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the chairman has quite accurately stated the work that has been done thus far, our willingness as the two managers to continue working with Senators. We will both be present tomorrow as well as Monday. It is hoped that other Senators can be in a position to come forward with their amendments. I might inquire, can the Presiding Officer advise us on the number of amendments on file? An approximation is satisfactory.

Mr. WARNER. I thank the Presiding Officer. That presents clear evidence to colleagues of the magnitude of the task before us. I guess we have said this many times, but this would be the 43rd consecutive authorization bill for the men and women of the Armed Forces passed by the Senate. It is my hope that we can add No. 43. I commend the chairman for his efforts. I have worked with him through this day. I believe we have had some helpful discussions with staff and colleagues on the means by which to make progress. We are here. It is imperative that this bill pass. I remind colleagues of the military construction section of our bill which is so vital for the current and future needs of the U.S. military. This bill is the sole bill that can carry that important piece of annual legislation through and get it into a conference.

Mr. WARNER. Of course.

Mr. WARNER. Will the chairman yield for a question?

Mr. WARNER. Would it not be to the benefit of the two of us as managers, as we have had a great deal of discussion together today on it, to hear from our colleague so we have clearly in mind his goals?

Mr. WARNER. Is there any way we could accommodate both Senators?

Mr. WARNER. The Senator has the floor, so if I could ask him to yield for a question?

Mr. WARNER. This is of such vital importance to the bill. While it is just a few words, it does have very significant ramifications. It deals with the relationship of the legislative body; that is, the Congress, the executive branch, and the fulfillment of our constitutional responsibilities versus the ability of the executive branch to exercise certain powers. In the Armed Services Committee, this matter was brought up. I put forward an amendment in committee not unlike what the Senator from South Carolina has pending before the Senate. It was not accepted. It was a 12-to-12 vote; therefore, a tie. It did not carry. I understand the goals the Senator is seeking. But I point out, if we could have a few minutes so colleagues have some idea of the significance of this and they can reflect on it. If the Senator is not going to be here tomorrow--he has heavy commitments, as do others--nor Monday, it would be only Tuesday morning before we could really begin to get other Members of the Senate more fully acquainted with the complexity of this issue.

Mr. WARNER. I understand that.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, that is correct. But in the intervening period, there has been the issue of Executive order. Therefore, we cannot, as a legislative body, be unmindful of what the executive branch has enunciated through Executive order. That Executive order will carry forward after this administration concludes and be a part of the next administration. That clearly states that the President is not going to observe the means by which the Congress, specifically the Armed Services Committee in the many years' pattern of doing much of its work, both in the report language as well as bill language.

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

Mr. WARNER. Can the Senator visit with the two of us off the floor such that our colleague can proceed?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Presidential document to which I referred, dated February 1, 2008, be printed in the Record as a part of the colloquy.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation with Senator Webb to help encourage the preservation of, and public access to, historical documents and records of former United States Presidents. Congressman Goodlatte is joining us in this effort and has introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. The preservation of historical documents is critical to the future of any nation. Current and future generations can look upon the examples of those that came before and learn from their accomplishments, as well as their mistakes. Our Founding Fathers understood the need to preserve important documents for future generations. Thomas Jefferson once said that ``a morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable.'' In addition, he considered it ``the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities, which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the history of our country.'' Today, we have federally supported presidential libraries from President Hoover onward, but, generally, we do not have federally supported libraries for Presidents prior to President Hoover. The documents and records of these Presidents are scattered throughout America. In our view, the Federal Government should be taking an active role in encouraging the preservation of these documents. In Virginia, we have an organization that has been leading the way in preserving the records of President Woodrow Wilson. To date, the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library has preserved several thousand documents. Last year alone, the library received more than one million Wilson-related documents, and it is in the process of preserving these documents and will make them freely available on the Internet. Thousands of people visit the library each year to see documents that have never been seen before in public. In my view, libraries like the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library are critical to our Nation's history, and we should be encouraging more organizations to engage in this important endeavor. The legislation I introduce today will help encourage these and other efforts to preserve, and provide public access to, these historical documents by authorizing the National Archives and Records Administration to provide grants to certain organizations to support their efforts in preserving the historical records of past Presidents. I want to thank the National Archives for their assistance in drafting this important legislation. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to see this legislation signed into law.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation with Senator Webb to help encourage the preservation of, and public access to, historical documents and records of former United States Presidents. Congressman Goodlatte is joining us in this effort and has introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. The preservation of historical documents is critical to the future of any nation. Current and future generations can look upon the examples of those that came before and learn from their accomplishments, as well as their mistakes. Our Founding Fathers understood the need to preserve important documents for future generations. Thomas Jefferson once said that ``a morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable.'' In addition, he considered it ``the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities, which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the history of our country.'' Today, we have federally supported presidential libraries from President Hoover onward, but, generally, we do not have federally supported libraries for Presidents prior to President Hoover. The documents and records of these Presidents are scattered throughout America. In our view, the Federal Government should be taking an active role in encouraging the preservation of these documents. In Virginia, we have an organization that has been leading the way in preserving the records of President Woodrow Wilson. To date, the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library has preserved several thousand documents. Last year alone, the library received more than one million Wilson-related documents, and it is in the process of preserving these documents and will make them freely available on the Internet. Thousands of people visit the library each year to see documents that have never been seen before in public. In my view, libraries like the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library are critical to our Nation's history, and we should be encouraging more organizations to engage in this important endeavor. The legislation I introduce today will help encourage these and other efforts to preserve, and provide public access to, these historical documents by authorizing the National Archives and Records Administration to provide grants to certain organizations to support their efforts in preserving the historical records of past Presidents. I want to thank the National Archives for their assistance in drafting this important legislation. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to see this legislation signed into law.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I do recall very vividly the Senator coming before the Senate Armed Services Committee--I believe I was chairman at that time----

Mr. WARNER. For the purpose of bringing to the attention of the committee this very important issue.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, on this side, I saw that the amendment was sent to the Judiciary Committee. The distinguished Senator from Alabama, Mr. Sessions, reviewed it. I know of no request for a recorded vote.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, first I wish to say to our colleague and fellow member of the Senate Armed Services Committee from Oklahoma, I was very moved by your remarks on this particular program, as requested by our colleague from Florida. This will have my support. But your voice has added a great deal of significance to the fundamental necessity for this body to go ahead with this amendment. I judge you, too, are a cosponsor on this amendment?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank the Senator. If it is one hallmark he has in the Senate, it is his tenacity, year after year after year. So stick with it--whether it is this program or your beloved highway programs, which you fight for, or your beloved WRDA bill, which you fight for. It is a long list. I thank the Senator from Oklahoma.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. No objection.