C. Young

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the 60th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Memorably described by President Franklin Roosevelt as ``a date which will live in infamy,'' Pearl Harbor Day has taken on added significance since September 11, when America was again ``suddenly and deliberately attacked.'' Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the 60th anniversary memorial services at Pearl Harbor. Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations for the Navy, gave a particularly moving speech at the USS Arizona Memorial in which he honored both the survivors of that terrible day and those serving our country today around the world. I have known Admiral Clark for many years, and his service in defense of freedom is exemplary. He could not have known when he became CNO less than two years ago that he would soon lead our navy in a difficult conflict of uncertain length. However, he is the right man for the job, and with his dedication and that of so many of his brave sailors and pilots, we are certain to prevail in this war against terror. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply grateful for Admiral Clark's service to our country, and I ask unanimous consent that his Pearl Harbor Day remarks be inserted into the Record. Admiral Vern Clark Remarks Thank you Admiral Conway, Chairman Young, Congressman Abercrombie, Congressman Frelinghuysen, Secretary Higgins, Admiral Blair, Secretary Morales, flag and general officers, distinguished guests, honored survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor, fellow Sailors, ladies and gentlemen--Good morning. Pearl Harbor is a special place to this Nation and to the United States Navy. For 60 years now we have remembered this day. Our ships come and go, and every ship that comes by this site renders honors to USS Arizona, paying tribute to this ship and the Sailors our Nation lost that day. In the peaceful, quiet calm that enfolds this memorial this morning, it is difficult for me to imagine the shock, the chaos, the violence, the death that gripped this beautiful harbor sixty years ago--and several wars ago. Imagine the smoke, the flames, the shattering noises, the screaming bombs, the rush of torpedoes, the broken ships and planes, and our men running to their battle stations, running to fight, and broken lives. For most of us, these things are simply beyond comprehension. Relatively few Americans today have come face-to-face with the horrors of war. A diminishing number fought in the global war that--for the United States--began here. There are very few, indeed, who can say, ``I was at Pearl Harbor.'' Yet such men are among us here today, and they honor us with their presence--the Pearl Harbor Survivors. By my best count there are 21 of you here today-- representing the hundreds who will be in Hawaii for this commemorative event. I want to thank you for coming. But even more so, I want to thank you for your great service to our country. I want you to know that I am very proud to be part of a generation that simply followed you. Collectively, we all salute you this morning. There are few phrases in the English language that evoke awe, that connote a truly special meaning. But, such is the case with the phrase, ``I was at Pearl Harbor.'' There is no need for a survivor to say the date--it is branded forever in our national memory. As our President at the time said, it is a date that ``lives in infamy.'' For those of us who lived in the last half of the 20th Century, it is a date that stands out in American history. it is unique. ``Before Pearl Harbor'' was quite literally a different era than ``after Pearl Harbor.'' Every American learns the Pledge of Allegiance--every American is taught about George Washington--every American knows about Pearl Harbor. What happened here profoundly altered our national experience. It is part of who we are as a people. This morning, we come to this place--again. We gather to pay homage to the heroes of a war long over. As we come this time, we are at war again--our homeland attacked. As we pause to commemorate the bravery and sacrifices of these shipmates, we draw strength from the world-changing events of Sunday, December 7th, 1941--especially here at USS Arizona where so many Sailors and Marines are entombed. In this solemn memorial, I am reminded of the words spoken during an earlier war, a terrible civil war. President Lincoln said, ``From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.'' Freedom--Government of the people, by the people, for the people--these are the most important treasures for those who live in the land of the free. Freedom and democracy are an inheritance, hard-won by past generations for us to enjoy. But freedom and democracy are also the unfinished work that is left for us to defend, to carry forward, and to hand down to future generations. Now we are at war with enemies who hate freedom and democracy. They want a society of coercion. They want a political order of force. Their brand of tyranny is willing to resort to terror, and the slaughter of innocents. The Americans of 1941 answered the call. Today, Americans are doing so again. It's our turn. It is time for us to rededicate our lives to the cause of freedom, so that children in our nation and others will enjoy the fruits of freedom. We citizens of the United States have a profound responsibility to protect this Nation, the self-evident truths on which it was founded and the Constitution under which it has flourished. In this mission, we act not only for ourselves and our society, but in the concert of many nations--including our now close ally, Japan, and the community of nations that recognize the free world must stop the threat posed by this recent version of terror. Together let us stay the course. In 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor was followed by grim months of defeat and frustration in the Pacific until the Battle of Midway in June 1942. It was more than three tough years before victory was sealed onboard USS Missouri, moored just a few hundred yards away. As with that struggle, this new war is likely to be long and challenging. To win, we must show the same dedication and fortitude that our forefathers displayed during the Second World War. I have every confidence that we will do so. On 11 September, your Navy and Marine Corps team was ready. Your Fleet was ready to respond to the orders of the President and the whole Congress. We were ready to fight and we are winning today. Today's young Americans, young Sailors, young Marines-- along with their comrades in the Army, and Air Force and Coast Guard--they are as dedicated, as brave, and as determined as their predecessors. They are as equipped, with the example of fortitude and determination that grew from Pearl Harbor. They are motivated by your examples of service and heroism. They cherish the stories of the greatest generation. They, like you, are carrying the banner of freedom throughout this world. Many of them are over there right now, afloat and ashore, taking the fight to our enemies. Many are on watch elsewhere in other distant parts of the world. Many are getting ready to go, as their President asked them to do. These young people, of whom I am so proud, are all doing a magnificent job. With the steadfast support of the American people and our friends around the world, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen of this generation will do their part to win this war, to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our children and generations of Americans yet to come--just like you did. To the memory and legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, to those resting in this hallowed place, we extend again the thanks of a grateful nation. We extend the promise that their sacrifice will be honored. All of us who serve and wear the cloth of the nation today--we commit, we promise anew to do our duty so that America will remain the beacon of hope, the lighthouse of freedom, and the bastion of liberty. We make this promise in the memory of those who served and gave their lives in this place.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the 60th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Memorably described by President Franklin Roosevelt as ``a date which will live in infamy,'' Pearl Harbor Day has taken on added significance since September 11, when America was again ``suddenly and deliberately attacked.'' Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the 60th anniversary memorial services at Pearl Harbor. I was particularly struck by a moving speech given at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific by Robin Higgins, Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Secretary Higgins, from my home state of Florida, was herself a victim of terrorism when her husband, Marine Colonel Rich Higgins was murdered in Lebanon 13 years ago. She and her husband have dedicated their lives in service of this country, and they are two true American heroes. Mr. Speaker, as we remember the brave survivors of Pearl Harbor and the men and women serving in our military around the world, I salute Rich and Robin Higgins, and I ask unanimous consent that Secretary Higgins speech be inserted into the Record. The Honorable Robin Higgins, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, U.S Department of Veterans Affairs Keynote Address Pearl Harbor Survivors, 60th Anniversary December 7, 2001 The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Medal of Honor recipients Mr. Hayashi, Mr. Kellogg and Mr. Firin; Congressman Bill Young from my great state of Florida; Congressman Neil Abercrombie from the great state of Hawaii; Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, from the great state of New Jersey; Chairman Myers; distinguished military arid civilian guests; most honored members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association; World War II veterans; and all fellow veterans and their families . . . Good morning, and thank you Gene for that kind introduction. I want to add a special acknowledgement of some special visitors with us today from New York who are here as guests of the State of Hawaii--325 family members of men and women who were lost in the World Trade Center on September 11. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Principi, had very much hoped to be here--and were it not for extraordinary events in Washington, he would have. But he asked me to send you his best wishes. I appreciate and am humbled by the opportunity to represent him and the more than 219,000 men and women of the Department of Veterans' Affairs who stand ready to honor your service to America. Few occasions merit words like ``horrific,'' ``devastating,'' and ``tragic.'' Fewer still cause a speaker to follow those superlatives with words like ``magnificent,'' ``awesome,'' or ``heroic.'' Yet today--as I stand here in this most sacred of places, this shrine to the sacrifices of so many honorable men and women--I am struck by the notion that what happened on this morning 60 years ago brings into play all those words and probably more. Let me say that I do not believe we need to replay the events of that morning; I am convinced that no movie, no documentary made today, no well-meaning attempt to recreate for today's generation the horrific events of December 7, 1941, can ever do justice to what you as survivors already know . . . already lived through . . . already redeemed through your own selfless service to America. I take my cue from the words of Abraham Lincoln who stood on the soil of a great battlefield in 1863 and said, ``. . .we cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we cannot hallow-- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.'' Here on the gentle slopes and broad fields of Puowaina, rest the heroes of another tumultuous conflict. As magnificent as any National Cemetery could be, it is but a humble gift from a grateful nation to honor those of you who stood for--and those who fell for--freedom that Sunday morning. But it does not pay the full tribute due to the sacrifices offered up on December 7th. Pearl Harbor . . . NAS Kaneohe . . . Ford Island . . . Battleship Row . . . Hickam Field . . . Wheeler Field . . . Scofield Barracks . . . the Arizona . . .; these were the grounds that were truly hallowed by your sacrifices, consecrated by your blood, and dedicated to your bravery and to the bravery of your friends and countrymen. Your lives were forever changed by an event so devastating that it would not be for another 60 years--September 11, 2001--that America would again feel the tragic shockwaves of an attack on our home soil. Perhaps the events of September 11 resonated in your lives in ways that did not resonate among other, younger Americans. Having lost my husband, Marine Colonel Rich Higgins, to a violent act of terrorism 13 years ago in Lebanon, I felt the old wounds . . . still pink from healing . . . open up again when I saw the Trade Center in flames, and the Pentagon--my former duty station--torn asunder. It is possible, then, that on September 11th, old scars of the heart and mind were once again exposed among your generation of soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and coastguardsmen. But I know and you know this: these two seminal events-- December 7th and September 11th--struck America hard but they did not bring her down. No terrorist--no early morning raiding party--has the power to overcome the will and determination of the American serviceman or woman. I am reminded of a recent editorial cartoon of the Statue of Liberty in which a stern-faced Lady Liberty is cradling a child in her arms. The caption reads, ``No one comes between a mother and her children.'' How true that is for our Nation and for the men and women who, for 225 years, have risen in her defense in the face of the greatest personal risk. Today is a good day to take a clear look at both our past and our future. It is a day when we acknowledge the debt we owe to those men and women who--because they so cherished peace--chose to live as warriors. Could anything be more contradictory than a warrior's life? Warriors love America, but they spend years on foreign soil far from home. They revere freedom, but they sacrifice their own. They defend our right to live as individuals, yet yield their individuality for the cause. They value life, yet so bravely ready themselves to die in the service of our country. But why are some Americans so seemingly willing to fight and, it need be, to die? We fight because we believe. Not that war is good, but that sometimes it is necessary. Our soldiers fight and die not for the glory of war, but for the prize of freedom. On that December morning, many of you took up a torch that you would not put down for four long years. You valued freedom, and you were willing to sacrifice for it. And through your selfless sacrifices, you guaranteed a lifetime of liberty to your families, your communities, and your Nation. It is fitting and proper, then, that those of us who've worn the uniform remember our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters--but it is crucial that we share what we feel today with those who have never taken that special risk for their country--so that they may understand. Soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen, coastguardsmen, World War Two Merchant Mariners and veterans understand the duty to country that causes a man or woman to risk his or her life to try to make a difference. There is nothing that can take the, place of that selfless devotion. My husband used to have a small plaque on his desk; it's on nine now and it says: ``War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.`` There is a fabric that weaves people of conscience through the ages and around the world. That fabric is bound with the moral and spiritual lineage of men and women of honor, courage and integrity; those who value something more than their own personal safety. Bound into this fabric are the lives and loves of soldiers and their families from all times, those who came home and those who didn't and those whose fate remains unknown. The Courts of the Missing here at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific are inscribed With the names of more than 28,000 missing soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and coastguardsmen whose names are held in honor along with the more than 38,000 servicemen and women who lie at sacred rest among us today. Heroes all, they speak to us of patriots' hopes and patriots' dreams, of lives lived to the fullest measure, lives nobly offered as payment for the fabric of a free society. It is popular today to speak of the Greatest Generation-- your generation, the generation of my father, who also served in World War II--but I think the phrase ignores a basic truth about Americans. I believe every generation of Americans has been, is, and will be, great. We all have the potential for greatness, if by greatness it is meant that in ties of trial, we will meet the challenges.of the times with honor, dignity, arid sacrifice. But make no mistake; let those who would terrorize us today remember the fate of those who violated our shares once before. And let the 9-11 generation carry the torch of courage and determination you carried in order to rid the world of the evil of the 21st century. The colonists who fought for liberty in 1776, the citizens who defend a new nation in 1812, the families torn apart by Civil War, the green troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force, the 16 million men and women who wrested freedom from evil during World War II, the Korean War soldiers and their Vietnam colleagues, the young men and women of Desert Storm and, today, the troops fighting to bring terrorist to justice and justice to terrorists. If we consider that each of these generations of Americans stood firm against the whirlwinds of tyranny to secure liberty for their times and their posterity we must call them all great. But the generation of the men and women who survived here 60 years ago does merit a special measure of thanks for your contributions to America. You returned from the battlefield, put aside the tools of war, and took up the tools of industry and technology, of medicine, of science and education, an of community service, In return for all you had accomplished in war--a many of you carried the evidence of sacrifice still fresh on your bodies--you asked only to return to the peace, to the lives and loved ones you left. And by your humble example you inspired our Nation to move forward on its path to a righteous destiny. Your contribution will not be forgotten. Your generation's greatness will be treasured and remembered, Such a contribution should be sufficient for one generation--but I don't believe your contribution is yet complete. The next generation will need guidance . . . the next generation will undoubtedly face new challenges and they will wonder how to face those challenges with the courage and strength of character that is the hallmark of your generation. I encourage our beloved World War II generation, and all our veterans, to share with your children and your grandchildren--with students and scholars and historians--the experiences of your service to America. You have a story to tell . . . you have thousands of stories to tell . . . and in the telling will be the inspiration for the next generation's response to tomorrow's challenges. Pearl Harbor survivors specifically--have a unique perspective on this kind of brutal assault an America. You can help the rest of us better understand and come to terms with the values that are threatened and the resolve we must have to overcome our fears. I am honored to share this day with you . . . and to be here in a place that speaks of the Nation's commitment to recognize the sacrifices of those patriots who were ready to give the last full measure of devotion so that we could gather in peace. May God continue to bless our Pearl Harbor survivors, our World War II veterans, their families, indeed all our Nation's veterans and--especially today those in harm's way. And though I might conclude by asking God to bless America, I need not. Because of you, he already has. Thank you.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my friend from Massachusetts, to the points he made. I am sure he believes he made a real powerful point, but I have not been able to figure out what it was yet.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. I rise to agree with the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha). He is one of the best national defense experts that I know anywhere in the House or the Senate, or at the Pentagon, as a matter of fact. He is right. He mentioned the tankers. There is no doubt that our tankers have been worn out. Our AWACS, we actually have foreign AWACS flying around the United States protecting our major cities. There is no doubt we have a lot of needs. But I also agree with the gentleman that we should have a supplemental as early as we possibly can. He mentioned how slow the administration was last spring getting us a supplemental and, again, he was right. But that was pre-war. When that supplemental came down, it was before September 11. After September 11, we took up the emergency supplemental, passed it in the House, the Senate, and conferenced it all on the same day. So we can move quickly when the security of our Nation is at risk. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to say at the outset that I congratulate the gentleman from Wisconsin for the work that he has done on this issue. We have had this discussion between the two of us. We have had this discussion with the President of the United States. We have had this discussion at the Committee on Appropriations. And we had this discussion on the floor of the House when we passed the bill. I would like to say, Mr. Speaker, I do not disagree with the needs that the gentleman from Wisconsin has pointed out here. If you recall, on September 14, the House, with the gentleman from Wisconsin and I working closely together, passed an emergency supplemental of $40 billion right after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The same day, the Senate passed the bill and we actually conferenced that bill and passed a conference report, all on the same day. So we moved quickly. We have proved that we can move quickly when it comes to the defense of our Nation and the protection of our citizens. I want to make the case that of the $40 billion emergency supplemental, most of the money has not been allocated yet. In that $40 billion, the first $20 billion that the President had control over plus what the House did in our supplemental, there is $21 billion for the Defense Department to prosecute the war. Will it take more than that? Very likely. We do not require that money today, but we are going to provide whatever is necessary to complete that war in Afghanistan and anyplace else that we might have to go to seek out and destroy the terrorist cells that pose a threat to the United States of America and to our people and our interests, wherever they might be. We are going to provide whatever it takes to make that happen. We are not going to allow Americans to live in fear, and we are not going to allow our places and our properties to be attacked. That is pure and simple. On the issue of biological and chemical terrorist threats, we need to be concerned about that, and we are concerned. This Congress several years ago began providing the preparation and the research necessary to combat any biological and chemical threat, but more needs to be done. In the House bill together with the President's $20 billion package, there is already $2.2 billion. One of the most important things that we need to do is guarantee that our ports of entry, that our borders, are protected. We provide about $700 million immediately to begin to hire and train the people who would provide that security. As for transportation, The United States of America, without transportation is in deep trouble. Economically and every other way, from the national defense standpoint, our transportation systems must be safe. We provide funding for the hiring of sky marshals and to train them and to implement stronger security requirements at our airports and our other transportation stations. We have $1.2 billion already here to begin that process. We need to assist our State officials, local officials and Federal officials who deal with the antiterrorism law enforcement. We have $400 million to begin that process already in the bill. Nuclear nonproliferation activities are very important. We have money in our regular bills for this purpose. We add another $100 million in the package that we present today. To the City of New York, we have all made commitments to the City of New York. We are going to keep them. The President agreed to a $20 billion package for New York, and we immediately agreed to that; and it was put into our $40 billion emergency supplemental. Already in the package that we present, $10 billion is made for the City of New York. We are doing all of these things at the present time. Now, we could take the package of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), and, frankly, I would have liked to have supported it all the way through the process with the President, the leadership, the committee, and lastly, on the floor. But we agreed to a $20 billion limit on the supplemental, and that is the only difference that I have with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) on this motion to instruct today. We are going to do the items that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) identifies, because he and I have gone over these items already, and I agree with what he is suggesting. The only difference we have is timing. The President of the United States has said that he will request an emergency supplemental at the moment that it is needed, when we do not have enough money already in the pipeline to provide the things that we are talking about here to secure our Nation. Our leadership has promised that when that request is made available to us it will be presented immediately. As chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, I have made the commitment over and over again that I will move that supplemental appropriations bill just as soon as I possibly can after we receive the information and the request from the President of the United States, who is leading the battle to secure America, who is leading the battle to seek out the perpetrators of terrorism, and to do away with their ability to threaten us at any time in the future. The President is the leader. Congress is important, we are in a support role in this issue; but we cannot all run that war. That is why we have a Commander in Chief as proposed by the Constitution of the United States. So, Mr. Speaker, today I am going to accept the gentleman's motion to instruct, with that reservation that we are going to try to do as much as we possibly can on that motion within the $20 billion limit, and that we will address the additional amounts at whatever moment they are identified as being required. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), a subcommittee chairman on the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), a member of the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations. (Mr. CUNNINGHAM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I do not think we are as far apart on this as it seems. We all understand what the requirements are. Mainly, we are talking about timing. What I suggest is we get about this conference report and bring it back to the floor so that the House can complete it on next week. The gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), as chairman of the subcommittee, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), as the ranking member, have done an outstanding job in preparing an excellent bill. Are there other requirements? Absolutely. I can tell the Members, we talked about the tankers, wearing out that fleet; we talked about the AWACs. An awful lot of our combat aircraft are in the hangars being used as a source of spare parts. Because of all the deployments that the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) mentioned, we are in fact wearing out much of the equipment of our military. On the other hand, the bill that we are debating today is $317 billion. That is a lot of money. We have said that when additional money is needed over and above that, we are going to make it available. Who better knows than the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces what they need to conduct the war in Afghanistan, or wherever that war might take us, to eliminate the threat of terrorism, to disrupt the ability of terrorist organizations to threaten the United States of America? Mr. Speaker, I would just suggest to my friend, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), and I complimented the gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), and I would not only compliment but thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for how we have worked together on all of our bills. We have worked together extremely well. We have worked together very well on this bill. The gentleman from Wisconsin and I made a strong presentation to the President. The President made a final decision, as Commander in Chief; and that is the decision that we are working with today. So now we are at the point where the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has made a motion to instruct the conferees. I have already said that we are going to accept that motion, so I just ask the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) to take ``yes'' for an answer. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Okay. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman reexplaining that. Mr. Speaker, we have to be real. The other body had this issue of appropriating money over the $20 billion. Because it went over the $20 billion, it was subject to a point of order and it required a 60-vote margin to overcome the point of order. The vote was 50-50, and that 50- 50, I would suggest, is going to stay in the Senate regardless of what we might do here today and what we might do in conference. So I am just trying to be helpful and friendly here. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) is very well aware of the fact that I want to be helpful. We are going to do the very best we can in this conference. The gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) have developed an outstanding defense bill for the $317 billion basic defense bill. Most of our differences in conference will be over this $20 billion emergency supplemental package that is attached to the defense bill as an amendment. We are going to do the best we can, but I will guarantee you we are not going to leave something undone that needs to be done today, because there is more flexibility in monies that have already been appropriated. So I say that we will support this today, and we are going to do the best we can in conference to accomplish what the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) wants to accomplish; but before it is over, we will have provided whatever is needed to secure the United States of America and to allow the President to run this war and make sure that he has the money when it is needed to do that. None of us are going to be satisfied if something is undone, if something is not done, if some security measure is not taken care of because of a lack of money. We are going to provide whatever is necessary to fight terrorism, to guarantee that the terrorists do not have an opportunity to attack America again or our friends or our allies or our interests, wherever they might be.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it shall be in order at any time without intervention of any point of order to consider in the House the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 78) making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2002 and for other purposes; the joint resolution shall be considered as read for amendment; the joint resolution shall be debatable for one hour, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations; and the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the joint resolution to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.J. Res. 76, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. This continuing resolution extends the current CR until December 15. The terms and conditions of the previous CR will remain in effect. All ongoing activities will be continued at current rates under the same terms and conditions as fiscal year 2001, with the exception of the agencies covered by fiscal year 2002 appropriations bills that have been enacted into law. Mr. Speaker, this CR is noncontroversial, and I urge the House to move the legislation to the Senate so that the government can continue to operate smoothly and efficiently and so that we can continue our work to finish those few regular appropriations bills that are still remaining.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is correct.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the answer is, of course it depends on the bill and the situation with that bill. In the case of the defense bill that we are dealing with now, the basic bill, the $317 billion defense bill, probably will not be that difficult to conference. Where there will be difficulty will be in the $20 billion supplemental that we have dealt with here in the House and that the other body is now dealing with and is possibly changing considerably. So it could take 4 or 5 working days, or longer, just to get that bill ready to go to conference. Once the agreements are actually reached in conference, it could take as many as 10 days in order to complete consideration of this bill. It is a major bill. Of our discretionary accounts, it is half of our discretionary spending. In most years we do not have a lot of differences going into conference on that bill, but this year, because of the $20 billion supplemental that is a result of the September 11 attacks, there are substantial differences between the House-passed bill and what the Senate is probably going to consider today or tomorrow.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Appropriations be discharged from further consideration of the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 76) making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2002, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time, and I am not going to take a lot of time on the bill because it has been very well explained and the subcommittee has done such a good job. The bill does not really need a lot of speeches in its behalf. But I rise to thank the gentleman from Kentucky (Chairman Rogers) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) for having done a really good job in an extremely difficult situation. They have done yeoman's service. The gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Rogers) mentioned the staff, and I want to adjust a little bit more time to his comments about the staff. The conferees finished, we finished our work on this conference last evening considerably later than after the House had left for the day. We finally got the paperwork done by midnight and then the staff, after having completed the paperwork, and we are very meticulous in making sure that our bills are exactly the way we intend them to be; we seldom ever have to come in and ask for a correction because of good staff work. But they were finally able to start reading the bill, that is a term we use, read the bill, at about 12:40 a.m. this morning. And by 5:00 this morning they had completed reading the bill. And we went to the Committee on Rules and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers) came in and filed the bill then, and we went to the Committee on Rules and got the rule which has already passed. They have done a really good job, and I wanted to take another minute and explain why this has been such a difficult task for them and what a good product they have produced. The House of Representatives passed this bill on June 26. That seems like it was almost last year. The Senate passed it on August 1, considerably later. But we did not get the paperwork and a request to go to conferences for 85 days after the Senate passed the bill. For 85 days this stayed out there, and it festered a little bit here and there. The issues were brought up that had to be settled. But this subcommittee worked through all of those issues. And so finally on October 29 we received the papers and we went to conference on the 31. And so today we have produced a bill that I think would enjoy tremendous support in the House. But I took this time to not only compliment the leadership of the subcommittee, but to say that as chairman of the full committee, it makes my job a lot easier, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I, as the chairman and ranking member, it makes our jobs easier when we have a subcommittee that produces as good a product as this. It makes our job a lot easier so we appreciate that. Let me take a few more seconds to say that next week we intend to have the District of Columbia appropriations conference ready for the House to consider and, additionally, we are planning to do the foreign operations appropriations subcommittee also for next week. There are several issues that are a little bit above our pay grid that still have to be resolved, but we think we can do that and have those two on the floor. The only two appropriations bills remaining are the Labor, Health and Human Services and the Defense. The slowdown on the Defense, I will not take the time to explain that, but September 11 was part of the slowdown because we were in this building ready to markup the Defense bill on September 11 when everybody was evacuated after the terrorist attacks. The subcommittee has done a good job. And I compliment them as strongly as I can and the staff and hope that we will get a very nice vote for this good conference report today.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against the amendment because it proposes to change existing law and constitutes legislation in an appropriations bill and, therefore, violates clause 2 of rule XXI. The rule states, in pertinent part, ``An amendment to a general appropriations bill shall not be in order if changing existing law.'' This amendment changes existing law. I ask for a ruling on the point of order.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will continue to yield, I would say to the gentleman that these are items that have been identified that need to be taken care of. As my colleague, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), mentioned just a few minutes ago dealing with airport security and aviation security, they have to be done. Now, Members do not understand that in the absence of an authorizing bill, the appropriators are usually asked to take care of issues that have not been authorized, and so that is what we do, and we do that very well. We try to do it in cooperation with the authorizing committee, and we thought that we had a fairly good understanding not only on this but the aviation package as well. So we understand the appropriate relationships of the committees, but sometimes the authorizing committees do not have a bill, do not have a vehicle, are not prepared to deal with a problem, and so the Committee on Appropriations is asked to do it.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I have to admit that I was engaged in a conversation and not listening to the gentleman.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the amendment.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that debate on this amendment and any amendments thereto be limited to 20 minutes, to be equally divided and controlled by the proponent and myself.