[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 78 (Thursday, May 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S6452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DOD AUTHORIZATION

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise after this very long but, I 
think, good debate on the defense authorization bill to thank the 
distinguished chairman of our committee, the Senator from Virginia, and 
our ranking member, the Senator from Michigan, for their hard work on 
this bill. I have to add all the staff that worked very hard too.
  It is a huge authorization, as you know, Mr. President. It represents 
16 percent of the total expenditures of our Government, for the 
Department of Defense. We fund and try to prepare for the finest 
military and strongest military operations in the world; over a million 
men and women--1.4 million active-duty men and women. This bill has 
provided, because of the hard work on both sides of the aisle, some 
significant and much-needed increases to support our men and women, to 
help our forces be even more ready, more professional, better trained 
and better prepared for all the new threats that we face in the world 
today.
  So I thank them for their work, and acknowledge that in this bill 
that received an overwhelming vote, we had one of the largest increases 
of expenditures for the readiness of those active forces, pay 
provisions to help make the salaries more competitive with the booming 
economy we are currently enjoying here in the United States.
  Thanks to the leadership of our great colleague from Georgia, Senator 
Cleland, we were able to add some additional funding for GI benefit 
expansions, the first in over two generations, so the men and women in 
our armed services can share those benefits with their spouses and 
their children, improving educational opportunities across the board.
  There are many other provisions funding the increase in technology, 
the first downpayment on our missile defense system, which has come a 
little bit too late for some and right on time for others. I think it 
is the right step for our Nation.
  I join my colleagues in thanking the leadership that has brought this 
bill to final passage today. There is more work to be done. There were 
some disappointments, obviously some shortcomings, but no piece of 
legislation is perfect. We will have opportunities to work in the 
future, as this Congress progresses.
  Because the floor was so busy earlier today I waited until now to 
take this opportunity, but I did not want this day to end without 
noting the historic event that took place today with the indictment of 
Yugoslavian President Milosevic by the International War Crime 
Tribunal. As was recorded earlier, Justice Louise Arbour announced that 
he and his four deputies and military leaders have in fact been 
indicted for the atrocities they have committed. This body passed 
almost unanimously--it was unanimously for those present--a resolution 
earlier this week, urging the Tribunal to act, saying the United States 
will put up what resources are necessary to make sure justice is done; 
that not only can war criminals be identified, but cases can be built 
in the proper and legal way so they can be successfully prosecuted for 
what has occurred.
  I was particularly moved by an article I plan to pass around to the 
Members of the Senate and to send to family and supporters around the 
Nation, written by Carol Williams of the Los Angeles Times. That 
reported in horrific detail some of the crimes being committed against 
the Kosovars. What was particularly troubling in this article was her 
focus on the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war.
  She recounted in great detail the experiences of a group of young 
women, young girls--very young, 12, 13, 14 and 15--who had been 
violated over and over again; sometimes, as she outlined in this 
article, within hearing distance--but not sight or comfort--of parents. 
In this particular part of the world, though, what makes this doubly 
horrific and horrifying and tough is that victims of rape often accuse 
themselves, as if they themselves committed the crime. There is shame 
that is brought, in this particular culture, to them and to their 
families. So after having barely lived, surviving this ordeal, they are 
then turned away, in many instances, from their fathers, their mothers, 
their brothers, their sisters.
  So there is a tremendous injustice that is occurring. Many of the 
women in the Senate talked at great length today about this and were 
joined by our colleagues in various meetings throughout the day.
  I just want to say, as we break for this Memorial Day, that while we 
may take a few days of rest from our work, as one Senator, I am 
prepared to come back and daily, weekly, monthly and for years if 
necessary, continue to come to this floor and talk about war crimes and 
justice and holding people accountable. Had we done a better job of 
this in Bosnia, I think we could have perhaps prevented the atrocities 
we are seeing in Kosovo today.
  I hope the international community in every way--whether it is a 
large country or small country, and the people in the United States--
will let their elected officials know we want these war criminals 
prosecuted, we want justice brought to these families, and we want the 
resources and the comfort and counseling available to these young 
women--women of all ages--who have lived through the horror and the 
terror of what has been wrought in that part of the world.
  Thank God we live in this country. It is not perfect, terrible things 
have happened, but I can say on the eve of this Memorial Day recess how 
proud I am and mindful and grateful of the great sacrifice that has 
been made by men and women in uniform who have given their lives so 
that we, in this country, can live in relative peace and prosperity 
without fear of being pulled from our homes at night, having our homes 
burned and our family members violated or executed.
  We have gone through periods of history of which we are not proud. 
But I am proud of the work this Congress does in putting forth 
legislation and finances to support efforts that are so important, like 
the one in which we are engaged. We will not stop until we have a 
military victory. We will not stop until the diplomatic means have been 
accomplished. We will not stop until we have been able to help the 
Kosovars move back into their nation and help this part of Europe join 
the mainstream of Europe so they can live in peace, prosperity, and 
democracy and, finally, until justice is done to the women, children, 
and families who have been so barbarically handled in the last several 
months.
  Again, I thank the leadership for their good work on this 
legislation. I thank the Chair.

                          ____________________