[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S278-S279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SECURITY CONCERNS

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I just finished speaking with our 
Sergeant at Arms on the Senate side, Jim Ziglar. He is in full accord 
with what I am about to say.

[[Page S279]]

  Many of us, perhaps all of us, attended the services for Officer 
Chestnut and Agent Gibson. I think one of the things we all agreed on 
is there were many ways we were going to honor these officers. One of 
them was to make sure we provided the utmost support and security for 
them, much less security for the Congress and the citizens who visit 
the House and the Senate.
  What I have noticed is that we have still been having single posts, 
where you have one officer at a very busy post with many people 
streaming in. I have raised this question for quite a few months now. I 
have never spoken about it on the floor of the Senate, but I am 
intending to try to put some pressure on as a Senator because we have 
to do something about this.
  I know the Senate Sergeant at Arms feels strongly about this. I have 
talked to many police officers whom I think all of us respect, and we 
owe them a real debt of gratitude for their service. Frankly, this is 
no way to say thank you to the Capitol Police--to have one officer at a 
station where you have all sorts of people coming in, it is an 
impossible security situation. It is impossible. I have seen this with 
my own eyes. I have had police officers come up to me and say, ``This 
is just intolerable. We thought there was going to be a change.''
  I want to say on the floor of the Senate--and I have waited month 
after month to do this, but again I see it with my own eyes, and police 
officers come to me about this--I believe there has to be change. I 
don't think there can be any possible excuse for not living up to our 
commitment that at least two police officers be at every one of these 
posts.
  One example: One officer was at a post where during his shift 700 
people came in--one officer. This is unacceptable, absolutely 
unacceptable. I think we have to do much better.
  I am not going to be a know-it-all, I am not going to tell you that I 
know how much additional money needs to be spent, or whether this is a 
systems or management issue, or whether there is some slowness on the 
House side. I don't know what is going on. I just know there is no 
excuse for it.
  We did a supplemental appropriation after these two officers were 
slain, murdered, of a little over a million dollars, about $50 million 
each year. That was for weapons, vests, for security enhancement, and 
for overtime staffing up in ways that we need to staff up. I don't know 
what has happened with this appropriation, whether we need more money, 
more authorization, or something. The only thing I know is we have a 
situation right now--after two officers were murdered--where we have at 
some of these posts just one officer. There should be two officers at 
every post. I believe that is a commitment we have made. I speak on the 
floor of the Senate to say that we have to do better for these police 
officers, and the sooner we do, the better.
  I say to my colleague from Virginia, I think I will come back every 
day and speak to this situation that exists. I will defer to my 
colleague from Virginia and I say to the Chair that I hope to come back 
this evening.


       SENATE PASSAGE OF IMPORTANT HISTORIC PRESERVATION MEASURES

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, unfortunately this statement was 
inadvertantly left out of the Congressional Record at the end of last 
session. Therefore, today, I would like to recognize that on November 
19th the United States Senate unanimously passed much needed 
legislation to protect some of America's most threatened historic 
sites, the Vicksburg Campaign Trail and the Corinth battlefield.
  S. 710, the Vicksburg Campaign Trail Battlefields Preservation Act of 
1999, is a bipartisan measure that authorizes a feasibility study on 
the preservation of Civil War battlefields and related sites in the 
four states along the Vicksburg Campaign Trail.
  As my colleagues know, Vicksburg served as a gateway to the 
Mississippi River during the Civil War. The eighteen month campaign for 
the ``Gibraltar of the Confederacy'' included over 100,000 soldiers and 
involved a number of skirmishes and major battles in Mississippi, 
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
  The Mississippi Heritage Trust and the National Trust for Historic 
Preservation named the Vicksburg Campaign Trail as being among the most 
threatened sites in the state and the nation. S. 710 would begin the 
process of preserving the important landmarks in the four state region 
that warrant further protection. I appreciate the cosponsorship of 
Chairman Murkowski, Chairman Thomas, and Senators Landrieu, Breaux, 
Cochran, Hutchinson, and Craig on this measure.
  Mr. President, the Senate also approved S. 1117, the Corinth 
Battlefield Preservation Act of 1999, a measure that establishes the 
Corinth Unit of the Shiloh National Military Park.
  The battle of Shiloh was actually part of the Union Army's overall 
effort to seize Corinth. This small town was important to both the 
Confederacy and the Union. Corinth's railway was vitally important to 
both sides as it served as a gateway for moving troops and supplies 
north and south, east and west. The overall campaign led to some of the 
bloodiest battles in the Western Theater. In an effort to protect the 
city, Southern forces built a series of earthworks and fortifications, 
many of which remain, at least for now, in pristine condition. 
Unfortunately, the National Park Service in its Profiles of America's 
Most Threatened Civil War Battlefields, concluded that many of the 
sites associated with the siege of Corinth are threatened.
  S. 1117 would give Corinth its proper place in American history by 
formally linking the city's battlefield sites with the Shiloh National 
Military Park.
  Mr. President, I want to thank Senators Robb, Cochran, and Jeffords 
for cosponsoring this measure.
  I would also like to express my appreciation to Chairman Thomas for 
his ever vigilant efforts on parks legislation, and in particular, for 
moving both the Vicksburg Campaign Trail and Corinth battlefield bills 
forward.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize Chairman 
Murkowski for his continued stewardship over the Senate Energy and 
Natural Resources Committee.
  Mr. President, I also want to recognize Ken P'Pool, Deputy State 
Historic Preservation Officer for Mississippi; Rosemary Williams, 
Chairman of the Siege and Battle of Corinth Commission; John Sullivan, 
President of the Friends of the Vicksburg Campaign and Historic Trail; 
and Terry Winschel and Woody Harrell of the United States Park Service 
for their support and guidance on these important preservation 
measures.
  Lastly, I would like to recognize several staff members including 
Randy Turner, Jim O'Toole, and Andrew Lundquist from the Senate Energy 
Committee, Darcie Tomasallo from Senate Legislative Counsel, and Stan 
Harris, Angel Campbell, Steven Wall, Jim Sartucci, and Steven Apicella 
from my office, for their efforts to preserve Mississippi's and 
America's historic resources.
  Mr. President, as a result of the Senate's action today, our children 
will be better able to understand and appreciate the full historic, 
social, cultural, and economic impact of the Vicksburg Campaign Trail 
and the Siege and Battle of Corinth.

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