[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 26, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9833-S9845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002--Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The senior assistant bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1438) to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2002 for military activities of the Department of
Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed
Services, and for other purposes.
Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, we made good progress on this bill
yesterday. Unfortunately, we weren't successful in reaching a unanimous
consent agreement on a finite list of amendments to this bill which
would allow us to move quickly to final passage.
But we simply must complete action on this bill. President Bush has
declared a national state of emergency. Our military forces are
deploying around the world. We are calling the National Guard and
Reserve units to active duty to augment our active forces.
This bill contains critically important provisions for our national
security. It provides much needed increases in military pay and
benefits, including housing benefits and allowances. It contains
authority for bonuses and special pay to retain people with critical
skills in the military services, and it contains a number of important
provisions to improve the efficiency of the Defense Department
operations.
The matter which has been keeping us from proceeding and completing
this bill is not related to the national defense bill that is before
us. Our leadership is working hard to try to address that issue.
I thank our leaders, Senator Daschle, Senator Lott, and Senator Reid,
who have been so actively involved for their efforts to move us forward
on this critically important bill.
I thank Senator Warner. He and his staff have worked tirelessly to
advance the bill. But adopting this bill would send a powerful signal
to our allies and our adversaries around the world of a strong and
unified sense of national unity and determination and our support for
our Armed Forces.
So I am hopeful that we can continue to make progress. As part of
that effort, Senator Warner and I and our staffs worked late last night
and this morning to develop a package of about 25 cleared amendments.
Amendments Nos. 1694 through 1718, En Bloc
At this point, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to send 25
amendments to the desk for consideration en bloc, that the amendments
be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that
any statements related to the amendments be printed at the appropriate
place in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I will address in detail some of the
remarks made earlier by my distinguished chairman, but at this point in
time may I say this has been worked out mutually. We are in complete
concurrence on this side with this block of amendments that we will
adopt en bloc.
Again, I join the Senator in crediting our staff who have worked long
hours into last night and almost every night.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendments (Nos. 1694 through 1718), en bloc, were agreed to, as
follows:
amendment no. 1694
(Purpose: To amend the Small Business Act to promote the involvement of
small business concerns and small business joint ventures in certain
types of procurement contracts, to establish the Small Business
Procurement Competition Program, and for other purposes)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT COMPETITION.
(a) Definition of Covered Contracts.--Section 15(e)(4) of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(e)(4)) is amended--
(1) by inserting after ``bundled contract'' the following:
``, the aggregate dollar value of which is anticipated to be
less than $5,000,000, or any contract, whether or not the
contract is a bundled contract, the aggregate dollar value of
which is anticipated to be $5,000,000 or more'';
(2) by striking ``In the'' and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--In the''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Contracting goals.--
``(i) In general.--A contract award under this paragraph to
a team that is comprised entirely of small business concerns
shall be counted toward the small business contracting goals
of the contracting agency, as required by this Act.
``(ii) Preponderance test.--The ownership of the small
business that conducts the preponderance of the work in a
contract awarded to a team described in clause (i) shall
determine the category or type of award for purposes of
meeting the contracting goals of the contracting agency.''.
(b) Proportionate Work Requirements for Bundled
Contracts.--
(1) Section 8.--Section 8(a)(14)(A) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(14)(A)) is amended--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii), in the case
of a bundled contract--
``(I) the concern will perform work for at least 33 percent
of the aggregate dollar value of the anticipated award;
``(II) no other concern will perform a greater proportion
of the work on that contract; and
[[Page S9834]]
``(III) no other concern that is not a small business
concern will perform work on the contract.''.
(2) Qualified hubzone small business concerns.--Section
3(p)(5)(A)(i)(III) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632(p)(5)(A)(i)(III)) is amended--
(A) in item (bb), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating item (cc) as item (dd); and
(C) by inserting after item (bb) the following:
``(cc) notwithstanding items (aa) and (bb), in the case of
a bundled contract, the concern will perform work for at
least 33 percent of the aggregate dollar value of the
anticipated award, no other concern will perform a greater
proportion of the work on that contract, and no other concern
that is not a small business concern will perform work on the
contract; and''.
(3) Section 15.--Section 15(o)(1) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 644(o)(1)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), in the
case of a bundled contract--
``(i) the concern will perform work for at least 33 percent
of the aggregate dollar value of the anticipated award;
``(ii) no other concern will perform a greater proportion
of the work on that contract; and
``(iii) no other concern that is not a small business
concern will perform work on the contract.''.
(c) Small Business Procurement Competition Pilot Program.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration;
(B) the term ``Federal agency'' has the same meaning as in
section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632);
(C) the term ``Program'' means the Small Business
Procurement Competition Program established under paragraph
(2);
(D) the term ``small business concern'' has the same
meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632); and
(E) the term ``small business-only joint ventures'' means a
team described in section 15(e)(4) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 644(e)(4)) comprised of only small business
concerns.
(2) Establishment of program.--The Administrator shall
establish in the Small Business Administration a pilot
program to be known as the ``Small Business Procurement
Competition Program''.
(3) Purposes of program.--The purposes of the Program are--
(A) to encourage small business-only joint ventures to
compete for contract awards to fulfill the procurement needs
of Federal agencies;
(B) to facilitate the formation of joint ventures for
procurement purposes among small business concerns;
(C) to engage in outreach to small business-only joint
ventures for Federal agency procurement purposes; and
(D) to engage in outreach to the Director of the Office of
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and the
procurement officer within each Federal agency.
(4) Outreach.--Under the Program, the Administrator shall
establish procedures to conduct outreach to small business
concerns interested in forming small business-only joint
ventures for the purpose of fulfilling procurement needs of
Federal agencies, subject to the rules of the Administrator,
in consultation with the heads of those Federal agencies.
(5) Regulatory authority.--The Administrator shall
promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out
this subsection.
(6) Small business administration database.--The
Administrator shall establish and maintain a permanent
database that identifies small business concerns interested
in forming small business-only joint ventures, and shall make
the database available to each Federal agency and to small
business concerns in electronic form to facilitate the
formation of small business-only joint ventures.
(7) Termination of program.--The Program (other than the
database established under paragraph (6)) shall terminate 3
years after the date of enactment of this Act.
(8) Report to congress.--Not later than 60 days before the
date of termination of the Program, the Administrator shall
submit a report to Congress on the results of the Program,
together with any recommendations for improvements to the
Program and its potential for use Governmentwide.
(9) Relationship to other laws.--Nothing in this subsection
waives or modifies the applicability of any other provision
of law to procurements of any Federal agency in which small
business-only joint ventures may participate under the
Program.
____
amendment no. 1695
(Purpose: To make amendments with respect to small business concerns)
On page 270, line 9, strike ``(A)'' and all that follows
through ``(4)'' on line 25.
On page 271, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:
(c) Evaluation of Bundling Effects.--Section 15(h)(2) of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(h)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``, and whether
contract bundling played a role in the failure,'' after
``agency goals''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(G) The number and dollar value of consolidations of
contract requirements with a total value in excess of
$5,000,000, including the number of such consolidations that
were awarded to small business concerns as prime
contractors.''.
(d) Reporting Requirement.--Section 15(p) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(p)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(p) Reporting Requirement.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall conduct a study
examining the best means to determine the accuracy of the
market research required under subsection (e)(2) for each
bundled contract, to determine if the anticipated benefits
were realized, or if they were not realized, the reasons
there for.
``(2) Provision of information.--A Federal agency shall
provide to the appropriate procurement center representative
a copy of market research required under subsection (e)(2)
for consolidations of contract requirements with a total
value in excess of $5,000,000, upon request.
``(3) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2002, the Administrator shall submit a report to
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the
Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives on the results of the study conducted under
this subsection.''.
On page 290, between lines 3 and 4, insert the following:
SEC. 824. HUBZONE SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.
Section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p))
is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (7) as
paragraphs (5) through (8), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) Rule of construction relating to citizenship.--
``(A) In general.--A small business concern described in
subparagraph (B) meets the United States citizenship
requirement of paragraph (3)(A) if, at the time of
application by the concern to become a qualified HUBZone
small business concern for purposes of any contract and at
such times as the Administrator shall require, no non-citizen
has filed a disclosure under section 13(d)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(d)(1)) as the
beneficial owner of more than 10 percent of the outstanding
shares of that small business concern.
``(B) Concerns described.--A small business concern is
described in this subparagraph if the small business
concern--
``(i) has a class of securities registered under section 12
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l); and
``(ii) files reports with the Securities and Exchange
Commission as a small business issuer.''.
``(C) Non-citizens.--In this paragraph, the term `non-
citizen' means
``(i) an individual that is not a United States citizen;
and
``(ii) any other person that is not organized under the
laws of any State or the United States.''.
____
amendment no. 1696
(Purpose: To authorize, with an offset, $11,900,000 to improve
instrumentation and targets at Army live fire training ranges)
At the end of subtitle A of title III, add the following:
SEC. 306. IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTATION AND TARGETS AT ARMY
LIVE FIRE TRAINING RANGES.
(a) Increase in Authorization of Appropriations for
Operation and Maintenance, Army.--The amount authorized to be
appropriated by section 301(1) for the Army for operation and
maintenance is hereby increased by $11,900,000 for
improvements in instrumentation and targets at Army live fire
training ranges.
(b) Offset.--The amount authorized to be appropriated by
section 302(1) for the Department of Defense for the Defense
Working Capital Funds is hereby decreased by $11,900,000,
with the amount of the decrease to be allocated to amounts
available under that section for fuel purchases.
____
amendment no. 1697
(Purpose: To increase the amount authorized to be appropriated for the
Air Force for procurement of Hydra-70 rockets, and to provide an
offset)
On page 18, line 13, increase the amount by $20,000,000.
On page 32, line 4, reduced the amount by $20,000,000.
____
amendment no. 1698
(Purpose: To modify the provisions relating to financial management
oversight of the Department of Defense)
In the section heading of section 1007, strike ``SENIOR
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT COUNCIL'' and insert
``FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MODERNIZATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE''.
In section 1007, strike the subsection caption for
subsection (a) and insert the following: ``Establishment of
Financial Management Modernization Executive Committee.--''.
[[Page S9835]]
In section 1007(a)(1), strike ``Senior Financial Management
Oversight Council'' and insert ``Financial Management
Modernization Executive Committee''.
In section 1007(a)(2), strike ``Council'' and insert
``Committee''.
In section 1007(a)(2), insert after ``(Personnel and
Readiness),'' the following: ``the chief information officer
of the Department of Defense,''.
In section 1007(a)(3), strike ``Council'' and insert
``Committee''.
In section 1007(a), add at the end the following:
(4) The Committee shall be accountable to the Senior
Executive Council composed of the Secretary of Defense, the
Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense
for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, the Secretary of
the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the
Air Force.
In section 1007(b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1),
strike ``Senior Financial Management Oversight Council'' and
insert ``Financial Management Modernization Executive
Committee''.
In section 1007(b), add at the end the following:
(4) To ensure that a Department of Defense financial
management enterprise architecture is development and
maintained in accordance with--
(A) the overall business process transformation strategy of
the Department; and
(B) the Command, Control, Communications, Computers,
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Architecture
Framework of the Department.
(5) To ensure that investments in existing or proposed
financial management systems for the Department comply with
the overall business practice transformation strategy of the
Department and the financial management enterprise
architecture developed under paragraph (4).
(6) To provide an annual accounting of all financial and
feeder system investment technology projects to ensure that
such projects are being implemented at acceptable cost and
within a reasonable schedule, and are contributing to
tangible, observable improvements in mission performance.
In section 1007(c)(1), strike ``of all'' and all that
follows through the end and insert ``of all budgetary,
accounting, finance, and feeder systems that support the
transformed business processes of the Department and produce
financial statements.''.
In section 1007(c)(2), strike ``to financial statements
before other actions are initiated.'' and insert ``to
cognizant Department business functions (as part of the
overall business process transformation strategy of the
Department) and financial statements before other actions are
initiated.''.
In section 1007(c), strike paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) and
insert the following:
(3) Periodic submittal to the Secretary of Defense, the
Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Senior Executive Council, or
any combination thereof, of reports on the progress being
made in achieving financial management transformation goals
and milestone included in the annual financial management
improvement plan in 2002 in accordance with subsection (e).
(4) Documentation of the completion of each phase--
Awareness, Evaluation, Renovation, Validation, and
Compliance--of improvements made to each accounting, finance,
and feeder system.
(5) Independent audit by the Inspector General of the
Department, the audit agencies of the military department,
private sector firms contracted to conduct validation audits,
or any combination thereof, at the validation phase for each
accounting, finance, and feeder system.
In section 1007, strike subsection (d) and insert the
following:
(d) Annual Financial Management Improvement Plan.--(1)
Subsection (a) of section 2222 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(a) Annual Plan Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall
submit to Congress an annual strategic plan for the
improvement of financial management within the Department of
Defense. The plan shall be submitted not later than September
30 each year.''.
(2)(A) The section heading of such section is amended to
read as follows:
``Sec. 2222. Annual financial management improvement plan''.
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 131
of such title is amended by striking the item relating to
section 2222 and inserting the following new item:
``2222. Annual financial management improvement plan.''.
(e) Additional Elements for Financial Management
Improvement Plan in 2002.--In the annual financial management
improvement plan submitted under section 2222 of title 10,
United States Code (as amended by subsection (d)), in 2002,
the Secretary shall include the following:
(1) Measurable annual performance goals for improvement of
the financial management of the Department.
(2) Performance milestones for initiatives under the plan
for transforming the financial management operations of the
Department and for implementing a financial management
architecture for the Department.
(3) An assessment of the anticipated annual cost of any
plans for transforming the financial management operations of
the Department and for implementing a financial management
architecture for the Department.
(4) A discussion of the following:
(A) The roles and responsibilities of appropriate
Department officials to ensure the supervision and monitoring
of the compliance of each accounting, finance, and feeder
system of the Department with the business practice
transformation strategy of the Department, the financial
management architecture of the Department, and applicable
Federal financial management systems and reporting
requirements.
(B) A summary of the actions taken by the Financial
Management Modernization Executive Committee to ensure that
such systems comply with the business practice transformation
strategy of the Department, the financial management
architecture of the Department, and applicable Federal
financial management systems and reporting requirements.
(f) Additional Elements for Financial Management
Improvement Plan After 2002.--In each annual financial
management improvement plan submitted under section 2222 of
title 10, United States Code (as amended by subsection (d)),
after 2002, the Secretary shall include the following:
(1) A description of the actions to be taken in the fiscal
year beginning in the year in which the plan is submitted to
implement the goals and milestones included in the financial
management improvement plan in 2002 under paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subsection (e).
(2) An estimate of the amount expended in the fiscal year
ending in the year in which the plan is submitted to
implement the financial management improvement plan in such
preceding calendar year, set forth by system.
(3) If an element of the financial management improvement
plan submitted in the fiscal year ending in the year in which
the plan is submitted was not implemented, a justification
for the lack of implementation of such element.
____
amendment no. 1699
(Purpose: To require a determination on the advisability of amending
the Federal Acquisition Regulation to authorize treatment of financing
costs as an allowable expense under contracts for utility services from
utility systems privatized under the utility privatization initiative)
At the end of subtitle A of title XXVIII, add the
following:
SEC. 2806. AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION TO
TREAT FINANCING COSTS AS ALLOWABLE EXPENSES
UNDER CONTRACTS FOR UTILITY SERVICES FROM
UTILITY SYSTEMS CONVEYED UNDER PRIVATIZATION
INITIATIVE.
(a) Determination of Advisability of Amendment.--Not later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall determine whether or not it is
advisable to modify the Federal Acquisition Regulation in
order to provide that a contract for utility services from a
utility system conveyed under section 2688(a) of title 10,
United States Code, may include terms and conditions that
recognize financing costs, such as return on equity and
interest on debt, as an allowable expense when incurred by
the conveyee of the utility system to acquire, operate,
renovate, replace, upgrade, repair, and expand the utility
system.
(b) Report.--If as of the date that is 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition
Regulatory Council has not modified the Federal Acquisition
Regulation to provide that a contract described in subsection
(a) may include terms and conditions described in that
subsection, or otherwise taken action to provide that a
contract referred to in that subsection may include terms and
conditions described in that subsection, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress on that date a report setting forth a
justification for the failure to take such actions.
____
amendment no. 1700
(Purpose: Relating to chemical and biological protective equipment for
military and civilian personnel of the Department of Defense)
At the end of subtitle E of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1066. CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR
MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
(a) Report Required.--(1) Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense
shall submit to Congress a report on the requirements of the
Department of Defense, including the reserve components, for
chemical and biological protective equipment.
(2) The report shall set forth the following:
(A) A description of any current shortfalls in requirements
for chemical and biological protective equipment, whether for
individuals or units, for military personnel.
(B) A plan for providing appropriate chemical and
biological protective equipment for all military personnel
and for all civilian personnel of the Department of Defense.
(C) An assessment of the costs associated with carrying out
the plan under subparagraph (B).
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Secretary of Defense should consider utilizing funds
available to the Secretary for chemical and biological
defense programs, including funds available for
[[Page S9836]]
such program under this Act and funds available for such
programs under the 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations
Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on
the United States, to provide an appropriate level of
protection from chemical and biological attack, including
protective equipment, for all military personnel and for all
civilian personnel of the Department of Defense who are not
currently protected from chemical or biological attack.
____
Amendment No. 1701
(Purpose: To improve the provisions relating to the Rocky Flats
National Wildlife Refuge)
(The text of the amendment is printed in the Record under
``Amendments Submitted.'')
____
amendment no. 1702
(Purpose: To repeal the limitation on number of officers on active duty
in the grades of general or admiral)
At the end of section 501 add the following:
(e) Repeal of Limitation on Number of Officers on Active
Duty in the Grades of General or Admiral.--(1) Section 528 of
title 10, United States Code, is repealed.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 32 of
such title is amended by striking the item relating to
section 528.
____
Amendment No. 1703
(Purpose: To improve the organization and management of the Department
of Defense with respect to space programs and activities)
(The text of the amendment is printed in the Record under
``Amendments Submitted.'')
____
amendment no. 1704
(Purpose: To modify certain provisions relating to Cooperative Threat
Reduction programs)
In section 1202(c)(1), strike ``Subject to paragraphs (2)
and (3),'' and insert ``Subject to paragraph (2),''.
In section 1202(c)(3), strike ``in any of the paragraphs''
and insert ``in paragraph (7), (10) or (11)''.
Strike section 1203 and insert the following:
SEC. 1203. CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION.
Section 1305 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106-65; 113 Stat. 794; 22 U.S.C.
5952 note) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a) Limitation.--'' before ``No fiscal
year'';
(2) in subsection (a), as so designated, by inserting
before the period at the end the following: ``until the
Secretary of Defense submits to Congress a certification that
there has been--
``(1) full and accurate disclosure by Russia of the size of
its existing chemical weapons stockpile;
``(2) a demonstrated annual commitment by Russia to
allocate at least $25,000,000 to chemical weapons
elimination;
``(3) development by Russia of a practical plan for
destroying its stockpile of nerve agents;
``(4) enactment of a law by Russia that provides for the
elimination of all nerve agents at a single site;
``(5) an agreement by Russia to destroy or convert its
chemical weapons production facilities at Volgograd and
Novocheboksark; and
``(6) a demonstrated commitment from the international
community to fund and build infrastructure needed to support
and operate the facility.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) Omission of Certain Information.--The Secretary may
omit from the certification under subsection (a) the matter
specified in paragraph (1) of that subsection, and the
certification with the matter so omitted shall be effective
for purposes of that subsection, if the Secretary includes
with the certification notice to Congress of a determination
by the Secretary that it is not in the national security
interests of the United States for the matter specified in
that paragraph to be included in the certification, together
with a justification of the determination.''.
In section 1204(b), strike ``Executive'' in the subsection
caption and insert ``Implementing''.
In section 1204(b), strike ``executive'' and insert
``implementing''.
____
amendment no. 1705
(Purpose: Relating to the V-22 Osprey aircraft)
At the end of subtitle C of title I, add the following:
SEC. 124. ADDITIONAL MATTER RELATING TO V-22 OSPREY AIRCRAFT.
Not later than 30 days before the recommencement of flights
of the V-22 Osprey aircraft, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to Congress notice of the waiver, if any, of any item
capability or any other requirement specified in the Joint
Operational Requirements Document for the V-22 Osprey
aircraft, including a justification of each such waiver.
____
amendment no. 1706
(Purpose: To authorize the appropriation of an additional amount of
$1,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 that was previously appropriated for
that fiscal year for RDT&E, Defense-wide, for the Intelligent Spatial
Technologies for Smart Maps Initiative of the National Imagery and
Mapping Agency (PE0305102BQ))
On page 31, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:
SEC. 233. SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2001 FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT,
TEST, AND EVALUATION DEFENSE-WIDE.
Section 201(4) of Floyd D. Spence National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted into law
by Public Law 106-398; 114 Stat. 1654A-32) is amended by
striking ``$10,873,712,000'' and inserting
``$10,874,712,000''.
____
amendment no. 1707
(Purpose: To modify the land conveyance at Mukilteo Tank Farm, Everett,
Washington)
At the end of subtitle C of title XXVIII, add the
following:
SEC. __. MODIFICATION OF LAND CONVEYANCE, MUKILTEO TANK FARM,
EVERETT, WASHINGTON.
(a) Modification.--Section 2866 of the Military
Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (division
B of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted by Public Law 106-398); 114
Stat. 436) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``22 acres'' and
inserting ``20.9 acres'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) as
subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection (b):
``(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--(1) At the same time the
Secretary of the Air Force makes the conveyance authorized by
subsection (a), the Secretary shall transfer to the Secretary
of Commerce administrative jurisdiction over a parcel of real
property, including improvements thereon, consisting of
approximately 1.1 acres located at the Mukilteo Tank Farm and
including the National Marine Fisheries Service Mukilteo
Research Center facility.
``(2) The Secretary of Commerce may, with the consent of
the Port, exchange with the Port all or any portion of the
property received under paragraph (1) for a parcel of real
property of equal area at the Mukilteo Tank Farm that is
owned by the Port.
``(3) The Secretary of Commerce shall administer the
property under the jurisdiction of the Secretary under this
subsection through the Administrator of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration as part of the Administration.
``(4) The Administrator shall use the property under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary of Commerce under this
subsection as the location of a research facility, and may
construct a new facility on the property for such research
purposes as the Administrator considers appropriate.
``(5)(A) If after the 12-year period beginning on the date
of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2002, the Administrator is not using any
portion of the real property under the jurisdiction of the
Secretary of Commerce under this subsection, the
Administrator shall convey, without consideration, to the
Port all right, title, and interest in and to such portion of
the real property, including improvements thereon.
``(B) The Port shall use any real property conveyed to the
Port under this paragraph for the purpose specified in
subsection (a).''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The section heading for that
section is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 2866. LAND CONVEYANCE AND TRANSFER, MUKILTEO TANK
FARM, EVERETT, WASHINGTON.''.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1708
(Purpose: To modify the authorization for a military construction
project at Fort Sill, Oklahoma)
The table in section 2101(a) is amended in the item
relating to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, by striking ``$18,600,000''
in the amount column and inserting ``$40,100,000''.
The table in section 2101(a) is amended by striking the
amount identified as the total in the amount column and
inserting ``$1,279,500,000''.
Section 2104(b)(4) is amended by striking ``and'' at the
end.
Section 2104(b)(5) is amended by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''.
Section 2104(b) is amended by inserting after paragraph (5)
the following:
(6) $21,500,000 (the balance of the amount authorized under
section 2101(a) for Consolidated Logistics Complex (Phase I)
at Fort Sill, Oklahoma).
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1709
(Purpose: To authorize, with an offset, $2,400,000 for procurement of
additional M291 skin decontamination kits)
At the end of subtitle E of title I, add the following:
SEC. 142. PROCUREMENT OF ADDITIONAL M291 SKIN DECONTAMINATION
KITS.
(a) Increase in Authorization of Appropriations for
Defense-Wide Procurement.--(1) The amount authorized to be
appropriated by section 104 for Defense-wide procurement is
hereby increased by $2,400,000, with the amount of the
increase available for the Navy for procurement of M291 skin
decontamination kits.
[[Page S9837]]
(2) The amount available under paragraph (1) for
procurement of M291 skin decontamination kits is in addition
to any other amounts available under this Act for procurement
of M291 skin decontamination kits.
(b) Offset.--The amount authorized to be appropriated by
section 201(4) for research, development, test, and
evaluation, Defense-wide, is hereby decreased by $2,400,000,
with the amount to be derived from the amount available for
the Technical Studies, Support and Analysis program.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1710
(Purpose: To reauthorize a warranty claims recovery pilot program)
At the end of subtitle D of title III, add the following:
SEC. 335. REAUTHORIZATION OF WARRANTY CLAIMS RECOVERY PILOT
PROGRAM.
(a) Extension of Authority.--Subsection (f) of section 391
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
1998 (Public Law 105-85; 111 Stat. 1716; 10 U.S.C. 2304 note)
is amended by striking ``September 30, 1999'' and inserting
``September 30, 2003''.
(b) Reporting Requirements.--Subsection (g) of such section
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``January 1, 2000'' and
inserting ``January 1, 2003''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``March 1, 2000'' and
inserting ``March 1, 2003''.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1711
(Purpose: To authorize land conveyances at Charleston Air Force Base,
South Carolina)
At the end of subtitle C of title XXVIII, add the
following:
SEC. 2827. LAND CONVEYANCES, CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, SOUTH
CAROLINA.
(a) Conveyance to State of South Carolina Authorized.--The
Secretary of the Air Force may convey, without consideration,
to the State of South Carolina (in this section referred to
as the ``State''), all right, title, and interest of the
United States in and to a portion (as determined under
subsection (c)) of the real property, including any
improvements thereon, consisting of approximately 24 acres at
Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, and comprising the
Air Force Family Housing Annex. The purpose of the conveyance
is to facilitate the Remount Road Project.
(b) Conveyance to City of North Charleston Authorized.--The
Secretary may convey, without consideration, to the City of
North Charleston, South Carolina (in this section referred to
as the ``City''), all right, title, and interest of the
United States in and to a portion (as determined under
subsection (c)) of the real property, including any
improvements thereon, referred to in subsection (a). The
purpose of the conveyance is to permit the use of the
property by the City for municipal purposes.
(c) Determination of Portions of Property To Be Conveyed.--
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary, the State, and
the City shall jointly determine the portion of the property
referred to in subsection (a) that is to be conveyed to the
State under subsection (a) and the portion of the property
that is to be conveyed to the City under subsection (b).
(2) In determining under paragraph (1) the portions of
property to be conveyed under this section, the portion to be
conveyed to the State shall be the minimum portion of the
property required by the State for the purpose specified in
subsection (a), and the portion to be conveyed to the City
shall be the balance of the property.
(d) Limitation on Conveyances.--The Secretary may not carry
out the conveyance of property authorized by subsection (a)
or subsection (b) until the completion of an assessment of
environmental contamination of the property authorized to be
conveyed by such subsection for purposes of determining
responsibility for environmental remediation of such
property.
(e) Description of Property.--The exact acreage and legal
description of the real property to be conveyed under
subsections (a) and (b) shall be determined by surveys
satisfactory to the Secretary. The cost of the survey for the
property to be conveyed under subsection (a) shall be borne
by the State, and the cost of the survey for the property to
be conveyed under subsection (b) shall be borne by the City.
(f) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may
require such additional terms and conditions in connection
with the conveyances under subsections (a) and (b) as the
Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of
the United States.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1712
(Purpose: To authorize the sale of goods and services that are not
available from any United States commercial source by the Naval
Magazine, Indian Island)
Insert at the appropriate place in the bill the following
new item:
The Secretary of the Navy may sell to a person outside the
Department of Defense articles and services provided by the
Naval Magazine, Indian Island facility that are not available
from any United States commercial source; Provided, That a
sale pursuant to this section shall conform to the
requirements of 10 U.S.C. section 2563 (c) and (d); and
Provided further, That the proceeds from the sales of
articles and services under this section shall be credited to
operation and maintenance funds of the Navy, that are current
when the proceeds are received.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1713
(Purpose: To authorize a land conveyance, Fort Des Moines, Iowa)
At the end of subtitle C of title XXVIII, add the
following:
SEC. 2827. LAND CONVEYANCE, FORT DES MOINES, IOWA.
(a) Conveyance Authorized.--The Secretary of the Army may
convey, without consideration, to Fort Des Moines Memorial
Park, Inc., a nonprofit organization (in this section
referred to as the ``Memorial Park''), all right, title, and
interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real
property, including improvements thereon, consisting of
approximately 4.6 acres located at Fort Des Moines United
States Army Reserve Center, Des Moines, Iowa, for the purpose
of the establishment of the Fort Des Moines Memorial Park and
Education Center.
(b) Condition of Conveyance.--The conveyance under
subsection (a) shall be subject to the condition that the
Memorial Park use the property for museum and park purposes.
(c) Reversion.--If the Secretary determines at any time
that the real property conveyed under subsection (a) is not
being used for museum and park purposes, all right, title,
and interest in and to the real property, including any
improvements thereon, shall revert to the United States, and
the United States shall have the right of immediate entry
thereon.
(d) Reimbursement for Costs of Conveyance.--(1) The
Memorial Park shall reimburse the Secretary for the costs
incurred by the Secretary for any environmental assessment,
study, or analysis, or for any other expenses incurred by the
Secretary, for the conveyance authorized in (a).
(2) The amount of the reimbursement under paragraph (1) for
any activity shall be determined by the Secretary, but may
not exceed the cost of such activity.
(3) Section 2695(c) of title 10 United States Code, shall
apply to any amount received under this subsection.
(e) Description of Property.--The exact acreage and legal
description of the real property to be conveyed under
subsection (a) shall be determined by survey satisfactory to
the Secretary. The cost of the survey shall be borne by the
Memorial Park.
(f) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may
require such additional terms and conditions in connection
with the conveyance under subsection (a) as the Secretary
considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United
States.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1714
(Purpose: To authorize participation of regular members of the Armed
Forces in Senior ROTC)
At the end of subtitle C of title V, add the following:
SEC. 540. PARTICIPATION OF REGULAR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED
FORCES IN THE SENIOR RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING
CORPS.
(a) Eligibility.--Section 2104(b)(3) of title 10, United
States Code, is amended by inserting ``the regular component
or'' after ``enlist in''.
(b) Pay Rate While on Field Training or Practice Cruise.--
Section 209(c) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by
inserting before the period at the end the following: ``,
except that the rate for a cadet or midshipmen who is a
member of the regular component of an armed force shall be
the rate of basic pay applicable to the member under section
203 of this title''.
(c) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made
by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2001.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1715
(Purpose: To repeal certain limitations on the exercise of voluntary
separation incentive pay authority and voluntary early retirement
authority)
Strike section 1113 and insert the following:
SEC. 1113. REPEAL OF LIMITATIONS ON EXERCISE OF VOLUNTARY
SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAY AUTHORITY AND
VOLUNTARY EARLY RETIREMENT AUTHORITY.
Section 1153(b) of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted into law
by Public Law 106-398; 114 Stat. 1654A-323) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Subject to paragraph
(2), the'' and inserting ``The'';
(2) by striking paragraph (2); and
(3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as
paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1716
(Purpose: To make additional modifications to the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Program)
In section 3151(d), strike paragraphs (1) and (2) and
insert the following:
(1) In general.--Subsection (e) of section 3628 of that Act
(114 Stat. 1654A-506) is amended to read as follows:
``(e) Survivors.--(1) If a covered employee dies before
accepting payment of compensation under this section, whether
or not the death is the result of the covered employee's
occupational illness, the survivors of the covered employee
who are living at the time of payment of compensation under
this section shall receive payment of compensation under this
section in lieu of the covered employee as follows:
``(A) If such living survivors of the covered employee
include a spouse and one or more children--
[[Page S9838]]
``(i) the spouse shall receive one-half of the amount of
compensation provided for the covered employee under this
section; and
``(ii) each child shall receive an equal share of the
remaining one-half of the amount of the compensation provided
for the covered employee under this section.
``(B) If such living survivors of the covered employee
include a spouse or one or more children, but not both a
spouse and one or more children--
``(i) the spouse shall receive the amount of compensation
provided for the covered employee under this section; or
``(ii) each child shall receive an equal share of the
amount of the compensation provided for the covered employee
under this section.
``(C) If such living survivors of the covered employee do
not include a spouse or any children, but do include one or
both parents, one or more grandparents, one or more
grandchildren, or any combination of such individuals, each
such individual shall receive an equal share of the amount of
the compensation provided for the covered employee under this
section.
``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term `child', in
the case of a covered employee, means any child of the
covered employee, including a natural child, adopted child,
or step-child who lived with the covered employee in a
parent-child relationship.''.
(2) Uranium employees.--Subsection (e) of section 3630 of
that Act (114 Stat. 1654A-507) is amended to read as follows:
``(e) Survivors.--(1) If a covered uranium employee dies
before accepting payment of compensation under this section,
whether or not the death is the result of the covered uranium
employee's occupational illness, the survivors of the covered
uranium employee who are living at the time of payment of
compensation under this section shall receive payment of
compensation under this section in lieu of the covered
uranium employee as follows:
``(A) If such living survivors of the covered uranium
employee include a spouse and one or more children--
``(i) the spouse shall receive one-half of the amount of
compensation provided for the covered uranium employee under
this section; and
``(ii) each child shall receive an equal share of the
remaining one-half of the amount of the compensation provided
for the covered uranium employee under this section.
``(B) If such living survivors of the covered uranium
employee include a spouse or one or more children, but not
both a spouse and one or more children--
``(i) the spouse shall receive the amount of compensation
provided for the covered uranium employee under this section;
or
``(ii) each child shall receive an equal share of the
amount of the compensation provided for the covered uranium
employee under this section.
``(C) If such living survivors of the covered uranium
employee do not include a spouse or any children, but do
include one or both parents, one or more grandparents, one or
more grandchildren, or any combination of such individuals,
each such individual shall receive an equal share of the
amount of the compensation provided for the covered uranium
employee under this section.
``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term `child', in
the case of a covered uranium employee, means any child of
the covered employee, including a natural child, adopted
child, or step-child who lived with the covered employee in a
parent-child relationship.''.
In section 3151(g)(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), insert ``, with the cooperation of the Department of
Energy and the Department of Labor,'' after ``shall''.
In section 3151(g), strike paragraph (2) and insert the
following:
(2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report on the progress
made as of the date of the report on the study under
paragraph (1).
(B) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the National Institute shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a final report on the study
under paragraph (1).
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1717
(Purpose: To set aside for land forces readiness-information operations
sustainment (PE 19640) $5,000,000 of the amount provided for the Army
Reserve for operation and maintenance)
At the end of subtitle D of title III, add the following:
SEC. 335. FUNDING FOR LAND FORCES READINESS-INFORMATION
OPERATIONS SUSTAINMENT.
Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by section
301(6), $5,000,000 may be available for land forces
readiness-information operations sustainment.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 1718
(Purpose: To require the conveyance of certain former Minuteman III
ICBM facilities)
At the end of subtitle C of title III, add the following:
SEC. 2827. LAND CONVEYANCES, CERTAIN FORMER MINUTEMAN III
ICBM FACILITIES IN NORTH DAKOTA.
(a) Conveyances Required.--(1) The Secretary of the Air
Force may convey, without consideration, to the State
Historical Society of North Dakota (in this section referred
to as the ``Historical Society'') all right, title, and
interest of the United States in and to parcels of real
property, together with any improvements thereon, of the
Minuteman III ICBM facilities of the former 321st Missile
Group at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, as
follows:
(A) The parcel consisting of the launch facility designated
``November-33''.
(B) The parcel consisting of the missile alert facility and
launch control center designated ``Oscar-O''.
(2) The purpose of the conveyance of the facilities is to
provide for the establishment of an historical site allowing
for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of the
facilities.
(b) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense in order to
ensure that the conveyances required by subsection (a) are
carried out in accordance with applicable treaties.
(c) Historic Site.--The Secretary may, in cooperation with
the Historical Society, enter into one or more cooperative
agreements with appropriate public or private entities or
individuals in order to provide for the establishment and
maintenance of the historic site referred to in subsection
(a)(2).
Amendment No. 1694
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I commend Chairman Kerry for his proposal to
improve access for small business to participate in joint ventures. In
the 1997 Small Business Reauthorization Act, we adopted provisions to
allow small businesses to join together to compete for bundled
contracts that otherwise would be too large for them to perform.
However, current law requires the lead contractor to perform 50 percent
of the value of the contract. This is still a significant obstacle. The
Kerry/Bond amendment would allow the prime contractor to perform 33
percent of the contract if no other participant performs a greater
proportion and if all other participants in the joint venture are small
businesses.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I would like to thank Armed Services
Committee Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Warner for their assistance
on this amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2002. My amendment, cosponsored by Senator Bond, will help small
businesses more effectively compete for large and/or bundled contracts.
Everyone knows that small businesses are vital to the U.S. economy,
accounting for 99 percent of all private sector employers, providing 75
percent of all net new jobs, and accounting for 51 percent of private-
sector output. But what many of my colleagues may not realize is the
vital role small businesses play in providing competition and
innovation to our Federal procurement system. In fact, a major reason
for the creation of the Small Business Administration was to ensure an
adequate private sector base for the Department of Defense. It was
actually deemed in our national security interests to have a thriving
small business sector. And this has not changed, it is actually more
important than ever, not just to our national security, but to our
economic security as well.
The amendment is based on our legislation, the ``Small Business
Procurement Competition Act of 2001,'' and begins with one simple
premise that has been proven time and again, when it comes to large
Federal contracts, small businesses are at a competitive disadvantage
because of the amounts of money involved and the large geographic areas
these contracts may serve. The practice known as contract bundling,
whereby separate procurement contracts are combined into one contract,
has resulted in small businesses that do business with the Federal
Government being placed at an even greater disadvantage. Unfortunately,
procurement streamlining has resulted in the practice of contract
bundling becoming more and more common.
In fact, for Fiscal Year 2000, the Federal Government failed to meet
its goal of 23 percent of Federal prime contracts being awarded to
small businesses. Many experts blame the inability of small businesses
to compete on large bundled contracts as a key factor in this decline.
For example, the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy
believes that for every $100 awarded on a bundled contract, there was a
decrease of $33 to small businesses.
The Small Business Procurement Competition Act that has been included
in this bill will address this decline in two ways. First, it draws on
an existing principle known as ``joint ventures'' and expands the
ability of small
[[Page S9839]]
businesses to form them. Second, it raises the percentage of contracts
that a small business can subcontract to other small businesses.
Joint ventures, whereby small businesses can team together to bid on
a bundled contract, even if the combined entity is too large to be
considered a small business, is not a new concept. In fact, the Clinton
Administration began to remove some of the obstacles to the formation
of joint ventures. Our amendment takes this initiative, cements it into
law, and makes several improvements to help and encourage the formation
of joint ventures.
Many small businesses have said that they like the idea of being able
to team with other small businesses to compete on bundled contracts,
but they often don't know where to begin. Worse, many small businesses
have said that, despite U.S. law, many contracts that should be
considered bundled contracts are not, which has limited their ability
to form joint ventures.
To combat these deficiencies, our amendment allows for the formation
of a small business-only joint venture to bid on any contract over the
amount of $5 million, regardless of whether or not the contract is
bundled. To combat the knowledge gap on this issue, our legislation
requires that the Small Business Administration, SBA, set up a database
of companies that are actively seeking to form joint ventures. The
legislation also sets up a pilot program requiring the SBA to conduct
outreach and education efforts to small businesses that want to form
joint ventures.
Joint ventures are not the only means to help small businesses
compete for bundled contracts. Our amendment also changes the
subcontracting requirements for small businesses. Under current law, a
small business must perform at least 51 percent of the work on a
contract to maintain its small business eligibility. Under our
provision, a small business can subcontract up to 2/3 of the work to
other small businesses on bundled contract, provided the prime small
business contractor performs the greatest proportion of the work. In
this way, small businesses can bid on larger contracts that they do not
have the capacity to perform on their own.
Small businesses are vital to the economic growth of the U.S.
economy. Their innovations, the competition they provide and the jobs
they create are just some of the reasons we must ensure the success of
our small businesses. Taken together, these provisions will help small
businesses by providing them with more opportunities to compete for
Federal contracts and help maintain the national supply chain.
As the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, I have made it a priority to ensure small businesses
receive their fair share of Federal procurement contracts. This
legislation is an important step in fulfilling that promise.
I would also like to thank Senator Bond for his work on another
amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which I am a
cosponsor of, to make some changes to the procurement provisions
pertaining to small business in this legislation. I believe it is an
important amendment and I am pleased we were able to get it included in
the bill.
Once again, I would like to thank Senator Bond for joining me in this
effort, as well as Senator Levin and Senator Warner for their
assistance and their courtesy.
Amendment No. 1695
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to work with
Chairman Kerry of the Small Business Committee to improve certain
provisions of the Small Business Act relating to Federal procurement
policy. These provisions will enable us to do a better job of tracking
the small business impact of contract bundling without imposing
burdensome new reporting requirements on the Defense Department. The
amendment will also help a new class of firm participate in our HUBZone
program to expand contracting opportunities to small businesses that
locate in and hire from the nation's most chronically distressed
communities.
The amendment revises current burdensome reporting requirements of
the Small Business Act with respect to contract bundling, and
eliminates corresponding provisions--which would now be moot--of the
Defense Authorization that seek to guard DoD against those burdensome
requirements. A new report requirement would be imposed on the SBA
Administrator on how to improve the market analyses currently required
by law, to make them more systematic and meaningful. DoD would not be
required to collect new data under the revised provisions, which
threatens to be the case under current law.
The amendment also alters the HUBZone Act to allow small businesses
to participate if their stock is publicly traded. Currently, the
HUBZone law requires all HUBZone owners to be U.S. citizens. A company
whose stock is publicly traded can never meet this requirement. The
company does not know the citizenship of all its stockholders, and even
if it did, it might change at any moment if someone decides to sell or
buy shares.
The amendment piggybacks on current Securities Exchange Act
disclosures to meet the citizenship requirement. The law requires
people who own 5 percent or more of a company to file disclosure
reports, and to file subsequent amendments if that amount materially
changes. Under the HUBZone language proposed here, a firm would be
deemed to meet the HUBZone citizenship requirement if no non-citizen
(individual or corporate entity organized under the laws of a State or
the United States) has filed a disclosure indicating ownership of more
than 10 percent of the small business concern's stock. Because
ownership can change at any moment, the language would provide that
this must be true at the time of application and at such other
subsequent times as the SBA Administrator prescribes.
One of the principal hurdles faced by small business is lack of
access to capital. It makes no sense to exclude small businesses that
have overcome this obstacle and gained access to the securities
markets. This language would allow a publicly traded firm to rely
reasonably on the disclosures they have received, so that they can
participate in the HUBZone program. This will help stimulate new
investment in our nation's most blighted inner cities, rural counties
and Indian reservations, the areas targeted by the HUBZone Act.
amendment no. 1698
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I rise to offer an amendment to address the
serious accounting and financial management problems in the Department
of Defense. These problems have been exhaustively detailed in reports
by the General Accounting Office, the Department of Defense Inspector
General's Office, and numerous independent reports on the Pentagon's
books.
The problems with the Department of Defense's books is not a new one.
In 1990, Congress passed the Chief Financial Officers Act, which
required the departments and agencies of the Federal Government to
prepare annual audited financial statements. Eleven years later, the
Pentagon has yet to prepare a single financial statement that can pass
an audit. In fact, the books are so poorly kept that the folks with the
green eye shades can't even begin to make an informed opinion on the
Department's ledgers. As a result, no one has a clue how much the
Department spends or what it owns.
I first brought this issue to the attention of Secretary Rumsfeld
during his confirmation hearing before the Armed Services Committee on
January 11, 2001. He said at that time that he would take action on
financial management, and he has since completed work on an important,
comprehensive review of our military's bookkeeping. These are good
steps, but sustained interest is needed to make progress on this issue.
Until the problems are straightened out, this issue will need the
personal attention of the Secretary of Defense, the secretaries of the
military services, and many other high-level managers. The alternative
is to have a financial management system that diverts the taxpayer's
money from important budget items, such as training, procurement, and
our fight against terrorism, to simply generating more waste, fraud,
and abuse.
My amendment capitalizes on the work done by the Armed Services
Committee by strengthening the Senior Financial Management Oversight
Council
[[Page S9840]]
that is created by this bill. My amendment creates the Financial
Management Modernization Executive Committee to establish guidelines
for improvement of the computer systems that generate unreliable
financial data, and makes the Executive Committee accountable directly
to the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary, and the secretaries
of the military services. It directs the Executive Committee to focus
investments on improved financial systems, rather than continuing to
spend money on systems that are hopelessly outdated.
In this amendment, I also strengthen the reporting requirements to
Congress. The Armed Services Committee and the Appropriations Committee
needs to know how long it will take to implement financial reform, and
how much it will cost. We also need to know if the Department is making
progress in reform, or if it is falling behind. The reporting
requirements in this amendment will allow Congress to exercise better
oversight of the Department's financial management reforms, and they
are an integral part of this amendment.
I thank my colleague, Senator Grassley, for working with me on this
important issue. He has long been an advocate of improving accounting
and business practices in the Pentagon, and his knowledge and
experience in financial management issues contributed greatly to the
text of this amendment. I look forward to working with him in the
future to see that the Department effectively implements the needed
reforms.
I ask my colleagues to support this important amendment.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to cosponsor
an amendment with the very distinguished gentleman from West Virginia,
Senator Byrd.
Senator Byrd has crafted a very important and thoughtful piece of
legislation designed to help the new Secretary of Defense bring some
financial management reform to the Pentagon.
This legislation is the end result of a series of questions Senator
Byrd raised at a hearing before the Armed Services Committee on January
11th. This was the hearing on the nomination of Mr. Rumsfeld to be the
next Secretary of Defense.
Senator Byrd's questions pertained to the Pentagon's continuing
inability to earn a passing grade, or ``clean'' audit opinion, on its
annual financial statements.
Under the Chief Financial Officers or CFO Act, the Pentagon must
prepare financial statements each year. These are supposed to be an
accurate reflection of all the department's assets and liabilities. The
financial statements are then subjected to an independent audit by
either the General Accounting Office or the Inspector General.
Senator Byrd's questions pertained to the department's poor
performance on the latest audit.
Senator Byrd questioning with this telling point: ``DOD's own
auditors say the department cannot account for $2.3 trillion, I repeat
$2.3 trillion, in transactions in one year alone.''
I believe that Senator Byrd's question had a profound effect on Mr.
Rumsfeld. I think they sent shock waves through the whole department.
Since that time, Senator Byrd's staff and my staff have been working
together to find a remedy.
Our amendment is a byproduct of that process, and Senator Byrd
deserves most of the credit for advancing this initiative through the
committee review process.
It is a great honor and privilege for the Senator from Iowa to work
with someone of Senator Byrd's stature. Senator Byrd is a highly
respected leader in this body and throughout our government. And when
he tells the Pentagon, or any other agency for that matter, to shape up
and fly right, they pay attention. They do what he asks.
As many of my colleagues know, I have been wrestling with this
problem for a number of years. And quite frankly, I have not had a
whole lot of success in getting the job done.
With Senator Byrd's leadership, I am now confident of success. With
his leadership, I believe that meaningful reform is possible.
And my confidence is further reinforced by the attitude of the new
leadership across the river over in the Pentagon.
My gut sense is that Mr. Rumsfeld was truly shocked by Senator Byrd's
assessment.
As a former chief executive officer in a large corporation, Mr.
Rumsfeld knows and understands the importance of having accurate
financial information at his fingertips. It's absolutely essential for
making informed decisions. It is essential for success.
He understands that the financial statement audits are a valuable
diagnostic tool. They allow us to examine the patient's vital signs.
It's kind of like doing a cat-scan on the government bookkeeping
operation. If the books are in order and the numbers add up, it's so
easy to roll them all up into a top-line financial statement that can
stand up to scrutiny by auditors.
Mr. Rumsfeld grasped the magnitude of the problem immediately. He
knows that the Secretary of Defense cannot possibly make good decisions
with lousy information.
Having accurate, up-to-date financial information at his fingertips
is mandatory--especially today when we appear to be on the brink of
war.
The demand for financial resources is starting to escalate rapidly.
If DOD does not know what it has in the inventory today and how much it
is spending from one day to the next, then how could it possibly know
what it needs?
I want to be certain that my colleagues understand the goal of the
CFO Act. The key to this process is not passing some audit with flying
colors. That's not it at all. This is no mickey mouse bean-counter
exercise.
The goal is to have accurate financial information in the hands of
those responsible for making decisions. A ``clean'' opinion tells us
that they will have it when they need it. A ``clean'' opinion will tell
us that they are in a position to make informed decisions about what
needs to be done.
A disclaimer of opinion, by comparison, says they don't have it and
can't make informed decisions. That's bad, but that's exactly where DOD
is today.
Secretary Rumsfeld's response to Senator Byrd's questions was so
encouraging. It was music to my ears.
Secretary Rumsfeld's response tells me that he understands the
problem completely, and he wants to solve it. He knows he has to solve
it, if he is to be a successful and effective secretary.
Secretary Rumsfeld made a personal commitment to me to clean up the
department's books.
His Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Dov Zakheim, has made a personal
commitment to me to fix the books.
And Mr. Zakheim's senior deputies, like Mr. Larry Lanzillotta, have
made a personal commitment to me to fix the books.
So, I now see a willingness in the Pentagon to get a handle on this
problem. That's half the battle right there, the will to get the job
done.
To my knowledge, that attitude never existed at the Pentagon in the
past.
In the past, I fought endlessly with Mr. Hamre and his predecessors.
They denied the problem even existed. Clearly, we have moved way beyond
that stage.
Mr. Rumsfeld and his team understand the problem and want to fix it.
If the will is there, as I think it is, I think we can succeed this
time.
I would like to assure my colleagues that this is not an attempt to
legislate a solution. So long as the Secretary is committed to reform,
a legislative solution is unnecessary.
I see our amendment more as a device to help the Secretary get the
job done.
Our only objective is to help the department acquire the tools it
needs to put accurate, up-to-date financial information at the
secretary's fingertips.
First, our amendment establishes a Senior Financial Management
Modernization Executive Committee.
This group will supervise the acquisition of highly integrated
accounting systems and computer technology.
These systems will be designed to produce reliable financial
statements. Those capabilities simply do not exist today.
This group will report directly to Secretary Rumsfeld.
Second, the amendment provides some much needed relief. Right now,
the Inspector General is pouring audit resources down a rat hole. It
makes no sense whatsoever to audit financial statements that are
notoriously unreliable. It's a total waste. That practice will be
suspended temporarily.
[[Page S9841]]
Third, while some audits are suspended, the Secretary must provide an
estimate of when reliable financial statements will be available for
audit.
Fourth, the department is put on notice that it has four years to get
the new systems up and running.
Mr. President, every member of this body understands that the
elimination of the terrorist threat to this country is the top defense
priority for the foreseeable future. We understand and accept that .
Countering this terrible threat must take priority over everything
else.
At the same time, I hope that efforts to ferret out fraud, waste,
abuse and mismanagement are not left behind in a cloud of dust. They
have a place, even in the current environment.
It will be up to Secretary Rumsfeld to decide how and where reform
fits into the new priorities.
We have been repeatedly told that the coming campaign against
terrorism will be long and difficult. If it is long and difficult as
predicted, then we will need to be certain that we don't waste precious
resources. Waste and mismanagement could get in the way of our efforts
to win the war against terrorism.
Amendment No. 1703
Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I am pleased to be introducing with
Senator Bob Smith an amendment to improve the organization and
management of the Department of Defense with respect to space programs
and activities.
This amendment is more important than ever. We are about to engage in
an extraordinary struggle against the forces of terrorism. This will be
a far-flung and difficult fight. Good intelligence will be at a premium
and our space assets play a key role in achieving that.
We must do whatever we can to be sure that all our military assets
are managed as efficiently and effectively as possible. This amendment,
which is based on the recommendations of the Commission to Assess
United States National Security Space Management and Organization,
(also known as the Space Commission), is intended to do just that for
our space assets.
The Commission looked at current DOD organization and management as
it pertains to the development and implementation of national-level
guidance, establishing requirements, acquiring and operating systems,
and planning, programming and budgeting for national security space
capabilities. The Commission found that the United States is dependent
on space, creating vulnerabilities and demands on our space systems
requiring space to be recognized as a top national security priority.
The Commission also concluded that these new vulnerabilities and
demands are not adequately addressed by the current management
structure at the Department. The Commission found that a number of
space activities should be merged, chains of command adjusted, lines of
communications opened and policies modified to achieve greater
responsibility and accountability. Senator Smith and I agree, and
believe that space assets will be critical in the coming conflict with
the forces of terrorism. That is why we are introducing this amendment.
The Department is making some of these changes today. However, we
believe Congress should show its support to our military men and women
by providing the Secretary with authority to realign his Department to
make it more effective.
This legislation will provide the Secretary of Defense with the tools
he needs for more effective management and organization of space
program and activities. Specifically the legislation will:
Provide discretionary authority for the Secretary of Defense to
establish an Under Secretary of Defense for Space, Intelligence and
Information. Right now, the Secretary does not have this authority.
While he has decided for the moment not to adopt this Commission
recommendation, the amendment would provide him the authority to do so
if he so chooses;
It would establish the Air Force as the Executive Agent for DOD space
programs for DOD functions designated by the Secretary of Defense;
It would assign the Under Secretary of the Air Force as the Director
of the NRO and directs the Under Secretary of the Air Force to
coordinate the space activities of DOD and the NRO;
It would establish a budget mechanism to provide a better
understanding of the resources we dedicate to space programs;
It would direct the Under Secretary of the Air Force to establish a
space career field to promote the growth of specialists in space
programs, doctrine, and operations. A budget mechanism and space career
field will both help provide the needed focus on space and space
activities;
And finally, the amendment would provide for joint service management
of space programs to the maximum extent practicable, to assure that the
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps stay actively involved in space programs.
This amendment will provide DOD the authority and flexibility to move
faster and more efficiently in its reorganization and help provide the
focus and attention that space programs and activities deserve. This is
imperative in this dangerous world, in which our forces need the best
technology, training, and support.
I want to thank my colleague for joining with me in this effort to
provide the Department the tools it needs to make space a top national
security priority. We welcome all Senators to join us in support of
this important legislation.
Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I am glad that the Space
Management Organization Amendment to this year's National Defense
Authorization Act has been approved. As you all know, space issues have
long been a keen interest of mine, even long before I served as the
Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman. My interest is not derived from
my New Hampshire industry constituents, because there is very little
space business in my State. Rather, my interest in space is derived
from my firm belief that whoever controls space will win the next war.
More and more our deployed forces are relying on the ``reach'' that
space communications provide and the ``high ground'' that space
surveillance affords. Space is absolutely critical to future war
fighting! That is why I feel proper management and operations of our
space assets is absolutely critical. I look forward to working with
Senator Reed as the Chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee to
further the role of space in our strategic planning. This amendment is
intended to capitalize on the expertise the Space Commission brought
together, the Nation's greatest national security space experts from
the military and civilian world. Ironically, military space operations
are not usually run by senior officers with any space experience.
Surely this lack of experience has some impact on their ability to
leverage, to the maximum extent, the very complex high-technology
military space assets under their command. In researching this issue, I
found that the reason many of these officers don't have space
experience is that they are required to be pilots in the ``dual-
hatted'' relationship that U.S. Space Command has with the North
American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD. Because of the complexity of
training to fly aircraft and maintain satellites, you rarely find
officers with experience in both to staff appropriately U.S. Space
Command, with space experts, and simultaneously meet the NORAD
requirement for pilots. I think this current situation impacts our
ability to leverage our space assets, precludes our best space officers
from holding the highest positions, and perpetuates a culture in the
Air Force that SPACE is secondary to AIR, despite the rhetoric to the
contrary. This amendment is not intended to be an affront to the
current or past Commanders of the U.S. Space Command or the officers
who have served honorably under them. Rather, this amendment is
intended to acknowledge that we have a defense space management issue
and to seize the opportunity to correct it. Space is growing in
importance as shown in the Gulf War, the Balkans and as will be
demonstrated in the upcoming war against terrorism. It will be critical
to winning the next war, and we need to establish the best space
management and operations system that this Nation can bring to bear.
Amendment No. 1705
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I have two amendments regarding the V-22
Osprey program. I understand that these amendments have been accepted,
and I thank the managers, the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the
[[Page S9842]]
Armed Services Committee, for their cooperation on these important
amendments.
The Osprey program has a troubled history and an uncertain future.
Serious allegations and serious questions continue to cloud this
program. Thirty Marines have died in Osprey crashes since 1991. Many
questions regarding the accuracy of maintenance records and the safety
and viability of this aircraft remain unanswered. We should proceed
with caution, and we should have all the facts on this program.
I share the Armed Services Committee's concern about ``how the Marine
Corps and the Air Force are going to meet the requirements established
for the V-22 program,'' and I commend the Committee for including
language in the underlying bill that directs the Department of Defense
to conduct a review of potential alternatives to this troubled
aircraft.
One of my amendments will require the Defense Department to submit a
report to Congress regarding the status of the Osprey program. This
report will be submitted to the Congress no later than 30 days before a
decision to resume test flights of the Osprey. The report will include
a description of how the Department is implementing or plans to
implement the recommendations of the Panel to Review the V-22 Program.
This Panel, which was formed by former Secretary of Defense William
Cohen following the December 2000 Osprey crash that killed four
Marines, has recommended that the program be restructured and enter a
new ``Development Maturity Phase'' during which the Panel's design and
testing recommendations would be implemented.
In addition, the Department will be required to provide a full
analysis of the deficiencies in the V-22's hydraulic system components
and flight control software and the steps that have been taken to
correct these deficiencies. There are many questions about specific
components of this experimental tilt-rotor aircraft, including the
hydraulic system and the flight control software. Extensive problems
with the Osprey's hydraulic system components is one of the principal
concerns that has been cited in numerous reports, including the report
of the Panel to Review the V-22 Program; the report of the Judge
Advocate General Manual investigation into the December 2000 Osprey
crash; reports by the General Accounting Office and the Defense Science
Board; and the November 2000 report of the Director of Operational
Testing and Evaluation. Further, the Panel recommended that no further
test flights of the Osprey take place until the flight control software
has been redesigned. The hydraulic system and the flight control
software have been blamed for the December 2000 crash.
In addition, there are a number of concerns regarding the
aeromechanics of the Osprey, including the so-called ``vortex ring
state'' phenomenon that caused the April 2000 crash that killed 19
Marines. The Navy commissioned the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, NASA, to conduct a study of the tilt-rotor
aeromechanics, including the vortex ring state and autorotation. The
Department also will be required to include in its report to Congress
an assessment of NASA's recommendations on tilt-rotor aeromechanics.
My second amendment would require the Department of Defense to
provide notification to Congress thirty days before the resumption of
V-22 test flights of all waivers of any item, capability, or other
requirement specified in the Joint Operational Requirements Document,
JORD, for the V-22, including the justification for such waivers.
As has been noted in reports including the final report of the Panel
to Review the V-22, the November 2000 report of the Director of
Operational Testing and Evaluation, and the Armed Services Committee
report accompanying this bill, there are a number of concerns regarding
the items that were waived during operational testing of the V-22.
These include: the aircraft flight envelope and clearance for air
combat maneuvering; defensive weapons systems; flight testing in bad
weather conditions such as icing; nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons pressure protection; and the cargo handling system. The
November 2000 report of the Director of Operational Testing and
Evaluation states that ``several of these waived capabilities impact
the operational effectiveness and suitability of the MV-22.''
My amendment will help to provide Congress with a more complete
picture of the V-22 testing program by requiring the Department of
Defense to provide a notification of all waivers and the justification
for these waivers prior to a resumption of V-22 test flights.
Again, I thank the Chairman and the Ranking Member for accepting
these amendments.
Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, the Armed Services Committee approved an
authorization increase of $10 million over the budget request for
Combat Vehicle and Automotive Advanced Technology ``to support the
goals of Army transformation''. The report states that ``of this
amount, $5 million would be used for research into lightweight steels,
vehicle weight and cost reduction, corrosion control, and vehicle
architecture optimization. The committee notes that novel light truck
architectures combined with advanced structural materials could reduce
vehicle weight without degrading performance or increasing costs, and
could support the Army's transformation into a lighter, more lethal,
survivable and tactically mobile force.''
This increase refers to the research effort, competitively selected
by the Army in fiscal year 1999, titled ``Improved Materials and
Powertrain Architectures for 21th Century Trucks'' (IMPACT). The IMPACT
program will cover light/medium military payloads up to 5 tons,
including applications with an open or closed bed configuration.
Kentucky is a large commercial producer and Army Base user of such
vehicles, and through the University of Louisville's involvement in
this effort, plays an important research role in their design and
testing. The military will realize significant procurement and O&M cost
savings as a result.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, it is with great regret that I am come
to the floor today to discuss Senator Inhofe's amendment to this
legislation. We are a nation poised for battle against a shadowy enemy
that has as its aim the destruction of America and all that we stand
for. Our President has prepared us for a sustained military campaign.
At this time, there can be no higher priority than to pass this
critically important legislation to support our armed services and the
men and women who we will send into this battle to defend our freedom.
Let us join together as Americans to provide our military with the
funds they need, unencumbered by the distractions of debates better
argued on another day.
Senator Inhofe is right to be concerned about our national energy
policy. I think all of us in this Chamber share with the American
people a sense of concern that we lack a comprehensive national energy
plan for the future; one that combines the promises of new technologies
and conservation with the important contribution of traditional fossil
fuels in a responsible, efficient and clean manner.
But the time to debate the merits of the energy policy proposed by
the White House and passed by our colleagues in the House is not today,
and certainly not as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. We
are talking about a debate of a 500-page, $40 billion energy package.
The Joint Tax Committee has estimated that it will give $33.5 billion
in tax breaks to industry over the next ten years. We cannot afford to
be that fiscally irresponsible as we take on the new challenges of our
war on terrorism.
More controversially, Senator Inhofe's amendment would open the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil production. In the view of
many, myself included, opening the refuge is not just bad environmental
policy, it is bad energy policy and would do little to reduce our
dependence on foreign oil. Most importantly, the refuge would not
provide a drop of oil for at least a decade. This 10-year figure is a
conservative estimate that was made by the Department of Interior under
President Bush's father. Hopefully, our current crisis will have passed
ten years from now.
Debating the merits of these, and other, provisions will take time.
There will be deep divisions and much disagreement. As Senator
Murkowski said just last week, consideration of energy
[[Page S9843]]
legislation on the defense bill is ``inappropriate. [T]here is a place
for the consideration of domestic energy development. . . . That
belongs in the energy bill where it should be debated by all individual
members.''
The security of our energy supply is an essential question as we
enter this phase in our history, and we will have that debate. But this
is not the time nor place. We have just lost nearly seven thousand of
our citizens to terrible attacks, and the Senate must put its
differences aside. Now is the time for unity of purpose. Let us leave
this debate for another day and focus with moon-shot intensity on the
task at hand: supporting our armed forces. We cannot afford the
distraction that this amendment would create.
Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, as Chair of the Senate Armed Services
Personnel Subcommittee, I am very pleased to have joined with Senator
Tim Hutchinson to introduce an important change to the current method
for hiring Department of Defense physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and
other health care professionals.
Like the private sector, the Department of Defense has been beginning
to experience difficulties in recruiting certain health care
professionals. At both the June 14, 2001, Senate Veterans' Affairs
Committee hearing on the looming nursing shortage and the June 27,
2001, Governmental Affairs Subcommittee hearing on the Federal
Government's role in retaining nurses for delivery of federally funded
health care services, I emphasized an alarming statistic that the
Federal health sector, employing approximately 45,000 nurses, may be
the hardest hit in the near future with an estimated 47 percent of its
nursing workforce eligible for retirement by the year 2004.
The need for military health care workers will be further intensified
with the increased need for action by our national security forces in
light of last week's terrorist attacks on America. Currently, the
Office of Personnel Management, OPM, must process all applications and
the response times range from 115 to 161 days. This protracted
processing time contributes to the shortage of needed staff and
sometimes losing a qualified applicant. The Department of Veterans
Affairs, VA, already has this authority and has reported an advantage
over other Federal agencies and a more equal playing field with the
highly competitive private sector in recruiting needed health care
staff.
I urge my colleagues to support our amendment to the Defense
Authorization bill to give the DoD this needed change in their
regulations for hiring the health care staff needed to care for our
servicemen, women and families. Now, more than ever we need to give
them all the tools they need to fulfill their vital mission.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the importance of
energy policy to our national security and to urge my colleagues to
speed passage of the Department of Defense Authorization bill.
A sound energy policy is critical to our Nation's security. The
United States is currently 56 percent dependent on foreign oil. By
2020, this number could rise to 70 percent. At that time, over 64
percent of the world's oil exports will come from Persian Gulf nations.
I shudder to think what could happen if we allow ourselves to not only
become so dependent on foreign oil, but also for our nation to become
so dependent on such an unstable part of the world.
Senator Chuck Schumer and I have spent a great deal of time
developing a balanced, bipartisan energy plan which both increases
supply and decreases demand. Our plan would increase American self
reliance by reducing the need for energy imports. Our plan would also
benefit consumers by reducing energy prices. We have a lot of good
ideas, and, at the right time and on the right vehicle, we would like
the opportunity to have them considered by the Senate.
However, now is not the right time and the Defense Authorization bill
is not the right vehicle. Our first priorities must be to provide
assistance to victims, to prevent future attacks, and to punish those
responsible for the horrible acts of terror that occurred on September
11. A sound energy policy is critically important to the long-term
viability of our national defense, as well as to virtually every
segment of society. We cannot, however, respond to terrorist attacks by
rushing through a controversial energy bill that will affect the course
of domestic policy in the United States for decades to come.
Indeed, California has shown us what can happen when poor energy
policies are hastily adopted. Californians will suffer from excessive
energy prices for years upon years as a result of a poorly conceived
energy plan. We should not risk similarly burdening all Americans by
hastily attaching energy legislation to a defense bill.
Issues of timing and appropriateness aside, some of the energy
proposals that have been heralded as necessary in the wake of the
terrorist attacks of September 11 are in fact poor energy policy and
poor environmental policy. I find particularly disingenuous the
argument that we need to make an immediate decision on opening the
coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
Drilling in ANWR will not provide any oil in time to help fuel our
forces fighting the scourge of terrorism. If we were to open ANWR to
oil drilling today, it would still take up to 10 years for the oil to
make it to market. Furthermore, according to a report by the US
Geological Survey, there is only about a 6-month supply of economically
recoverable oil in ANWR. Clearly, 6 months of oil 10 years from now
won't do much to help America respond to the terrible tragedies of
September 11.
We can achieve greater and more immediate energy security by
increasing our energy efficiency. According to one scientist who
testified before the Senate Government Affairs Committee last year, the
United States could cut reliance on foreign oil by more than 50 percent
by increasing energy efficiency by 2.2 percent per year. This is a much
greater benefit than the few percent improvement that drilling in ANWR
would provide, and the benefits could start almost immediately--not in
10 years. I note that the United States has a tremendous record of
increasing energy efficiency when we put our minds to it: following the
1979 OPEC energy shock, the United States increased its energy
efficiency by 3.2 percent per year for several years. With today's
improvements in technology, 2.2 percent is easily attainable.
In addition, Senators Feinstein, Snowe, Schumer and I introduced
legislation earlier this year that would save consumers a million
barrels of oil per day and billions of dollars by increasing CAFE
standards for SUVs. That legislation would do far more to increase our
energy security than would drilling in the Arctic.
We should also do more to promote alternative fuels. According to an
analysis prepared by the Department of Energy, if only 10 percent of
the gasoline in American cars were replaced with alternative fuels, the
price of oil would fall by $3 per barrel and Americans would save over
$20 billion a year, in addition to greatly improving our energy
security.
The chair and ranking members of the Energy Committee, Senators
Bingaman and Murkowski, have put a tremendous amount of effort into
developing comprehensive energy proposals. Each of their proposals
contain many, many excellent provisions. I would like to thank them and
all members of the energy committee for their hard work. However, I
must emphasize that their work is too important, and the implications
for the entire Nation too significant, to be hurriedly attached to
another bill without adequate time for debate.
We need to adopt balanced legislation to increase our energy
security, but we need to do so in a rational manner. Energy security is
too important not to be addressed on its own merits by the full Senate.
Furthermore, our defense needs are too important not to allow the
Defense Authorization bill to go forward. Senators Levin and Warner
have worked extremely hard on that bill, and have put together a bill
that is critical for the defense of our Nation. I implore all of my
colleagues, please, for the good of America, speed passage of the
Defense Authorization bill.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise in support of an amendment to S.
1438, the fiscal year 2002 National Defense Authorization Act, to
provide funds badly needed for two vital test support activities in the
Department of Defense. The Big Crow program provides
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DoD with highly sophisticated airborne electronic warfare capabilities
that enable us to test our newest weapon systems and technologies in a
realistic battle environment in which electronic warfare is likely to
be used. The system can also be used operationally if a requirement
suddenly occurs. The Defense Systems Evaluation, DSE, program provides
aircraft to replicate enemy and friendly aircraft in testing Army air
defense programs and technology. Both of these programs provide vital
test support assets used by all the military services. Unfortunately,
it is typical for programs that provide cross-service support to be
inadequately funded by their parent service organization. This year's
President's budget request did not seek any funding for these programs,
perhaps relying on the Congress, once again, to provide the emergency
funds needed to keep them operating.
Thus we find ourselves again this year, seeking the funding needed
for these two programs in order for them to continue to provide vital
test support activities for all of the military services. The
amendment, which Senator Domenici and I offer, will provide the minimum
necessary funding to enable Big Crow and DSE to operate during fiscal
year 2002.
There are other test support programs in the DoD that suffer the same
circumstance as the two for which I am seeking funding. They refer to
them in the Pentagon as ``the orphans.'' The Defense Science Board,
DSB, recently completed a review of operational testing and evaluation
in the Department of Defense and published a report containing a number
of significant recommendations about how to improve that process to
make it more effective and efficient. The DSB recommended that DoD seek
ways to encourage and implement joint service testing. Among their
recommendations, the DSB endorsed budget oversight responsibility for
orphan programs such as Big Crow and DSE to the Director, Operational
Test and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Actual
test and evaluation activities would remain the province of the
military services.
This year's Defense Authorization bill reported out by the Armed
Services Committee contains a provision requesting the Secretary of
Defense to review the DSB report and to submit recommendations
regarding its implementation with the budget request submission for
fiscal year 2003. I am hopeful that the Secretary will endorse the DSB
findings so that the Department will finally exercise appropriate
oversight and support for cross-service test activities. In the
meantime, the amendment I am introducing is necessary to keep those
essential test activities underway. I urge my colleagues to support its
adoption.
Mr. LEVIN. I thank the Chair.
Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I urge the adoption of the amendments.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendments have been agreed to by
unanimous consent.
Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I am not hearing.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendments were agreed to by unanimous
consent.
Mr. WARNER. Fine.
If it requires that I now move to reconsider the vote and to lay that
motion on the table, I do that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That was part of the unanimous consent
agreement.
Mr. WARNER. Fine.
Now, Madam President, first, the chairman and I, together with the
two senior appropriators of the Senate and our counterparts in the
House, started today at the Pentagon, with the Secretary of Defense,
his senior staff, and the designated new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff.
The chairman and I open every day expressing our profound gratitude
to the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families, and
particularly our concerns are everlasting for those who suffered loss
of life and injury, and the families associated with those victims on
September 11.
After this meeting, I walked around again to that site where that
plane committed a terrorist act against the symbol of the U.S. military
strength, the Department of Defense.
I am pleased to report that, in my judgment, the Secretary is moving
forward on a broad range of fronts to address all issues that the
President, in his memorable speech, raised before the Congress.
Expressing for myself, and I think all others, we have tremendous
confidence in the men and women of the Armed Forces in their ability to
carry out the diverse set of missions, any one of which may face them
at any time as we address the terrorist acts inflicted on the country,
and to take every step to prepare that it shall not be repeated.
I commend our President and, indeed, the Secretaries of Defense and
State, who were here yesterday and briefed almost 90 Senators on a wide
range of issues.
So the consultation between the executive branch and the legislative
branch, particularly those of us who have the oversight responsibility,
I think is more than adequate and certainly within the spirit of all
the various laws, beginning with our Constitution, which says that the
Senate and the House, as a congress, are a coequal branch of the
Government.
I join with my distinguished chairman in saying how important this
bill is for the men and women of the Armed Forces. As we sat there at
our breakfast this morning, there were further announcements on callups
and movements of these individuals in uniform and the impact on their
families.
It is absolutely imperative we move forward with this bill. On the
matters that were addressed last night, which for a period of time held
up consideration of this bill, those Senators were acting within their
rights as Senators on matters which are of great concern. I am hopeful
that those two issues can be resolved.
As our chairman said, Senator Daschle, Senator Lott, and Senator Reid
are around the clock working on these issues, together with other
Senators.
So I am optimistic that we can move forward and continue to work on
this bill on Monday and proceed to a resolution and passage in a timely
way to show that the Senate of the United States, in joining the House
of Representatives, is prepared to have a bill to go to the President
shortly, authorizing the very special needs we have at this time in our
history.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and I thank my chairman. We have
been working together for at least 23 years. We have more work to do.
Mr. LEVIN. Neither of us shows it in terms of the youthful visage we
present.
Mr. WARNER. Whatever you say.
I thank my chairman. And I hope he has a safe journey wherever he is
traveling on this important observance of the religious holiday.
Mr. LEVIN. We not only want to thank our good friend from Virginia
for those thoughts about the religious holiday--which I am now going to
leave here to celebrate--but I want to thank him for the sensitivity
which he has shown to that issue and to every other issue that involves
personal lives. He has consistently done that for 23 years. It is part
of his makeup. He has very much worried whether I would be able to
leave here in time today to get to synagogue. I very much appreciate
his consideration.
Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I thank my colleague for his remarks.
I believe we would be able to say to the Senate, having consulted
with the distinguished majority leader and Republican leader, that in
due course they may come to this Chamber with regard to certain
procedural situations which would address our return to this bill on
Monday. I do not want to prejudge their final statement, but I am
optimistic they will be forthcoming and we can reach resolution
procedurally on some of our matters.
Mr. LEVIN. Talking about optimism, as I mentioned to my friend from
Virginia, I have been optimistic since last night that we were going to
be able to work out the issue which temporarily held us up yesterday.
That one now seems very resolvable.
There is one big problem relative to a matter that is not related to
this bill. That is the only problem that I see in the way. But our
leaders will have more to say about that in a few minutes.
Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Dayton). The clerk will call the roll.
[[Page S9845]]
The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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