[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 167 (Wednesday, December 5, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12396-S12397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 2716

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, Senator 
Rockefeller, who is chair of the Veterans' Committee for his work. As a 
member of the committee, I am very proud to support his request.
  I say to the Senator from West Virginia, he has outlined, in this 
legislation passed out of the committee, a set of benefits that are so 
important to veterans. Yet it is being blocked by an anonymous hold.
  I also now ask unanimous consent--this is another piece of 
legislation that I worked on together with Senator Rockefeller--that 
the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 201, 
H.R. 2716; that the Rockefeller-Specter substitute amendment be agreed 
to; the act, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements related 
thereto be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection?
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, this is legislation that didn't just 
come up yesterday. It is something any number of us have worked on for 
the last year and a half, 2 years--Lane Evans and Chris Smith from the 
House, Senators Rockefeller, Specter, myself. This is a passion for me, 
focusing on homeless veterans. I think about a third of the adult males 
of this country who are homeless are veterans.
  It is a scandal what we do with this legislation, which passed out of 
our committee 21 to 0 or thereabouts, a unanimous vote. It may have 
been a voice vote but a unanimous vote by the committee. What this 
amendment does is it provides services for veterans who are struggling 
with PTSD, addiction. Many of these veterans are Vietnam veterans. I 
used to spend a lot of time organizing the street people. This was long 
before I ran for the Senate. Many of them were veterans. Many of them 
were Vietnam veterans.
  This legislation provides job training assistance. It also enables 
veterans to try one-stop shop places where veterans can get the help 
they need and tries to move people into affordable housing.
  There is an anonymous hold. I went through this on this veterans 
homeless bill four or five times before Thanksgiving. I know the 
Senator from Montana himself is not the one who objects. This is an 
anonymous hold.
  My hold is not anonymous. I announced yesterday, I have a hold on 
every single piece of legislation, every resolution that is 
nonemergency. We do a lot by unanimous consent in the Senate. We have 
unlimited debate. I love the Senate for that reason. We have unlimited 
amendments. I love the Senate for that reason.
  One of the ways we get a lot done is we work this through committees. 
We massage it. We get everybody together and get consensus and we pass 
bills by unanimous consent.

  Since this is an anonymous hold, my hold is not anonymous. I have a 
public hold on every piece of legislation now from the other side until 
this passes. I had to do that before Thanksgiving. I have to do it 
again.
  This did not come up just yesterday. We have been working on this 
matter for the last couple of years. Anybody who objects can come out 
here and object. We can debate it. I will say to my colleagues that 
this is truly reprehensible.
  It is not just the playing games. I use my leverage to fight for what 
I believe. In this particular case I am going to fight for veterans. I 
am proud to do so. It has been among the most meaningful work I have 
ever done as a Senator.
  I am not a veteran. I was very involved in the war against the 
Vietnam war. When I was elected to the Senate, I had some contact with 
veterans but not much. I was a college teacher in Northfield, MN. I 
knew some of the veterans but not well.
  I especially didn't understand a lot of the World War II veterans. I 
didn't know them. The best thing that has ever happened to me--I am not 
being melodramatic--as a Senator is that I have learned a lot. I have 
grown as a person. I have had to be with a lot of people who don't see 
the world the same way I do, which is good. Veterans have been my 
teachers. There are so many issues I have worked with for veterans. 
This one I feel especially strongly about. It goes back to my community 
organizing days when a lot of poor people were homeless and many of 
them were veterans.
  I know a lot of these veterans. They come to our office in Minnesota. 
You will be at a meeting with some of the veterans and guys who are 
struggling with PTSD. They can't sit that long. They will get up every 
10 minutes. They will leave, and then they will come back. They are 
really struggling. So are a lot of other veterans.
  Don't you think it is a scandal that so many homeless people today in 
our country are veterans and many of them Vietnam vets? Don't you think 
it is a scandal that there is an anonymous hold on its consideration on 
the floor of the Senate?
  I was asked yesterday by a journalist whether or not the Senate's 
former majority leader, Trent Lott, violated his word. Absolutely not. 
We went through this before Thanksgiving. Everybody wanted to get this 
bill through dealing with the Internet and taxes or not taxes. The 
agreement was that the bill I had would go through and so then I took 
the hold off other legislation.
  Now we have something that has come back from the House, we 
preconferenced it, and Representatives Chris Smith and Lane Evans 
worked hard on that. It is a better version. I love working with other 
people. Now we have this anonymous hold.
  There are three issues here. No. 1, I thought we were doing some 
reform here on anonymous holds. I don't know what in the world is 
happening. Something has broken down because, obviously, people 
continue to do it. That is No. 1.
  Second is the substance. I don't really know what the objection can 
be to this legislation. I don't know why a Senator would be opposed to 
getting more resources and providing more help to veterans who are 
homeless. I don't understand it, but I would like to see somebody come 
out and debate it.
  Third, I was asked about the motivation. One more time, I have no 
idea what the motivation is. I don't know what is going on here 
politically. But I will say this. I can promise my colleagues that no 
other legislation is going to move unless it is an emergency. My hold 
is not anonymous. No resolutions, no other legislation. Pretty soon, I 
might even get to nominations in a day or two. That is what I will do 
until this passes.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for no more 
than 5 minutes on the subject of a column I will talk about.

[[Page S12397]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to follow 
Senator Kyl.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________