[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13868-S13871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002--CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have been more than patient. Under the 
majority leader's order earlier, I was to

[[Page S13869]]

have spoken on this subject, the Defense Department appropriations 
bill. Under his order, I was to be recognized after the vote so as to 
accommodate Senators that they might catch their planes.
  Now there were other consents offered which I heard. I didn't object 
to them, but I believe the record will show that I was to be recognized 
immediately after the vote for the statement which I wanted to make on 
the homeland defense section of the DOD appropriations bill. I have 
been very patient.
  I understand the problems of the two leaders. I have been majority 
leader before I have been minority leader, and I have been majority 
whip. I understand all their problems. This is the end of the year. 
Everybody wants to get away for Christmas. I don't want to interject 
myself in between someone's wish to catch a plane. But I have been very 
patient. I have let other consent orders come up without objecting 
because my speech isn't all that important. But I wanted to make it.
  Now we are hearing consents offered for bills. I don't know who is 
watching the place on this bill. The distinguished Senator from Kansas 
is going to make a request on a bill. I want to be here when he makes 
it. He is entitled to make his request. But time is fast fleeting when 
this Senator is going to stand aside and just continue to wait and let 
everybody else speak, let everybody else object to the order of 
speaking, and just stand aside and let it be done.
  That is not a big thing. It won't change the history of the world one 
way or the other. But I just want to say this: Next year, the chairman 
of the Senate Appropriations Committee is not going to stand aside for 
every other Senator's convenience in times like this.
  I shall proceed.
  The Senate has considered the conference report for the fiscal year 
2002 Defense Department appropriations bill. It is a good bill, but it 
could have been much better. As Senators are aware, included in this 
legislation is the final allocation of the $40 billion emergency 
supplemental funding approved by this Senate just 3 days after the 
tragic attacks on the World Trade Center Towers and on the Pentagon. 
Quite simply, we wanted to respond to the attacks that occurred on 
September 11 and take steps to prevent attacks from occurring in the 
future. We didn't just want to respond to the attacks that had already 
occurred, but we wanted to take steps that could prevent attacks from 
occurring in the future.
  Just a few days ago, the Senate had before it a broader package, one 
that fulfilled the $20 billion commitment made by the President and the 
Congress to New York and the other attacked communities; one that 
provided the Defense Department with substantial funding for its 
mission overseas--we wanted to give the President every dollar he asked 
for, $21 billion--and one that met the many pressing needs for our 
homeland defense: Improved hospital capacity to respond to terrorist 
attacks, wide distribution of smallpox vaccine, more border agents, 
improved safety at airports and train stations, safer mail, better 
trained and equipped police and firefighters.
  That package, which was supported by a majority of this Senate in 
direct response to the September 11 disaster, succumbed to partisan 
politics. It fell when Republicans in this Chamber raised a procedural 
60-vote point of order against the provision because they believed it 
was too expensive. They were within their rights to object. They were 
within their rights to propose a 60-vote point of order. But I don't 
understand how we can place an arbitrary price tag on protecting the 
safety of our citizens.

  Never in my memory can I recall a time when Congress became so 
partisan over a disaster response, whether it be from earthquakes, 
floods, tornados, fires, never before can I remember our lining up so 
rigidly along political party lines when it came to providing the 
American people with funds to recover from disaster.
  Unfortunately, the Senate minority and the White House used the 60-
vote point of order against the homeland defense package. As I say, 
they have a perfect right to make that point of order. That is within 
the rules.
  We all recognize that you can't beat 60 votes when you only have 51 
at most on this side. Our Republican friends didn't want to help us get 
the 60 votes. So it must be dismaying to the people who have heard so 
much about the pledges of bipartisanship, so much about a new tone in 
Washington, to see what should have been a united, bipartisan approach 
to defending our homeland dissolve into a partisan dispute.
  That is truly a shame. Since that vote, however, we have stepped back 
and worked on the smaller compromise plan that is before the Senate 
this afternoon. While it is not as comprehensive as the plan first 
proposed earlier this month, the allocation of the $20 billion 
emergency supplemental funding in this legislation provides support and 
resources that are needed right now for homeland defense, for national 
security, and for the recovery of New York City and the other 
communities directly affected by the September 11 attacks.
  For those communities, the supplemental provides $8.2 billion. This 
brings the total commitment to the recovery effort to $11.2 billion, 
when previously released funds are included. The bulk of this funding, 
$4.35 billion, will fund debris removal at the World Trade Center site, 
repair public infrastructure such as the damaged subways and commuter 
trains, and assist individuals with expenses for housing, burial, and 
relocation. Another $2 billion will work to restore the economic health 
of the area.
  This funding, to be provided in the form of community development 
block grants, will give businesses a much needed hand as they attempt 
to recover from the terrorist attacks. Other funding will improve 
security at transportation hubs and reimburse hospitals in New York 
that provided critical care on September 11 and for many days after.
  Some of the money will help children who continue to be haunted by 
the ghosts of the terrorist attacks. As do the businesses and the 
communities, these children need to be made whole again. This money 
will assist in that effort.
  As part of this supplemental allocation, the Defense Department will 
receive an additional $3.5 billion. When included with the funding in 
the regular Defense Appropriations bill, the Pentagon will receive a 
$43 billion increase over last year. This is the single largest one-
year increase in Defense spending in more than two decades. It gives 
the military the resources necessary to battle terrorism overseas. It 
makes sure that our brave men and women who put themselves in harm's 
way will not fall short because of fiscal constraints. This package 
also provides for $775 million for repairs and reconstruction efforts 
at the Pentagon. As we rebuild Lower Manhattan, we must also repair the 
Pentagon.
  Finally, we have provided in this allocation $8.3 billion for defense 
efforts here at home. In the days and weeks that have followed the 
terrorist attacks, committees on both sides of this Capitol have heard 
from experts, from federal, state, and local officials, and from 
regular Americans who are concerned for their safety at home. We cannot 
ignore the gaps in our homeland defenses. We cannot put off until 
tomorrow investments that must be made today. The $8.3 billion for 
homeland defense that is included in this legislation takes immediate 
steps to bolster our local police and fire departments. It provides 
critical funding to expand hospital capacity and to train doctors and 
nurses on what to do in case of a biological, chemical, or nuclear 
attack. The funding closes some of the holes in our Northern Border and 
in our seaports. Under the leadership of the distinguished Senator from 
South Carolina, Mr. Holdings, we had $50 billion for port security. 
These things were knocked out under that 60-vote point of order. We are 
not going to forget that. It provides funds for improved cockpit 
security, to hire additional sky marshals and to purchase explosives 
detection equipment. It provides funds for the Postal Service to 
protect postal workers and purchase equipment to make our mail safer. 
The funding that we have included in this package will help Americans 
to know that we are not standing idly by, ignoring what are such 
obvious needs in our homeland defenses. We will take steps today to 
protect Americans and to try to prevent the tragedy we witnessed in 
September from occurring again.

[[Page S13870]]

  This package is a compromise. It is not a be-all and end-all package. 
This money will not fill all of the gaps that exist. But what this 
package will do is move us forward. It will fund those initiatives that 
we need to begin now, and lay the groundwork for priorities that every 
Senator knows await us in the spring.
  I want to thank my good friend, Senator Stevens, for his work on this 
package. We would not be standing here today if not for his steadfast 
efforts. I also want to thank our House counterparts, Chairman Bill 
Young of Florida. My, what a fine Congressman he is and a fine chairman 
of the Appropriation Committee now. I am sure that Bill Young wanted to 
do more, but under the constraints that were upon him, he could not do 
more.
  I also thank Congressman David Obey of Wisconsin. He is always a 
stalwart. He stood up for homeland defense. He tried in the House to 
move it forward and increase it, but he didn't have the votes. They and 
their staffs, led by Jim Dyer and Scott Lilly, worked closely with us 
to develop this package, and I appreciate their commitment to this 
successful conclusion.

  As I mentioned earlier, with the Senate's passage of this conference 
report, Congress will have completed work on each of the 13 individual 
appropriations bills. I congratulate Senator Inouye and Senator 
Stevens, and their staffs, Charlie Houy and Steve Cortese, for crafting 
what I believe is a good Defense bill. I also am pleased that we were 
able to pass the thirteen individual bills on a partisan basis, with an 
average vote in the Senate of 91-6. We did not have to resort to an 
omnibus bill as has been the case in some years past. And we worked to 
protect the prerogatives of Congress. We did not invite the White House 
to sit at the table and negotiate these bills. That is not the role of 
the executive branch, nor should it be. The Constitutional Framers 
vested the power of the purse in this legislative branch--the people's 
branch--and we have a firm grasp on the strings. I only hope that 
Congress never sees fit to loosen that hold and give away what is the 
greatest single power afforded to this branch of government by the 
Framers, in their great wisdom.
  Mr. President, before closing, I want to thank the members of my 
committee staff who have been so earnest and dedicated in their efforts 
this year. My staff director, Terry Sauvain, and my deputy staff 
director, Charles Kieffer, have done a remarkable job on these bills. 
They stayed at night. They stayed into the wee hours of the morning. 
They worked on the nuts and bolts. They worked and they grappled with 
problems and answered questions from disgruntled Senators and people on 
the outside and people on the inside. I don't see how they have been 
able to maintain their sanity. I congratulate them for the good work 
they did. This is their first year in these positions, and they have 
certainly set a high standard for the years to come.
  I also want to thank Edie Stanley and Kate Eltrich for their 
assistance, as well as the staffs of our 13 subcommittees. These 
appropriations bills are not written by magic. Rather they are the 
product of hard work, determination, and an understanding of the 
intricacies of each piece of legislation. The Senate is blessed to have 
such a fine group of men and women dedicated to the service of the 
nation.
  I also want to thank members of my personal staff who have been 
invaluable to me. My Chief of Staff, Barbara Videnieks, may 
Administrative Assistant, Ann Adler, my Legislative Director, Jane 
Mellow, my Press Secretary, Tom Gavin, my legislative assistant, David 
McMaster, and the entire Byrd team have done an outstanding job on 
these bills.
  Mr. President, the fiscal year 2002 Department of Defense 
appropriations bill is a good bill. I urge all Senators to support it.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
a document entitled ``Compromise on $20 Billion Defense/New York/
Homeland Defense Funding.''
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  Compromise on $20 Billion Defense/New York/Homeland Defense Funding

       The amendment allocates $20 billion as follows:
       Defense: $3.5 billion ($3.8 billion below President).
       New York/NJ/DC/MD/VA: 8.3 billion ($1.9 billion above the 
     President).
       Homeland Defense: 8.3 billion ($3.9 billion above the 
     President).
       UI/COBRA: 0.0 billion ($2 billion below President).
       When combined with the $20 billion allocated by the 
     President, the amendment results in the following allocation 
     of the $40 billion approved in the September 18th 
     supplemental (P.L. 107-38):
       Defense: $17.5 billion ($3.5 billion below the President).
       New York/NJ/DC/MD/VA: 11.2 billion ($1.8 billion above the 
     President).
       Homeland Defense: 9.8 billion ($4.0 billion above the 
     President).
       Foreign Aid allocated by President: 1.5 billion (same as 
     the President).
       UI/COBRA: 0.0 billion ($2 billion below the President--in 
     stimulus).
       Unallocated: 0.0 billion ($0.3 billion below the 
     President).
       Highlights of the $20 billion:
       New York and other communities directly impacted by 
     September 11th attacks ($8.2 billion): Examples follow:
       FEMA Disaster Relief, which funds debris removal at the 
     World Trade Center site, repair of public infrastructure such 
     as the damaged subway, the damaged PATH commuter train, all 
     government offices and provides assistance to individuals for 
     housing, burial expenses, and relocation assistance, receives 
     $4.35 billion.
       Community Development Block Grants--$2 billion to help New 
     York restore their economy.
       Amtrak Security--$100 million for security in Amtrak 
     tunnels.
       Mass Transit Security--funding of $105 million for 
     improving security in the New York and New Jersey subways.
       New York/New Jersey Ferry Improvements--$100 million for 
     critical expansion of interstate ferry service between New 
     York and New Jersey. Prior to the September 11th attacks, 
     67,000 daily commuters used the PATH transit service that was 
     destroyed.
       Hospital Reimbursement--$140 million to reimburse the 
     hospitals of New York that provided critical care on 
     September 11th and the weeks and months that followed.
       Workers Compensation/Job Training--$175 million that would 
     help New York process workers compensation claims for the 
     victims of the September 11th attacks. $59 million is 
     provided for job training, environmental health and other 
     programs.
       Federal Facilities--$325 million for the costs of keeping 
     Federal agencies operating that were in or near the World 
     Trade Center, such as the Social Security Administration, the 
     Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Pension 
     and Welfare Benefits Administration, the Commodity Futures 
     and Trading Commission, the Secret Service, the Bureau of 
     Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Securities and Exchange 
     Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Marshals 
     Service, the EEOC, the General Services Administration, the 
     Food and Drug Administration, and the National Labor 
     Relations Board.
       Emergency Highway repairs--$85 million for damaged roads in 
     New York City, including $10 million in FEMA for local roads.
       Mental Health Service for Children--$10 million that would 
     help New York schools provide mental health services to the 
     children of the victims of the World Trade Center bombing.
       Law enforcement reimbursements--$229 million for New York 
     ($71.8 million), New Jersey ($50.7 million), Maryland ($39 
     million) and Virginia ($62.5 million) and Pennsylvania ($5 
     million) to improve counter terrorism capacity of law 
     enforcement and fire personnel for States directly impacted 
     by the attacks on September 11th. $68 million is provided for 
     the Crime Victims Fund.
       District of Columbia--$200 million for the District and for 
     the Washington Metro for improved security.
       Small Business Disaster Loans--$150 million.
       National Monuments Security--$80 million for improved 
     security at national parks and monuments such as the Statue 
     of Liberty and the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian, the 
     Kennedy Center and other facilities.
       Department of Defense--$3.5 billion, including funding to 
     repair the Pentagon.
       Homeland Defense ($8.3 billion):
       Examples follow:
       Bioterrorism/Food Safety $3.0 billion, including $479 
     million for food security:
       Provides $1.0 billion for upgrading our state and local 
     public health and hospital infrastructure.
       Provides $156 million for CDC capacity improvements and 
     disaster response medical systems at HHS.
       Provices $244 million for security improvements and 
     research at the CDC and NIH and for mental health services.
       Provides $593 million for the National Pharmaceutical 
     Stockpile.
       Provides $512 million to contract for smallpox vaccine to 
     protect all Americans.
       USDA Office of the Secretary: $81 million for enhanced 
     facility security and operational security at USDA locations.
       Agricultural Research Service: $40 million for enhanced 
     facility security and for research in the areas of food 
     safety and bioterrorism.
       Agricultural Research Service Buildings and Facilities: $73 
     million for facility enhancements at Plum Island, NY, and 
     Ames, IA, which includes funding necessary to complete 
     construction on a bio-containment facility at the National 
     Animal Disease Laboratory at Ames, IA.

[[Page S13871]]

       Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: $119 million 
     for enhanced facility security, for support of border 
     inspections, for pest detection activities, and for other 
     areas related to bio-security and for relocation of a 
     facility at the National Animal Disease Laboratory.
       Food Safety Inspection Service: $15 million for enhanced 
     operational security and for implementation of the Food 
     Safety Bio-Terrorism Protection Program.
       Food and Drug Administration: $151 million for food safety 
     and counter-bioterrorism, including support of additional 
     food safety inspections; expedited review of drugs, vaccines, 
     and diagnostic tests; and enhanced physical and operational 
     security.
       State and Local Law Enforcement--$400 million.
       FEMA firefighting--$210 million to improve State and local 
     government capacity to respond to terrorist attacks.
       Postal Service--$500 million to provide equipment to cope 
     with biological and chemical threats such as anthrax and to 
     improve security for Postal workers.
       Federal Antiterrorism Law Enforcement (excluding amounts 
     for New York)--$1.7 billion.
       $745 million for the FBI.
       $19 million for the U.S. Marshals.
       $78 million for Cyber security.
       $31 million for Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for 
     training of new law enforcement personnel.
       $16 million for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and 
     Firearms.
       $60 million for overtime and expanded aviation and border 
     support for Customs.
       $73 million for the Secret Service.
       $209 million for increased Coast Guard surveillance.
       $95 million for Federal courts security.
       $70 million for Justice Department Legal Activities.
       $109 million for EPA for anthrax cleanup costs and drinking 
     water vulnerability assessments.
       $66 million for EPA for bioterrorism response teams and EPA 
     laboratory security.
       $25 million for the FEMA Office of National Preparedness.
       $30 million for the IRS.
       $27 million for Olympic security.
       Airport/Transit Security--$0.6 billion, including:
       $175 million for Airport Improvement Grants.
       $308 million for FAA for cockpit security, sky marshals and 
     explosives detection equipment.
       $50 million for FAA research to expedite deployment of new 
     aviation security technologies.
       $18 million for transit security.
       $50 million for Essential Air Service.
       Port Security improvements--$209 million, including $93 
     million for DOT and $116 million for Customs.
       Nuclear Power Plant/Lab/Federal Facility Improvements--$0.8 
     billion.
       $143 million for Energy for enhanced security at U.S. 
     nuclear weapons plants and laboratories.
       $139 million for the Corps of Engineers to provide enhanced 
     security at over 300 critical dams, drinking water reservoirs 
     and navigation facilities.
       $30 million for the Bureau of Reclamation for similar 
     purposes.
       $36 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to 
     enhance security at commercial nuclear reactors.
       $50 million for security at the White House.
       $26 million for GSA and the Archives to improve federal 
     building security.
       $109 million for NASA for security upgrades at the Kennedy, 
     Johnson and other space centers.
       $256 million for improved security for the Legislative 
     Branch.
       Nuclear Non-proliferation--$226 million for the 
     safeguarding and acquisition of Russian and former Soviet 
     Union missile nuclear materials and to help transition and 
     retrain Russian nuclear scientists.
       Border Security--$0.7 billion.
       $135 million for Customs for increased inspectors on the 
     border and for construction of border facilities, with 
     emphasis on the northern border.
       $549 million for the Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. First, let me commend the Senator from West Virginia. 
Over the years, I have seen him accomplish many feats. None would be 
more outstanding than what he has done on homeland security for the 
City of New York. Like Horatio at the bridge, he stood there against 
all forces, particularly with respect to the executive branch, and 
otherwise, and made sure we at least got some semblance of homeland 
security started. It is on account of Senator Byrd of West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the Senator for his kind words. I 
want to say this: If I were out in the streets of a big city and, for 
some reason, got into a street brawl, I would want Senator Hollings 
with me. If that ever happened to me, I would say: Senator Hollings, 
where is he? He is the man I want with me in a tough situation.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. And if I were lost on a lonely, dusty road amongst the 
hills, I would want Senator Byrd with me.

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