[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 154 (Wednesday, October 29, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13431-S13435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of H.R. 2800, the foreign operations 
appropriations bill, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2800) making appropriations for foreign 
     operations, export financing, and related programs for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other 
     purposes.

  Pending:

       DeWine amendment No. 1966, to increase assistance to combat 
     HIV/AIDS.
       McConnell amendment No. 1970, to express the sense of the 
     Senate on Burma.
       Feinstein amendment No. 1977, to clarify the definition of 
     HIV/AIDS prevention for purposes of providing funds for 
     therapeutic medical care.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
North Dakota is recognized to offer an amendment.


                           Amendment No. 2000

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 2000.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Dorgan] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2000.

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To urge the President to release information regarding 
           sources of foreign support for the 9-11 hijackers)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:
       Sec.   Sense of the Senate on declassifying portions of the 
     Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before 
     and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001.
       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) The President has prevented the release to the American 
     public of 28 pages of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence 
     Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks 
     of September 2001.
       (2) The contents of the redacted pages discuss sources of 
     foreign support for some of the September 11th hijackers 
     while they were in the United States.
       (3) The Administration's decision to classify this 
     information prevents the American people from having access 
     to information about the involvement of certain foreign 
     governments in the terrorist attacks of September 2001.
       (4) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested that the 
     President release the 28 pages.
       (5) The Senate respects the need to keep information 
     regarding intelligence sources and methods classified, but 
     the Senate also recognizes that such purposes can be 
     accomplished through careful selective redaction of specific 
     words and passages, rather than effacing the section's 
     contents entirely.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that in light of these findings the President should 
     declassify the 28-page section of the Jointly Inquiry into 
     Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the 
     Terrorist Attacks of September 2001 that deals with foreign 
     sources of support for the 9-11 hijackers, and that only 
     those portions of the report that would directly compromise 
     ongoing investigations or reveal intelligence sources and 
     methods should remain classified.
       This section shall take effect one day after the date of 
     this bill's enactment.

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, this is an amendment that I also offered 
yesterday. I was not able to get a vote on it yesterday because of a 
ruling that it was nongermane. I have filed a notice that I intend to 
move to suspend Rule XVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate. I will do 
that at the end of my presentation. That will give us a vote on this 
important issue today. Let me describe why I think a vote is necessary 
and what this issue is.
  This issue deals with 9/11, the day on which our country was attacked 
and thousands of Americans were murdered by terrorists, many of whom 
came into this country and lived among us and plotted an attack against 
the World Trade Center; they plotted an attack against the Pentagon and 
perhaps the U.S. Capitol. They hijacked commercial airliners and used 
commercial airliners, full of both passengers and fuel, as flying bombs 
and missiles.
  No one in this country will forget the devastation, the loss of life, 
and the horror of the terrorist attacks committed against the United 
States on September 11.
  We know a fair amount about September 11: who organized it and how it 
was organized. We know Osama bin Laden has taken credit for it. We know 
it was planned by Osama bin Laden and a terrorist group called al-
Qaida, and they were supported by the Taliban government in 
Afghanistan. We know a fair amount about the details of that day and 
the activities of the hijackers. There has been a great deal of 
discussion about how did it happen--how did it happen that these 
coordinated attacks by terrorists occurred in this

[[Page S13432]]

country without our intelligence community knowing it was going to 
happen and taking action to prevent it.
  As we know as well, from testimony before the Congress and from other 
information, we had some warnings. The FBI had some warnings. In fact, 
one FBI agent wrote a memorandum inside the FBI saying he worried about 
certain people of certain nationalities taking flying lessons, 
potentially for the purpose of using an airplane for hijacking and as a 
tool of a terrorist attack. We had other evidence that existed in our 
intelligence community from both the FBI and CIA.
  So there has been a great deal of discussion about how do we find out 
what we knew, what the agencies knew, what we could have done to 
prevent these attacks, and what we now know about those who committed 
the attacks and how to prevent future attacks. That is all very 
important.
  There are a couple of efforts underway. One was an effort before the 
Congressional Joint Intelligence Committee. They did an inquiry into 
intelligence community activities before and after the terrorist 
attacks of September 2001. That inquiry was done and finished with a 
report that was released this past summer. The report was authorized 
for release by the Bush administration. It took 9 months to write, 7 
months to declassify, and when it was released, we discovered there are 
28 pages of that report that are redacted; 28 pages of the report have 
been classified, so that the American people cannot know what is in 
that report.
  The question is, Why? On behalf of the victims, the victims' 
families, the American people, I ask, Why would 28 pages of that report 
be classified and unavailable to be seen by the American people? We are 
told it contains information about other governments, or another 
government and its activity with respect to some of these issues. We 
are told by some that there were areas of support by another 
government, or governments, for the terrorists themselves as they began 
to work and put together the resources and plan these attacks against 
the United States. If that is the case, the question is, Which 
governments? Who was involved? How were they involved? Are those 
governments still involved in supporting terrorists who would strike at 
the heart of this country and kill innocent Americans?

  Why do we not have the right to know if governments supported some of 
the terrorists who were working and planning and gathering the 
resources to attack this country? If another government provided any 
support for that, do we not have a right as an American people to know 
that? Why has that information been classified?
  Mr. LEAHY. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. DORGAN. I am happy to yield.
  Mr. LEAHY. The Senator from North Dakota makes eminent good sense in 
what he is saying. I recall at the time this report came out--and we 
all remember the blacked-out pages--the country of Saudi Arabia sent 
over emissaries to say--and I don't know how serious they were about 
this--would you release this.
  My question to the Senator is: Insofar as the majority of hijackers 
at the time of September 11 were from Saudi Arabia, and insofar as we 
know from press accounts--not classified material but press accounts--
that a lot of funding of al-Qaida came from Saudi Arabia and may still 
be coming from Saudi Arabia, don't you think it would be helpful to 
know if Saudi Arabia is mentioned in this blacked-out part and to what 
extent, considering the fact that they apparently have turned a blind 
eye to some of the terrorists who are striking at the United States?
  Mr. DORGAN. Well, Mr. President, the Senator from Vermont is 
absolutely correct. The American people ought to have a right to know 
if a foreign government was involved in helping provide resources for 
and planning for attacks against this country. We have a right to know 
that.

  The amendment I am offering is a sense-of-the-Senate amendment that 
says to the President: Declassify this material. What is so sensitive 
that the American people can't know whether a foreign government was 
involved in the planning and providing the resources for a terrorist 
attack against this country?
  Let me tell you what the chairman and the ranking member--a 
Republican and a Democrat--of the Intelligence Committee said on this 
issue when these 28 pages were withheld from the American people. 
Senator Shelby, the ranking member then on the Intelligence Committee, 
a Republican, said:

       I went back and read every one of those pages thoroughly. 
     My judgment is that 95 percent of that information could be 
     declassified and become uncensored so the American people 
     would know.

  Asked why this section was blacked out, Senator Shelby said:

       I think it might be embarrassing to international 
     relations.

  Senator Graham said:

       During the negotiation that was held with the 
     administration prior to the release of the documents, we had 
     submitted a counteroffer indicating what we thought were 
     legitimate areas of national security with the rest of the 
     section dealing with foreign governments to be released to 
     the public. The counteroffer was not accepted. The 
     administration took the position that the totality of this 
     section dealing with the role of foreign governments should 
     remain censored and beyond the view of the American people.

  Question of Senator Graham:

       Can you give us some idea of how big the counteroffer was?

  Senator Graham said:

       It was in the range, which Senator Shelby indicated he 
     thought it was, of 28 pages that represented genuine national 
     security interests which was 95 percent open and 5 percent 
     continued classified.

  I am not trying to embarrass anybody with this amendment. I just feel 
strongly that when the 9/11 commission--that is the inquiry by our 
Intelligence Committee--was completed and the effort was released, to 
have 28 pages censored or classified and to be told the American people 
can't see it leads me to ask the question, Why? Why? If there was 
another government--and all the indications are there was another 
government--involved in providing support for the terrorists who 
attacked this country, the American people have a right to know it. 
They have a right to know who it was, what were the circumstances, why, 
how do they justify that.
  The Saudi Government has asked that this information be declassified 
and released. The Saudi Government has asked that. Most of the 
speculation, of course, is the questions about Saudi support of 
terrorism, as my colleague from Vermont just described. But the Saudi 
Government has asked this be declassified so they can respond to it in 
public.
  There is no basis, no good reason for this to remain censored and 
classified. My sense-of-the-Senate amendment asks the President to 
declassify that portion of the 28 pages. As Senator Shelby and Senator 
Graham have described, 95 percent of it does not deal with national 
security or our national security interests, and would not compromise 
our interests.
  Senator Schumer is a cosponsor of this amendment, and Senator 
Lieberman is a cosponsor as well.
  My hope is we will certainly have a vote on this amendment this 
morning. My amendment will require a vote under suspension of the 
rules.
  I reserve the remainder of my time, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks recognition? The Senator from 
Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I am not a member of the Intelligence 
Committee. I lead off by saying this has absolutely nothing whatsoever 
to do with the Foreign Operations appropriations bill. We should not be 
having this debate at this time.
  With regard to the issue, there are those on the Intelligence 
Committee who can speak to it with much more knowledge than I. I am 
hopeful some of them will come over in the course of this debate. Let 
me make the point the war on terrorism is an ongoing operation. The 
decision to classify this material was reached between the intelligence 
authorizing committees and the executive branch.
  Declassifying the information should be carefully considered. For 
example, would it place in jeopardy the lives of U.S. men and women 
fighting the war on terrorism? Declassifying material without careful 
consideration could also have a chilling effect on the sources of 
information in the war on terrorism, including individuals and foreign 
governments. It is conceivable

[[Page S13433]]

both individuals and foreign governments would be afraid their 
participation and cooperation in the war on terrorism would become 
public.
  The main point I wish to make is there may be a time and place for 
this debate, but it is not on this bill. I hope once the debate is 
concluded we will make a decision not to proceed down this path at this 
time on this measure.
  I retain the remainder of my time.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, how much time remains?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Nine minutes 31 seconds.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I say to my colleague from Kentucky, there 
is, in fact, an ongoing war on terrorism, and it is critically 
important for this country, it is important that we be successful in 
preventing terrorist attacks against this country. It is important we 
be successful in hunting down those in the world who are planning 
terrorist attacks against this country and destroying their network of 
support. But with respect to the ongoing war against terrorism, it is 
critically important, in my judgment, for this country to know, Are 
there foreign governments that have supported terrorists? Are there 
foreign governments that have given active financial support to those 
who attacked this country on September 11, 2001? If so, who are they? 
How would it compromise any interest of this country or, for that 
matter, any other country under any other circumstances to disclose a 
discussion in the inquiry that was done, a painstaking inquiry that was 
done about another government that provided support to terrorists that 
murdered thousands of Americans. The American people have a right to 
know that information.
  I know the easiest way to withhold information is to always claim 
there is some important sensitive information that would compromise 
some intelligence operation. The people in the best position to know 
that would be the chairman and the ranking member of the committee who 
did the inquiry, Senator Graham and Senator Shelby, a Democrat and a 
Republican. Both of them have already made a judgment about this. They 
said: Nonsense, this won't compromise anything. Ninety-five percent, 
they said, of these 28 pages of censored, redacted material could and 
should be made available to the American public without compromising 
anything.
  If one is wondering whether this compromises anything, I say go to 
the experts, go to the authorizing committee, go to the Republican and 
Democrat who were chairman and vice chairman of the committee and ask 
them and they will tell you they did not support redacting this 
material, censoring this material, and classifying this material. It 
came from the White House. It wasn't fair to the American people to do 
that.
  If there is another government that provided active support--
financial support and comfort and assistance--to those who decided to 
commit acts of terror against this country and murder thousands of 
innocent Americans, then, in my judgment, by God, the American people 
have a right to know that. The American people have a right to know 
that, and classifying 28 pages that describe the circumstances in which 
another government may well have provided support to terrorists 
attacking this country is wrongheaded, in my judgment.
  If, in fact, this inquiry describes that, another important question 
exists: Is the country that provided support--financial assistance and 
comfort and aid--to the terrorists who attacked this country in 2001 
still providing support and aid? Do they still have adjuncts in that 
society, in that government, that provide support and comfort to 
terrorists? We have a right to know that as well.
  In my judgment, withholding information from the American people is, 
in most cases, a bad decision. If it is necessary because it would 
compromise something that is important with respect to the intelligence 
community, I understand that. But the two experts would be the chairman 
and the vice chairman of the committee who decided to launch the 
inquiry. And those two Senators, Senator Shelby and Senator Graham, 
have already spoken on this issue.
  They have said 95 percent of that information ought to be made 
available.
  I will make one additional point. Talk to the families of the people 
who were murdered on 9/11 and ask them, if a foreign government was 
involved in supporting acts of terror against this country, whether 
they think that information ought to be made available to the American 
people or ought to be censored, classified, and out of the reach of the 
American people.
  They will say we ought to disinfect this whole area by deciding to 
give everybody as much information as possible about what happened on 
9/11, not by closing the books and pulling the veil and deciding 
whether to keep information from the American people. As I indicated, 
even the Saudi Government that has been so much the subject of this 
speculation wants this information made available, and it ought to be 
made available.
  My sense of the Senate is very simple. It says to the President: 
Declassify this. Now, I also understand that this is a foreign 
operations bill. It is an appropriations bill. There is no good time to 
have a sense-of-the-Senate resolution come to the Senate floor, I 
suppose, if one does not support declassifying this information. But 
this amendment does not interrupt the foreign operations bill. I 
support that bill. I am happy to work with the chairman and ranking 
member who, I think, have done a remarkable job on that bill.
  It seems to me we have a right to have a vote in the Senate about 
whether this information ought to be made available to the American 
people, whether it ought to be declassified, uncensored, and the 
question answered: Is there another government or governments that 
participated with the terrorists by providing aid, comfort, and 
financial support to terrorists who committed acts of terror against 
this country?
  That is information, in my judgment, the American people deserve to 
have.
  I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the time running without 
debate be charged equally to both sides.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, how much 
time remains on each side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 3 minutes 58 seconds, and 18 minutes 
17 seconds for the majority.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I have a few additional comments at some 
point. If the Senator from Kentucky has other speakers--I had expected 
a couple of other speakers. I do not know whether that will occur 
before the end of the time. I believe we have 40 minutes, 20 minutes 
equally divided.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I say to my friend from North Dakota, I had expected 
some speakers as well. So I think we have the same dilemma. I just do 
not want to delay the vote, and I assume the Senator from North Dakota 
would rather not delay it as well.
  Mr. DORGAN. I do not intend to delay the vote. It is fine to have a 
quorum call and have it equally divided, but let me ask the courtesy of 
the Senator that if we get to the point where we have 6 or 8 minutes 
remaining, that I would have the opportunity for a couple of those 
minutes so that we could close and have a debate at the end.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the other 
consent just asked for, Senator Dorgan have 2 minutes before the vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. How much time remains on this side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 3 minutes 54 seconds.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I yield 3 minutes to the Senator from 
Florida, Mr. Graham.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. GRAHAM of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be

[[Page S13434]]

added as a cosponsor of this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRAHAM of Florida. Mr. President, for a year, a joint committee 
of members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committee carried out 
their responsibilities to do a comprehensive review of what happened 
before September 11 as it related to the role of the intelligence 
community; what happened after September 11, particularly in utilizing 
the information that was gathered around that tragic event; and then 
what recommendations for some fundamental change that would enhance the 
capacity of the intelligence community to reduce the prospect of 
another 9/11. That report took over 800 pages. It had some 19 
recommendations for action.
  After the report was completed, it was submitted to the 
administration--primarily the CIA, the FBI, and the White House--for 
review as to whether there were any elements of that report that would 
be categorized as national security and therefore not for general 
public distribution.
  The section of the report that received the greatest degree of such 
classification, in fact, virtually 100 percent, was the section that 
related to the role of foreign governments in the events leading up to 
9/11, and then how well our responsible agencies had followed the leads 
and tracked the developments and events before 9/11; after 9/11 for 
purposes of potential criminal prosecution, for purposes of 
understanding why we had these gaps; and what the role of foreign 
governments would be; for the purpose of diplomatic or other policies 
that might be instituted vis-a-vis countries that were found to have 
been cooperative or even complicitous in the actions of the 9/11 
terrorists, and then finally to form the recommendations of what 
fundamental change should be made.
  The consequences of denying to the American people access to that 
section of the report are many. No. 1, the American people have been 
denied the opportunity to know fully what, in fact, happened. No. 2, 
they have been denied the opportunity to hold accountable those 
agencies or individuals who were responsible for that inappropriate 
action by a foreign government. We have been unable to hold the State 
Department accountable for its action vis-a-vis the foreign 
governments. Finally, we have taken a substantial amount of the impetus 
and sense of urgency out of the recommendations for fundamental reform. 
In fact, the Senate has yet to hold a first hearing on the 19 
recommendations that we made.
  I think it is of the highest order of concern for the American people 
that they have access to this information and then they will do with 
that information what they believe is appropriate. But ignorance and 
secrecy serves no national purpose. I urge the adoption of this 
amendment to urge the President to reevaluate the decision to censure 
the chapter on the role of foreign governments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, how much time remains on this side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There remain 11 minutes 50 seconds.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I yield to the distinguished chairman of the 
Intelligence Committee however many minutes of the 11 that he so 
desires.
  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the Dorgan 
amendment. I do not think that rule XVI should be waived. The amendment 
is not germane.
  More important, speaking as chairman of the Senate Intelligence 
Committee, I believe this amendment is unwise. I think it will damage 
our Nation's efforts in the ongoing war against terrorism.
  I, for one, and members of the committee, have read the 28 pages from 
the Joint Inquiry Report and have been briefed by the FBI and the CIA. 
As a matter of fact, the distinguished Senator from Florida indicated 
that we have not even had hearings. That is not correct. We have had 
hearings. We had hearings in mid-September as to whether or not it 
would be in our national security interest to release the 28 pages.
  I would also say to all Members, if they have a keen interest in 
this--and I am aware of the legislation, or I am aware of the letter 
that went to the President signed by a great many Senators asking for 
the 28 pages to be made public--as I said at the time, please come to 
the Intelligence Committee and we will provide you the information on 
the 28 pages. Some of the very people who are sponsoring amendments 
have not read the 28 pages.
  I wish they would do so. It is my firm position--firm position--in 
order to protect our national security, specifically the methods and 
the sources and ongoing investigations, that this so-called redacted 
material should not be released to the public. I think it would 
endanger lives.
  I am not in a position to discuss the specifics in regard to the 
urgent pleas and the warnings that were provided to us by the FBI 
during this hearing. But I think I can speak for a majority of the 
Intelligence Committee who thought this was not a good idea and 
certainly would be counterproductive to our national interest.
  I might add that one of the statements I heard as I entered the floor 
was from the distinguished former chairman of the Intelligence 
Committee. He is somebody I admire, whose advice and counsel and 
friendship is very important to me. Senator Rockefeller, who is the 
distinguished vice chairman of the committee, and I have agreed that we 
will hold hearings in the next session of Congress on the 
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Some I agree with, some I 
don't.
  We were going to make this year the year of modernization and/or 
reform in regard to the intelligence community, but something 
interrupted that. It was called a war--the war against global 
terrorism. In addition, we were going to make an inquiry as to the 
credibility and the timeliness of the intelligence prior to going to 
war in Iraq. It is not that we have not wanted to do these things. It 
is that the schedule of the committee has been taken up almost 
exclusively by those two subjects, plus our weekly threat briefings of 
which I know the Senator from Florida is certainly aware.
  So we will have hearings on the 9/11 Commission recommendations. We 
made that promise to the families of the victims. But if we disclose 
the information that compromises the close cooperation we have from our 
allies in the war on terrorism, and much better cooperation today than 
before then these same allies may choose not to support us in the 
future. That is another concern.
  Again, from the standpoint of endangering sources, methods, ongoing 
investigations, and, yes, lives--and I think I am speaking for a 
majority of the Intelligence Committee that has had a hearing on this, 
has taken a hard look at it--I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose 
this amendment.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I want to make sure I don't have a misunderstanding 
with the Senator from North Dakota. Did he wish to speak right at the 
end, before the vote, essentially? My understanding is we are ready to 
yield back the time over here.
  Mr. President, I yield the remainder of our time on this side and ask 
unanimous consent the Senator from North Dakota be given 2 minutes, and 
at the end that we proceed to a vote on or in relation to the 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the Senator from North 
Dakota is recognized for 2 minutes.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Kentucky for his 
courtesy.
  Let me say to my colleague on the Intelligence Committee, the 
chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 
Porter Goss; Senator Shelby of Alabama, the past vice chairman; the 
past chairman of the Intelligence Committee here in the Senate, Senator 
Graham--all have indicated that at least some of this redacted 
classified material should be

[[Page S13435]]

made available. But they have taken that position with no success. I 
would expect the two former chairmen of the committees and the vice 
chairman would not take that position if they believed it would 
compromise intelligence sources and methods.
  Let me quote, if I might, Bill Harvey, a member of the Family 
Steering Committee for the 9/11 independent commission. He lost his 
wife on 9/11. She was killed in the Trade Center. He is pretty critical 
of both the White House and Congress.

       The White House's refusal to produce the 28 pages is just 
     one more example of its manipulation of intelligence for 
     political purposes, but the Congress's reluctance to remedy 
     the situation by declassifying the redacted information is 
     equally troubling. The United States of America deserves to 
     know the true nature of its supposed allies, and the families 
     of the victims of the September 11 attacks deserve to know 
     what our Government new about the terrorists that took their 
     lives.

  That is the key. After this commission has completed its work, the 
inquiry is complete, and we have knowledge and information about 
whether another government provided financial support and other support 
to terrorists who attacked this country, do we have a right to know who 
that government is, which government it is, and whether that government 
still provides support to terrorists who still would like to commit an 
act of terrorism against this country and who would like to murder 
innocent Americans?
  The American people have a right to know what is in that redacted 
portion of the report. If there is 5 percent of it, as Senator Shelby 
and Senator Graham have suggested, that ought to be withheld, I 
understand that. But if the bulk, as they have indicated, ought to be 
made available to the American people, I believe it ought to be made 
available now.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
Kentucky is recognized to make a point of order.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I make a point of order that the 
amendment is not germane under the requirements of rule XVI.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I move to suspend rule XVI of the standing 
rules of the Senate during consideration of H.R. 2800 for the 
consideration of amendment No. 2000.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion to suspend rule XVI of the 
standing rules of the Senate in relation to amendment No. 2000.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Edwards), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), and the Senator 
from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 43, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 415 Leg.]

                                YEAS--43

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Daschle
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Graham (FL)
     Harkin
     Hollings
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     McConnell
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Nickles
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Edwards
     Kerry
     Lieberman
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 43, the nays are 
54. Two-thirds of the Senators voting not having voted in the 
affirmative, the motion to suspend rule XVI pursuant to notice 
previously given in writing is rejected. The point of order is 
sustained and the amendment falls.

                          ____________________