[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 23 (Friday, February 27, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S1883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE HIGHWAY BILL AND 9/11 COMMISSION EXTENSION

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, in regards to the issue which has been 
holding up the proceedings of the Senate, that is the extension of the 
highway bill and the issue tied to it, which is the charter of the 9/11 
Commission chaired by Governor Keane and former Congressman Lee 
Hamilton, we have been in extensive discussions all day long. I would 
like to begin by thanking the majority leader as well as the Senator 
from Nevada for their patience, but also their involvement in trying to 
help bring about a resolution to this issue. They have certainly done 
everything in their power.
  The upshot of it is that the Senator from Connecticut and I have been 
in conversations with former Congressman Hamilton and Governor Keane. 
As we understand from our conversations with them, they are scheduled 
to meet with the Speaker on Tuesday, this coming Tuesday, and that 
their chief of staff, the general counsel of the Commission, has been 
assured by the chief of staff of the Speaker that at that time the 
Speaker will agree to an additional 30 days in addition to the 60 days 
that the Commission will need to operate, and will be then given an 
additional 30 days in which to wrap up their report. That is 
satisfactory to Congressman Hamilton and Governor Keane. Both of them 
have personally assured me that is satisfactory to them. They will be 
proceeding on the assumption that they will receive an additional 30 
days, as well as the 60-day extension.
  I hope, as a result of this, that the House will take up and pass the 
bill reported out of the Senate Intelligence Committee which the Senate 
majority leader had approved by a voice vote earlier today. It seems to 
me that is the most reasonable resolution.
  I thank the majority leader again for his patience and hard work in 
this effort, including visits over on the other side of the Capitol. He 
certainly performed above and beyond.
  May I finally say I believe that the Commission will now receive an 
additional 60 days of work plus 30 days to wrap up, and hopefully this 
issue will be resolved.
  I thank my friend from Connecticut who has always done such great 
work.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, very briefly, let me join the Senator 
from Arizona in thanking the majority leader, the Senator from Nevada, 
and our colleagues for working together. We have, in fact, in the words 
of Scripture, ``reasoned together,'' have we not? It may have taken 
longer than it should have, which is not unusual for the Congress, but 
we have reached a just result. I am grateful to the Speaker for having 
agreed to the extension of the deadline during which the Commission 
investigating September 11 will have to report by the 2 months that the 
Commission itself, the bipartisan Commission, requested and now having 
apparently indicated to at least staff of the Commission that he is 
prepared, in addition to the 2-month extension for the report to be 
completed, to have an additional 30 days for a winddown period. But 
this will be worked out in detail.
  As Senator McCain said, the easiest way to do this is the way we all 
started today, which was with the Senate bill adopted that, in fact, 
does this 2-month extension for the report, 30 days for winding down of 
the Commission.
  The basic principle is the enormity of what happened, the horror of 
what happened on September 11, 2001, that none of us want to ever 
happen again. That is what this Commission was created to investigate, 
and then advise us how to avoid.
  There never should have been on the question of the search for truth 
about September 11 a time deadline which the Commission itself believed 
was too short to complete their work. I think we have now opened a 
path--a door--to give it the time it needs to complete its work, which 
is going to be critical to us as we continue to protect the security of 
the American people at home.
  Again, I thank everybody for being part of it.
  Once again, it reminds me of the truth of what I said a short while 
ago. It is good to be back in the Senate where sometimes it takes a 
little longer but good things actually get done. This is one of them.
  I thank my colleagues, and I thank my friend from Arizona. He is a 
great and principled fighter for what is right.
  The majority leader is bipartisan.
  I thank the Chair.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to say on behalf of the minority 
leader that we certainly thank Senator McCain and Senator Lieberman for 
their persistence in accomplishing something that is important.
  I extend my appreciation to the majority leader for his patience. His 
job is a difficult job. He has 99 of us to put up with. Even though we 
are the most reasonable people in the world most of the time, once in a 
while it happens that we are not, and that makes his life more 
difficult. Having been involved in working with leaders for a while 
now, I appreciate his patience. It is an admirable quality.
  Having worked with the very patient Senator Lieberman since he came 
to the Senate, I have such great admiration for him. I am personally 
disappointed that it didn't work out better for him on the campaign 
trail. But we are really happy to have him back. He is such a great 
addition to the Senate.
  My friend from Arizona is one peg ahead of me in seniority. I am No. 
1778 and he is No. 1777 as far as the number of Senators coming here. 
Senator McCain is a unique individual. Every day, serving with him is 
an experience. The vast majority of those experiences are extremely 
good.
  (Laughter.)
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. FRIST. It is an experience, Mr. President.

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