[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2499-S2500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask 
unanimous consent that when the nomination for the Assistant Secretary 
for Civil Works is received by the Senate, it be referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services; provided that when the Committee on Armed 
Services reports the nomination it be referred to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works for a period of 20 days of session; 
provided further that if the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
does not report the nomination within those 20 days, the committee be 
discharged from further consideration of the nomination and the 
nomination be placed on the Calendar.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. INHOFE. This order is a joint request by the chairmen and ranking 
members of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works. As Chairman of the Environment and Public 
Works Committee, and as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I 
want

[[Page S2500]]

to thank Chairman Warner and Senator Levin for working together with 
Senator Jeffords and myself on this order.
  Mr. WARNER. I thank Chairman Inhofe and as Chairman of the Committee 
on Armed Services, I am pleased to join him and our Committees' ranking 
members in supporting this order. I note that the issues for which the 
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works is responsible fall 
within the jurisdiction of both the Armed Services Committee and the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Assistant Secretary of 
the Army for Civil Works has played an increasingly important role 
within the Department of Defense and the Department of the Army for 
homeland defense and homeland security. The Army protects and supports 
the American people in the event of natural and man-made disasters and 
emergencies. Army programs provide public works and engineering 
assistance to protect human life, reduce suffering, and mitigate 
damage, and Army response activities supplement State and local 
efforts. The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works also has 
responsibilities, in concert with the Chief of Staff of the Army, in 
directing the foreign activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
and formulating and overseeing the budget of the Arlington National 
Cemetery, matters of great concern to the Armed Services Committee.
  I note, as well, that there are matters under the Assistant Secretary 
of the Army for Civil Works' purview which are of concern to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Army programs for 
conservation and development of national water resources, including 
flood control, navigation, and shore protection, come to mind. 
Consequently, I fully support this initiative noting that the order is 
identical to orders by the Senate in the 107th and 108th Congress.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I too support this order and I want to thank my 
colleagues on both the EPW Committee and Armed Services for working 
together on this joint request.
  Mr. LEVIN. I want to thank my colleagues and I am pleased to join 
them in supporting this joint request.

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