[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 77 (Thursday, June 15, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5905-S5909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR DEFENSE, THE GLOBAL WAR 
          ON TERROR, AND HURRICANE RECOVERY, 2006--CONFERENCE

  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the hour of 10 
a.m. having arrived, the Senate will proceed to vote on the conference 
report to accompany H.R. 4939, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the 
     two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 
     4939) making emergency supplemental appropriations for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other 
     purposes, having met, have agreed that the House recede from 
     its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate and agree to 
     the same with an amendment, and the Senate agree to the same, 
     signed by a majority of the conferees on the part of both 
     Houses.

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I intend to vote for this emergency 
supplemental appropriations conference agreement because of the 
critical funding it will provide to our troops. Our men and women in 
uniform, and their families, deserve our support, not just in words but 
with deeds. This bill also provides important support to our fellow 
Americans in the gulf coast region who continue to rebuild their 
communities after the devastation of the 2005 hurricane season.
  But I am disappointed that important provisions included in the 
Senate bill were stripped out in conference. With nearly 150,000 U.S. 
troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is shameful that this 
conference report stripped out $430 million for veterans health care. 
And I am concerned that this bill short changes the U.S. Coast Guard 
and important port security measures. Through the regular 
appropriations process, I will continue to fight for our veterans, and 
to ensure the security of our coast and our ports.
  In this bill, we have provided over $15 billion to fix or replace 
equipment that has been damaged during combat operations and to buy 
additional force protection equipment desperately needed by our brave 
men and women on the battlefield.
  To help protect our troops from deadly improvised explosive devices, 
IEDs, this bill creates the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat 
Fund and provides the fund with nearly $2 billion to develop and field 
the necessary tactics, equipment, and training to defeat these deadly 
weapons.
  To ensure that we do all we can to care for soldiers when they are 
injured, this bill includes an additional $1 billion for the Defense 
Health program. This money ensures that we can continue to provide 
world-class services including rapid aero-medical evacuation to our 
most severely wounded soldiers.
  The veterans health care system is stretched to the limit at a time 
when more and more veterans are turning to VA. That is why I 
cosponsored an amendment by Senator Akaka to increase veterans funding 
by $430 million to meet the health care needs of soldiers returning 
from Iraq and Afghanistan and other war veterans. I am very 
disappointed that this funding was removed in conference but will 
continue to fight for our veterans to ensure they have the funding 
needed to receive the care they deserve.
  The rank-and-file employees of the Federal Government are the unsung 
heroes of this country. Unfortunately, they are often required to work 
in substandard or often hazardous conditions. It was recently reported 
that employees within this very building are forced to enter tunnels 
full of asbestos and on the verge of collapse. That is why I co-
sponsored an amendment by Senator Allard that provides over $27 million 
for critical emergency structural repairs to the Capitol Complex 
utilities tunnels. I will continue to fight for our Federal workforce 
to ensure they have safe working environments and proper safety 
equipment.
  We know that nearly 40 percent of the soldiers deployed today in Iraq 
and Afghanistan are citizen soldiers who come from the National Guard 
and Reserves. More than half of these will suffer a loss of income when 
they are mobilized because their military pay is less than the pay from 
their civilian job. Many patriotic employers and State governments 
eliminate this pay gap by continuing to pay them the difference between 
their civilian and military pay. The reservist pay security amendment, 
which I worked on with Senator Durbin, was designed to ensure that the 
U.S. Government also makes up for this pay gap for Federal employees 
who are activated in the Guard and Reserves. Again, this important 
piece of legislation was removed from the bill during conference, but 
it is not dead with me. I will continue to push for equitable treatment 
for our Guard and Reserve troops who selflessly serve their Nation.
  After 9/11, we realized that our borders were not secure. Since then, 
we have waged the war on terror and made great strides in protecting 
our homeland. We have made significant investments in law enforcement 
and security; however, the infrastructure that supports our border 
security has been allowed to crumble.
  To counter this, I supported an amendment proposed by Senators Gregg 
and Byrd to add $1.9 billion for border security initiatives to include 
buying additional vehicles, airplanes, helicopters, and ships. This 
amendment also provided $600 million for the U.S. Coast Guard, the 
border protector of our waters. Of this amount, $12 million was for the 
Mission Effectiveness Program at the U.S. Coast Guard Yard at Curtis 
Bay, MD. This project is designed to extend the service life and 
increase the mission performance of the Coast Guard's aging fleet of 
medium endurance cutters. I regret that in conference the House and 
Senate agreed to

[[Page S5906]]

the President's border security proposal which solely focuses on 
beefing up the National Guard and border agents along the Nation's 
southwest border.
  I am also disappointed that $648 million for additional port security 
initiatives was stripped from the final conference agreement. The Port 
of Baltimore, in my hometown, recently celebrated its 300th 
anniversary. It is my responsibility to see to it that the Baltimore 
community celebrates the port's 400th anniversary. We must continue to 
provide adequate funding for our ports in the manner we are for our 
borders.
  We have all seen the devastating effects of natural disasters and 
terrorism and are working hard to prevent future occurrences from 
affecting our Nation and the world. We have recently learned of another 
potential threat: a worldwide flu epidemic that could cost millions of 
lives if we are unprepared. In response to this threat, this bill 
provides $2.3 billion to prepare for and respond to an influenza 
pandemic. Making this money available now will help expand the domestic 
production capacity of influenza vaccine and will help develop and 
stockpile the right vaccines, antivirals, and other medical supplies 
necessary to protect and preserve lives in the event of an outbreak.
  Mr. President, this bill is a Federal investment in supporting our 
troops and their families and providing relief for those impacted by 
the devastating hurricanes.
  We support our troops by getting them the best equipment and the best 
protection we can provide. We support them by making it easier for our 
citizen soldiers in the National Guard and Reserves to serve their 
country. And we support them by ensuring they are cared for with the 
best possible medical system when they are injured or ill.
  With this bill, we are also helping our neighbors rebuild their 
homes, their communities, and their lives, and I am proud to give it my 
support.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, the conference report we have before us 
contains $94.5 billion in funding for the war on terror, hurricane 
recovery in the gulf coast, pandemic flu preparation, and border 
security.
  We have to fund our troops. Therefore, I will support passage of this 
conference report. But I do so with reservations, mainly because 
resources for the training and equipping of the Iraqi army have been 
funded well below the level requested by the President. As all of my 
colleagues know, training and equipping the Iraqi army is imperative to 
the ultimate success of our mission there. The security of the Iraqi 
people, ensured by a properly trained and equipped Iraqi army, is our 
exit strategy.
  Unfortunately, the must-pass nature of this bill has led to the 
inclusion of hundreds of millions of dollars in unrequested, 
nonemergency spending and typical run-of-the-mill earmarks. Examples of 
unrequested and nonemergency additions to this emergency spending bill 
include three Marine Corps V-22 tilt rotor aircraft, two KC-130J tanker 
aircraft, four C-130J cargo aircraft, the advance procurement of seven 
C-17 cargo aircraft, and one Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV. It 
also includes $975 million for SINCGARS tactical radios, $675 million 
in Army tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle upgrades, $130 million for 
Army STRYKER vehicles above combat losses, and $567 million for Army 
trucks. None of these were requested by the administration, and they 
are not critically needed to aid in the war on terror.
  Let's take a closer look at just one of these add-ons. The conference 
report includes $230 million to buy three Marine Corps V-22s. The 
President did not request any money for the V-22 Osprey, which is still 
in the development and testing stage. In fact, the V-22 has not even 
been deployed to an operational squadron yet. If continued development 
and testing goes well, the Marine Corps will send the V-22 to an 
operational squadron in the summer or fall of 2007. I have to question 
why funding for a nonoperational aircraft that is still in the 
development stages is considered to be an emergency in this bill. The 
answer is that there is no emergency need for this aircraft--if there 
was, I am more than confident that the President would have requested 
the appropriate funding in the emergency supplemental submitted last 
February.
  Additionally, the conference report contains a provision which 
authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to reimburse shipbuilding 
contractors for ``business disruptions'' that were incurred during and 
after Hurricane Katrina. This provision may increase Navy shipbuilding 
costs by $140 million over what the administration had requested. The 
provision is expected to primarily benefit Northrop Grumman's shipyard 
in Pascagoula, MS. This language substitutes Government funding for 
what insurers would pay to shipbuilders. Northrop Grumman is suing its 
insurer, Factory Mutual, for those costs associated with Hurricane 
Katrina. However, in the near term, the appropriators have decided the 
best course is to arrange a giveaway to an insurance company and a 
shipbuilder.
  Furthermore, the explanatory statement accompanying this conference 
report contains language stating that the conferees agree with House 
and Senate language delaying the Department of Transportation, DOT, 
rulemaking which proposes to give domestic air carriers with foreign 
investors more control over business matters. Yet this legislative 
language does not include any related provisions, and rightly so, in my 
view. This greater control would only be granted for business matters 
that do not relate to safety or security and only when the investors' 
home countries provide our airlines with investment and market access. 
I assure my colleagues this statement was not included by accident, and 
its intent seems to be to signal to DOT that Congress does not approve 
of its proposed rulemaking.
  Here are some other notable projects funded as ``emergencies'' in 
this measure: $16 million for hurricane repair in the State of 
Pennsylvania; $40 million for sugar and sugarcane disaster assistance 
in Florida, which was not requested; $40 million for sugar and 
sugarcane disaster assistance in Louisiana, which was not requested by 
the President; $400,000 for disaster assistance to sugar cooperatives 
in Texas, which was not requested by the President. $400,000 to the 
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Demonstration barrier, which was not 
requested by the President; $9 million in drought emergency assistance 
to communities in Nevada and New Mexico; $225,000 to the Missouri 
Soybean Association for the purchase of a building for use as an 
incubation center in the Kansas City metropolitan statistical area; 
$100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington in Silver 
Spring, MD for renovation of Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington 
Clubhouse No. 2, Clubhouse No. 4, Clubhouse No. 10, Clubhouse No. 11, 
and Clubhouse No. 14 in the District of Columbia; $100,000 to Wesleyan 
College in Macon, GA, for facility renovation, buildout, and 
construction; $125,000 to Craig County, VA, for purchase, renovation, 
buildout, and upgrade of a library.
  I think we can fund this war--and indeed win this war--while also 
budgeting for this war. We know the war is going to cost more than the 
over $400 billion we will have appropriated to date upon enactment of 
this conference report, and we know that the war is not going to end as 
quickly as most of us would prefer. But we need to continue our 
military operations until the job is done. Withdrawing our military 
presence prematurely is not an option in my view, the view of many of 
my colleagues, nor the view of the President or his advisers. We are in 
it to win.
  Instead of fixing the problem, and fixing it will not be easy, we 
have only succeeded in making it bigger, more unstable, more 
complicated, and much more expensive. And adding hundreds of billions 
of dollars that are more conveniently designated as emergency 
expenditures--so that they don't have to be budgeted for along with 
other national priorities--is only making the fiscal problem that much 
greater.
  Again, Mr. President, it is unfortunate that, at a time of war and 
with such a huge deficit and burgeoning debt, we continue to fund 
unnecessary projects and load up emergency supplemental appropriations 
bills with nonemergency items. We need to concentrate on providing the 
resources necessary for our young men and women swerving in Iraq to 
successfully complete their mission, so that they

[[Page S5907]]

can return safely to their families, and a grateful Nation.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the conference report provides needed 
funds to meet a number of our national security needs. It includes 
$65.8 billion of funding for ongoing military operations in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, to give our troops the armored vehicles, ammunition, 
medical supplies, and other materials essential for their operations.
  The legislation also provides funds for the Commander's Emergency 
Response Program, which enables commanders on the ground to pay for 
urgently needed infrastructure, and also to make condolence payments to 
Iraqi civilians who are injured or killed. That program is intended to 
build good will with the Iraqis, and I commend the Appropriations 
Committee for taking such a strong interest in it.
  During consideration of the bill, we had a strong debate about 
whether the nondefense items in the bill were truly emergencies and 
belonged in this legislation. Most of us believe they do because the 
budget process does not allow us to respond quickly to urgent needs, 
and the emergency supplemental process is the only way we can address 
them.
  It is clear that border security, hurricane relief, and pandemic flu 
preparations all affect our national security. The need for these funds 
cannot easily be assessed in advance and made part of the regular 
budget. But no one can disagree that each has a profound impact on our 
Nation and has to be addressed.
  I commend Senator Harkin for his leadership on the needed funding to 
prepare for a pandemic flu. Those of us on the authorizing committee 
look forward to continuing to work with Senator Burr to see that these 
funds are used effectively to increase the Nation's readiness for this 
major disease threat.
  I am disappointed that the conference report rejected our Senate 
amendment to compensate first responders injured by experimental flu 
vaccines. If pandemic flu reaches our shores, Americans will have to 
rely heavily on nurses, paramedics, emergency technicians, and other 
first responders. The question is whether these first responders will 
risk taking an experimental vaccine so that they can stay on the job 
and protect us all. The least these brave first responders deserve is 
fair compensation if they are harmed by the vaccine. We know from past 
experience that without such a compensation program, first responders 
will be reluctant to take experimental vaccines. The Senate did the 
right thing, to fund a compensation program, but Republican leaders 
inexplicably allowed the House conferees to reject the funds. The 
message we are sending to first responders is obvious--``You're on your 
own'' and a pandemic will be even more disastrous if it hits.
  I am very pleased, however, that our colleagues on the Appropriations 
Committee included critical funding to provide relief to elementary and 
secondary schools in the gulf region and to schools across the country 
that generously opened their doors to young students whose lives were 
turned upside down by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This additional 
funding will help ensure that the schools that educated displaced 
students are reimbursed for the additional costs incurred during this 
school year so that they can continue to provide good education for all 
the children they serve.
  The schools, colleges, and universities are a cornerstone of the gulf 
communities, and their recovery is essential to the successful 
rebuilding of the region. I am disappointed that the conferees rejected 
a Senate provision that would have leveraged hundreds of millions of 
dollars of low-cost loans for these colleges and universities. I am 
pleased, however, that the conferees increased the grant aid in the 
bill to help these colleges and universities rebuild. These funds are a 
step in the right direction to enable these institutions to remain a 
vital part of the gulf coast.
  On the issue of education, we know that countless families across 
America are struggling to put their children through college. The last 
thing they need is an increase in interest rates on student loans. I 
commend the Appropriations Committee for expanding loan consolidation 
options and resisting efforts by lenders to increase the burden of 
college debt. Last February, Congress perpetrated the biggest raid on 
college aid in the history of the program, cutting $12 billion from 
student loan programs to help pay for tax giveaways to the wealthy. We 
need to do more to help struggling families afford college, and the 
committee's action on this bill is a step in the right direction.
  This bill includes an important provision to support our objective of 
promoting democracy in Iraq. It includes $50 million for American 
nongovernmental organizations helping Iraqis to create the essential 
building blocks of democracy. The funds will go to seven 
nongovernmental organizations doing excellent work in Iraq on democracy 
and reconciliation under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions. 
We must be clear in our commitment to stand by these organizations that 
are serving on the front lines in the struggle for democracy in Iraq 
every day. We need to demonstrate to the Iraqi people that we are 
committed to Iraq's long-term democratic development. We must have a 
long-term strategy backed by appropriate resources, and this bill is a 
start toward achieving our goal.
  While this bill contains much that is positive, I strongly oppose the 
decision of our Republican colleagues to include a deeming resolution 
in this conference report that will impose an unreasonably low limit on 
discretionary spending for next year. This cap means that critical 
domestic programs will be cut. It is a sorry substitute for a real 
budget.
  The deeming resolution completely ignores the Senate-passed budget. 
It sets a spending cap $16 billion below the level approved by a 
bipartisan majority of Senators in the Senate budget resolution. It 
wipes out an amendment passed by the Senate to add $7 billion for 
urgent health and education needs. It cuts funding for vital medical 
research by the National Institutes of Health. It underfunds the No 
Child Left Behind education initiative by $55.7 billion over the next 5 
years. It sets the wrong priorities for America.
  This deeming resolution indicates a willingness on the part of 
Republicans in Congress to blindly follow the Bush administration's 
reckless strategy of cutting essential domestic programs American 
families depend upon while providing more and more tax breaks for the 
wealthiest taxpayers in the country. It is outrageous. It is one more 
failure for a Republican leadership that consistently takes the country 
in the wrong direction.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to acknowledge a tangible result 
of our Federal Government's investment in preparing for a possible flu 
pandemic. This week, the U.S. Agency for International Development, 
USAID, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, in 
partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society launched the Global 
Avian Influenza Network for the Surveillance of wild birds, or the 
GAINS program.
  GAINS systematically tests and monitors wild and dead birds to 
identify the viral strains they carry, to share the virus samples in 
order to continually update vaccine production options, and to 
disseminate lab results on a map-based publicly accessible database. 
Major flyways around the world will be monitored including those 
running north-south through the Americas.
  I wish to recognize Chairman Cochran from Mississippi and Senator 
Byrd from West Virginia, along with my colleagues, Senator Harkin from 
Iowa, Senator Specter from Pennsylvania, and Senator Brownback from 
Kansas, for their commitment to avian flu preparedness and for putting 
in place an effective system for the surveillance of wild birds. GAINS 
is instrumental to our capacity to prepare communities in the wake of 
wild birds moving with the virus for a potential outbreak.
  At the same time we work to develop a vaccine and procure antivirals, 
we can also track the movement of the virus in wild birds. GAINS can 
track wild birds in the same way the National Hurricane Center tracks 
hurricanes. By analyzing, storing, and reporting using a real-time 
computerized data mapping system and interface, we can see the viral 
strains wild birds carry, where they are carrying the virus along 
migratory routes, and how the virus is genetically evolving. This will 
make it possible for us to develop

[[Page S5908]]

vaccines more quickly using the most recent strain available and will 
help us warn vulnerable populations in wild bird flightpaths should the 
avian flu strain turn deadly.
  I am happy to report that the GAINS program and Dr. William Karesh at 
the Wildlife Conservation Society have already contributed vital 
disease samples of the highly pathogenic H5Nl virus from Mongolian 
swans to the efforts currently under way to develop a human vaccine for 
avian influenza.
  The Wildlife Conservation Society has partnered with USAID and the 
CDC to spearhead this effort. They are an international conservation 
organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York and have 
offices across the world, including my home State of Connecticut. With 
more than 3,000 full-time staff working in 60 countries around the 
world on more than 400 field conservation projects, the Wildlife 
Conservation Society is well positioned to lead the global efforts to 
monitor the disease in birds and provide key information to local 
communities to mitigate the effects of future outbreaks. Our 
Government's capacity to build partnerships such as this one and 
continue to fund them with nongovernmental organizations with 
tremendous expertise and others in the private sector is key to 
effectively fighting a potential pandemic.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, this supplemental appropriation 
provides funds that are urgently needed by our Armed Forces to sustain 
the global war on terror and our operations to stabilize Iraq and 
Afghanistan. The $70 billion provided in this appropriation for 
military operations brings America's investment in this fight to over 
$445 billion since September 11, 2001. Included in this appropriation 
are funds necessary to keep our Guard strong and ready and to ensure 
that our reservists have access to essential medical coverage for 
themselves and their families.
  With respect to domestic assistance in this bill, while it is not 
perfect, because it removed funding for port security and veterans' 
health care, and greatly reduced the amount of agriculture assistance 
that was originally included in the Senate passed bill, it does provide 
immediate aid to the people of the gulf coast to help in their 
continuing effort to recover from last year's hurricanes.
  I thank the chairman and ranking member of the Appropriations 
Committee, Senator Cochran of Mississippi and Senator Byrd of West 
Virginia, for their leadership and even handedness in crafting this 
supplemental measure. They have been very kind towards my constituents 
and I am most appreciative of their efforts. This supplemental 
addresses three areas critical to the continued recovery and vitality 
of Florida.
  Florida was hit by eight hurricanes in 15 months and the recovery 
continues, even as Tropical Storm Alberto traversed the State 
yesterday. I know that my colleagues from the gulf coast are also well 
aware of the long-term challenges facing their States and are bracing 
themselves for another active hurricane season. We all learned valuable 
lessons from the disasters of the past 2 years and we will face the 
coming months together.
  I am pleased that this supplemental includes some relief for the 
State of Florida's hard hit agriculture industry. In 2005 as in 2004, 
the Florida agriculture industry sustained more than $2 billion in 
losses. One of the hardest hit industries was the sugar industry, so 
the $40 million in assistance this bill provides to the sugar producers 
will be critical. Our specialty crops and nursery growers also will 
receive a much-needed share of the $95 million provided in the bill.
  The measure also provides the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, NOAA, with emergency funding. I cannot emphasize how 
important the work of this agency is to Florida. It includes the 
National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS, that plays a key role in 
Florida because of our significant fishing industry--both recreational 
and commercial. And the National Weather Service whose hurricane 
forecasts many times mean the difference between life and death for 
Floridians. This emergency supplemental provides $150 million for 
mapping for debris removal, oyster bed and shrimp ground 
rehabilitation, the repair and reconstruction of the NOAA science 
facility on the Gulf of Mexico and a replacement emergency response 
mapping aircraft to provide information about hurricane damage--all 
desperately needed.
  Additionally, the conference report maintains the Senate funding 
level of $5.2 billion for the Community Development Block Grant, CDBG, 
program. The President's original request was for $4.2 billion to 
address the utter devastation caused by Katrina in Louisiana. Yet unmet 
needs from the previous Gulf of Mexico hurricanes still remain in 
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. This level of CDBG funding 
will ensure that all States harmed by last year's hurricanes will 
receive an adequate level of continued support so that they may 
continue to invest in long-term recovery efforts, provide housing and 
business assistance, perform infrastructure reconstruction, and 
undertake mitigation efforts.
  Specific to Florida, additional CDBG funds will greatly help 
Panhandle communities impacted by Hurricane Dennis, who were not 
eligible for the last round of disaster CDBG funds, and the heavily 
populated areas of South Florida where insured damages from Wilma were 
estimated at $7.4 billion. Hurricane Wilma was a major hurricane, the 
final major storm of last season, causing the highest amount of insured 
losses to southeast Florida since Hurricane Andrew over a decade ago.
  Chairman Bond and Ranking Member Murray included a provision in the 
bill that will help address the backlog of emergency highway repairs. I 
thank them for their efforts, as this provision is vital to Florida's 
Panhandle which was pummeled by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and then by 
Dennis in 2005. It includes language lifting the mandatory cap of $100 
million in spending per state. Florida has about $118 million in 
damages left over from Dennis, most of it concentrated along US-98, 
which runs along the coast of Florida from Tallahassee to Pensacola, a 
distance of over 200 miles.
  The assistance contained in the supplemental will go a long way 
towards the recovery of the gulf coast and I will support this measure.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is approving 
today the conference report on this supplemental appropriations bill.
  The bill provides funding to replenish the spending accounts of the 
Department of Defense, the Department of State, as well as other 
agencies and departments of the Government which are engaged in the war 
on terror. The conference report also makes available needed funding 
for efforts to repair and rebuild the homes, businesses, and public 
facilities that were damaged by hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast 
region last year.
  A bipartisan majority of the conferees have reconciled the 
differences between the two bills and reached agreement on the 
conference report. The House also approved the conference report by a 
vote of 351 to 67.
  The conference agreement provides a total of $94.519 billion. Of this 
amount, over $70 billion is provided to carry out the global war on 
terror and to cover the expenses of ongoing operations and 
reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Title II of the agreement provides $19.338 billion for hurricane 
related damage and recovery costs. Title III provides $500 million for 
agriculture disaster assistance to hurricane affected areas. Title IV 
includes $2.3 billion for influenza pandemic preparation and response 
activities. Title V provides $1.9 billion for various border security 
initiatives. Title VI includes $27.6 million for the Architect of the 
Capitol to address health and safety concerns in the utility tunnels in 
the Capitol complex. Finally, title VII includes general provisions and 
technical corrections.
  This conference agreement is the result of hard work and true 
compromise between the House and Senate, and I am pleased the Senate is 
prepared to approve it.
  Mr. COCHRAN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the conference report. The clerk will 
call the roll.

[[Page S5909]]

  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rockefeller) is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Murkowski). Are there any other Senators 
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 171 Leg.]

                                YEAS--98

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Dayton
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Salazar
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

       
     Specter
       

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Rockefeller
       
  The conference report was agreed to.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, today I voted in favor of the fiscal 
year 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the 
Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery conference report despite 
my serious reservations about using an emergency supplemental bill to 
fund ongoing U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and despite the 
fact that the bill fails to change the flawed and dangerous policy in 
Iraq that this administration is pursuing. That policy is taking a 
tremendous toll on our Nation's resources and our national security, 
and I will continue to look for every opportunity to force the Senate 
to debate and vote on changing that policy.
  I supported the conference report because it included necessary 
funding for our troops, along with vital assistance to those 
communities devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and to those 
suffering in war-torn countries and those countries in need of 
immediate funding for their newly formed democracies. I am particularly 
pleased to see that $618 million is being provided for establishing 
peace in Darfur and $63 million for supporting the nascent Liberian 
Government that was recently elected.
  Mr. COCHRAN. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I thank all Senators for their patience 
and support during our deliberations on this conference report. I think 
the vote reflects strong sentiment that we have reached an agreement 
that is fair. It reflects respect for the administration's budget 
request and remaining within that budget request.
  I appreciate the cooperation of all members of our Appropriations 
Committee and the full Senate as well.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Burr). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is my understanding that the Department 
of Defense authorization bill is the pending business before the 
Senate.

                          ____________________