[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 41 (Friday, March 9, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2955-S2956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we will shortly vote on the cloture motion 
filed by the minority.


                           Amendments to S. 4

  Mr. President, first, let me start with a letter written to me dated 
February 26. There was a comparable letter written to the Republican 
leader. The letter reads:

       It has been exactly 14 years since the first attack on the 
     World Trade Center; over 5 years since the terrorist attacks 
     of 9/11; and over 2 years since the 9/11 Commission released 
     a blueprint for strengthening America's security. The pace of 
     Congressional response to these wake-up calls has been 
     glacial.
       The House of Representatives has validated its commitment 
     to improving national security by passing H.R. 1. When S. 4 
     goes to conference, its provisions must match or surpass the 
     strength and comprehensiveness of H.R. 1. Failure to act 
     ratchets up the danger for America. The longer critical 
     security issues remain unresolved, the more time and options 
     the terrorists have.
       S. 4 should be a clean bill, limited to implementing the 
     remaining 9/11 Commission recommendations. This legislation 
     is far too important to be politicized by the introduction of 
     non-germane, controversial amendments and debate, 
     particularly those relating to Iraq. Attention to both issues 
     is critically important. As such, each deserves separate 
     deliberation.
       We urge you to act now to protect America by passing stand-
     alone, comprehensive security legislation under S. 4 based on 
     the 9/11 Commission blueprint without complications regarding 
     Iraq. The legacy of those whose lives have been taken by 
     terrorists on American soil is in your hands. Prove to the 
     families of those killed in 1993 and 2001, and to all 
     Americans, that this is a new day in Washington, and that 
     safety and security will finally take precedence over special 
     interest groups and politics.

  Mr. President, the two managers of the bill, Lieberman and Collins, 
have followed the admonition of that letter. They have worked very hard 
to have a clean bill. That is basically what we have. But I am sorry to 
report that of the 100-plus amendments filed, virtually all of them, 
except 7, are nongermane. To top it off, what the minority did is 
lumped a bunch of these nongermane amendments together and filed 
cloture on them.
  Here is what the 9/11 families had to say about that. This is a 
letter to Senator McConnell, dated March 8, 2007:

       As family members who lost loved ones on 9/11, we support 
     full implementation of the 
     9/11 Commission recommendations. We are writing out of grave 
     concern that your recent introduction of highly provocative, 
     irrelevant amendments will jeopardize the passage of S. 4. It 
     is inconceivable that anyone in good conscience would 
     consider hindering implementation of the 9/11 Commission 
     recommendations and we strongly disagree with these divisive 
     procedural tactics.
       Just as the Iraq war deserves separate debate, so do each 
     of the amendments you offered. S. 4 should be a clean bill 
     and debate should conclude this week with a straight up

[[Page S2956]]

     or down vote. Each day that passes without implementation of 
     the remaining 9/11 Commission recommendations, the safety and 
     security of our nation is at risk.
       Tactics such as those you are contemplating, aimed at 
     endangering the 9/11 bill, sends a signal to America that 
     partisan politics is alive and well under your leadership. 
     Both parties must work together to pass this critical 
     legislation. We, the undersigned, understand the risk of 
     failure all too well.

  It is signed: ``Respectfully,'' Carol Ashley, mother of Janice, who 
died, who is a member of Voices of September 11th; Beverly Eckert, 
widow of Sean Rooney, who is a member of Families of September 11; Mary 
Fetchet, mother of Brad, who died, who is founding director and 
president of Voices of September 11th; Carie Lemack, daughter of Judy 
Larocque, who died, who is cofounder and president of Families of 
September 11.
  Mr. President, this is what the 9/11 families have said. The 
amendments lumped into one are not germane to the pending bill. That is 
without any question or debate. It is a collection of far-reaching 
immigration and criminal law provisions that have never been considered 
by the Judiciary Committee--never. Senator Leahy said he would be happy 
to do that. They have never been considered.
  These are complex matters which should not be considered on the 
Senate floor in this manner, especially on this very sensitive 
legislation. For example, one part of the amendment would overturn a 
recent Supreme Court decision. Now, remember, seven of the nine members 
of the Supreme Court are Republicans. They wrote the opinion. They want 
it overturned. Another part of the amendment would say visa revocations 
can never, ever be reviewed by any court.
  The cloture motion was nothing more than an effort to delay passage 
of the 9/11 Commission bill. We need to move forward on this vital 
legislation.
  I again ask everyone to listen to the words of the family members of 
those who perished on September 11. I have read those into the Record. 
We have, as I speak, these women and others who are watching what we do 
here today. I hope Senator Lieberman and Senator Collins can go forward 
and complete this legislation without this. It is just absolutely hard 
to comprehend that this is what is being attempted on this bill.
  I respectfully suggest, as they said in this letter, ``It is 
inconceivable that anyone in good conscience would consider hindering 
implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations. . . .'' That is 
what they said, not what I said. ``Each day that passes without 
implementation of the . . . 9/11 Commission recommendations [risks] the 
safety and security of our nation. . . .'' That is what they said, not 
what I said. ``Tactics such as [these],'' they write to Senator 
McConnell, `` . . . are . . . aimed at endangering the 9/11 bill, [and 
it] sends a signal to America that [is inappropriate].''

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