[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 107 (Friday, June 29, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8731-S8732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DELAY TACTICS
Mr. REID. Mr. President, we have tried and tried and tried to get the
Republicans to allow us to go to conference on ethics, on lobbying
reform and also on the 9/11 Commission recommendations. They have
prohibited us from doing that.
In the Senate, there are procedural blocks that can be placed on
measures, and they have done that. They have done it for reasons that
are fleeting in importance. We were ready to do ethics and lobbying
reform, and someone stepped in and said: Well, I don't like the earmark
provision, I want them to be handled some other way--a diversion, a
dilatory tactic to stop this Congress from doing what it needs to do
regarding lobbying and ethics reform.
Republicans are trying to stop reform. We have lived in a culture of
corruption during Republican leadership. For the first time in 131
years, someone working in the White House is indicted, the man is now
in prison, Scooter Libby. Safavian, head of Government contracting for
the President, appointed by the President, handles billions of dollars
for the Government contracting, he was led away from his office in
handcuffs; he is now in prison.
The majority leader in the House of Representatives was convicted
three
[[Page S8732]]
times within 1 year of ethics violations. He was indicted in the State
of Texas. He resigned.
Another Member of Congress is serving jail time for corruption.
Abramoff, whose tentacles seem to go throughout this town, is in
prison.
Trips to Scotland to play golf, lavish gifts by lobbyists, parties by
lobbyists, free travel on airplanes, the legislation that passed the
Senate eliminates all that. I have only given a brief capsule of the
corruption in this town under Republican leadership. I have only given
a brief capsule of what they have done to prevent our going to
conference.
I want all of the Republicans to know, I am not going to ask again
for unanimous consent to go to conference. When they get ready to go to
conference, they can come to us.
But everyone should understand that prior to the August recess, we
are going to complete ethics and lobbying reform. We are going to do it
if we have to spend nights, weekends, take days out of our August
recess. Everyone has had fair warning.
It takes a lot of time to overcome the hurdles they have placed in
front of us, but we are going to do that. It will eat up valuable
Senate time, but we are going to do it. We are going to complete
lobbying and ethics reform. That was the first bill we placed on the
agenda, ethics and lobbying reform, to try to have the American people
feel better about their Congress and what we do.
I can still remember 9/11. I was in S-219. I was the first one in
that room that morning. It was a Tuesday morning. It is when Senator
Daschle held his leadership meeting. Senator Breaux came in and said:
Flip on the TV, something is happening in New York. We could see one of
the buildings burning.
Without elaborating in great detail, the leadership meeting started,
someone came and got Senator Daschle. There was an evacuation of this
building that took place. There was a plane heading toward the Capitol.
It would take someone living in New York to understand the horror of
that day, I believe. But it was a horrible day. There was a 9/11
Commission appointed after great turmoil and consternation. The
President fought that for a number of months. Finally, it was done, a
bipartisan commission. They came back with recommendations. It has been
almost 3 years and those have not been implemented.
We passed in the Senate, as one of our top priorities, implementation
of the 9/11 Commission recommendations. Remember, that same commission
graded the Bush administration on how they were implementing those
recommendations: Ds and Fs.
With the legislation we passed, all As. Once again, the Republicans
have stood in our way procedurally and will not let us go to
conference. Yesterday someone came in and said: Well, I do not like
what happens postaudit; we need to make sure that following the
spending of those moneys the audit trail is appropriate.
So do I. So does every member of the Senate. We want this money spent
wisely and properly. This is a diversionary, delaying tactic to stop us
from doing this.
The President did not want the 9/11 Commission appointed in the first
place. He wouldn't implement the recommendations. He is trying to stop
the Congress from forcing him to sign a bill.
I will say the same thing on the 9/11 Commission recommendations that
I said on ethics and lobbying reform. I am no longer going to come and
beg the Republicans to do what is good for the country. It is up to
them. When they get ready to do the 9/11 Commission recommendations,
come to us and we will appoint conferees immediately and complete the
conference within a matter of a couple of days.
Like ethics and lobbying reform, we are going to complete this before
the August recess. Now, is that going to shorten the August recess? It
is up to the Republicans. But we are going to complete this
legislation. It is not right that two of the most important issues
facing this country, ethics and lobbying reform--getting rid of the
culture of corruption--and implementing the 9/11 Commission
recommendations should not go into effect.
The 9/11 Commission recommendations, they are not just for the State
of New York, they are for our country, to protect people in Las Vegas
and Reno, to protect Hoover Dam, where millions of people cross that
bridge every year, to make sure there is not some terrorist act,
throwing something over that dam, disrupting power that is generated
that goes, most of it, to California, or the water sources, most of
which goes to California.
I think this is a very dangerous game the Republicans are playing,
delaying the implementation of ethics and lobbying reform and the
implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations.
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