[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 121 (Thursday, July 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10115-S10117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION ACT OF 2007--
                           CONFERENCE REPORT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 
1, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant 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. 
     1)

[[Page S10116]]

     to provide for the implementation of the recommendations of 
     the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United 
     States, having met, after full and free conference, 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.

  The Senate proceeded to the consideration of the conference report.
  (The conference report is printed in the House proceedings of the 
Record of July 25, 2007.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we proceed 
as under the previous order to debate Senator DeMint's motion to 
recommit the conference report and that following the vote on the 
DeMint motion, if his motion is defeated, the Senate vote on the 
conference report as under the previous order, with the debate time on 
the conference report reserved for after the votes; further that the 
time on the motion to recommit be reduced to 10 minutes equally 
divided.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object--I will 
not object, obviously--I want to thank all Senators on both sides for 
being willing to make their remarks after the vote. I do not object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from South Carolina is recognized.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. President, I know we are all tired and we have agreed 
to cut this short. But this 9/11 Commission bill is very important and 
a part of it that we have talked about tonight and actually for the 
last year is port security. All of us agreed once again tonight that we 
should not allow convicted, serious felons to have access to secure 
areas of our ports. Unfortunately this amendment tonight was on an 
appropriations bill, and it restricted the use of funds for 1 year. We 
have passed another time as part of the Safe Ports Act--94 to 2--to do 
this same thing: to take the Department of Homeland Security 
regulations they passed after careful study and codify it into law. But 
the 9/11 conference bill has come back to us and, once again, gutted 
that provision.
  The reason it has been gutted is this: Once we pass this conference 
report the way it is, and it allows the Secretary to waive, to change, 
or to leave certain felonies that are listed, then it opens the whole 
regulatory process to lawsuit and challenge on a continuous basis.
  We have voted in the open tonight to stop that from happening, to 
stop convicted felons from working in secure areas of our ports. My 
motion tonight is very simple. It is to recommit this bill to committee 
to restore the amendment in the exact words that we have passed on the 
floor and to avoid the watering down and the gutting of a very 
important port security measure.
  The Senate has voted 93 to 1 tonight. The House voted last week on 
the same measure 354 to 66.
  What the 9/11 Commission bill does is allow the Secretary to 
eliminate or change listed felonies, allowing TWIC cards, these secure 
area cards, to possibly be given to those who have been convicted of 
smuggling, arson, kidnapping, rape, extortion, bribery, money 
laundering, hostage taking, unlawful use of a firearm, drug dealing, 
immigration violations, assault with intent to kill, robbery, 
fraudulent entry to a seaport or racketeering.
  These are serious crimes. Although there is often talk of giving 
people a second chance, that second chance should not come at the 
expense of the security of our Nation.
  Mr. President, I send this motion to the desk, which they have, and 
ask for its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from South Carolina [Mr. DeMint] moves to 
     recommit H.R. 1, an act to provide for the implementation 
     of the recommendations of the National Commission on 
     Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, to the 
     conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on 
     such bill, with an instruction that the conferees on the 
     part of the Senate insist on the matter contained in 
     section 1455 of the Senate engrossed amendment, which 
     prohibits the issuance of transportation security cards to 
     convicted felons.

  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to recommit this bill. 
It is something that can be done quickly without delaying the final 
passage of this conference report, but it restores a very important 
provision we all voted on. I hope we can all support this motion to 
recommit.
  I reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time in opposition?
  The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, with respect to my friend from South 
Carolina, I rise to urge my colleagues to defeat this motion to 
recommit.
  Like all legislation that makes it out of both Chambers and onto the 
President's desk, this bill contains compromise. Compromises are at the 
heart of the legislative process, reconciling differences between the 
House and the Senate. In fact, this process is at the very heart of 
this remarkable system our Founding Fathers designed for us. So it was 
with this legislation.
  In some cases, the House yielded to the Senate; in others, the Senate 
yielded to the House. That is why we have a conference report that, on 
balance, will greatly strengthen our homeland security.
  I would say to Senator DeMint that I supported his language in the 
original Senate bill. It was slightly modified in conference. That 
happens. But we ended up with language that had the support of both 
Democratic and Republican conferees in both the House and the Senate.
  In my opinion, the difference is not great. We simply give the 
Secretary of Homeland Security the authority, with his judgment as the 
protector of our homeland security, to decide when and if certain of 
these enumerated convictions ought not any longer to be a prohibition 
to working in our ports.
  I respect Senator DeMint's position, but what he has asked us to do 
is to recommit the bill and delay all of the improvements in security 
that come with the underlying bill. So my colleagues will have to 
answer the question about whether it is worth it, whether it is worth 
delaying provisions that will ensure better security against attacks on 
airplanes, better security with regard to maritime and air cargo, 
better security against terrorists entering this country via, for 
instance, the visa waiver program, better technology and support for 
our first responders, and a provision to provide immunity from 
liability for citizens who see what they take reasonably and in good 
faith to be action that appears to them to be associated with a 
terrorist attack. We protect them from liability from those they are 
complaining against.
  If we do not pass this legislation tonight and enable the House to 
pass it next week, we are going to be delaying its movement to the 
President and its enactment into law.
  So I respectfully oppose the motion and ask my colleagues to vote 
against recommittal.
  I thank the Chair and yield back my remaining time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, thank you.
  We have accomplished a lot today. We have had a few blowups but not 
for long. That is the way it is. For those of us who have been here a 
while, this reminded us all of how we used to legislate. This is fun 
for us legislators. It is great.
  I am so happy we did not file cloture on this bill. We were able to 
work through it. I would say that we have earned tomorrow off. I am 
anxious the people who have the important trip to Greenland will be 
able to do that. We will not be in session tomorrow. The next vote will 
be on the children's health bill sometime Monday. We will do it Monday. 
The first vote will be at about 5:15 or 5:30 on Monday night. I think 
that should be about it. We will have this vote. We will finish this 
vote and one more, and then we will have some speeches, and that will 
be it for the day.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The supporters of the motion have 2 minutes 12 
seconds. The opponents of the motion have 1 minute 1 second.
  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time.

[[Page S10117]]

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to 
recommit.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Dodd), 
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), and the Senator from 
Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. 
Coleman), the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Lott), and the Senator from 
Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. 
Coleman) would have voted ``nay.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 26, nays 67, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 283 Leg.]

                                YEAS--26

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     McConnell
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sununu
     Thune
     Vitter

                                NAYS--67

     Akaka
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Inouye
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Tester
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Brownback
     Coleman
     Dodd
     Johnson
     Lott
     McCain
     Obama
  The motion was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the conference 
report.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Dodd), 
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), the Senator from Illinois 
(Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. 
Coleman), the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Lott), and the Senator from 
Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. 
Coleman) would have voted ``yea.''
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 85, nays 8, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 284 Leg.]

                                YEAS--85

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--8

     Barrasso
     Coburn
     DeMint
     Dole
     Enzi
     Graham
     Inhofe
     Kyl

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Brownback
     Coleman
     Dodd
     Johnson
     Lott
     McCain
     Obama
  The conference report was agreed to.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I 
move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

                          ____________________