[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 25, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6141-S6145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FISA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008--MOTION TO PROCEED


                             Cloture Motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, pursuant to rule 
XXII, the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to Calendar No. 827, H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments 
     Act of 2008.
         Sheldon Whitehouse, Patty Murray, Max Baucus, Tim 
           Johnson, Ken Salazar, Barbara A. Mikulski, John D. 
           Rockefeller, IV, Herb Kohl, Robert P. Casey, Jr., 
           Daniel K. Inouye, Mary Landrieu, Blanche L. Lincoln, 
           Mark L. Pryor, Dianne Feinstein, Thomas R. Carper, 
           Joseph Lieberman, Claire McCaskill.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
motion to proceed to H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, shall 
be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. 
Byrd), the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy), and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) 
are necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 80, nays 15, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 158 Leg.]

                                YEAS--80

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker

                                NAYS--15

     Biden
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Dodd
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Harkin
     Kerry
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Menendez
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Byrd
     Clinton
     Kennedy
     McCain
     Obama
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 80, the nays are 
15. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in 
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
  The majority leader is recognized.


                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 3221

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
concur in the amendments of the House--this is on the housing bill--
striking titles VI through XI to the amendment of the Senate; and 
finally that the Senate then disagree to the amendments of the House 
adding a new title and inserting a new section to the amendment of the 
Senate to H.R. 3221, notwithstanding rule XXII; further that a 
managers' amendment which has been cleared by the managers and the 
leaders also be in order.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. ENSIGN. Madam President, I will object. I have been attempting, 
with the Senator in the chair right now, to attach the Clean Energy Tax 
Stimulus amendment to the housing bill and get a vote on it. This is an 
amendment that passed on the housing bill a couple months ago by a vote 
of 88 to 8 in a bipartisan fashion in the Senate.
  People say: What does this have to do with housing? Well, it has 
several things to do with housing. There is energy efficiency built in 
for new home construction. If somebody wants to upgrade their home with 
renewable energy products, they can do that with the help of tax 
credits in this amendment. It is a good amendment because this country 
is facing an energy crisis and gasoline prices are too high; home 
heating oil is too high; and natural gas has gone up by 70 percent. We 
need to have more renewable energy in the United States. All we have to 
do is have a vote on this amendment, and we could proceed with the 
housing bill.

  Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. ENSIGN. In a moment. I would say in closing that people have 
said--we can't do this. The House of Representatives would object 
because it isn't ``paid for.'' Well, there is $2.4 billion in unoffset 
tax provisions included in the Dodd/Shelby amendment and a large amount 
of this does not even relate to housing. Why should the House of 
Representatives accept $2.4 billion worth in tax incentives not paid 
for and object to our clean energy tax provisions at the same time? 
That is an example of why there is inconsistency in objecting to our 
amendment being voted on.
  I yield for a question.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I would like to ask, through the Chair, 
the Senator from Nevada if he could tell me the name of the State that 
has had 17 consecutive months leading the Nation in foreclosures.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Madam President, there is no question that the whole 
country is facing a housing crisis and it is not just housing; it 
actually is leading to a liquidity problem, and my State like others 
has experienced difficulties. I wish to solve this problem, and improve 
this bill with the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus amendment----

[[Page S6142]]

  Mr. REID. Madam President, regular order.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. ENSIGN. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I have been very patient while my dear 
friend, the junior Senator from Nevada, has talked about this. Here is 
the situation in which we find ourselves. Everyone knows we have an 
extenders package. I have a letter on my desk that has been spread on 
the Record previously--218 House Members have signed it--saying the 
House will not accept anything that is not paid for on the extenders. 
We have a letter that is now also a part of the Record, more than 400 
companies, most of them Fortune 400 companies, say it is very important 
to pass the extenders legislation paid for. We also had a statement in 
The Hill newspaper yesterday, where the National Association of 
Manufacturers said: Why can't they pass this bill? It is very important 
to pass the extenders. It is the most important thing the manufacturers 
need in the country.
  We have a situation where there was an agreement made on this bill, 
the housing bill. The agreement was that they would be related to 
housing. With all due respect, everyone knows the matter relating to 
the extenders that my dear friend from Nevada talks about has--you have 
to stretch a lot to have it related to housing. Why would we want to 
send something to the House and have them send it back to us? We have a 
situation on the housing bill that Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus 
are going to take care of--the pay-fors. That is all part of the deal, 
and everyone knows that.
  This is a situation where Senator Shelby and Senator Dodd have worked 
very hard, and not only have they been working with the House, but they 
have been working with the White House on this housing bill.
  Let's look at where we are. The Senate has turned this week to a 
number of issues. We have had four main bills: Housing, FISA--the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act--Medicare fix, which is important 
to do; and the supplemental appropriations bill. As of this minute, we 
haven't passed any of those because there have been continued 
objections from the minority.
  Now, there is no need to whip out a Velcro chart about the number of 
filibusters we have had, but that is the reason we are in the position 
we are in today, because we have this great big funnel of legislation 
that needs to get done and now we have the little spout and that spout 
is the Fourth of July and it is hard to stuff everything into that. So 
we have a situation now where there is no reason why housing, the 
Medicare fix, the supplemental appropriations bill can't be passed in 
the next couple days.
  We have all talked about FISA. I voted on the motion to proceed, not 
because I like the bill, but I think it is very important that there be 
an opportunity to offer amendments on it. Senator Bond and Senator 
Rockefeller recognize that and know they would also feel it appropriate 
to have amendments on this legislation, but right now it appears we are 
not going to have that opportunity. FISA enjoys support from both sides 
of the aisle. It, too, could be easily dealt with before the Fourth of 
July recess. All these bills are critical to the health, safety, and 
well-being of the American people.
  With thousands of American families losing their homes every day--
8,500 new foreclosures every day--and millions more facing the 
shockwaves of abandoned properties and falling equity--and sometimes 
rapidly falling equity--it is important we act quickly. This housing 
legislation raises limits on Federal home loans; it creates a privately 
funded program to help distressed homeowners; it modernizes the Federal 
Housing Authority to keep pace with the current housing conditions; and 
it provides foreclosure counseling moneys to families in need.
  This housing legislation enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support. 
There is no reason we shouldn't pass this legislation.
  On FISA, I recognize that Members of the House and Senate have worked 
hard for 3 months to come up with these improvements. Some of my 
Democratic colleagues will support a FISA compromise. I respect their 
decision. Even though I may disagree with the majority of the Senate, I 
have an obligation, as I said last night, to do everything I can to 
move this forward. We should be able to do that this week.
  The Medicare bill, also known as the doctors' fix, passed by a 
stunning 355-to-59 vote in the House of Representatives--355 to 59. 
Republican leaders in the House openly supported this legislation or 
they wouldn't have gotten a vote such as that. This legislation will 
both help Medicare beneficiaries and head off the looming cuts facing 
doctors in many different ways. This bill was very similar to a bill 
drafted by Senator Baucus and supported by every Senate Democrat and 
nine Republicans in the Senate earlier this month. It represents the 
only chance this body has to head off cuts to doctors before they take 
effect at the end of the month. There is no reason we can't pass the 
Medicare doctors' fix this week.
  Who supports this legislation? AARP, the American Medical 
Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Hospital 
Association, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security, the 
National Council on Aging, and dozens more--dozens more.
  I ask unanimous consent that a full list of the scores of other 
organizations be printed in the Record that support this Medicare fix--
fixing it now. It has to be done before the end of the month.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Alliance for Retired Americans, Alzheimer's Association, 
     American Academy of Audiology, American Academy of 
     Dermatology, American Academy of Otolaryngology, American 
     Academy of Ophthalmology, American Association for Geriatric 
     Psychiatry, American Association for Homecare, American 
     Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American College of 
     Cardiology, American College of Physicians, American College 
     of Radiology, American College of Osteopathic Internists, 
     American College of Surgeons, American Counseling 
     Association, American Clinical Laboratory Association, 
     American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, 
     American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, 
     American Hospital Association, American Medical Association.
       American Mental Health Counselors Association, American 
     Optometric Association, American Psychological Association, 
     American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of 
     Plastic Surgeons, Association for Community Affiliated Plans, 
     American Osteopathic Association, California Medical 
     Association, Center for Medicare Advocacy, Clinical Social 
     Work Association, Federation of American Hospitals, Food 
     Marketing Institute, Kidney Care Partners, Leadership Council 
     of Aging Organizations, Medical Group Management Association, 
     Medicare Rights Center, Mental Health America, National 
     Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 
     National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and National 
     Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
       National Committee to Preserve Social Security and 
     Medicare, National Community Pharmacists Association, 
     National Council on Aging, National Rural Health Association, 
     Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, Society of Hospital 
     Medicine and Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN 
     USA).

  Mr. REID. Madam President, it is legislation that every State in the 
Union is calling us about, their Governors and other representatives, 
to please take care of this. That is what we need to do. Are we doing 
this to take care of the doctors? Partially, yes, but the other reason 
we are doing it is we are doing it to preserve Medicare. If we do not 
do this, there will be more doctors who drop out of taking care of 
Medicare patients.
  What does that mean? It also means there will be other people who are 
reimbursed by insurance companies and other health care providers who 
base their reimbursement on what Medicare pays. So we have to do this 
fix. It is not only to take care of the doctors, it is to take care of 
patients and Americans from one end of this country to the other.
  Finally, we have a supplemental appropriations bill. I would hope we 
could pass that before the Fourth of July recess. It is an emergency 
supplemental. We know it funds the war fighting. No matter how people 
feel about the money that has gone to pay for this war, costing us in 
Iraq alone $5,000 every second, I would hope everyone understands we 
are not going to vote on the war funding in this measure that is before 
us now. But we have other things we have to vote on or the war funding 
would not come forward, and that is important issues such as the GI 
bill of rights and unemployment

[[Page S6143]]

compensation extension which States are drastically in need of.
  It does other good things. There is money in here as a result of the 
floods that have taken place. That is important. There are Medicaid 
fixes. Out of the seven regulations that are causing a problem with 
every Governor in America, six of them will be repealed by this 
legislation. So there is no reason that we can't do this legislation.
  I have said repeatedly we can pass all four of these bills this week. 
We can do them tomorrow, as a matter of fact. But as with everything 
else we try to accomplish around here in a closely divided Senate, 
passing them will require the cooperation of Members from both sides of 
the aisle.
  The filibuster chart is now up to 78. Of course, this is an alltime 
record for obstructionism. I have said our Republican colleagues, on 
occasion, have acted Orwellian this year; they say one thing and do 
another. I guess today is an appropriate day to say this because it is 
George Orwell's birthday today. He would be 105 today.
  So I would hope everyone understands there will be no going home 
tomorrow unless we complete the things we are obligated to the American 
people to complete. Now, some say, well, that may mean we are going to 
have to be here Saturday. Yes, it may mean we have to be here Saturday 
because that is the way it is, and if we can't complete our work by 
Saturday, then we can continue our work. It wouldn't be the first time 
in the history of this country that important legislation was worked on 
during a holiday. Now, the Fourth of July doesn't come until next 
Friday or Saturday, a week from the day after tomorrow. So we may have 
to work here. Everyone should understand that. Everyone has 
obligations. I do. I don't get to go home as much as a lot of people. I 
would love to be able to go home on Friday, but we may not be able to. 
We have to, in my opinion, complete the supplemental appropriations. 
That is extremely important. We have to complete the Medicare 
legislation before we go. If we can complete FISA, I am not going to 
stand in the way of that. I think we should do that too. It appears 
now, realistically, with this objection to the housing bill, it appears 
very clear to me that is going to take more time, and we will not be 
able to do it by the day after tomorrow, but we are going to complete 
it. We have gone too far to do that. I tell all those people who are 
objecting to our completing this housing legislation: We will complete 
it. It may not be tomorrow, it may not be Friday, it may have to wait 
until the first week we get back. I understand the procedural aspects 
of that. It could require two more cloture votes, but two more cloture 
votes would only bring us to 80. We have worked through more difficult 
things than that. We have a relatively short work period in July, and 
it is guaranteed that we will do--we will complete the work on the 
housing bill the first week we get back.
  So that is the best I can do. I am not upset with anyone. It has been 
an interesting day, but it is a day that focuses attention on the work 
we need to do. I haven't even mentioned the FAA extension. We have to 
do that some way. We tried to do that, and that was objected to. We 
have this global AIDS bill the President wants to do. I had a good 
conversation with Senator Enzi a few minutes ago, and he said he had 
three people who were objecting to that. He has taken care of two of 
them today. He is going to deal with the other one tomorrow. I hope, in 
fact, that is the case. So there is a lot of work we need to do, and I 
hope we can do it. But everyone should understand we are not walking 
out of here at 2 o'clock tomorrow. If this means we have to stay until 
after midnight to file cloture on various things, we will do that. We 
have work we have to do for the American people.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, let me brighten our day and lift the 
mood of my good friend, the majority leader. I think by any standard 
this is going to be a week of considerable bipartisan accomplishment 
for the American people. We have a great likelihood of completing the 
supplemental. As everyone knows, the war portion of the supplemental, 
we don't even have to vote on again. The only thing we will be voting 
on, again, on the supplemental are the domestic parts of it that are 
widely supported on both sides of the aisle.
  We all agree we need to do the so-called docs' fix. There is some 
difference of opinion about exactly how to craft that. Senator Baucus 
and Senator Grassley have a history of being able to come together and 
work these things out in a way that makes sense for both sides.
  The FISA bill enjoys almost, I assume, unanimous support on this side 
of the aisle and more than half the votes on the other side of the 
aisle. There is no reason we would not get there on that.
  As the majority leader has pointed out, at some point along the way, 
the cobwebs and trip wires and other problems the housing bill has run 
into will be circumvented by the majority and we will get to final 
passage on a piece of legislation that the vast majority of people on 
both sides of the aisle think is important.
  So I finish today with optimism about the chances of considerable 
accomplishment for the American people before the week is out.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is my understanding that the business 
before the Senate is the postcloture time on the FISA legislation; is 
that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Casey). Yes, we are on the motion to 
proceed to H.R. 6304.
  Mr. REID. Yes, that is the FISA legislation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, briefly, I want to thank our colleagues. I 
thank the majority leader for his tremendous help in getting us this 
far on the housing bill. We have worked together, and we would not have 
been this far without the cooperation of the minority leader as well. 
So I thank Senator McConnell for that. I am grateful for my colleagues 
to let us get cloture. Before we leave here--and the Presiding Officer 
knows how important this legislation is to our States--if we can get 
this done, I cannot think of a better message to send to the country 
than having Democrats and Republicans come together to make a 
difference to thousands of constituents who, over the next week and a 
half, will be in foreclosure and in danger of losing their homes.
  I am grateful for the vote we just had on the Dodd-Shelby substitute. 
There are other hurdles to go because of the way this matter was sent 
to us. Any individual Senator can drag this out further. Given the 
overwhelming vote we have had, it seems to me it would be in our 
interest to try to get to the other amendments that remain and make 
this bill as supportive as we can in recognition of what the other body 
has done, with the hopes that the President might even have this on his 
desk for signature while we are back in our States during the 
Independence Day holiday. I think we can do it if we really want to. It 
is not that much of a difference that remains. As long as one or two 
individuals insist that we go through all of the remaining procedural 
hoops, they can delay the outcome. The outcome will happen. 
Unfortunately, their delays will cause others who might otherwise have 
been helped by this bill to possibly lose their homes. I think that is 
tragic indeed.
  I hope the leadership will prevail upon those Senators to allow us to 
continue the amendment process, get through the hurdles, and complete 
work on this bill before we leave.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for a 
few minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                    Corporate Responsibility in Iowa

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I want to address an issue of corporate 
responsibility, particularly as it relates to my hometown of New 
Hartford, IA, and the flood that recently took place there, and whether 
a large chain

[[Page S6144]]

of convenient stores that is headquartered across Wisconsin is going to 
take the corporate responsibility of continuing to serve a small town 
that has been devastated by a flood.
  It has been a tough and challenging time for Iowans over the past few 
weeks. I have come to the floor on a few occasions already to update my 
colleagues on the natural disasters that have hit Iowa so hard.
  Tornadoes and floods have caused economic and emotional toil and pain 
and have, sadly, taken 24 lives across the Midwest.
  Just a mile from my farm is the town of New Hartford, where I have 
lived my entire 74 years. It is a modest town of about 650 people. On 
May 25, the north edge of the town suffered extensive damage from a 
tornado.
  That same tornado destroyed half the town of Parkersburg, IA, just 10 
miles west of my hometown of New Hartford, and continued damaging towns 
over a 43-mile range, including Dunkerton and Hazleton, as that tornado 
traveled east.
  Then came the floods. The town and residents of New Hartford were 
devastated by the flood waters of what we call Beaver Creek. Much of 
the town's homes and businesses suffered damages from the floods.
  But Iowans are resilient people. The residents and the entire 
community are pulling together to help their neighbors get back on 
their feet.
  But one resident is abandoning the people of New Hartford. Kwik Star 
has announced that the only convenience gas store in town will not be 
rebuilt. The decision by Kwik Star to not reopen their store is a 
serious setback for the town of New Hartford.
  These folks have endured a tornado and a damaging flood, but they are 
working to rebuild, pull themselves together, and somehow get their 
lives back to normal.
  But the one gas station and convenience store will not be around to 
help with that rebuilding. They view the damage to their facility as 
too great, too daunting to overcome. This news has added another 
devastation to the residents of the community. We get the story: Well, 
we will not rebuild in New Hartford. We will put one double the size of 
that one in Parkersburg, so then all the people in New Hartford can 
drive 10 miles to get whatever they would get in their local community.
  This is a large chain of convenience stores. I am begging for 
corporate responsibility, to continue to serve the community. And, 
particularly, don't ditch people when they are most in need.
  Well, their decision doesn't sit well with the residents of New 
Hartford. As you can tell, it doesn't sit well with me.
  As the residents are cleaning up their homes, parks, and businesses, 
Kwik Star has decided to abandon them. Kwik Star is hurting my 
neighbors and friends emotionally and economically.
  If they don't see the value in rebuilding in New Hartford, why should 
the residents have any hope? These folks are doing everything they can 
to bring their properties back from this disaster, to rebuild our 
hometown, and Kwik Star is leaving them high and dry during this time 
of devastation.
  It is not just the emotional pain of their decision that hurts the 
people of New Hartford, IA; it is also economic because Kwik Star 
employed 15 people before the flood. Three full-time employees--Deana 
Ackerson, Brenda Smith, and Barb Harper--have each worked for Kwik Star 
for many years.
  Twelve other employees--Cindy Huberg, John Mulder, John Anderson, 
Matt Winkelman, Rich Moore, Teresa Peverill, Carol Grooms, Lauri and 
Roger Palmersheim, Mitch Konken, Pam Hargema, and Heather Hugelucht--
depended on Kwik Star for employment as well.
  The bottom line is that the residents of New Hartford are clinging to 
their hope that the town will come back even stronger than before these 
disasters. They are using that hope to get through this.
  But Kwik Star is dashing that hope. Kwik Star is telling them that 
their town no longer deserves a gas station and convenience store. One 
flood is all that this big corporation can seem to handle. If you want 
gas, milk, or bread, you will have to drive 10 miles to get it in a 
new, refurbished store that is twice as large.
  I can tell them that in another town, just 15 miles away, they had a 
flood, and they had two stores in that town. One of the two stores in 
Waverly was flooded, but they are going to rebuild that store. I don't 
understand this. I am working for tax changes, which is the very same 
thing we did for Katrina in New Orleans, and with the help of Senator 
Baucus and Congressman Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means 
Committee, we are working to enact tax relief for victims of natural 
disasters similar to what was done to the victims of the hurricane. I 
hope this will encourage Kwik Star to stay in New Hartford.

  This includes expensing for demolition and cleanup of debris. Another 
major provision would allow additional depreciation to greatly reduce 
or eliminate the business tax liability for the current year, including 
an operating loss carryback, as an example, for 5 years, which ought to 
be plenty of incentive for these businesses to continue in the 
communities where they work.
  In the case of the floods, we are talking about 250 different 
communities in eastern Iowa, just as an example; and, in addition, 
Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana--and now it looks as though it is 
going to cover Missouri as well.
  I am pushing these provisions to help businesses such as Kwik Star 
cope with the cost of damage and rebuilding.
  Mr. President, I am here to appeal to this major convenience store 
and corporation serving the Midwest, the Kwik Star Corporation, and 
tell them that New Hartford is worthy of a convenience store. Our 
residents deserve Kwik Star's commitment to the community. They need to 
know that a company they have depended on and they have done business 
with for over 20 years will reverse this decision and join them in 
bringing New Hartford back from disaster.


                             Iowa Flooding

  Mr. President, I want to take a moment to provide another update on 
the flooding in Iowa. As you are aware, Iowa is in the middle of a 
crisis. Across the State, floods have devastated homes, businesses, 
farms, and communities, and that continues.
  I have been traveling back and forth to Iowa to see the catastrophic 
damage, and I have been anguished to see my fellow Iowans suffering. 
People are hurting, and it will take a long time and a lot of hard work 
just to get back to normal.
  However, in the midst of this devastation, I have also witnessed 
incredible examples of the spirit of Iowa. I have seen Iowans come 
together in communities across the State sandbagging, consoling, 
sharing, and providing a helping hand to neighbors and strangers alike. 
This spirit of dedication, a natural inclination to put others before 
self, is what makes me most proud to call myself an Iowan.
  I cannot talk about the spirit of Iowa without talking about the 
dedication and efforts of our police, fire, emergency medical services, 
National Guard forces, and the Civil Air Patrol. These first responders 
are the frontline of defense for all Iowans. These selfless individuals 
come to the aid of all Iowans, putting duty first to help others defend 
their homes, livelihoods, and lives. They do this without thinking 
twice and put others' lives before their own. They have worked 
tirelessly to build levees, to sandbag, to secure dangerous areas, and 
to make water rescues. They have suffered loss, just as all Iowans 
have; but they never waiver and they always continue to come to the aid 
of others.
  For instance, police and fire stations across the flood zone have 
been damaged or destroyed. News reports have documented how the fire 
station in Columbus Junction, IA, was under 10 feet of water. Other 
reports point to devastation of police, fire, and EMS facilities across 
the State, including the second largest city in our State, Cedar 
Rapids. Despite this, first responders still continue to provide 
security and to help communities in distress. Their efforts are nothing 
short of heroic.
  It is not just local police, fire, EMS personnel who are helping out. 
Law enforcement officers with the Iowa State Patrol and from other 
agencies across the State have come to the flood zone to lend a helping 
hand.
  Some have come from out of State. For instance, Coast Guard rescue 
teams based out of St. Louis came to

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provide search and rescue. State troopers and police officers from 
Nebraska and Minnesota have helped the Cedar Rapids Police Department 
keep the city secure as the floodwaters recede and cleanup begins.
  I appreciate the sacrifice and dedication these folks have made to 
help Iowa in its time of need.
  But it does not stop there. The Iowa National Guard has deployed over 
4,000 of their members across the State, providing vital manpower to 
assist local communities. They have used their skills and training to 
help meet numerous local needs. They have helped with sandbagging, 
shoring up levees, saving homes and businesses, and they have secured 
bridges and patrolled levees. They have been assisting local law 
enforcement with security. They have distributed clean drinking water 
to communities that have no running water and provided generators to 
those without power.
  The National Guard has also provided air support via helicopters to 
support the assessment of damage and transportation of vital equipment. 
The list of needs met by our Iowa Guardsmen goes on and on, and their 
dedication knows no bounds.
  In fact, one Iowa Guardsman, National Guard SPC Curtis L. White, had 
to change his wedding plans when he was deployed in support of the 
flood effort. He married his wife Daniele on Thursday, June 19, on the 
viaduct on the corner of Highway 92 and 2nd Street in Columbus Junction 
where he had been assisting with the flood operations. I thank him, his 
new wife, and his fellow Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen for 
their sacrifices and compassion for their fellow Iowans.
  I also thank those in the Iowa wing of the Civil Air Patrol who flew 
Senator Harkin and this Senator around the State to view the impacted 
areas. The Civil Air Patrol also flew photo missions to examine the 
extent of flooding. I commend the Civil Air Patrol for their 
dedication.
  Finally, I thank the men and women across the State who are serving 
in hospitals, emergency rooms, long-term care facilities, community 
health centers, home health agencies, and hospices. Many of these 
people lost their homes to flooding, and yet they still showed up at 
work to do the right thing. They are to be commended for those efforts.
  I know these folks were on the frontline working to evacuate patients 
from places such as Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids as floodwaters 
rose. When this happened, facilities such as Saint Luke's Hospital in 
the same city and others nearby jumped up without hesitation to take in 
these displaced hospital patients.
  We cannot forget the hard work and dedication of our health care 
professionals during this crisis, and as they are on the road to 
recovery. With people such as these, I have no doubt that facilities 
such as Mercy Medical Center will be fully operational in no time.
  As the floodwaters start to recede and Iowa moves toward rebuilding, 
the responsibility of public safety will still be on the shoulders of 
our first responders. These capable men and women who serve in law 
enforcement, fire departments, EMS, the National Guard, and in 
hospitals across the State need all the resources we can provide them 
in this time of need. We have a responsibility to make sure they are 
equipped for the job and any future natural disasters we have.
  That is why I led the Iowa congressional delegation in writing to 
Federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the 
Department of Justice, asking that deadlines for law enforcement and 
first responder grant programs be extended for communities impacted by 
the flooding.
  Communities in Iowa should not be penalized from receiving grants 
because they have not had the time to hurry up and beat a deadline that 
does not take into consideration such natural disasters. These 
communities should be given special consideration for applying for 
grant moneys because of the extensive damage.
  Programs such as the Assistance to Firefighters and the Staffing for 
Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters can provide vital 
assistance to fire departments that were impacted by the flooding. 
These departments may need new equipment, radios, computers, and 
repairs to their fire stations. These grants can provide that 
assistance.
  Further, programs such as the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
Assistance Program, called Byrne/JAG, as we all know it around here, 
and the Community Oriented Policing Services, and we refer to that as 
the COPS Program, can also provide these same types of resources to 
police departments in need.
  Iowans will soon be facing a long process toward rebuilding. It will 
not be easy. However, I am proud to say that I know Iowans will be 
helping others to rebuild in the Iowa spirit of hard work and 
generosity. We in Congress are doing all we can on our end to ensure 
that first responders in the field have the resources they need.
  So I applaud, maybe now a third or fourth time but you cannot do it 
too many times, these brave men and women who serve their communities 
and carry on the spirit of Iowa.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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