[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 145 (Friday, September 12, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8457-S8462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of S. 3001, which the clerk will 
report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 3001) to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
     year 2009 for military activities of the Department of 
     Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
     activities for the Department of Energy, to prescribe 
     military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
     other purposes.

  Pending:

       Reid amendment No. 5290, to change the enactment date.
       Reid amendment No. 5291 (to amendment No. 5290), of a 
     perfecting nature.
       Motion to recommit the bill to the Committee on Armed 
     Services with instructions to report back forthwith, with 
     Reid amendment No. 5292 (to the instructions of the motion to 
     recommit), to change the enactment date.
       Reid amendment No. 5293 (to the instructions of the motion 
     to recommit to the bill), of a perfecting nature.
       Reid amendment No. 5294 (to amendment No. 5293), of a 
     perfecting nature.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The senior Senator from Michigan is 
recognized.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, as previously announced, there are no 
rollcall votes today or Monday. Senators should expect the next vote to 
occur on Tuesday. However, Senator Warner and I will be here today, we 
will be here Monday, and we will, of course, be here Tuesday morning to 
discuss amendments with Senators to try to get these amendments 
considered or at least in line to be considered. We are clearing 
amendments. We have a managers' package already that is ready to go 
with--I am not sure how many amendments we have already put in there--
perhaps 15 or 16 amendments that have already been cleared. We can't 
get them passed yet because of an objection, but we would expect that 
objection would be removed by Tuesday. We will continue in the next few 
days, over the weekend, to try to agree upon many of the 200-plus 
amendments that have been filed so that we would be hopeful that we 
would have a large

[[Page S8458]]

number of amendments in a managers' package ready to go on Tuesday if 
we can get the objection removed.
  We also hope that we could, today and Monday, debate amendments which 
will be requiring rollcall votes on Tuesday. Our goal is to try to 
complete consideration of this bill by Tuesday night. The majority 
leader has indicated he will be filing cloture today, which means there 
would be a cloture vote on Tuesday, and hopefully we would get to the 
point on Tuesday where the amendments which need rollcall votes could 
be voted on Tuesday and that we would have a large managers' package 
and that we would not have to go to a cloture vote on Tuesday and 
instead try to get to final passage without it. That is the lineup. My 
dear friend from Virginia and I are here to work with Senators to try 
to see if we can't get amendments lined up for votes and other 
amendments agreed upon so that they will be part of the managers' 
package.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The senior Senator from Virginia is 
recognized.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank the Presiding Officer. I join my 
colleague. We are here.
  I wish to also bring to the attention of colleagues that at the close 
of business last night we were informed there are over 200 amendments 
at the desk. It is our hope that perhaps Senators who have filed those 
amendments could work with the managers and/or our staffs such that 
they could be added to, hopefully, a future package that will receive 
the support of the Senate by a UC. So therein is a very significant 
amount of work resting at the desk.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, if I could add one further thought, with 
the help of our staffs, we have actually been making some progress in 
terms of some significant discussions that have not been on the Senate 
floor but nonetheless are taking place, so that we are making some 
progress on some sticking points, to try to resolve some sticking 
points to at least get them to a position where they can be voted upon 
even if they can't be agreed to. So I am optimistic, if everybody 
cooperates----
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, in that vein, Senator Vitter and Senator 
DeMint worked with us last night, and Senator Coburn.
  Mr. LEVIN. And others, yes. The leaders are involved through their 
staffs and perhaps personally in these discussions. But it is our 
effort, our intent, our goal, and our hope that we can get this bill 
ready for passage, either without a cloture vote or with one, by the 
end of Tuesday night. That is our goal. The leadership has been very 
helpful in trying to help us reach that goal, and that is our intent.
  I note the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                           Amendment No. 5296

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I am rising to speak in regard to the 
Defense authorization bill, which is now being considered on the floor 
of the Senate. I am delighted that we are moving forward with this 
piece of legislation. It is something that gets passed every year. It 
is important that we get this kind of legislation passed because, with 
the challenges the country is facing, we need to deal with some very 
vital issues in the defense of this country and also take care of the 
families and the men and women in the armed services.
  I want to mention a few things about a couple of amendments I plan on 
introducing at some point in time for consideration by the Senate. One 
of them has to do with Fort Carson, which is located in Colorado 
Springs, CO. It is an attractive place, if you are in the Army, to be 
assigned. It is one of the bases where we are looking at some expansion 
possibilities.
  One of the key points with the new personnel we are bringing is that 
they need more training space. So I have been working with the Colorado 
Springs community and the commander at Fort Carson, as well as the 
Army, to facilitate this so it can move forward and everybody would be 
comfortable with what is being done. Earlier in our discussions, when I 
visited with the commander, he assured me that in the process of 
acquiring property he would protect private property rights. That is 
extremely important to the people of Colorado, particularly in the 
rural areas. This expanded training area is in a very rural area in 
southern Colorado. With the assurance that they would protect private 
property rights, I began to say that now you need to talk to the 
members of the communities and elected officials and see if you cannot 
work out some agreement. The Army has put forth considerable efforts up 
to this particular point in time. I have been asked to begin to 
propound an amendment that would support the Army's position on 
protecting property rights.
  Last year, as part of the fiscal year 2008 Defense Authorization Act, 
I included language that would require the Army to submit to Congress 
an outline of their justification for the expansion of the Pinon Canyon 
maneuver site. I was pleased with the Army's findings and am convinced 
there is a critical need for additional training space for the new 
troops that are set to arrive at Fort Carson in the near future.
  Although the Army identified a need of 418,577 acres, they have 
decided that just over 100,000 acres will be adequate to meet their 
immediate needs. These 100,000 acres will still provide the necessary 
space for enhanced training but will have less of an impact on the 
surrounding community.
  In reading the Army's report, I believe they have shown their 
willingness to work with the community on a variety of issues: land, 
cultural resources, and historic preservation concerns in the area. For 
example, Otero County, one of the neighboring counties to Pinon Canyon, 
has asked that the footprint of the expansion not invade the Comanche 
National Grassland, and the Army's new plan leaves that area untouched. 
Additional community leaders suggested that the expansion site not 
cross Interstate 350, which the Army has also agreed to.
  I also want to draw attention to the economic impact data that 
signals significant increases in revenue for the surrounding area. The 
expansion would generate more than 100 full-time civilian and 
contractor positions, equalling as much as $5 million in payroll. These 
would be civilian jobs and would yield increased property and tax sale 
revenue for the area.
  Now, that is important, because if you have Federal facilities in 
your county, the Federal Government doesn't pay taxes. They make 
payments in lieu of taxes. Many times, the complaints we have from 
local governments in Colorado say it doesn't measure up to the lost 
revenue if that had been a facility in the private sector. This is an 
important part of that, so this part of Colorado wants and needs 
economic development. They need ways to be able to expand their 
property tax base so they can support their schools and support their 
community infrastructure in that area and in the country. So this is a 
very important provision, as far as the elected officials in that 
area. Most importantly, the Army has again reiterated their commitment 
to acquire the land from willing sellers only.

  In spite of the Army's continued commitment to acquire the land for 
expansion only from willing sellers, there is still apprehension among 
the landowners, and I want to help ease that concern. That is why I 
will be proposing later on this amendment to the Defense authorization 
bill. It is an amendment which will take the possibility of eminent 
domain completely off the table.
  As I said time and again, we must remember that property rights go 
both ways. Landowners should have the right to keep or sell their land 
if they so choose. If there are willing sellers in the area of the 
proposed expansion, then I see a very win-win solution.
  Again, property owners don't want to have the Army come in and begin 
to condemn their property. Many of the farmers and ranchers have 
property in their families that date clear back to the Mexican land 
grant era in Colorado. They are very established in those areas and 
have no desire to move and want to be a part of the community and do 
not want to be forced out of the area.

[[Page S8459]]

  I have said time and again, we must be very sensitive about property 
rights. The Army now has issued this comprehensive plan which shows the 
critical need for expansion. The Army has completed everything Congress 
has asked of them in the previous legislation. They continue to work 
with community leaders and landowners to find a win-win situation.
  Fort Carson is growing fast and will soon have an additional brigade 
combat team. The United States has a responsibility to ensure our 
service men and women who have so courageously chosen to serve this 
great country receive the best training possible. I believe this 
expansion will help them do so.
  I hope this amendment I will be offering will ease the concerns of 
our ranchers in the area, and we can soon move forward with a decision 
from the Army and from the locally elected officials and ranchers 
involved in the area.


                           Amendment No. 5298

  Mr. President, another amendment I have been working on is an 
amendment to bring attention to the fact that our military 
servicemembers are faced with an ineffective process and unnecessary 
hurdles when attempting to exercise their right to vote.
  Military absentee voting gained attention in the 2000 Presidential 
election. The Government Accountability Office reported that military 
ballots during the 2000 election were disqualified five times as often 
as civilian ballots. Despite numerous attempts by the Congress, our 
military continued to face voting problems in the 2002, 2004, and 2006 
elections.
  In 2006, Active-Duty military voted at a rate of 42 percent lower 
than the general population. It reported 47 percent of servicemembers 
who wanted to vote never got the chance to do so. This amounts to over 
110,000 of our Nation's bravest and most patriotic men and women who 
were denied the right to vote.
  Of those who were able to cast a vote, only 20 percent of them were 
even counted. This is simply unacceptable. These men and women risk 
their lives for democracy and freedom and voting rights all over the 
world. As we did over 60 years ago during World War II, the voting 
process still depends on a single soldier in the field reading a large 
number of pages in a guide--I am told up to 466--and being informed on 
how each individual soldier is to vote under specific precinct 
guidelines. If a soldier is able to complete this step in the process, 
the mail system must still track down a moving target in order to get 
the ballot to a soldier who has the intention of voting. Warfighting 
and technology have come a long way since World War II, and in my view 
it is unconscionable that our voting capabilities have failed to keep 
up for our men and women in the military.
  In recent years, there have been several voting ballot programs that 
would allow the soldier to request, receive, download, and print their 
absentee ballots no matter where they are deployed. We now have the 
capability to use electronic signatures. These are effective programs 
and would remove most, if not all, major hurdles facing our men and 
women in uniform who would like to exercise their right to vote. 
Despite these attempted advancements, none have been universally put 
into place. Our military men and women remain disenfranchised at the 
polling place.
  It is time the United States ensures their right to vote. We have 
deployed these men and women to all corners of the world. We have sent 
them to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight for our security and freedom. 
They help to ensure the rights of others to have a voice in their 
Government. As we approach November and arguably the most monumental 
election of our time, I call on our colleagues to ensure that our men 
and women in uniform are given the opportunity to have their votes 
heard.
  I will be offering an amendment at some point to the Defense 
authorization bill, and the amendment will basically do two things: 
First, it will eliminate the notary requirement on both the Federal 
postcard application to request absentee ballots, as well as the notary 
requirement on voted ballots. This is unnecessary as civilians in most 
States are not required to even do this.
  Second, this amendment will permit electronic submission of the 
Federal postcard application. The Federal postcard application is an 
application needed to request an absentee ballot. By allowing 
electronic submission of this document, it will not just allow greater 
accessibility in a timely manner but will also allow servicemembers to 
request their absentee ballots closer to the election date, hopefully 
granting them additional time to know where they may be stationed in 
November.
  Additionally, this amendment expresses the sense of Congress to 
encourage the States to permit members of the Armed Forces to apply 
for, receive, and submit absentee ballots for elections for Federal 
office by electronic means and to encourage the Department of Defense 
to implement and maintain programs that permit the secure submittal by 
members of the Armed Forces of absentee ballots for election for 
Federal office by electronic means.
  It is simply time for Congress to ensure our military men and women 
the accessibility and right to vote, particularly at a time when we 
have the technology to provide the reliability and integrity of the 
system. I call on my colleagues to support me in this amendment.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
letters from the Colorado Secretary of State, the American Legion, Vets 
for Freedom, and the National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                State of Colorado,


                                          Department of State,

                                         Denver, CO, May 27, 2008.
     Hon. Wayne Allard,
     Dirksen Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Allard: Thank you for your consideration of 
     the amendment expanding voting rights for our overseas 
     military personnel. This proposal is the result of a military 
     voting task force I convened last year in Colorado Springs. 
     Members included active-duty voting assistance officers from 
     Ft. Carson, Peterson AFB and the Air Force Academy, in 
     addition to the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder and other 
     elections officials.
       As you know, this task force was obviously close to home 
     for me as Secretary of State and my service in the military. 
     During a tour in Iraq in 2005, I witnessed first-hand some of 
     the impediments to voting for military personnel in field. 
     Continuing to streamline the voting process for overseas 
     military is a priority for my administration and hopefully, 
     this amendment will help raise the bar nationally.
       In working with the voting assistance officers, we felt 
     that requiring notarized voter registration and absentee 
     ballot applications are undue burdens on overseas military, 
     especially those on the front lines and forward operating 
     bases. In addition, overseas personnel should also be 
     permitted to submit their postcard applications 
     electronically, either through fax or e-mail.
       Last September I attended a working conference hosted by 
     the Election Assistance Commission on facilitating UOCAVA 
     voting. There were a number of stakeholders in attendance 
     including representatives from the Federal Voting Assistance 
     Program and several state and local election officials. 
     During the conference, there was significant support from the 
     attending election officials for federal legislation that 
     would eliminate barriers for military voters.
       Like many other States, Colorado is already compliant with 
     this proposed amendment and our military voters have 
     certainly taken advantage of these opportunities. Our State 
     election officials carefully monitor these applications and 
     have built-in safeguards to ensure the integrity of the 
     process.
       Again, thank you for pursuing this necessary amendment to 
     ensure that our overseas citizens have every opportunity to 
     participate in their elections back home.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Mike Coffman,
     Secretary of State.
                                  ____



                                          The American Legion,

                                    Indianapolis, IN, May 7, 2008.
     Hon. Wayne Allard,
     U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Allard: The American Legion fully supports 
     your proposed amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill 
     that would improve and speed the process of procedures 
     relating to overseas voting by members of our Armed Forces. 
     As I understand it, the amendment would eliminate the notary 
     requirement on voted ballots, and allow electronic submission 
     of the Federal Postcard Application for absentee ballot 
     requests.
       The American Legion has been an advocate of the voting 
     rights of members of the U.S. Armed Forces for many years. We 
     believe that the improvements you have proposed will make it 
     possible for increased numbers of our service members 
     deployed around the world to participate in our election 
     process.

[[Page S8460]]

       Thank you for your continued support of our military forces 
     and their families.
           Sincerely,
                                        Martin ``Marty'' Conatser,
     National Commander.
                                  ____



                                             Vets for Freedom,

                                   Washington, DC, April 29, 2008.
     Hon. Wayne Allard,
     U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Allard, On behalf of all the members of Vets 
     for Freedom, the largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans 
     organization in the United States, I am honored to stand 
     beside you in support of your proposed amendment related to 
     improving the military voting process.
       This important piece of legislation ensures that the men 
     and women who wear our nation's uniform are not left out of 
     the election process while serving in harm's way. These brave 
     and patriotic soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who 
     protect the very right to vote deserve nothing less. As such, 
     Vets for Freedom strongly supports this bi-partisan effort.
       As this piece of legislation makes its way through 
     Congress, Vets for Freedom looks forward to working with you 
     to ensure passage. Thank you for your continued support of 
     our nation's veterans.
           Warm regards,
                                                     Pete Hegseth,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                                  National Vietnam


                                & Gulf War Veterans Coalition,

                                      Washington, DC, May 7, 2008.
     Re Amendment to the Defense Reauthorization Bill.

     Hon. Wayne Allard,
     U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Allard, On behalf of the members of the 
     National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, an 
     organization comprised of more than eighty veterans 
     organizations and veterans advocacy groups, which is 
     committed to advocating for our troops and veterans, we 
     support your efforts to eliminate the hurdles currently faced 
     by deployed members of our armed services who endeavor to 
     vote.
       The above-referenced amendment will provide improvements 
     long overdue in enabling members of our armed services to 
     cast their ballots. Currently, there are over 848,000 members 
     of our armed forces serving in overseas assignments. These 
     men and women are willing to risk their lives to ensure 
     democracy throughout the world. It is important that our 
     military personnel be provided with the same opportunity to 
     exercise their right to vote as enjoyed by those Americans 
     citizens who do not serve in the armed forces. Accordingly, 
     the National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition fully 
     supports this bipartisan amendment.
       The National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition as an 
     organization dedicated to the members of our armed services 
     greatly anticipates the passage of this legislation and 
     encourages your efforts to improve the currently ineffective 
     voting process available to our military.
       Our brochure, reflecting the names of the Coalition's 
     member organizations, is enclosed for your reference.
           Sincerely,
                                                   John J. Molloy,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I am glad to see we are able to move 
forward with the Armed Services bill. I have taken some time and talked 
about a couple of amendments that I will offer that I think are 
important. I fully intend to call them up as we proceed with the debate 
on this important bill, important not only to our men and women in the 
Armed Forces but to the process, and important to the country as a 
whole.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is 
recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I understand Senator Bill Nelson was 
here earlier. I ask unanimous consent that he be recognized at the 
conclusion of my remarks.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                       Honoring our Armed Forces

                     Specialist Ronnie D. Williams

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we are honored to live in a country 
with the bravest men and women in uniform in the world. I rise to pay 
tribute to one of those warriors, SP Ronnie D. Williams of Morning 
View, KY, tragically killed on July 17, 2005, after his tank overturned 
while on patrol in Baghdad.
  Specialist Williams was 26 years old. It was his second tour of duty 
in Iraq. For his bravery in uniform, he received several awards, 
medals, and decorations, including the National Defense Service Medal 
and the Army Commendation Medal.
  Although his Army files may list him as ``Ronnie,'' just about anyone 
who knew Specialist Williams called him by his nickname, ``John Boy.'' 
His mom Sharon Williams explains why.
  ``When he was born, `The Waltons' was on TV,'' she says. ``His uncle 
was named Ronnie [and] we called him John, so when my son was born we 
nicknamed him John Boy, just like on the show.''
  John Boy grew up in a big family and had an active childhood. He 
loved to hunt and would go hunting for deer and turkey. One frequent 
hunting companion was his uncle, Lance Anderson.
  He loved fishing as well and once went fishing with his father-in-
law, William O'Banion, and caught a 42-pound catfish.
  ``If I had a choice out of a million boys to be my son-in-law, he 
would have been No. 1,'' Williams said.
  John Boy's wife Darlene also knew him when he was young and remembers 
the fun he used to have as a child. ``John Boy grew up next door to 
me,'' Darlene says. ``We rode the same bus together. . . . He and my 
brother were best friends. . . . They would go to the trestle in 
DeMossville to fish, but they wouldn't tell anybody so that they could 
keep it a secret. They didn't want anyone to find their fishing hole.''
  ``Growing up we fought like cats and dogs,'' she said. ``I grew up 
with a bunch of boys--never any girls. I always played with my 
brother's friends and he'd get mad.''
  John Boy enjoyed spending time with his friends and family. ``When he 
could come home, he'd say, 'OK, Mom--get the family together. It's time 
for a card game.'''
  John Boy's Uncle Lance was in the Marines, perhaps inspiring John Boy 
to follow in that tradition. According to Darlene, he was also 
motivated by a love of his country. ``After 9/11, he said he wanted to 
make a difference,'' she said.
  John Boy graduated from Simon Kenton High School in Independence, KY, 
in 1998, and joined the Army in 2002. He was eventually assigned to the 
3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based in Fort Carson, CO.
  Even while serving his country away from home, however, John Boy 
didn't forget the girl who had been, literally, next-door. ``Growing 
up, John Boy always told my dad that he'd marry me,'' Darlene says.
  While back home on leave, John Boy and Darlene spent a lot of time 
together and, in her words, they ``hit it off pretty quick.'' Their 
devotion to each other continued even across great distances, once he 
had returned to his squadron.
  ``I went out to Fort Carson to see him every other week,'' Darlene 
says. ``It was a 24-hour drive. . . . It's a haul, especially in my '89 
Cavalier.''
  On his last trip home, John Boy celebrated his birthday with his 
family,and he and Darlene took a belated honeymoon to Florida.
  John Boy also made time to speak to kids when he was home and tell 
them about his experiences in uniform. Some schoolchildren had written 
him letters while he was away. He wanted to thank them personally.
  ``When he came home, he visited River Ridge Elementary School because 
his nieces attended there,'' Sharon recalls.
  Darlene remembers how eager John Boy was to see the kids when he came 
home. ``He had blisters on his feet and back, but instead of going home 
and relaxing, he went to his nieces' school to talk about the Army, and 
he handed out candy to all the kids.''
  Mr. President, our thoughts are with John Boy's family after their 
horrible loss. We are thinking of his wife, Darlene Williams; his son, 
Houston David Williams; his mother, Sharon Williams; his father, Howard 
Williams; his sisters, Crystal Herzog and Kathy Williams; his brothers, 
Geoffrey Williams and Howard Williams; his grandparents, David and Kay 
Redmond; his uncle, Lance Anderson; his parents-in-law, William Henry 
O'Banion, Jr. and Corinne O'Banion; and many other beloved friends and 
family members. Darlene adds about her husband:

       I just want everyone to know what a wonderful man he was; 
     that he would do anything for anyone. He was so wonderful to 
     me.

  I trust those who knew and loved SPC Ronnie D. Williams will not soon 
forget his enormous service and sacrifice for our Nation, and this 
Senate stands in admiration of devotion like his that continues to keep 
our Nation safe and free.

[[Page S8461]]

  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The senior Senator from Florida is 
recognized.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, as soon as the copy of my 
amendment arrives, I will send it to the desk to file, not to offer at 
this point. Although it is applicable to the Defense bill, I will save 
it, at the request of the chairman of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee, for next week's consideration of the Energy bill. It is an 
amendment to protect the interests of the Department of Defense; to 
protect the largest testing and training range in the world for our 
Defense Department.
  Let me show you where it is. It is in the Gulf of Mexico, off of 
Florida. It is all of this area outlined in yellow that is east of this 
longitudinal line. That area in yellow, including this area up here, 
125 miles off Pensacola, is what was etched into law in 2006, 2 years 
ago, as a protected area from drilling for oil and gas. And why is 
that? Because everything east of that longitude-latitude line, all the 
way close to the coast of Florida, is the largest testing and training 
area for the United States military in the world.
  Now, you may wonder why in the last round of base closures and 
realignment--and remember, the acronym is BRAC, Base Realignment and 
Closure Commission, that is what BRAC stands for--in the realignment 
all of the pilot training for the new F-22 stealth fighter came to 
Tyndall Air Force Base at Panama City. You may wonder why. Well, that 
F-22 does a dogfight at 1\1/2\ mach. You can imagine what the training 
radius, the turning radius, is for an F-22 as it is in a dogfight. It 
is at 1\1/2\ times the speed of sound. So it has all of that area out 
there in which to train.
  Why also, under the realignment, the BRAC process, did all of the 
newly developed F-35s, called the Joint Strike Fighter, for the Navy, 
the Air Force, and the Marines--and it is still being developed--why 
did they determine that all of the pilot training for the new F-35s was 
going to be at Eglin Air Force Base, which is located right here, right 
where that military mission line hits the shore? That longitude line--
Eglin Air Force Base--why right there? It has all of that training area 
which is protected airspace.
  Why is this area off bounds here? Well, certainly when we passed the 
law 2 years ago, the interests of a $65 million a year tourist 
industry, dependent on pristine beaches, was considered. And by the 
way, Florida has more beaches than any other State. As a matter of 
fact, Florida has more coastline than any other State save Alaska, and 
Alaska doesn't have a lot of beaches. But we in Florida have barrier 
islands on most of Florida, and those barrier islands have 
extraordinary white sand beaches. So certainly that was an interest to 
protect there. But there is another reason. Guess what is right there. 
Pensacola Naval Air Station. That is where most of the Navy pilots and 
Marine pilots, naval aviators, that is where most of them learn to fly. 
So they have all this training area and they can go out on a carrier 
and train as Navy pilots.
  Now, speaking of the U.S. Navy, you will remember about 4 or 5 years 
ago there was a big brouhaha over the U.S. Atlantic Fleet training down 
off the island which is a part of Puerto Rico--off the shore of Puerto 
Rico and the island of Vieques. For decades, the U.S. Navy had trained 
its pilots there. But the people of Puerto Rico took great umbrage at 
this, and they wanted it changed and they wanted it removed. They were 
afraid it was a health hazard, and so the United States acceded to that 
request. As a result, Vieques was shut down for the Atlantic fleet.
  Well, where is the Atlantic fleet going to train? They have to train. 
Well, guess what. They came here--the largest testing and training area 
for the United States in the world. And in all of this protected space 
there are designated areas for the Navy, specifically off of Pensacola, 
up here, and then big areas of this part of the gulf for the Navy. The 
Air Force has mainly the rest of it, including some Air Force training 
over here.
  Now, here is what happens with the Navy. We have the Key West Naval 
Air Station right here. It is actually not on Key West. There are 
headquarters there on Key West, but the actual airfield is on the 
island to the north of Key West called Boca Chica. So what happens is 
they bring these Navy squadrons that are assigned to an Atlantic Fleet 
naval aircraft carrier, they fly them into Boca Chica, they spend 2 or 
3 weeks there--these are the F-18s and will be the F-35s in the 
future--and then for that period of time they come out here and they 
have all of this area that is restricted space in order to train.
  The good news about that is that when they lift off from the runway 
here at Boca Chica, within 2 minutes they are over restricted space. So 
they do not have to fly a long way burning up a lot of fuel to get 
there. In 2 minutes they are ready to start their aerial training and 
their dogfights.
  Now, there is something else that is going on here. Because up here, 
at Fort Walton Beach, this huge Air Force facility called Eglin Air 
Force Base, is the test and evaluation center for all of the U.S. 
military--all of the Department of Defense. And what they do is they 
take all of these weapons systems--not just airplanes but air-to-
surface missiles, air-to-air missiles, surface-to-air missiles, 
surface-to-surface missiles--and they shoot them and they train and 
they test. This is the Air Force test and evaluation center, but for 
all of the Department of Defense, and we have some weapons systems that 
we are shooting for hundreds of miles. From here to here is 
approximately 300 miles. So we have some weapons systems that are 
shooting hundreds of miles, and as a result, we need all of that.
  Now, when we passed this law protecting this area from any drilling 2 
years ago, I had a statement in writing from the Secretary of Defense 
of what the policy is of the Department of Defense, which is that they 
do not want drilling out here in this test, training, and evaluation 
range. That is the operative policy as confirmed to me by the Deputy 
Secretary of Defense, Gordon England, in a phone call with him 2 days 
ago. That is the operative policy.
  The Department of Defense, presently the Secretary of the Navy, is 
considering whether they need all of this, but Secretary England told 
me that there is no way they are going to have a decision made before 
we finish our session by the end of this month, and, therefore, we 
should plan on the operative policy to be that the U.S. Department of 
Defense does not want any drilling of oil and gas out here because it 
would mess up their testing, their evaluation, and their training.
  So the amendment I am going to offer would apply to this Gulf of 
Mexico area, east of this military mission line, which is this 
longitude line, everything east of there to the coast. And I want to 
read it specifically. It is defined as the ``Joint Gulf Range Complex'' 
or the ``Gulf of Mexico Range.'' It would also include any military or 
National Security Agency operations training or testing area that is 
used by a military or national security agency of the United States.
  It says:

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 
     of the Interior shall not issue any permit for oil and gas 
     leasing or extraction in an area described--as I have just 
     indicated--unless and until the President certifies, based on 
     written opinions provided by each of the Secretary of 
     Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the 
     Air Force, and the head of each appropriate national security 
     agency of the United States, that in balancing the national 
     security interests of the United States the advantages of oil 
     or gas extraction in the area outweigh the military and 
     national security missions being conducted in the area.

  In other words, it is a fail-safe approach to say that it is going to 
force us in the future--whenever we are considering changing laws like 
this that protect this area for the military, that it shall have the 
force of law that the Secretary of Interior has to get a written 
certification from the President that the oil and gas extraction 
outweighs the military and national security missions being conducted 
in the area.
  We are in a time in which our enemies want to do us harm. We are in a 
time in which we have to be prepared. In order to have that 
preparation, we not only need the personnel and the intelligence, but 
we need the equipment. We have to test that equipment under all kinds 
of conditions to make sure it works when we have to have it work. That 
is what this testing and evaluation and training range is for.

[[Page S8462]]

  This Senator is not going to let the U.S. defense preparedness be a 
sacrificial lamb for the interests of the oil and gas companies in 
order to satisfy their hollow-ring rhetoric that says ``drill, baby, 
drill.'' You have heard me before on this floor say that the mantra 
ought not be ``drill, baby, drill.'' As Tom Friedman says, the mantra 
ought to be ``invent, baby, invent.'' That is how we are going to break 
the stranglehold of oil that is around our neck. But until we get to 
that point--and I hope we are rapidly moving to that point of 
alternative fuels--this Senator is going to stand up and not let the 
defense preparedness of this country be sacrificed as a lamb on the 
altar of the oil and gas companies.
  This Senator also wants to clearly say this to the Gang of 10 that 
proposes to drill up to 50 miles off the Florida coast. That would 
bring it up to a point about like this on this map. You can see how 
that would cut out the heart and the lungs of the military mission test 
and evaluation. The Gang of 10 that wants to vote on their proposal 
next week says: By the way, we are going to do that drilling all the 
way up to 50 miles off of the west coast of Florida, but we are not 
going to do that off of anybody else's coast. We will let there be 
drilling at the OK of the States of Virginia, the Carolinas, and 
Georgia, and we are not going to touch anybody else, but we are sure 
going to touch the west coast of Florida and this military mission 
line.
  This Senator wants to clearly say he is not going to let Florida be 
the sacrificial lamb. I just hope my colleagues understand that this 
Senator is not going to let that happen.
  We concocted, crafted, and compromised to pass this law 2 years ago 
to satisfy the Senator from Louisiana, the Senators from Mississippi, 
and the Senators from Alabama who wanted additional drilling while at 
the same time this Senator and my colleague, Senator Martinez, brought 
to the table that we wanted to protect the military and we wanted to 
protect Florida. We crafted this compromise. Now, 2 years later, they 
want to blow it out of the water and they want to blow the U.S. 
military out of the water.
  We have a few tools at our disposal called parliamentary rules of the 
Senate. We are simply not going to let this happen. This Senator is 
about as bipartisan as anybody on this floor. This Senator is about as 
reasonable as anybody on this floor. This Senator does believe what the 
Good Book says, which is ``Come, let us reason together.'' That is how 
we ought to forge compromise and make law, recognizing that you have to 
build consensus. That is what we ought to do, and we ought to do it in 
a bipartisan fashion. But the Gang of 10 wants to run over the 
interests of this Senator and the interests of the military. Every now 
and then, we have the opportunity to stand up and say no.
  I want everybody to be clear where this Senator is. Let me tell you, 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives came out yesterday with a 
proposal that this Senator would certainly consider, and I think 
favorably. What the Speaker of the House has said is honor the 2006 
law, and on the rest of the Outer Continental Shelf, all over the 
United States beyond 100 miles, drill; between 50 and 100 miles, if the 
State concurs, drill. Those being Federal lands, those revenues would 
inure to the benefit of the U.S. Treasury, not to the States. This 
Senator will certainly consider that, but not when they say the 
interests of Florida and the interests of the Defense Department are 
the ones that are going to have to completely give, since we worked 
this and etched it into law for the first time 2 years ago. I want 
everybody to understand what the position of this Senator is.
  What I would like to do is to send this amendment to the desk to 
file. I will not offer it because, as I said, the chairman of our Armed 
Services Committee has enough on his plate--I am one of his 
subcommittee chairmen--in order to get this Defense authorization bill 
passed. But this issue will certainly be ripe next week when we take up 
the energy provisions.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment will be printed.
  The senior Senator from Oregon is recognized.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for up to 20 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, also, before he leaves the floor, I intend 
to talk about the ethical quagmire at the Minerals Management Service. 
I commend Senator Nelson, who really, just as he said, always does try 
to be bipartisan. We work together as part of a large health care 
group. Senator Nelson was one of the first to spot these flagrant 
examples of abuse at the Minerals Management Service. I know he is 
going to be part of our effort to finally drain the swamp at the 
Minerals Management Service next week. I thank my friend from Florida 
for his efforts in that regard.

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