[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 146 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8517-S8523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S8517]]
   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sanders). The Senator from Rhode Island is 
recognized.


                           Amendment No. 5369

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I have an amendment I have filed to 
the Defense authorization bill, amendment No. 5369. I would like a take 
a few minutes to discuss it here today. I hope very much that this 
amendment can be called up. Indeed, I hope the entire intelligence 
authorization bill could be called up as a part of the compromise on 
the Defense authorization.
  Chairman Rockefeller on the Intelligence Committee has done exemplary 
work to make sure we have a good, intense authorization bill. I hope 
very much that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will allow 
that to be called forward and voted on.
  This particular amendment I want to talk about now, although it is 
small, is very important, and in my view it should be noncontroversial. 
This amendment is cosponsored by Senators Feinstein, Rockefeller, 
Hagel, Kennedy, Feingold, Wyden, Cardin, and Dodd. I thank all of those 
Senators for their cosponsorship.
  The amendment is simple. It holds the United States only to standards 
we already require of our own military, only to standards we ourselves 
demand of other nations. Put simply, the amendment would require 
America's intelligence agencies to notify the International Committee 
of the Red Cross that an individual has been detained and to provide 
the ICRC with access to that individual in a manner consistent with the 
practices of the U.S. military. These terms of access are very 
reasonable, and confidentiality by the ICRC is maintained.
  I said this was an important amendment. Why is this important? Well, 
President Clinton said it well recently:

       America's true strength comes from the power of our 
     example, not the example of our power.

  If you really believe in our country and her virtue and in her 
promise, you understand this, and you understand what grievous and 
lasting harm America has suffered from this administration's embrace of 
torture and from this administration's embrace of torture's handmaiden: 
secret detention.
  If you go down the corridors of history and you survey the evil 
practices of tyrant regimes, you find one of their most notorious 
methods of coercion and subjugation is holding prisoners incommunicado. 
From the oubliettes of Bourbon, France, to Calcutta's Black Hole; from 
the Gestapo's secret prisons to the Soviet gulags; from medieval 
dungeons to the bamboo cages of the Killing Fields, secret and 
anonymous imprisonment has always been the hallmark of the despot. Now 
the Bush administration has stamped America with this shameful mark.
  America long opposed disappearances and secret detentions around the 
world as incompatible with our principles of liberty and justice. Just 
this past March, in its 2007 Annual Human Rights Report, the U.S. 
Department of State criticized the Governments of North Korea, Burma, 
and Sri Lanka for engaging in ``disappearances.'' Yet, on December 8, 
2005, the Bush administration acknowledged that the ICRC did not have 
access to detainees--to all detainees--held outside of Guantanamo. 
President Bush confirmed as much nearly 9 months later when he stated 
publicly that it had been ``necessary'' to move certain detainees to an 
``environment where they can be held secretly.''
  This amendment should be unremarkable given the historic role of the 
ICRC. The ICRC has been visiting detainees in connection with armed 
conflict since 1915. Last year, the ICRC visited 518,000 detainees in 
77 countries. This organization visits prisoners, in its words, ``to 
ensure respect for their life, dignity and fundamental right to 
judicial guarantees.'' All these notions are part of the bedrock, as we 
know, of our own Constitution. A seminal text on this subject, ``The 
Treatment of Prisoners Under International Law,'' describes the 
prohibition of incommunicado detention as among the most central of all 
international prisoner safeguards.
  The ICRC holds this unique role in part because of the way it 
conducts its business.
  After a visit, the ICRC reports its findings confidentially to the 
detaining government. The ICRC has said this confidentiality is 
fundamental to its success, noting that it ``makes it easier for the 
ICRC and the detaining authorities to achieve concrete progress in 
detention places.'' Because of the ICRC's approach, this amendment 
carefully safeguards our national security. There is even flexibility 
for what are called ``imperative considerations of military 
necessity.'' Notably, the ICRC has played an important role for U.S. 
troops detained by other governments. The American Red Cross reports 
that the ICRC visited 55 U.S. prisoners of war in Iraq during the first 
gulf war and three U.S. servicemembers in a Serbian prison during the 
Kosovo conflict.
  In World War II, in the places where the ICRC could operate, it 
provided badly need assistance to U.S. soldiers. For example, in 
Shanghai, one of the few areas the Japanese permitted ICRC access to 
detainees, the ICRC delegate sent the U.S. prisoners of war food and 
clothing. PFC Floyd H. Comfort, a part of the Wake Island Marine 
garrison said:

       If it had not been for the International Red Cross, I guess 
     we all would have starved to death.

  Respected members of our military family recognize that this 
amendment would strengthen our ability to advocate for appropriate 
treatment of Americans detained overseas. I would like to place in the 
Record a letter from 38 retired military leaders, distinguished 
generals and admirals who have concluded this amendment is a ``critical 
measure to ensure continuing respect for the norm that [ICRC] access 
must be provided to all captives in wartime.''
  I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                               September 15, 2008.
     Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Chuck Hagel,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Diane Feinstein,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators: As retired military leaders of the U.S. 
     Armed Forces, we write to express our strong support for 
     Amendment Number 5369 to the pending defense authorization 
     bill, originally introduced as section 323 of the 
     Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. We 
     believe this provision, which would require the intelligence 
     community to provide the International Committee of the Red 
     Cross (``Red Cross'') with notification of and access to 
     prisoners in U.S. custody in a manner consistent with the 
     practices of the Armed Forces, is a critical measure to 
     ensure continuing respect for the norm that such access must 
     be provided to all captives in wartime.
       The U.S. military has a strong interest in all countries 
     upholding this norm. When our soldiers, sailors, airmen and 
     Marines go into battle, we owe them the assurance that, 
     should they be captured by the enemy, the United States will 
     be able to aggressively assert their rights to humane 
     treatment, to be held in recognized places of detention, and 
     to be registered with and visited by the Red Cross, which 
     can raise concerns about their treatment. This is 
     important no matter whether military or intelligence 
     agents are holding our people captive. When we violate 
     this norm ourselves, by holding prisoners in secret--``off 
     the books''--denying that they are in our custody and 
     refusing to permit the Red Cross access to them to monitor 
     their treatment, we dangerously undermine our ability to 
     demand that our enemies adhere to it, now and in future 
     wars.
       This is not just a theoretical concern. In 1993, when U.S. 
     Warrant Officer Michael Durant was captured by forces under 
     the control of Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed, the 
     United States demanded assurances that Durant's treatment be 
     consistent with the Geneva Conventions and that the Red Cross 
     be given access to Durant, who was seriously wounded, to 
     monitor that treatment. The United States asserted that it 
     would afford Somali forces the same protections. Within five 
     days, the Red Cross was permitted to visit Durant, and he was 
     subsequently released.
       We know from painful experience that Red Cross access to 
     captured prisoners can be an important prophylactic against 
     abuse and can help to ensure that we are in compliance with 
     the laws of war in the treatment of those in our custody. 
     Confidential Red Cross reports and recommendations alert 
     military commanders to serious abuses that, left unaddressed, 
     can undermine prison discipline

[[Page S8518]]

     and--if exposed--undermine the war effort. It was the Red 
     Cross which, according to a report by Major General George 
     Fay, notified military authorities in Iraq about the abuses 
     at Abu Ghraib, leading to some of the military's first 
     disciplinary actions against those involved.
       The Red Cross has been visiting prisoners in armed conflict 
     situations since the height of First World War. Under U.S. 
     military policy, the Red Cross is presumptively authorized to 
     have access to prisoners. Moreover, Department of Defense 
     Directive 2310.01E, issued in September 2006, mandates that 
     the Red Cross ``be allowed to offer its services during an 
     armed conflict, however characterized, to which the United 
     States is a party.''
       Over time, the Armed Forces have built a mutually 
     beneficial relationship with the Red Cross and have developed 
     well established practices for Red Cross notification and 
     access to prisoners. These practices are tailored to 
     accommodate the demands of battlefield intelligence gathering 
     and detention, and do not interfere with prisoner 
     interrogations.
       Red Cross notification and access to prisoners is an 
     essential buttress to the integrity of humane treatment 
     obligations under the Geneva Conventions. We strongly support 
     Amendment Number 5369 to the pending defense authorization 
     bill and urge its adoption into law as an important step in 
     restoring the moral authority of the United States and 
     demonstrating the commitment of our Nation to treat all 
     prisoners humanely.
           Sincerely,
         General Joseph Hoar, USMC (Ret.); General John P. Jumper, 
           USAF (Ret.); General Charles Krulak, USMC (Ret.); 
           General Merrill A. McPeak, USAF (Ret.); General Volney 
           F. Warner, USA (Ret.); Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, USN 
           (Ret.); Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA 
           (Ret.); Vice Admiral Albert H. Konetzni Jr., USN 
           (Ret.).
         Lieutenant General Charles Otstott, USA (Ret.); Vice 
           Admiral Jack Shanahan, USN (Ret.); Lieutenant General 
           Harry E. Soyster, USA (Ret.); Lieutenant General James 
           M. Thompson, USA (Ret.); Major General John Batiste, 
           USA (Ret.); Rear Admiral James Arden Barnett, Jr. USNR 
           (Ret.); Major General Paul Eaton, USA (Ret.); Major 
           General Eugene Fox, USA (Ret.).
         Major General Larry Gottardi, USA (Ret.); Rear Admiral 
           Don Guter, USN (Ret.); Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, USN 
           (Ret.); Major General Melvyn Montano, ANG (Ret.); Major 
           General Eric Olson, USA (Ret.); Rear Admiral David M. 
           Stone, USN (Ret.); Major General Antonio `Tony' M. 
           Taguba, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Hugh Aitken, USMC 
           (Ret.).
         Brigadier General Dorian Anderson, USA (Ret.); Brigadier 
           General David M. Brahms, USMC; Brigadier General 
           Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.); Brigadier General James 
           P. Cullen, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Evelyn P. 
           Foote, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Lief H. 
           Hendrickson, USMC; Brigadier General Oscar Hilman, USA 
           (Ret.).
         Brigadier General David R. Irvine, USA (Ret.); Brigadier 
           General John H. Johns, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General 
           David L. McGinnis, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Murray 
           G. Sagsveen, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Earl Simms, 
           USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Anthony Verrengia, USAF 
           (Ret.); Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, USA 
           (Ret.).
                                  ____


                        Biographical Information


                    general joseph hoar, usmc (ret.)

       General Hoar served as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central 
     Command. After the first Gulf War, General Hoar led the 
     effort to enforce the naval embargo in the Red Sea and the 
     Persian Gulf, and to enforce the no-fly zone in the south of 
     Iraq. He oversaw the humanitarian and peacekeeping operations 
     in Kenya and Somalia and also supported operations in Rwanda, 
     and the evacuation of U.S. civilians from Yemen during the 
     1994 civil war. He was the Deputy for Operations for the 
     Marine Corps during the Gulf War and served as General Norman 
     Schwarzkopf's Chief of Staff at Central Command. General Hoar 
     currently runs a consulting business in California.


                  general john p. jumper, usaf (ret.)

       General John P. Jumper has been a director of Conde Nast 
     Portfolio since his retirement from the Air Force in 2006. 
     Prior to retirement, General Jumper was Chief of Staff of the 
     United States Air Force, where he functioned as a military 
     advisor to the Secretary of Defense, National Security 
     Council and the President. Between February 2000 and 
     September 2001, General Jumper was the Commander of 
     Headquarters Air Combat Control. He has also served at the 
     Pentagon as Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space 
     Operations, as the Senior Military Assistant to two 
     secretaries of defense, and as Special Assistant to the Chief 
     of Staff for Roles and Missions.


                  general charles krulak, usmc (ret.)

       General Krulak served as the 31st Commandant of the Marine 
     Corps from July 1995 to June 1999. He is a graduate of the 
     U.S. Naval Academy; the Amphibious Warfare School; the Army 
     Command and General Staff College; and the National War 
     College. He also holds a master's degree in labor relations 
     from George Washington University. General Krulak has held a 
     variety of command and staff positions including commanding 
     officer of a platoon and two rifle companies during two tours 
     of duty in Vietnam. He was also assigned duty as the Deputy 
     Director of the White House Military Office in September 
     1987, and he commanded the 6th Marine Expeditionary Brigade 
     and 2d FSSG during the Gulf War.


                 general merrill a. mcpeak, usaf (ret.)

       General McPeak served as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air 
     Force. Previously, General McPeak served as Commander in 
     Chief of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces. He is a command pilot, 
     having flown more than 6,000 hours, principally in fighter 
     aircraft.


                  general volney f. warner, usa (ret.)

       General Volney F. Warner served as a Province Senior 
     Advisor in South Vietnam and as the Military Assistant to the 
     Special Assistant to the President for Vietnam Affairs and as 
     Executive Officer and Senior Aide to the Army Chief of Staff. 
     In 1979, he assumed his duties as Commander in Chief, U.S. 
     Readiness Command. After retirement, General Warner was Vice 
     President of Applied Technology, Vertex Systems, 
     Incorporated, and later established V.F. Warner and 
     Associates, a Washington-based consulting firm.


                  vice admiral lee f. gunn, usn (ret.)

       Vice Admiral Gunn served as the Inspector General of the 
     Department of the Navy from 1997 until retirement in August 
     2000. Admiral Gunn's sea duty included: command of the 
     frigate USS Barbey; command of Destroyer Squadron 31, the 
     Navy's tactical and technical development anti-submarine 
     warfare squadron; and command of Amphibious Group Three, 
     supporting the First Marine Expeditionary Force in Southwest 
     Asia and East Africa. Gunn is from Bakersfield, California 
     and is a graduate of UCLA, having received his commission 
     from the Naval ROTC program at UCLA in June 1965.


           lieutenant general claudia j. kennedy, usa (ret.)

       General Kennedy is the first and only woman to achieve the 
     rank of three-star general in the United States Army. Kennedy 
     served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Army Intelligence, 
     Commander of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, and as 
     Commander of the 703d military intelligence brigade in Kunia, 
     Hawaii.


            vice admiral albert h. konetzni jr., usn (ret.)

       Vice Admiral Konetzni served as the Deputy and Chief of 
     Staff, of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and Deputy Commander, U.S. 
     Fleet Forces Command, where he was responsible for 160 ships, 
     nearly 1,200 aircraft and 50 bases manned by more than 
     133,000 personnel. He has also served as Commander, Submarine 
     Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Commander, Submarine Group Seven 
     (Yokosuka, Japan); and Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for 
     Personnel Policy and Career Progression. Admiral Konetzni has 
     received two Distinguished Service Medals, six awards of the 
     Legion of Merit, and three awards of the Meritorious Service 
     Medal for his naval service. His Homeland Security efforts 
     have earned him the U.S. Coast Guard Distinguished Service 
     Medal.


             lieutenant general charles otstott, usa (ret.)

       General Otstott served 32 years in the Army. As an 
     Infantryman, he commanded at every echelon including command 
     of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) from 1988-1990. His 
     service included two combat tours in Vietnam. He completed 
     his service in uniform as Deputy Chairman, NATO Military 
     Committee, 1990-1992.


                 vice admiral jack shanahan, usn (ret.)

       Admiral Shanahan served in the Navy for 35 years before his 
     retirement in 1977. A former commander of the North Atlantic 
     fleet, Admiral Shanahan served in combat in WWII, Korea and 
     Vietnam.


            Lieutenant General Harry E. Sovster, USA (Ret.)

       Lieutenant General Soyster served as Director, Defense 
     Intelligence Agency during DESERT SHIELD/STORM. He also 
     served as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, 
     Department of the Army, Commanding General, U.S. Army 
     Intelligence and Security Command and in the Joint 
     Reconnaissance Center, Joint Chiefs of Staff In Vietnam he 
     was an operations officer in a field artillery battalion. 
     Upon retirement he was VP for International Operations with 
     Military Professional Resources Incorporated and returned to 
     government as Special Assistant to the SEC ARMY for WWII 60th 
     Anniversary Commemorations completed in 2006.


            Lieutenant General James M. Thompson, USA (Ret.)

       General Thompson graduated from West Point in 1950. He 
     attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1951. After 
     serving in various command and staff assignments through 
     brigade level, he was assigned to the Army Staff in Plans and 
     Policy, then to Director for Estimates, DIA and subsequently 
     to the Pentagon as Deputy Director for Plans, Policy and NSC 
     Affairs in the Secretary of Defense's Office. His next two 
     major assignments were to Turkey as a Major General, Chief of 
     the Military Mission and then as a Lieutenant General to 
     Naples, Italy as Chief of Staff to Admiral William J. Crowe 
     in NATO's Southern Region.

[[Page S8519]]

           Rear Admiral James Arden Barnett, Jr. USNR (Ret.)

       Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett's last active duty assignment 
     was Deputy Commander of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command 
     (NECC). NECC trains, equips and sends forward Seabees, 
     Riverine Forces and Explosive Ordinance specialists, among 
     others, and currently has over 9,000 Sailors in Iraq and 
     Afghanistan. NECC also provides the expeditionary guard 
     battalion in Guantanamo. Rear Admiral Barnett has previously 
     served as the Director of Naval Education and Training in the 
     Pentagon. He served in the port of Ad Dammam, Saudi Arabia 
     during Operation Desert Storm. He retired in June 2008 after 
     32 years in the Navy and Navy Reserve.


                 Major General John Batiste, USA (Ret.)

       General Batiste commanded the First Infantry Division in 
     Kosovo and Iraq. Prior to that, he was the Senior Military 
     Assistant to Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. He 
     is currently President of Klein Steel Services in Rochester, 
     NY.


                  Major General Paul Eaton, USA (Ret.)

       General Eaton recently retired from the U.S. Army after 
     more than 33 years service. His assignments include Infantry 
     command from the company to brigade levels, command of the 
     Infantry Center at Fort Benning and Chief of Infantry. His 
     most recent operational assignment was Commanding General of 
     the command charged with reestablishing Iraqi Security Forces 
     2003-2004, where he built the command and established the 
     structure and infrastructure for the Iraqi Armed Forces. 
     Other operational assignments include Somalia, Bosnia and 
     Albania. Other assignments include the Joint Staff, Deputy 
     Commanding General for Transformation and Stryker 
     Unit. Development and Assistant Professor and head of the 
     French Department at West Point. He is a 1972 graduate of 
     West Point.


                  Major General Eugene Fox, USA (Ret.)

       Major General Fox retired from the U.S Army in 1989 after 
     33 years of service. He commanded Field Artillery and Air 
     Defense Units from platoon to brigade level, instructed in a 
     service school, and served in various capacities in the 
     acquisition of DoD weapons systems to include several years 
     as program manager. His last active duty position was the 
     Deputy Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Office. 
     Subsequent to military retirement General Fox has served as a 
     Defense Consultant for various companies and government 
     agencies.


                Major General Larry Gottardi, USA (Ret.)

       General Gottardi retired in 2006 after 35 years of service 
     in various posts, including Commanding General, XVIII 
     Airborne Corps Artillery at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and 
     Chief of Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary of the Army, 
     Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, US Army Forces Command. He has 
     been decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak 
     Leaf Cluster), the Defense Superior Service Medal (with Oak 
     Leaf Cluster), and Legion of Merit (with 3 Oak Leaf 
     Clusters).


                   Rear Admiral Don Guter, USN (Ret.)

       Admiral Guter served in the U.S. Navy for 32 years, 
     concluding his career as the Navy's Judge Advocate General 
     from 2000 to 2002. Admiral Guter currently serves as the Dean 
     of Duquesne University Law School in Pittsburgh, PA.


                Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, USN (Ret.)

       Rear Admiral John D. Hutson served in the U.S. Navy from 
     1973 to 2000. He was the Navy's Judge Advocate General from 
     1997 to 2000. Admiral Hutson now serves as President and Dean 
     of the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire. 
     He also joined Human Rights First's Board of Directors in 
     2005.


                Major General Melvyn Montano, ANG (Ret.)

       Major General Montano retired as Adjutant General of New 
     Mexico on 1 December 1999, completing a military career of 45 
     years and 9 months. General Montano began his military career 
     in 1954 enlisting in the New Mexico Air National Guard. After 
     serving 16 years as an enlisted person, he received a direct 
     commission as a First Lieutenant in April 1970. He is a 
     Vietnam veteran, having served at Tuy Hoa Air Base, Republic 
     of Vietnam in June, 1968. He was appointed the Adjutant 
     General in December 1994. General Montano is the first 
     Hispanic Air National Guard Officer appointed as Adjutant 
     General in the United States. General Montano lives in 
     Albuquerque, New Mexico.


                  Major General Eric Olson, USA (Ret.)

       General Olson achieved the rank of Major General before 
     retiring from the United States Army in January 2006. He 
     began his distinguished military career after graduating from 
     the United States Military Academy in 1972. His first duty 
     position was as platoon leader in the 4th Infantry Division 
     (Mechanized) at Fort Carson, Colorado. Subsequently, General 
     Olson has commanded at every level from platoon to division, 
     spending his last three years of service as the Commanding 
     General of the 25th Infantry Division (Light). General Olson 
     also served as the Commander of Combined, Joint Task Force 
     76, responsible for all security and reconstruction 
     operations in Afghanistan. In his 33-year military career, 
     General Olson has held several staff positions in joint, 
     combined, and the Department of the Army staffs. He was also 
     the 68th Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military 
     Academy, West Point from 2000 to 2002. General Olson 
     currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to 
     the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.


                Rear Admiral David M. Stone, USN (Ret.)

       Rear Admiral David M. Stone, USN (Ret.) is a native of 
     Algonquin, Illinois and graduated from the US Naval Academy 
     in 1974. He held four significant ``at sea'' commands during 
     his 32 years of service, including command of the warship USS 
     John Hancock, Command of the US Naval Middle East Force in 
     the Arabian Gulf, Command of Natos Standing Naval Force 
     Mediterranean during the Kosovo Campaign, and Command of the 
     Nimitz Battlegroup. He also served ashore in key positions in 
     the Pentagon and in Europe. Following his Navy service, he 
     was called upon, after the attacks of 9/11, to serve as an 
     Assistant Secretary in the newly formed Department of 
     Homeland Security where he was responsible for the security 
     of the United States Transportation System as the Director of 
     TSA (The Transportation Security Administration). He was 
     appointed by President Bush and unanimously confirmed by the 
     US Senate for that critical leadership post. He holds three 
     Masters degrees in the areas of National Security, 
     International Affairs, and Management. Rear Admiral Stone is 
     currently President of the Alacrity Homeland Group and Co-
     Founder of Blue Ocean Capital Partners. He resides with his 
     wife (Faith) in Arlington, Virginia.


          Major General Antonio ``Tony'' M. Taguba, USA (Ret.)

       Major General Antonio ``Tony'' M. Taguba, USA (Ret.) served 
     34 years on active duty until his retirement on 1 January 
     2007. He has served in numerous leadership and staff 
     positions most recently as Deputy Commanding General, 
     Combined Forces Land Component Command during Operations 
     Iraqi Freedom in Kuwait and Iraq, as Deputy Assistant 
     Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, and as Deputy 
     Commanding General for Transformation, US Army Reserve 
     Command. Born in Manila, Philippines in 1950, he graduated 
     from Idaho State University in 1972 with a BA degree in 
     History. He holds MA degrees from Webster University in 
     Public Administration, Salve Regina University in 
     International Relations, and US Naval War College in National 
     Security and Strategic Studies.


               Brigadier General Hugh Aitken, USMC (Ret.)

       General Aitken enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1946 and was 
     commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1948. Throughout his 
     career, he had extensive experience serving in and commanding 
     infantry units to include being the Assistant Division 
     Commander, 2d Marine Division. He also served several 
     tours at Headquarters Marine Corps in Strategic Plans and 
     Manpower Divisions. He was Director, Manpower Plans and 
     Policy Division at the time of retirement in August 1980.


             Brigadier General Dorian Anderson, USA (Ret.)

       General Anderson served 30 years as a Commissioned Officer 
     and later as a Flag Officer US Army, holding leadership and 
     command positions at all levels as an Infantry Officer 
     culminating as Commanding General, US Army Human Resources 
     Command, Alexandria, VA. General Anderson is a 1975 graduate 
     of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, 
     holds an MA in Management from Webster University and is a 
     1995 graduate of the US Army War College at Carlisle 
     Barracks, PA. He is a 2006 graduate of The Executive Program 
     at University of Virginia's Darden Business School.


                Brigadier General David M. Brahms, USMC

       General Brahms served in the Marine Corps from 1963-1988. 
     He served as the Marine Corps' senior legal adviser from 1983 
     until his retirement in 1988. General Brahms currently 
     practices law in Carlsbad, California and sits on the board 
     of directors of the Judge Advocates Association.


            Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.)

       Brigadier General Steve Cheney served nine years on the 
     Marine Corps' two Recruit Depots, including a tour as the 
     commanding general at Parris Island. He was also the 
     inspector general for the Marine Corps. Brigadier General 
     Cheney retired in 2001; he is now the president of the Marine 
     Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, and is on the board of 
     directors for the American Security Project.


             Brigadier General James P. Cullen, USA (Ret.)

       Mr. Cullen is a retired Brigadier General in the United 
     States Army Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corps and last 
     served as the Chief Judge (IMA) of the U.S. Army Court of 
     Criminal Appeals. He currently practices law in New York 
     City.


             Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, USA (Ret.)

       General Foote was Commanding General of Fort Belvoir in 
     1989. She was recalled to active duty in 1996 to serve as 
     Vice Chair of the Secretary of the Army's Senior Review Panel 
     on Sexual Harassment. She is President of the Alliance for 
     National Defense, a non-profit organization.


              Brigadier General Lief H. Hendrickson, USMC

       As a General Officer, General Hendrickson served as the 
     Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, as President 
     of the Marine Corps University and as Commanding General, 
     Education Command. General

[[Page S8520]]

     Hendrickson amassed over 5,000 flight hours. His personal 
     decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense 
     Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 
     Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, Air Medal 
     and the Joint Staff Badge.


               Brigadier General Oscar Hilman, USA (Ret.)

       Among his many assignments, General Hilman served as the 
     Commander of the 81st Brigade Combat Team in support of 
     Operation Iraqi Freedom II, and as the Deputy Commanding 
     General of I Corps and Fort Lewis. General Hilman was born in 
     Camarines Sur, in the Republic of Philippines in February 
     1950. He is a graduate of Philippine College of Criminology, 
     Central Washington University, and he received his Masters of 
     Science Degree in Strategic Science from the United States 
     Army War College. General Hilman's awards and decorations 
     include: Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star 
     Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal 
     with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oak 
     Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 
     Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with Silver Oak 
     Leaf Cluster and 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense 
     Service Medal with 2 Bronze Stars, Global War on Terrorism 
     Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, 
     Humanitarian Service Medal with 2 Bronze Stars, Armed Forces 
     Reserve Medal with Gold Hourglass and M Device, the Army 
     Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge.


             Brigadier General David R. Irvine, USA (Ret.)

       Brigadier General Irvine enlisted in the 96th Infantry 
     Division, United States Army Reserve, in 1962. He received a 
     direct commission in 1967 as a strategic intelligence 
     officer. He maintained a faculty assignment for 18 years with 
     the Sixth U.S. Army Intelligence School, and taught prisoner 
     of war interrogation and military law for several hundred 
     soldiers, Marines, and airmen. He retired in 2002, and his 
     last assignment was Deputy Commander for the 96th Regional 
     Readiness Command. General Irvine is an attorney, and 
     practices law in Salt Lake City, Utah. He served 4 terms as a 
     Republican legislator in the Utah House of Representatives, 
     has served as a congressional chief of staff, and served as a 
     commissioner on the Utah Public Utilities Commission.


              Brigadier General John H. Johns, USA (Ret.)

       Brigadier General John H. Johns, USA (Ret), Ph.D., served 
     in Vietnam and was a key member of a group that developed the 
     Army's counterinsurgency doctrine in the early 1960s at Ft. 
     Bragg and later in the Pentagon. After retirement from active 
     duty, he served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense 
     and then as a professor at the National Defense University 
     for 14 years, where he specialized in National Security 
     Strategy.


            Brigadier General David L. McGinnis, USA (Ret.)

       Brigadier General David L. McGinnis is a veteran of two 
     ground combat assignments in Vietnam with a Special 
     Operations and Force Management background. Dave experienced 
     29 years of service in the Army uniform. His military career 
     ended in 1995 as a Brigadier General, New York National 
     Guard. After retirement he worked as a Principle Director for 
     Strategic Plans and Analysis, in the Office of the Secretary 
     of Defense and as the Senior Fellow of the National Guard 
     Association of the United States. Since 2000, McGinnis has 
     provided a steady stream of independent analysis on important 
     issues, provided commentary in the national news media, 
     served as a Senior Associate with the Center for Strategic 
     and International Studies and is an Adjunct Fellow with 
     the Bipartisan American Security Project. Dave is a member 
     of the Legion de Lafayette of the National Guard Education 
     Foundation and is currently serving on the By Laws 
     Committee of the National Guard Association of the United 
     States.


            Brigadier General Murray G. Sagsveen, USA (Ret.)

       Brigadier General Sagsveen entered the U.S. Army in 1968, 
     with initial service in the Republic of Korea. He later 
     joined the North Dakota Army National Guard. His assignments 
     included Staff Judge Advocate for the 164th Engineer Group, 
     Staff Judge Advocate for the State Area Command, Special 
     Assistant to the National Guard Bureau Judge Advocate, and 
     Army National Guard Special Assistant to the Judge Advocate 
     General of the Army. He completed the U.S. Army War College 
     in 1988. At the time of his retirement in 1996, he was a 
     brigadier general and the senior judge advocate in the Army 
     National Guard. General Sagsveen currently serves as the 
     general counsel of the American Academy of Neurology in St. 
     Paul, Minnesota. In February 2004, he participated in a 
     medical conference in Baghdad, Iraq, and he has been 
     participating in an effort among U.S. specialty medical 
     societies to assist physicians in that country.


                Brigadier General Earl Simms, USA (Ret.)

       General Simms currently serves as the Vice President of 
     Army Programs for Serco Inc. of Vienna, Virginia. He served 
     32 years on active duty in numerous leadership and staff 
     positions until his retirement in September 2000. Most 
     recently he served as the Commanding General, Soldiers 
     Support Institute at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and as the 
     59th Adjutant General of the Army. He graduated from West 
     Virginia State College in 1968 with a BS degree in Education. 
     He holds a MA degree in Public Administration from 
     Shippensburg University.


            Brigadier General Anthony Verrengia, USAF (Ret.)

       Brigadier General Verrengia retired from the USAF in 1989, 
     after 38 years of uniformed service. He is a veteran of the 
     Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War. He is a Master 
     Navigator, who flew in all types of Military Air Transport 
     Operations for over twenty years. During his career he also 
     held Command and Staff positions in Operations, Plans, 
     Logistics, Training and Personnel, and served at all levels 
     of Air Force Command from the Squadron to Numbered AF, to 
     Major Air Command, to the Air Staff in Washington, DC He is a 
     Graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, The Air War 
     College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and the 
     National War College.


            Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, USA (Ret.)

       Dr. Stephen N. Xenakis has served in the U.S. Army, as well 
     as in healthcare management, academic medicine, and clinical 
     practice. He retired from the Army in 1998 at the rank of 
     Brigadier General and held many high level positions, 
     including Commanding General of the Southeast Regional Army 
     Medical Command. He currently serves as the Director of Child 
     and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Psychiatric Institute of 
     Washington.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. This letter comes from battlefield warriors and 
intelligence officers who participated in every major American conflict 
from World War II until today. One of them, indeed, only 2\1/2\ years 
ago, was a member of our Joint Chiefs of Staff. These flag officers go 
on to say that ``when we violate this norm ourselves, by holding 
prisoners in secret--`off the books'--denying that they are in our 
custody and refusing to permit Red Cross access to them to monitor 
their treatment, we dangerously undermine our ability to demand that 
our enemies adhere to it, now and in future wars.''
  These military leaders also emphasize that the U.S. military's 
practices for ICRC notification and access to prisoners ``are tailored 
to accommodate the demands of battlefield intelligence gathering and 
detention and do not interfere with prisoner interrogations.''
  The ill-advised course that leads one down to darkness was famously 
described by Winston Churchill. He said:

       It is a fine broad stairway at the beginning, but after a 
     bit, the carpet ends. A little further on there are only 
     flagstones, and a little farther on still these break beneath 
     your feet.

  This is the dark corridor down which a misguided administration has 
led America. The sooner we turn back, the stronger and safer America 
will be. Remember also the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 25, 
verses 36 to 40:

       I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited 
     me. I was in prison and you came to me.

  This applies even to those who are, to quote from Matthew again, 
``the least of our brethren'' because ultimately it is not about who 
they are, it is about who we are. And who are we? We are still that 
city on a hill. We are still a beacon to other nations. The light of 
our faith in human freedom still brightens the world. And as we trust 
in God, let's also trust in that faith and freedom, in that faith in 
America. Let's step back from the dark side, away from the grim tactics 
of tyrant regimes and into the light of our faith in America.
  I hope we can bring up this amendment. I can't imagine why anybody in 
this room would object. Yet here we are.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. 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. WYDEN. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent to speak for 
up to 15 minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                    County Payments Reauthorization

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, around the Halls of Congress this week are 
some wonderful folks walking around in green shirts trying to save our 
rural schools and many rural communities across our country. These are 
folks who come from areas such as mine where the Federal Government 
owns

[[Page S8521]]

much of the land. For decades and decades, in these communities, the 
secured money for funding schools in our State and for a variety of 
other services, such as police and essential needs for counties, has 
come through Federal timber payments. As the distinguished Presiding 
Officer knows, as a result of environmental law changes and other 
policies these communities have been strapped for funds now for quite 
some time.
  In 2000, the distinguished Senator from Idaho Mr. Craig, and I, wrote 
legislation that brought essential funds to these communities so they 
could secure quality education for their students, for their families. 
But the law expired in 2006. So we sought, then, to extend this program 
on a multiyear basis. We had a vote in the Senate with overwhelming 
support for the legislation. Mr. President, 74 Senators voted for it, 
but the other body was not able to pass the legislation. So at that 
time the program was extended for just 1 year, and now it appears 
unless additional help is passed in this Congress, we are going to see 
many of these communities simply not able to survive.
  I have been told in my State alone two rural communities would simply 
have to shut their doors, and we are looking at the prospect of the 
State taking over those communities.
  The reason all those folks in the green shirts are walking the 
corridors this week is they are making one last-ditch effort to get the 
funding passed before these county governments have to make what are 
not just drastic cuts to their budgets permanent but cuts that will be 
so severe, as I have indicated, the communities simply could not 
survive.
  The energy tax extenders bill is the last best hope for getting this 
done, and as a result of the exceptional work done by Chairman Baucus 
and Senator Grassley, the multiyear reauthorization of the county 
payments legislation has been included in their proposal. I think a 
number of colleagues on both sides of the aisle have been very 
supportive of this effort. I particularly express my thanks to Chairman 
Baucus, the distinguished leader; Senator Reid, the chairman of the 
energy community, and Senator Jeff Bingaman. All of them have been 
enormously helpful as we have prosecuted this cause for months on end.
  On the Republican side, Senator Grassley has been extraordinarily 
helpful. Senator Craig, who authored this legislation originally with 
me, has been very helpful. Senator Smith of my home State continues to 
strongly support this effort. I am also very grateful to Senator Crapo 
from Idaho who continually brings up, at practically every session of 
the Senate Finance Committee, how important it is to reauthorize this 
proposal.
  I know in the last few weeks of our fall session it is going to be 
easy to block legislation and hard to pass it. But I am very hopeful 
the energy tax legislation, which includes the county payments 
legislation, which has the strong bipartisan support of Chairman Baucus 
and Ranking Member Grassley, will prevail in the Senate and will go to 
the House of Representatives.
  For literally decades, support from the Federal Government for these 
essential services, particularly schools in much of the country--but 
fighting meth, law enforcement, and other essential services in my 
State--have, in effect, been part of a bigger agreement with the 
Federal Government. In effect, what happened is something like 100 
years ago, when the National Forest System was created, the communities 
that had largely forested areas said: We are going to offer a benefit 
to all the people of this country in terms of the National Forest 
System, but in return for placing these lands in public ownership, our 
communities would get support for essential services. For decades and 
decades that went on, and it was quite beneficial to both sides--to the 
rural communities and to the Federal Government--and we saw in my home 
State people from all over the country come and enjoy the National 
Forest System in Oregon and other communities around the United States.
  But we saw, in the late 1970s and 1980s, because of the change in 
environmental policy and changes in the size of the timber cut, the 
money shriveled up for these rural communities. So it is essential we 
pass this legislation, particularly for this multiyear purpose, because 
it is our sense that in these rural communities, they know they have to 
look to the future for a variety of other opportunities to have family 
wage employment.

  For example, in our part of the world, we hope to have a very 
significant job-creating program to thin out the second row of trees. 
This is an opportunity to get merchantable timber to the mills but do 
it in a way that helps family wage employment and is good for the 
environment. We are going to have rural communities and folks from the 
forest product sector and environmental leaders supporting us in that 
effort. In the other body, a friend of the Presiding Officer and 
myself, Congressman Fazio, has championed a similar effort. But to set 
in place these new programs such as thinning and biomass, where we can 
create clean energy from our forests, we are going to need a bit of 
time. That is why this multiyear program is so extraordinarily 
important.
  It is my view that the best opportunity we have had for some time to 
get county payments passed has come about because of the strong 
bipartisan work done in this Chamber to add county payments to the 
energy tax legislation. It is my hope, as we did when 74 Senators came 
together to support the original legislation I offered in this session, 
that, once again, we can get strong bipartisan support for county 
payments as part of the energy tax bill. If we can get it sent from the 
Senate in a timely way to the other body, I think this time it will be 
possible to thread the needle, secure the funding for our rural 
communities, give them the opportunity to make the transition to these 
other areas that will allow them to strengthen their economy and 
particularly bring to our schools, to our law enforcement agencies the 
tools that are so desperately needed at this critical time.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of amendment 
No. 5276 to the National Defense Authorization Act, an amendment that 
would establish a government-wide Contingency Contracting Corps.
  Through numerous hearings and investigations, the Senate Homeland 
Security Committee has documented many costly failures in contracting 
and acquisition management related to Federal operations following 
Hurricane Katrina and in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Special Inspector 
General for Iraq Reconstruction, other IGs, and the Government 
Accountability Office have also reported on serious problems in Federal 
contracting. Many of these well-documented problems might have been 
avoided or mitigated if the government had a reserve cadre of skilled 
acquisition professionals who could be dispatched to areas in urgent 
need to assist with procurement and contract-management tasks.
  Last year, I introduced S. 680, the Accountability in Government 
Contracting Act of 2007, with Senators Lieberman, Carper, Coleman, and 
McCaskill as original cosponsors. The Senate passed this bill 
unanimously last November 7, including a title that would establish a 
government-wide Contingency Contracting Corps. Unfortunately, House 
leaders have failed to take up our unanimously passed bill.
  Just a few days before the Senate action, the Army released the 
report of a special commission on procurement headed by former Under 
Secretary of Defense Jacques Gansler. The Gansler Report noted that 
while contracting workload had increased by 350 percent since 1995, the 
Army's contract-oversight staff had declined by almost 50 percent. The 
report's recommendations for more people, better training, 
organizational reform, and other improvements offer us a case study of 
the challenges facing the Federal acquisition process.
  ``First and most important is the people,'' Dr. Gansler said while 
presenting his report. He was right, and that truth is at the core of 
the amendment that Senator Lieberman and I now offer.
  The need for a Contingency Contracting Corps is urgent. The Federal 
Government purchases more than $440 billion of goods and services each 
year. Some of these purchases are pursuant to contracts issued under 
the stress and urgency of military operations or an emergency response.

[[Page S8522]]

  Purchasing on such a prodigious scale and across a vast array of 
departments and programs can create abundant opportunities for fraud, 
waste, and abuse. And doing so under the stress of military or 
disaster-recovery operations without sufficient staff skilled in 
working in those conditions can multiply the potential for trouble.
  Unfortunately, our government moved into the 21st century with 22 
percent fewer Federal civilian acquisition personnel than it had at the 
start of the 1990s. And as noted, the decline in the DOD acquisition 
workforce was even more pronounced.
  We have seen that the urgent demands of natural disasters, a 
terrorist attack, or active military operations can overwhelm any 
agency's acquisition workforce. This amendment would provide the 
equivalent of a rapid-reaction force or strike team to ensure that 
emergency acquisition activities are performed swiftly, effectively, 
and economically.
  The Corps would draw on volunteers from civilian and uniformed 
Federal-acquisition professionals. It would be managed by the OFPP 
Administrator. The Administrator would be authorized to prescribe 
additional training and determine when the Corps would be deployed. Any 
deployments would be made in consultation with the heads of the 
affected agencies, and in the case of military or civilian DOD 
employees, with the concurrence of the Defense Department.
  The Contingency Contracting Corps is not a substitute for the many 
other reforms needed to improve government-wide acquisition, but it can 
help our Nation deal with urgent demands by temporarily reallocating 
trained acquisition staff from their regular duties to areas of 
pressing need. The Corps would help guard against the wasteful and 
excessive spending that too often occurs in exigent circumstances.
  I urge my colleagues to adopt this much-needed, carefully 
constructed, and bipartisan amendment.
  Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of amendment No. 5277 to 
the National Defense Authorization Act, an amendment that will improve 
stewardship of taxpayer dollars while promoting more transparency and 
competition in the procurement of goods and services by our government. 
Senator Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs Committee, joins me in sponsoring this amendment.
  Our amendment, the Accountability in Government Contracting Act, is a 
bipartisan response to contracting problems identified by the Homeland 
Security Committee that pose increasing dangers of waste, fraud, and 
abuse as Federal contracting continues to grow.
  The amendment consists of provisions that passed the Senate 
unanimously last November as part of S. 680. Many of that bill's 
provisions were included in last year's defense authorization. The 
remaining provisions are offered in this amendment, with modifications 
based on discussions with other members of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee.
  Joining Senator Lieberman and me in this effort are Senators Coleman, 
Carper, Akaka, McCaskill, and Tester.
  The Federal Government purchases about $440 billion in goods and 
services each year. The rising costs of military operations, natural 
disasters, homeland security precautions, and other vital programs will 
drive those expenditures to even higher levels in the years ahead.
  This prodigious level of purchasing creates abundant opportunities 
for fraud, waste, and abuse. We have seen far too many outrageous 
failures in government contracting, such as unusable trailers for 
hurricane victims, shoddy construction of schools and clinics in 
Afghanistan, or the installation in Iraq of showers for our troops that 
pose electric-shock hazards. All of these failures and more demand 
strong steps to protect taxpayer dollars and deliver better acquisition 
outcomes.
  Obstacles to improvement include personnel shortages, resource 
constraints, poor program administration, and inadequate accountability 
an transparency in the contracting process.
  The resource challenges go far beyond funding, and start with a 
simple lack of trained personnel. The Federal Government moved into the 
21st century with 22 percent fewer Federal civilian acquisition 
personnel than it had at the start of the 1990s. The Department of 
Defense, which has the largest acquisition budget, has been disbursing 
enormous amounts of money to contractors since the first Gulf war, but 
saw its acquisition workforce shrink by more than 50 percent between 
1994 and 2005.
  Among the current, attenuated Federal acquisition workforce, nearly 
40 percent were eligible to retire at the end of the last fiscal year. 
Meanwhile, the number and scale of federal purchases continue to rise, 
making this human-capital crisis even more dire.
  Other challenges to fair, effective, and open competition and 
oversight include inadequate definition of requirements, overuse of 
letter contracts that fail to include all critical terms until after 
performance is complete, excessive tiering of subcontracts, and 
insufficient publicly available data on Federal contracts.
  Our amendment offers sensible, practical reforms to address these 
problems.
  A critical feature of this legislation will help recruit, retain, and 
develop an adequate Federal acquisition workforce. It establishes an 
acquisition internship program that will provide professional training 
and development for careers in Federal procurement and acquisition 
management to at least 200 college graduates per year. Another 
provision would require that government chief acquisition officers have 
extensive management experience--a requirement lacking in current law.
  Our amendment also promotes more competition for government 
contracts--a positive step for both contractors and taxpayers.
  Competition for government contracts helps to control costs, 
encourage innovation, and improve quality. Unfortunately, the tide has 
been running the wrong way. While the dollar volume of Federal 
contracting has nearly doubled since the year 2000, fewer than half of 
all ``contract actions''--new contracts and payments against existing 
contracts--are now subject to full and open competition, down from more 
than three-quarters in the year 2000.
  Our Homeland Security Committee investigations of federal contracting 
problems in the Hurricane Katrina disaster and in our military 
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have confirmed the obvious concerns 
about this trend.
  We need more competition, less sole-source contracting, and tougher 
management of Federal contracts. Our amendment mandates enhanced 
competition for each task or delivery order over the simplified 
acquisition threshold.
  It further encourages competition for those orders by requiring 
Internet postings of notices of all sole-source task-or-delivery orders 
above the simplified acquisition threshold, within 14 business days 
after the award.
  Another provision takes aim at abuse of interagency and enterprise-
wide contracts, which account for 40 percent of Federal contract 
spending. It requires the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to 
survey, review, and provide guidance on procedures for creating, using, 
and continuing these interagency acquisitions. This step should 
eliminate some of the redundancies that have been discovered in these 
complex arrangements--redundancies that reduce the government's 
purchasing power and waste tax dollars.
  I shall briefly note some other important provisions of the 
amendment.
  The amendment will rein in the practice of hastily awarding letter 
contracts missing key terms, such as price, scope or schedule, and then 
failing to supply those terms until the contractor delivers the good or 
service--thereby placing all risk of failure on the government. In Iraq 
and Katrina contracting, we saw the perils of failing to supply the 
``missing term'' promptly. For example, in July 2006, the Special 
Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction identified 194 individual 
task orders valued at $3.4 billion that were classified as 
``undefinitized contract actions.''
  The government has allowed too much money and too many contract 
actions to linger in this status. The amendment corrects this flaw by 
requiring clear guidance in the Federal

[[Page S8523]]

Acquisition Regulation and strong justification for making such 
contracts or orders.
  Contracting for Hurricane Katrina and in Iraq has also involved 
excessive tiering of subcontractors, driving up costs and complicating 
contract administration. The amendment mandates regulatory guidance for 
minimizing tiering to ensure that every layer of subcontracting adds 
value or serves a valid purpose in meeting Federal requirements.
  In our committee investigation of debris removal after Hurricane 
Katrina, a disaster that required clearing away nearly 100 million 
cubic yards of debris, we found that some contracts involved five or 
six tiers of subcontractors, often with little or no apparent added 
value. This provision would put in place government-wide requirements 
to control this practice and its potential for wasting tax dollars.
  Another important provision requires the OFPP to review and report on 
existing policies and to recommend needed changes to ensure that 
Federal agencies are not contracting out essential core 
responsibilities of government. The risks of such activity were made 
starkly clear in our committee's recent discovery that a contractor 
wrote parts of FEMA's request for proposals for the TOPOFF 5 emergency-
management exercise and was then allowed to bid on the contract. This 
clear conflict of interest threatened both the integrity of the 
competitive process and objective implementation of Federal policy.
  The amendment also restricts the de-facto outsourcing of program-
management responsibility when a large contractor becomes a ``lead 
systems integrator'' for a multipart project and requires the OFPP to 
craft a government-wide definition of lead systems integrators.
  The Accountability in Government Contracting Act combines practical, 
workable, and targeted reforms to improve a complex process that 
expends hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars every year. As the 
SIGIR said of these proposals in a Homeland Security Committee hearing 
last year, ``these kinds of reforms are exactly what will save taxpayer 
dollars ... and address very directly the problems that we have been 
experiencing in contracting in Iraq.''
  My amendment will pay recurring dividends for years to come in higher 
quality proposals, in avoidance of wasteful and excessive spending, and 
in better results for our citizens. I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, I rise today in support of section 254 of 
the fiscal year 2009 National Defense Authorization Act. I thank 
Chairman Levin and Senator Jack Reed for working with me on this piece 
of legislation which is based on recommendations of the National 
Academy of Sciences and the Department of Defense. Critical 
technologies that help protect our national security are being 
outsourced to the global economy and to nations that may not have our 
best interests at heart. One such technology is printed circuit boards, 
a type of electronics technology that is integrated into every weapons 
system we deploy, from the F-22 to UAVs to the MRAP. For years we 
relied on industry to maintain the technological advantage in this 
critical area, but we now must take more action to ensure that the 
United States maintains and protects this capability to better ensure 
our national security.
  Due to economic pressures, industry has increasingly outsourced the 
manufacture of printed circuit boards, and we are in danger of losing 
the industrial base capable of building and maintaining these 
components, especially those with critical security technologies 
required for our military. Without this critical technology, many 
components in numerous defense systems would cease to function. The 
Department of Defense spends roughly $500 million annually on procuring 
these components, and it is imperative that we safeguard their future 
production. We cannot allow continued outsourcing to move production to 
China and other nations. We must protect our access to critical and 
sensitive pieces of hardware that are the basis of our military 
technological advantage.
  Previous Department of Defense efforts to address these issues have 
been incomplete, underfunded, and disjointed. It is critical that we 
establish an executive agent to monitor and protect issues related to 
the U.S. printed circuit board industry. Safeguarding the technology 
and manufacturing capabilities of printed circuit boards will protect 
our national interests today and in the future. Not only will this 
executive agent be instrumental in maintaining existing legacy systems 
but will also ensure the military's advancement of emerging 
technologies are used in the next generation of military hardware. 
Failure to establish an executive agent and take aggressive action 
would result in the eventual loss of a critical technology and the 
diminishing capacity of our military's ability to safeguard our 
national security. Therefore, I urge support of section 254 and of the 
National Defense Authorization Act.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, Senator Warner and I and our staffs and a 
number of other Senators have been trying to work out a unanimous 
consent agreement that would control the continuation of the 
deliberation and debate on this bill. We have completed a draft of a 
complicated unanimous consent agreement. It runs a little over two 
pages. I have been able to give it to Senator Warner now. As always, he 
is very helpful and responsive and has assured me they can look at this 
overnight and, in the morning, give us a response, hopefully early, as 
to whether this, or some variation of it, will be acceptable on that 
side of the aisle. I thank my friend from Virginia and assure folks 
that even though we weren't able to get specific votes today, because 
of a previous agreement that there would be no votes today, we hope 
that in the morning we will be able to have a roadmap for the balance 
of this bill.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I have seen earlier iterations of this. I 
will take this up with the leadership and our colleagues early 
tomorrow, but I am not certain what time. I presume this would not 
require any votes in the morning.
  Mr. LEVIN. That is correct.
  Mr. WARNER. I think that would best serve our purposes. In 
consultation with our two staff directors and colleagues on our staff 
who work side by side, we have now cleared--both sides--about 75 
amendments. So work has been going on throughout the day. I think we 
can, hopefully tomorrow, share this with colleagues and get a 
resolution of the timetables to move forward on the bill.

                          ____________________