[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 17, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8933-S8934]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL SECURITY ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

  The bill (S. 3004) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2009 
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, and for other 
purposes, was considered, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
read the third time, and passed, as amended, as follows:
  (The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Salazar). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this bill is the 47th consecutive national 
defense authorization bill that has come out of the committee and been 
brought to the Senate floor for debate and passage. Every year since 
1961, the Senate has met the challenge, overcome obstacles, and 
negotiated ourselves to the point of final passage. Because of the 
vital importance of this bill to the men and women of our Armed Forces 
and to the Nation, this was a bill that was worth fighting for for 
passage. It is part of the rich tradition of the Senate. We all can be 
proud of that tradition.

[[Page S8934]]

  It is also part of our custom to thank our staffs and Members. For 
some this sounds routine, but it never should be.
  My thanks go to the ranking member, Senator McCain. His leadership 
helped forge this bill through the committee.
  I next acknowledge our former chairman particularly, Senator Warner, 
because of everything he did to make this bill possible and to get to 
the point where we are today. Working within arm's reach of John Warner 
for the past 29 years has truly been one of the highlights, if not the 
highlight, of my Senate career. He is truly a good friend, not just to 
me and my wife Barbara but also to this institution and to the Nation. 
He has stood watch over national defense for almost three decades, with 
unwavering dedication. Before that, he stood watch because of his being 
Secretary of the Navy. Because of his being in the Navy, the Marines, 
he is truly a profile in courage. Next year, we promise we will pick up 
his banner. We will carry on in his honor, just as he has always done 
for the Nation.

  I thank our majority leader, Senator Reid, and his floor staff and 
give them a special word of thanks for giving us the time to get this 
bill to the Senate and through the Senate.
  To our committee members, thanks for your great work on a bipartisan 
basis the entire year. This bill could not have gotten to this point, 
with all of our problems, all the bumps in the road--and there are many 
that lie ahead--but we could not have gotten to this point without the 
bipartisan support of the Armed Services Committee and our staff.
  We have one-quarter of the Senate on our committee. We have worked 
together in committee, and our differences on this bill did not divide 
us, as we reported the bill by unanimous vote.
  To Charlie Armstrong in the Office of the Senate Legislative Counsel, 
thank you for drafting about 300 amendments. We wish more of them could 
have been adopted, but, nonetheless, they had to be drafted, and we had 
to do what we do, which is to do everything we can to get Members' 
amendments passed.
  To our committee staff members, thank you. That is about all we can 
say. You have earned our thanks and the recognition of the Senate for 
the time and dedication you have shown on this legislation. Rick 
DeBobes, who is our staff director, and Mike Kostiw, who is our 
Republican staff director, and their talented staffs worked amazingly 
hard.
  We have a lot of work ahead of us to get to the point where we can 
pass a bill in the next couple of weeks. We have a huge amount of work. 
I hate to tell them that, but they know it. They also know, I hope, how 
appreciated they are. They work 24/7, and they work magic, and they 
always seem to believe that sleep is overrated. It is not. I hope they 
can get some in the next few days. So thank you to our staff. They 
deserve tremendous recognition for their professionalism. As an 
expression of the gratitude of the members of our committee, I ask 
unanimous consent that the names of the members of our staff be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                Staff of the Committee on Armed Services

       Richard D. DeBobes, Staff Director; Michael V. Kostiw, 
     Republican Staff Director; June M. Borawski, Printing and 
     Documents Clerk; Leah C. Brewer, Nominations and Hearings 
     Clerk; Joseph M. Bryan, Professional Staff Member; William M. 
     Caniano, Professional Staff Member; Jonathan D. Clark, 
     Counsel; Ilona R. Cohen, Counsel; David G. Collins, Research 
     Assistant; Christine E. Cowart, Chief Clerk; Madelyn R. 
     Creedon, Counsel; Kevin A. Cronin, Staff Assistant; Marie F. 
     Dickinson, Administrative Assistant for the Minority; 
     Gabriella Eisen, Counsel; Richard W. Fieldhouse, Professional 
     Staff Member; Creighton Greene, Professional Staff Member; 
     Gary J. Howard, Systems Administrator; Paul C. Hutton IV, 
     Professional Staff Member; Mark R. Jacobson, Professional 
     Staff Member; Gregory T. Kiley, Professional Staff Member; 
     Jessica L. Kingston, Staff Assistant; Michael J. Kuiken, 
     Professional Staff Member; Mary J. Kyle, Legislative Clerk.
       Christine G. Lang, Receptionist; Gerald J. Leeling, 
     Counsel; Peter K. Levine, General Counsel; Thomas K. 
     McConnell, Professional Staff Member; Michael J. McCord, 
     Professional Staff Member; William G. P. Monahan, Counsel; 
     David M. Morriss, Minority Counsel; Lucian L. Niemeyer, 
     Professional Staff Member; Michael J. Noblet, Professional 
     Staff Member; Ali Z. Pasha, Staff Assistant; Christopher J. 
     Paul, Professional Staff Member; Cindy Pearson, Assistant 
     Chief Clerk and Security Manager; John H. Quirk V, Security 
     Clerk; Lynn F. Rusten, Professional Staff Member; Brian F. 
     Sebold, Staff Assistant; Arun A. Seraphin, Professional Staff 
     Member; Travis E. Smith, Special Assistant; Robert M. Soofer, 
     Professional Staff Member; William K. Sutey, Professional 
     Staff Member; Diana G. Tabler, Professional Staff Member; 
     Mary Louise Wagner, Professional Staff Member; Richard F. 
     Walsh, Minority Counsel; Breon N. Wells, Staff Assistant.

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.

                          ____________________