[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 193 (Friday, December 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13402-S13408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010--Resumed

  Pending:

       Reid motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the 
     amendment of the Senate to the bill.
       Reid motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the 
     amendment of the Senate with amendment No. 3248 (to the House 
     amendment to the Senate amendment), to change the enactment 
     date.
       Reid motion to refer the amendment of the House to the 
     Committee on Appropriations, with instructions, Reid 
     amendment No. 3249, to provide for a study.
       Reid amendment No. 3252 (to Reid amendment No. 3248), to 
     change the enactment date.
       Reid amendment No. 3250 (to amendment No. 3249), of a 
     perfecting nature.
       Reid amendment No. 3251 (to amendment No. 3250), of a 
     perfecting nature.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time until 
1 a.m. be equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their 
designees, that Senators be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes 
each, that the mandatory quorum be waived, and that the majority leader 
be recognized for the last 10 minutes and the 10 minutes prior to that 
the Republican leader be recognized, if he chooses to speak.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, those who are following the business of 
the Senate may be surprised to find us in session a little after 
midnight. This is a decision made by the Senate just a few hours ago, 
to postpone the continuation of our session into a new day. The purpose 
is parliamentary, so that a motion which we have filed can be voted on. 
It is an important motion. It is a cloture motion. We often have them. 
It is a motion that closes debate on the floor and moves us forward to 
the consideration of a measure.
  There are very few measures the Senate would consider any more 
important than the one on which we are about to vote. In about an hour 
or less, we will be voting on the Defense appropriations bill.
  This is a bill which is critically important to our Nation's defense 
and security, as Secretary Gates reminded us today in a letter to the 
Senate. It is also a bill that is important to the men and women in 
uniform, those who are in harm's way overseas literally risking their 
lives while we meet in the safety of this Senate Chamber.
  The bill contains a 3.4-percent pay raise for our military, richly 
deserved, for the men and women who serve us. It also will be a pay 
raise appreciated by their families, many of whom wait patiently for 
the return of their loved one. There is money in this, as well, for 
military families, to make sure that not only the servicemembers but 
their spouses and children have health care. It is a very basic 
requirement of life and one we want to provide for all of our men and 
women in uniform and their families.
  There is certainly an allotment and allocation here for equipment, 
which our men and women in uniform will need to perform their missions 
and come home safely. Readiness and training--it covers a wide range of 
important expenditures for our national security.
  There is no more important bill when it comes to the safety of our 
troops and for our endorsement and support of what they are giving for 
our country.
  In addition to that, there are provisions added by the House which 
are critically important at this moment in our history. We extend for 
several months the unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans 
who have lost their jobs during this recession. Although we see things 
getting a little better in the economy, there are still a lot of people 
suffering because of unemployment. They have not only lost their jobs, 
many have expended their savings. They have lost their health 
insurance. They may lose their homes. They are struggling. This bill 
extends for a short period of time those unemployment benefits and some 
help to pay for health insurance.
  It is also a bill that provides for food stamps. I wish this Nation 
did not need food stamps, but we need them desperately. One out of six 
people in the State of Michigan is on food stamps because of the state 
of their economy, and many States with high unemployment rates are near 
that. The food stamps provide literally the basics and necessities of 
life for these families.
  You would think, as I describe this bill, that it would pass in the 
Senate by the same overwhelming margin it just passed in the House 2 
days ago. In the House, the vote was, if I recall correctly, in the 
range of 393 to 35 or something close to that. It was an overwhelming 
bipartisan vote. Mr. President, 164 Republican Congressmen voted for 
it, and it is understandable why. It was a vote of confidence in our 
men and women in uniform. It was a vote of support for them. And it was 
a vote of compassion and caring for all the people suffering in this 
great recession.
  Yet we may find--I hope it is not true--we may find that in just a 
few moments this will become a strictly partisan vote. I hope that does 
not happen. It should not. It was not a partisan issue in the House of 
Representatives. But many have said on the other side of the aisle that 
they will not vote to support our troops with this appropriation, nor 
provide money for the unemployed. I do not question their patriotism or 
their commitment to our men and women in uniform. They are doing it 
because of a political or procedural approach they want to use to try 
to stop or slow down health care reform. I think they picked the wrong 
bill for it. I think we have had a healthy debate, a vigorous debate, 
and we are likely to have that debate continue for the next several 
days. But why are we putting the men and women in uniform in the middle 
of this debate? They did not ask for that. They asked to serve our 
country, to be respected for that service, and to have some help so 
they come home safely. That is what this bill does.

  I hope at 1 a.m., in just a few minutes from now, those on the other 
side of the aisle will reconsider their opposition to the Department of 
Defense appropriations bill. If there was ever a time when we should 
stand together in solidarity for those who defend our country, it is 
now. And I hope many on the Republican side of the aisle will join us 
in that effort, in a bipartisan effort, in a show of support for these 
men and women in uniform.
  There is plenty of time for debate, but there is also a time for 
debate to end. There comes a moment, after we have tried our best and 
engaged in debate and amendments, when a vote should be taken and the 
Senate should decide.
  We are dragging this series of votes out on health care reform I 
think to a degree which is unnecessary. At some point, and some point 
soon, we should take the vote and see if there are literally 60 votes 
in the Senate for health care reform. Having done our best on our side 
of the aisle to argue the case, those on the other side have argued 
against it, and now the people of America should have the last word 
through their elected Senators.
  I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who tried 
yesterday to stop the proceedings or at least slow them down by 
requiring the reading of an amendment and are trying now

[[Page S13403]]

through the attempt to postpone this vote on the Department of Defense 
appropriations bill, to accept the verdict of the Senate. There should 
reach a point when we should do that. And we should do it in a timely 
fashion. Denying Members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle an 
opportunity to be home with their families--not to mention our poor 
staff, people around here who work night and day to support our 
efforts--denying them a chance to be home with their families in one 
last, perhaps, vain effort to stop a vote on health care reform really 
does not speak as well of this institution as it should.
  I hope those on the other side of the aisle will have reached a 
conclusion, after 2 days in trying to stop this process, that it is 
better for us to have a record vote. If they believe this bill is so 
bad, they have a chance to vote against it. Those of us who support it 
will be on record for it. Then let the American people decide. Let them 
decide in the next election or let them decide in response to us.
  But I hope that come 1 o'clock this morning, when we vote on the 
Department of Defense appropriations bill, we will have a solid 
bipartisan vote in support of our men and women in uniform. They 
deserve no less.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Who yields time?
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I know we are going to eventually vote 
on the DOD--the Department of Defense--appropriations bill. And it may 
pass tonight and cloture may be invoked. If it is not, it will be in 30 
hours. So I think the bill that is before us is not what is driving, 
actually, the timing of the vote, at 12:15 in the morning on Friday 
morning. I think what is driving it is health care, and I believe all 
of us are going to support--or most of us are going to support--the 
Department of Defense appropriations bill when the time is right.
  But I think it is very important that we have the opportunity to talk 
about the health care bill that is the underlying bill that will be the 
next piece of legislation that is considered. I hope people are looking 
at the underlying bill we have before us, because it is so important 
for the quality of every family, every person in this country, that we 
have a health care system that is affordable, available, and is the 
quality health care we have known in our country for all of these 
years.

  I think what concerns so many of us is that we are concerned that if 
we have health care reform, instead of providing more access to more 
people to have the quality health care we all want every American to 
have, we are going to lose the choices and the patient-doctor 
relationships if we have a health care takeover that increases costs. 
The underlying bill is actually going to start taxing every drug people 
take, every piece of medical equipment they buy, and insurance 
companies are going to have to raise their prices to accommodate the 
taxes that are in the bill.
  The bill starts the taxes 2 weeks from today. Two weeks from today, 
the taxes on this health care bill start. The health care bill itself 
doesn't start for 4 years. So I think the people of America are saying: 
What am I hearing? What am I hearing? That taxes start next year, but 
there is no health program that will give me some kind of new option 
for 4 years.
  It doesn't seem like the way we have had policy made in our country 
before, where you would be taxed for 4 years before there would ever be 
a program that you could sign up for. So I think that is what we are 
going to be dealing with in the next few days.
  I think the people of America are very concerned about the bill and 
the explanations of the bill that we hear. It could be that this bill 
has changed. We don't know because we haven't seen a new bill come 
forward, but we have heard that a new bill is being written. So we 
don't know for sure what it says. But the bill that was introduced and 
that we have been debating for 3 weeks now has tax increases of about 
$\1/2\ trillion over a 10-year period, tax increases, mandates, 
employer business expenses, individual mandates for every person to 
have to have health care coverage or pay a fine. It could be $750 per 
person, the fine; it could go up from there. Every employer is going to 
have to offer a specified type of health care coverage or they are 
going to have a mandate that will require fines as well.
  I think the American people have been watching this debate and are 
trying to listen to what is in this bill, and what I am getting in my 
office is more questions. I have had teletown meetings and people are 
calling in with questions. They are legitimate questions. When they 
hear that there are so many taxes and mandates and then the government 
is going to start saying what would be covered in any kind of plan, 
people are becoming very concerned.
  I think that what happened a few weeks ago--the task force that came 
out and changed the guidelines for mammograms in this country for 
women--we have all been told for so many years that early detection is 
what has saved lives. In fact, that is true; we know early detection 
has saved lives. So women have been encouraged to get mammograms 
starting at the age of 40 and, at the age of 40, they start having 
mammograms on an annual basis. But a few weeks ago a task force, a task 
force that is a part of the bill that would have the government single-
payer system, that task force began to change the guidelines. The 
guidelines were then that you don't need to have a mammogram under the 
age of 50. So you don't need mammograms at the age of 40, you start at 
50, and then it is every other year. Well, that concerned women all 
over our country. This task force that made this recommendation is the 
same task force that is going to be making the recommendations about 
what kind of health care coverage there will be in the underlying bill 
that is before us. So it begins to look as though there is going to be 
a government task force saying what will be covered in a government 
plan and that it is no longer women who are 40 and above, it is now 
women who are 50 and above. So those women between 40 and 50 are not 
going to have that same kind of access.
  I think it is a concern that people are saying: Well, if it is going 
to happen on mammograms, what else is it going to happen on? What else 
is going to be taken away from me by a government task force instead of 
my doctor and me making that decision?
  There are many questions about what is in this bill, many questions 
about what this means to my doctor-patient relationship. I think people 
around the country wish for us to say: Let's stop here. Let's do this 
in a way that people know how it is going to affect them, how it is 
going to affect their families. People want to know more about this 
bill before, all of a sudden, just before Christmas, we have a health 
care reform bill and it has taxes, it has more mandates on business in 
a very tough economic climate, and it has taxes that start actually 
next year, and it has $\1/2\ trillion worth of cuts in Medicare over a 
10-year period--$\1/2\ trillion in cuts in Medicare. That is $500 
billion in Medicare cuts.
  People from Texas were asking me: What does that mean? It means you 
are going to have severe cuts in Medicare Advantage, and there are 
hundreds of thousands of Texans who have Medicare Advantage and like 
Medicare Advantage. But that is going to be severely curtailed in this 
bill.
  The payments to hospitals, the underpayments to hospitals for 
Medicare patients, has always been brought back up so that hospitals 
could break even, but that is not the case in this bill because those 
payments are going to be cut. So the underpayment to hospitals is going 
to be a part of this bill.
  That is going to hurt our rural hospitals. We are very concerned 
about the rural hospitals that are already having a hard time. Their 
costs are higher and they have a harder time making ends meet, so we 
are worried about the quality of care people are going to get, 
particularly in our rural areas with these cuts to Medicare. There will 
be cuts to home health care. There will be cuts to hospice, nursing 
homes, long-term care. These are the cuts in Medicare that are not 
going to shore up Medicare; they are going to a new program at the 
expense of Medicare coverage, Medicare treatment for Medicare patients.
  So here we are. It is 12:25. We are going to be voting in about 30 
minutes, at 1 o'clock in the morning. It seems as though it is time for 
us to say that the

[[Page S13404]]

American people are very concerned about this bill, and wouldn't it be 
better to start all over and have a bipartisan effort where Republicans 
and Democrats can sit down together and lay out the principles we want 
in health care reform: principles such as lower costs; principles such 
as making sure more people have access to coverage with bigger pools to 
lower the cost of premiums.
  I think my time is up, and I will certainly yield the floor to those 
who are wishing to speak. I hope we can start over. It is more 
important to do this right than to do it fast.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Michigan is 
recognized.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, many who are filibustering this Defense 
appropriations bill tonight are filibustering because they want to 
delay health care. They want to delay the health care reform 
legislation from being voted on so the bill that provides the funding 
to support our men and women in uniform who are serving on the front 
lines, often under arduous and dangerous circumstances to protect our 
Nation, is being filibustered to keep the Senate from acting on another 
unrelated piece of legislation. This is not only unbelievable, it is 
unconscionable.
  A 3.4-percent pay raise for the troops is being filibustered. 
Additional funding for needed medical research in traumatic brain 
injuries and posttraumatic stress syndrome, and to improve the care, 
the medical care for our wounded warriors is being filibustered 
tonight. Funding to provide over 6,000 MRAP vehicles--those are the 
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles that are so desperately needed 
by our troops in Afghanistan--is being filibustered tonight.
  There is $1.8 billion for what is called the joint IED organization, 
which has one purpose, one mission, and that is to develop and deploy 
technologies to protect our troops from the deadly Improvised Explosive 
Devices that have maimed and killed so many, is being filibustered here 
tonight.
  There is $470 million for family advocacy programs and full funding 
for family support and yellow ribbon programs to provide support to 
military families, including quality childcare, job training for 
spouses, expanded counseling and outreach to families experiencing the 
separation and the strain and the stress of war is being filibustered 
here tonight.
  What in the world kind of message does a filibuster such as this send 
to our troops? Our troops deserve the full support--and they should 
know they have the full support--of the Congress when they are in the 
field carrying out the democratically arrived at policies and decisions 
of our government.
  Instead, what they are getting tonight is a Republican filibuster. 
Those who are filibustering this Defense bill because they think they 
are aiming at health care reform are tragically off target. They are 
hitting our troops and their families. How in the name of heaven should 
the well-being of our troops be sacrificed for 1 hour when they are 
sacrificing so much for us day after day?
  There are those who are going to argue that the end they seek--the 
delay of the health care reform bill--justifies the means they are 
using: holding hostage the critical funding to support our troops and 
their families. I couldn't disagree more. The lesson our troops are 
going to take from the filibusters tonight is that those who are 
filibustering this bill think a short-term political objective is more 
important than a prompt vote of support and confidence for our military 
members and their families.
  Just yesterday, the ranking member, the ranking Republican member of 
the Appropriations Committee, said the following about this 
appropriations bill:

       This Defense appropriations bill ought to be passed and it 
     ought to be passed as soon as possible in recognition of our 
     respect for servicemembers and their families.

  Our respect for our troops and the sacrifice they and their families 
make for our country every day is exactly why this filibuster should be 
defeated tonight.
  Those who are filibustering this bill because they want to delay a 
vote on health care legislation should end that filibuster out of 
respect for our troops and their families--out of respect for our 
troops and their families--and for the sacrifices they make for this 
country every day. The Senate should defeat this filibuster tonight.
  The stakes are huge, Mr. President. They were set forth in a letter 
we received from the Secretary of Defense. This is what the Secretary 
of Defense is telling us:

       I am writing to advise you of my serious concern over the 
     prospect that fiscal year 2010 appropriations authority for 
     the Department of Defense could expire by Friday, December 
     18, 2009.

  That is today. He goes on:

       Should we face this unfortunate situation, it would result 
     in a serious disruption in the worldwide activities of the 
     Department of Defense and limit our ability to pay our 
     workforce, including military forces.

  I am going to repeat this. This is what our Secretary of Defense is 
saying. He is not someone who shoots from the hip. Our Secretary of 
Defense is one of the most serious-minded, careful Secretaries of any 
agency that I have ever known. The Secretary of Defense said the 
following. I will repeat it because I want everybody to know what the 
stakes are tonight if we don't defeat this filibuster:

       Should we face this unfortunate situation, it would result 
     in a serious disruption in the worldwide activities of the 
     Department of Defense and limit our ability to pay our 
     workforce, including military forces.

  He concludes:

       It is inconceivable to me that such a situation would be 
     permitted to occur with U.S. forces actively deployed in 
     combat. Accordingly, I strongly urge the Congress to do what 
     is necessary to ensure the Department has the needed 
     resources to fully and appropriately continue its vital 
     national mission.

  It is signed by Robert Gates. I hope everybody, before they decide 
whether to continue this filibuster, will read this letter from 
Secretary Gates and think about what the message is to our troops and 
their families if an unrelated issue as important as that issue is 
allowed to interfere with us appropriating the necessary funds for the 
men and women who put on the uniform of this Nation, who take that risk 
for us.
  Let's remember that as we vote tonight and understand what the stakes 
are if this filibuster succeeds.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arizona is 
recognized.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I find it rather curious that our colleague, 
my friend from Michigan, is accusing Republicans of filibustering this 
Defense appropriations bill. Republicans don't control the Senate or 
the House. The House just passed this bill Wednesday. Now, it could 
have been passed in October or September or July or perhaps it could 
have been passed in November.
  Republicans didn't control the timing of this legislation. We have 
not been holding up the Defense appropriations bill. We always vote for 
the Defense appropriations bill. Everyone supports that. No, the 
majority controls the timing. The House finally got around--a week 
before Christmas or 10 days--to passing the bill, and they sent it 
here. The Senate took it up Thursday--yesterday.
  Republicans are filibustering the bill? The majority leader brought 
it up yesterday. We are having the vote on it tonight. There is only 
one reason there are 60 votes required, and that is that the majority 
leader scheduled the vote at 1 a.m. in the morning for purposes that we 
all understand have to do with the health care legislation, and 
Republicans figured it was probably a good idea that we all be here and 
vote and, therefore, the majority could produce the 60 votes, which it 
has, there being 60 members of the majority. I suspect when we vote on 
this piece of legislation, virtually all of us in this body will 
support it. There is no question about that.
  I find it odd that we are accused of filibustering. Have you heard 
any Republicans giving speeches about this? I think of Jimmy Stewart, 
in that great movie talking for 24 hours straight, or whatever it was, 
and Senator Hutchison from Texas just gave about a 5-minute speech 
primarily talking about health care. Republicans haven't been speaking 
this bill to death, talking the bill to death. As I said, it was just 
offered yesterday.
  Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for a question?

[[Page S13405]]

  Mr. KYL. Let me complete my thought. We are voting on Friday morning, 
and so I think if anybody is staying up late enough to watch this, they 
might think it is rather odd. They haven't heard anybody talking this 
bill to death, filibustering.
  Why haven't the Democrats been able to bring this most important bill 
to the Senate for a vote until a week before Christmas, when the fiscal 
year began October 1? Don't blame Republicans for the fact that this 
bill comes before us a week before Christmas and, therefore, we have to 
act on it at this point in time. Republicans had nothing to do with 
that timing. I will now yield.
  Mr. DURBIN. I say to my friend from Arizona, the whip, what a great 
relief it is for him to say that. I will make a unanimous consent that 
we pass this, and we won't have to wait for the rollcall at 1 a.m., and 
Members can go home to their families. Will the Senator from Arizona 
join me in the unanimous consent request that we immediately take up, 
consider, and pass this important Department of Defense bill?
  Mr. KYL. With all due respect, I will decline that kind invitation, 
given the fact that the majority leader saw fit to call us here to vote 
at 1 a.m. Everybody is probably on their way in, and they would 
appreciate the chance to do that and not be denied that opportunity.
  Mr. LEVIN. If the Senator will yield for another question, I wonder 
if my good friend is aware of the statement of the ranking Republican 
on the Appropriations Committee, when he said that--the Senator from 
Arizona says we have not been talking, referring to Republicans, about 
the Defense appropriations bill at all. Is he aware of the statement of 
the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee, who said 
yesterday that this bill ``ought to be passed as soon as possible, in 
recognition of our respect for the servicemembers and their families?''
  I wonder if the Senator is aware of that statement, and ``as soon as 
possible'' is tonight, not tomorrow or the next day.
  Mr. KYL. I am aware of it because the Senator from Michigan read it a 
moment ago. I talked to the Senator from Mississippi earlier today. 
There is nobody more committed to the troops than the Senator from 
Mississippi, who is concerned that we get this done. I talked to 
Secretary Gates about it today. There is no question the Defense 
Department needs to be funded, and there is a point in time in which 
the funding runs out, and it needs to be funded. That is not the 
Republicans' fault. The majority leader could have brought this up. And 
the House is controlled by Democrats. Republicans didn't delay this 
bill until a week before Christmas. If there is a concern about 
tonight, all you have to do is pass a continuing resolution for 24 
hours or 48 hours. There is no question that the troops will be funded 
or the Defense Department will be funded. Nobody believes that is an 
issue.
  The point is, don't blame Republicans for being here at almost 1 a.m. 
in the morning a week before Christmas. We don't control the timing of 
the legislation. We are not the reason the bill isn't ready until right 
now or it wasn't brought up until now. We certainly haven't been 
talking it to death.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The remainder of the Republicans' 
time is reserved for the minority leader.
  Mr. KYL. I thank the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming is 
recognized.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I want to speak about the troops because 
I spent Thanksgiving with the troops, the troops from Wyoming, our 
National Guard----
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is a parliamentary inquiry 
from the leader.
  Mr. REID. Under whose time is the Senator from Wyoming speaking?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time for the Republican leader 
to close the argument is all the time remaining for the Republican 
side.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I yield 6 minutes to the Senator from 
Wyoming.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming is 
recognized.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, listening to the debate and discussion 
tonight, I spent Thanksgiving with the troops from Wyoming who are 
serving our Nation overseas in Kuwait and in Iraq. These 700 men and 
women, driving in and out of Iraq on dangerous missions, have driven 
over 1 million miles. I went to three different bases in Kuwait to 
spend Thanksgiving with the troops, to pray with them, and tell them 
how the people of Wyoming are supportive of their efforts, tell them 
all of us at home are trying to do all we can to make sure their 
families know how much we care and that we want to do anything we can 
in our communities to help the families.
  I held three townhall meetings on Thanksgiving day at different 
military bases in Kuwait. In those meetings, listening to the troops, 
they said they had what they needed in terms of the military supplies. 
But they said their biggest concern was jobs; what was going to happen 
to them when they got home. Would there be jobs in the energy field? 
Would they still be available? Do the people in Washington and in the 
Senate realize we have 10 percent unemployment in this country? They 
want to go back to their jobs. Do those people realize they are 
debating health care and that we have an economic crisis that the 
Senate ought to be focused on now? Do they realize all the discussions 
on health care are going to drive up the cost of care and cut Medicare 
and increase premiums for people and raise taxes? Do we care what is 
going to happen to our families? And we want to know about jobs.
  They know, as many of them are small business people, that the 
National Federation of Independent Business estimates that if we pass 
this health care bill, it will cost our Nation 1.6 million jobs by 
2013. That is what the men and women in the field, on Thanksgiving Day, 
from Wyoming, who are part of our communities, our brothers, sisters, 
and the firefighters, policemen in our communities and the teachers in 
our schools--that is their concern. That was the No. 1 concern in the 
military that I heard about in three different townhall meetings that 
day.
  They want us to focus on the economy. They said: I want to make sure 
a job is there when I get back. I want to make sure health care is not 
going to be made worse by what will happen in this Senate between now 
and the end of the year. And don't cut Medicare for my parents or raise 
my taxes, and don't make things worse for me.
  I heard from the men and women in the field that they have the same 
concerns the other American people have, which is the rating on the 
health care bill which is at an all-time low. Only 32 percent, one in 
three Americans support what the Senate is trying to jam through before 
the holidays with the health care bill. They have great concerns 
because they believe their own costs are going to go up and quality 
will go down and the cost of care for the Nation will increase if we 
proceed with the health care bill.
  The other question they asked, of course, is, What is in the bill? 
Have you seen the bill? Have you read the bill? I had with me at these 
townhall meetings the first 400 pages of the bill so they could look at 
that, and we went through some of it. As I was working my way through--
and this was at the Thanksgiving recess--they were astonished. Even as 
of today, when I had a townhall meeting by phone two nights ago, the 
people of Wyoming said: Do you know what is in the bill right now? I 
had to say no.
  Mr. WICKER. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. BARRASSO. Yes.
  Mr. WICKER. Isn't the Senator from Wyoming saying that the troops he 
spoke to, and the troops we are going to fund in the next day or so 
with this legislation, want a strong country to come back to, and they 
would be happy if we were standing firm today, this weekend, to prevent 
the ever-increasing deficits, to prevent this country from being 
burdened with larger and larger debt, to protect the programs that they 
will come back to, and to make sure Medicare is not cut even further?
  Isn't the Senator saying these troops expect us to be standing for 
the financial strength of this country so they can have the same 
America to come back to that they volunteered to fight for?
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, that is exactly what I am saying. My 
colleague from Mississippi is so right.

[[Page S13406]]

That is what the men and women from Wyoming who are serving right now 
in Iraq and Kuwait want. They want to come home to the same country 
they left, the place where they have jobs, where they have 
opportunities for their children, where they are focused on growth, 
economic development, opportunities for the children, for the next 
generation.
  They are very concerned about the debt. They are very concerned about 
the amount of spending going on by this Congress. They are very 
concerned. As one said, the debt is the threat. It is astonishing to be 
with our men and women in the field, with their guns and with their 
ammunition, and what they want to talk about is the national debt in 
the United States right now as a result of the extensive amounts of 
spending that are going on in this country. They are saying do not make 
things worse. What is going to happen to our kids? Senator, aren't we 
still borrowing more and more money from China? Why are we doing that? 
How much money do we owe to the Chinese people? That is what I heard 
from Kuwait on Thanksgiving.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has used the time 
yielded to him.
  Mr. BARRASSO. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, how much time remains on this side?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is 3 minutes 8 seconds 
remaining.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, regretfully, due to the schedule that 
the majority has set, we are going to be unable to finish the Defense 
bill before the current funding authority expires midnight on Friday. 
As we all know, the President will be out of the country. The House of 
Representatives, anticipating this problem, sent over a continuing 
resolution that would take care of the operations of this remaining 
portion of government unfunded through December 31.
  With the President out of the country, of course, this would have to 
be flown over to him to be signed. With the country at war and troops 
in the field, it would be the height of irresponsibility to let funding 
for the Defense Department lapse. That is why, of course, the House of 
Representatives sent us this continuing resolution.
  I have indicated to the majority that I would propound a consent 
agreement that we take up and pass this continuing resolution, and I 
will do that at this time.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of H.J. Res. 64, that the motion to proceed be agreed to, 
the joint resolution be read a third time and passed, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, I hope the American people 
have the opportunity to see this, even though it is in the middle of 
the night. On the west coast it is 3 hours earlier, so there will be a 
lot of people watching.
  They are doing everything they can to stall, divert, and distract. 
And now they are using the troops. It is difficult to comprehend the 
illogic of my friends, the Republicans. We have a simple issue here.
  There was a unanimous consent request by my friend, the assistant 
leader, a few minutes ago that said if you support the troops, let's 
pass this bill, and that was objected to. So I object to the unanimous 
consent request of my friend. I will say this: Don't worry about the 
President being gone. The President will be back tonight. OK?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I believe I have some time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, 42 seconds.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the reason we are in this snarl is 
because my good friend, the majority leader, has this issue all tangled 
up with the debt ceiling extension and a health care bill that there is 
this rush to pass before Christmas, a 2,100-page bill and no one has 
seen the final version yet. All of these things are all tangled up 
together.
  Our advice would be to quit trying to pass this health care bill 
before Christmas that has an artificial deadline to pass something that 
most of us have not seen. Let's do the necessary business of the 
government and do what Senator Snowe has recommended continuously, 
which is that we pass the bill on a bipartisan basis with a broad 
coalition of support.
  I believe my time may have expired.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
  The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. I yield 3 minutes to my friend from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is difficult to reconcile the 
statements made by the Republican whip and the Republican leader. The 
Republican whip says we are not stopping the Defense bill. The 
Republican leader says because of actions that have been taken here, 
this bill cannot pass.
  I made a unanimous consent request to end this debate immediately and 
pass this appropriations bill and fund our troops, which I think both 
Republican leaders have said they want to do. But, unfortunately, the 
Republican whip objected to it.
  We know why we are here. We are here because, as Senator Levin of 
Michigan, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said, there is 
a Republican filibuster against the funding bill for our troops. There 
will be an opportunity in a few moments for Members on both sides of 
the aisle to vote, and I hope all of the Senators of both parties will 
vote--a vote of confidence in support for our men and women in uniform 
by voting for this cloture motion, and then I will renew my unanimous 
consent request that we pass that bill immediately.
  So there will be no questions, we will have had a rollcall vote, the 
Senate expressed its sentiment, and we move forward. I do not think 
there is any reason for us to delay this another minute. The fact we 
are here early in the morning may be part of a strategy I hope the 
Republicans have abandoned.
  It is time to stand behind our troops and not abandon them during the 
course of war.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, ``We should not cause uncertainty or 
hardship for our Armed Forces.'' The senior Senator from Mississippi, a 
Republican, said that.
  ``Playing politics with the critical funding that our troops need now 
is political theater of the worst kind.'' The junior Senator from 
Texas, a Republican, said that.
  ``Our obligation to those troops must transcend politics.'' The 
junior Senator from Arizona, the Republican whip, said that.
  ``Every day we don't fund our troops is a day their ability to fight 
this war is weakened.'' The senior Senator from Kentucky, the 
Republican leader, said that.
  And yet not a single one of these Republican Senators, not a single 
one of the 40 Republicans in this body, has committed to renewing our 
commitment to our troops before the funding expires later today.
  We are voting at this rare late hour, but not even the darkness 
outside can conceal the game being played inside this Senate Chamber. 
We are here in the middle of the night, but the reason is as clear as 
day. Senate Republicans so desperately want to turn their backs on 
Americans who are suffering and dying for want of decent health care--
45,000 a year, 750,000 bankruptcies, 14,000 losing their insurance 
every day--that they are turning their backs on America's troops at 
wartime.
  Rarely has the Senate seen such a sad statement. Rarely have I seen 
such brazen irresponsibility, and rarely have our Nation's citizens 
received such little regard from their leaders.
  Our sons and daughters are fighting tonight and every night in the 
deserts of Iraq and in the bitter cold mountains and valleys in 
Afghanistan on our behalf. The least we can do is make sure they have 
the training and equipment they need to succeed--the least we can do.

  Our Nation's bravest spend month after month half a world away from 
their families and children. The least we can do is make sure those 
military families and children who have already sacrificed so much can 
get the health care they need.
  Our Nation's most selfless men and women volunteer for duty. We have 
an

[[Page S13407]]

all-volunteer Army. Every single one stepped forward to serve. They 
volunteered. The least we can do is to give them the well-deserved pay 
raise they need.
  I received a letter, as has been announced here a few hours ago. The 
letter that Senator Durbin and the senior Senator from Michigan talked 
about is a letter addressed to me. He let me know he has no patience 
for the partisan games being played and no time for the precious hours 
that are being wasted. He expressed, in his words, serious concern that 
this Senate might cause ``a serious disruption in our military efforts 
around the world.'' But Secretary Gates added this:

       It is inconceivable to me that such a situation would be 
     permitted to occur with United States forces actively 
     deployed in combat.

  I agree. I couldn't agree more. I am going to vote for this bill in 
support of every single one of those servicemembers, including the 
hundreds of Nevadans who at this very moment fight for our Nation in 
other nations around the world.
  I will vote yes because I support the 432 men and women from the 
221st Armored Cavalry from Las Vegas and the 102 men and women from the 
152nd Air Guard in Reno, both of which serve in Afghanistan. There are 
other Nevadans serving around the world.
  Those on the other side of the aisle have stubbornly said they will 
not. The Senate Republican leadership has shamelessly turned the 
funding of our military into a purely partisan exercise. They can make 
all the excuses they want. We are here at 1 o'clock in the morning 
because of the Republicans. We could have voted for this bill 2 days 
ago. I even had some Republican Senators tell me, regretfully and 
regrettably--they have admitted this to me personally, they have told 
me plainly that while they want to support our troops, they fear 
retribution from their own leaders. Retribution from their own leaders.
  We know Senators on this side of the aisle have made commitments to 
vote for this. That is not exactly what John Kennedy, who was not only 
President of the United States but a war hero who served in this very 
body, would call a profile in courage.
  I am confident not a single one of our troops could care less whether 
the leaders who give them what they need to succeed are progressives or 
conservatives. I am certain these men and women on deployment after 
deployment spend more time counting the days until they see their loved 
ones again than they do counting the political points scored on either 
side.
  My vote in support of these soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen 
has nothing to do with the party with which I am affiliated and 
everything to do with the country for which I took an oath to support 
and defend.
  Although it is shortly after midnight here in Washington, DC, our 
Nation's Capital, it is late morning on the battlefields of Iraq and 
Afghanistan. When the Sun rises over this city, this great city of 
Washington, a few hours from now, you will be able to see out those 
windows on the west side of this Capitol and see past the great 
monuments of Washington and Lincoln, and you will be able to see the 
Potomac River and see the skyline break for the great lawn of 
Arlington. Within that consecrated ground, in neat rows that rise and 
fall with the rolling hills, lie the remains of men and women, boys and 
girls who fought and fell for our flag.
  Their headstones are simple, and from a distance they are identical. 
No matter how closely you look at the words and symbols etched in those 
solemn marble gravestones, you will never be able to discern whether 
that warrior beneath was a Democrat, an Independent, or a Republican. 
We cannot tell for whom he voted in the last election of his life or 
what she thought of this policy or that policy. That is not by 
accident. That is not an oversight.
  While the demarcations of left and right, of red and blue seem so 
important to the daily lives as air and water to some of us, those 
stones are eternal reminders of such triviality. Dedication to this 
Nation above all else--``All For Our Country,'' which is Nevada's 
motto, should guide us now. On this hill, on this side of the river, in 
this early morning hour, we can stand a little more of selflessness we 
too often keep at a distance on the sacred ground we call Arlington.
  I ask unanimous consent that the vote begin.


                             Cloture Motion

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, pursuant 
to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the pending cloture 
motion, which the clerk will state.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 
     3326, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal 
     Year 2010.
         Daniel K. Inouye, Harry Reid, Max Baucus, Patrick J. 
           Leahy, Sheldon Whitehouse, Carl Levin, Patty Murray, 
           Mark Begich, Maria Cantwell, Mark L. Pryor, Jack Reed, 
           Edward E. Kaufman, Al Franken, Tom Harkin, Jim Webb, 
           Paul G. Kirk, Jr., Michael F. Bennet.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. By unanimous consent, the mandatory 
quorum call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the amendment of the 
Senate to H.R. 3326, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Bond), the 
Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning), and the Senator from Texas (Mr. 
Cornyn).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. 
Bunning) would have voted ``nay,'' and the Senator from Texas (Mr. 
Cornyn) would have voted ``nay.''
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 63, nays 33, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 381 Leg.]

                                YEAS--63

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burris
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--33

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Brownback
     Burr
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Corker
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Kyl
     LeMieux
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Risch
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Bond
     Bunning
     Chambliss
     Cornyn
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. On this vote, the yeas are 63, the 
nays are 33. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having 
voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
  The motion to refer falls.
  The Senator from Illinois is recognized.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in light of the vote and the fact that 
cloture has been invoked on the motion to concur, I ask unanimous 
consent that the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate 
amendment with an amendment be withdrawn, all postcloture time be 
yielded back, and the motion to concur in the House amendment to the 
Senate amendment to H.R. 3326 be agreed to, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCONNELL. I object.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection is heard. The majority 
leader is recognized
  Mr. REID. For the information of all Senators, unless we can work 
something out with the minority, the next

[[Page S13408]]

vote will occur very early on Saturday morning, around 7:30 or so that 
morning. There could be several votes. We will work with the minority 
to find out, in fact, if they want these other votes. I hope we can 
make that determination tomorrow. We have some people for whom that 
would be very convenient, if they knew it would be a simple majority 
vote or whether we need 60 votes on some of the issues that might be 
raised. We have one Member, of course, who has to walk very early, a 
long ways, and others who will be terribly inconvenienced.
  But unless we hear from our friends on the other side of the aisle, 
the vote will occur at 7:30 or so Saturday morning. That is tomorrow.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________