[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 107 (Monday, July 18, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4629-S4630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of H.R. 2055, which the clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 2055) making appropriations for military
construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and
for other purposes.
Pending:
Coburn (for McCain) amendment No. 553, to eliminate the
additional amount of $10,000,000, not included in the
President's budget request for fiscal year 2012, appropriated
for the Department of Defense for planning and design for the
Energy Conservation Investment Program.
Johnson (SD)/Kirk amendment No. 556, of a perfecting
nature.
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that the reading
of the bill be waived.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, as the Senate resumes
consideration of the fiscal year 2012 Military Construction, Veterans
Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, I wish to remind my
colleagues of the important programs funded in this bill.
This bill funds the infrastructure that is the backbone of our
military--the facilities in which our troops work, train, and live--and
the facilities that support their families, including family housing,
schools, hospitals, and childcare centers. It also funds the medical
care and benefits promised to the Nation's veterans--a sacred trust we
must not fail to honor.
This is a bipartisan bill that was reported unanimously out of the
Appropriations Committee. As I have said before, the bill is balanced,
disciplined, and responsible.
Two amendments to this bill are currently pending and several others
have been filed. If my colleagues have additional amendments they wish
to offer to the bill, I encourage them to file those amendments without
delay or call them up if they wish a vote. My staff and Senator Kirk's
staff are available to work with Members to clear amendments if
possible.
There is a lot going on in Washington this week, but it need not
distract from the disposition of this bill. I urge my colleagues to
bring any amendments they have to the floor so we can act on them and
move quickly to a vote on final passage.
I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. 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. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, what is the pending
amendment?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Johnson amendment.
Amendment No. 556, as Modified
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that amendment
No. 556 be modified with the modifications at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is so modified.
The amendment, as modified, is as follows:
On page 114 between lines 18 and 19, insert the following:
Sec. 301. Not later than 90 days after enactment of this
Act, the Executive Director of Arlington National Cemetery
shall provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations of
the Senate and the House of Representatives; the Senate Armed
Services Committee; the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee;
and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee detailing the strategic plan and timetable to
modernize the Cemetery's Information Technology system,
including electronic burial records.
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent
that Senator McCaskill be added as a cosponsor to the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I yield the floor, and 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. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Nomination of J. Paul Oetken
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, it is my distinct honor to rise in
support of Paul Oetken's confirmation to the bench of the Southern
District of New York. We have a very deep pool of legal talent in New
York, but Paul's nomination is one everybody is talking about. Paul is
brilliant, well rounded, and unwavering in his dedication to public
service and his commitment to rule of law. His confirmation will only
improve the workings of one of the best and busiest courts in the
country.
I look for three qualities in judicial candidates: excellence,
moderation, and diversity. Paul's Excellence is provable on paper. He
is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Yale Law School and has
worked in the highest echelons of two of the three branches of
government, including for the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department
of Justice and for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. He has also
climbed the ranks of private legal practice, serving most recently as
the head of litigation for the large New York media company
Cablevision, one of our fine companies in New York.
I consider a broad range of experience to be an important training
ground for teaching judicial candidates the second quality I look for:
moderation. I do not like judges who tend to be too far to the right,
but I do not like judges who come from a perspective that is too far
[[Page S4630]]
left either. Paul Oetken fits the bill of a mainstream, moderate judge.
His moderation and modesty were evident during his confirmation hearing
and are clear to all who know him. When judges have in their resume
practical experience dealing with real-world problems, they tend to
understand that a judge cannot simply impose things from on high
without understanding the effect of imposing those decrees on average
people, average businesses, and average governments.
When a candidate has these two qualities--excellence and moderation--
diversity is a bonus. But in this case, at this moment, Paul is not
just an excellent candidate. As the first openly gay man to be
confirmed as a Federal judge and to serve on the Federal bench, he will
be a symbol of how much we have achieved as a country in the last few
decades. And importantly, he will give hope to many talented young
lawyers who, until now, thought their paths might be limited because of
their sexual orientation. When Paul becomes Judge Oetken, he will be
living proof to all those young lawyers that it does get better.
Paul Oetken's modest but brave act of going through the confirmation
process makes this otherwise quiet moment historic. But long after
today, what the history books will note about Paul is his achievement
as a fair and brilliant judge.
In a short while, our country will take one step closer toward
equality and away from bigotry and prejudice. I am very proud to have
played a supporting role, and I look forward to Paul Oetken's service
on the bench in the Southern District of New York. Often quoted but
still one of my favorites is what Martin Luther King often said:
The arc of history is long, but it bends in the direction
of justice.
Paul Oetken's nomination to the Federal bench proves that point once
again.
I yield the floor, and 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. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask that the order for the quorum call
be suspended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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