[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 30, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8060-S8062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2012--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of S. 1867.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, while the Senator from Minnesota is here, 
let me add my voice of thanks and appreciation for what she continually 
is fighting for in the area of sexual assault. Her amendment makes 
great sense. We have cleared it on our side. We hope it gets cleared so 
that we can get this into a package--and we hope we can get a package 
that is adopted.
  But I want to just commend the Senator for her intrepid effort that 
is awe inspiring on behalf of people who need all of the fight and all 
of the protection that we can give them, those are people who have been 
assaulted sexually. I commend the Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.


                    Amendment No. 1246, as Modified

  Mr. McCAIN. I send an amendment to the desk, as modified, No. 1246, 
and ask for its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is already pending.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, the amendment is to require the Secretary 
of Defense to consult with the Armed Services Committee in 
commissioning an independent assessment of U.S. security interests in 
East Asia and in the Pacific region. It has been cleared on both sides. 
I urge adoption of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment is modified.
  Mr. LEVIN. Before the amendment is adopted, I just wanted to indicate 
our support of the amendment. It is in a very significant area which 
has to do with our force structure in the Pacific. Senator McCain has 
been very active wanting to look at that because we have to look at it 
in depth. He has agreed that this study, which will be done in 
consultation with people who have knowledge, can be done independently 
and in a prompt way with an independent study.
  I think he has reached that conclusion. I think he is right. I 
believe Senator Webb, if he were here, would want to indicate his 
strong support because the three of us have worked together for this 
kind of an effort.
  With that, I would indicate my strong support.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment, 
as modified.
  The amendment (No. 1246), as modified, was agreed to, as follows:

       On page 439, line 18, insert ``, in consultation with the 
     Chairman and Ranking Members of the Committees on Armed 
     Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives,'' 
     after ``Secretary of Defense''.

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. McCAIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I would ask my friend, the chairman, if 
perhaps we could give our colleagues a brief update on where we are. 
There are not that many amendments remaining. There are a couple of 
rather serious amendments concerning detainees that are still 
outstanding. But overall I think we can tell our colleagues that we are 
pretty well moving along.
  We still have a pending package of amendments that have been agreed 
to by both sides that, unfortunately, we are unable to move forward. 
But, hopefully, we will be able to do that.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, we indeed have been making progress, No. 1. 
We made significant progress today both on the pending amendments that 
needed to be addressed by the full Senate, as well as a major package 
of amendments which has been cleared on both sides.
  There is another package of amendments to which there has been no--
they have been cleared, which means they are available to everybody, 
and

[[Page S8061]]

there is no objection by anybody to the substance of those amendments. 
If there is any objection, then they are not going to be cleared. They 
would then have to be brought up to the whole body.
  Tomorrow we have a number of significant amendments to address, 
including the Feinstein amendments, the Menendez-Kirk amendment on Iran 
sanctions, just being a few of them. But there are a number of other 
ones as well. In a moment, what I am going to be asking for is 
unanimous consent that when we come in tomorrow the first amendment 
pending be my amendment, No. 1293, on high-speed ferries, which 
apparently will require a rollcall vote.
  So I just want to alert everybody that while we are preparing a 
unanimous consent agreement laying out what the order will be for 
tomorrow, what we will start with, that is our intention. I have talked 
already, of course, to Senator McCain about that. He is agreeable that 
we start with that amendment, No. 1293.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, we think we can get wrapped up tomorrow. 
But there are serious amendments remaining. The Menendez-Kirk amendment 
is a very serious amendment and one that probably is going to deserve 
some debate time as well as the Feinstein amendment. The Sessions 
amendment also is one as well. So I think our colleagues should be 
prepared for a pretty interesting day tomorrow.


                    Amendment No. 1185, as Modified

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my 
amendment No. 1185 be modified with the changes at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Begich). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SESSIONS. This amendment would simply require the Department of 
Defense to include the discussion of the feasibility and advisability 
of establishing a missile defense site on the east coast of the United 
States in its Homeland Defense Hedging Strategy Review.
  I hope my amendment can be accepted by voice vote. I thank Senator 
Levin and Senator McCain for working with me to get language I believe 
all can agree to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the Sessions amendment, as modified, has 
been reviewed. I know it has cleared on this side. I am confident it 
has been cleared by both sides of the aisle.
  The amendment would require the Department of Defense to report to 
Congress on the findings and conclusions of the Department's Homeland 
Missile Defense Hedging Strategy Review, including a discussion of the 
feasibility and advisability of establishing a missile defense site on 
the east coast of the United States.
  The administration officials have committed to providing Congress 
with the results of its Hedging Strategy Review. This amendment would 
make it clear that the Department is required to do exactly that, and I 
just want to thank the Senator for his amendment, for modifying it, and 
I hope now we can adopt it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment, 
as modified.
  The amendment (No. 1185), as modified, was agreed to, as follows:

       At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following:

     SEC. 234. REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES MISSILE DEFENSE HEDGING 
                   STRATEGY.

       (a) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
     shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report 
     setting forth the findings and conclusions of the homeland 
     missile defense hedging strategy review, including a 
     discussion of the feasibility and advisability of 
     establishing a missile defense site on the East Coast of the 
     United States.
       (b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
     annex.

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. McCAIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. LEVIN. Now I believe we have one other, Senator Inhofe's 
amendment, which now I think is agreeable on both sides.


                    Amendment No. 1098, as Modified

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I have amendment No. 1098, as modified. I 
ask that it be considered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment is modified.
  The amendment (No. 1098), as modified, is as follows:

       At the end of subtitle E of title VIII, add the following:

     SEC. 889. REPORT ON IMPACT OF FOREIGN BOYCOTTS ON THE DEFENSE 
                   INDUSTRIAL BASE.

       (a) In General.--Not later than October 1, 2012, the 
     Department of Defense shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report setting forth an assessment 
     of the impact of foreign boycotts on the defense industrial 
     base.
       (b) Element.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     include a summary of foreign boycotts that posed a material 
     risk to the defense industrial base from January 2008 to the 
     date of the enactment of this Act.
       (c) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Foreign boycott.--The term ``foreign boycott'' means 
     any policy or practice adopted by a foreign government or 
     foreign business enterprise intended to penalize, 
     disadvantage, or harm any contractor or subcontractor of the 
     Department of Defense on account of the provision by that 
     contractor or subcontractor of any product or service to the 
     Department.
       (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the congressional defense committees; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
     the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Inhofe for the modification 
of his amendment. It is agreeable on our side.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I appreciate that. First of all, I don't 
recall seeing the majority and minority working so closely together and 
in the right way for a while. Several of my amendments have been 
accepted. I think they agreed to this one. It directs DOD to have a 
report on the effect of boycotts against our domestic contractors. It 
is modified, and I ask for its adoption.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate? If not, the question 
is on agreeing to the amendment, as modified.
  The amendment (No. 1098), as modified, was agreed to.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. McCAIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I believe Senator Inhofe may wish to be 
recognized to talk about another amendment or a couple amendments that 
he has. We will not take any further action on those amendments now.
  I think we are perhaps, hopefully, ready soon to offer a unanimous 
consent on what I described a moment ago--how we will begin in the 
morning. We will wait for that to be prepared.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I have two amendments that I believe are 
very significant. However, I don't believe they will clear, and that is 
the reason I will not be bringing them up. But it is important we do 
address the problems. The Military Leasing Act prohibits military 
installations from receiving any revenues from mineral exploration of 
these lands. Exploration has taken place in Oklahoma and other places, 
where we have, with the new horizontal drilling, been able to get at 
some of these reserves. The problem is that this incurs an expense by 
the military operations. The one I am talking about right now happens 
to be the depot in McCallister, OK. Under the Mineral Leasing Act that 
governs oil and gas leasing on Federal lands, it gives the 
responsibility to the Bureau of Land Management.
  The problem is, we want to explore it and accommodate others who are 
going after these tremendous reserves and not just in Oklahoma but 
elsewhere. But there is not a mechanism by which they can be paid for 
expenses incurred by the local installation. We are going to be working 
on this and coming up with some kind of a solution. I will not be 
offering this as an amendment.
  The second one I will not be offering is one that is very 
significant, which is treating what we refer to as the sub-S, or 
subpart-S carriers, nonscheduled carriers, that are currently taking 
materiel and personnel into areas such as Afghanistan. We have crew 
rest responsibilities, saying they cannot be--a

[[Page S8062]]

crew cannot be working for more than 15 hours. The problem is this: 95 
percent of the military personnel going into Afghanistan and some of 
these other areas go in by subpart-S operators. They are exempt from 
the crew rest. Right now, there is legislation that is pending that 
would make them fall under the crew rest requirements.
  Military can take them in, but military doesn't have the capacity. 
That is why 40 percent of all materiel and 95 percent of personnel are 
being brought into these zones. As an example, if they are going from 
the logical place, which would be in Germany to go into Afghanistan, 
they would carry it in, but they would not be able to offload whatever 
cargo or personnel and then get back and go to Stuttgart or whatever 
location it is in Germany because that would exceed crew rest.
  On the other hand, they are precluded from having civilian aircraft 
staying in places such as Afghanistan. So there is no solution to it. 
We want to address this. We are going to try to do it. We feel this 
will not clear as it is now. So I will not be offering it tonight, but 
it is one I think is very significant.
  With that, I yield the floor.


          Amendments Nos. 1094, 1095, 1096, and 1101 Withdrawn

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I wonder if while the Senator from Oklahoma 
is here--we are trying to get a current list of amendments. Is it his 
intent to withdraw amendment No. 1101 on C-12 aircraft?
  Mr. INHOFE. I don't have that one with me. I would rather wait until 
I get the amendment. There is one other I will want to have passed--
several amendments are on Guantanamo Bay detention. This is on long-
term, high-value detainees. It is my intention to offer that tomorrow.
  I have currently four amendments that I will withdraw at this time so 
we can unclog some of this.
  I ask unanimous consent to withdraw amendments Nos. 1094, 1095, 1096 
and 1101.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oklahoma for 
helping us to get our list of amendments whittled down to where we can 
hopefully have a manageable group for tomorrow. We are going to have a 
very busy day tomorrow. We have a lot of amendments to address and 
dispose of. It is doable because we have had the cooperation of 
Senators. It is our goal--we must finish this by 6 o'clock.
  Everybody has a right to a vote if their amendment is germane. We 
hope we will have a chance to debate all these amendments as well as 
vote on them. I believe we will be coming in at 9:30. That is the 
current plan, and we will be back on the bill at 11. We have to start 
off immediately. I hope we will vote on my amendment within a few 
minutes after it is offered. There will be some debate in opposition to 
my amendment, I understand.
  Hopefully, the Senators who oppose it will be notified tonight that 
my amendment is first up and we are going to be prepared to debate this 
at 11 o'clock.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate resumes 
consideration of S. 1867, the Defense authorization bill, tomorrow, 
December 1, 2011, the pending amendment be the Levin amendment No. 
1293, relative to high-speed ferries.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCAIN. Reserving the right to object, and I will not object, I 
thank the chairman for the progress we have made and also again point 
out that we have some very serious issues that deserve debate and 
discussion. But when cloture expires--the 30 hours--there will be an 
automatic vote triggered at that time. We look forward to working with 
our colleagues to make sure they have sufficient time to debate the 
amendments.
  It would be regrettable, as important as some of these amendments 
are, that we back up to the expiration of the cloture time and that 
would trigger an automatic vote. I am sure we will get the cooperation 
of all our colleagues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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