[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 158 (Thursday, November 7, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7920-S7923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS DAY
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, as Veterans Day 2013 approaches next
Monday, I ask that in honoring the brave men and women who have served
our Nation, we in Congress honor them in ways that are meaningful and
help them return to civilian life after they have served. A mere thank-
you is little comfort to a veteran who cannot find meaningful
employment, who is striving to provide for his or her family, or who is
dealing with post-traumatic stress.
President Woodrow Wilson established this holiday--originally known
as Armistice Day--on November 11, 1919, when he proclaimed that it
would be used to honor the brave Americans who fought and died in World
War I. The holiday was officially recognized by the U.S. Congress on
June 4, 1946. After the end of World War II, Armistice Day was expanded
to honor all veterans of our military services, and the holiday's name
was changed to Veterans Day.
We should honor our veterans every day, but I believe that this
annual holiday is especially important as it allows us to reflect on
the true aspect of the sacrifices that our servicemembers have made.
Their sacrifices are often made in stressful, frustrating, and
dangerous conditions. Yet these brave men and women do not shy from
committing themselves to serving our country. It is because of those
who have served selflessly, with honor and dignity, that we can
continue celebrating our history and our way of life.
While I am proud of all of our veterans, I am especially proud of the
veterans in my State. Maryland has a long and proud military tradition.
Maryland is known as the Old Line State. Some people think that comes
from the Mason Dixon Line, but it actually dates back to 1776, less
than 2 months after the Declaration of Independence, when George
Washington's army was nearing annihilation in an indefensible position
at Brooklyn Heights. They were faced with overwhelming odds, and the
British Army--the most powerful military force in the world at the
time--was closing in around them. But on this historic day 400
Marylanders who made up the Maryland Line stepped up against those
overwhelming odds and ran into the breach in defense of our Nation.
Today, there is a plaque over the mass graves of those citizen soldiers
that reads simply this: ``In honor of the Maryland 400, who on this
battlefield on August 27, 1776, saved the American Army.''
Every year I make it a priority on Veterans Day to take an
opportunity to thank the millions of brave men and women who served our
Nation in uniform and honor them for their courage, dedication, and
sacrifice. In my first year as a Senator of Maryland I went to Garrison
Forest Veterans Cemetery in Owings Mills for a Veterans Day observance,
as well as attended a Veterans Day Salute and groundbreaking of a new
facility for Baltimore Station, which provides innovative therapeutic
residential treatment program supporting veterans who are transitioning
through the cycle of poverty, addiction, and homelessness to self-
sufficiency.
I have also spent Veterans Day at the Leonardtown Cemetery and
Crownsville Veterans Cemetery Remembrance Ceremony, where I placed
wreaths honoring those who have paid the ultimate price in serving our
country. Two years ago, I had the privilege of joining Maryland
Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward Chow, Jr., to observe Veterans Day at
Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery. Through our efforts, we were able to
announce that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the
cemetery a grant of $1.7 million to make improvements.
Just last year, I had the opportunity to thank the millions of brave
men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces and risk their
lives for our Nation when I provided remarks at the Crownsville
Veterans Day Ceremony. Additionally, I was invited by the Armed Forces
Foundation to speak to students at Manor View Elementary School--
located on Fort Meade--as part of their Operation Caring Classroom
Program. During my visit, I talked to students about Veterans Day and
the importance of honoring the service of men and women in the
military, as well as the sacrifices of their families. We far too often
forget to thank the families of our veterans for all they have
sacrificed. We want our veterans and their families to know we are
grateful for their service to our Nation and are here today to honor
them as well.
This year I will have a chance to say thank you to veterans across
Maryland as I participate in the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter
451 Veterans Day Celebration and Baltimore City's Veterans Day
Celebration sponsored by
[[Page S7921]]
the Baltimore City Veterans Commission. This Veterans Day, I am
reminded that Maryland is home to over 470,000 veterans to whom we made
solemn promises. I am committed to making sure they receive the
services and benefits they earned and the support they were promised.
The United States is the strongest Nation in the world, and I am proud
to honor Maryland's veterans with my gratitude and respect.
For more than 237 years, Marylanders in every branch of service have
been at the forefront of providing distinguished service for our
national defense. Let me mention a few examples. Marylanders are
justifiably proud of amazing soldiers like PFC Kevin Jaye, an Army hero
born and raised in Smithsburg who saw his life change when he stepped
on an improvised explosive device, IED, while serving in Afghanistan.
Kevin lost his right leg below the knee, but despite the many surgeries
and the long recovery process, he is determined to overcome these
challenges. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, more than
1,500 U.S. troops have become amputees and Kevin is one of them.
We are justifiably proud of naval heroes like Navy Hospital Corpsman
Michael Couch, who received a Purple Heart earlier this year as a
result of the injuries he sustained while serving in Afghanistan.
Michael was traveling in a convoy when his vehicle rolled over an IED
which detonated. He was knocked unconscious, and his eardrum was
ruptured. After 3 weeks of rehabilitation he rejoined his unit. Michael
is now stationed at the Naval Academy, where he is an optometry
technician who prescreens the vision of midshipmen before they meet
with an optometrist.
We are justifiably proud of marines from Maryland like HM3 Vanzorro
Gross, Jr., who was awarded the Purple Heart in May by Naval Health
Clinic Patuxent River. Corpsman Gross received the Purple Heart for
wounds received in action during a raid while deployed in Afghanistan
with the Marines. During the firefight, eight service personnel were
injured and two were killed. Corpsman Gross was 30 days into a 6-month
deployment at the time of the attack and was sent home with damage to
the bones in his foot. He had a 3-inch hole in his foot from the
shrapnel damage and has undergone four orthopedic surgeries so far to
reconstruct it. Despite these injuries, when visited in Walter Reid
National Military Medical Center by a commanding officer, Corpsman
Gross' first question was, ``When can I go back?''
We are justifiably proud of Air Force Airman Captain Barry F.
Crawford, Jr., a member of the Maryland Air National Guard, who was
recently awarded the Air Force Cross--second only to the Medal of
Honor--and Purple Heart for his extraordinary heroism in military
operations against an armed enemy of the United States as special
tactics officer near Lagham Province, Afghanistan. Captain Crawford is
credited for taking decisive action to save the lives of three wounded
Afghan soldiers and evacuating two Afghan soldiers killed in action.
Captain Crawford is only the fifth recipient, since 9/11, to receive
the Air Force Cross.
We are justifiably proud of Security Forces airmen stationed at
Warfield Air National Guard Base, who were awarded the Bronze Star
Medal for meritorious achievement while assigned to the Air Force
Office of Special Investigations Tactical Security Element at Bagram
Airfield, Afghanistan. MSG John Duly and MSG Olen D. Smith III led a
15-man tactical security element that provided security wherever the
Office of Special Investigations detachment needed to go. On a routine
mission, an Army platoon came under attack from Taliban fighters, and
Sergeants Duly and Smith moved their unit to provide support. For the
next 48 hours their unit provided security and overwatch, responded to
a vehicle rollover, initiated and received direct fire, coordinated
with helicopter and fixed wing assets, and responded to a vehicle hit
by an IED.
We are justifiably proud of the A-10 pilots from the 104th Fighter
Squadron with the Maryland Air National Guard assigned to Bagram
Airfield, Afghanistan, who recently flew as part of a harrowing mission
to support ambushed coalition forces fighting during dangerous weather
conditions. A dozen pilots protected more than 90 coalition
servicemembers during a major battle in the mountains of eastern
Afghanistan.
All across the services, our military members and veterans from
Maryland are the best in the Department of Defense. But Congress simply
has not done enough to provide enough support to our veterans. For
example, unemployment is also an issue for the veterans community.
Veterans, particularly young veterans from our most recent conflicts,
are having trouble getting jobs. In this September's jobs report, the
Bureau of Labor reported that while the unemployment rate for
nonveterans was 7.2 percent and the unemployment rate for all veterans
was at 6.5 percent, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was at
an astonishing 10.1 percent. I find this troubling, as the experience
that these veterans acquired during their recent military service
should make them invaluable to prospective employers. We must do better
in providing employment opportunities for our veterans.
Ultimately, Veterans Day is an opportunity for all of us to thank our
veterans for their service and to renew our commitment to serving and
honoring them each and every day of the year. A true marker of our
Nation's worth is our willingness to serve those who have served us. As
we continue to wind down our commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan after
a decade of war, we need to gear up our commitment to our veterans. Our
veterans deserve every possible tool we can provide to help ease their
transition to civilian life. I am committed to making sure that our
veterans receive the services and benefits they earned and the support
they were promised and deserve. The United States is the strongest
Nation in the world because of our veterans, and we owe them and their
families our gratitude and our respect.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, Veterans Day 2013 gives us an opportunity
to set aside our day-to-day worries and celebrate the men and women who
have served in the United States Armed Forces. It is a national day of
recognition and gratitude for those who have bravely served and fought
to defend the freedoms that make the United States a beacon of liberty
to the world.
I am heartened each year by the pride that Mississippians have for
our Armed Forces, and their appreciation for the sacrifices made by
loved ones on behalf of our Nation. The ceremonies, parades and
programs taking place this year will reflect the admiration we share
for our veterans. It is gratifying to see the deep respect that the
people of my State have for those who have served, from the first
Mississippians who took up arms to defend this land to those currently
deployed around the world.
Today, the new generation of all-volunteer veterans returning from
more than a decade of sustained combat operations reminds us of our
sacred obligations to all our veterans and their families. We must
dedicate ourselves to meeting those commitments. Doing so will make us
a stronger Nation.
I appreciate that on Veterans Day the world will witness an American
people united in its appreciation of the men and women who have served
and fought for our republic.
Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity to
associate myself with the remarks of the chairman of the Appropriations
Committee, Senator Mikulski, earlier this week. She has really been an
extraordinary leader for many years in this Congress. She is truly an
expert appropriator. We could have no better person trying to bring
this body together--Democrats and Republicans--in my mind than Senator
Mikulski. She is trying to get our appropriations bills through the
process--which is so important for the country, not just for our
agencies and our departments, as
[[Page S7922]]
the Presiding Officer knows, as a Senator from Massachusetts with
thousands in his State and millions of private contractors and
nonprofit organizations, not the least of which is one my favorites,
the Catholic Church, which delivers so many social services to the
people of our State and Nation.
It is very hard for anyone to plan anything when the Federal budget
is in such disarray. If there is anyone that can figure this out, it is
Senator Mikulski. So as one of her subcommittee chairs, I want to be
here to support her work. I am the chair of the Homeland Security
Subcommittee, and I add my voice to how important it is for us over
these next few weeks to get a budget resolution done.
Senator Murray has passed a budget on this side. After the
recklessness of a government shutdown, finally everyone has come to
their senses, and we are now in conference with the Budget Committee.
We have to get that budget number down so that once we agree on what
the top-line spending is, the budget for the country, we can then go
about building the 12 bills that actually run the Department of
Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of
Education, and the others.
The important reason for Congress to adopt a budget resolution would
be for us to provide some stability--not just for the next year but the
next 2 years, and not only for stability to our agencies but to our
many private sector partners, so that we can give some idea of what the
outlook for spending and investing is going to be by the Federal
Government. It is very important for our overall economic strength. We
cannot afford another government shutdown which puts our economic
viability at risk and denies assistance to millions of Americans.
In my State, I was trying to figure out a way to describe the cost of
the shutdown--reckless, and it should have been avoided, and it was
not. So I asked, what are some of the things that cost about $92
million in Louisiana? One of the things I found out is that the New
Orleans Saints payroll is $70 million a year. That would be like
telling the Saints we are not paying you for one whole year. We would
never do that in New Orleans. But when we think about not paying the
salaries of the players and then the effect that would have on the
whole operation, the whole organization, the city itself, the games, we
can see the ripple effect; and that was just the impact to Louisiana.
The impact to the Nation was extraordinary. We have to avoid it at all
costs.
One of the missions of the Appropriations Committee is to make sure
the Federal Government continues to operate on behalf of the people,
the taxpayers we serve, and that we invest in their future, in their
opportunities to strengthen families and grow businesses. They need a
budget that they can count on just like we do. When the Federal
Government is not functioning under normal order and getting our
budgets, our appropriations bills, it really does wreak havoc in many
communities throughout our country. We need to pass our 12
appropriations bills that set priorities and invest in our future.
If we are not able to get to an agreement on the budget and to set
top lines for all of our appropriations bills, we will basically punt
to a continuing resolution--CR--which I think Senator Durbin said is
like running your business for 2014 based on your checkbook receipts
from 2013. Why would any smart businessperson do that? No one would run
a family budget or business operation using last year's stubs from the
checkbook. We want to pay for this year coming up. We want to budget
for the future.
Anytime we can't pass an appropriations bill and we punt to a
continuing resolution, it is like putting the country on autopilot set
for last year's weather, not what is coming ahead for next year. It
really is a waste of money. It wastes taxpayer money.
So I am hoping that cool heads can prevail and we can get a budget
number. It is going to take some additional revenues put on the table,
as well as some smart cuts and reductions, balancing between the Murray
priorities and the Ryan priorities. Then we can be given our numbers to
build the Homeland Security budget. That is what I want to talk about
now just briefly.
Everyone knows how important it is to keep the homeland security of
this country intact. We have done a very fine job. It has been
expensive. This budget has gone from zero to its current level of $42
billion post-9/11, in the last 12 years, but it has been an investment
worth making. We have a lot of threats against our country every day
from border intrusions, to cyber security threats, to explosions, as
the Presiding Officer knows so well, with the Boston Marathon, which
frightened and terrorized an entire community and city. So there are
lots of challenges. Throwing money at the problem isn't going to fix
them all, but not having enough money to invest will ensure
vulnerabilities which we cannot allow.
When a homemade explosive device wreaked havoc at the Boston
Marathon, we saw how critical it was that law enforcement and first
responders had proper training and equipment. That training and
equipment is funded through the Homeland Security bill. We have given
robust grants over the years. We want to continue to be able to do
that. However, if we don't get to a budget, if we don't get to an
agreement, grant funding would be reduced to the lowest level since it
was formed 10 years ago. I don't think we want to go back to pre-9/11
investments. This is a new world. It is a dangerous world. The threats
are evolving, as we saw play out in Boston. We need to be ready for the
next attack, and we won't be if we can't get a budget agreement.
Our cyber networks are under constant attack. There are 6 million
probes on U.S. networks alone. Among the attackers we know are 140
foreign spy organizations. One example: The Syrian Electronic Army
defaced the Marine Corps Web site and hacked into numerous print media
Web sites. A recent Annual Report to Congress from the U.S. Secretary
of Defense documents that China is using its network exploitation
capability to support intelligence collections--of course, that is
understandable--but hacking into some of our manufacturing and private
sector databases to steal U.S. trade and manufacturing secrets. We know
this. It has been put into the record before, but it is worth
repeating.
Also this year, in the wake of serious chemical plant incidents in
West Texas and Ascension Parish in Louisiana, we are reminded that
people live around chemical plants and industrial sites that are very
dangerous. Lots is done to keep them safe, but if that perimeter was
ever breached by people who had intentions other than to work there and
produce legal products, it could be a disaster. That is ongoing. It is
a big country. It is an open country. We have partnerships to build in
the private sector, and in large measure that is part of what our
budget does. Last week, a Transportation Security officer lost his
life, and two others were shot in the line of duty at the Los Angeles
airport.
So these attacks are real. This budget does what it can with limited
resources. We try to be strategic. We try to be as efficient as we can
to make sure that we keep our hundreds of airports, land ports, and
water ports safe for people to move, for manufacturing and trade, and
for our economy to advance. It is a big job. It takes a lot of money to
do that, and it takes cooperation. I sure hope in the next couple of
weeks we can find it.
We continue to face threats of weapons of mass destruction. Dirty
bombs being detonated in one of our cities or ports is an ongoing
worry. A radiological attack would incite not just harm but mass panic
and shut down transportation systems. We just cannot afford not to have
a Department of Homeland Security budget that is looking to the future.
As these threats evolve, they are ever changing. People say: I just
bought a cell phone. Do I have to buy another one? The technology is
changing so fast, it is hard for people to keep up. I just got a laptop
last year. I need to buy another one. The technology is changing. In
the same sense, threats are evolving. We can't budget for what happened
2 years ago. We need to budget for the future, and if we can't get this
budget worked out, if we can't get our appropriations numbers, we will
either be in a continuing resolution--which is basically funding what
happened in the past, which makes no sense and wastes taxpayer money--
or we will be short-changing our constituents.
[[Page S7923]]
For 4 years in a row the Department of Homeland Security has had to
tighten its belt. Everyone has. We have been willing to do that. We
have operated at reduced funding. But the impact of the sequester--
which is really a blunt instrument that cuts funding in a not very
smart way. They are automatic cuts that were never intended, that were
never designed to run the government. They were really designed to
motivate us to do a better job of getting to the budget. That seems not
to be working. As a result, these automatic cuts that are blunt, that
are harsh, and that really are not smart are happening to all of our
agencies, defense and nondefense alike. It is time to get rid of that
inefficient way of operating and go to a more strategic, forward-
leaning planning budget process.
I just want to mention an agency that I am very supportive of, the
Coast Guard, not only because we build many of the boats in Louisiana
but because so many of our people--and Massachusetts as well--are
literally saved every year by the Coast Guard. We have lots of water,
lots of lakes, lots of important work going on with offshore oil and
gas drilling, and we are intercepting drugs that come into the United
States. The Coast Guard is on the front line. They are operating their
surface and air assets at 25 percent below planned levels because of
sequestration--not smart cuts. It has resulted in a 30-percent
reduction of drug seizures--people are not happy to hear this; I am not
happy to say it--and an 11-percent reduction in the interdiction of
undocumented migrants.
Under a yearlong CR, Customs and Border Protection would not be able
to hire any new officers for our air, land, and sea ports of entry.
This is bad news for travel and trade. The Presiding Officer knows, as
people come into America they ask: Why do we have to wait so long in
line? We just came here to do business. We have to get to New York,
Chicago, Boston, Louisiana, California, and to other places where
people come to do international business.
We can't shift assets from the past to the front line with a
sequester. We can only do it with a rational budget that will help
cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, New
Orleans and Miami to grow. This is important to business. It is
important to the Chamber of Commerce.
So I urge my colleagues, let us work very hard together in a
bipartisan way to come to some agreement on our budget, so that we can
have direction as appropriators to design bills--whether it is for the
Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, the Department
of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce--to fashion budgets
that meet future needs, that are not funding tired past priorities but
are funding investing in the real future and real-time needs, present
and future, of our citizens and of the great country that we believe in
and want to see get stronger.
Under a year-long CR, DHS would not be able to implement safeguards
to prevent unauthorized release of classified information.
Vulnerabilities in the existing system were highlighted in the
Wikileaks releases and the more recent disclosures by Edward Snowden.
There was no funding in fiscal year 2013 to stop this type of activity
so DHS's classified data will not be adequately protected without
fiscal year 2014 funding.
Critical infrastructure protection efforts would be hindered. For
example, without the $34 million above the fiscal year 2013 sequester
level, inspections of chemical plants to prevent weaponization by
terrorists will be delayed. Funding to better coordinate Federal
chemical programs in the wake of the West, Texas facility explosion
will not be provided. Increases to prevent catastrophic impacts to
critical infrastructure during manmade or natural disasters will be
eliminated.
Because of these impacts, it is critical that we conference our
fiscal year 2014 Senate bills with our House counterparts so that we
can address the weaknesses that continuing to operate at sequestration
levels would entail. A conference would also permit a necessary delay
to flood insurance rate increases for properties that were formerly
grandfathered into affordable rates since the House and Senate Homeland
Security bills contain identical language on this issue. This is one
small step in a larger effort I have been working on to fix flood
insurance so that it is affordable, accessible and self-sustainable.
Time and time again, Senators have heard from their constituents about
the skyrocketing increases in flood insurance rates. Many homeowners
throughout the United States will see their rates rise to unaffordable
levels. For example, up to 2.9 million policies nationwide could see
their previously grandfathered rates become absolutely unaffordable.
One resident in my State of Louisiana could see rates increase from
$633 to over $20,000 per year. That makes homeownership unachievable
for many Americans and traps others in houses that they cannot sell.
We must get our work done. We need to agree on a budget for fiscal
year 2014. Then we need to finalize our fiscal year 2014 bills so that
our agencies have the appropriate funding for their critical missions--
instead of lurching from one funding crisis to the next. This is a hard
task but one I believe that is achievable. This is exactly what we were
elected to do.
I thank Senator Mikulski for her leadership.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Warner). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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