[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18991-18992]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         AVIATION SECURITY ACT

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I am not going to take long. I know 
there are other colleagues who are going to want to speak, but I do 
want to talk about where we are right now in this Senate Chamber. I 
want to try to do that not in an abstract way but in relation to what 
is happening throughout the country and, particularly, I want to talk 
about my State of Minnesota.
  Yesterday we had a field hearing in Minnesota. It was a formal 
hearing of the Subcommittee on Employment, Safety and Training of which 
I am lucky enough to chair. It was just absolutely packed with people. 
I am not sure that is good news. I think it was packed with people 
because we have had a sharp economic downturn, and it affects a broad 
section of the population in Minnesota and around the country.
  I said yesterday that I cannot remember--and I think I said this to 
the distinguished Presiding Officer--another time in my adult life when 
I ever felt as if our country was facing three challenges or crises and 
all at the same time.
  One of them has to do with the world that we live in--military 
action, use of force in Afghanistan. I have said back home that I very 
much want this action to be successful. I think it is terribly 
important that it is with the most careful targeting. I think it is 
essential that we do everything we know how to do to minimize the loss 
of innocent civilian life.
  I pray for the men and women of our armed services, and, frankly, I 
pray no innocent Afghan, or anyone else, is killed in this process.
  I had a chance to talk with the Ambassador to Pakistan today and was 
asking her how things were going in her country. And she, too, talked 
about how it is so important that what we do militarily, and in many 
other ways, we do in the right way. Whatever we do has to be consistent 
with our own values. That means, above and beyond the use of force, 
dealing with the humanitarian crisis, dealing with the massive hunger 
and starvation in Afghanistan, and doing everything we can to minimize 
the loss of civilian life.
  Then there is the whole question of physical security in our own 
country. Today Chairman Kennedy and the HELP Committee had very 
powerful hearings. The distinguished Chair testified about his work and 
some of his legislation as to what we need to do to better defend our 
own homeland. Then there is economic security. What I rise to discuss 
briefly is my indignation about some of the opposition and delay. Quite 
often, one person's political truth is another person's political 
horror. We are all different, and political truth can be illusive. We 
have different ideas. People of good conscience can disagree. That 
always is the case, including now as well.
  I have to say I don't really know how any Senator, Democrat or 
Republican, can go home, after we have provided $15 billion of help for 
the airline industry--which we should have done; I don't think they are 
playing Chicken Little crying that the sky is falling in--now and be 
unwilling to provide the employees with help.
  Senator Carnahan has an amendment, in which a number of us have 
joined--it makes all the sense in the world--extending unemployment 
insurance to a full year, picking up the cost of COBRA or helping 
people get Medicaid assistance--when you lose your job, the other thing 
that is so terrifying in our country is, you lose your health care 
coverage for yourself and your loved ones--making sure that that is 
there, making sure the funding is there for training. I am just amazed 
at the opposition to this amendment. I am amazed that we have been 
having to go through cloture votes, and now people want to burn up yet 
more time.
  For my own point of view, I don't think we should move. Senator 
Hollings is right that one of the best ways to get this industry back 
on its feet is to have people think they are safe. God knows the whole 
notion of federalizing the security forces is what the vast majority of 
people are for. That is apparently being opposed. There are other 
colleagues who talk about Amtrak and say there has to be a commitment 
to that as part of our transportation system. They are right.
  What I want to relate today is what Senator Dayton and other 
colleagues from Minnesota, Democrats and Republicans, heard at our 
field hearing, which was all the employees, 4,500 people out of work, 
who were asking: What about us? You helped the industry. Fine. But what 
about working families? What about us?
  I said about a week ago now that I believe the people values are 
coming out in the country. September 11 and beyond, people really are 
very committed to helping one another. I can't quite figure out why 
that has not extended to the Senate.
  There will be plenty of discussion about this in the Chamber, but as 
far as I am concerned, this is the place we draw the line. This airline 
security bill has to pass. If there is opposition to federalizing part 
of the security forces, so be it; we will vote on it. If there is 
opposition to providing the help to employees I just outlined, the 
Carnahan amendment, then we will vote on it. If there is opposition to 
other amendments, then we will vote on them.
  I just can't, for the life of me, understand the opposition. I can't 
understand why we wouldn't want to help people flat on their back. 
Frankly, I don't want to go back home to Minnesota and face these 
employees and tell them that Congress was unwilling to provide the 
help.
  I thank the majority leader and the whip, Senator Reid, for their 
commitment. I am committed to this fight. We are unified as a country. 
There is no question about it. We have to be our own best selves. To 
me, part of being your own best self is to speak out and advocate for 
people you love and believe in who need help. That is what we are 
talking about right now.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. I am pleased to yield.
  Mr. REID. It is my understanding that the Senator has offered a 
resolution--in fact, did so last week--commending the Capitol Police 
for the valiant work they did on September 11 and what they have done 
since then; is that true?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. That is true. I did offer an amendment, and I was 
hoping that every single Senator would support it. I thought on 
Thursday or Friday maybe the whip could help me out.

[[Page 18992]]

I actually submitted it. I didn't want to make a big hoo-ha about it. I 
wanted to thank the Capitol Police and thought maybe we would pass it 
by unanimous consent. Then we could send it out and let everyone know 
we have expressed our appreciation.
  My understanding is, it has been blocked; is that correct?
  Mr. REID. That is my understanding. We wanted that cleared last week, 
but somebody is holding this up. My friend knows how holds work. We 
have a general idea from where they come but not specifically from 
whom. I say to the Senator from Minnesota, he has always been such a 
supporter of the Capitol Police. He has always been thoughtful and kind 
to them. I have seen that as he walked through the Capitol. I 
personally am so grateful for the work they have done. Prior to 
September 11, I always felt really strongly about the work they did. 
Since September 11, my emotions have run much higher.
  I commend the Senator from Minnesota for this resolution. I want him 
to know we are going to continue to talk about this resolution until it 
is cleared. Otherwise, we will try to figure out a way to get a vote on 
it so anyone who has the audacity to stand and not say to the Capitol 
Police they have done a good job will have to come forward and be 
counted.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I will not speak much longer. Let me 
say to the whip--who, by the way, also was a member of the Capitol 
Police, the only one in the Senate--I thank him. I don't even want to 
make a big deal of this. In fact, I am almost embarrassed about it. 
This now is going to become a point of contention? I am a pretty good 
rabble-rouser. I didn't think this would be something on which we would 
have to go this far.
  My hope is that it will pass. I say to the whip that I would like to 
get his help, that if this doesn't clear today, then I will prepare an 
amendment. I would love to have the whip's support and do it with him. 
We will just come out here and have a debate, I suppose, if Senators 
are opposed to the resolution of support. Above and beyond that, we are 
talking about a lot of Capitol Police. They are working 6 days a week, 
12 hours a day. Frankly, the whip discussed this with me. Above and 
beyond just the resolution saying ``thank you for your support,'' the 
other point is the additional resources. With all due respect, there 
will have to be additional resources to go to them for them to be able 
to do this job.
  I thought when I came back that this resolution would have been 
passed. I wouldn't have thought there would have been any controversy. 
I thought we then could notify the police.
  Now what we will do is talk about it for a day or so. We will keep 
asking who is holding it up. We will keep asking why. It is hardly a 
way to say thank you to the police. And if necessary, we will have an 
amendment on it.
  Mr. REID. I say to the Senator, I am hopeful and confident that it is 
just a misunderstanding. Otherwise, we will have to move forward as the 
Senator from Minnesota has indicated.

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