[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 21897]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 21897]]

                   UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 739

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 191, S. 739, the 
Homeless Veterans Program Improvement Act, which my colleague, Lane 
Evans, and I have called the Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans 
Assistance Act after the wonderful work she did as Miss America in 
behalf of homeless veterans. Her dad is a disabled Vietnam vet. I ask 
unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be 
agreed to, that the bill, as amended, be read three times, passed, and 
the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening 
action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. SESSIONS. There is objection on this side, and I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Madam President, I have to say, not so much to my 
colleague from Alabama because he is really objecting on behalf of 
someone else, that I find this process to be absolutely outrageous.
  I believe the veterans community finds this process to be absolutely 
outrageous. This is the fourth or the fifth time I have come to the 
Senate to ask unanimous consent to pass this legislation. We have a 
similar version in the House of Representatives that has passed. We can 
really get this done.
  This is an anonymous hold that has been put on this bill. I have to 
say I am more than surprised. I have now become indignant that we have 
a Senator on the other side who will not come to the Senate Chamber and 
debate me on this legislation and express his or her opposition and 
reasons why.
  This legislation passed out of the Veterans Committee I think on a 
21-0 vote. It was unanimous. It was Democrats and Republicans alike.
  It is a familiar principle among veterans in our Armed Forces that we 
do not leave our wounded behind. Homeless veterans are our wounded, and 
we are leaving them behind. The VA has reported there were about 
345,000 homeless vets in our country in 1999, and there are yet even 
more homeless veterans as we see this economic downturn.
  What does the bill do? It sets a national goal to end homelessness 
among veterans within 10 years. Who is opposed to that? The bill 
provides funding, authorizes $50 million for some programs that really 
have a good track record--I will not even go over all of them today--
for job training, for treatment for addiction, for other transitional 
services that are so critical to veterans: job counseling, social 
services, medical services, assistance in getting into affordable 
housing, calls for VA comprehensive homeless centers in our major 
metropolitan areas in America today to have kind of a one-stop 
continuum of services for veterans.
  I would like to know what is going on in the Senate. I would like to 
know why this legislation is being blocked. I will say with great 
regret--I said it last week, and I said it the week before--I will put 
a hold on all the legislation, not the major appropriations bills and 
judicial appointments, that individual Senators on the other side have 
sponsored. This legislation should go through on unanimous consent. It 
is not controversial. It has the support of all of us. But I have no 
other choice but to do so. I have no other choice but to fight like the 
dickens and use my leverage. I have been around the Senate for 11 years 
now, and I know the way things work.
  It is very rare that today we continue to have these anonymous holds 
on legislation such as this to help homeless veterans. The only way I 
can fight and the only way I can continue to make this a priority--it 
is a priority to me, it should be a priority for every Senator, and it 
should be a priority for our country--is to ask my colleagues to go and 
spend some time--and maybe many of my colleagues have--in homeless 
shelters, meeting with street people. My colleagues would be amazed at 
how many of them are veterans, how many of them are Vietnam vets. 
Surely we can do better.
  Anonymous hold? I do not know why. I guess I have my own suspicion, 
but I will say this: I have a hold on all the bills from individual 
Senators on the other side, and they are going nowhere until whoever 
the Senator is steps forward and either debates me and we have a vote 
or that Senator takes this hold off.
  I will say this: I do not blame the Senator for wanting to remain 
anonymous. I would want to remain anonymous if I were blocking this 
legislation. We can do better for veterans in our country. We can do 
better for veterans in a lot of different ways, but this is legislation 
where a lot of us came together on both sides of the aisle. We have 
done some good work. It is not the cure-all or end-all. I do not want 
to make this out to be perfect, but I say to my colleague from Georgia 
it makes life a little better for some people. In this particular case 
it happens to be veterans. It is the kind of thing we should be doing 
in public service, and I cannot understand where this anonymous hold 
comes from or why.
  Every day I am coming to the Chamber and I am going to do the same 
thing. I am going to continue to have a hold on all this other 
individual legislation sponsored by individual Senators on the other 
side until this bill goes through.
  Other than that, I do not feel strongly about it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. May I ask the time I have reserved for morning 
business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator may speak for up to 10 minutes.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to speak for 20 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank the Chair.

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