[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23768-23769]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 2716

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I do not want to rudely interrupt, but 
I want to take a minute to make a unanimous consent request.
  I see the ranking member of the Veterans' Committee in the Chamber. 
Shortly, I am going to ask unanimous consent to pass a veterans 
homeless bill. I will give my colleagues the background.
  Three weeks prior to the Thanksgiving recess, I came to the Chamber 
to try to pass a version of the homeless veterans assistance bill. Lane 
Evans has done a lot of work on the House side, so has Chris Smith. It 
is an excellent bill. We passed this bill out of the Veterans' 
Committee by a unanimous vote.
  I had to come to the Chamber four times asking unanimous consent to 
pass the legislation. There was an anonymous hold. Again, I say to 
colleagues, any Senator certainly can object, but this whole business 
of anonymous holds and no arguments made is unbelievable. So I had to 
say to my colleagues on the other side that on nonemergency measures, I 
was putting a hold on everything. My hold was not anonymous. I said on 
the floor--it is me--I am putting a hold on it.
  We have been doing all this work with Democrats and Republicans on 
the House side. Chris Smith, who is chairman of the Veterans' Committee 
in the House, has been especially helpful on the bill. We had strong 
bipartisan support on the Senate side as well. We preconferenced it, 
and we have unanimity of opinion. This veterans homeless bill is superb 
legislation.
  About a third of the homeless adult males in the country are 
veterans. Many of them are Vietnam vets. Most struggle with 
posttraumatic stress syndrome. Most struggle with addiction. They do 
not get help. It is a scandal.
  This legislation is one-stop shopping, places where people can go for 
community-based care, mental health services, treatment, and assistance 
in getting affordable housing. My God, we could not do anything that is 
better.
  This legislation came back from the House. I thought we certainly 
would pass it. I know the chair of the Veterans' Committee in the 
House, a Republican, has urged colleagues to do so.
  Now I understand we have another one of these anonymous holds.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of Calendar No. 201, H.R. 2716.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I am sorry that I have to do this, but for 
the proceedings we are now under, and the fact we have dealt with this 
issue before--my colleague and I agree on much of what he has just 
said, but I do believe the way he now attempts to address this issue 
does not fit where we want to go or where the Senate has acted and the 
House has acted. Therefore, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. If I had gone further, I would have mentioned also, 
with the support of Senator Rockefeller and Senator Specter, the 
unanimous consent request was that the amendment be agreed to; the act, 
as amended, be read a third time and passed; and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table. Of course, my colleague from Idaho 
has objected.
  I am a bit of an emotional Senator. I say to my good friend from 
Idaho that unlike the Senator who has put an anonymous hold on this 
bill, my hold is not anonymous. I have a hold on every single 
resolution and legislation introduced by my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle that is nonemergency--all of it. It is not anonymous. 
I have just said it here.
  I did it for 3 weeks before Thanksgiving. I cannot believe it. Now we 
are back at this again. It comes over here from the House with the full 
approval of the chair of the Veterans' Committee--I think unanimous 
support--support of both Senator Rockefeller, who chairs the Veterans' 
Committee, and Senator Specter.
  We have been working on this for several years. It is a scandal. Is 
it too much to ask that we get this support to veterans? People are 
giving all these speeches about how great it is that our men and women 
are serving our country, they are in harm's way, we support them--and 
we do, I agree--and then when they get out of the Armed Services and 
they are now veterans, all of a sudden we do not say thank you any 
longer. You don't think you can find it in your hearts to pass this 
bill that is so important to this group of veterans in this country? 
That is my first point.
  My second point deals with my indignation, for which I apologize. I 
am just getting sick and tired of these anonymous holds. I really am. 
Therefore, I say to my good friend from Idaho, I know this is not his 
position. He has to come out here by proxy, representing someone who 
has put an anonymous hold on this bill again, in which case I have a 
hold on all legislation, all resolutions introduced by my good friends 
on the other side of the aisle that are nonemergency.
  Mr. CRAIG. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. I will be pleased to yield. I do not yield the floor. 
I will be pleased to yield for a question.
  Mr. CRAIG. Briefly on this issue.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. I yield for a question.
  Mr. CRAIG. I thank the Senator for yielding. As the Senator from 
Minnesota knows, a hold is not absolute. It merely is to notify those 
who have objection to the bill that it might be coming up. I think the 
Senator has operated appropriately. I am not the person who has the 
hold on his bill, but it is important we deal with the issue in a 
timely fashion.
  There is much of what the Senator said I agree with. I serve on the 
Veterans' Committee. I do not say by this action I am not in support of 
veterans, homeless veterans, those who are in need. I understand where 
the Senator wants to go. My guess is ultimately we

[[Page 23769]]

can get there, and I will work with the Senator to make that happen.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I note my colleague from Texas is in 
the Chamber. I will only take 1 more minute.
  I thank the Senator from Idaho. I take his remarks as being very 
sincere. Again, the reason I have to do this, I say to my colleague, is 
because I went through this for 3 weeks prior to Thanksgiving. I came 
to the Senate Chamber 4, 5 times and never could get approval. The hold 
was anonymous.
  Last week, I tried to get approval, and I have tried to get approval 
since. It is out there. Everybody knows what the bill is. We have been 
working on this a long time. There is strong bipartisan support for the 
bill.
  I thank my colleague. I hope we can work it out. In the meantime, 
before we work it out, I want all of my good friends on the other side 
to know my hold is not anonymous. I have a hold on all their 
resolutions, amendments, and bills unless they are emergency.

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