[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12661-12669]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.


                           amendment no. 865

  Mr. VOINOVICH. I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its 
immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending amendment is laid aside. The clerk 
will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Ohio [Mr. Voinovich], for himself, Mr. 
     Helms, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Crapo, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 865.

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To protect the social security surpluses by preventing on-
                            budget deficits)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUSES ACT OF 2001.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Protect Social Security Surpluses Act of 2001''.
       (b) Revision of Enforcing Deficit Targets.--Section 253 of 
     the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 
     (2 U.S.C. 903) is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(b) Excess Deficit; Margin.--The excess deficit is, if 
     greater than zero, the estimated deficit for the budget year, 
     minus the margin for that year. In this subsection, the 
     margin for each fiscal year is 0.5 percent of estimated total 
     outlays for that fiscal year.'';
       (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
       ``(c) Eliminating Excess Deficit.--Each non-exempt account 
     shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by multiplying 
     the baseline level of sequesterable budgetary resources in 
     that account at that time by the uniform percentage necessary 
     to eliminate an excess deficit.''; and
       (3) by striking subsections (g) and (h).
       (c) Economic and Technical Assumptions.--Notwithstanding 
     section 254(j) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
     Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 904(j)), the Office of 
     Management and Budget shall use the economic and technical 
     assumptions underlying the report issued pursuant to section 
     1106 of title 31, United States Code, for purposes of 
     determining the excess deficit under section 253(b) of the 
     Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as 
     added by subsection (b).
       (d) Application of Sequestration to Budget Accounts.--
     Section 256(k) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
     Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 906(k)) is amended by--
       (1) striking paragraph (2); and
       (2) redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) as paragraphs 
     (2) through (5), respectively.
       (e) Strengthening Social Security Points of Order.--
       (1) In general.--Section 312 of the Congressional Budget 
     Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 643) is amended by inserting at the end 
     the following:
       ``(g) Strengthening Social Security Point of Order.--It 
     shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the 
     Senate to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget (or 
     any amendment thereto or conference report thereon) or any 
     bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference 
     report that would violate or amend section 13301 of the 
     Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.''.
       (2) Super majority requirement.--
       (A) Point of order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after 
     ``310(d)(2),''.
       (B) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget 
     Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after 
     ``310(d)(2),''.
       (3) Enforcement in each fiscal year.--The Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 is amended in--
       (A) section 301(a)(7) (2 U.S.C. 632(a)(7)), by striking 
     ``for the fiscal year'' through the period and inserting 
     ``for each fiscal year covered by the resolution''; and
       (B) section 311(a)(3) (2 U.S.C. 642(a)(3)), by striking 
     beginning with ``for the first fiscal year'' through the 
     period and insert the following: ``for any of the fiscal 
     years covered by the concurrent resolution.''.
       (f) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made 
     by this section shall apply to fiscal years 2002 through 
     2006.

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, one of the primary reasons I wanted to 
serve as a Senator was to have an opportunity to bring fiscal 
responsibility to our Nation and help reduce our national debt. As many 
of my colleagues know, for decades successive Congresses and Presidents 
spent money on items that, while important, they were unwilling to pay 
for or, in the alternative, do without. In the process, Washington ran 
up a staggering debt and mortgaged our future. Today our national debt 
stands at about $5.7 trillion. That costs about $200 billion a year in 
interest payments.
  From the time I arrived in the Senate, I have worked to rein in 
spending and lower the national debt. Over the past 2\1/2\ years, I 
have cosponsored and sponsored a number of amendments designed to bring 
fiscal discipline to the Federal Government. In March of 1999, I 
offered an amendment to use whatever on-budget surplus as calculated in 
the fiscal year 2000 budget to pay down the debt. In March of 2000, I 
again offered my amendment to use the on-budget surplus calculated for 
fiscal year 2001 for debt reduction. In an effort to bring spending 
under control, Senator Allard and I offered an amendment in June of 
2000 to direct $12 billion of fiscal year 2000 on-budget surplus toward 
debt reduction. The amendment passed by an overwhelming 95-3 and 
committed Congress to designate the on-budget surpluses to reduce the 
national debt, keeping these funds from being used for additional 
Government spending. Our amendment provided the mechanism to assure 
that Congress would begin the serious task of paying down the debt.
  Further, this past April, Senator Feingold, Senator Gregg, and I 
offered an amendment to the fiscal year 2002 budget designed to tighten 
enforcement of existing spending controls. Our amendment created an 
explicit point of order against directed scoring and abuses of 
emergency spending.
  Even with all the amendments I proposed and cosponsored to bring 
Federal spending under control, I have never lost sight of the fact 
that we need to enact a Social Security lockbox. Make no mistake, 
adopting a Social Security lockbox is not about Social Security 
benefits. Social Security beneficiaries will not know the difference if 
we pass or do not pass a Social Security lockbox. What we are doing 
today will not have an impact at all on the beneficiaries. The 
amendment I am offering today will permanently lockbox the Social 
Security surplus and prevent it from being used for any other purpose.
  For decades, the Social Security surplus was used by Congress after 
Congress and President after President to offset Federal spending. For 
many of those years, Members of both the House and Senate worked to put 
the Social Security surplus off limits from

[[Page 12662]]

being used for such Federal spending. We talked a lot about it. In 
1999, after years of wrangling, in a landmark budget agreement passed 
in 1995, the Federal Government finally achieved a balanced budget. 
With this good news, it became apparent that Congress and the President 
would not need to use the Social Security surplus for spending. This 
was made possible by our economic prosperity which guaranteed and 
generated a huge increase in tax revenues, which we know about, and in 
turn a massive on-budget surplus. Because the United States was running 
in the black for the first time in recent memory, Social Security 
surpluses were used to pay down the national debt instead of being used 
for spending. Indeed, since 1999, there has been a political consensus 
not to return to spending that surplus.
  However, the economic prosperity this Nation enjoyed as recently as 
months ago is fading, although I hope this is only a temporary 
situation. Surplus projections are likely to be revised downward. Yet 
Congressional yearning for more spending has not abated.
  For fiscal year 2001, Congress, with the encouragement of the Clinton 
administration, increased nondefense discretionary spending 14.3 
percent. That is something people have not taken into consideration. 
Nondefense discretionary spending in the last budget was 14.3 percent 
above the year before and increased overall spending by 8 percent, 
which was way above inflation. All of this was on top of large 
increases in the previous years' budgets.
  If we fund the education bill that the Senate recently passed, which 
increases spending by 62 percent or $14 billion, and if we spend the 
$18.4 billion increase in defense spending that the administration is 
talking about, we could end up spending a portion of the on-budget 
surplus of fiscal year 2003 and beyond. Part of the reason for this is 
the fact that the tax reduction was more front-end loaded than the 
President had originally planned.
  Frankly, if the economy really falters, we could bump up against the 
Social Security trust fund next year. Nearly everyone in this Chamber 
agrees we should not spend that surplus, and the public has grown to 
expect that Congress won't return to spending it. This year's budget 
resolution was designed in part to avoid spending that surplus.
  At the moment, we are de facto lockboxing Social Security. Therefore, 
it makes perfect sense to take the next step and lockbox these funds 
permanently. It is the best possible action we could take to bring 
fiscal discipline to the 107th Congress.
  On the one hand, it guarantees we don't touch Social Security, and on 
the other it ensures we will continue to pay down debt, which fulfills 
the commitment we have all made and which will give us the interest 
savings. It is a two-for: We won't spend it; second, it will allow us 
to continue to pay down the national debt substantially. That is part 
of what I refer to as the three-legged stool. That three-legged stool 
in terms of my support for the budget resolution was: Hold spending 
down, reduce debt, and reduce taxes. But all three of them have to be 
present. We have to preserve that one stool of reducing the national 
debt.
  If my colleagues think back to the 1980s, they will remember the 
dramatic increase in the national debt, primarily because of the use of 
the Social Security surplus. I was here. I was president of the 
National League of Cities. I came to this Congress before the Finance 
Committee and supported the Republican proposal to limit spending in 
1985. What we saw happen during that period of time was that taxes were 
reduced and spending went up. Republicans wanted to spend on defense, 
the Democrats wanted to spend on social programs, and the way they paid 
for it was to use the Social Security surplus.
  I don't want that to happen while I am a Member of the Senate. I 
don't think any of my other colleagues want that to happen again.
  The 1999 budget was the first time in over three decades that 
Congress did not use Social Security to pay for Federal spending. 
Again, in 2000, Congress did not use Social Security spending, although 
I must say it was hand-to-hand combat to make sure it wasn't used. 
There was direct scoring, there was emergency spending, and all kinds 
of other gimmicks because CBO had said we were spending the Social 
Security surplus, and the only thing that saved us was we got back here 
in January and CBO came out with new projections and said the budget 
surplus was more than what we had originally anticipated it to be.
  Although the economy is not as robust as it was a year ago, we must 
resist the temptation to fall off the wagon of fiscal responsibility 
and resist the urge to resume spending that Social Security trust fund. 
The amendment we are offering guarantees we will not fall off the 
wagon. It contains two enforcement mechanisms: A supermajority point of 
order written in statute and automatic across-the-board spending cuts. 
Our amendment creates a statutory point of order against any bill, 
amendment, or resolution that would spend the Social Security surplus 
any of the next 10 years. Waiving the point of order would require the 
votes of 60 Senators. In addition, if the Social Security surplus were 
spent, the Office of Management and Budget would impose automatic 
across-the-board cuts in discretionary and mandatory spending to reduce 
the amount of the surplus that was spent.
  We are talking about mandatory spending; we are talking about the 
fact that it will exempt Social Security and those things that are 
contained in the Deficit Control Act of 1985. My understanding is that 
is about $33 billion that would be subject to sequester or reduction.
  This amendment will only trigger the automatic reduction if spending 
of the surplus exceeds one-half of 1 percent of the total outlay 
expenditure. In other words, it is not going to be one of those things 
that will happen automatically. It has a provision that says, if it is 
shown you have spent over one-half of 1 percent of the Social Security 
surplus, then the trigger will go into effect.
  That is because we are talking about a $2 trillion budget and I think 
there ought to be some kind of flexibility in the amendment. I think, 
frankly, it is something that is intellectually honest to do. The only 
exceptions to the lockbox would be a state of war as declared by 
Congress or a recession defined as two successive quarters of negative 
economic growth.
  For the past 2\1/2\ years I have fought to make sure we in the Senate 
hold ourselves accountable for the spending decisions that we make. 
Thus far, our spending choices, whether I have agreed with them or not, 
have involved on-budget surplus dollars. But I believe we need to 
prepare to protect Social Security funds from being used for even more 
spending, should our budget surplus fade. That is what will happen. If 
we keep this spending up, and then the surplus isn't there, there is 
going to be a great temptation for this body to invade the Social 
Security surplus.
  Some of my colleagues in the Senate might argue we do not need a 
separate law establishing a Social Security lockbox since it already 
exists in the budget. Some of my colleagues might also swear that we 
would never return to the days when the Social Security trust fund was 
used as the Government's private piggy bank. Invariably we are told to 
have faith that this institution called Congress will do the right 
thing when it comes to spending.
  I am a firm believer in Ronald Reagan's philosophy: Trust but verify. 
In my view, a permanent statutory Social Security lockbox is the best 
way to verify that the Social Security surplus remains untouched by 
those who would spend it. It would also force Congress to fiscal 
discipline and to make the hard choices in prioritizing our spending 
with the funds that we have today at our disposal.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this amendment.
  Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a 
sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. VOINOVICH. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.

[[Page 12663]]


  Mr. BYRD. Did the distinguished Senator from Ohio offer his 
amendment?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, he offered his amendment.


                 Amendment No. 866 to Amendment No. 865

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Conrad, I offer an 
amendment authored by Mr. Conrad to be an amendment in the second 
degree to the amendment offered by Mr. Voinovich.
  I ask unanimous consent that after the clerk states the title of this 
amendment, that it and the amendment in the first degree be temporarily 
laid aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia [Mr. Byrd] for Mr. Conrad, 
     proposes amendment numbered 866 to amendment No. 865.

  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish an off-budget lockbox to strengthen Social 
                         Security and Medicare)

       Strike all after the first word and insert the following:

 TITLE __--SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE OFF-BUDGET LOCKBOX ACT OF 2001

     SEC. __01. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Social Security and 
     Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001''.

     SEC. __02. STRENGTHENING SOCIAL SECURITY POINTS OF ORDER.

       (a) In General.--Section 312 of the Congressional Budget 
     Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 643) is amended by inserting at the end 
     the following:
       ``(g) Strengthening Social Security Point of Order.--It 
     shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the 
     Senate to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget (or 
     any amendment thereto or conference report thereon) or any 
     bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference 
     report that would violate or amend section 13301 of the 
     Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.''.
       (b) Super Majority Requirement.--
       (1) Point of order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after 
     ``310(d)(2),''.
       (2) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget 
     Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after 
     ``310(d)(2),''.
       (c) Enforcement in Each Fiscal Year.--The Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 is amended in--
       (1) section 301(a)(7) (2 U.S.C. 632(a)(7)), by striking 
     ``for the fiscal year'' through the period and inserting 
     ``for each fiscal year covered by the resolution''; and
       (2) section 311(a)(3) (2 U.S.C. 642(a)(3)), by striking 
     beginning with ``for the first fiscal year'' through the 
     period and insert the following: ``for any of the fiscal 
     years covered by the concurrent resolution.''.

     SEC. __03. MEDICARE TRUST FUND OFF-BUDGET.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) General exclusion from all budgets.--Title III of the 
     Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:


          ``exclusion of medicare trust fund from all budgets

       ``Sec. 316. (a) Exclusion of Medicare Trust Fund From All 
     Budgets.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
     receipts and disbursements of the Federal Hospital Insurance 
     Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget authority, 
     outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of--
       ``(1) the budget of the United States Government as 
     submitted by the President;
       ``(2) the congressional budget; or
       ``(3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 
     of 1985.
       ``(b) Strengthening Medicare Point of Order.--It shall not 
     be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to 
     consider a concurrent resolution on the budget (or any 
     amendment thereto or conference report thereon) or any bill, 
     joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report 
     that would violate or amend this section.''.
       (2) Super majority requirement.--
       (A) Point of Order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``316,'' after 
     ``313,''.
       (B) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget 
     Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``316,'' after ``313,''.
       (b) Exclusion of Medicare Trust Fund From Congressional 
     Budget.--Section 301(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
     1974 (2 U.S.C. 632(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following: ``The concurrent resolution shall not include the 
     outlays and revenue totals of the Federal Hospital Insurance 
     Trust Fund in the surplus or deficit totals required by this 
     subsection or in any other surplus or deficit totals required 
     by this title.''
       (c) Budget Totals.--Section 301(a) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 632(a)) is amended by inserting 
     after paragraph (7) the following:
       ``(8) For purposes of Senate enforcement under this title, 
     revenues and outlays of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust 
     Fund for each fiscal year covered by the budget 
     resolution.''.
       (d) Budget resolutions.--Section 301(i) of the 
     Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 632(i)) is amended 
     by--
       (1) striking ``Social Security Point of Order.--It shall'' 
     and inserting ``Social Security and Medicare Points of 
     Order.--
       ``(1) Social security.--It shall''; and
       (2) inserting at the end the following:
       ``(2) Medicare.--It shall not be in order in the House of 
     Representatives or the Senate to consider any concurrent 
     resolution on the budget (or amendment, motion, or conference 
     report on the resolution) that would cause a decrease in 
     surpluses or an increase in deficits of the Federal Hospital 
     Insurance Trust Fund in any of the fiscal years covered by 
     the concurrent resolution.''.
       (e) Medicare Firewall.--Section 311(a) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 642(a)) is amended by adding 
     after paragraph (3), the following:
       ``(4) Enforcement of medicare levels in the senate.--After 
     a concurrent resolution on the budget is agreed to, it shall 
     not be in order in the Senate to consider any bill, joint 
     resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that 
     would cause a decrease in surpluses or an increase in 
     deficits of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund in any 
     year relative to the levels set forth in the applicable 
     resolution.''.
       (f) Baseline to Exclude Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.--
     Section 257(b)(3) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
     Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by striking ``shall be 
     included in all'' and inserting ``shall not be included in 
     any''.
       (g) Medicare Trust Fund Exempt From Sequesters.--Section 
     255(g)(1)(B) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
     Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``Medicare as funded through the Federal Hospital Insurance 
     Trust Fund.''.
       (h) Budgetary Treatment of Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.--
     Section 710(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 911(a)) 
     is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' the second place it appears and 
     inserting a comma; and
       (2) by inserting after ``Federal Disability Insurance Trust 
     Fund'' the following: ``, Federal Hospital Insurance Trust 
     Fund''.

     SEC. __04. PREVENTING ON-BUDGET DEFICITS.

       (a) Points of Order To Prevent On-Budget Deficits.--Section 
     312 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 643) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(h) Points of Order To Prevent On-Budget Deficits.--
       ``(1) Concurrent resolutions on the budget.--It shall not 
     be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to 
     consider any concurrent resolution on the budget, or 
     conference report thereon or amendment thereto, that would 
     cause or increase an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year.
       ``(2) Subsequent legislation.--It shall not be in order in 
     the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any 
     bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference 
     report if--
       ``(A) the enactment of that bill or resolution as reported;
       ``(B) the adoption and enactment of that amendment; or
       ``(C) the enactment of that bill or resolution in the form 
     recommended in that conference report, would cause or 
     increase an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year.''.
       (b) Super Majority Requirement.--
       (1) Point of order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(h),'' after 
     ``312(g),''.
       (2) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget 
     Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(h),'' after 
     ``312(g),''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendments are laid aside. The Senator 
from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, very briefly, I thank Senator Byrd for 
introducing my amendment in the second degree to the amendment of the 
Senator from Ohio, and indicate to my colleagues the nature of the 
amendment. I think the Senator from Ohio is going in basically the 
right direction, but I do not think he is protecting both of the trust 
funds. I have offered, in the second degree, my amendment that would 
protect both the Social Security trust fund and the Medicare trust fund 
because I think both deserve protection. I think both are in danger.
  Unfortunately, as I said several moments ago with respect to where we 
find ourselves, after the budget resolution is passed, after the tax 
cut is passed, and with the anticipated reduction in the revenue 
forecast because of the slowdown in the economy, we see we are headed 
for being into the Medicare trust fund this year, the Medicare

[[Page 12664]]

and Social Security trust fund next year and for all the years that 
follow. That is before any appropriations have passed. That is before 
the President's major request for additional defense spending.
  We are already in trouble. We are already headed for raiding the 
trust funds of Medicare and Social Security. So I am glad the Senator 
from Ohio has sent up an amendment. I have provided an amendment in the 
second degree that I think is stronger and provides additional 
protection and acknowledges that we have a responsibility not just to 
the Social Security trust fund but to the Medicare trust fund as well.


                           Amendment No. 867

  Mr. CONRAD. If I could at this moment, on a separate matter, I send 
an amendment to the desk to the underlying bill. This amendment is to 
provide emergency funding for a situation we have just encountered on 
one of the Indian reservations in my State, the Turtle Mountain Indian 
Reservation. It is offset so it does not add to the overall cost of the 
supplemental. But we have found a situation that is extraordinarily 
serious on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
  Very briefly, I will just describe that and then end so my colleague 
from Missouri, who is seeking recognition, can gain the floor.
  Over 200 homes on the Turtle Mountain Reservation are infested with 
black mold; 40 percent of them that have been tested have the worst 
kind of black mold. This is throughout the structures. It is in the 
basements. It is running up the studs, in the ceilings, in the 
insulation. People in these homes are sick. We have had two infants 
die. People who are in the families and medical experts on the 
reservations believe their deaths are related to the conditions in 
these homes.
  It is because of extraordinarily wet conditions in that part of our 
State. We have had 7 years of wet conditions. It is as though these 
houses are in a sponge and the sponge is full and the houses are 
wicking up the surface water. In fact, if you look in the crawl spaces 
of these homes, they are filled with water and that water has found its 
way up through the entire structure and has created the perfect 
environment for this black mold growth.
  We have had the CDC there, the Corps of Engineers, and FEMA. It is a 
crisis situation that requires emergency housing for some 200 families.
  The tribal chairman told me he is about to move people into a school 
gymnasium because the conditions in these homes are so bad.
  I went there personally over the break. I can testify it is the worst 
situation I have seen, and I have dealt with black mold in our own home 
here in Washington, DC, in just one small area, where seven times our 
home flooded because the city sewer system could not handle torrential 
downpours here. We are the low spot on the block. It cost me $4,000 and 
three contractors to fix just a small part of one corner of our house.
  These are houses that have it throughout. The basements are loaded 
with black mold. It is in the studding. In fact you can see it in the 
beams across the ceilings of these homes.
  In every home we went into, people testified to the illnesses. In 
fact, the tribal chairman himself is ill from these circumstances.
  This is an emergency situation that simply must be addressed. 
Obviously, the committee could not have known about it because nobody 
knew about it. But I offer that amendment for that purpose, and I thank 
my colleagues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.


  Mr. STEVENS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will suspend until the clerk 
reports the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Conrad] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 867.

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent these amendments 
not be read. They are being offered for purposes of qualification under 
the time agreement, and I ask that apply to all amendments, unless 
Senators wish to make their statements.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To provide funds for emergency housing on the Turtle Mountain 
                          Indian Reservation)

       On page 47, between lines 20 and 21, insert the following:

                   Community Development Block Grants

       For emergency housing for Indians on the Turtle Mountain 
     Indian Reservation, there shall be made available $10,000,000 
     through the Indian community development block grant program 
     under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. 
     Amounts made available for programs administered by the 
     Department of Housing and Urban Development for fiscal year 
     2001 shall be reduced on a pro rata basis by $10,000,000. The 
     Federal Emergency Management Agency shall provide technical 
     assistance to Indians with respect to the acquisition of 
     emergency housing on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.


                Amendments No. 868 And No. 869, En Bloc

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator McCain, I send two 
amendments to the desk and ask they be qualified under the time 
agreement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendments.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Stevens] for Mr. McCain, 
     proposes amendments numbered 868 and 869, en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           AMENDMENT NO. 868

    (Purpose: To increase amounts appropriated to the Department of 
                                Defense)

       On page 11, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:
       Sec. 1207. In addition to the amounts appropriated to the 
     Department of Defense for fiscal year 2001 in other 
     provisions of this Act or in the Department of Defense 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-259), $2,736,100 is 
     hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not 
     otherwise appropriated, to the Department of Defense for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, for purposes under 
     headings in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 
     2001, and in amounts, as follows:
       ``Military Personnel, Army'', $30,000,000;
       ``Military Personnel, Navy'', $10,000,000;
       ``Military Personnel, Air Force'', $332,500,000;
       ``Reserve Personnel, Army'', $30,000,000;
       ``Operation and Maintenance, Army'', $916,400,000;
       ``Operation and Maintenance, Navy'', $514,500,000;
       ``Operation and Maintenance, Marine Corps'', $295,700,000;
       ``Operation and Maintenance, Air Force'', $59,600,000;
       ``Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide'', $9,000,000;
       ``Operation and Maintenance, Army Reserve'', $30,000,000;
       ``Operation and Maintenance, Army National Guard'', 
     $106,000,000;
       ``Aircraft Procurement, Army'', $50,000,000, to remain 
     available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
       ``Procurement of Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles, 
     Army'', $10,000,000, to remain available for obligation until 
     September 30, 2003;
       ``Procurement of Ammunition, Army'', $14,000,000, to remain 
     available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
       ``Other Procurement, Army'', $40,000,000, to remain 
     available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
       ``Aircraft Procurement, Navy'', $65,000,000, to remain 
     available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
       ``Aircraft Procurement, Air Force'', $108,100,000, to 
     remain available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
       ``Other Procurement, Air Force'', $33,300,000, to remain 
     available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
       ``Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force'', 
     $8,000,000, to remain available for obligation until 
     September 30, 2002; and
       ``USS Cole'', $49,000,000;
     Provided, That the entire amount made available in this 
     section is designated by the Congress as an emergency 
     requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced 
     Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended: 
     Provided, further, That the entire amount under this section 
     shall be available only to the extent that an official budget 
     request for that specific dollar amount that includes the 
     designation of the entire amount of the request as an 
     emergency requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and 
     Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, is 
     transmitted by the President to the Congress.

[[Page 12665]]

     
                                  ____
                           AMENDMENT NO. 869

 (Purpose: To provide additional funds for military personnel, working-
  capital funds, mission-critical maintenance, force protection, and 
other purposes by increasing amounts appropriated to the Department of 
Defense, and to offset the increases by reducing and rescinding certain 
                            appropriations)

       After section 3002, insert the following:
       Sec. 3003. (a) In addition to the amounts appropriated to 
     the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2001 by other 
     provisions of this Act or the Department of Defense 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-259), funds are 
     hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not 
     otherwise appropriated, to the Department of Defense for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, for purposes under 
     headings in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 
     2001, and in amounts, as follows:
       (1) Under the heading ``Military Personnel, Navy'', 
     $181,000,000, of which $1,000,000 shall be available for the 
     supplemental subsistence allowance under section 402a of 
     title 37, United States Code.
       (2) Under the heading ``Military Personnel, Marine Corps'', 
     $21,000,000.
       (3) Under the heading ``Reserve Personnel, Navy'', 
     $1,800,000, which shall be available for enhancement of force 
     protection for United States forces in the Persian Gulf 
     region and elsewhere worldwide.
       (4) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army'', 
     $103,000,000.
       (5) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Navy'', 
     $72,000,000, of which $36,000,000 shall be available for 
     enhancement of force protection for United States forces in 
     the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere worldwide.
       (6) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Marine 
     Corps'', $6,000,000.
       (7) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Air 
     Force'', $397,000,000.
       (8) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army 
     Reserve'', $21,000,000.
       (9) Under the heading ``Other Procurement, Navy'', 
     $45,000,000, to remain available for obligation until 
     September 30, 2003, which shall be available for enhancement 
     of force protection for United States forces in the Persian 
     Gulf region and elsewhere worldwide.
       (b) The amount appropriated by chapter 10 of title II to 
     the Department of the Treasury for Departmental Offices under 
     the heading ``Salaries and Expenses'' is hereby reduced by 
     $30,000,000.
       (c) The matter in chapter 11 of title II under the heading 
     ``National Aeronautics and Space Administration human space 
     flight'' shall not take effect.


                              (rescission)

       (d) Of the unobligated balance of the total amount in the 
     Treasury that is to be disbursed from special accounts 
     established pursuant to section 754(e) of the Tariff Act of 
     1930, $200,000,000 may not be disbursed under that section.


                             (rescissions)

       (e) The following amounts are hereby rescinded:
       (1) Of the funds appropriated to the National Aeronautics 
     and Space Administration under the heading ``human space 
     flight'' in the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing 
     and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law 
     106-377), the following amounts:
       (A) From the amounts for the life and micro-gravity science 
     mission for the human space flight, $40,000,000.
       (B) From the amount for the Electric Auxiliary Power Units 
     for Space Shuttle Safety Upgrades, $19,000,000.
       (2) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce 
     for the National Institute of Standards and Technology under 
     the heading ``industrial technology services'' in the 
     Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 
     and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted 
     into law by Public Law 106-553), $67,000,000 for the Advanced 
     Technology Program.
       (3) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce 
     for the International Trade Administration under the heading 
     ``operations and administration'', $19,000,000 of the amount 
     available for Trade Development.
       (4) Of the funds appropriated by chapter 1 of the Emergency 
     Steel Loan Guarantee and Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed 
     Loan Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-51, $126,800,000.
       (5) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of 
     Transportation for the Maritime Administration under the 
     heading ``maritime guaranteed loan (title xi) program 
     account'' in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, 
     the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 
     (as enacted into law by Public Law 106-553), $21,000,000.
       (6) Of the funds appropriated for the Export-Import Bank 
     under the heading ``subsidy appropriation'' in the Foreign 
     Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law 
     106-429), $80,000,000.
       (7) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Labor 
     for the Employment and Training Administration under the 
     heading ``Training and Employment Services'' in the 
     Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
     Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as 
     enacted into law by Public Law 106-554), the following 
     amounts:
       (A) From the amounts for Dislocated Worker Employment and 
     Training Activities, $41,500,000.
       (B) From the amounts Adult Employment and Training 
     Activities, $100,000,000.
       (8) Of the unobligated balance of funds previously 
     appropriated to the Department of Transportation for the 
     Federal Transit Administration that remain available for 
     obligation in fiscal year 2001, the following amounts:
       (A) From the amounts for Transit Planning and Research, 
     $34,000,000.
       (B) From the amounts for Job Access and Reverse Commute 
     Grants, $76,000,000.


                           Amendment No. 870

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for the 
Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Hutchinson, and ask that it be qualified.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The pending amendment is laid aside.
  The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Stevens] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 870.

  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To provide additional amounts to repair damage caused by ice 
             storms in the States of Arkansas and Oklahoma)

       On page 13, between lines 23 and 24, insert the following:

                             Forest Service


                       State and Private Forestry

       For an additional amount for ``State and Private Forestry'' 
     to repair damage caused by ice storms in the States of 
     Arkansas and Oklahoma, $10,000,000, to remain available until 
     expended: Provided, That the entire amount is designated by 
     Congress as an emergency requirement under section 
     251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
     Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).


                         National Forest System

       For an additional amount for the ``National Forest System'' 
     to repair damage caused by ice storms in the States of 
     Arkansas and Oklahoma, $10,000,000, to remain available until 
     expended: Provided, That the entire amount is designated by 
     Congress as an emergency requirement under section 
     251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
     Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).


                  Capital Improvement and Maintenance

       For an additional amount for ``Capital Improvement and 
     Maintenance'' to repair damage caused by ice storms in the 
     States of Arkansas and Oklahoma, $4,000,000, to remain 
     available until expended: Provided, That the entire amount is 
     designated by Congress as an emergency requirement under 
     section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
     Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).


                           Amendment No. 871

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for the 
Senator from Idaho, Mr. Craig, and ask that it be qualified.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The pending amendment is laid aside.
  The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Stevens], for Mr. Craig, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 871.

  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: Regarding the proportionality of the level of non-military 
    exports purchased by Israel to the amount of United States cash 
                    transfer assistance for Israel)

       On page 29, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following:
       Sec. 2502. In exercising the authority to provide cash 
     transfer assistance for Israel for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2001, the President shall--
       (1) ensure that the level of such assistance does not cause 
     an adverse impact on the total level of non-military exports 
     from the United States to Israel; and
       (2) enter into a side letter agreement with Israel 
     providing for the purchase of grain in the same amount and in 
     accordance with terms at least as favorable as the side 
     letter agreement in effect for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2000.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank the Chair, and I thank my 
distinguished colleague, the manager of the bill.
  I have two matters which I wish to address today.
  First, I say to my colleague from North Dakota that we are very 
concerned about the situation he described. And, with the chairman of 
the

[[Page 12666]]

VA-HUD subcommittee, we will look into this serious problem he has 
outlined. We thank him and commend him for bringing it to the attention 
of this body.
  I have two measures.
  First, I don't believe there is a Member of this body who has 
waterways in his or her State who doesn't understand the importance of 
the work done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Within the beltway, 
however, items such as flood control and river transportation are 
viewed as some sort of luxury we can do without. We can't do without 
them. I have been there. I have seen the devastation and the 
heartbreak. I have seen the families in great crisis. I have seen the 
farms and the homes and the communities destroyed. Unless you have been 
there, you cannot really appreciate it.
  Clearly, the view in some eastern editorial boardrooms is rather 
clouded, and elite drawing rooms can't see that there are people who 
live and work along and depend upon the river. These are the people 
about whom we should be concerned.
  I invite those who can tell us how to manage the rivers to come out 
and take a look at our rivers sometime. They might be very surprised at 
what they find.
  In the State of Missouri, we have nearly 1,000 miles of land 
bordering the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Water transportation is 
low cost, safe, fuel efficient, and provides an insurance policy 
against runaway shipping costs charged by railroads that otherwise 
would face no competition. The environmental community assumes that 
monopolists don't raise prices. They do. But on the environmental side, 
to put the benefits of water transportation in perspective, One medium-
sized 15-barge tow carries the same amount of grain as 870 tractor 
trailor trucks. Clearly, this comparison demonstrates the fuel 
efficiency and clean air benefits to the environment. It also reduces 
congestion, reduces highway wear and tear, improves safety, and costs 
less.
  In Missouri, one-third of our agricultural production comes from the 
100-year-flood plain. The Washington Post, that still believes food 
comes from the grocery store and not the farm, believes that this land 
should not be in production and flood protection should be a low 
priority.
  Those who criticize the projects administered by the Corps typically 
do it from a safe distance. One of the biggest critics of the Corps in 
the Midwest sits safely behind a 500-year urban flood wall.
  Policymakers in Washington stress exports and jobs but many fail to 
make the connection between exports and the transportation necessary to 
export. Unless we have purged the laws of physics and unless there are 
strange new business practices which don't require buyers to take 
delivery of sold goods, then transportation ultimately remains 
necessary.
  Policymakers in Washington stress the need for additional power 
production that is good for the environment but propose inadequate 
budgets and policies for hydropower generation.
  In the last Administration, policy and budgets to undermine the Corps 
where almost an annual event. Regrettably, the most recent budget 
proposed for fiscal year 2002 shows no recognition of how important the 
mission of the Corps is. I have a flood control project in Kansas City 
that will protect industries employing 12,000 people. The budget 
request for 2002 asks for enough money to keep the contractors busy for 
a fraction of the year. So not only is the project delayed, and not 
only does delay subject the citizens to prolonged flood risk 
unnecessarily, but the delay increases the cost of the project which I 
would expect the number-crunchers at OMB to find compelling if nothing 
else gets their attention.
  Regrettably, the supplemental request does not include one red cent 
for operations and maintenance for the Corps of Engineers 
notwithstanding flood control, navigation, hydropower generation and 
environmental needs resulting from Midwestern flooding on the upper 
Mississippi, a Pacific earthquake which occurred in February, Tropical 
Storm Allison which occurred weeks ago as well as remaining problems 
associated with Hurricane Floyd and ice storms in the South.
  Specifically, there are needs estimated to be: $50 million in 
response to the Midwest flooding; $47 million in the Southwest impacted 
by ice storms; $37 million for the Atlantic Seaboard in response to 
Hurricane Floyd and other weather events; $59 million for the Pacific 
Northwest to repair earthquake damage, stabilize hydropower facilities 
and correct major environmental deficiencies; and $30 million in 
response to the tropical storm which occurred early this month that 
affected Galveston and the New Orleans District.
  My office has made inquiries at several districts that serve Missouri 
and have learned that they expect to be out of O&M funds to dredge the 
Mississippi River in a matter of weeks, which will risk the execution 
of water commerce on the nation's most important waterway.
  When weather events occur, sediments build up, damage is done to 
levees and engineering structures such as wing dikes making repairs 
necessary and resources to dredge our ports and rivers necessary.
  The House recognized this omission and included an additional $130 
million for O&M for the Corps. Their markup occurred before there was 
any idea of what Allison had left behind.
  I do not want to have to wait for economic decline, either regional 
or national, to try to make the case that we cannot continue to take 
our factors of production for granted. The growing estrangement of some 
decisionmakers and the media from the history and reality behind food, 
energy, and natural resource production in this country must be 
corrected. It will either be corrected ahead of a crisis or in response 
to a crisis. We have a strong economy for a reason and if we do not 
take care of our infrastructure, we will go into economic decline for a 
reason.
  While we are undermining our infrastructure, competing nations are 
updating theirs. How many states have to have their lights turned out 
before we consider how are factories are powered, how our trucks are 
fueled and how our homes are heated? I regret that the need for 
efficient transportation, energy, and protection of people and property 
is a case that must be made but we can take action now for a fraction 
of what neglect, inaction and apathy will cost us later.
  I know there is a bipartisan recognition that our water 
infrastructure is growing old and not serving the American people 
adequately. While there has always been bipartisan support for the 
mission of the Corps, I fear that the budgets do not match the need.
  Over the last two years Corps projects have experienced a series of 
weather-related events that have left much of our water resources 
infrastructure in an alarming state of disrepair. In the most severe 
cases, temporary repairs were made to correct immediate hazards to 
public health and safety, while other work still awaits adequate 
funding. Harbor channels have lost sufficient depth and width for safe 
navigation, rivers are choked with debris, embankments are dangerously 
eroded, power outages are more frequent, and environmental preservation 
measures are short-changed. Unless the Corps receives supplemental 
funding, many navigation channels will not be able to accommodate 
normal commercial flow and flood control projects will be in serious 
jeopardy of failure. Recent damages and deterioration of hydroelectric 
facilities coupled with the national energy crisis have underscored the 
urgent need to undertake necessary repairs to hydropower projects in 
the Pacific Northwest.
  While I will withhold offering an amendment at this time, I will do 
what I can do in conference to urge conferees to accept the House 
correction of the omission.
  I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, my second item deals with the defense 
budget.
  While the administration's request for a supplemental appropriations 
bill for the Department of Defense includes what the administration 
believes is the

[[Page 12667]]

minimum needed to get by for the remainder of this fiscal year (01), I 
respectfully disagree with their definition of ``minimum.''
  Although we are hearing promises of an amended '02 budget with a huge 
defense plus-up, it is clear that the Defense Department appropriations 
bill for 2002 may indeed be the last of the 13 appropriations bills we 
will consider this year. That unfortunate timing may threaten the 
availability of all the extra funds many believe the Pentagon 
desperately needs. Simply put, there is no guarantee that the money the 
Pentagon needs will be there when the Senate takes up the amended 
Defense appropriation bill for 2002.
  We must stop kicking the can down the road with promises to our 
forces--their need is urgent, they need help now. The problem will only 
continue to worsen, we need to act now.
  Just last week, the Navy's top officer, Admiral Vern Clark, said he 
is trying to rid the United States Navy of the ``psychology of 
deficiency''--the acceptance of sustained resource shortages as a 
normal condition.
  Sadly, Mr. President, this ``psychology of deficiency'' has not only 
infected the culture of our Armed Forces, but I am afraid it has become 
the culture.
  The vast majority of the enlisted troops and officers on active duty 
today know only a culture of getting by on the minimum funding 
possible. They call it ``doing more with less,'' but the reality has 
been for almost a decade now, one of ``doing too much with too 
little.''
  That is simply unacceptable. Every day, soldiers, sailors, airmen and 
marines risk their very lives for the values that have made this 
country the more powerful beacon of freedom the world has every known.
  And in exchange for their lives, what do we do? We give them barely 
enough money to accomplish their mission safely. The bare minimum and 
no more. That is how we repay our troops? No wonder our Armed Forces 
have suffered from a persistent morale problem that has manifested 
itself in a chronic inability to hold onto large numbers of our most 
talented troops.
  The ``bare minimum'' of funding is no way for our society to uphold 
our end of the social contract with our troops. That is not how we keep 
faith with those who defend our Nation's interests at their own 
personal risk.
  How badly have we fallen short on our end of the social contract?
  At the current level of funding, it will take 160 years to replace 
the Navy's shore infrastructure. The backlog of maintenance and repair 
exceeds $5.5 billion.
  Recently the Marine Corps Commandant spoke about the terrible funding 
choices we force him to make. In order to keep marines ready for combat 
in case war breaks out in the near-term, the Commandant has to steal 
money from accounts dedicated to modernizing the Marine Corps for 
tomorrow's wars. If this persists, the Marine Corps may find itself on 
a battlefield in the future without the proper, modern equipment to 
help guarantee a quick victory with few U.S. casualties.
  Even with the supplemental, the Army does not have the $145.1 million 
it needs to run its specialty training and schools. That means 
thousands of soldiers may not qualify in their combat specialties, 
which directly affects the combat readiness of Army units. When we tell 
our soldiers ``sorry, we don't have enough money to train you properly 
to do your job,'' what do you think the effect is on morale? The impact 
is devastating. That is what each of our services has had so much 
difficulty holding onto: Retaining its most skilled workers.
  Our U.S. Air Force is currently operating and maintaining the oldest 
fleet in our history. On average, our aircraft are about 22 years old 
and getting older. An aging fleet costs more, both in effort and 
dollars, to operate and maintain.
  Last year, while we flew only 97 percent of our programmed flying 
hours, doing so cost us 103 percent of our budget. Over the past 5 
years, our costs per flying hour have risen almost 50 percent. That is 
a terrible cycle: Older planes cost more to maintain, which robs money 
from accounts to buy new planes, and so on. It is a death spiral for 
our Air Force.
  Time and again history has shown us the folly of funding our troops 
as if peace will persist forever, as if war will never come. I thought 
this country learned that lesson in the opening days of the Korean war 
when Americans were caught unprepared, underequipped, and undertrained, 
and many paid with their lives.
  I know the President of the United States knows this. I know 
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld knows this. These are good men who know 
it is time to get the U.S. military on a more solid footing. I have 
worked closely with them in the past. I will continue to work with 
them. They will find me to be their most loyal supporter in this 
effort. But we can no longer afford to wait. We must act now.
  That is why I am rising today to offer an amendment to add $1.45 
billion to the fiscal year 2001 supplemental appropriations for the 
Defense Department. The amendment seeks to add the funds to the Defense 
Department that are needed, and can be spent, in what remains of the 
fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.
  The amendment includes funds that will be directed exclusively to the 
operations and maintenance accounts of each of the four services. This 
is money the Pentagon needs right now to ensure that critical repairs 
and training are not delayed further.
  There are emergency designations in this measure. All the money 
appropriated must be obligated by September 30 of this year. And the 
money shall be available only to the extent that an official budget 
request for that specific dollar amount includes the designation of the 
entire amount of the request as an emergency requirement as defined in 
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as 
amended, and is transmitted by the President to the Congress. We must 
begin to tell our troops that indeed help is on the way, that this is 
the time to send the help.


                           Amendment No. 872

  Mr. President, I send the amendment to the desk and ask unanimous 
consent that it be included in the qualified list of amendments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Missouri [Mr. Bond] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 872.

  Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To increase amounts appropriated for the Department of 
                                Defense)

       At the end of title III, add the following:
       Sec.   . (a) In addition to the amounts appropriated to the 
     Department of Defense for fiscal year 2001 by other 
     provisions of this Act or the Department of Defense 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-259), funds are 
     hereby appropriated to the Department of Defense for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, for purposes under 
     headings in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 
     2001, and in amounts, as follows:
       (1) Under the heading ``Military Personnel, Marine Corps'', 
     $21,000,000.
       (2) Under the heading ``Reserve Personnel, Army'', 
     $30,000,000.
       (3) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army'', 
     $600,000,000.
       (4) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Navy'', 
     $577,250,000.
       (5) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Marine 
     Corps'', $6,000,000.
       (6) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Air 
     Force'', $100,200,000.
       (7) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army 
     Reserve'', $30,000,000.
       (8) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Navy 
     Reserve'', $19,100,000.
       (9) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army 
     National Guard'', $39,400,000.
       (b) The total amount appropriated under subsection (a) 
     shall be available only to the extent that an official budget 
     request for that specific dollar amount that includes the 
     designation of the entire amount of the request as an 
     emergency requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and 
     Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, is 
     transmitted by the President to the Congress.
       (c) The total amount appropriated under subsection (a) is 
     hereby designated by Congress as an emergency requirement 
     pursuant

[[Page 12668]]

     to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
     Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
       (d) All of the funds appropriated and available under this 
     section shall be obligated not later than September 30, 2001.

  Mr. BOND. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.


                           Amendment No. 873

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for Senator 
Hollings under my name under the authorized list.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Hollings, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 873.

  The amendment is as follows:

     (Purpose: Ensuring funding for defense and education and the 
       supplemental appropriation by repealing tax cuts for 2001)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

         __. ENSURING FUNDING FOR DEFENSE AND EDUCATION AND THE 
                   SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION BY REPEALING TAX 
                   CUTS FOR 2001.

       (a) Repeal.--
       (1) In general.--Section 101 of the Economic Growth and Tax 
     Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 is repealed.
       (2) Application of code.--The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
     shall be applied and administered as if such section 101 (and 
     the amendments made by such section) had never been enacted.
       (3) Conforming amendments.--
       (A) In general.--Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 (relating to tax imposed) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new subsection:
       ``(i) Rate Reductions After 2001.--
       ``(1) 10-percent rate bracket.--
       ``(A) In general.--In the case of taxable years beginning 
     after December 31, 2001--
       ``(i) the rate of tax under subsections (a), (b), (c), and 
     (d) on taxable income not over the initial bracket amount 
     shall be 10 percent, and
       ``(ii) the 15 percent rate of tax shall apply only to 
     taxable income over the initial bracket amount but not over 
     the maximum dollar amount for the 15-percent rate bracket.
       ``(B) Initial bracket amount.--For purposes of this 
     paragraph, the initial bracket amount is--
       ``(i) $14,000 ($12,000 in the case of taxable years 
     beginning before January 1, 2008) in the case of subsection 
     (a),
       ``(ii) $10,000 in the case of subsection (b), and
       ``(iii) \1/2\ the amount applicable under clause (i) (after 
     adjustment, if any, under subparagraph (C)) in the case of 
     subsections (c) and (d).
       ``(C) Inflation adjustment.--In prescribing the tables 
     under subsection (f ) which apply with respect to taxable 
     years beginning in calendar years after 2001--
       ``(i) the Secretary shall make no adjustment to the initial 
     bracket amount for any taxable year beginning before January 
     1, 2009,
       ``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment used in making 
     adjustments to the initial bracket amount for any taxable 
     year beginning after December 31, 2008, shall be determined 
     under subsection (f )(3) by substituting `2007' for `1992' in 
     subparagraph (B) thereof, and
       ``(iii) such adjustment shall not apply to the amount 
     referred to in subparagraph (B)(iii).

     If any amount after adjustment under the preceding sentence 
     is not a multiple of $50, such amount shall be rounded to the 
     next lowest multiple of $50.
       ``(2) Reductions in rates after december 31, 2001.--In the 
     case of taxable years beginning in a calendar year after 
     2001, the corresponding percentage specified for such 
     calendar year in the following table shall be substituted for 
     the otherwise applicable tax rate in the tables under 
     subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         The corresponding percentages
                                         shall be substituted for  the
   ``In the case of taxable years           following percentages:
   beginning during calendar year:   -----------------------------------
                                        28%      31%      36%     39.6%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 and 2003.......................   27.0%    30.0%    35.0%    38.6%
2004 and 2005.......................   26.0%    29.0%    34.0%    37.6%
2006 and thereafter.................   25.0%    28.0%    33.0%    35.0%
------------------------------------------------------------------------

       ``(3) Adjustment of tables.--The Secretary shall adjust the 
     tables prescribed under subsection (f ) to carry out this 
     subsection.''.
       (B) Conforming amendments.--
       (i) Subparagraph (B) of section 1(g)(7) of such Code is 
     amended by striking ``15 percent'' in clause (ii)(II) and 
     inserting ``10 percent.''.
       (ii) Section 1(h) of such Code is amended--

       (I) by striking ``28 percent'' both places it appears in 
     paragraphs (1)(A)(ii)(I) and (1)(B)(i) and inserting ``25 
     percent'', and
       (II) by striking paragraph (13).

       (iii) Section 531 of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``equal to'' and all that follows and inserting ``equal to 
     the product of the highest rate of tax under section 1(c) and 
     the accumulated taxable income.''.
       (iv) Section 541 of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``equal to'' and all that follows and inserting ``equal to 
     the product of the highest rate of tax under section 1(c) and 
     the undistributed personal holding company income.''.
       (v) Section 3402(p)(1)(B) of such Code is amended by 
     striking ``7, 15, 28, or 31 percent'' and inserting ``7 
     percent, any percentage applicable to any of the 3 lowest 
     income brackets in the table under section 1(c),''.
       (vi) Section 3402(p)(2) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``15 percent'' and inserting ``10 percent''.
       (vii) Section 3402(q)(1) of such Code is amended by 
     striking ``equal to 28 percent of such payment'' and 
     inserting ``equal to the product of the third lowest rate of 
     tax applicable under section 1(c) and such payment''.
       (viii) Section 3402(r)(3) of such Code is amended by 
     striking ``31 percent'' and inserting ``the fourth lowest 
     rate of tax applicable under section 1(c)''.
       (ix) Section 3406(a)(1) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``equal to 31 percent of such payment'' and inserting ``equal 
     to the product of the fourth lowest rate of tax applicable 
     under section 1(c) and such payment''.
       (x) Section 13273 of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 
     is amended by striking ``28 percent'' and inserting ``the 
     third lowest rate of tax applicable under section 1(c) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986''.
       (C) Effective dates.--
       (i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the 
     amendments made by this paragraph shall apply to taxable 
     years beginning after December 31, 2001.
       (ii) Amendments to withholding provisions.--The amendments 
     made by clauses (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), and (x) of 
     subparagraph (B) shall apply to amounts paid after December 
     31, 2001.
       (b) Reserve Fund for Defense and Education.--Subtitle B of 
     title II of H. Con. Res. 83 (107th Congress) is amended by 
     inserting at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 219. STRATEGIC RESERVE FUND FOR DEFENSE AND EDUCATION.

       If legislation is reported by the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate or the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives, or an 
     amendment thereto is offered or a conference report thereon 
     is submitted, that would increase funding for defense or 
     education, the chairman of the appropriate Committee on the 
     Budget shall revise the aggregates, functional totals, 
     allocations, and other appropriate levels and limits in this 
     resolution for that measure by not exceeding the amount 
     resulting from the repeal and amendments made by section 
     __(a) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2001 for fiscal 
     years 2001 and 2002, as long as that measure will not, when 
     taken together with all other previously enacted legislation, 
     reduce the on-budget surplus below the level of the Medicare 
     Hospital Insurance Trust Fund surplus in any fiscal year 
     provided in this resolution.''.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment 
be set aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 874

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for Senator 
Wellstone under the authorized list.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Wellstone, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 874.

  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 
                        Program, with an offset)

       On page 11, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:


                             (rescissions)

       Sec. 1207. (a)(1) Effective July 31, 2001, of the funds 
     provided to the Secretary of Defense, for fiscal year 2001 
     administrative expenses, under the Department of Defense 
     Appropriations Act, 2001, the Military Construction 
     Appropriations Act, 2001, and the Energy and Water 
     Development Appropriations Act, 2001, and remaining in 
     Federal appropriations accounts, an amount equal to 
     $150,000,000 is rescinded.
       (2) Such amount shall be rescinded from such Federal 
     appropriations accounts as the Secretary of Defense shall 
     specify before July 31, 2001. In determining the accounts to 
     specify, the Secretary of Defense shall take into 
     consideration the need to promote efficiency, cost-
     effectiveness, and productivity within the Department of 
     Defense, as well as to maintain readiness and troop quality 
     of life.
       (b) Effective August 1, 2001, if the Secretary of Defense 
     has not specified accounts for rescissions under subsection 
     (a), of the funds described in subsection (a)(1) and 
     remaining in Federal appropriations accounts,

[[Page 12669]]

     an amount equal to $150,000,000 is rescinded through 
     proportional reductions to the portions of such accounts that 
     contain such funds.
       On page 36, line 9, strike ``$300,000,000'' and insert 
     ``$450,000,000''.


                           Amendment No. 875

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment 
be set aside, and I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator 
Johnson.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Johnson, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 875.

  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain 
                    interest rate changes permanent)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. EXTENSION OF INTEREST RATE PROVISIONS.

       (a) Technical Correction.--Paragraph (6) of section 455(b) 
     of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)), as 
     redesignated by section 8301(c)(1) of the Transportation 
     Equity Act for the 21st Century (Public Law 105-178; 112 
     Stat. 498) is redesignated as paragraph (8) and inserted 
     after paragraph (7) of that section.
       (b) Extension.--
       (1) Amendments.--Sections 427A(k), 428C(c)(1), 
     438(b)(2)(I), and 455(b)(6) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1077a(k), 
     1078-3(c)(1), 1087-1(b)(2)(I), 1087e(b)(6)) are each amended 
     by striking ``and before July 1, 2003,'' each place it 
     appears.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--
       (A) Section 427A(k) of such Act is amended by striking the 
     subsection heading and inserting the following: ``Interest 
     Rates for New Loans on or After October 1, 1998.--''.
       (B) Section 438(b)(2)(I) of such Act is amended--
       (i) by striking the subparagraph heading and inserting the 
     following: ``Loans disbursed on or after january 1, 2000.--
     ''; and
       (ii) in clause (i), by striking ``2000,'' and inserting 
     ``2000''.
       (C) Section 455(b)(6) of such Act is amended--
       (i) by striking the paragraph heading and inserting the 
     following: ``Interest rate provision for new loans on or 
     after october 1, 1998.--''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``1999,'' and 
     inserting ``1999''.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this amendment for Senator Johnson preserves 
a bipartisan compromise achieved in the 1998 Higher Education Act that 
reduced and stabilized higher education loan interest rates. The 
amendment that has been offered amends the Higher Education Act to 
continue the current student loan interest rate formulas, preserving 
the successful system that helps put millions of students through 
school every year.
  The budget resolution includes a Technical Reserve Fund that makes it 
possible to fix the problem in 2001 before a crisis develops in 2003 
when the current formula for calculating interest rates is due to 
expire. But the reserve fund in the resolution will expire early next 
year. Therefore, action is needed now so that Congress and the 
financial aid community can turn to improving financial aid programs 
all over this country.
  Mr. President, 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.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in relation to the amendment I offered on 
behalf of Senator Hollings, the Record should reflect that I have 
spoken to the Senator from South Carolina on several occasions today. 
He feels very strongly about the subject matter of this amendment. I am 
glad I had this slot available for the Senator, and I am happy to have 
offered this amendment on his behalf. Senator Hollings will be 
available to speak more on the subject at a later time.
  Mr. President, 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.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kerry). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from West Virginia is recognized.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, under the order, Senators, to be eligible to 
call up their amendments, had to offer those amendments by no later 
than 6 p.m. today; am I correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. BYRD. Will the Chair please have the clerk state the amendments 
that qualify on the morrow?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the qualified amendments.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Senator Schumer, amendment No. 862; Senator Feingold, 
     amendment No. 863; Senator Roberts, amendment No. 864; 
     Senator Voinovich, amendment No. 865; Senator Conrad, second-
     degree amendment No. 866 to amendment No. 865; Senator 
     Conrad, amendment No. 867; Senator McCain, amendment No. 868; 
     Senator McCain, amendment No. 869; Senator Hutchinson, 
     amendment No. 870; Senator Craig, amendment No. 871; Senator 
     Bond, amendment No. 872; Senator Reid for Senator Hollings, 
     amendment No. 873; Senator Wellstone, amendment No. 874; and 
     Senator Johnson, amendment No. 875.

  Mr. BYRD. I take it that the hour of 6 p.m. has arrived?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct; it has arrived.
  Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________