[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23125-23126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SERVICE IN THE SENATE

  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise today to reflect on a 6 year term 
in the Senate which has been simultaneously the most challenging, yet 
most rewarding, experience of my life. I have had the chance to realize 
a lifelong dream by following in the footsteps of one of my personal my 
heroes, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia. I have been able to 
represent the state I love in an institution I revere. And I have been 
able to add my voice to the others that have risen before me in this 
chamber, from William Fulbright to Harry Truman to John Kennedy to 
Everett Dirksen to so many other outstanding men and women of history.
  In my Senate office, I have surrounded myself with small reminders of 
the men I most admire. I sit at Richard Russell's desk. On my walls, I 
have photographs of just two people. President Franklin Roosevelt and 
Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Theirs were no ordinary times, and we 
can safely say now, neither are ours. After the Pentagon was attacked 
on September 11th, I looked at FDR's picture and finally understood the 
gravity of his day of infamy, because this generation now had one of 
its own. I have used Churchill's and Roosevelt's examples of strength 
and courage to make it through every day in this town. Some days have 
been better than others, but every one has been a gift because this has 
been the life of my dreams.
  When I came to the Senate, I came to do the best job I could for the 
people of Georgia and the people of the United States, particularly our 
men and women in uniform. I am proud of what we've accomplished since 
then. Today, over 60% of our service members are married, and their 
benefits have finally begun to reflect that fact in order to retain 
those talented professionals. We knew that the decision to stay in the 
military is made at the dinner table, not the conference table, so 
we've increased pay for service members by nearly 20% since I came to 
the Senate. We've modernized the G.I. bill so that service members can 
transfer their benefits to start a college fund for their children. We 
set a schedule to eliminate out of pocket housing expenses and we even 
added a measure to help families take their pets with them when serving 
in Hawaii. Keeping the family dog may not be the highest priority for 
some lawmakers, but it's the whole world to a child moving around the 
globe as their mother or father serves our country. The family matters 
to the military member, so the family has mattered to me in my time 
here.
  Beyond these individual personnel matters, I became deeply concerned 
about the shrinking numbers of our U.S. military, and this year was 
able to raise the ceiling of our force strength. In our new war on what 
Sam Nunn calls ``catastrophic terrorism,'' we must continue to go on 
the strategic offensive. Our military may be winning the battle, but we 
will lose the war if we continue to ignore the fact that our forces are 
critically over-deployed and being asked to do too much with too 
little. We are out of balance. Our commitments are far outpacing our 
troop levels, and the situation is only getting worse.
  Since the end of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the armed forces 
have downsized by more than half a million personnel, but our 
commitments have increased by nearly 300%, including new deployments to 
Afghanistan, Yemen, the Philippines, Georgia, and Pakistan. Today, a 
Desert Storm-size deployment to Iraq would require 86% of the Army's 
deployable end strength, including all stateside deployable personnel, 
all overseas-deployed personnel, and most forward-stationed personnel.
  To make the war on terrorism possible, we have activated more than 
80,000 guard and reserve troops and instituted stop-loss for certain 
specialties. This is no way to fight a war when our strategic national 
interests are at stake. The President has rightly told the country to 
be prepared for a long commitment. But the Pentagon has not requested 
an increase in end strength for services other than the Marines. Our 
military is on a collision course with reality of families they don't 
see, training they aren't receiving and divisions borrowing from each 
other to meet the bare minimum in staffing. We can prevent a loss 
tomorrow, but we have to act today by increasing our numbers, and I 
hope that we will.
  Just as we must go on the strategic offensive overseas, we have to be 
on the strategic defensive here at home. The Senate has just passed the 
bill to create a new Department of Homeland Security, which was long 
overdue. For my own part, I am pleased to see passage of several 
measures I have worked on that I believe will significantly improve our 
sense of security here at home. The homeland security bill itself 
contains provisions to coordinate law enforcement and public health 
emergencies and to move the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center 
into the new department. The Port Security bill will help the ports of 
Brunswick and Savannah cut off options for terrorists who want to 
attack the U.S. on our own shores. The Bus Security bill will ensure 
that bus passengers are finally accorded some of the same security 
measures that the flying public receives.
  I look ahead now, and see our nation facing perilous challenges. Iraq 
and Saddam Hussein are back on our radar screen. We are right to insist 
on disarmament, and I leave the Senate confident that my vote to give 
the President the authority to use force to that end was the right one. 
I also believe my vote to go after Osama bin Laden was the right one, 
but we have miles to go before we sleep on that front.
  As all of these issues continue, I hope that the Senate and the 
country will continue to vigorously debate the proper course for our 
nation's foreign policy. A policy unchallenged is a policy unproven. 
Why would we wait to prove our theories to ourselves and our allies 
until our troops are in the field proving our policies for us?
  When he was in Vietnam, Colin Powell swore to his men, as I swore to 
mine, that when we were the generals instead of the captains, when we 
were the senators instead of the sergeants, we would not send our boys 
into a fight willy-nilly. And we haven't. And we shouldn't. In 
retrospect it seems to me that the real failure of Congress in Vietnam 
was not so much passage of the open-ended Gulf of Tonkin resolution, 
but its subsequent failure to exercise its Constitutional 
responsibilities after the resolution passed.
  Likewise, Congress' vote on the Iraq resolution provided a tangible, 
militarily achievable objective, but it did not discharge the Congress 
of all future responsibility with respect to our policy on Iraq. After 
the 1990-91 Gulf War, Powell put forth six questions which he believed 
must be addressed before future military interventions:

       Is the political objective important, clearly defined, and 
     well understood?
       Have all non-violent means been tried and failed?
       Will military force achieve the objective?
       What will be the cost?
       Have the gains and risks been thoroughly analyzed?
       After the intervention, how will the situation likely 
     evolve and what will the consequences be?

  The first three questions have been addressed thus far, but when we 
turn to

[[Page 23126]]

the final three of General Powell's questions, we see the need for some 
serious and sustained attention not only by the Administration, but by 
the Congress as well. What will be the cost, not only the cost of the 
immediate military operation, but also the costs of what could be a 
very long-term occupation and nation-building phase? What about the 
cost for our economy? The mere threat of war has sent oil prices upward 
and caused shudders on Wall Street. What will a full blown war do? Have 
the gains and risks been thoroughly analyzed? And after the 
intervention, how will the situation likely evolve and what will the 
consequences be?
  Powell has said that the purpose of the American military is to 
prevent war. But if war cannot be prevented, we should go in, win and 
win quickly. I am grateful to have Colin Powell's voice in this debate 
today. And I am hopeful we will have his and others like his in the 
debates of tomorrow. I hope the members of the 108th Congress will ask 
these questions and these are the ones I will be asking from whatever 
vantage point I move to after January 2.
  In his farewell speech to Congress, General Douglas McArthur said 
that old soldiers never die, they just fade away. This old soldier is 
not going to fade away, but I will take my battles to another front. 
The people of Georgia have given me a chance to live the life of my 
dreams here in the Senate, but now I may have the chance to live a life 
that exceeds my dreams, and I am grateful for that.
  As much as Richard Russell achieved for Georgia and for America, he 
said his greatest regret in his life was that he never married. I am 
happy to say that this old soldier has learned a thing or two from 
Russell, and I will be married to my fiancee, Miss Nancy Ross, after I 
retire. There is life after the Senate, and it will be a wonderful 
life. FDR said that the purpose of politics is to generate hope, but 
for me, the purpose of life is to generate hope. I will continue to try 
to live up to FDR's example every day.
  Before I leave, I want to thank several people. Senator Robert Byrd, 
for teaching me so much about this institution. Senators Reid and 
Daschle for your constant help and support, as well as Senator Zell 
Miller. Senators John McCain, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel, who reminded 
me that nothing is stronger than brotherhood, and some things are more 
important than politics. I thank my staff for letting me lean on them, 
and I thank the entire Senate family, from our Chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie 
to the reporters who cover the Senate, from the wonderful elevator 
operators to the staff in the Senate dining room and the barber shop 
and everyone in between--you've been my friends and my family and I 
will always remember your kindness. Finally, to my colleagues and the 
people of Georgia, a song from one of my favorite old westerns comes to 
mind. Happy trails to you, 'til we meet again. God bless you.
  (Applause, Senators rising.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. 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 that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Reed). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the two managers of this bill, the President 
pro tempore of the Senate and the soon to be President pro tempore of 
the Senate, are both here managing this bill. It is my understanding 
they are not going to take a long period of time. As soon as they 
finish, it is my understanding we would have final passage.
  The majority leader has come upon the floor. Senator Byrd said he is 
ready to begin the debate.

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