[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17020-17021]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, a few minutes ago we passed the Department 
of Defense appropriations bill, with a vote of 96 to 0. I want to take 
this opportunity to congratulate the chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee, who is also chairman of the Defense Subcommittee, Senator 
Stevens, and his ranking member, Senator Inouye, on bringing this first 
appropriations conference report for next year to completion.
  This is a critically important bill. It provides nearly $418 billion 
in resources to our dedicated men and women in the global war on 
terrorism. The legislation will immediately make available

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$26.8 billion to the Department of Defense as emergency appropriations 
to cover the costs associated with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
upon signature by the President.
  As GAO reported this week, these funds are needed, and they are 
needed quickly, for the operation and maintenance and military 
personnel through the end of the current fiscal year. Further, critical 
funding is provided immediately to the Department of State for our 
diplomatic programs, for our consular programs, and embassy security in 
Iraq.
  There are other programs funded in this important legislation that I 
want to thank the conferees for addressing. Mr. President, $95 million 
is provided immediately to USAID and the State Department to address 
the tragic moral and humanitarian crisis that is occurring in the 
Darfur region of the Sudan.
  I am hopeful Secretary Powell's and U.N. Secretary General Kofi 
Annan's discussions today in New York will result in the Sudanese 
Government fulfilling its recent commitment to end the attacks in the 
Darfur region by disarming the Janjaweed.
  I am particularly concerned our new Ambassador--our former colleague 
in this body, Senator John Danforth--is reported today as saying the 
situation in Darfur is not getting better but is getting worse. Mr. 
President, $95 million in humanitarian and refugee assistance provided 
in this legislation is critical, but security and stability must be 
secured in the region if this assistance which we are delivering is 
ever to really reach the people who are in need. As we all know, in the 
Darfur region, tens of thousands of people have died, and over a 
million people are directly affected in this very large western region 
in Sudan.
  I wish it were not necessary, but it is good this legislation will 
also provide $19 million to improve amputee care at the Walter Reed 
Medical Center for prosthetic limb development and applied research. 
Many of us in this body have had the opportunity to visit the men and 
women--the soldiers--who have been so directly impacted at Walter Reed. 
We thank them for their service, we thank them for their patriotism, 
and we are gratified that this $19 million will at least address one 
dimension, and that is the dimension of amputee care at that wonderful, 
outstanding medical center.
  There is over $18.2 billion for the Defense Health Program, an 
increase of over $2.5 billion over last year's level. I am pleased this 
legislation fully funds the 3.5-percent military pay raise and 
increases our service men's and women's basic housing allowance for 
housing, putting additional money into their pocket.
  On the domestic front, it is appropriate this legislation also 
provides a half billion dollars, $500 million, in emergency assistance 
to the Departments of Labor and Agriculture to address the growing cost 
of increasing forest fires this summer that we see in the West, as well 
as in Alaska.
  We should also point out the legislation provides $50 million to 
Boston and to New York City to help defray some of the costs associated 
with our upcoming national conventions.
  Mr. President, this is critical legislation for our national 
security. It is somewhat ironic that we voted on this legislation the 
same day that the 9/11 Commission released its report because the first 
recommendation of that report was that the U.S. Government must 
identify and prioritize actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries. For 
each, it should have a realistic strategy to keep possible terrorists 
insecure and on the run, using all elements of national power.
  This legislation funds our national power. It is appropriate it is 
the first appropriations bill this year to pass and to be sent to 
President Bush.
  Again, I congratulate Chairman Stevens, as well as the ranking 
member, and all of the committee members of the subcommittee and the 
entire Appropriations Committee for this outstanding piece of 
legislation.

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