[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20978-20986]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE REORGANIZATION

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Alexander). Under the previous order, the 
Senate will now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 445, which the 
clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 445) to eliminate certain 
     restrictions on service of a Senator on the Senate Select 
     Committee on Intelligence.


                           amendment no. 3981

 (Purpose: To implement the Congressional oversight recommendations of 
                          the 9/11 Commission)

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Reid and myself, I 
send to the desk an amendment in the nature of a substitute and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell], for himself, Mr. 
     Reid, Mr. Frist, and Mr. Daschle, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 3981.

  Mr. McCONNELL. 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:

       Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 100. PURPOSE.

       It is the purpose of titles I through V of this resolution 
     to improve the effectiveness of the Senate Select Committee 
     on Intelligence, especially with regard to its oversight of 
     the Intelligence Community of the United States Government, 
     and to improve the Senate's oversight of homeland security.

              TITLE I--HOMELAND SECURITY OVERSIGHT REFORM

     SEC. 101. HOMELAND SECURITY.

       (a) Committee on Homeland Security and Government 
     Affairs.--The Committee on Governmental Affairs is renamed as 
     the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
       (b) Jurisdiction.--There shall be referred to the committee 
     all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and 
     other matters relating primarily to the following subjects:
       (1) Department of Homeland Security, except matters 
     relating to the Coast Guard, to the Transportation Security 
     Administration, to the Federal Law Enforcement Training 
     Center and the revenue functions of the Customs Service.
       (2) Archives of the United States.
       (3) Budget and accounting measures, other than 
     appropriations, except as provided in the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974.
       (4) Census and collection of statistics, including economic 
     and social statistics.
       (5) Congressional organization, except for any part of the 
     matter that amends the rules or orders of the Senate.
       (6) Federal Civil Service.
       (7) Government information.
       (8) Intergovernmental relations.
       (9) Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia, except 
     appropriations therefor.
       (10) Organization and management of United States nuclear 
     export policy.

[[Page 20979]]

       (11) Organization and reorganization of the executive 
     branch of the Government.
       (12) Postal Service.
       (13) Status of officers and employees of the United States, 
     including their classification, compensation, and benefits.
       (c) Additional Duties.--The committee shall have the duty 
     of--
       (1) receiving and examining reports of the Comptroller 
     General of the United States and of submitting such 
     recommendations to the Senate as it deems necessary or 
     desirable in connection with the subject matter of such 
     reports;
       (2) studying the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of 
     all agencies and departments of the Government;
       (3) evaluating the effects of laws enacted to reorganize 
     the legislative and executive branches of the Government; and
       (4) studying the intergovernmental relationships between 
     the United States and the States and municipalities, and 
     between the United States and international organizations of 
     which the United States is a member.
       (d) Jurisdiction of Senate Committees.--The jurisdiction of 
     the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
     provided in subsection (b) shall supersede the jurisdiction 
     of any other committee of the Senate provided in the rules of 
     the Senate.

                TITLE II--INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT REFORM

     SEC. 201. INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT.

       (a) Committee on Armed Services Membership.--Section 
     2(a)(3) of Senate Resolution 400, agreed to May 19, 1976 
     (94th Congress) (referred to in this section as ``S. Res. 
     400'') is amended by--
       (1) inserting ``(A)'' after ``(3)''; and
       (2) inserting at the end the following:
       ``(B) The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on 
     Armed Services (if not already a member of the select 
     Committee) shall be ex officio members of the select 
     Committee but shall have no vote in the Committee and shall 
     not be counted for purposes of determining a quorum.''.
       (b) Number of Members.--Section 2(a) of S. Res. 400 is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``not to exceed'' before 
     ``fifteen members'';
       (2) in paragraph (1)(E), by inserting ``not to exceed'' 
     before ``seven''; and
       (3) in paragraph (2), by striking the second sentence and 
     inserting ``Of any members appointed under paragraph (1)(E), 
     the majority leader shall appoint the majority members and 
     the minority leader shall appoint the minority members, with 
     the majority having a one vote margin.''.
       (c) Elimination of Term Limits.--Section 2 of Senate 
     Resolution 400, 94th Congress, agreed to May 19, 1976, is 
     amended by striking subsection (b) and by redesignating 
     subsection (c) as subsection (b).
       (d) Appointment of Chairman and Ranking Member.--Section 
     2(b) of S. Res. 400, as redesignated by subsection (c) of 
     this section, is amended by striking the first sentence and 
     inserting the following: ``At the beginning of each Congress, 
     the Majority Leader of the Senate shall select a chairman of 
     the select Committee and the Minority Leader shall select a 
     vice chairman for the select Committee.''.
       (e) Subcommittees.--Section 2 of S. Res. 400, as amended by 
     subsections (a) through (d), is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(c) The select Committee may be organized into 
     subcommittees. Each subcommittee shall have a chairman and a 
     vice chairman who are selected by the Chairman and Vice 
     Chairman of the select Committee, respectively.''.
       (f) Reports.--Section 4(a) of S. Res. 400 is amended by 
     inserting ``, but not less than quarterly,'' after 
     ``periodic''.
       (g) Staff.--Section 15 of S. Res. 400 is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``Sec. 15. (a) The select Committee shall hire or appoint 
     one employee for each member of the select Committee to serve 
     as such Member's designated representative on the select 
     Committee. The select Committee shall only hire or appoint an 
     employee chosen by the respective Member of the select 
     Committee for whom the employee will serve as the designated 
     representative on the select Committee.
       ``(b) The select Committee shall be afforded a supplement 
     to its budget, to be determined by the Committee on Rules and 
     Administration, to allow for the hire of each employee who 
     fills the position of designated representative to the select 
     Committee. The designated representative shall have office 
     space and appropriate office equipment in the select 
     Committee spaces, and shall have full access to select 
     Committee staff, information, records, and databases.
       ``(c) The designated employee shall meet all the 
     requirements of relevant statutes, Senate rules, and 
     committee clearance requirements for employment by the select 
     Committee.''.
       (h) Nominees.--S. Res. 400 is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``Sec. 17. (a) The select Committee shall have final 
     responsibility for reviewing, holding hearings, and voting on 
     civilian persons nominated by the President to fill a 
     position within the intelligence community that requires the 
     advice and consent of the Senate.
       ``(b) Other committees with jurisdiction over the nominees' 
     executive branch department may hold hearings and interviews 
     with that person.''.

                      TITLE III--COMMITTEE STATUS

     SEC. 301. COMMITTEE STATUS.

       (a) Homeland Security.--The Committee on Homeland Security 
     and Governmental Affairs shall be treated as the Committee on 
     Governmental Affairs listed under paragraph 2 of rule XXV of 
     the Standing Rules of the Senate for purposes of the Standing 
     Rules of the Senate.
       (b) Intelligence.--The Select Committee on Intelligence 
     shall be treated as a committee listed under paragraph 2 of 
     rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate for purposes of 
     the Standing Rules of the Senate.

              TITLE IV--INTELLIGENCE-RELATED SUBCOMMITTEES

     SEC. 401. SUBCOMMITTEE RELATED TO INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Select 
     Committee on Intelligence a Subcommittee on Oversight which 
     shall be in addition to any other subcommittee established by 
     the select Committee.
       (b) Responsibility.--The Subcommittee on Oversight shall be 
     responsible for ongoing oversight of intelligence activities.

     SEC. 402. SUBCOMMITTEE RELATED TO INTELLIGENCE 
                   APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Committee 
     on Appropriations a Subcommittee on Intelligence. The 
     Subcommittee on Military Construction shall be combined with 
     the Subcommittee on Defense into 1 subcommittee.
       (b) Jurisdiction.--The Subcommittee on Intelligence of the 
     Committee on Appropriations shall have jurisdiction over 
     funding for intelligence matters.

                        TITLE V--EFFECTIVE DATE

     SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This resolution shall take effect on the convening of the 
     109th Congress.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce, along with 
Senator Reid and the majority and Democratic leaders, an amendment to a 
resolution to reform the Senate's oversight of intelligence and 
homeland security matters. If enacted, it will mark the most 
significant changes made in this body since the 1970s relating to the 
way the Senate operates.
  Let me speak for a moment about why we must make significant reforms. 
The world did not change on September 11, 2001, only our perception of 
it did. In fact, the world had changed long before that particular 
clear September day. Frankly, we are nearly a decade late realizing it.
  The first clue the world had changed and that a new enemy lurked in 
the shadows occurred on February 26, 1993, when Islamic terrorists 
bombed the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring hundreds.
  These terrorists had ties to al-Qaida, which was busy then building 
its army of terrorists in the Sudan.
  Four years later, on August 7, 1998, al-Qaida attacked two U.S. 
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing hundreds and injuring 
thousands.
  And on October 12, 2000--nearly 4 years ago today--these same al-
Qaida terrorists attacked the USS Cole while it was in port in Yemen. 
These terrorists killed 17 soldiers and injured 40 more.
  And yet it took the carnage of September 11 to awaken America, the 
Congress, our governmental institutions, and our CIA analysts to the 
magnitude of the threat that Islamic terrorism poses to the American 
people.
  It took September 11 to show us how much the world had changed since 
the days of the Cold War.
  In the wake of those attacks, Congress and the President swung into 
action--and brought the fight to the enemy.
  We in Congress passed the PATRIOT Act, which reformed the FBI and 
provided our law enforcement agencies with greater tools to combat 
terrorism. We fast-tracked the procurement of specialized equipment 
such as the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle for our military forces in 
Afghanistan.
  Congress created the Department of Homeland Security to consolidate 
and coordinate Government activities that protect America, and to solve 
some of the problems that contributed to the failure to anticipate 
September 11.
  The administration has issued important executive orders reforming 
the intelligence community in a way that facilitates coordination of 
essential information.
  Today, the Senate passed the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, which 
dramatically reforms our intelligence

[[Page 20980]]

agencies. These reforms will improve the collection, analysis, and 
integration of our Nation's most vital intelligence, assuring that red 
flags are no longer ignored.
  What we have not done, however, is reform ourselves.
  Congress, as did our intelligence agencies, failed to appreciate the 
threat prior to September 11. We certainly appreciate it now. And I 
hope we can reform this institution in a way that allows us to better 
monitor and influence the executive agencies tasked with keeping 
America safe.
  It is time to put our own house in order.
  In August, Senator Frist and Senator Daschle--in response to the 9/11 
Commission recommendations--asked the Senate to do just that. They 
created a working group of 22 senior Members of the Senate, and asked 
Senator Reid and me to chair it.
  We worked closely with these Members to discuss the advantages and 
disadvantages of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, and also to 
brainstorm new ideas and improvements to our oversight of the 
intelligence community and Department of Homeland Security.
  I want to thank these Members for their many good ideas and for their 
patience and willingness to work on a bipartisan basis to do something 
that is very difficult but also very worthwhile.
  After convening a number of meetings with our Members, Senator Reid 
and I met frequently to hammer out a list of recommendations that 
broadly reflects the consensus or majority views of our group.
  Not every Senator will be happy with each and every recommendation. 
But such is the nature of compromise. We have endeavored to be honest 
brokers, and I hope we have achieved that goal.
  Some Members will complain this reform goes too far. Others will 
complain it does not go far enough.
  I hope most Members will agree with me that it is an appropriate 
balance of reform that improves our ability to conduct oversight of 
intelligence and homeland security during a very serious time for our 
country.
  Neither Senator Reid, nor I, nor the 20 other members of our working 
group have a monopoly on wisdom. And were our recommendations part of 
the New Testament, they would not be written in red ink.
  The resolution before us today is not a final product. It is a work 
in progress. And we hope Members who want to improve upon this 
resolution will come to the floor and offer amendments.
  We would like to accept non-controversial amendments, and to allow 
Members to vote on amendments that may be a bit more contentious. We 
want the Senate to work its will.
  But before ceding control of this resolution to the will of the 
Senate, let me describe the philosophy behind our recommendations, as 
well as some of the recommendations themselves.
  The most sweeping change we recommend is to consolidate Congressional 
jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security. If you don't 
think this is major reform, ask the roughly 25 Senate committee or 
subcommittee chairmen who currently have jurisdiction over Homeland 
Security agencies or programs.
  Trust me. They have made sure Senator Reid and I know how significant 
this reform is.
  The current system of homeland security is broken. These 25 different 
Senate committees or subcomittes can only have a narrow view of part of 
the department's activities.
  Congressional oversight is like a team of blindfolded scientists, 
each examining a different part of a horse and trying to describe what 
kind of animal it is. No committee can step back and look at the horse 
as a whole.
  The Department of Homeland Security deserves its own authorization 
committee. We wouldn't divide jurisdiction over the Department of 
Defense by creating an Army committee, a Navy/Marine committee, and an 
Air Force committee. So why have we done so with Homeland Security?
  The status quo also hampers the Department's ability to do its 
primary job: protecting the homeland.
  Currently, the department has to report to 88 House and Senate 
committees or subcommittees.
  This year alone, Secretary Ridge or his subordinates have testified 
at 164 hearings. They have given over 1300 briefings. And the year 
isn't over yet.
  Mr. President, that's almost 40 briefings a week. In fact, there are 
probably Homeland Security personnel crawling around Capitol Hill right 
now, when they should be back in their offices working to keep us safe.
  We didn't create the Department of Homeland Security so that it can 
provide us with a gluttony of power point presentations but to keep 
America safe. We should consolidate jurisdiction so that both Congress 
and the Department can do their job more effectively, and more 
efficiently.
  To do this, we recommend that jurisdiction over the Department be 
integrated under the Governmental Affairs Committee, which should be 
renamed the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
  There will be exceptions to this jurisdictional consolidation. And we 
encourage Members who are concerned about jurisdictional issues to file 
amendments to work with the chairman and ranking member of Governmental 
Affairs to reach agreements about appropriate jurisdictional 
arrangements.
  We welcome amendments and debate on these issues.
  On Intelligence oversight, the working group believed that our 
oversight of intelligence must be strengthened.
  The task force wanted to work with the committee to help structure it 
so it was comprised of devoted experts who have the time and expertise 
in the intelligence field. The members now serving on the committee 
have done so with great distinction. But they need better tools and 
fewer competing demands on their time in order to conduct focused and 
comprehensive oversight.
  And so we have recommended the status of the committee be raised from 
B to A. This may seem like a minor and arcane detail, but it means a 
great deal. On my side of the aisle, Senators can serve on the 
committee without having to give up any other assignments. Some Members 
serve on three or four other committees in addition to intelligence.
  Quite simply, they cannot devote the time necessary to conduct 
effective oversight with so many other obligations.
  This elevation in status will require Senators interested in 
intelligence to make a choice to serve on the committee. But once on 
the committee, they will not be term limited, and each member of the 
committee will be able to play an integral role in conducting 
oversight.
  The Intelligence Committee is an important committee, and a popular 
committee, and I am confident that a good number of members will want 
to serve on it.
  As I have said, we also have removed term limits, in order to allow 
members to develop the expertise needed to conduct effective oversight. 
No other Committee in the Senate says after you've spent 8 years 
becoming an expert that you get the boot. Now the Intelligence 
Committee won't have to say goodbye to its most experienced members.
  We have allowed members to hire personal designated staff, to give 
them a trusted representative on the committee. There was strong 
support for this recommendation, which will reinstate previous 
committee policy.
  In addition to the 14 suggested improvements to the Select Committee 
on Intelligence, we also have recommended the Appropriations Committee 
create a Subcommittee on Intelligence.
  Appropriations jurisdiction over oversight is currently dispersed 
throughout multiple subcommittees. We propose the creation of an 
Intelligence Subcommittee of Appropriations that would consolidate the 
roughly 80 percent of the intelligence budget that will come under the 
jurisdiction of the national intelligence director.
  This subcommittee will improve the Appropriations Committee's ability 
to live up to its responsibility to exercise oversight over the 
national intelligence budget. For the same reasons

[[Page 20981]]

that homeland security jurisdiction should be consolidated, so, too, 
should intelligence appropriations jurisdiction.
  Not all of us agree on this recommendation, and I fully expect that 
Senators will offer an amendment to implement the 9/11 Commission's 
recommendation to create a combined authorization and appropriations 
committee.
  These recommendations require us to use a different set of muscles in 
our oversight. And some of these reforms are not easy. But few things 
worth doing are.
  We have a historic opportunity to reform this Chamber for the better, 
and I believe we should not shirk our responsibility to do so. We must 
do it now in order to do all we can to protect the American people from 
the next major terrorist attack.
  This is a partisan body, and we have pointed fingers for 3 years 
about who was to blame for the failures of our intelligence and 
homeland security prior to 9/11. Some blamed the Clinton 
Administration, others blamed the Bush Administration. Some saw fault 
in the FBI, others in the CIA, and still other in the military's 
aversion to covert operations. We are good at pointing fingers at 
others, but we have not pointed them at ourselves.
  Just as our CIA analysts failed to piece together the clues about al-
Qaida's intention to attack our cities with hijacked airplanes, so, 
too, did we fail to question their assessments. We failed to question 
their focus on old threats. We failed to challenge them to take risks. 
We failed to question the lack of CIA operatives in Iraq, or why our 
human intelligence capabilities had become so eroded. Despite the 
numerous attacks on American targets by Islamic radicals, we failed to 
put more money in the intelligence budget to hire Arabic linguists.
  These are not the faults of the Clinton administration or the Bush 
administration. They are our fault, too, and we have a chance today to 
correct them.
  I say to my colleagues, I believe we have an opportunity to improve 
our oversight of the arms of Government that keep America safe. Let us 
not cause some future generation to look back 50 years from this moment 
and ask the question: Why did they not act?
  Now is our opportunity to do just that, and I encourage my fellow 
Senators to come to the floor and offer amendments so that we can move 
this package forward as soon as possible.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  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. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, about an hour ago, the Senate marked a 
historical moment with the passage of S. 2845, the National 
Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. Passage of that act was a major 
milestone--a major milestone--on the road to the most significant 
overhaul of our intelligence community in over 50 years.
  The Senate bill includes nearly all of the recommendations made by 
the 9/11 Commission as they centered on intelligence reform within the 
executive branch--39 recommendations.
  It is important to note, however, the Commission said that 
overhauling the executive branch is not enough and, thus, we are now on 
the Senate resolution to address the final two recommendations of the 
9/11 Commission, and that is the overhaul of how we do business in 
oversight of intelligence functions.
  The Democratic leader and I were just talking about how pleased we 
were in the fulfillment of the process we set out at the end of July 
where both arms--one being the one we just completed on the Senate 
floor in the form of the executive branch intelligence jurisdiction, 
and the second arm being the overhaul of our Senate oversight--has 
worked so well to date, but we still have that second arm to address, 
and that is what we are on today.
  The Democratic leader and I have come to the floor to outline to our 
colleagues, A, the importance of completing that oversight function 
reform in this body but, B, and equally important, to point out we do 
not have very much time to address this issue with the range and number 
of other issues we have to address. We have plenty of time to address 
these issues, but we need to do so in an expeditious way, in a way that 
allows people to have their amendments considered, to have them 
debated, and to have them voted upon, but we need to do so in a timely 
manner.
  We ask our colleagues to bring their amendments to the resolution to 
the managers so they can be considered.
  With that, I turn to the Democratic leader, and then I will have 
further comments on other legislation we have to address before 
departing.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I associate myself with the remarks of 
the majority leader. He made note of the fact that this is a historic 
day. This is a day when the Senate, with an overwhelmingly bipartisan 
vote, responded to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and other 
commissions that have urged our Government to take action to make us 
safer. We made a major step today in creating the infrastructure to 
make America safer.
  I compliment the majority leader for his efforts and also, of course, 
the two managers. Senator Collins and Senator Lieberman deserve great 
credit for the work product we voted on only moments ago. This is 
historic not only for its substance, but I would like to think it is 
also historic for the process that brought us here.
  As the majority leader has noted, we have an opportunity to replicate 
the substance and the process with the second piece of our work. I 
think in an equally bipartisan fashion, Senator McConnell and Senator 
Reid have worked hand in glove. They deserve great commendation and 
credit for the work they have done.
  They have consulted with every Member of the Senate. They have worked 
particularly with our chairs and ranking members, and they have now 
brought us a work product that was amended slightly as a result of that 
consultative process last night.
  After working and laying out the work product, they listened, they 
responded, and we have the response they put into the Record last 
night. So everybody has had a chance to review their work, and we are 
now, as the majority leader noted, asking for the same degree of 
cooperation and bipartisanship on this legislative work as we have on 
the bill.
  In that context, it will be important for Senators to indicate to us 
as quickly as possible their intent with regard to amendments. I know 
both cloakrooms are going to be seeking the response of Senators who 
may wish to offer amendments.
  Based on that response, because of the time of year, we may be 
required to file cloture just so we can accelerate the consideration of 
this effort. I will support that effort if it may be required, but, 
again, as we have done each day during the deliberations of the bill, I 
hope we could start the day with somewhat of a status report on where 
we are and what needs to be done and a reiteration of the importance of 
this work and our efforts in doing it in the same manner.
  So I hope we can continue as we have. As I said, this is a historic 
day, but there is much more history to be made and so much more work to 
be done.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, while the Democratic leader and I are both 
on the floor, because it reflects the discussions we have had over the 
course of today, there is other business that we will be conducting 
over the course of the week. There has been huge progress made today on 
a bill in conference, the FSC/ETI manufacturing jobs bill. We expect to 
address that hopefully very

[[Page 20982]]

soon--I believe the House will be addressing it tomorrow--maybe 
tomorrow night or late tomorrow afternoon. It is a bill we are both 
committed to addressing before we leave.
  As everyone knows, we had planned to leave on Friday, October 8. It 
is a bill that also has been handled in an admirable way in conference 
by Chairman Grassley, and Chairman Thomas from the House, with a very 
open discussion, open debate, and votes in the conference. We plan on 
addressing that bill as soon as it is available and the plans will be 
to complete that as well before we depart.
  Homeland Security appropriations is currently in conference and we 
expect to be able to address that as well.
  I mention all of those bills because tonight is Wednesday and we have 
Thursday and Friday. Although our shared goal is that we leave Friday, 
if it requires being here Saturday or later, it means that we would 
have to do just that. It should not. The way these bills have been 
handled over the last several weeks, it simply should not require going 
into Saturday, but if necessary, we may just have to do that.
  I will comment briefly on the resolution as well because I have not 
had the opportunity to do so. I know the managers want to be able to 
proceed directly, but I just wanted to outline that in mid-August 
Senator Daschle and I did assemble a task force of 22 Members to look 
at the recommendations proposed by the 9/11 Commission that deal with 
reform of the Congress. We charged this task force to look at the range 
of issues and possibilities and to present the Democratic and 
Republican leaders with a proposal and their recommendations.
  To reflect the leadership's commitment to the importance of this 
issue of congressional reform, we asked our respective assistant 
leaders, Senator McConnell and Senator Reid, who are managing the bill 
now, to chair this task force. Over the past several weeks, Senators 
McConnell and Reid have held a series of meetings, collectively and 
individually. As Senator Daschle has said and as I have also said, we 
have had the opportunity to meet as conferences and caucuses to address 
these issues.
  The managers of the bill have also consulted with the 9/11 Commission 
and others to solicit their ideas and their reflections and 
recommendations. The product of their efforts is captured in the Senate 
resolution today and the amendment that has just been introduced.
  Right now, as we talk, the amendment may or may not be a perfect 
product--it is probably not a perfect product--but it is a very good 
and very solid product. It does reflect the majority view of the task 
force as they looked at a whole range of options and alternatives, 
individual items to improve Senate oversight of intelligence, which is 
the objective, and that is what will be achieved by this resolution.
  There are a number of contentious issues that have not been fully 
addressed, that we expect to be addressed tonight on the Senate floor.
  When the Democratic leader said we are reaching out to people to 
bring those potential amendments forward, that is exactly what we mean. 
It was Senator McConnell's and Senator Reid's recommendation, rightly I 
believe, to have the Members decide through debate and through the 
offering of amendments on the floor how we might make that proposal 
better. That is about as open and transparent a process as one can 
have, but it does require Members to come forward and participate in 
that floor debate.
  I will close by saying that I personally thank Senators McConnell and 
Reid for their efforts and to the other Members of the leadership task 
force and to all the Members for their cooperation and their 
participation in, once again, a nonpartisan manner.
  I reiterate that it is the leadership's desire on both sides of the 
aisle to complete this before we depart.
  I close where I began, and that is, without Senate reform of the way 
we conduct oversight of intelligence and homeland security, our efforts 
to overhaul the executive branch, which we took a major step forward 
just an hour ago in this body, will be incomplete, inadequate, and 
really inconsistent with our obligations to the American people.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I, first, extend my appreciation to Senator 
McConnell. Senator McConnell and I were given a task and we have done 
the best we can. I have served in the Congress now for 22 years. This 
is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, if not the hardest. 
It has been a very difficult 3 or 4 weeks that Senator McConnell and I 
have spent working with Members.
  I have known Mitch McConnell for many years, the senior Senator from 
Kentucky, but as happens when one is thrown into a situation of stress, 
working closely together, one develops a different relationship, and 
the bond Senator Mitch McConnell and I have formed over this last month 
is one that will be with us forever.
  I appreciate his willingness to allow me to drop in his office 
unannounced and call on him all times of the night and day. He has a 
fine staff and he has worked extremely well with my staff. Without 
belaboring the point, I appreciate all he has done to get us to this 
point. Without him, we could not be where we are now.
  I have five children. My oldest child is a girl. I have one girl, my 
daughter Lana. I can remember as if it were yesterday, my little girl 
was going away to school, to college. I can still remember I cried that 
day, I felt so sad that my little girl was going to go away. I still 
feel some emotion when I think about it.
  The reason I mention that is my daughter leaving to go to college is 
only an example of how difficult change is. Why did I feel bad? Because 
of change. I had been with my little girl for 18 years, and suddenly 
she was going to leave. Change in our lives is always very difficult. 
Change in the life of the Senate is difficult. What Senator McConnell 
and I have brought before the Senate is a change. I repeat, I only give 
the example of my daughter for illustrative purposes. But change here 
for 98 Senators with whom we have been working is difficult. It is not 
the same as sending a daughter to school, but it is still a change. Any 
time you change, it is difficult. That is what this has been about.
  We have been considering ways to reform the executive branch of 
Government for 2 weeks. It is now done. Now it is time to turn the 
focus on reform of the Senate. A lot of change is taking place here in 
the waning days of this Congress, important changes brought about as a 
result of more than 3,000 Americans being killed through a terrorist 
act. That is why we are doing this.
  A commission was appointed, led by long-time Congressman Lee Hamilton 
and former Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean. They had members who 
worked very hard for a year. They had 80 full-time staff. They came to 
us with recommendations as to how we had to change the executive branch 
of Government. We have done the best we can in that regard. We have 
changed, as far as the Senate sees it, the executive branch of 
Government. It has been painful. It has been painful for a lot of 
Senators. But we did it because we had to do it.
  I will elaborate on that a little bit later, but the Commission said 
doing one without the other is doing nothing. If we walked away from 
this body now, as some have suggested, and said we have done our job, 
we have done the executive improvement, we may not have done 
everything, but we have done all we have time to do--we cannot leave 
here without having done this.
  What we do tonight and tomorrow is nothing the President has to sign. 
The bill that passed here earlier this evening by a vote of 96 to 2 is 
something the President has to sign. He does not have to sign this. 
This is something the Senate is doing on its own. We are doing it 
because the Commission said you cannot have one without the other.
  As I said, some have said, Why do this? Some have said, Maybe the 
House isn't going to do anything; why does the Senate have to tackle 
this issue?

[[Page 20983]]

  We can't maintain the status quo after 9/11. We have to look at every 
facet of our Government. We did this: The homeland security functions, 
our intelligence functions, and our congressional oversight.
  I extend my appreciation to Senators Roberts and Rockefeller. They 
have, during the most difficult times in the history of the 
Intelligence Committee, been asked to guide this country through these 
perilous times, and they did it without having much to do it with. The 
Intelligence Committee, as indicated by the 9/11 Commission, is weak 
and toothless. So I appreciate very much the work of these two very 
wise men. Being able to work together--it wasn't easy. They had a 
difficult time. The members of the Intelligence Committee also worked 
well.
  But, as the 9/11 Commission indicated, we need to give the 
Intelligence Committee more authority and power. That is what we are in 
the process of doing. We, in effect, said, Can we do better? Can we do 
better for Rockefeller and Roberts and others, not only today but in 
the years to come? We have found, under the leadership of the 9/11 
Commission, that oversight of the intelligence community is not strong 
enough--not enough power, not enough resources, not enough muscle.
  As my friend Senator McConnell has indicated, the homeland security 
oversight is now splintered among 88 committees and subcommittees--not 
8 in the Senate, not 8 in the House--Governor Ridge and I came together 
in 1982, each as a Member of Congress. I don't know the exact number of 
times he has come here, but I think it was 164 times so far this year. 
Think about it. We can do better.
  We do not need these weak and fractionalized subcommittees and 
committees, all wanting a piece of the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
We are not going to make a tweak here and a tweak there. As the 9/11 
Commission found:

       Tinkering with the existing committee structure is not 
     sufficient. The United States needs a strong, stable and 
     capable committee structure to give America's national 
     intelligence agencies oversight, support and leadership.

  We can't make all these changes in the executive branch which we did 
in this bill we just passed and not put our own house in order. The 9/
11 Commission made that point very clear:

       The other reforms suggested, such as the National 
     Counterterrorism Center and a National Intelligence Director, 
     will not work if Congressional oversight does not change too.

  It has not been easy. We have taken 10 standing committees and taken 
jurisdiction from each of the 10 and given them to this new committee 
that will be formed from the Governmental Affairs Committee. It will 
now be the Homeland Security/Governmental Affairs.
  People have had to give things up. Some have given them up 
graciously. Some have given them up kicking and screaming. There will 
be amendments offered here to reverse some of the changes we have 
recommended in the amendment that is now before the Senate. Senator 
McConnell and I recognize that should be a fair, open process. We are 
not infallible. Maybe we made some mistakes, but we certainly tried not 
to.
  The Commission made the point clear that it will not work if 
congressional oversight does not change also. So here we are, with a 
resolution encompassing some of the most important recommendations of 
the 9/11 Commission--no doubt the most difficult. Obviously we would 
not be here without the fine work of the 9/11 Commission that I boasted 
about more than once, and without the urging of many brave families 
whose lives were shaken by the tragedy of 9/11.
  I served in the House of Representatives with Lee Hamilton. I served 
under his leadership on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of 
Representatives. He is a fine man. He was a mentor to me. He and 
Governor Kean have made their mark upon the country with their 
excellent report. We are also here on the verge of landmark reform 
because of the strong partisan interest of our colleagues in reforming 
this institution. There may be different opinions about some of the 
details, but I believe the consensus is very strong about bringing 
much-needed reform to the intelligence and homeland security functions.
  As I started my statement using an example of my dear daughter Lana, 
I said change is hard. I understand that. I am a member of committees. 
The committees on which I serve have given up things to make this work.
  I also want to extend my grudging appreciation to the two leaders, 
Senators Daschle and Frist. The next time they have one of these nice 
things to pass out, they will think of someone else. This has been very 
hard for Senator McConnell and me, but they have stood with us. They 
are fine leaders. And if we get this done--and I am hopeful and 
confident we will--it all goes directly to their leadership. Both of 
these men are so busy that they look to their assistants. I am the 
assistant Democratic leader, the whip. Senator McConnell is the 
assistant Republican leader, the whip. We have done our best 
representing our caucuses. We run separate and apart from our two 
leaders. I run elected on my own, as does Senator McConnell. But we 
believe this was the time when without any question the two leaders 
were doing absolutely the right thing. That is why we have spent so 
much of our time, energy, and effort in carrying out what they have 
directed us to do.
  I jokingly said I grudgingly send my appreciation. I really don't do 
that. I am happy Senator Daschle had enough confidence in me to allow 
me to go forward on this noble experiment.
  I have spoken to members of the 9/11 Commission on quite a few 
occasions in conference calls and personal meetings, and I appreciate 
their time. The time is up for this Commission, but they are still 
devoting large blocks of time to people like me who come to them for 
direction, guidance, and understanding. They wanted first of all to 
know what we were doing was nonpartisan. I think Senator McConnell and 
I proved to them time and time again that it was.
  Let us talk about the specifics.
  The so-called task force recommended that the Senate inplement 
virtually all of the congressional reform recommendations made by the 
9/11 Commission. I will go over what we have done. There are three 
basic areas we looked at. One is to reform the Intelligence Committee 
process. The other is to create a different, new committee on homeland 
security, which I have talked about, and the other is to make sure the 
appropriations process was part of this.
  What we have done to strengthen collection of intelligence is 
eliminate term limits. We have to ensure that the majority has no more 
than a one-member advantage. This came directly from the 9/11 
Commission. We maintain apportioned slots for these committees. The 
chairman and ranking member of Armed Services. I will offer an 
amendment because I heard directly from the Intelligence Committee 
itself that they also wanted in addition to the Armed Services 
Committee members of the Foreign Relations Committee doing that. In 
this instance, it will be Senator Lugar, chairman of the committee, and 
Senator Biden, ranking member, who will serve as ex officio members. I 
will offer an amendment at a subsequent time, and elevate the status, 
as I heard Senator McConnell talk about, from B to A.
  We have maintained the majority and minority leaders' ability to 
appoint all committee members. Members not appointed will serve without 
term limits.
  This is so important. Frankly, this is not anything that the 9/11 
Commission recommended, but it came from Senator Warner in meetings we 
had with Senator McConnell and me. Senator Warner has been here a long 
time. I have served with him from the day after I came here as a member 
of the Environment and Public Works Committee. He has been so easy to 
work with. If there were ever a stereotype of a southern gentleman, it 
is John Warner. And John Warner in his typical gentlemanly fashion 
suggested to us that for a committee which is important, the chairman 
and ranking member should serve at the pleasure of the two leaders.
  The reason for this is what I refer to as the ``Wilbur Mills 
problem.'' Wilbur

[[Page 20984]]

Mills was a long-time Member of Congress and became chairman of the 
powerful Ways and Means Committee. This was a man who never had a 
problem in the world as far as anything dealing with ethics and 
morality. Suddenly, for whatever reason, Wilbur Mills--this 
distinguished Member of Congress who served 30 years--started doing a 
lot of things very publicly that were an embarrassment to this 
institution. He was there based on seniority and there was no way he 
could be disposed of. We don't want that. It is something that probably 
would never happen, but we need that protection. The people who are 
representing and leading this Intelligence Committee have to be above 
reproach ethically and morally. The two leaders should have the ability 
to do that.
  That is why Senator McConnell and I, along with Senator Warner--that 
is where this came from. We believe that committees around here are too 
large. One of the things we set out to do was not have more committees. 
We wanted to do what we could to make the committees smaller. We did 
this. We reduced the size of the committee from 17 to 15. That may not 
sound like much, but it was a step forward. We have followed our 
philosophy and reduced the size of the committee. This is something the 
9/11 Commission recommended. The staff positions for each member--
maintain nonpartisan professional staff, give the Intelligence 
Committee a stronger role in reviewing civilian intelligence nominees. 
This is something else the 9/11 Commission recommended.
  That is one of the things they recommended in intelligence. We have 
done that. But we have gone a step further, and said not only that but 
the Intelligence Committee should be able to form whatever subcommittee 
they feel would help that committee perform the functions they have for 
the country.
  Maintain committee subpoena authority; require the committee to make 
regular reports to the full Senate.
  For the purpose of showing how much we did related to the 
recommendations of the of 9/11 Commission, all we have to do is look 
right here. We have done what they have recommended, and more.
  If you look here, the committee conducts ongoing oversight, checked 
off; create subcommittee dedicated to oversight, another check; ensure 
committee has subpoena authority, check that off; ensure majority has 
not more than one-member advantage, check that off; ensure apportioned 
members slots for Armed Services, Appropriations, Foreign Relations and 
Judiciary; one-year term limit; reduce the size of the Intelligence 
Committee; ensure the Intelligence Committee has a nonpartisan 
professional staff.
  I think we have done that. It is good work. It was not easy, but 
good.
  We have talked about the operations committee, which recommended 14 
specific measures to give the committee greater stature and power.
  We believe the proposed measures such as elevating the committee from 
B to A, ending term limits, and creating a subcommittee on oversight 
will give the committee muscle and that will be oversight of the 
intelligence agencies.
  I have talked about the need for the Appropriations subcommittee to 
focus on investigations. We have done that.
  What I have not talked about is Senator Bob Graham. Bob Graham was 
chairman of the Intelligence Committee, ranking member, served in a 
very good way, former Governor of Florida, served in the Senate for 18 
years. He is leaving now. He is retiring. When someone suggested to him 
that you should put the function of the appropriations and 
authorization all in one committee, he said it would concentrate power 
in too small a number of people and it would be devastatingly wrong for 
the intelligence community. So what we came up with, we feel, is 
something better than that; that is, as one distinguished Senator said, 
if we can have an Appropriations subcommittee for the District of 
Columbia, for agriculture, and the legislative branch of Government, we 
ought to have one for intelligence. It is simply too important, and we 
agree. Senator McConnell and I agree.
  Therefore, we have now merged the Military Construction Subcommittee, 
which I chaired for a Congress or two, with Defense--again, we don't 
want to create more subcommittees or more committees--leaving 12 
subcommittees for Appropriations. We have created another one on 
intelligence.
  There has been a lot of complaints that the monetary function of the 
Intelligence Committee was hidden in the Defense Subcommittee on 
Appropriations. That won't be the case anymore. It will have chairmen 
selected based on seniority. I am sure it will be one of the senior 
members of the Senate. That is about all you have on the Appropriations 
Committee, and I think it would do well. This is a significant 
development.
  We will increase the number of members and staff who oversee the 
intelligence community spending and finally shed light on programs that 
have been tucked away far too long.
  Governor Kean was asked at a recent Select Committee on Intelligence 
hearing about the creation of an appropriations subcommittee on 
intelligence. Governor Kean said:

       I think [an intelligence appropriations subcommittee] would 
     be very much in my mind, be within the spirit of our 
     recommendations.

  I have spoken to Congressman Hamilton and indicated to him what we 
were going to do. He feels the same as Governor Kean about this.
  Now, an appropriations subcommittee on intelligence is exactly the 
kind of conforming change that is required now that we have passed the 
Collins-Lieberman bill, where centralization and coordination of the 
intelligence community is achieved through the establishment of a 
national intelligence director.
  Some Members suggest a joint authorizing and appropriating committee, 
but there are very strong feelings that creates too much power and too 
much secrecy for a handful of members, so it actually results in fewer 
checks and balances and much weaker oversight.
  There was a broad consensus to consolidate the oversight of the 
Department of Homeland Security. Without any question, we should not 
have to have the director or his assistants appear before 88 committees 
and subcommittees of the Congress. We ought to have a single homeland 
security authorizing committee. This would match the Homeland Security 
Appropriations Subcommittee we created last year.
  With this we achieve the much-needed consolidation by replacing 
homeland security oversight in the Governmental Affairs Committee and 
renaming the committee Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  What we have now before the Senate is significant and sweeping 
reform. This resolution with the amendment we placed therein, though it 
might not be perfect, and Senator McConnell and I would never say it 
was, is extremely powerful and makes the required structural changes at 
the same time it sends a clear message to the American people that the 
Senate understands the problems, and we are ready to make changes that 
will help keep our country safe.
  Let's end what the Commission calls a ``dysfunctional'' oversight 
process. It is the right thing to do. This is the right time to do it.
  We welcome anyone who wants to offer amendments. We do recognize, 
however, as the two leaders mentioned earlier, that it is almost 7 
o'clock tonight, and we are supposed to leave Friday. We need to finish 
this legislation. People cannot wait us out. If Members do not come 
tonight and tomorrow to offer amendments, we are going to go to third 
reading. We are not going to wait around while people do other things. 
This is not January or March or April or May or September. It is just a 
few days until the leaders have said we are going to go home. At the 
very best, it will be difficult to get out of here late Friday or even 
Saturday.
  The two leaders are absolutely right in saying we want everyone to 
have an opportunity to review this resolution. The amendment was filed 
last night, and everyone has had more than 24 hours to read it, to 
study it, to prepare

[[Page 20985]]

their amendments. It is not a 400-page amendment. It is a few pages in 
length, very simple and direct, and is something we are doing to change 
this body. It is a significant change, and we recognize that, but a 
most important change.
  Members offering extraneous matters on this--and that is always 
possible--should understand they are doing it in the face of what the 
9/11 Commission said: we have to do this. I hope Members would not come 
and offer amendments relating to extraneous matters.
  If there is something wrong with the amendment Senator McConnell and 
I sent to the desk, let us know. We have worked with a lot of folks. 
But we cannot go back to the way things were before. We cannot have a 
committee called the Department of Homeland Security and not have 
anything that deals with homeland security. We have to have a committee 
on homeland security that has the ability to oversee what is going on 
and have more homeland security for our country.
  The time is here. It seems logical that there will not be any votes 
tonight, but that is up to the leaders to announce. I repeat: This 
cannot go on forever. There has to come a time when people offer 
amendments. I hope that would happen before too long. We are here for 
business, Senator McConnell and I.
  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. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                        Little Rock Central High

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for something they 
have done not just for me or even for the city of Little Rock or the 
State of Arkansas but for the country. They are trying to help on a 
project we are working on, Little Rock Central High School.
  In 1957, the two biggest stories in the world that year were Sputnik 
and Little Rock Central High School because Little Rock was the first 
major southern school district to try to integrate their schools to try 
to follow the law as laid out in Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, 
KS, and to try with all deliberate speed to integrate their schools.
  They took that charge seriously and, as we all know, the situation 
there got chaotic and very difficult. There has been a lot written 
about it. It is one of the major milestones in the history of the 
struggle for civil rights in this country.
  In September of 2007, Little Rock Central will celebrate the 50th 
anniversary of the desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High. We 
all know the story of the Little Rock Nine--Ernest Green, Elizabeth 
Eckford, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown 
Trickey, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, Thelma Mothershed Wair, 
and Melba Pattillo Beals.
  We all know the story of these brave children who went into the 
lion's den, so to speak, to strike a blow against the old system of 
``separate but equal'' that was not working, and was fair. That was not 
right.
  They showed tremendous courage not just for themselves and their 
personal safety, but they led by example. It is very important we as a 
Nation honor them and honor Little Rock for making the effort, and 
honor the school for all the progress they made since 1957.
  Little Rock Central High School now is considered one of the best 
high schools in America. It has been an amazing success story. It shows 
how things can work when the community pulls together and tries to put 
difficulties of the past behind them.
  I could talk on and on about how proud I am of the Little Rock Nine 
and the way Little Rock has handled the situation, but today I thank 
Members of this Senate for their support of S. 420. It is critical to 
acknowledge what happened at Little Rock 47 years ago.
  I thank two Members of this body specifically who really helped get 
this on track: first, Conrad Burns, who is the Interior Subcommittee 
chairman; and then the ranking member on that subcommittee, Byron 
Dorgan. They have both been fantastic. Their staffs have helped. They 
have made arrangements for us to get $733,000 in this Interior 
appropriations bill in order to do the design phase of the new visitor 
center at Little Rock Central High School.
  Our goal is to try to have the visitor center completed and totally 
constructed and up and running by the September 2007 anniversary. But 
we could not have done this without Senator Burns and Senator Dorgan 
because they have shown a great deal of leadership. Also, I must say, 
Bruce Evans, Ric Molen, and Peter Kiefhaber, on their staffs, have been 
great to work with.
  Another group that Senator Lincoln and I both want to thank is the 
Congressional Black Caucus over on the House side. They have been 
fantastic. In fact, they have entered a sister resolution to this, and 
all 38 members of the Black Caucus signed on to the resolution. They 
have been great. Chairman Elijah Cummings has shown some great 
leadership on this issue, and it has brought hope to the civil rights 
community for this hopefully very positive celebration they will have 
in 2007.
  The last person I want to thank, who is always there working behind 
the scenes trying to get things done for his congressional district, is 
Congressman Vic Snyder. Vic Snyder has shown great leadership in this 
matter, as he does consistently in everything he does. He has worked 
behind the scenes and he has worked with all sides. He is doing 
everything he can to make sure this becomes a reality, again not just 
for his district or the State but really for the Nation.
  So, Mr. President, again, I thank everyone for their help and their 
support in what we are trying to do at Little Rock Central High School. 
I happen to have gone there. I am very proud of that school. It is a 
great landmark in the struggle for civil rights. The people in Arkansas 
decided to make Little Rock Central not stand for a negative but stand 
for a positive, stand for progress. It is something that certainly the 
community but also the State has rallied around. We are very proud of 
what they have done at Little Rock.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Chafee). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the pending 
amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate the pending 
     amendment on S. Res. 445, a resolution to eliminate certain 
     restrictions on service of a Senator on the Senate Select 
     Committee on Intelligence.
         Bill Frist, Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, John Cornyn, 
           Craig Thomas, Jim Inhofe, Mike Crapo, Conrad Burns, 
           Norm Coleman, Tom Daschle, Lamar Alexander, Jim Talent, 
           Wayne Allard, Gordon Smith, Larry Craig, Robert F. 
           Bennett, Pete Domenici, Susan Collins.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have hotlined in both cloakrooms all 
offices asking for an indication of how many amendments might be 
offered to the underlying resolution. Regretfully, it is roughly 50.
  I am authorized to say on behalf of the majority leader, it is our 
intention to wrap up business this week. We have no intention of trying 
to shut out any Senators who want to offer amendments. We had hoped 
some might come over tonight and offer them. We will certainly have all 
day tomorrow to deal with any and all amendments that Senators feel 
strongly about and on

[[Page 20986]]

which they would like to have votes. But we really must move the 
process along, and that is the reason the majority leader wished to 
file a cloture motion tonight.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Yes, I yield to my friend and colleague from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, around here, we do not often see cloture 
motions signed by all four leaders. This cloture motion does have four 
leaders. We are serious about completing this bill at the earliest 
possible date. It would be a travesty if, having just completed a very 
significant piece of legislation led by Senators Collins and Lieberman, 
we not do our share of the legislative reform that needs to be done.
  The cloture motion was filed with reluctance. No one wanted to do it. 
But with the 8th of October staring us in the face literally, we have 
no choice but to do this. I hope people tomorrow will recognize there 
will be an effort made to offer these amendments. At 1 o'clock 
tomorrow, all first-degree amendments must be filed. That is the rule.
  I hope people will come and discuss with us what problems they see 
with this amendment. We will be happy to work with them, but I think 
people should be ready to offer their amendments.
  We have taken what we thought needed to be done from the 10 
committees to give this committee, the homeland security committee, 
some strength. We hope people recognize that.
  I understand how people are concerned about maintaining the 
jurisdiction of what they have, but this is a time when people have to 
give up a little bit for the good of the country and for the good of 
the Senate.
  I totally support the cloture petition that was filed by the 
distinguished Senator from Kentucky on behalf of the two leaders 
because that is basically what happened.

                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a second cloture motion to the 
resolution to the desk as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:


                             Cloture Motion

       We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on S. Res. 445, a 
     resolution to eliminate certain restrictions on service of a 
     Senator on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

  Bill Frist, Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, John Cornyn, Craig Thomas, 
Jim Inhofe, Mike Crapo, Conrad Burns, Norm Coleman, Tom Daschle, Lamar 
Alexander, James Talent, Wayne Allard, Gordon Smith, Larry Craig, 
Robert F. Bennett, Pete Domenici, Susan Collins.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as my good friend from Nevada has 
indicated, we hope to process all of the amendments that Members of the 
Senate feel strongly about. We will be open for business on this 
resolution all day tomorrow, and there should be ample time to deal 
with all of the amendments that our colleagues feel strongly about and 
wish to offer.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I think everyone within the sound of our 
voices should understand the majority leader and minority leader were 
on the Senate floor and they both said we are going to stay here until 
we finish this, the Homeland Security conference report and the FSC tax 
bill. Those matters are going to be finished. If we can finish on 
Friday, we will be out of here. If we are finished on Saturday, we will 
be out of here. But the two leaders have said we are going to work to 
finish this legislation.
  We are dealing with Senators who know all the rules just as we do, 
but I will indicate that this is a little different time. We are trying 
to bring Congress to a close, at least this part of it. Everyone should 
understand the determination of the two leaders to move this matter 
forward and the other things that are going to come before the Senate.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the assistant Democratic leader has 
clearly outlined what the goal of the two leaders, both Republican and 
Democrat, are for the balance of this session before we adjourn for the 
election. We are hoping to complete all of those items no later than 
Friday.
  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. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________