[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17726-17727]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to give my support to the 
2007 Defense appropriations bill which passed the Senate last week by a 
unanimous vote of 98 to 0. The bill provides $469.7 billion in 
discretionary spending authority for the Department of Defense and will 
supply critical funding to many Connecticut defense companies that 
provide our Nation's military with the cutting edge technology, 
weaponry, and equipment it needs.
  It includes $2.5 billion for the construction of another Virginia 
class submarine, which will be built at Connecticut's submarine base in 
New London. It also includes $54 million for

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submarine research. This funding will support the significant work of 
our submarine designers and engineers in New London and will enable 
important cost-cutting improvements to the Virginia class. Eight 
million dollars of that funding is targeted for advanced submarine 
research, which will allow our designers and engineers in New London to 
begin the early steps of designing a new class of nuclear attack 
submarines. In aircraft procurement, the bill contains funding for 12 
additional Black Hawk helicopters for a total of 94 aircraft and 12 C-
17 transport aircraft, also produced in Connecticut. Finally, I am 
particularly heartened by the inclusion of funding for several of our 
smaller defense companies and contractors in Connecticut, which provide 
our troops with sophisticated technological support. Fuel cell 
development, sonar technology, clotting agents for troops wounded in 
battle, mobile military health units, and laser machine tool systems 
are all products of the high-tech defense industry in Connecticut, and 
I am proud that I was able to secure funding for this burgeoning sector 
of my State's economy.
  There were several important amendments proposed to the Defense 
appropriations bill. Senator Kennedy offered an amendment that would 
have required the Pentagon to provide information about whether a civil 
war has developed in Iraq as part of the Defense Department's already 
mandated quarterly reports. Senator Menendez's proposed amendment 
prohibited the use of funds for a public relations program designed to 
monitor news media in the United States and the Middle East to create a 
database of news stories to promote positive coverage of the Iraq war. 
Both of these amendments were prevented from being considered 
explicitly by procedural votes on the Senate floor. If I had voted on 
those motions, I would have supported both amendments, which would have 
meant voting against both motions to table. Unfortunately, both 
amendments were set aside, and my vote would not have changed the 
procedural outcome in either instance, nor prevented their defeat in a 
party-line vote.
  As I have stated earlier, I will be spending much of my time before 
the November election in Connecticut. I believe it is important for me 
to spend time with people in Connecticut, listening to their ideas and 
concerns. These next 2 months will provide me with a good opportunity 
to learn more about their views on how we can move forward to solving 
our Nation's most pressing problems. That being said, I plan to return 
to the Senate for votes when my presence is a deciding factor and 
important committee business in which my participation is crucial. The 
task of representation is truly a two-way street, and I value those 
times, such as during campaigns, when citizens and their elected 
representatives can engage in a democratic dialogue. I am looking 
forward to continuing to participate in that process and also 
continuing to represent the people of Connecticut in the U.S. Senate.

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