[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10886-10892]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of S. 2766 which the clerk will 
report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
  A bill (S. 2766) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2007 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed 
Forces, and for other purposes.
  Pending:

       Warner (for Frist/Reid) amendment No. 4208, to express the 
     sense of Congress that the United States Armed Forces, the 
     intelligence community, and other agencies, as well as the 
     coalition partners of the United States and the Iraqi 
     Security Forces should be commended for their actions that 
     resulted in the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of 
     the al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist organization and the most 
     wanted terrorist in Iraq.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the time 
until 12:15 p.m. shall be equally divided between the Senator from 
Virginia, Mr. Warner, and the Senator from Michigan, Mr. Levin, or 
their designees.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sununu). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. LEVIN. Pursuant to the unanimous consent agreement which we 
adopted last night, it is my recollection that on the Democratic side 
we were going to be offering an amendment immediately following the 
pending Warner amendment.
  I stand corrected. Apparently there was an understanding on this, 
between myself and Senator Warner, which was not incorporated.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. An understanding but not a consent agreement.
  Mr. LEVIN. I thank the Presiding Officer. Pursuant to that 
understanding, then, I ask unanimous consent that the pending Warner 
amendment be temporarily laid aside so I can offer an amendment on 
behalf of Senator Lautenberg.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator is recognized.


                           Amendment No. 4205

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 4205, an amendment 
on behalf of Senator Lautenberg, and ask for its immediate 
consideration following the disposition of the Warner bipartisan 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Michigan (Mr. Levin) for Mr. Lautenberg, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 4205.

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

    (Purpose: To provide a temporary prohibition on an increase in 
 copayments required under the retail pharmacy system of the pharmacy 
             benefits program of the Department of Defense)

       At the end of subtitle A of title VII, add the following:

     SEC. 707. TEMPORARY PROHIBITION ON INCREASE IN COPAYMENTS 
                   UNDER RETAIL PHARMACY SYSTEM OF PHARMACY 
                   BENEFITS PROGRAM.

       Subsection (a)(6) of section 1074g of title 10, United 
     States Code, as amended by section 702(b) of this Act, is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subparagraph:
       ``(D) During the period beginning on April 1, 2006, and 
     ending on December 31, 2007, the cost sharing requirements 
     established under this paragraph for pharmaceutical agents 
     available through retail pharmacies covered by paragraph 
     (2)(E)(ii) may not exceed amounts as follows:
       ``(i) In the case of generic agents, $3.
       ``(ii) In the case of formulary agents, $9.
       ``(iii) In the case of nonformulary agents, $22.''.

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the President's budget proposes that the 
copays for prescriptions under the TRICARE Prescription Benefit Program 
be increased for our troops and their families and for retirees, and 
that the increase in the copays be, on the generic

[[Page 10887]]

prescriptions, from $3 to $5; on brand-name prescriptions from $9 to 
$15. The amendment that Senator Lautenberg is offering and that I very 
much support would freeze the current copays in place until December 
31, 2007.
  This is not the time, in the middle of a war, to be raising copays on 
our military personnel and their families. They should not have to 
worry about whether their families are going to be able to afford to 
buy prescription drugs. The copays that currently exist are not 
statutory, so the Department of Defense does not need legislative 
authority to increase them. They have their authority. The problem is 
that our bill is silent on this subject so they would be increasing the 
copay because there is no prohibition in our bill on their doing so.
  About 43 percent of the prescriptions filled through the TRICARE 
pharmacy benefits program are filled in retail pharmacies. The increase 
which the administration proposes would significantly increase 
beneficiary cost shares for medical care. Of course, the fear is not 
only that it would be additional money coming out of the pockets of our 
troops and their families, but also this increase would discourage 
beneficiaries from using their military health care benefit.
  The Department of Defense has estimated that the copayments would 
create additional revenue of $81 million in fiscal year 2007. They also 
believe beneficiaries would not use their military pharmacy benefits to 
the same extent and that would mean that there would be savings to the 
Government of $54 million and there would also be some savings if 
beneficiaries switch to mail order rather than retail pharmacies.
  I don't think we ought to be assuming savings or counting on savings 
coming out of the pockets of our troops and their families while we are 
at war. I think it is a totally inappropriate time to do so, so I 
support the Lautenberg amendment. For a soldier in combat, under these 
circumstances, the circumstances that exist these days, to have a worry 
that a spouse or children would not get needed prescriptions because of 
the administration's desire to save some money is simply 
unconscionable.
  The Senate bill directs a Comptroller General study of the DOD 
pharmacy benefit program to examine the cost and copayments structure 
of the program. We clearly ought to await that before we allow these 
copays to be increased as the administration budget proposes.
  I see my dear friend and colleague, Senator Warner, our chairman, on 
the floor now. We had an understanding that we would lay down this 
amendment this morning, that I would lay it down on behalf of Senator 
Lautenberg and speak briefly in support of it, and that after the 
disposition of the chairman's amendment, which is a bipartisan 
amendment, we would then come back to the Lautenberg amendment and at 
that point there would be additional debate--Senator Lautenberg would 
speak in support of his amendment and any others who wish to debate it 
would have an opportunity at that time.
  We thought, given our understanding last night, we would lay this 
amendment down at this time. I have just done so.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the distinguished ranking member, my good 
friend, the Senator from Michigan, is correct. We laid down an 
amendment on this side under the understanding this is the amendment 
that he selected to be laid down. I am just wondering if we can try to 
get some idea of the magnitude of the debate? I am not able to assess 
it on my side. I judge you are not. So we have some understanding of 
the time that is likely to be consumed in the debate--this is an 
important amendment--we will work on that together, in hopes we can get 
some time agreement and therefore we can then move on to other 
amendments.
  I would simply ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of the 
debate or the disposition of this amendment, that I be recognized to 
offer another amendment at that time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WARNER. I say to my distinguished colleague, it is my hope then 
we could alternate from side to side, so we could consider your 
amendment which would follow the third amendment, which I will put on.
  Mr. LEVIN. I appreciate that. That is fine with us.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask the time be 
equally divided.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the time allotted to the 
quorum call will be equally divided.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The remarks of Mr. Brownback are printed in today's Record under 
``Morning Business.'')
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I yield the floor.
  The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I yield such time as the distinguished 
Senator from Oklahoma may require. He will be speaking with regard to a 
very important trip to Iraq. It bears directly on the pending measure; 
that is, a resolution on the success of our military in eliminating al-
Zarqawi.
  I yield to the Senator such time as he desires.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Virginia, the 
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and also for the great 
job he has done in bringing this Defense authorization bill to the 
floor.
  Mr. President, on early Thursday morning, about 5:30, my radio alarm 
went off and I heard the three words--al-Zarqawi is dead. I think that 
affected me by just hearing that. I sat up in bed, and I thought it did 
work. It is happening. I told the distinguished chairman of the Senate 
Armed Services Committee that I have to go to Iraq.
  The two most significant things that have happened in Iraq since 
bringing down Saddam Hussein happened on the same date, coincidentally. 
It is just remarkable: first of all, bringing down al-Zarqawi, the 
monster, and at the same time confirming the ministers in Iraq. We 
thought that would be a long, enduring battle. It sailed through, and 
it happened on the same day.
  I can't tell you what a profound effect it had on the people of Iraq 
and on our troops over there. And now we find out about the surprise 
visit by the President. I figured out that our planes crossed on the 
way. I was coming back from Iraq and he was going to Iraq. If I had 
known that, I would have stayed. But it was a pretty well-guarded 
secret. Of the two places I spent most of my time, this one was where 
al-Zarqawi was actually killed, just a couple of miles north of Balad 
Air Force Base and then in Baghdad.
  It was such an incredible thing to be there after it happened and to 
talk to the different ministers. Defense Minister Jasim is the new 
Defense Minister, and he had a lot of things to say. In fact, he asked 
me to bring back this message for the American people. I am going to 
read this, because this came just a few hours ago from Defense Minister 
Jasim to me to take to the American people. He said:

       Tell them their sacrifice is for a very noble cause, they 
     have given freedom to 26 million people. I believe they are 
     waging a just war for humanity. The terrorism must be stopped 
     or it will spread all over the world, like a carbon copy of 
     fascism and communism. This is the first world war of the 
     21st century. The American victims have borne the price of a 
     freer world . . . We are very grateful . . . The war in Iraq 
     is a just war and we have no option but victory. It is not a 
     war that affects Iraq alone, but is truly a world war.
       The terrorists are a sickness that must be eliminated . . . 
     There is great transformation taking place in Iraq but the 
     international media does not focus on positive things 
     happening. They only focus on the negative, the bad things 
     happening . . . what the terrorists are doing . . . they will 
     publish anything bad . . . They try to say Americans are 
     leading the way and we the Iraqis are in the back. This is 
     the opposite. We are in the front and Americans are in the 
     back.
       We started with the multi-national forces in front and us 
     at back. Then we worked side by side as very good partners. 
     Now we are often in front and the multinational forces are in 
     a supporting role.

[[Page 10888]]

       Your presence here is very important. From the beginning to 
     now, we have always had an American partner. I am sad when my 
     American partner leaves me. But, when he leaves and returns 
     to the U.S. I feel we have a voice going back to America. I 
     fell in love with the American people.

  That is Abdul Jasim, who is the newly confirmed Minister of Defense. 
He said so many other things when we were there that I would like to 
share, but it is very difficult to do that because he was so emotional 
at the time.
  Well, this happened to be my 11th trip over to the Iraq AOR, and I 
have been watching, as the months have gone by--every other month or so 
being over there--and seeing the differences, seeing the changes that 
are taking place.
  Just to give you an example, one of the tests we use to determine how 
strong the Iraqi people are supporting us is the number of qualified 
tips that come in. The way they come in is where someone says, for 
example: There is a safe house over here. We suspect something. These 
are Iraqi people saying where the terrorists are. And those numbers of 
tips have increased tenfold in the last 12 months. I can remember when 
there were only 30 or 40 tips a month. There are now 5,000 tips a 
month, and they are qualified tips. Some of these tips led to not just 
bringing down al-Zarqawi but also some 17 others on the same day. So 
these things are going on. These things are happening.
  As to the quality of the Iraqi security forces, I think Minister of 
Defense Jasim is right. He sees that our media is not accurately 
reporting what is going on over there. How many people in America know 
that as of the current time, 75 percent of the special operations by 
Iraqis are actually led by Iraqis, not by Americans? We are leading 25 
percent. I remember when it was zero percent. Now, they are leading 75 
percent. And 62 of the 112 battalions are at level 2 or level 1. That 
means they are capable of going out and fighting. That is half of them.
  One of the statistics we got from Dr. Rubaie, who is the National 
Security Adviser--a real sharp guy and one who really has his hand on 
this--says 66 percent of the hospital beds are occupied by Americans 
and 34 percent by Iraqis. However, 66 percent of the surgeries are on 
Iraqis and 34 percent are on Americans. That kind of tells you what is 
happening over there and the change that is taking place. They are the 
ones who are doing it.
  While we were over in Balad, we had occasion to learn there were 
several attacks on Iraqis. Some 50 Iraqis were killed last night, and 
they were killed by the terrorists. Here is the important thing. 
Zarqawi was not an Iraqi; he was Jordanian. Osama bin Laden is not an 
Iraqi; he is Saudi. Now, this new guy, al-Muhajer, we don't know about 
him. All we know is he is not an Iraqi. In other words, this is a war 
being waged by people from outside of Iraq on the Iraqis, and the Iraqi 
people are very sensitive to it. They know it.
  It is interesting, one of the things the Minister of Defense said is 
that a lot of things are American issues, they are not really issues 
over there. For example, all we talk about in the media here is, well, 
we have the Shiites and the Sunnis, and they do not like each other. 
And he said that is not true at all. He said: We are Iraqis first, and 
then we are Sunnis or Shiites or Kurds second. To demonstrate that, 
there is a structure over there in Baghdad which is comparable to our 
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We stopped there. They had an honor guard 
there. The honor guard had nine people. They had one leader and eight 
others. When I asked him the question, through a translator: What about 
the problem that exists between the Shias and the Sunnis, he said: No, 
that is not true at all. He said: I am a Shia. My wife is Sunni. And I 
have been working on the honor guard with these people for several days 
here at our Unknown Soldier event, and I don't know who they are. I 
can't tell you who one of the eight is in terms of being a Sunni or a 
Shia.
  So those are American problems. Those are not things resonating over 
there. And the quality of what they have done in terms of being quality 
soldiers is something the American people are not aware of. I had 
occasion to be up in Fallujah back when the last election took place, 
and I was there when the Iraqi security forces actually were doing 
their thing, voting. They were taking their lives in their own hands by 
doing it because this is Fallujah, one of the most dangerous areas over 
there.
  They came back very proud. No one was killed while they were trying 
to do it. They came back and said: We are participating in an election. 
That was during the last election. Now everyone is confirmed. The 
government is in place. They know what they are doing. And the most 
recent thing, which you may not have heard of because it just happened, 
is that Dr. Rubaie, the National Security Adviser for the Iraqis, said 
he believes that in a matter of a very short period of time--by the end 
of the year--he will ask our troops to leave, except for 100,000. In 
other words, we are slowly bringing it down.
  We have heard in the field a lot of things you do not hear when there 
are hearings here in Washington, DC. If you go over there and you talk 
to the people on the ground, talk to the commanders on the ground, they 
have said for a long period of time that when we can get to the point 
where we have 10 Iraqi divisions of trained and qualified and equipped 
Iraqi security forces--10 divisions--then they will be able to take 
care of their own security. Well, the number that equates to 10 
divisions would equal 325,000 trained and equipped Iraqi troops. Well, 
we are right now, today, at 264,000 trained and equipped Iraqis.
  Now, some of the adversaries over here say they are not really 
trained to do a good job, they are not really good soldiers. Let me 
tell you, they are. All you have to do is talk to our soldiers who 
train them. Now they train themselves.
  Last week, I was over in Afghanistan, and they are doing a good job 
of training their own troops over there. And that model has worked very 
well in Iraq. So we are rapidly getting to that point. Will we be out 
altogether? No, we will not be out altogether, but they will be 
providing their own security. We still have troops in Kosovo and Bosnia 
and Sinai and other places but not providing the security. They will be 
providing their own security. We are getting so close to that point. 
What has happened in just the last few days is very significant.
  So as to al-Zarqawi, there is no one who has been a more brutal 
terrorist than he has been. He was the No. 1 terrorist in the world, 
and he is down now. Al-Zarqawi was the one responsible for the 
assassination of our U.S. diplomat, Lawrence Foley, in 2002. We all 
remember the horrific things we saw: the beheading of Nicholas Berg in 
2004--that was al-Zarqawi--the 2005 bombing of three hotels in Jordan, 
the countless bombings and terrorist attacks against U.S. forces and 
Iraqi civilians. He was trying to create a sectarian civil war in Iraq 
by murdering Shiites and acting as al-Qaida's commander in Iraq. Osama 
bin Laden called him the ``Prince.'' I think most people considered 
him, if anything, to have been even worse than Osama bin Laden. So that 
was a great change. That was a great victory for the coalition forces, 
but, more importantly, it was a victory for the Iraqi people.
  So with these things happening--and you look at the good side that 
you do not get sometimes in the media--there are 18 provinces in Iraq, 
and 15 of them are relatively secure. There are hardly any incidents 
taking place there. Most of the problems are in just three of them. And 
keep in mind, these are not Iraqi terrorists; these are outsiders who 
are coming in. They are having a harder and harder time recruiting 
people to carry out their terrorist activities. We have found that 
recently they are actually changing their homicide vests for suicide 
vests so they can put them on individuals and force Iraqis to go and 
perform certain acts. And if they do not do it, they can, remotely, 
detonate and blow that Iraqi up.
  So things like that are happening right now. At the same time, good 
things are happening with the administration. The government is in 
place. I cannot tell you how impressed I was personally with Dr. 
Rubaie. I have

[[Page 10889]]

known him for a long period of time. And I would say that the Defense 
Minister, Abdul Jasim, has already acknowledged, from the quotes I have 
given, that he is one of our very best friends. He is the one who said 
al-Zarqawi was suffering from the same disease as Hitler and Stalin, 
and he is one who is going to finish the job that we helped them with 
in the beginning.
  I would say this is a time when good things are happening, and we 
feel very good about the progress the Iraqi security forces are making, 
very good about the constitutional government that is in place, very 
good about the new Ministers who have been confirmed now. And we are 
light-years ahead of where we were only 6 months ago.
  So this, what I have characterized as probably America being in the 
most threatened position we have been in in our history, is now showing 
that we are at the core of the terrorist activities, which is in Iraq. 
We are now winning. The Iraqi people are winning. So I feel very good 
about that.
  Let me say to Senator Warner, the chairman of our committee, I am 
very proud of the bill we have put together. I have some amendments, 
and I will want to be recognized at the appropriate time to bring them 
up.
  I ask the Senator, do you have other people coming down wanting time 
right now?
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, at the present time the bill is being 
amended by the amendment which you just addressed, and there is a 
pending amendment offered by the minority. That is the next order of 
business. This afternoon, I think there would be opportunity for 
additional amendments.
  Mr. INHOFE. That would be good. I thought maybe I could describe what 
amendment would be coming and why.
  Mr. WARNER. If the Senator so desires.
  But, Mr. President, I first inquire as to the allocation of time on 
the pending measure.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. At this time, the majority controls an 
additional 11 minutes, the minority controls 23 minutes.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. WARNER. If the Senator would like to take a minute or two, I 
would be happy to have you alert the Senate as to some of the matters 
you will be bringing up.
  Mr. INHOFE. No. I say to the distinguished chairman of the Armed 
Services Committee, this amendment is very significant, and I will have 
ample opportunity to explain it. Hopefully, we can do that this 
afternoon.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask 
unanimous consent that the time be charged equally to both sides.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The time 
will be charged equally.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WARNER. 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. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Sessions be added as a cosponsor of amendment No. 4208.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, to return to the pending amendment offered 
by myself on behalf of the joint leadership of the Senate, this 
bipartisan amendment commends basically the U.S. Armed Forces, the 
intelligence community, and other agencies, along with coalition 
partners for the actions taken on June 7, 2006, that resulted in the 
death of Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. The military 
operation that resulted in the death of Zarqawi was truly an 
extraordinarily professional accomplishment of the combined U.S. and 
coalition forces and the infrastructure of intelligence, both civilian 
and military, that supported the operation. It displayed the precision, 
perseverence, and professionalism of our Armed Forces, supported by a 
sophisticated and superb intelligence apparatus that included U.S., 
Iraqi, and coalition intelligence organizations.
  Behind the details that were made public so far, I assure all that 
there were months of coordinated hard work by analysts, human 
intelligence operatives, special operations forces, and military 
planners which were in place at the time various pieces of information 
with a precise direction to the whereabouts of Zarqawi came into the 
knowledge of the intelligence operators.
  The death of Zarqawi is certainly a significant blow to the terrorist 
network in Iraq, Osama bin Laden's international network, and the al-
Qaida organization wherever they lurk in the world today in the shadows 
of death and destruction to the freedom of others. At Camp David 
yesterday the President was very careful to, with a sense of deep 
humility, commend the men and women of the Armed Forces and others who 
performed this mission, but he put the results of the mission in the 
context of the realities of the situation in Iraq. The press today 
reports from Camp David the following by the President:

       Zarqawi is dead, but the difficult and necessary mission in 
     Iraq continues. We can expect the terrorists and insurgents 
     to carry on without him. We can expect sectarian violence to 
     continue. Yet the ideology of terror has lost one of its most 
     visible and aggressive leaders.

  I will have further comments today with regard to that important 
conference in Camp David. Zarqawi was the most prominent insurgent in 
Iraq and the most active of any of Bin Laden's affiliates around the 
globe. While Bin Laden hides in mountain caves capable of making 
occasional audio tapes, Zarqawi was working to trigger a civil war, 
disrupt the newly unified democratic process of the new unity 
Government in Iraq, and then use Iraq as a base to launch attacks 
throughout the region. There is proof of that intent by Zarqawi. This 
amendment proudly salutes the brave and professional work of our 
military forces as well as the formidable efforts of our military, 
civilian, and allied intelligence operations for our efforts to end 
this brutal reign of terror.
  The operation that resulted in the death of Zarqawi was not an 
isolated act. It triggered 56 more raids against targets connected with 
Zarqawi's organization in the 48 hours after his death as U.S., 
coalition, and Iraqi forces capitalized on this mission by taking 
action to disrupt other parts of the al-Qaida network. This amendment 
also commends our coalition partners in Iraq's new government of 
national unity for their invaluable assistance in the operation and 
their extraordinary efforts to secure a free and prosperous Iraq. The 
amendment closes by most appropriately commending our civilian 
leadership, from the Commander in Chief on down, and military 
leadership for their continuing efforts to eliminate the leadership of 
al-Qaida in Iraq and elsewhere. In all, this was a very successful 
joint and combined military operation. This mission was planned and 
executed by talented and courageous Americans, Iraqis, and coalition 
partners.
  They all had one purpose--to eventually make Iraq safe and secure.
  The operation that resulted in the death of Zarqawi may have eclipsed 
a very significant political development, the appointment of Ministers 
of Defense and the Interior, thereby ending weeks of political debate 
and completing the formation of Iraq's first permanent unity 
government. The death of Zarqawi and the appointment of these two 
Ministers are two very significant events in our unrelenting effort, 
with the coalition forces, toward a free and prosperous Iraq. While 
Iraq's insurgency and its divisions along religious lines will not 
easily recede, the death of Zarqawi and the complete formation of 
Iraq's government of national unity are reasons for renewed confidence 
that 2006 is a period of transition in Iraq and that our objectives are 
achievable.
  I point that out because a year ago when we considered this bill, I, 
together with Senator Levin, put in an

[[Page 10890]]

amendment which outlined the progress that had to be made in 2006. 
These are chapters toward achieving the goal we stated in that 
amendment which was part of our bill last year.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Burr). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WARNER. 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. WARNER. Mr. President, I see one of our distinguished colleagues 
seeking recognition for an important set of comments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
  (The remarks of Mr. Kohl are printed in today's Record under 
``Morning Business.'')
  Mr. WARNER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  Without objection, the time will be divided equally.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. 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. LEVIN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in first thanking the 
men and women of our military services who were responsible for the 
myriad of actions that were taken years ago that led to the ultimate 
elimination of such a vicious terrorist as Zarqawi. We also thank the 
men and women of our military services who are serving multiple tours 
of duty in arduous and dangerous locations with great personal 
sacrifice and great disruption in their lives and those of their family 
members.
  The killing of Zarqawi is very welcome news. It is not the panacea 
for addressing the extreme levels of violence in Iraq or for solving 
the large number of vexing issues--and the President has acknowledged 
as much--but it is an important step and one that will reduce the 
influence of al-Qaida in Iraq. He was responsible for a number of 
spectacular terrorist attacks that produced a large number of 
casualties and grizzly murders of kidnap victims. Zarqawi, while not 
the dominant part of the insurgency but a part of it, needed to be 
attacked and needed to be addressed. The insurgency, however, primarily 
is made up of disaffected Iraqi Sunnis. Zarqawi played a role in 
stirring up ethnic conflict between the Sunnis and the Shiites. Much of 
the violence relating to that conflict is traced to the reaction of 
Shiite militias to the Sunni insurgency and to, of course, their 
reaction to the Shiite militias. Our security forces need to confront 
those militias and the other armed groups.
  I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to proceed for 1 additional 
minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, there needs to be a political solution in 
addition to the military force which is present. Indeed, probably a 
more important event than the killing of Zarqawi was the selection by 
the Prime Minister and the ratification by the Iraqi Council of 
Representatives of the key ministries, Defense and Interior, and the 
National Security Adviser. Those vacancies lasted too long. Their 
filling, hopefully with people who have the support of all the Iraqi 
people who want Iraq to become a nation, is even a more important step 
than the killing of Zarqawi, as important as that step is.
  As we all support--hopefully unanimously--this bipartisan amendment 
which is before us, we also need to recognize that there is critical 
work that remains to be done, and while this is a step toward, 
hopefully, a direction of Iraqi nationhood, most of the steps remain to 
be taken.
  While Senator Durbin is on the floor, I ask unanimous consent that 
immediately after the disposition of the next amendment of Senator 
Warner, Senator Durbin then be recognized, as we are alternating 
amendments, by my understanding.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I concur in that recommendation, and it is 
my hope that I can be a cosponsor on this side of the aisle because the 
amendment is very important.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 4208

  Mr. LEVIN. The pending amendment, Mr. President, as I understand it, 
is the amendment of Senator Warner on behalf of Senator Frist, Senator 
Reid, and myself.
  Mr. WARNER. That is correct.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Senate will vote today to commend the 
U.S. Armed Forces for their efforts in Iraq. I will support this 
amendment, as I have supported other amendments and resolutions to 
commend our military personnel serving overseas for their service and 
commitment. I oppose the policy that sent our troops to Iraq, but I 
stand by our servicemen and servicewomen 100 percent.
  However, I am concerned that the amendment may have unintended 
consequences. Previous statements that boast of substantial victories 
in Iraq have been proven wrong at the cost of American lives. Declaring 
victory because of the elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi could be a 
costly mistake. I agree with the President's comment on June 9, 2006, 
in which he said, ``I don't want the American people to think that a 
war is won with the death of one person.''
  Our troops are still facing daily attacks in Iraq. I thank them for 
their service, and I am particularly proud of the efforts of the West 
Virginia National Guard in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other locations 
around the world. Instead of seeking a lofty sounding but largely 
meaningless resolution from the Congress, the President should instead 
be working to send Congress a plan to start bringing our troops home 
with the honor and the thanks they have earned from this grateful 
Nation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the hour of 12:15 
p.m. having arrived, the Senate will proceed to a vote on amendment No. 
4208.
  Mr. LEVIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 
4208.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senator was necessarily absent: The 
Senator from Nevada (Mr. Ensign).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Ensign) 
would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Menendez) and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are 
necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from New 
Jersey (Mr. Menendez) would vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 168 Leg.]

                                YEAS--97

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Dayton
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez

[[Page 10891]]


     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Salazar
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Ensign
     Menendez
     Rockefeller
  The amendment (No. 4208) was agreed to.
  Mr. WARNER. I move to reconsider the vote and I move to lay that 
motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am anxious to consult with the 
distinguished ranking member of the committee here, so, for the moment, 
I will just ask for a quorum call before I put in the unanimous consent 
request.
  Mr. President, I withdraw that request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 4211

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, at this time I send to the desk an 
amendment. It has been agreed upon between the ranking member and that 
I would be recognized for the purpose of an amendment following the 
disposition of the Lautenberg amendment. So at this time I send an 
amendment to the desk and ask for its consideration following the 
disposition of the Lautenberg amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendment will 
be set aside and the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) proposes and 
     amendment numbered 4211.

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

 (Purpose: To name the CVN-78 aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Gerald Ford)

       At the end of subtitle B of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1013. NAMING OF CVN-78 AIRCRAFT CARRIER AS THE U.S.S. 
                   GERALD FORD.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Gerald R. Ford has served his country with honor and 
     distinction for the past 64 years, and continues to serve.
       (2) Gerald R. Ford joined the United States Naval Reserve 
     in 1942 and served valiantly at sea on the U.S.S. Monterey 
     (CVL-26) during World War II, taking part in major operations 
     in the Pacific, including at Makin Island, Kwajalein, Truk, 
     Saipan, and the Philippine Sea.
       (3) The U.S.S. Monterey earned 10 battle stars, awarded for 
     participation in battle, while Gerald R. Ford served on the 
     vessel.
       (4) Gerald R. Ford was first elected to the House of 
     Representatives in 1948.
       (5) In the course of 25 years of service in the House of 
     Representatives, Gerald R. Ford distinguished himself by his 
     exemplary record for character, decency, and trustworthiness.
       (6) Throughout his service in Congress, Gerald R. Ford was 
     an ardent proponent of strong national defense and 
     international leadership by the United States.
       (7) From 1965 to 1973, Gerald R. Ford served as minority 
     leader of the House of Representatives, raising the standard 
     for bipartisanship in his tireless fight for freedom, hope, 
     and justice.
       (8) In 1973, Gerald R. Ford was appointed by President 
     Nixon to the office of Vice President of the United States 
     with the overwhelming support of Congress.
       (9) From 1974 to 1976, Gerald R. Ford served as the 38th 
     President of the United States, taking office during one of 
     the most challenging periods in the history of the United 
     States and restoring the faith of the people of the United 
     States in the office of the President through his steady 
     leadership, courage, and ultimate integrity.
       (10) President Gerald R. Ford helped restore the prestige 
     of the United States in the world community by working to 
     achieve peace in the Middle East, preserve detente with the 
     Soviet Union, and set new limits on the spread of nuclear 
     weapons.
       (11) President Gerald R. Ford served as Commander in Chief 
     of the Armed Forces of the United States with great dignity, 
     supporting a strong Navy and a global military presence for 
     the United State and honoring the men and women of the Armed 
     Forces of the United States.
       (12) Since leaving the office of President, Gerald R. Ford 
     has been an international ambassador of American goodwill, a 
     noted scholar and lecturer, a strong supporter of human 
     rights, and a promoter of higher education.
       (13) Gerald R. Ford was awarded the Medal of Freedom and 
     the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999 in recognition of his 
     contribution to the Nation.
       (14) As President, Gerald R. Ford bore the weight of a 
     constitutional crisis and guided the Nation on a path of 
     healing and restored hope, earning forever the enduring 
     respect and gratitude of the Nation.
       (b) Naming of CVN-78 Aircraft Carrier.--CVN-78, a nuclear 
     powered aircraft carrier of the Navy, shall be named the 
     U.S.S. Gerald Ford.

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the scheduled 
recess today be extended to 3:30 p.m., further that the cloture vote on 
the nomination of Richard Stickler be vitiated and at 3:30 p.m. the 
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the conference report 
to accompany H.R. 4939, the emergency supplemental appropriations bill.
  Mr. BYRD. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. I wonder if my friend from Massachusetts, who was engaged 
when that request was made, has anything in response?
  Mr. KENNEDY. Would the Senator be kind enough to vitiate the consent? 
I had talked to the leader and the concern--reserving the right to 
object--was if we vitiated this, the administration would go ahead and 
have a recess appointment. We understand we have the signing of the 
Mine Safety Act on Thursday. This was a real coming together, a 
bipartisan effort. The President is supporting it. It passed 
overwhelmingly in the House. It is a very important bill and will make 
a big difference. It has the support of the families.
  We were at least looking for some opportunity, if it was going to be 
the position of the administration to go ahead and recess-appoint it--
we wanted at least some assurance that we would have a chance to have 
the cloture vote prior to the time of the appointment. That is 
basically what we were looking at.
  We have no objection to following the leaders, to vitiate this, but 
there is concern that we have vitiating this particular amendment. We 
understand even if we do or do not get cloture, the President could 
still have a recess appointment. But nonetheless, for those who feel 
very strongly about this nominee, at least at this point we are able to 
get a vote in one way or the other prior to the time of a recess 
appointment. It was that particular position that we did not want to 
give up.
  Just so the Senator has some understanding about what we are looking 
for, we want to work with the leadership. As the Senator knows, there 
is a constitutional issue whether you can appoint during the short 
recess, which would be the Fourth of July recess. More often than not 
it is done in the August recess, which is well down the road, and we 
have the pending business which is of great importance to this.
  We are glad to work with the leadership. If we could have the 
assurances from the Senator from Virginia that he understands our 
position and will make a good-faith effort to at least give us the 
opportunity--maybe the leadership doesn't want to give us that 
opportunity. That is what our position is, those who feel strongly 
about the Stickler nomination.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I say to my good friend from Massachusetts 
and my distinguished colleague from West Virginia, I am not at 
liberty--I have no instructions from my leadership beyond propounding 
this. It was my understanding it was cleared on both sides. I assumed 
that when it was handed to me, and therefore I proceeded to request by 
unanimous consent these actions.
  I think Members are anxious to go to a series of events now, namely 
the party caucuses, followed by the traditional photograph, and then 
there is a briefing at 2:30 by the Secretaries of State and Defense, 
which I believe is very important for Senators to have the opportunity 
to attend.
  That is the purpose of this unanimous consent request.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Would the Senator just defer and offer this maybe when

[[Page 10892]]

we come right back in? Let's just work this out.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the Senator has the right to object. That 
would do it. I can certainly say that I will relay the Senator's 
concerns to my leader. If that would suffice for the moment to allow 
this unanimous consent agreement to go forward? Would that be 
sufficient?
  Mr. KENNEDY. Yes. I think we will be able to work this out. We want 
to. We have every desire to try to work it out. We would just like some 
assurances from the leader that our position will----
  Mr. WARNER. I have just been given a note indicating the leader will 
be fully briefed about the concerns of the Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. BYRD. Will the Senator yield, whoever has the floor?
  Mr. WARNER. Yes, I believe, I say to the distinguished former leader, 
I have the floor, but I yield the floor to him.
  Mr. BYRD. I simply thank the very distinguished Senator from Virginia 
for his response to the request and his willingness to withhold his 
unanimous consent request for the time being. I thank him.
  Mr. WARNER. I propound the unanimous consent request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection to the unanimous consent 
request?
  Mr. BYRD. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia reserves the 
right to object. Does he in fact object?
  Mr. WARNER. You have my full attention.
  Mr. BYRD. I am only reserving the right to object. I hope we would 
have just a little while to talk about this. I am very much opposed to 
this. But I read the tea leaves very well. If the Senator would just 
desist for the time being, please?
  Mr. WARNER. If it is the desire of the Senator from West Virginia to 
object, I respect that right. The matter will now be put aside, if that 
is your desire.
  Mr. BYRD. I thank the Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority leader.
  Mr. REID. I am sorry I was not on the floor. I thought we had this 
all worked out. It is my understanding there are people who want to go 
forward with the cloture vote, is that right? Because either we do the 
cloture vote at 3:30 or we take it off. The majority leader has told me 
that we take it off and he has the ability to reset it at any time he 
chooses or we have the vote at 3:30. It is as simple as that.
  Mr. KENNEDY. If the Senator will yield, what we were looking for is 
that--we are glad to take it off. But we were hopeful, if it was going 
to be the desire to go ahead with a recess appointment, whenever that 
was, we at least have an opportunity to have this vote sometime in the 
future. If they are not going to have the recess appointment, this 
disappears. But I hope we would have that opportunity at the present 
time. I do not think that is an unreasonable request, if it is the 
desire of the administration to move ahead with this nominee with a 
recess appointment, that at least we come back to where we are now and 
would have some opportunity to express ourselves. We would be giving 
that up if we just vitiate the whole thing. He could say we are going 
to go ahead and he is going to appoint him as a recess appointment 
during the July break or sometime in the August break. That is the 
dilemma that we are in.
  Mr. REID. I have spoken to the majority leader. I hate to be speaking 
for him here, but he is not here. The majority leader said he has not 
spoken to anybody about a recess appointment. He doesn't know if they 
have any intention of doing that. He doesn't know. But he doesn't want 
to be constrained, so it would be my suggestion we just go ahead at 
3:30, then, because doing anything other than that I think puts the 
majority leader in a real bind. I am willing to put him in a bind but 
not for anything that is my cause.
  I suggest we withdraw the unanimous consent request and go ahead with 
a vote at 3:30, if people are demanding there be some conditions on 
taking away the vote. The unanimous consent request, as I understand 
it, is that the vote would be vitiated and the leader would reset that 
vote at any time he chose fit. Certainly the distinguished Senators 
from West Virginia and Massachusetts can talk to the majority leader, 
if they want to do that, following the vote being vitiated.
  But unless there is an agreement on this unanimous consent request, 
basically that the vote scheduled for 3:30 today be vitiated and we go 
to the conference report on the emergency supplemental--if that is not 
the agreement, then I assume we would go to the vote at 3:30 and go to 
the supplemental at some later time.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, it seems to me that we could have the 
certainty, then, if the vote is to be held, that we could go 
immediately following the vote to the supplemental.
  Mr. REID. That was discussed. I am not ready to do that.
  Mr. WARNER. Then I think for the moment that we are confronted with 
the parliamentary situation whereby there is objection.
  Mr. REID. I ask the Chair, what time is the vote set for?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The vote is set for 2:30, with an hour of 
debate.
  Mr. REID. The reason that is very awkward is because we have 
Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Rice coming here, and to have a knock-
down, drag-out debate on this at this time doesn't seem to be very good 
for the body because it is reported that the President is on the way 
back from Iraq. I think we should go ahead with that schedule, which 
was to vitiate this vote, but we got wound up somehow in recess 
appointments the majority leader and I have never talked about. As I 
said to the floor and to the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts, 
he has not spoken to anybody about a recess appointment.
  I ask the Senator from Massachusetts and the Senator from West 
Virginia: Do we go ahead with the schedule as we have it laid out, that 
at 2:30 p.m. we start the vote on Stickler, and those who want to be 
here for the debate on Stickler could do that, and those who want to go 
to the Rice-Rumsfeld hearing can do that?
  Mr. KENNEDY. That is satisfactory.
  Mr. REID. There is no unanimous consent request that we come here at 
2:30 to start the debate on Stickler, and there will be a vote at 3:30.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Virginia withdraw his 
unanimous consent request?
  Mr. WARNER. No. Leave the unanimous consent request there. I 
understand there is objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the unanimous consent 
request?
  Mr. KENNEDY. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts objects.

                          ____________________