[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12447-12449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




G.V. ``SONNY'' MONTGOMERY NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL 
                               YEAR 2007

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, with respect to H.R. 5122, Calendar Order 
No. 431, the House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for fiscal year 2007, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate turn 
to its immediate consideration, that all after the enacting clause be 
stricken and the text of S. 2766, as passed, be submitted in lieu 
thereof, that the bill be advanced to third reading and passed, and 
that the Senate insist on its amendment to the bill and agree to or 
request a conference, as appropriate, with the House on the disagreeing 
votes of the two Houses and the Chair be authorized to appoint 
conferees; that the motion to reconsider the above-mentioned votes be 
laid upon the table; and that the foregoing occur without intervening 
action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill (H.R. 5122), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER appointed Senators Warner, McCain, Inhofe, 
Roberts, Sessions, Collins, Ensign, Talent, Chambliss, Graham, Dole, 
Cornyn, Thune, Levin, Kennedy, Byrd, Lieberman, Reed of Rhode Island, 
Akaka, Nelson of Florida, Nelson of Nebraska, Dayton, Bayh, and Clinton 
conferees on the part of the Senate.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, with respect to 
S. 2766 and 2767, 2768, and 2769, just passed by the Senate, that if 
the Senate receives a message with respect to any of these bills from 
the House of Representatives, the Senate disagree with the House on its 
amendment or amendments to the Senate-passed bill and agree to or 
request a conference, as appropriate, with the House on the disagreeing 
votes of the two Houses, that the Chair be authorized to appoint 
conferees; and that the foregoing occur without intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I again thank all of our colleagues in the 
Chamber, the floor staff, and so many others, indeed our new group of 
pages, indeed, the distinguished professional staff who are at the dais 
this moment, none of them looking at me or paying any attention to what 
I say, may I express my profound appreciation to them and to the many 
reporters who come silently, do their work and disappear with equal 
silence, unnoticed, but who provide this great body with a flawless 
record of accuracy. I thank each and every one.
  If there is no other Senator seeking recognition, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5 
minutes, followed by Senator Talent and following that, as much time as 
Senator Byrd might consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise today to thank the distinguished 
Senator from Virginia, Mr. Warner, and Senator Levin of Michigan for 
their leadership in getting this legislation passed and for accepting 
language from legislation that I have sponsored, the National Guard 
Equipment Accountability Act, and making it part of the Defense 
authorization bill we just passed. They have done an outstanding job 
managing this legislation on the floor.
  I also thank the Senator from Delaware, Mr. Biden, the Senator from 
Connecticut, Mr. Dodd, and the cochair of the Senate National Guard 
Caucus, Mr. Leahy, who also cosponsored this important legislation.
  As a nation, we have a solemn duty to honor, prepare and properly 
equip all the men and women in uniform. The

[[Page 12448]]

National Guard and Reserve are an essential part of our national 
defense, and confronting our enemies in distant lands is one of their 
obligations. Responding to threats here at home is another. In 
Washington State, the threats of volcanos, tsunamis, and other natural 
disasters are never far from our minds. We are aware of our porous 
northern border and the threat that poses to our safety and security. 
We know that the National Guard is not only the first line of response 
but also the first line of defense. Whether it is Mount St. Helens or 
floods or a variety of issues, we know the National Guard in Washington 
State has been there when we need them most.
  They do more than just preserve our security at home. Thousands of 
National Guard members are currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan--
in fact, there are about 500 members of the Washington National Guard 
deployed overseas. All of those serving in the National Guard make 
great sacrifices. They accept enormous responsibilities to help us. We 
owe it to them to make sure their missions are successful and that 
National Guard members have the resources they need to execute their 
missions.
  Right now, I want to make sure we are upholding our part of the 
bargain. When our Reserves and National Guard are deployed on 
operations overseas, they are deployed with equipment from their unit. 
They go to their mission with the tools that they have trained with--
familiar humvees, radios, trucks, whatever it takes to make them 
successful. While they serve abroad, their equipment actually becomes 
part of the greater mission. As a result, when these men and women 
return home to places like Camp Murray, their equipment often does not 
return with them. It is left behind, helping other Guard units complete 
their portion of the mission and to fill in where there are gaps in 
supplies. The problem is that we have no plan to help the National 
Guard and Reserve units deal with the loss of that equipment. These 
returning units are left underequipped and lacking the equipment 
necessary for continued training for their next deployments.
  That is why I offered this language to make sure that we are taking 
care of this shortfall. According to the Department of Defense, the 
Army National Guard has left more than 75,000 items valued at $1.7 
billion overseas in ongoing operations. So that is why this language 
was so important to add to the Defense bill.
  Last October, the Government Accountability Office found that at the 
time the Army, in leaving this equipment and resources behind, did not 
have a replacement plan. So specifically my amendment codifies language 
telling the Department of Defense to provide our men and women in 
uniform with the protection and resources they deserve. The language 
requires a tracking system of all this equipment and for a replacement 
plan to make sure that these men and women get the equipment they need 
in the theaters of operation, when they return home--enabling them to 
plan ahead for their next mission.
  Finally, my amendment would also require a memorandum of 
understanding, specifying exactly how equipment will be tracked and 
when it will be returned. This will help our National Guard and Reserve 
units plan ahead for future obligations and missions. Given the current 
equipment situation and aggressive use of our National Guard, I believe 
it is critical that we have them fully equipped for both their missions 
at home and abroad.
  Again, I thank the Senators for helping to get this language into the 
Defense authorization bill. Our soldiers, our Active Duty, our Reserve 
units, and the men and women of the Guard have chosen to stand and 
serve our country with pride and to sacrifice and accept enormous 
responsibility. We, too, have the responsibility of giving them the 
resources they need to fulfill their mission. I know this legislation 
will help them do so.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from West Virginia for 
allowing me to go ahead of him for a moment or two. I do want to take a 
few minutes to talk about an amendment which I cosponsored with Senator 
Nelson of Florida that passed the Senate in the Defense bill and that 
addresses a problem which has been growing and which is affecting the 
readiness of our Armed Forces.
  The fact is, predatory payday lenders are targeting American troops 
and are trying to make a buck off of their service to our country. We 
rely on the military to protect us, and we have just taken a 
significant step to protect them from predatory lenders. The Nelson-
Talent amendment limits the annual percentage rate that payday lenders 
can charge soldiers and their spouses to 36 percent or about 1\1/2\ to 
2 times what credit cards typically charge. I recognize that payday 
lending can be a risky business, but a triple-digit interest rate, 
which is commonly charged today, is simply too much.
  Some estimate that the average APR on a payday loan today is over 400 
percent, and there have been reports of payday loans with more than 800 
percent interest rates. This is a national problem. Predatory payday 
lenders set up shop near our military bases throughout the country and 
prey on our servicemembers. We know about this problem in Missouri. We 
have the unfortunate distinction of having a relatively large number 
and high density of payday lenders around our largest military base, 
Fort Leonard Wood, in Pulaski County. It is a great base with a lot of 
service men and women in it. As a result, there are a lot of payday 
lenders around. St. Robert, which is a small gateway town near the 
base, only has 5,200 residents but has eight payday lenders. Examples 
such as St. Robert led professors at the University of Florida and 
California State University to say that ``irrefutable geographic 
evidence demonstrates that payday lenders are actively and aggressively 
targeting U.S. military personnel.'' Military families pay an estimated 
$80 million annually in payday loan fees.
  The problem not only affects military families' financial well-being, 
it directly impacts troop readiness because these young men and women, 
many of whom are just out of high school, are not financially 
sophisticated and fall way behind in these payments. They have to go 
bankrupt, and then that affects their ability to get security 
clearances.
  In this month's issue of Seapower magazine, Admiral Mike Mullen, 
Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy, said, ``A sailor's financial 
readiness directly impacts unit readiness and the navy's ability to 
accomplish its mission . . . I am concerned with the number of sailors 
who are taken advantage of by predatory lending practices, the most 
common of which is the payday loan.''
  The Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Community and 
Family Policy, John Molino, has also said this problem ``affects unit 
readiness.''
  Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Terry Scott, has said ``the 
No. 1 reason our sailors are forced from one job to another is because 
they lose their security clearance . . . and the No. 1 reason they lose 
their security clearance is because of financial difficulties.''
  The number of security clearances of sailors and marines that were 
revoked or denied due to financial problems have soared from 124 in FY 
2000 to 1,999 in 2005. The total for the 6-year period is 5,482. And, 
that's just for one of the departments.
  The impact on readiness is one of the serious ramifications of this 
problem. But, another consequence is that some servicemembers have 
ruined their financial lives by taking out payday loans--that 
automatically rollover--at exorbitant rates they can never payoff.
  Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Withrow, stationed on a nuclear 
submarine at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia, took a $300 
payday loan in summer 2003. He borrowed more to service the fee, and by 
February 2004, he'd paid about $5,000 in interest on $1,800 in payday 
loans at four different lenders.
  Army Specialist Myron Hicks, stationed at Fort Stewart, GA, borrowed

[[Page 12449]]

$1,500 for a car repair. He paid back $3,000--twice what he borrowed. I 
could give a hundred stories like that.
  Cristie Worrow, a 29-year-old petty officer second class at the Naval 
Air Reserve in Jacksonville, FL, took out a $500 payday loan in 1998. 
Over 3 years she had two more loans and was paying fees that sometimes 
reached $200 per month. Eventually, she had paid $2,400 in fees.
  Our troops deserve uniform, national protection against abusive 
financial practices that target them. This is clearly a step in the 
right direction.
  An impressive list of military and veteran service organizations, 
with over 5.5 million members, support the legislation. The Military 
Coalition includes the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), 
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Veterans of Foreign 
Wars (VFW), Navy League of the United States (NLUS), Air Force 
Association (AFA), and Marine Corps League (MCL).
  The Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Dr. David 
Chu, has expressed his support for the legislation. He has said the 
legislation ``provides reasonable and appropriate limits.''
  Numerous consumer groups like the Center for Responsible Lending, 
Consumer Federation of America, and Institute of Consumer Financial 
Education also support the bipartisan amendment.
  Mr. President, I feel strongly that we can hold this amendment in 
conference. I thank the chairman and ranking member. They know how bad 
this problem is. I am grateful for their help in getting this in the 
bill. Chairmen Craig and Shelby of the Veterans' and Banking Committees 
were cooperative in getting this on the bill. I trust our colleagues 
and friends in the House will understand the importance of holding this 
amendment.
  This abuse of payday lending is compromising the readiness of the 
U.S. military. The problem has become that big. It is ruining the 
financial lives of thousands of our service men and women who 
unknowingly, because of their lack of sophistication, get into debts 
from these abusive lenders, far greater than they are able to pay.
  We have put a stop to that with this amendment. We need to hold it in 
conference committee. I am confident we will be able to do that. I look 
forward to working with the Senate and the House to pass this provision 
into law on behalf of our troops.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank our colleague from Missouri. He 
worked very diligently on this amendment. It is another example of how 
we must reach down from time to time and provide a caring hand for 
particularly those young men and women in uniform today who, 
unfortunately, can be victimized because of their individual needs and 
requirements at a special time. I believe this amendment will go a long 
way to remedy that situation. I congratulate the Senator for his hard 
work.
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I thank the chairman and appreciate his 
and Senator Levin's work on this amendment.

                          ____________________