[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18042-18043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             DELAY TACTICS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we have tried and tried and tried to get the 
Republicans to allow us to go to conference on ethics, on lobbying 
reform and also on the 9/11 Commission recommendations. They have 
prohibited us from doing that.
  In the Senate, there are procedural blocks that can be placed on 
measures, and they have done that. They have done it for reasons that 
are fleeting in importance. We were ready to do ethics and lobbying 
reform, and someone stepped in and said: Well, I don't like the earmark 
provision, I want them to be handled some other way--a diversion, a 
dilatory tactic to stop this Congress from doing what it needs to do 
regarding lobbying and ethics reform.
  Republicans are trying to stop reform. We have lived in a culture of 
corruption during Republican leadership. For the first time in 131 
years, someone working in the White House is indicted, the man is now 
in prison, Scooter Libby. Safavian, head of Government contracting for 
the President, appointed by the President, handles billions of dollars 
for the Government contracting, he was led away from his office in 
handcuffs; he is now in prison.
  The majority leader in the House of Representatives was convicted 
three times within 1 year of ethics violations. He was indicted in the 
State of Texas. He resigned.
  Another Member of Congress is serving jail time for corruption. 
Abramoff, whose tentacles seem to go throughout this town, is in 
prison.
  Trips to Scotland to play golf, lavish gifts by lobbyists, parties by 
lobbyists, free travel on airplanes, the legislation that passed the 
Senate eliminates all that. I have only given a brief capsule of the 
corruption in this town under Republican leadership. I have only given 
a brief capsule of what they have done to prevent our going to 
conference.
  I want all of the Republicans to know, I am not going to ask again 
for unanimous consent to go to conference. When they get ready to go to 
conference, they can come to us.
  But everyone should understand that prior to the August recess, we 
are going to complete ethics and lobbying reform. We are going to do it 
if we have to spend nights, weekends, take days out of our August 
recess. Everyone has had fair warning.
  It takes a lot of time to overcome the hurdles they have placed in 
front of us, but we are going to do that. It will eat up valuable 
Senate time, but we are going to do it. We are going to complete 
lobbying and ethics reform. That was the first bill we placed on the 
agenda, ethics and lobbying reform, to try to have the American people 
feel better about their Congress and what we do.
  I can still remember 9/11. I was in S-219. I was the first one in 
that room that morning. It was a Tuesday morning. It is when Senator 
Daschle held his leadership meeting. Senator Breaux came in and said: 
Flip on the TV, something is happening in New York. We could see one of 
the buildings burning.
  Without elaborating in great detail, the leadership meeting started, 
someone came and got Senator Daschle. There was an evacuation of this 
building that took place. There was a plane heading toward the Capitol.
  It would take someone living in New York to understand the horror of 
that day, I believe. But it was a horrible day. There was a 9/11 
Commission appointed after great turmoil and consternation. The 
President fought that for a number of months. Finally, it was done, a 
bipartisan commission. They came back with recommendations. It has been 
almost 3 years and those have not been implemented.
  We passed in the Senate, as one of our top priorities, implementation 
of the 9/11 Commission recommendations.

[[Page 18043]]

Remember, that same commission graded the Bush administration on how 
they were implementing those recommendations: Ds and Fs.
  With the legislation we passed, all As. Once again, the Republicans 
have stood in our way procedurally and will not let us go to 
conference. Yesterday someone came in and said: Well, I do not like 
what happens postaudit; we need to make sure that following the 
spending of those moneys the audit trail is appropriate.
  So do I. So does every member of the Senate. We want this money spent 
wisely and properly. This is a diversionary, delaying tactic to stop us 
from doing this.
  The President did not want the 9/11 Commission appointed in the first 
place. He wouldn't implement the recommendations. He is trying to stop 
the Congress from forcing him to sign a bill.
  I will say the same thing on the 9/11 Commission recommendations that 
I said on ethics and lobbying reform. I am no longer going to come and 
beg the Republicans to do what is good for the country. It is up to 
them. When they get ready to do the 9/11 Commission recommendations, 
come to us and we will appoint conferees immediately and complete the 
conference within a matter of a couple of days.
  Like ethics and lobbying reform, we are going to complete this before 
the August recess. Now, is that going to shorten the August recess? It 
is up to the Republicans. But we are going to complete this 
legislation. It is not right that two of the most important issues 
facing this country, ethics and lobbying reform--getting rid of the 
culture of corruption--and implementing the 9/11 Commission 
recommendations should not go into effect.
  The 9/11 Commission recommendations, they are not just for the State 
of New York, they are for our country, to protect people in Las Vegas 
and Reno, to protect Hoover Dam, where millions of people cross that 
bridge every year, to make sure there is not some terrorist act, 
throwing something over that dam, disrupting power that is generated 
that goes, most of it, to California, or the water sources, most of 
which goes to California.
  I think this is a very dangerous game the Republicans are playing, 
delaying the implementation of ethics and lobbying reform and the 
implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations.

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