[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23790-23812]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
                  APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas is recognized.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak on 
the Lieberman amendment for up to 7 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 2691

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, this is the Lieberman-Brownback 
amendment; and several others are on the amendment as well. I have 
worked on this issue for some period of time. Over the past 4 years, we 
have been able to get some funding for democracy-building activity 
inside of Iran. It has been a difficult project. We have not been able 
to get much money secured, but it follows a long tradition of 
successful efforts at targeting regimes that do not support democracy, 
that undermine democracy, indeed, even support terrorism around the 
world, by building civil society organizations within that country.
  It is very interesting to me you can get a message into Iran, and 
there is a good possibility, there is an excellent prospect of building 
civil society organizations inside Iran. You can look at some of the 
things that have taken place recently where there has been a bus driver 
strike and the possibility of a labor union movement forming there or 
even with some of the teacher strikes or some of the student strikes.
  You are clearly seeing the people inside Iran are opposed to the 
regime. We need to work, I believe, with them and

[[Page 23791]]

with others to form civil society organizations inside Iran to go at 
the regime itself, and to undermine the regime itself, of saying: If 
you are not going to support our civil rights here, we are going to 
oppose you.
  We saw some of these things taking place with some fruit of success 
inside the Ukraine, where you had a revolution that took place there, 
where you had a number of civil society organizations that had built up 
over a period of years, over time, so that when there was a movement of 
the people where they decided they didn't like that autocratic 
dictatorship, that autocratic rule that was taking place, there was an 
underlying group that said: Yes, here is where we should go as a group 
and as a society.
  Plus, I think we have to recognize what Iran is. The Iranian 
Government is the lead sponsor of terrorism around the world. The 
Iranian people do not support the Government. They are in direct 
conflict with the United States now in their support and development 
and funding of troops, of people being trained in Iran or supplied in 
Iran to go into Iraq. We can oppose, exterior-wise, the Iranians. We 
can oppose the regime that way. But one of the key things we can also 
do is say, internally, there should be a development of a civil society 
within Iran, an internal support for people there.
  The Iranian regime not only threatens us, they directly and violently 
threaten a key ally of ours in the region in Israel. In addition to the 
well-publicized extremist rhetoric from President Ahmadinejad, Iran 
directly funds groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Iran directly funds 
them, which are designed--these groups--to perpetuate violence and 
thwart efforts for Middle Eastern peace.
  Their regime is engaged in a campaign against the United States 
interests in Iraq, as I have stated. Some in the United States would 
prefer to ignore Iran's threats to our operations or pretend they do 
not exist at all. It is increasingly clear Iran's leaders are 
deliberately and purposely targeting U.S. forces in Iraq. The Iranian 
regime does not want the United States to succeed in Iraq and is 
consistently resorting to violence to underscore that threat. I also 
note we are also learning of the regime's sponsorship of violence 
inside of Afghanistan as well.
  In short, it is not enough to contemplate what might happen if the 
United States and Iran came to blows. Based on the actions of the 
regime in Tehran, Iran is already in conflict with the United States.
  On our current course, the future is not bright. Iran is moving ever 
closer to a nuclear capability that will allow it to threaten the 
security of anyone who opposes its dreams of dominating the Middle 
East.
  This amendment provides for the full $75 million for democracy 
programs. It would take the first step in this direction. We must call 
the regime to account for its flagrant human rights abuses committed 
against the Iranian people.
  I have worked with a number of Iranian dissidents. I have done talk 
radio programs that have broadcast into Tehran.
  The regime is brutal in opposing its own people. It is a huge sponsor 
of terrorism, the largest in the world. It is one we should oppose, and 
this is a key method that needs to be adequately funded--and I think 
hardly funded very much at $75 million. But if you cut that down to $30 
million, you are below a target that probably even can be of much 
effect at all. We clearly need to do this.
  Madam President, before I yield the floor, I want to add Senator 
Collins as a cosponsor to this amendment. I ask unanimous consent that 
Senator Collins be added as a cosponsor to this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators 
Martinez and Vitter be added as cosponsors to both of my amendments I 
previously spoke about, amendments Nos. 2707 and 2708, related to 
Mexico City policy and the Kemp-Kasten law.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Thank you very much, Madam President.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire is recognized.
  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, so we can get to the status of things, we 
now have approximately five amendments that have been offered that we 
know we are going to have to have votes on. There are a number of 
amendments which have been submitted, and we are waiting for Members to 
come down to present those amendments or, in the alternative, to tell 
us what they want to do with them.
  We would like to wrap this bill up tonight, but it is going to be 
difficult unless we get Members to participate in this process by 
actually appearing on the floor and telling us how they want to deal 
with their amendments. However, as to these five amendments that have 
been offered, I hope we can go to a vote on them fairly soon and at 
least get the process started.
  Madam 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. COBURN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


               Amendments Nos. 2704, 2705, 2706, and 2716

  Mr. COBURN. Madam President, I call up en bloc amendments Nos. 2704, 
2705, 2706, and 2716.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn] proposes en bloc 
     amendments numbered 2704, 2705, 2706, and 2716.

  Mr. COBURN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendments be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 2704

 (Purpose: To provide that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise 
  made available by this Act for ``Contribution to the International 
Development Association'' may be made available for the World Bank for 
                malaria control or prevention programs)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by this Act for multilateral economic assistance 
     under the heading ``contribution to the international 
     development association'' may be made available for the World 
     Bank for malaria control or prevention programs.


                           amendment no. 2705

(Purpose: To provide for the spending of $106,763,000 on programs that 
  save children's lives, such as the President's Malaria Initiative, 
  rather than lower priority programs, such as the Global Environment 
   Facility, which produce few results and are managed by the United 
    Nations Development Program, which utilizes corrupt procurement 
 practices, operates contrary to United Nations rules, and retaliates 
                        against whistleblowers)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


                        SAVING CHILDREN'S LIVES

       Sec. 699B.  (a) The amount appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by title III for bilateral economic assistance 
     under the heading ``global health programs'' and available 
     for child survival and maternal health is hereby increased by 
     $76,763,000.
       (b) The amount appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     title III for bilateral economic assistance under the heading 
     ``global health programs'' for other infectious diseases and 
     available for the President's Malaria Initiative is hereby 
     increased by $30,000,000.
       (c) The amount appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     title V under the heading ``global environment facility'' is 
     hereby reduced by $106,763,000.


                           amendment no. 2706

(Purpose: To ensure full public transparency and fiscal accountability 
    at the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria)

       On page 311, strike lines 20 through 22 and insert the 
     following:
       (6) has adopted and is implementing a policy to publish on 
     a publicly available web site all program reviews, program 
     evaluations, internally and externally commissioned audits, 
     and inspector general reports

[[Page 23792]]

     and findings, not later than 7 days after they are received 
     by the Global Fund Secretariat, except that such information 
     as determined necessary by the Inspector General to protect 
     the identity of whistleblowers or other informants to 
     investigations and reports of the Inspector General, or 
     proprietary information, may be redacted from such documents; 
     and


                           amendment no. 2716

(Purpose: To provide for the spending of $106,763,000 on programs that 
  save children's lives, such as the President's Malaria Initiative, 
  rather than lower priority programs, such as the Global Environment 
   Facility, which produce few results and are managed by the United 
    Nations Development Program, which utilizes corrupt procurement 
 practices, operates contrary to United Nations rules, and retaliates 
                        against whistleblowers)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


                        SAVING CHILDREN'S LIVES

       Sec. 699B.  (a) The amount appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by title III for bilateral economic assistance 
     under the heading ``global health programs'' and available 
     for child survival and maternal health is hereby increased by 
     $48,763,000.
       (b) The amount appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     title III for bilateral economic assistance under the heading 
     ``global health programs'' for other infectious diseases and 
     available for the President's Malaria Initiative is hereby 
     increased by $30,000,000.
       (c) The amount appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     title V under the heading ``global environment facility'' is 
     hereby reduced by $106,763,000.

  Mr. COBURN. Madam President, I have three amendments that I will 
discuss in a group, and I believe one of them will be accepted by the 
majority and ranking member, and that is an amendment creating 
transparency at the World Bank on the malaria program. I will spend a 
very short time talking about that.
  What we know is we have seen in the last 2\1/2\ years a tremendous 
change--much of it thanks to the chairman of this committee in terms of 
transparency and in working with us on the malaria program--but we have 
seen a change from using the wrong medicines, the wrong techniques, and 
the wrong prevention techniques. We have 2 million people a year in 
Africa die from a preventable, curable, treatable disease.
  Not long after I came to the Senate, myself along with Norm Coleman 
and other people who have done great work--and Senator Brownback as 
well--on malaria, as well as the chairman, what we saw was an 
ineffective program. The President had a malaria initiative--PMI--and 
it was set out and peer-reviewed--scientific data to approach this 
disease from both prevention and treatment. What we saw at the World 
Bank was a failed $500 million program and an attempt at another 
program for which there is no transparency. But the reports from the 
scientific literature Lancet, the greatest medical periodical from the 
British, had a devastating article outlining the fact that the World 
Bank continues to use drugs that don't treat, drugs that have 
resistance, it does not do preventive indoor spraying, does not 
distribute on a free basis bed netting--the three significant, 
consistent ways in which we treat African malaria, as well as the way 
we treat it throughout the rest of the world.
  So I want to thank them in advance for doing that. This simply says 
that the World Bank has to be transparent with what they are doing on 
malaria.
  What we know is the World Health Organization has also changed 
significantly. We are going to see hundreds of millions of people's 
lives markedly changed through an appropriate drug treatment prevention 
strategy for malaria. Of those 2 million people who die every year, 500 
million of them are 5 years of age and under--I mean 500,000. Five 
hundred thousand are pregnant women. There are another 500,000 children 
who are permanently brain damaged from malaria. If we are going to help 
in foreign aid, then it ought to be effective foreign aid. So I thank 
the chairman and ranking member for their consideration on that.
  The next amendment I would like to bring up talks about having some 
transparency with the $5.3 billion we send to the United Nations every 
year. This body, as well as the House, unanimously passed transparency 
and accountability for our own Government and our own agencies. We are 
going to see this next January where everything in this country where 
the taxpayers' money is spent is going to be online and available for 
taxpayers, peer-reviewed looks, watchdog groups, as well as the press 
to see how we are spending money.
  What this amendment does is it ensures that the U.S. contribution to 
the United Nations is not being wasted to fraud, which we have seen 
multiple times at the United Nations--waste, abuse, corruption, which 
we have seen and which has been documented--by maximizing the public 
transparency of all U.N. spending or our contribution thereof. This 
amendment says that the Secretary of State certify publicly that the 
United Nations is publicly transparent about its spending this year, 
before any of the money we are going to send to the United Nations next 
year is sent. The basic transparency required by this amendment would 
include a posting on a publicly available Web site of copies of all 
contracts, grants, program reviews, audits, budgets, and progress 
reports relating to fiscal year 2007.
  There are a lot of reasons the U.N. should be accountable and 
transparent, the first of which--and I won't go into a lot of details--
is the Oil for Food Program where $10 billion was mismanaged, stolen, 
and fraudulently used in a way that was totally unaccountable, to the 
detriment of the people of Iraq. As of this time, there have been eight 
guilty pleas, two guilty verdicts, two agreements of forfeiture 
judgments, and nine pending cases. There are also fugitives from the 
corruption of that.
  The U.N. to this day refuses to fully and publicly release the Oil 
for Food Program's contracts and financial documents. Some people will 
say: Well, you can't force this on the U.N.
  (Mrs. BOXER assumed the Chair.)
  Mr. COBURN. There is not an accountability that we can require.
  We are the largest contributor to the United Nations. We have a 
requirement and a responsibility to the people of this country to make 
sure that money is well spent. The easiest way to make sure money is 
well spent and properly spent is for it to be transparent and available 
to the people who are making these contributions.
  The second reason we should be concerned about how the U.N. spends 
money is procurement fraud. Last year, former U.S. Ambassador to the 
U.N. John Bolton testified to the Federal Financial Management 
Subcommittee that of the $1 billion in U.N. peacekeeping contracts that 
were audited--they didn't audit all of them but just the first $1 
billion that they audited--a third was found to be lost to waste and 
fraud and corruption. The U.N. refused to release this audit, even to 
Secretary Bolton, our representative at the U.N; however, he was able 
to secure a leaked copy of it. What that $1 billion represents in terms 
of waste, fraud, and abuse is our entire contribution to peacekeeping. 
For all the money we pay for worldwide peacekeeping through the U.N., 
what we can extrapolate from this audit is that our entire contribution 
was wasted.
  There is an even more worrisome program at the U.N. called the United 
Nations Development Program. What we know over the last 10 years is 
that over $100 million has been funneled inappropriately, fraudulently, 
and without any oversight to North Korea for things which it should not 
have gone. Ten million dollars, at least, was transferred in cash 
directly to the leaders of the North Korean regime. We know some of 
that cash was used to purchase homes in Europe and Canada. The Chicago 
Tribune reported there was evidence that they deposited cash into the 
same account that North Korea used to buy ballistic missiles. The 
United Nations Development Program refuses to allow our own 
investigators from our own Government to audit and review its financial 
information. It refuses, despite the United States sitting on the UNDP 
Executive Board and being the largest contributor to the UNDP budget.
  Basic transparency--the idea that we give money and they spend money 
to

[[Page 23793]]

accomplish good in the world--can only be effective if we know where 
the money is spent and how it is spent. The idea to have the U.N. 
transparent will protect against future scandals.
  One of the things that bothers me the most about this and our 
contribution is the fact that the U.N. refuses to be transparent with 
the money we give them. Every domestic agency, every government program 
in this country is required to provide this body detailed financial 
information, program reviews, audits, and budgets. According to OMB, we 
spend an excessive $5.3 billion of the taxpayers' money on the United 
Nations, but despite repeated requests by Ambassador Bolton, by 
congressional committees, by oversight committees, by committees on 
investigation, the U.N. refuses to make available information as to how 
it spends its money, make its audits available, program reviews 
available, or any other financial data available to the Congress or the 
world at large or the public in this country.
  The only way we have been able to find out what we have been able to 
find out is that documents have been leaked. This amendment matters. 
The reason it matters is that every dollar lost to U.N. corruption is 
one less dollar that can save the life of an African child, one more 
dollar that could efficiently prevent violence around the world. Just 
in what we know on UNDP waste and fraud last year, 20,000 lives could 
have been saved in Africa from HIV. Or take the country of Uganda, 
plagued by civil war, and epidemics, and other things; according to the 
World Bank, their whole GDP was less than what we have wasted.
  Think about the impact we could have. Some will say the U.N. has a 
procurement Web site where information on all contracts that are 
granted is posted. They didn't have that until 2\1/2\ years ago when we 
started pushing. It only shows a very small percentage of moneys. It is 
not thorough or comprehensive. It is controlled by the U.N. Secretariat 
and not all the other agencies under the U.N. So we don't get a look at 
how our money is spent at the U.N.
  This is an amendment that has real teeth. This says what is good for 
our country in terms of how we spend our money, making it publicly 
available and transparent to hold us accountable, ought to apply to the 
U.N.
  Madam President, I will talk for a moment about amendment No. 2716. 
This is a straightforward amendment that moves money around in this 
appropriations bill. I think we can make a great case for why we ought 
to do it. What this amendment does is divide and take away money from 
the global environment facility, which is run by the World Bank but 
managed by the United Nations, which has been found to be totally 
failing in both what it is trying to accomplish and also measuring the 
results of what it accomplishes. We redirect that money into the 
President's malaria initiative--$30 million--to bring it up to what 
they requested. It is a highly successful program that is done right. 
It is one of our best foreign programs. It has metrics, measurements, 
accountability, and results-based, oriented goals that can be measured 
and quantified. It takes and puts the remainder of that money, $76.67 
million, into other lifesaving programs in the child survival and 
maternal health programs, and the global environment facilities, an 
account, as I said, housed at the World Bank, administered by the UNDP, 
for which grants and contracts are awarded for the purpose of 
addressing or preventing harm caused by manmade climate change.
  The Office of Management and Budget has audited or looked at this, 
and there are no results they can demonstrate; there is no direction in 
terms of the grants or no evaluation of the grants. They said it is 
failing to prevent any environmental damage, based on what they have 
seen. It hasn't mitigated any that are already there. It agreed with 
the United States in 2002 to implement performance guidelines. It 
agreed to those. Yet it has done nothing in the last 5 years to meet 
the required agreement with our Government. It doesn't allocate its 
funds based on performance or environmental benefit. In other words, 
there is no relationship between getting the result and the money that 
was spent. It lacks any significant anticorruption guidelines. We know 
it is there as well. Yet they refuse to agree to these things our 
Government has asked for. It is another mismanaged program by the UNDP.
  What does the effect of moving this money to other areas mean? What 
we know is that, with the President's malaria initiative, we are fast 
on our way to solving this dread disease in Africa, this preventable 
disease in Africa. We are gearing up the focus countries with a plan to 
expand that. By not funding this at the expected level, or the level 
that was requested, it means two or three more countries are not going 
to have the right drugs for malaria. They are not going to have the 
residual training. They are not going to have the trained staff with 
which to do that properly. We are not going to have long-term bed 
netting available for all these families, which is more important. Two 
million people in Africa are dying from malaria or an ineffective 
program that is not accomplishing its goals even though it has a great 
name?
  This amendment simply moves the money around to a way in which we 
help children, help refugees, and we help fight the battle against 
malaria in Africa. I hoped the President's malaria initiative would 
have been fully funded. This will fund it and allow us to expand the 
most successful foreign aid program we have, in terms of fighting 
disease. I hope we have consideration of that amendment. I will ask for 
a vote if it is not going to be accepted by the chairman and ranking 
member.
  Mr. LEAHY. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. COBURN. Yes.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 5:45 p.m. 
today, whatever is pending be set aside and the Senate proceed to vote 
in relation to the following amendments in the order listed, with no 
second-degree amendments in order to the amendments prior to the vote; 
that prior to each vote there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided 
and controlled in the usual form; that after the first vote in 
sequence, the other votes, if they require a rollcall, be limited to 10 
minutes each: the Ensign amendment No. 2700, Lieberman amendment No. 
2691, Brownback amendment No. 2707, Boxer amendment No. 2719, and the 
Brownback amendment No. 2708.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oklahoma, and I 
yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). The Senator from Oklahoma is 
recognized.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, the next amendment I want to spend some 
time on has been in the news of late. The Global Fund initiative has 
been a very important tool in terms of fighting HIV, TB, and malaria, 
which are the three significant diseases around the world that are 
limiting progress, health, life, and sustainability for many people 
throughout the world.
  What this amendment does is eliminate the secrecy of the operation of 
that group. I am not highly critical of discretionary spending to 
accomplish a goal, but I am highly critical of not having transparency 
on where money goes. We can do that in a way that protects 
whistleblowers and in a way that satisfies the American public that if 
we are going to send their money overseas, we know exactly what it is 
spent on and how it is spent.
  This is a very simple amendment. It conditions 20 percent of our 
contributions to the Global Fund, which is significant, on 
certification by the Secretary of State that the Global Fund has made 
all the financial and programmatic documents available to the public on 
a Web site. That says if you are going to spend $100 million on a drug, 
put it on a Web site and say whether you competitively bid it, and here 
is what we paid for it. If you paid a consultant, say here is how much 
we paid them for it. It is the American taxpayers' money.
  I think it is significant that the total amount of money contributed 
to date for the Global Fund, which I support,

[[Page 23794]]

has been $2.9 billion. If we follow both what the committee or the 
Senate happened to do, we are going to have that above $6 billion at 
the end of next year; $6 billion is a significant amount of money. What 
the global fund says is they have an Inspector General and that we 
don't need this. The problem is that Inspector General reports are good 
only if the people who have decisionmaking capability on the funding 
get to see those reports. The board at the Global Fund doesn't even get 
to see the reports. As a matter of fact, the IG of the Global Fund 
recently retired over the controversy of his IG report that was very 
critical of the management of the Global Fund.
  The answer to accountability is transparency in what we do. This is a 
straightforward amendment that conditions only 20 percent of the 
money--less than the increase of what we will be funding with the 
Global Fund--by saying you have to become transparent, you have to 
become accountable, and it has to be accessible. It is simple. We will 
get better value for the dollars we contribute to the Global Fund if, 
in fact, we adopt this amendment.
  The other thing that will happen is more people will have lifesaving 
treatments or preventive strategies applied to them if we have 
transparency and accountability.
  All of the amendments we have talked about today are essentially 
about transparency. It is about if we are going to send American money 
into foreign places through independent agencies, separate from our own 
Government, we ought to know how that money is spent. It is 
straightforward. All of us would do the same thing as we give our 
money--we look at church budgets and we look at nonprofits' budgets 
when we contribute to them, and we find out how they are spending their 
money. We have independent reporting in this country on nonprofits on 
how they spend money and how much percentage on overhead and whether 
they waste money. So all these amendments are about accountability--
accountability through transparency. I admit they have some teeth. But 
we are not going to be accountable for the American taxpayers' dollars 
unless we apply enough pressure to get transparency so we know where 
the American taxpayers' dollars are going.
  I also want to submit for the Record a copy of a whistleblower 
conversation at UNDP, associated with one of the other amendments. I 
ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

     To: Mr. Robert Benson, Chief, Ethics Office, United Nations.
     From: Mr. Mathieu Credo Koumoin, Ph.D.
     Re: request for ethics review of my dismissal through whistle 
         blowing retaliation review and protection from 
         retaliation.
     Date: September 4, 2007.
       I am a former UNDP staff member (dismissed as of December 
     31st, 2006) with a case pending before the Joint Appeals 
     Board (JAB acceptance letter dated February 15th, 2007). 
     Prior to my joining UNDP/GEF on a leave of absence from the 
     African Development Bank where I served for 3 years as a 
     Senior Public Utilities Economist, I was an Energy Economist 
     with the World Bank in Washington, DC for 6 years. As of 
     December 31st, 2007 when I was dismissed and including my 
     academic/teaching and Research experience as a Mellon 
     Research Fellow from the University of Pennsylvania, 
     (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) I have 16 years of 
     International Development experience from the World Bank, the 
     AfDB and UNDP-GEF combined.
       Following my initial success within UNDP 09GEF and to avoid 
     a perception of conflict of interest, I was encouraged by 
     UNDP to resign my position with the AfDB in December 2005 
     only to be announced on March 23rd, 2006 that my contract 
     would not be renewed when it expires in June 30th, 2006 on 
     performance grounds. This, despite the fact that: (i) the 
     performance review which had barely started was not complete; 
     (ii) I received very satisfactory reviews on my performance 
     at mid-term based on both the volume and the substantive 
     quality of my projects (see attachment); (iii) was warmly 
     congratulated by my line supervisor and even promised a 
     promotion to D1 if the Program Executive Coordination would 
     sign off (see attachment); (iv) received strong endorsement 
     from GEFSEC Secretariat on all of my Project submissions to 
     GEF Council which captured 85% of the entire Climate Change 
     market niche in Sub-Saharan Africa; ahead of all other 
     competing GEF Implementing Agencies; and (v) received a 
     formal written promise of being kept on board by the 
     Executive Coordinator around mid-term review prior to the 
     strong procurement battles and pressures (see attachment).
       The totality of the above set of circumstances led me to 
     resign my position with the AfDB in December 2005 to ensure 
     that my effectiveness within UNDP-GEF would not be undercut 
     by the sizable co-financing expected from the AfDB; 
     particularly as my line supervisor--subsequently--formally 
     apologized to me for pressing me beyond the breaking point on 
     the contract procurement and funds re-direction issues in 
     November 2005.
       I have attached to this request for review prima-facie 
     evidence supporting that I was under tremendous pressure from 
     my line Management to re-direct funds and carry out sole-
     source contracting to UNIDO (based in Vienna), and IEPF 
     (Francophone Institute of Energy and Environment based in 
     Quebec-Canada), and tried to bring these problems to the 
     attention of higher officials (see attachment). It is 
     important to note that, in my best professional judgment, the 
     activities requested by my line Management violated basic 
     rules of UN/UNDP procurement with respect to transparency, 
     competition and accountability, as the African countries for 
     which the funds were intended in the first place were being 
     left in the dark, and the project documents approved by GEF 
     Council were quite clear along with the initial project 
     concept review sheet from GEFSEC which ruled that IEPF was 
     not eligible to execute or implement the GEF African 
     Microhydro Project on behalf of beneficiary African 
     countries. As vividly illustrated in the enclosed annexes, my 
     resistance to the above pressure is thoroughly documented 
     along with my Supervisor's insistence and ultimate apologies 
     (see attachment) only when he decided to fire me in 
     retaliation for my stubborn rejection of a sole sourcing 
     scheme to award IEPF together with UNIDO UNDP contracts from 
     my Regional African Microhydro project. The sole sourcing 
     scheme being forced upon me by my supervisors at the expense 
     of Africa-based regional economic commissions as clearly 
     stipulated in the GEF Council approved project documents was 
     the only bone of contention with my Management. For my 
     whistle blowing efforts and because I had the courage to 
     bring these issues to the attention of the Administrator and 
     other higher up officials, I was fired without due process 
     and have been unable to find work; in part as a direct result 
     of damaging references from UNDP and in part as a result of 
     the on-going legal process.
       On the basis of the above along with the pieces of evidence 
     attached, in absence of an Ethics Office within the UNDP, and 
     of a functional whistleblower policy as well as independent 
     internal control and oversight mechanisms, I believe that I 
     deserve to have my case reviewed by the United Nations Ethics 
     Office, which is the only one mechanisms established and 
     recognized by UN Member States, equipped to provide internal 
     administrative review and protection from retaliation and I 
     am so requesting.
       I look forward to your kind attention and consideration. 
     Should you require further information you can contact me 
     directly or my legal counsel.

  Mr. COBURN. This outlines the fact that in the Global Fund, UNDP has 
true corruption in terms of directing how the money is spent to their 
friends, not the people who can actually do the work or not those who 
are best suited for the work, but rather at the whim of a friend of 
somebody working at UNDP. It is very revealing.
  What is even more revealing is that UNDP refused to accept a U.N. 
ethics office and so, therefore, the whistleblower at UNDP doesn't even 
have the protections of other people at the United Nations. So we have 
an individual who was doing a great job, but because he reported and 
refused to send money to somebody not capable of doing a job, not 
capable of performing with a good portion of our taxpayers' money, he 
gets fired. That is the kind of transparency we need to have at the 
UNDP and at the Global Fund.
  It is my hope the Members of this body will seriously consider that 
we ought to be applying the same standards to where we send money 
outside of our Government that we are now applying to our Government. 
It is my hope that I will have the consideration of the ranking member 
and the chairman in supporting these amendments.


                      Amendment No. 2705 Withdrawn

                           Amendment No. 2773

  I ask unanimous consent to withdraw amendment No. 2705 and call up 
amendment No. 2773. Amendment No. 2705 is one of the en bloc amendments 
and it

[[Page 23795]]

is the wrong number. I wish to replace it with amendment No. 2773.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2773.

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

 (Purpose: To ensure that the United States contribution to the United 
   Nations is not being lost to waste, fraud, abuse or corruption by 
   maximizing the public transparency of all United Nations spending)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


         TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

       Sec. 699B.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
     Act, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by this Act may be used by the Department of State 
     as a contribution to the United Nations or any subsidiary 
     body of the United Nations, including any organization that 
     is authorized to use the United Nations logo, until the 
     Secretary of State certifies that the United Nations, such 
     subsidiary body of the United Nations, or such organization, 
     as the case may be, is fully and publicly transparent about 
     all of its spending, including for procurement purposes, that 
     occurred during fiscal year 2007, including the posting on a 
     publicly available web site of--
       (1) copies of all contracts, grants, subcontracts, and 
     subgrants awarded or utilized during fiscal year 2007;
       (2) copies of all program reviews, audits, budgets, and 
     project progress reports relating to fiscal year 2007; and
       (3) any other financial information deemed necessary by the 
     Secretary.
       (b) The documents required to be made available under 
     subsection (a) shall be in unredacted form, except that such 
     information as determined necessary by the Secretary to 
     protect the identity of whistleblowers or other informants to 
     investigations and reports and proprietary information may be 
     redacted.

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, we are going to begin voting in about 15 
minutes. The Senator from Oklahoma has offered a series of amendments. 
I happen to be in great sympathy with the basic thrust of these 
amendments. They are basically trying to make these programs which 
address disease more efficiently delivered and have better oversight 
with more transparency. They are legitimate proposals.
  I hope as we participate in this voting sequence we can work with the 
Senator and come to an agreement on most of these amendments because I 
do believe the thrust of them is the correct direction to go, which is 
to demand transparency and to make sure the money we are spending gets 
where it is supposed to go and make sure, especially in the area of the 
malaria and HIV battles which we have in Africa, that we are using 
these funds efficiently and that the right medicines are being 
delivered.
  I appreciate the Senator's proposals. Hopefully, as we proceed with 
these amendments--I know the chairman feels this way and I certainly 
feel this way. I believe we should wrap this bill up tonight. We can 
wrap it up tonight if Members will tell us how they want to handle 
their amendments. We are ready to vote on them. If they want to vote on 
them, we will vote on them. We do need to get some Members to come 
forward. They have offered their amendments, filed their amendments, 
and they should tell us specifically how they want to handle those 
amendments so we can complete the process of passing this legislation, 
which is important and should be moved forward.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 2700

  Under the previous order, there will now be 2 minutes of debate 
equally divided prior to a vote in relation to amendment No. 2700 
offered by the Senator from Nevada.
  The Senator from Nevada.


                           Amendment No. 2700

  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, this amendment is very simple. Instead of 
raising the percentage of money that the United States pays for U.N. 
peacekeeping from 25 percent, the current level the last couple of 
years, to 27.1 percent, my amendment would strike that and keep it at 
25 percent.
  We have read about the atrocities U.N. peacekeepers have committed 
across the world. There are many reforms the United Nations needs to 
do. When the Democrats were in control, with President Clinton, they 
lowered it from 31 percent to 25 percent as the percentage we would 
pay. I actually believe it should be lower, but it should not be raised 
from 25 percent to 27.1 percent.
  We should continue to put pressure on the United Nations to do the 
desperately needed reforms at the United Nations and not send the 
precious tax dollars the American taxpayers send to us to be wasted at 
the United Nations.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, both Senator Gregg and I will oppose this 
amendment. In doing so, we are supporting President Bush's number on 
these dues. The fact is, we can't ask the U.N. to carry out 
peacekeeping missions unless we pay our dues.
  For example, this Congress pushed very hard to have the U.N. do a 
peacekeeping mission in Darfur just last month. After we pushed for 
that, they agreed to it. Now we have to do what our own Ambassador 
says, what President Bush has said, and what the Secretary of State has 
said: We have to pay our share of peacekeeping operations.
  I would hope Senators will join with the distinguished ranking member 
and myself and oppose this amendment by voting no.
  Mr. President, have the yeas and nays been ordered?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. I am voting no and actually supporting the administration 
on this position.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has now expired. The question is on 
agreeing to amendment No. 2700.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr. Dodd), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln), and the Senator 
from Illinois (Mr. Obama), are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Delaware (Mr. Biden) would vote ``nay.''
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 30, nays 63, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 317 Leg.]

                                YEAS--30

     Allard
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Murkowski
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Thune
     Vitter

                                NAYS--63

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

[[Page 23796]]



                             NOT VOTING--7

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Dodd
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2700) was rejected.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. CARDIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2691

  Mr. LEAHY. I ask unanimous consent that the yeas and nays be vitiated 
on the next amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. And the amendment be accepted.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2691) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2707

  Mr. LEAHY. I think the next amendment is 2707.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2 
minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation No. 2707, 
offered by the Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. GREGG. Can we have order, please.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will be in order.
  The Senator from Kansas is recognized.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, this amendment simply reinstates the 
Kemp-Kasten language that has been part of U.S. policy for 25 years. I 
will read the amendment:

       . . . none of the funds made available in this Act nor any 
     unobligated balances from prior appropriations may be made 
     available to any organization or program which, as determined 
     by the President, supports, or participates in the management 
     of, a program of coercive abortion or involuntary 
     sterilization.

  All we are saying with this amendment is no U.S. funds for coercive 
abortion or forced, involuntary sterilization. I hope everybody in the 
body would be opposed to forced abortion, whether you are pro-life or 
pro-choice, and opposed to involuntary sterilization. These are things 
which have no place in U.S. policy and funding by U.S. Government 
agencies. If this is part of the bill, the bill will be vetoed, and it 
is bad policy and it is a bad idea and it is morally reprehensible.
  I hope all my colleagues will vote for amendment No. 2707 and oppose 
forced abortion and forced sterilization.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Florida). The Senator from 
Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, no one, no one supports forced abortion or 
forced sterilization. Let's be honest about that. What this is, there 
is a provision in the U.S. law called the Kemp-Kasten amendment. It is 
designed to ensure that U.S. Government funds do not go to 
organizations engaged in coercive abortion or involuntary 
sterilization. We all support that. But the law has been construed 
differently by the White House to deny funds to the UNFPA because it is 
a program in China. The irony is they are trying to give alternatives 
to abortion. They are trying to give alternatives to forced 
sterilization. If we agree to this amendment, then what we are saying 
is we will turn our backs on the most populous nation on Earth, a 
country that is rapidly becoming the largest contributor to global 
warming, and we will not support a program that will give them 
alternatives to abortion and forced sterilization.
  I oppose the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 
2707.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a 
sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr. Dodd), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln), and the Senator 
from Illinois (Mr. Obama), are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 45, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 318 Leg.]

                                YEAS--48

     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner

                                NAYS--45

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Collins
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Dodd
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2707) was agreed to.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, 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.


                           amendment No. 2719

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2 
minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to 
Amendment No. 2719 offered by the Senator from California.
  The Senator from California is recognized.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I offer this amendment on behalf of myself 
and Senator Snowe. I ask for the attention of colleagues because 
women's lives are on the line. The Senate has twice passed this 
amendment which overturns the Global Gag Rule, otherwise known as the 
Mexico City policy.
  Colleagues, I wish to tell you a story, a compelling story of what 
happened in Nepal in 2001. A little 13-year-old girl was raped in Nepal 
by her uncle. A family member took her for an abortion.
  Under the laws of Nepal, they sentenced that little girl to 20 long 
years in jail. Because a family planning agency helped her and because 
that family planning agency in Nepal, an NGO, spoke out on behalf of 
changing the laws that put a little girl in jail and let the uncle 
free, America withheld its funds. That is shameful. It is wrong. Please 
help me overturn this Mexico City global gag rule.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, if the Senator from California is 
accurate on what she stated--and I don't have any doubt she is--why 
don't we fund groups that support groups that are for women's rights 
but not ones that support abortion. The Mexico City language--and it 
has done this since Ronald Reagan was President--said: We will not use 
U.S. taxpayer funding to fund abortions overseas. We won't support 
groups that fund abortions overseas. You can be pro-choice and say: I 
think that makes sense, because I don't think we should use taxpayer 
funding to support abortion or to promote abortion policies overseas. 
We should let them decide this deeply moral subject that is a very 
difficult subject in our country, let alone in places around the world. 
I urge my colleagues to vote against the Boxer amendment. We don't need 
to do this. I

[[Page 23797]]

respect the Senator from California, but I believe there are better 
places for us to use taxpayer funding than to fund abortions or groups 
that are promoting abortion overseas. It is a tough enough issue here. 
I urge Members to vote no.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 
2719.
  Mrs. BOXER. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Arkansas 
(Mrs. Lincoln), and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessary 
absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Delaware (Mr. Biden) would vote ``yea.''
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 319 Leg.]

                                YEAS--53

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Tester
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--41

     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McConnell
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sununu
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2719) was agreed to.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, 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.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Thank you, Mr. President. We have had a very productive 
day. We have two of our finest managers on this legislation, Senator 
Leahy and the Senator from New Hampshire, Judd Gregg. I always get the 
names turned around. It should be ``Gregg Judd.'' Anyway, the end is in 
sight.
  We have a number of amendments that are still pending. We have a 
number of amendments offered by one Republican Senator. We will accept 
those amendments. The problem if he demands votes on these amendments 
and we have other amendments that come forward--I would hope there 
would be some consideration given to that.
  We are at a point now where we have had a number of Senators who have 
been looking over in detail the managers' package. We should be able to 
complete this bill very quickly. The point I am making is, we are going 
to finish this bill tonight whether there are four votes or however 
many votes it takes. I would hope we could do this. We have been 
meeting with Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi to see if we can work 
something out on reconciliation. That should be able to be completed 
likely not tonight, but I think we could do it sometime early in the 
morning. But we are going to finish this appropriations bill tonight.
  I have had this conversation with the distinguished Republican 
leader. He knew I was going to make this brief statement. So I would 
hope everyone would understand where we are. We have had a very 
productive few days. This would be a good way to end the week. I look 
forward to completing this legislation as soon as possible tonight.


                           Amendment No. 2708

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2 
minutes for debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to 
amendment No. 2708, offered by the Senator from Kansas.
  The Senator from Kansas is recognized.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, this is a simple amendment. It 
reinstates what U.S. policy has been since 1984. It was repealed under 
the Clinton administration and then brought back in, and it is simply 
that the United States would not fund abortions or groups that promote 
abortions overseas.
  I wish to make one quick note to individuals. There is a new term 
that has entered into the lexicon, and it is called ``gendercide.'' It 
is in countries where abortion is being forced and promoted, where they 
are now having male-female ratios where the girls are being killed in 
utero because they are girls. It is called ``gendercide.'' I do not 
think it is a policy or something we should be any part of.
  This amendment simply reinstates U.S. policy that we will not be 
involved in countries promoting abortion policies or promoting abortion 
with our taxpayer dollars. I ask my colleagues to vote aye on this 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, colleagues, if you voted to repeal the 
global gag rule, then the obvious way to vote on this amendment is no.
  What the Senator is trying to do is to strip a very simple thing out 
of the bill, which says that we are not going to deny contraceptives to 
family planning groups simply because they do not toe the line with the 
global gag rule. If you voted with us to do away with the global gag 
rule, you certainly would vote to do away with this amendment.
  Why would we deny contraception to families who need it desperately? 
It would be a terrible vote to vote aye on this amendment because you 
are consigning a lot of women to abortion, and we do not want to do 
that. We want to get them contraception. So if you believe in family 
planning, this is a very clear ``no'' vote on the Brownback amendment.
  I thank my colleagues very much.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to commend Senator Boxer for her 
leadership on this issue of such importance to the health of the 
world's poorest women.
  On his first day in office in January 2001, President Bush, by 
executive order, with no prior consultation with Congress, reinstated 
the controversial Mexico City policy on international family planning. 
The President explained his decision with these words:

       It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used 
     to pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote 
     abortion, either here or abroad. It is therefore my belief 
     that the Mexico City policy should be restored.

  If U.S. law did, in fact, permit taxpayer funds to be used to pay for 
or promote abortions overseas, then the President might have had a 
point. But our law does not allow that. Our law explicitly prohibits 
any U.S. funds from being used for abortion or to promote abortion.
  That is the settled law of the United States. It was passed by the 
Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. It is something we 
have all supported. In fact, it has been the law for as long as I can 
remember, even during past administrations. It is already against the 
law to use taxpayer funds for purposes related to abortion. Somebody 
should have told that to President Bush.
  In fact, the Mexico City policy, which he reinstated and has 
maintained ever since, goes much, much further. Many have called it a 
``global gag rule.'' It prohibits taxpayer funds from being used to 
support private family planning organizations, if they use even one 
dollar of their own private funds--

[[Page 23798]]

not taxpayer funds, but private funds--to provide advice, counseling, 
and information about abortions, and to advocate for safe abortion 
practices in countries where tens of thousands of women suffer injuries 
or die from complicatlons from unsafe abortions.
  If we tried to impose the Mexico City policy on any family planning 
organization within our borders, it would violate the first amendment. 
But we impose it on those same organizations when they work overseas 
beyond the reach of our Constitution.
  Proponents of the Mexico City policy say that it will reduce the 
number of abortions. There is not a shred of evidence to support that 
illogical argument. The reality is the opposite. The International 
Planned Parenthood Federation, which is cut off from U.S. Government 
support because of this policy, used every U.S. tax dollar it received 
in the past to provide voluntary family planning services, like 
contraceptives, to couples who lack them. By providing for the first 
time modern birth control methods to people in countries where abortion 
was the primary method of birth control, the number of abortions goes 
down.
  I remember the distinguished former Senator from Oregon, Senator Mark 
Hatfield, a dear friend of mine, one of the most revered Members of 
this body, who became chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. 
Senator Hatfield was fervently pro-life, opposed to abortion, very 
strong in his beliefs. I remember a debate on the Mexico City policy 
when he stood here--and he probably said it best. I will quote what he 
said:

       It is a proven fact that when contraceptive services are 
     not available to women throughout the world, abortion rates 
     increase. The Mexico City policy is unacceptable to me as 
     someone who is strongly opposed to abortion.

  Contrary to a lot of the press reports, this issue is about far more 
than abortion. It is about protecting the health of women in 
desperately poor countries where more than half a million women die 
each year from complications relating to pregnancy, and where women 
have little control over their own bodies or their lives. We have the 
opportunity, at very little expense, to help. Instead--not to save 
money but to make a political point--we cut off that help.
  The Mexico City policy has been the subject of more political 
posturing, more press releases, more fundraising letters, more debates, 
more votes, and more Presidential vetoes, than virtually any other 
issue I can think of.
  I remember when President Clinton did the right thing by repealing 
the Mexico City policy. When he did that, a Republican Congress 
responded by sharply cutting funding for voluntary family planning--not 
funding for abortions but for voluntary family planning. President 
Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget request for family planning does the 
same thing. His budget would cut it drastically, contrary to what he 
said he would do back in 2001.
  The predictable, tragic result would be an increase in the number of 
abortions and of deaths of women from botched abortions.
  Again, the evidence is indisputable that when family planning 
services are available, the number of abortions goes down.
  I have traveled to many parts of the world. My wife is a registered 
nurse. She has traveled with me. We have seen how bad the situation is. 
We have seen how a little help can move women in many parts of the 
world generations ahead of where they are today.
  That is what the Boxer amendment would do. It would restore U.S. 
credibility and leadership on an issue of great importance to global 
health, to population growth, to global warming, and to the work of 
private organizations to make lifesaving services available to the 
world's poorest women.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Arkansas 
(Mrs. Lincoln), and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are 
necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The result was announced--yeas 41, nays 53, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 320 Leg.]

                                YEAS--41

     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Martinez
     McConnell
     Nelson (NE)
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sununu
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich

                                NAYS--53

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Collins
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lugar
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Tester
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2708) was rejected.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sanders). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. 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. REID. Mr. President, I would advise all Senators here that the 
majority and minority staffs are working on a unanimous consent 
agreement to get us to the end of tonight, which they will get to. In 
the meantime, I have something that will alert everyone as to what is 
going to happen tomorrow.


                 Unanimous Consent Agreement--H.R. 2669

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate 
resumes consideration of the conference report on H.R. 2669--that is 
the Education reconciliation--tomorrow at 9 a.m, there be 75 minutes 
for debate equally divided between the chairman and ranking member, and 
the Senate vote on the conference report at 10:15 a.m. with no 
intervening action or debate.
  I would say to everyone here that I have talked in some detail to 
Senators Kennedy and Enzi about this. When we finish the work on the 
Foreign Operations appropriations bill tonight, anyone who wants to 
talk about this tonight--that is this, the Education reconciliation 
bill--can do that, up to 8 hours and 45 minutes. It will not take that 
much time. When we finish the proceedings for this evening, there will 
be 75 minutes left tomorrow for debate equally divided between Senators 
Enzi and Kennedy on the Education reconciliation bill.
  I have had a number of Senators on both sides ask what the schedule 
is in the morning. That is it. I ask that this be confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would say that Senators Leahy and Gregg 
and their valiant staff are working on something to complete the 
Foreign Operations bill. We should have that momentarily. So if 
everyone would be patient, we should have that shortly.
  Mr. LEAHY. Will the Senator from Nevada yield to me?
  Mr. REID. Yes.
  Mr. LEAHY. I hope we will do that. In a few minutes, it will be our 
intent

[[Page 23799]]

to begin a series of rollcalls. Apparently, there are a number of 
amendments Senator Gregg and I were willing to accept, but the Senator 
said he would prefer having rollcalls. That means we will be here for a 
few more hours than we needed to be.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  Mr. REID. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The clerk will continue 
with the call of the roll.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GREGG. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. VITTER. Yes.
  Mr. GREGG. I understand the Senator will speak for 5 minutes on an 
amendment he intends to offer. Senator Feinstein may come to speak for 
5 to 10 minutes on an amendment she wishes to offer on behalf of 
Senator Dodd. Then Senator Dole will speak for 5 to 10 minutes on an 
amendment she wishes to offer. Hopefully, we can proceed then to vote 
on the pending amendments, including the four of the Senator from 
Oklahoma, Senator Coburn. That is not a formal unanimous consent 
request. It is a hoped-for scenario.


                           Amendment No. 2774

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and I call up amendment No. 2774 and I will speak on 
that for 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Louisiana [Mr. Vitter] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2774.

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, 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:

(Purpose: To prohibit the use of funds by international organizations, 
 agencies, and entities that require the registration of, or tax guns 
                owned by citizens of the United States)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


                           RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

       Sec. 699B.  None of the funds made available under this Act 
     may be made available to any international organization, 
     agency, or entity (including the United Nations) that 
     requires the registration of, or taxes a gun owned by a 
     citizen of the United States.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, this amendment is very simple and 
straightforward. In fact, perhaps I should not have waived reading of 
it. It is a few sentences. So I will do it myself:

       None of the funds made available under this Act may be made 
     available to any international organization, agency, or 
     entity (including the United Nations) that requires the 
     registration of, or taxes a gun owned by a citizen of the 
     United States.

  That is the entire amendment, the entire sum and substance of the 
amendment. As such, it is a straight funding limitation amendment, 
which has been ruled by the Parliamentarian as completely germane. This 
is a version of a full-blown, freestanding bill that I have filed in 
the past, specifically last Congress. It was S. 1488. I filed that bill 
and had 17 cosponsors.
  Many folks who haven't followed the proceedings on this in the U.N. 
may ask: What is this all about? Why is this necessary? Unfortunately, 
it is about an effort in the United Nations to bring gun control to 
various countries through that international organization. 
Unfortunately, that has been an ongoing effort which poses a real 
threat. This goes back to 1995, when this issue of international gun 
control was first put before the U.N. General Assembly. Then, in 2001, 
the General Assembly adopted a program of action designed to infringe 
on second amendment rights. In fact, from July 11 to 15 they met at the 
U.N. in New York City to finalize some agreements on that.
  It is of significance that Dr. Rebecca Peters is the new head of that 
effort in the U.N. and, in particular, the entity within the U.N. that 
leads that International Action Network on Small Arms. That may not be 
a household name but perhaps it should be, particularly to second 
amendment advocates, because Dr. Peters is the person who led 
Australia's massive effort at far-reaching gun control. She has been 
very vocal on the subject, debating, for instance, Wayne LaPierre of 
the NRA on numerous occasions. Other pro-gun control advocates would 
help facilitate procedures within the U.N. program of action that could 
very well impact and infringe U.S. citizens' second amendment rights.
  Therefore, again, that gets back to the Vitter amendment, which 
simply says we are not going to support any international organization 
that does that; that requires a registration of U.S. citizens' guns or 
taxes U.S. citizens' guns. If other folks in this Chamber think that is 
not happening, that it is never going to happen, my reply is simple and 
straightforward: Great, then this language has no effect. It is no harm 
to pass it as a failsafe. It has no impact. But, in fact, related 
efforts have been going on in the U.N. since at least 1995. I hope this 
can get very wide, bipartisan support, and I urge all my colleagues to 
support this very fundamental, straightforward amendment.
  I yield back my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the amendment?
  The Senator from North Carolina is recognized.
  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be set aside so I may offer an amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 2772

  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 2772, pending at 
the desk, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.

       The Senator from North Carolina [Mrs. Dole] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2772.

  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, 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:

  (Purpose: To prohibit funds appropriated under this Act from being 
    expended in violation of section 243(d) of the Immigration and 
                            Nationality Act)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:
       Sec. 699B.  None of the funds made available in this Act 
     may be expended in violation of section 243(d) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(d)) (relating 
     to discontinuing granting visas to nationals of countries 
     that are denying or delaying accepting aliens removed from 
     the United States).
  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, when I visited with sheriffs across North 
Carolina over August, one of their main concerns was the lack of 
detention space to hold criminal aliens when they are apprehended. It 
is unconscionable that our State and local authorities have to struggle 
with resources because uncooperative countries fail to take back their 
nationals who have been ordered by the courts to be removed from the 
United States.
  This amendment is simple and is consistent with current law. It 
prohibits funds from being expended in violation of section 243(d) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act. In other words, it prevents the 
State Department from issuing visas to citizens of countries that 
refuse to accept these court-ordered-removed illegal aliens.
  During fiscal year 2003, the year for which we have the latest 
information, the detention of criminal and non-criminal aliens from the 
top eight uncooperative countries that blocked or inhibited their 
removal cost the United States over 981,000 detention days and $83 
million. The status quo is unacceptable--it is costing much needed 
detention space and resources.

[[Page 23800]]

  I ask unanimous consent that my amendment be laid aside, with the 
understanding that the managers will examine my amendment and we will 
return to it at a later time.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
  Mrs. DOLE. Yes.
  Mr. LEAHY. We are willing to have a voice vote on it right now.
  Mr. GREGG. I ask unanimous consent for that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Is there further debate on the amendment?
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The amendment (No. 2772) was agreed to.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, 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. LEAHY. 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.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 2721

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment 
No. 2774 be set aside and that amendment No. 2721 be called up.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendment is 
laid aside, and the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from California [Mrs. Feinstein], for Mr. Dodd, 
     for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Corker, proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2721.

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

    (Purpose: To increase by $10,000,000 the amount appropriated or 
   otherwise made available by this Act for the Peace Corps, and to 
                           provide an offset)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


                     ADDITIONAL PEACE CORPS FUNDING

       Sec. 699B.  (a) The amount appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by title III under the heading ``peace corps'' is 
     hereby increased by $10,000,000.
       (b) The amount appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     title IV under the heading ``foreign military financing 
     program'' is hereby reduced by $10,000,000.

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, this amendment by Senator Dodd and 
myself increases the funding for the Peace Corps by $10 million for a 
total of $333.5 million. This matches the President's request and the 
funding level in the House bill. The offset comes from unobligated 
foreign military financing funds.
  The Peace Corps is one of our most effective and successful foreign 
aid programs. Since 1961, over 190,000 Americans, including 25,000 from 
my home State of California, have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 
139 countries. Currently, there are 7,749 volunteers serving in 73 
countries.
  I am a big fan of the Peace Corps. They are diplomats, and they 
restore people's confidence in this country. The Peace Corps also 
provides critical education. In fact, approximately 20 percent of the 
Peace Corps volunteers today are serving in predominantly Muslim 
countries. And at a time when United States prestige is at an all-time 
low, Peace Corps volunteers provide a different face of America--one of 
compassion, one of care, and one of understanding. This amendment 
matches the President's request in the budget. It matches the funding 
level in the House. It is offset by unobligated balances. I urge that 
the amendment be adopted today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I am certainly in sympathy with the 
purposes of the amendment. The Peace Corps is an extraordinary 
organization filled with very dedicated and special people who give of 
their life, willing to go into the countryside in parts of this world 
and help people out, out of their concern for social well-being and the 
betterment of others. They are very admirable people. So I support the 
number. But the offset is an issue.
  I have discussed this issue with Senator Dodd. I have not had a 
chance to discuss it with Senator Feinstein. Senator Dodd and I reached 
an understanding that we would try to find a better offset in 
conference.
  With that understanding, I certainly have no objection to this 
amendment. I ask that it be approved.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate? If not, the question 
is on agreeing to amendment No. 2721.
  The amendment (No. 2721) was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. GREGG. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Senator Gregg and I are trying again to get 
a finite number of amendments. I appreciate that we have had two 
amendments that could have gone to rollcall votes. We accepted them and 
saved time. We have a number of other amendments that fall into that 
same category. But I guess as the hour goes on, people want to 
demonstrate how good they are, and if we want to accept it, they want a 
rollcall vote. I have never been able to figure that out, but that is 
their right. Of course, it keeps everybody here beyond the time we 
otherwise would have to be here.
  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. GREGG. 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. GREGG. Mr. President, while we are waiting to do some 
housecleaning and get business in order, I rise to thank the staff of 
the majority and the Republican staff on the Foreign Operations 
Subcommittee. These folks work very hard. They are totally dedicated to 
making sure these funds are effectively used.
  The majority staff is led by Tim Rieser, who does an excellent job, 
and the Republican staff is led by Paul Grove, who does an equally 
excellent job. The Republican team of Michele Wymer and LaShawnda Smith 
is a small group, but they are very effective. I know the majority 
staff has the same sort of lean organization, and they are very 
effective.
  Our ability to accomplish our business around here is clearly staff 
driven. We depend immensely on them, their abilities, and their 
expertise. I thank them all for the great job they do and specifically 
thank them for the job they have been doing on this appropriations 
bill.
  I yield the floor and 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. LEAHY. 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. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the only 
amendments remaining in order to H.R. 2764 be the following, and a 
managers' amendment which has been cleared by the managers and the 
leaders; that there be 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote in relation 
to each amendment equally divided and controlled in the usual form; 
that no second-degree amendment be in order prior to the vote; and that 
after the first vote in the sequence, the vote time be limited to 10 
minutes each: Coburn amendment No. 2773; Coburn amendment No. 2716; 
Coburn amendment No. 2706; Coburn amendment No. 2704; Cardin amendment 
No. 2689; Brown amendment No. 2701; Vitter

[[Page 23801]]

amendment No. 2774; a Levin sense of the Senate on Iraq refugees; a Kyl 
amendment on material support; a Coleman amendment on UNDP; Obama 
amendment No. 2692, with a modification; a Kyl-Leahy sense of the 
Senate on Egypt; a Bingaman amendment on UNFPA; that upon disposition 
of all amendments, the bill be read a third time, and without further 
intervening action or debate, the Senate proceed to vote on passage of 
the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to amend my 
previous consent request to reflect, where I said Kyl material support. 
It is Kyl-Leahy material support; and where I said Kyl-Leahy sense of 
the Senate, Egypt, it is Kyl-Lieberman.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. The first one in order will be Coburn No. 2773.
  Mr. GREGG. 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. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 2774

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Vitter 
amendment No. 2774 be taken up for a short debate and voted out of 
order at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. GREGG. Reserving the right to object, I ask unanimous consent 
that the debate time be 2 minutes equally divided.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, this amendment is very straightforward, 
and I will read it word for word.

       None of the funds made available under this Act may be made 
     available to any international organization, agency, or 
     entity (including the United Nations) that requires the 
     registration of or taxes a gun owned by a citizen of the 
     United States.

  Unfortunately, Mr. President, this amendment is necessary because of 
efforts within the United Nations that have been ongoing to push gun 
control on the world stage through the U.N. This has been going on 
initially since 1995 but in all seriousness particularly since 2001. 
Many folks within the United Nations have pushed very hard for their 
so-called program of action. Specifically, Dr. Rebecca Peters has been 
head of that effort. She became very well known for spearheading the 
massive gun control effort in Australia.
  Mr. President, I urge a very strong bipartisan vote on this measure 
so we send a clear message to the U.N. that we will not tolerate this 
sort of movement and we will not send any U.S. taxpayer dollars to any 
entity, including the U.N., that does this.
  Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time in opposition?
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all votes 
after the first vote be 10-minute votes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is already part of the order.
  Does anybody want time?
  Mr. LEAHY. I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 2774.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  At this moment there is not a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays again.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  At this moment there is not a sufficient second.
  Mr. GREGG. 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. LEAHY. 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. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the Vitter 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. 
Brown), the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from 
Connecticut (Mr. Dodd), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln), and 
the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 81, nays 10, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 321 Leg.]

                                YEAS--81

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Wyden

                                NAYS--10

     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Kennedy
     Lautenberg
     Levin
     Menendez
     Reed
     Schumer
     Whitehouse

                             NOT VOTING--9

     Biden
     Boxer
     Brown
     Clinton
     Craig
     Dodd
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2774) was agreed to.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LEAHY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2773

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate equally 
divided on amendment No. 2773 offered by the Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. 
Coburn.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be 
yielded back on both sides.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would yield back time on this. Again, I 
will always protect any Senator to have the right to vote for whatever 
reason they want to hold up the Senate at this time of the night, but 
this one is something everybody is going to vote for, and it could have 
easily been a voice vote. But if we want to waste time at this time of 
the night and have a rollcall vote, of course that is a Senator's 
absolute right, to waste as much time as they may want.
  Mr. GREGG. On behalf of Senator Coburn, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing on the amendment.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.

[[Page 23802]]


  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr. Dodd), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln), and the Senator 
from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The result was announced--yeas 92, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 322 Leg.]

                                YEAS--92

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

       
     Lugar
       

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Dodd
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2773) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2716

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate equally 
divided on amendment No. 2716 offered by the Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. 
Coburn.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, of all programs to cut funding for, it 
would be hard to think of anything more shortsighted than to cut 
funding for the Global Environment Facility. Unless, I guess, you are 
among the dwindling few who still believes global warming is a hoax, 
that the pollution of the Earth's rivers and sources of drinking water 
is of no concern, that the destruction of the remaining areas of 
tropical forests and endangered species does not matter, and that we 
don't need the ozone layer.
  Because that is what the GEF works to protect or prevent, and the 
United States has been a leader in the GEF and the President has 
requested the funding in the bill for it.
  Mr. COBURN. I yield back my time.
  Mr. LEAHY. I yield back my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 
2716.
  Mr. COBURN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  At the moment, there is not a sufficient second.
  Mr. COBURN. 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. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 2716.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr. Dodd), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln), and the Senator 
from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 47, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 323 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Bond
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner

                                NAYS--47

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Conrad
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Dodd
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2716) was rejected.
  Mr. LEAHY. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2706

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate equally 
divided on amendment No. 2706, offered by the Senator from Oklahoma, 
Mr. Coburn.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I yield back.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The amendment (No. 2706) was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, 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.


                           Amendment No. 2704

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate equally 
divided on amendment No. 2704, offered by the Senator from Oklahoma, 
Mr. Coburn.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I yield back.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would hope people would vote against this 
amendment. It would completely prohibit the World Bank from supporting 
programs to combat malaria.
  We have $1 billion in this bill for the U.S. contribution to the 
World Bank--money the United States has pledged and President Bush has 
requested.
  Malaria kills a million children a year and infects half a billion 
people, 95 percent of whom are in Africa. We should do everything we 
can to combat malaria.
  I agree with the administration on this request. I agree with 
President Bush, who has stated throughout the world his support for 
these antimalaria matters. I would hope that all people, all Senators 
of good will and good conscience, would vote no on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden),

[[Page 23803]]

the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr. Dodd), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln) and the Senator 
from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The result was announced--yeas 33, nays 60, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 324 Leg.]

                                YEAS--33

     Alexander
     Allard
     Barrasso
     Bond
     Brown
     Bunning
     Burr
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     McCaskill
     Nelson (FL)
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Thune
     Vitter
     Warner
     Webb

                                NAYS--60

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Dole
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Voinovich
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Dodd
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 2704) was rejected.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. DURBIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Menendez). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. 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. REID. Mr. President, I have spoken to the managers of the bill. I 
have conferred with the Republican leader. If everybody will be 
patient, we should be completed--all work--in about 10 minutes. They 
are working on the Budget Committee with some final numbers. There are 
no problems, but they want to make sure. Senator Gregg and Senator 
Leahy said do it right; we don't want problems popping up later. We 
should be finished in about 10 minutes. During that 10 minutes, if 
somebody wants to give a speech as in morning business, they are 
welcome to do that. So cool your heels, we will be done soon.
  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. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


  Amendment No. 2779, Amendment No. 2712, as Modified, Amendment No. 
2701, as Modified, Amendment No. 2782, as Modified, Amendment No. 2689, 
  Amendment No. 2718, Amendment No. 2693, as Modified, Amendment No. 
2781, as Modified, Amendment No. 2710, as Modified, Amendment No. 2713, 
   as Modified, Amendment No. 2771, Amendment No. 2709, as Modified, 
 Amendment No. 2703, Amendment No. 2723, Amendment No. 2727, Amendment 
 No. 2726, Amendment No. 2725, Amendment No. 2728, Amendment No. 2730, 
  Amendment No. 2731, Amendment No. 2733, as Modified, Amendment No. 
   2734, Amendment No. 2735, Amendment No. 2736, Amendment No. 2737, 
 Amendment No. 2738, Amendment No. 2740, Amendment No. 2741, Amendment 
 No. 2742, Amendment No. 2743, Amendment No. 2744, Amendment No. 2746, 
 Amendment No. 2747, Amendment No. 2748, Amendment No. 2749, Amendment 
 No. 2750, Amendment No. 2751, Amendment No. 2752, Amendment No. 2753, 
  Amendment No. 2754, as Modified, Amendment No. 2755, Amendment No. 
   2756, Amendment No. 2757, Amendment No. 2758, Amendment No. 2759, 
    Amendment No. 2760, Amendment No. 2761, Amendment No. 2762, as 
 Modified, Amendment No. 2764, Amendment No. 2765, Amendment No. 2766, 
   Amendment No. 2767, as Modified, Amendment No. 2769, as Modified, 
  Amendment No. 2692, as Modified, Amendment No. 2784, Amendment No. 
 2785, Amendment No. 2786, Amendment No. 2787, Amendment No. 2788, and 
                      Amendment No. 2789, en bloc

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I send a package of amendments, that are 
agreed to, to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration en bloc 
and ask that the amendments be deemed to be read en bloc and agreed to 
en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments were agreed to, as follows:


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2779

  (Purpose: To modify the obligation of funds requirement related to 
                     Millennium Challenge Compacts)

       On page 260, line 1, insert after ``obligates'' the 
     following: ``not more than 50 percent of the entire amount of 
     the United States Government funding anticipated for the 
     duration of the Compact''.
       On page 260, line 4, delete the comma after ``proceed''.


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2712, AS MODIFIED

       On page 410, between line 15 and 16, insert the following:


WITHHOLDING OF UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN 
                             RIGHTS COUNCIL

       Sec. 699B.  (a)(1) No funds appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by this Act for contributions to international 
     organizations may be made available to support the United 
     Nations Human Rights Council.
       (2) The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall not apply--
       (A) the President determines and certifies to the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 
     that the provision of funds to support the United Nations 
     Human Rights Council is in the national interest of the 
     United States; or
       (B) the United States is a member of the Human Rights 
     Council.


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2701, AS MODIFIED

       On page 210, line 24, strike ``$3,885,375,000'' and insert 
     ``$3,820,375,000''.
       On page 238, line 18, strike ``$6,531,425,000'' and insert 
     ``$6,621,425,000''.
       On page 239, line 17, strike ``$634,675,000 for other 
     infectious diseases;'' and insert ``$724,675,000 for other 
     infectious diseases, including $200,000,000 for tuberculosis 
     control, of which $15,000,000 shall be used for the Global TB 
     Drug Facility;''.
       On page 282, line 13, strike ``$90,000,000'' and insert 
     ``$65,000,000''.


                    amendment no. 2782, as modified

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. STUDY OF WORLD BANK'S EFFORTS TO MEASURE THE SUCCESS 
                   OF THE PROJECTS IT FINANCES.

       Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
     World Bank should increase its focus on performance 
     requirements and measurable results.
       (b) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     should conduct a study on the actions taken by the World Bank 
     to--
       (1) measure the success of the projects financed by IDA;
       (2) employ accurate means to measure the effectiveness of 
     projects financed by IDA
       (3) combat corruption in governments that receive IDA 
     funding;
       (4) establish clear objectives for IDA projects and 
     tangible means of assessing the success of such projects; and
       (5) use World Bank processes and procedures for procurement 
     of goods and services on projects receiving financial 
     assistance from the World Bank.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2689

(Purpose: To increase by $333,000 the amount appropriated or otherwise 
   made available for the Commission on Security and Cooperation in 
                   Europe, and to provide an offset)

       On page 232, between lines 16 and 17, insert the following:


            COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

       Sec. 117.  (a) The amount appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by this title under the heading ``Commission on 
     Security and Cooperation in Europe'' is hereby increased by 
     $333,000.
       (b) The amount appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     this title for the Department of State under the heading 
     ``diplomatic and consular programs'' is hereby reduced by 
     $333,000.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2718

 (Purpose: To set aside funds to repair, relocate, or replace fencing 
  along the international border between the United States and Mexico)

       On page 219, line 26, insert after ``authorized'' the 
     following: ``, of which, $100,000 may

[[Page 23804]]

     be made available to repair, relocate, or replace fencing 
     along the international border between the United States and 
     Mexico''.


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2693, AS MODIFIED

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. COOPERATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO.

       (a) Cooperation Regarding Border Security.--The Secretary 
     of State, in cooperation with the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security and representatives of Federal, State, and local law 
     enforcement agencies that are involved in border security and 
     immigration enforcement efforts, should work with the 
     appropriate officials from the Government of Mexico to 
     improve coordination between the United States and Mexico 
     regarding--
       (1) improved border security along the international border 
     between the United States and Mexico;
       (2) the reduction of human trafficking and smuggling 
     between the United States and Mexico;
       (3) the reduction of drug trafficking and smuggling between 
     the United States and Mexico;
       (4) the reduction of gang membership in the United States 
     and Mexico;
       (5) the reduction of violence against women in the United 
     States and Mexico; and
       (6) the reduction of other violence and criminal activity.
       (b) Cooperation Regarding Education on Immigration Laws.--
     The Secretary of State, in cooperation with other appropriate 
     Federal officials, should work with the appropriate officials 
     from the Government of Mexico to carry out activities to 
     educate citizens and nationals of Mexico regarding 
     eligibility for status as a nonimmigrant under Federal law to 
     ensure that the citizens and nationals are not exploited 
     while working in the United States.
       (c) Cooperation Regarding Circular Migration.--The 
     Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
     Labor and other appropriate Federal officials, should work 
     with the appropriate officials from the Government of Mexico 
     to improve coordination between the United States and Mexico 
     on the development of economic opportunities and providing 
     job training for citizens and nationals in Mexico.
       (d) Annual Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
     submit a report to Committees on Appropriation describing the 
     actions taken by the United States and Mexico pursuant to 
     this section.


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2781, AS MODIFIED

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING IRAQ REFUGEE CRISIS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The annual United States worldwide ceiling for refugees 
     has been 70,000 since 2002.
       (2) The Department of State has yet to use all of the 
     available allocation that could be used for Iraqi refugees.
       (3) Since 2003, more than 2,000,000 Iraqis have fled their 
     country and over 2,000,000 Iraqis are also displaced within 
     Iraq.
       (4) It has become increasingly clear that people who have 
     assisted the United States, Iraqi Christians and other 
     religious minorities cannot safely return to Iraq.
       (5) The United States Government has an obligation to help 
     these refugees and should act swiftly to do so.
       (6) The United States Government should increase the 
     allocation of refugee slots for Iraqi refugees for 
     resettlement in the United States.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the President should act swiftly to respond to the 
     deepening humanitarian and refugee crisis in Iraq by using 
     the entire United States refugee allocation for the Near 
     East/South Asia region and any unused portion of the 
     worldwide allocation for Iraqi refugees, particularly people 
     who have assisted the United States and religious minorities.
       (6) The United States Government should increase the 
     allocation of refugee slots for Iraqi refugees for 
     resettlement in the United States.


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2710, AS MODIFIED

       On page 367, on line 20, strike ``are''.
       On page 367, line 22, strike the period and, insert ``; and 
     (3) implementing the whistleblower protection policy 
     established by the United Nations Secretariat in December 
     2005.''


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2713, AS MODIFIED

       At the appropriate place in title III, insert the 
     following:

  support of foreign law enforcement efforts to locate united states 
    citizens kidnapped in areas affected by violent drug trafficking

       Sec. __.  Funds appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     this title under the heading ``international narcotics 
     control and law enforcement'' should be available for the 
     support of efforts of foreign law enforcement authorities to 
     locate United States citizens who have been kidnapped in, or 
     are otherwise missing from, areas affected by violent drug 
     trafficking.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2771

  (Purpose: To require a report regarding the use by U.S. Customs and 
  border Protection of flood control levees under the control of the 
              International Boundary and Water Commission)

       On page 232, between lines 16 and 17, insert the following:


                     REPORT REGARDING USE OF LEVEES

       Sec. 117.  Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the United States Commissioner of the 
     International Boundary and Water Commission, in cooperation 
     and coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and 
     the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of 
     Engineers, shall submit to Congress a report regarding the 
     use by U.S. Customs and Border Protection of flood control 
     levees under the control of the International Boundary and 
     Water Commission, which shall--
       (1) discuss the purpose and importance of--
       (A) any such use of such levees ongoing on the date of 
     enactment of this Act; and
       (B) any anticipated such use of such levees after the date 
     of enactment of this Act;
       (2) describe the frequency and means of, and approximate 
     number of officers and employees of the U.S. Customs and 
     Border Protection who, access such levees;
       (3) describe the level of degradation of such levees as a 
     result of such use; and
       (4) identify any formal agreements that may be needed 
     between the Department of Homeland Security and the 
     International Boundary and Water Commission or the Department 
     of State to ensure needed access to such levees.


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2709, as Modified

       At the appropriate place in title I, insert the following:


                 department of state inspector general

       Sec. __. (a) Link to Office of Inspector General From 
     Homepage of Department of State.--Not later than 30 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
     State shall establish and maintain on the homepage of the 
     Internet website of the Department of State a direct link to 
     the Internet website of the Office of Inspector General of 
     the Department of State.
       (b) Anonymous Reporting of Waste, Fraud, or Abuse.--Not 
     later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act, the Inspector General of the Department of State shall 
     establish and maintain on the homepage of the Internet 
     website of the Office of Inspector General a mechanism by 
     which individuals can anonymously report cases of waste, 
     fraud, or abuse with respect to the Department of State.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2703

    (Purpose: To increase by $8,000,000 the amount appropriated or 
     otherwise made available for th eOverseas Private Investment 
 Corporation under the heading ``Program Account'', and to provide an 
                                offset)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


                OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION

       Sec. 699B.  (a) The amount appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by title II for the Overseas Private Investment 
     Corporation under the heading ``program account'' is hereby 
     increased by $8,000,000.
       (b) The amount appropriated or otherwise made available by 
     title V for ``contribution to the international development 
     association'' is hereby reduced by $8,000,000.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2723

(Purpose: To provide funds for the repair or replacement of the Nogales 
 Wash Flood Control Project and the International Outfall Interceptor)

       On page 219, line 26, before the period insert the 
     following: Provided further, that of the funds appropriated 
     under this heading, up to $400,000 should be made available 
     for the repair or replacement of the Nogales Wash Flood 
     Control Project and International Outfall Interceptor.


                           amendment no. 2727

 (Purpose: To require increased transparency and accountability at the 
                              World Bank)

       On page 368, beginning on line 16 strike ``and (4)'' and 
     insert in lieu thereof
       (4) the World Bank has made publicly available the 
     Department of Institutional Integrity's November 23, 2005 
     ``Report of Investigation into Reproductive and Child Health 
     I Project Credit N0180 India'' and any subsequent detailed 
     implementation review, and is implementing the 
     recommendations of the Department of Institutional Integrity 
     regarding this project, including recommendations concerning 
     the prosecution of individuals engaged in corrupt practices; 
     and


                           amendment no. 2726

    (Purpose: Regarding the establishment of a United States-Egypt 
             Friendship Endowment, and for other purposes)

       Insert where appropriate:


                united states-egypt friendship endowment

       Sec. __. Of the funds appropriated by this Act and prior 
     Acts making appropriations for foreign operations, export 
     financing, and related programs under the heading ``Economic 
     Support Fund'' that are available for assistance for Egypt, 
     up to $500,000,000 may be made available for an endowment to 
     further social, economic and political reforms

[[Page 23805]]

     in Egypt: Provided, That the Secretary of State shall consult 
     with the Committees on Appropriations on the establishment of 
     such an endowment and appropriate benchmarks for the uses of 
     these funds.


                           amendment no. 2725

    (Purpose: To require increased transparency and accountability 
                     regarding foreign assistance)

       On page 369, line 8 after the period, insert the following:
       (d) National Budget Transparency.--(l) None of the funds 
     appropriated by this Act may be made available for assistance 
     for the central government of any country that fails to make 
     publicly available on an annual basis its national budget, to 
     include income and expenditures.
       (2) The Secretary of State may waive subsection(d)(1) on a 
     country-by-country basis if the Secretary reports to the 
     Committees on Appropriations that to do so is important to 
     the national interests of the United States.
       (3) The reporting requirement pursuant to section 585(b) of 
     Public Law 108-7 regarding fiscal transparency and 
     accountability in countries whose central governments receive 
     United States foreign assistance shall apply to this Act.


                           amendment no. 2728

 (Purpose: To prohibit assistance for Iraq, and to require a report on 
   the extent that the Government of Iraq is committed to combating 
              corruption in Iraq, and for other purposes)

       Insert where appropriate:


                                  iraq

       Sec. __. (a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise 
     made available by this Act may be made available for 
     assistance for Iraq.
       (b) Not later than 30 days after enactment of this Act the 
     Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committees on 
     Appropriations detailing the extent to which the Government 
     of Iraq is committed to combating corruption in Iraq and the 
     specific actions and achievements of the Government of Iraq 
     in combating corruption, to include a list of those senior 
     Iraqi leaders who have been credibly alleged to be engaged in 
     corrupt practices and activities.
       (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, policy, or 
     regulation, none of the funds made available in this Act or 
     any other Act making appropriations for foreign operations 
     export financing and related programs assistance for Iraq may 
     be made available for unless the Secretary of State, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Defense, certifies to the 
     Committees on Appropriations that the Departments of State 
     and Defense are providing the Committees on Appropriations, 
     including relevant staff, regular, full and unfettered access 
     to programs in Iraq for the purposes of conducting oversight.
       (d) Subsections (a) and (c) shall not apply to the ninth 
     and thirteenth provisos under the heading ``Economic Support 
     Fund'' in this Act.


                           amendment no. 2730

    (Purpose: To require the Department of State to establish visa 
                     processing operations in Iraq)


                         ``Consular Operations

       Sec. ___. (a) The Secretary of State shall establish visa 
     processing facilities in Iraq within 180 days of enactment of 
     this Act in which aliens may apply and interview for 
     admission to the United States.
       (b) The Secretary of State shall report to the Congress no 
     later than 30 days after enactment of this Act on funding and 
     security requirements for consular operations in Iraq in 
     fiscal year 2008.''


                           amendment no. 2731

  (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to the health work force in 
                          developing counties)


                    amendment no. 2733, as modified

       On page 255, after the period, insert the following:
       Provided further, That of the funds appropriated under this 
     heading, not less than $10,000,000 should be made available 
     for (1) programs to locate and identify persons missing as a 
     result of armed conflict, violations of human rights, or 
     natural disasters; (2) to assist governments in meeting their 
     obligations regarding missing persons; and (3) to support 
     investigations and prosecutions related to war crimes, crimes 
     against humanity, genocide and other crimes under 
     international law


                           amendment no. 2734

(Purpose: To provide a United States contribution to the International 
               Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala)

       On page 254, line 16, after the comma insert the following:
       ``not less than $4,000,000 should be made available for a 
     United States contribution to the International Commission 
     Against Impunity in Guatemala,''


                           amendment no. 2735

 (Purpose: To provide flexibility for the use of aircraft provided to 
                   Colombia, and for other purposes)

       On page 266, line 14, strike ``feasible'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``practicable and that aerial eradication will 
     not contribute to a significant loss of biodiversity''.
       On page 267, line 17 delete ``determines'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``certifies to the Committees on 
     Appropriations''.
       On page 267, line 18, strike ``feasible'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``practicable''.
       On page 268, line 10, after the period insert the 
     following:
       ``(f) Rotary and fixed wing aircraft supported with funds 
     appropriated under this heading for assistance for Colombia 
     should be used for drug eradication and interdiction 
     including to transport personnel in connection with manual 
     eradication programs, and to provide transport in support of 
     alternative development programs and investigations of cases 
     under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, the 
     Procuraduria General de la Nacion, and the Defensoria del 
     Pueblo.
       On page 268, line 11, strike ``(f)'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``(g), and on page 268, line 19, strike ``(g)'' and 
     insert in lieu thereof ``(h)''.
       On page 268, line 14, after ``certifies'' insert ``to the 
     Committees on Appropriations''.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2736

 (Purpose: To limit contamination of natural water sources and protect 
                             food security)

       On page 268, line 4, strike ``or'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof the following:
       ``, disrupt or contaminate natural water sources, reduce 
     local food security, or cause''


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2737

    (Purpose: To expand the existing human rights certification to 
                  assistance for the Bolivian police)

       On page 268, line 12, after ``military'' insert ``and 
     police''.
       On page 268, line 14, strike ``military is'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``military and police are''.
       On page 268, line 16, strike ``military's''.
       On page 268, line 17, after ``in'' insert ``of the military 
     and police''.
       On page 268, line 17, after ``military'' and before 
     ``personnel'' insert ``and police''.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2738

   (Purpose: To condition assistance relating to the Western Sahara)

       On page 277, line 17, after the colon, insert the 
     following:

     Provided further, that of the funds appropriated under this 
     heading that are available for assistance for Morocco, not 
     more than $2,000,000 may be obligated until the Secretary of 
     State certifies and reports to the Committees on 
     Appropriations that Moroccan Government authorities in the 
     territory of the Western Sahara have (1) ceased to persecute, 
     detain, and prosecute individuals for peacefully expressing 
     their opinions regarding the status and future of the Western 
     Sahara and for documenting violations of human rights; and 
     (2) provided unimpeded access to internationally recognized 
     human rights organizations, journalists, and representatives 
     of foreign governments to the Western Sahara:


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2740

    (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to unobligated balances)

       On page 286, line 14, strike ``REPORT''.


                          AMENDMEMENT NO. 2741

 (Purpose: To increase the limitation on representational expenses for 
                     the Inter-American Foundation)

       On page 287, line 19, strike ``$2,000'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``$4,000''.


                           amendment no. 2742

            (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to Nepal)

       On page 306, line 20, after ``Mexico'' insert ``, Nepal,''.


                           amendment no. 2743

 (Purpose: To provide a United States contribution for assistance for 
                    civilian victims in Afghanistan)

       On page 309, line 23, after the comma insert the following: 
     ``$2,000,000 should be made available for a United States 
     contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization/
     International Security Assistance Force Post-Operations 
     Humanitarian Relief Fund,''


                           amendment no. 2744

   (Purpose: To prohibit assistance for countries that the President 
    determines grant sanctuary to any individual or group which has 
              committed a gross violation of human rights)

       On page 312, line 11, after ``terrorism'' insert ``or other 
     gross violation of human rights''.


                           amendment no. 2746

  (Purpose: To provide authority for assistance to former combatants)

       On page 326, line 18, after the period insert the 
     following:
       ``(o) Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration 
     Assistance.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     policy or regulation, funds appropriated by this Act and 
     prior acts making appropriations for foreign operations, 
     export financing, and related programs may be made available 
     to support programs to demobilize, disarm, and reintegrate 
     into civilian society former combatants of foreign 
     governments or organizations who have renounced involvement 
     or participation in such organizations.

[[Page 23806]]




                           amendment no. 2747

(Purpose: To prohibit prior approval of foreign governments relating to 
   assistance for democracy, human rights and governance activities)

       On page 326, line 18, insert the following:
       (o) Nongovernmental Organizations.--With respect to the 
     provisions of assistance for democracy, human rights and 
     governance activities, the organizations implementing such 
     assistance and the specific nature of that assistance shall 
     not be subject to the prior approval by the government of any 
     foreign country.


                           amendment no. 2748

   (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to Presidential discretion)

       On page 335, line 7, strike ``the waiver authority of 
     subsection (b) is exercised'' and insert in lieu thereof 
     ``the President makes a determination pursuant to subsection 
     (b)''.


                           amendment no. 2749

 (Purpose: Clarification relating to assistance for Central and South 
                                America)

       On page 341, line 9, strike ``and Brazil'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof the following:
       ``Brazil, Latin America and Caribbean Regional, Central 
     America Regional, and South America Regional''


                           amendment no. 2750

     (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to a certification for 
                        assistance for Colombia)

       On page 348, line 3, after ``and'' insert ``subsequently 
     certifies and''
       On page 348, line 3, strike ``certification and''.
       On page 348, line 8, after ``Defense'' insert ``, the 
     Attorney General''.
       On page 350, line 12, strike ``Colombian Government is 
     ensuring that the''.
       On page 350, line 16, strike ``the Colombian Armed 
     Forces''.
       On page 350, line 21, after ``and'' insert ``subsequently 
     certifies and''.
       On page 350, line 21, strike ``certification and''.


                           amendment no. 2751

    (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to illegal armed groups)

       On page 353, line 2, strike ``determines and''.
       On page 353, line 2, after ``certifies'' insert ``and 
     reports''.


                           amendment no. 2752

            (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to Sudan)

       On page 366, line 4, after ``certifies'' insert ``and 
     reports''.


                           Amendment No. 2753

  (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to monitoring of assistance)

       On page 371, line 26, strike ``describing'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``detailing''.


                    Amendment No. 2754, as modified

       On page 377, line 6, after the comma insert ``not less than 
     $2,000,000 should be made available for wildlife conservation 
     and protected area management in the Boma-Jonglei landscape 
     of Southern Sudan, and''


                           Amendment No. 2755

         (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to Uzbekistan)

       On page 380, line 26, strike ``have been credibly alleged 
     to'' and insert in lieu thereof ``the Secretary has credible 
     evidence to believe''


                           Amendment No. 2756

(Purpose: Technical amendment relating to assistance for the countries 
                            of Central Asia)

       On page 383, line 4, strike ``he'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``the Secretary''.
       On page 383, line 14, strike ``6'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``12''.


                           Amendment No. 2757

 (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to a coordinator of activities 
            relating to indigenous peoples internationally)

       On page 388, line 11, strike ``, guidelines''.
       On page 388, line 11, after ``goals,'' insert 
     ``guidelines,''.
       On page 388, line 16, strike ``executing'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``implementing''.


                           Amendment No. 2758

(Purpose: Technical amendment relating to demobilization assistance for 
                               Colombia)

       On page 390, line 20, strike ``against human rights 
     defenders''.


                           Amendment No. 2759

      (Purpose: To clarify conditions on assistance for Indonesia)

       On page 393, line 1, strike ``provided a copy of its 
     written plans to effectively address the following, and a 
     copy of each plan has been provided with the report'', and 
     insert in lieu thereof ``written plans to effectively''.
       On page 393, line 4, before ``accountability'' insert 
     ``provide''.
       On page 393, line 6, ``to allow public access to Papua and 
     West Irian Jaya'' and insert in lieu thereof ``allow public 
     access to West Papua''.
       On page 393, line 8, strike ``to''.


                           Amendment No. 2760

 (Purpose: To clarify conditions on military assistance for Guatemala)

       On page 393, line 12, strike everything after ``(a)'' 
     through the period on page 394, line 15, and insert in lieu 
     thereof the following:

     ``Funds appropriated by this Act under the heading 
     ``International Military Education and Training'' that are 
     available for assistance for Guatemala, other than for 
     expanded international military education and training, may 
     be made available only for the Guatemalan Air Force and Navy: 
     Provided, That such funds may be made available only if the 
     Secretary of State certifies that the Guatemalan Air Force 
     and Navy are respecting human rights and are cooperating with 
     civilian judicial investigations and prosecutions of military 
     personnel who have been credibly alleged to have committed 
     violations of human rights.
       (b) Of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading 
     ``Foreign Military Financing Program'', not more than 
     $500,000 may be made available for the Guatemalan Air Force 
     and Navy: Provided, That such funds may be made available 
     only if the Secretary of State certifies that the Guatemalan 
     Air Force and Navy are respecting human rights and are 
     cooperating with civilian judicial investigations and 
     prosecutions of military personnel who have been credibly 
     alleged to have committed violations of human rights, and the 
     Guatemalan Armed Forces are fully cooperating with the 
     International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala.''


                           Amendment No. 2761

   (Purpose: To restrict assistance for countries that recruit child 
                               soldiers)

       On page 395, line 1, strike ``security'' and insert lieu 
     thereof the following: ``governmental armed forces or 
     government-supported armed groups, including paramilitaries, 
     militias, or civil defense forces,''.
       On page 395, line 7, after ``to'' insert the following: 
     ``demobilize children from its forces or from government-
     supported armed groups and''.


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2762, AS MODIFIED

       On page 395, line 24, after the semi-colon insert ``(2) the 
     Philippine Government is implementing a policy of promoting 
     military personnel who demonstrate professionalism and 
     respect for human rights, and is investigating and 
     prosecuting military personnel and others who have been 
     credibly alleged to have committed extrajudicial executions 
     or other violations of human rights.''
       On page 396, line 1, strike ``(2)'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``(3)''.


                           amendment no. 2764

   (Purpose: To add conditions relating to assistance for Sri Lanka)

       On page 397, line 24, after ``that'' insert ``(1)''.
       On page 398, line 3, after ``soldiers'' insert ``; (2) the 
     Sri Lankan Government has provided unimpeded access to 
     humanitarian organizations and journalists to Tamil areas of 
     the country; and (3) the Sri Lankan Government has agreed to 
     the establishment of a field presence of the Office of the 
     United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sri 
     Lanka.''.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2765

  (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to the Millennium Challenge 
                              Corporation)

       On page 402, line 22, after ``the'' insert ``transparent 
     and''.


                           Amendment No. 2766

(Purpose: To deny visas for officials of foreign governments and their 
     families who have been involved in corruption relating to the 
                    extraction of natural resources)

       At the appropriate place in the bill insert the following:


                            Anti-Kleptocracy

       Sec. ___. (a) In furtherance of the National Strategy to 
     Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy and Presidential 
     Proclamation 7750, not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act the Secretary of State shall send to 
     the appropriate congressional committees a list of officials 
     of the governments of Angola, Burma, Cambodia, Equatorial 
     Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of 
     the Congo, and their immediate family members, who the 
     Secretary has credible evidence to believe have been involved 
     in corruption relating to the extraction of natural resources 
     in their countries.
       (b) Not later than 10 days after the list described in 
     subsection (a) is submitted to the appropriate congressional 
     committees, the following sanctions shall apply:
       (1) Any individual on the list submitted under subsection 
     (a) shall be ineligible for a visa to enter the United 
     States.
       (2) No property or interest in property belonging to an 
     individual on the list submitted under subsection (a), or to 
     a member of the immediate family of such individual if the 
     property is effectively under the control of such individual, 
     may be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise 
     dealt with, if the property is within the United States or 
     within the possession or control of a United States person, 
     including the overseas branch of such person, or after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act comes within the control of 
     such person.
       (3) No United States person may engage in financial 
     transactions with an individual on the list submitted under 
     subsection (a), or with a member of the immediate family of 
     such individual if the transaction will benefit an individual 
     on the list submitted under subsection (a).


                    Amendment No. 2767, As Modified

       On page 255, line 5, before the period, insert the 
     following:

[[Page 23807]]

       ``Provided further, That of the funds appropriated under 
     this heading, not more than $500,000 should be made available 
     for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security 
     Administration to support initiatives which bring together 
     public officials and private individuals from nations 
     involved in the Six-Party Talks for informal discussions on 
     resolving the North Korea nuclear issue:''


                    Amendment No. 2769, As Modified

       At the appropriate place in the bill, add the following new 
     section:


                                 Uganda

       Sec. ___. (a) Not later than 90 days after enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the 
     Committees on Appropriations detailing a strategy for 
     substantially enhancing United States efforts to resolve the 
     conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the 
     Government of Uganda (GOU), including--
       (1) direct and sustained participation by the United States 
     in confidence-building measures in furtherance of the peace 
     process;
       (2) increased diplomatic pressure on the Democratic 
     Republic of the Congo (to eliminate the LRA's current safe 
     haven) and on Sudan;
       (3) brokering direct negotiations between the GOU and the 
     leaders of the LRA on personal security arrangements; and
       (4) financial support for disarmament, demobilization, and 
     reintegration to provide mid-level LRA commanders incentives 
     to return to civilian life.
       (b) Of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading 
     ``Economic Support Fund'', not less than $5,000,000 shall be 
     made available to implement the strategy described in 
     subsection (a).


                    AMENDMENT NO. 2692, AS MODIFIED

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


        COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR THREAT REDUCTION AND SECURITY PLAN

       Sec. 699B.  (a) Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 
     Congress a comprehensive nuclear threat reduction and 
     security plan, in classified and unclassified forms--
       (1) for ensuring that all nuclear weapons and weapons-
     usable material at vulnerable sites are secure by 2012 
     against the threats that terrorists have shown they can pose;
       (2) for working with other countries to ensure adequate 
     accounting and security for such materials on an ongoing 
     basis thereafter; and
       (3) for making security improvements to ensure, to the 
     maximum extent possible, that the existing U.S. nuclear 
     weapons stockpile and weapons-usable material are protected 
     from the threats terrorists have shown they can pose.
       (b) For each element of the accounting and security effort 
     described under subsection (a)(2), the plan shall--
       (1) clearly designate agency and departmental 
     responsibility and accountability;
       (2) specify program goals, with metrics for measuring 
     progress, estimated schedules, and specified milestones to be 
     achieved;
       (3) provide estimates of the program budget requirements 
     and resources to meet the goals for each year;
       (4) provide the strategy for diplomacy and related tools 
     and authority to accomplish the program element;
       (5) provide a strategy for expanding the financial support 
     and other assistance provided by other countries, 
     particularly Russia, the European Union and its member 
     states, China, and Japan, for the purposes of securing 
     nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material worldwide;
       (6) outline the progress in and impediments to securing 
     agreement from all countries that possess nuclear weapons or 
     weapons-usable material on a set of global nuclear security 
     standards, consistent with their obligation to comply with 
     United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540;
       (7) describe the steps required to overcome impediments 
     that have been identified; and
       (8) describe global efforts to promulgate best practices 
     for securing nuclear materials.
       (c) Sense of the Senate. The Administration shall not sign 
     any agreement with the Russian Federation on low enriched 
     uranium that does not include a requirement that a portion of 
     the low enriched uranium be derived from highly enriched 
     uranium.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2784

(Purpose: to exclude aliens who have engaged in or advocated terrorist 
activity on behalf of or received military-type training from a Tier I 
     or II terrorist organization from eligibility for relief from 
                  terrorism-related immigration bars)

       Section 694 of the bill is amended to read as follows:
       Sec. 694. (a) Amendment to Authority To Determine the Bar 
     to Admission Inapplicable.--Section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. ll82(d)(3)(B)(i)) 
     is amended to read as follows:
       ``The Secretary of State, after consultation with the 
     Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, or 
     the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with 
     the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, may 
     determine in such Secretary's sole unreviewable discretion 
     that subsection (a)(3)(B) shall not apply with respect to an 
     alien within the scope of that subsection or that subsection 
     (a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) shall not apply to a group within the 
     scope of that subsection, except that no such waiver may be 
     extended to an alien who is within the scope of subsection 
     (a)(3)(B)(i)(II), no such waiver may be extended to an alien 
     who is a member or representative of, has voluntarily and 
     knowingly engaged in or endorsed or espoused or persuaded 
     others to endorse or espouse or support terrorist activity on 
     behalf of, or has voluntarily and knowingly received 
     military-type training from a terrorist organization that is 
     described in subclause (I) or (II) of subsection 
     (a)(3)(B)(vi), and no such waiver may be extended to a group 
     that has engaged terrorist activity against the United States 
     or another democratic country or that has purposefully 
     engaged in a pattern or practice of terrorist activity that 
     is directed at civilians. Such a determination shall neither 
     prejudice the ability of the United States Government to 
     commence criminal or civil proceedings involving a 
     beneficiary of such a determination or any other person, nor 
     create any substantive or procedural right or benefit for a 
     beneficiary of such a determination or any other person. 
     Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or 
     nonstatutory), including section 2241 of Title 28, or any 
     other habeas corpus provision, and sections 1361 and 1651 of 
     such title, no court shall have jurisdiction to review such a 
     determination or revocation except in a proceeding for review 
     of a final order of removal pursuant to section 1252 of this 
     title, and review shall be limited to the extent provided in 
     section 1252(a)(2)(D). The Secretary of State may not 
     exercise the discretion provided in this clause with respect 
     to an alien at any time during which the alien is the subject 
     of pending removal proceedings under section 1229a of this 
     title.''.
       (b) Automatic Relief for the Hmong and Other Groups That Do 
     Not Pose a Threat to the United States.--For purposes of 
     section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)), the Karen National Union/Karen 
     Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA), the Chin National Front/Chin 
     National Army (CNF/CNA), the Chin National League for 
     Democracy (CNLD), the Kayan New Land Party (KNLP), the Arakan 
     Liberation Party (ALP), the Mustangs, the Alzados, the 
     Karenni National Progressive Party, and appropriate groups 
     affiliated with the Hmong and the Montagnards shall not be 
     considered to be a terrorist organization on the basis of any 
     act or event occurring before the date of enactment of this 
     section. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to alter 
     or limit the authority of the Secretary of State or the 
     Secretary of Homeland Security to exercise his discretionary 
     authority pursuant to 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i)).''.
       (c) Technical Correction.--(1) In general.--Section 
     212(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ``Subclause 
     (VII)'' and replacing it with ``Subclause (IX)''.
       (d) Designation of the Taliban as a Terrorist 
     Organization.--For purposes of section 212(a)(3)(B) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)), the 
     Taliban shall be considered to be a terrorist organization 
     described in subclause (I) of clause (vi) of that section.
       (e) Report on Duress Waivers.--
       The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the 
     Committees on the Judiciary of the United States Senate and 
     House of Representatives a report, not less than 180 days 
     after the enactment of this Act and every year thereafter, 
     which may include a classified annex if appropriate, 
     describing--
       (1) the number of individuals subject to removal from the 
     United States for having provided material support to a 
     terrorist group who allege that such support was provided 
     under duress;
       (2) a breakdown of the types of terrorist organizations to 
     which the individuals described in paragraph (1) have 
     provided material support;
       (3) a description of the factors that the Department of 
     Homeland Security considers when evaluating duress waivers; 
     and
       (4) any other information that the Secretary believes that 
     the Congress should consider while overseeing the 
     Department's application of duress waivers.
       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the date of enactment of this section, 
     and these amendments and sections 212(a)(3)(B) and 
     212(d)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1182(a)(3)(B) and 1182(d)(3)(B)), has amended by these 
     sections, shall apply to--
       (A) removal proceedings instituted before, on, or after the 
     date of enactment of this section; and
       (B) acts and conditions constituting a ground for 
     inadmissibility, excludability, deportation, or removal 
     occurring or existing before, on, or after such date.


                           amendment no. 2785

   (Purpose: To provide funding for secondary wastewater treatment, 
                 consistent with the Committee report)

       On page 219, line 26, before the period insert: ``,of which 
     up to $66,000,000 shall be

[[Page 23808]]

     made available only for construction in the United States of 
     secondary wastewater treatment capability.''


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2786

 (Purpose: To express the sense of the Senate regarding actions needed 
 on the part of the Government of Egypt to promote the rule of law and 
               reduce the smuggling of weapons into Gaza)

       On page 410, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:


                RULE OF LAW AND BORDER SECURITY IN EGYPT

       Sec. 699B.  (a) The Senate makes the following findings:
       (1) Fighting in Gaza during the summer of 2007 demonstrated 
     that the terrorist organization Hamas, which unlawfully 
     seized control over Gaza in June 2007, has been able to 
     achieve a dramatic increase in the quantity and 
     sophistication of arms at its disposal.
       (2) Without these arms, the terrorist organization would 
     not have been able to seize control over the Gaza territory.
       (3) There is substantial evidence that a significant 
     proportion of these arms were smuggled across the border 
     between Gaza and Egypt.
       (4) The Egyptian military is a capable force, made possible 
     in substantial part by a close relationship with the United 
     States.
       (5) Concurrent with the escalation of dangerous arms 
     smuggling across the border between Egypt and Gaza has been a 
     retrogression in the rule of law in Egypt.
       (6) This loss of hard-earned ground has been characterized 
     by reports of harsh reaction by the Government of Egypt to 
     dissent, including the jailing of political opponents.
       (7) The United States has provided aid to Egypt in excess 
     of $28,000,000,000 over the past three decades.
       (b) The Senate--
       (1) reaffirms its long-standing friendship with the people 
     of Egypt;
       (2) believes that our friendship with Egypt requires the 
     Senate to address such vital policy concerns;
       (3) urges the Government of Egypt to make concrete and 
     measurable progress on restoring the rule of law, including 
     improving the independence of the judiciary and improving 
     criminal procedures and due process rights and halting the 
     cross-border flow of arms to Gaza;
       (4) believes it is the best interest of Egypt, the region, 
     and the United States that Egypt takes prompt action to 
     demonstrate progress on these matters; and
       (5) urges the Department of State to work vigorously and 
     expeditiously with the Government of Egypt and the Government 
     of Israel to bring the border between Egypt and Gaza border 
     under effective control.


                           amendment no. 2787

  (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to the office of Private and 
                         Voluntary Cooperation)

       On page 245, line 17, strike ``may'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``should''.


                           amendment no. 2788

     (Purpose: Technical amendment relating to the Democracy Fund)

       On page 262, line 16, before ``institutions'' insert 
     ``organizations and''.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 2789

 (Purpose: To enable the Department of State to respond to a critical 
               shortage of passport processing personnel)

       On page 211, line 20, insert after ``purposes:'' the 
     following: ``Provided further, That during fiscal year 2008, 
     foreign service annuitants may be employed, notwithstanding 
     section 316.401 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, 
     pursuant to waivers under section 824(g)(1)(C)(ii) of the 
     Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4064(g)(1)(C)(ii)):''.

  Mr. GREGG. 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. LEAHY. Mr. President, before we go to third reading, I wish to 
thank Senator Gregg for his tireless efforts on this bill and the 
Members of the Appropriations Committee which passed this bill 
originally 28 to 1. I will say more about Senator Gregg's staff and my 
staff tomorrow so as not to hold up third reading.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I join with Senator Leahy and thank him for 
the fair and open way he has pursued this bill. I thank his staff 
again, as I did earlier, for their great work, and my staff, obviously, 
also. It has been a very fair and open process, and I very much 
appreciate his treatment of the Republican membership in this exercise.


     Accelerating RFA for Soils, Water, and Ecosystem Services CRSP

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I would like to discuss with the Senator 
from Vermont an issue that has major implications for food security and 
environmental protection in developing countries and the United States.
  Over the last decade, the Soils Management CRSP has performed 
admirably with the University of Hawaii serving as the management 
entity. It is through my relationship with the University of Hawaii 
that I have learned that this program has successfully developed 
globally applicable science-based principles and tested them on a site-
specific basis in more than 22 developing countries in Africa, Asia, 
and Latin America. This has enabled users to access decision support 
tools to diagnose problems at specific locations in any country, and 
prescribe alternative solutions to correct them.
  While the Soils Management CRSP has been successful during its 
planned 10-year life, I am pleased that the U.S. Agency for 
International Development will build on the accomplishments of this 
program and seek a broader scope for a succeeding CRSP. The Agency 
correctly perceives that, while sound soil management is critical to 
food security, sustainable natural resources management, and economic 
growth and progress in the developing world, soil resources must be 
managed in the context of all resources in the ecosystem. I support the 
establishment and operation of the Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Services 
CRSP.
  My concern is that the Agency does not plan to compete the new Soil, 
Water, and Ecosystem Services CRSP until 2009. With a likely 2-year 
interruption of research activity, the useful elements of expiring 
CRSPs are likely to be compromised and continuity of resource 
management research will not be forthcoming.
  To circumvent these problems, I ask your support in encouraging the 
Agency to accelerate a request for applications, RFA, for a Soil, 
Water, and Ecosystem Services CRSP through established competitive 
processes. Conducting the RFA in fiscal year 2008 will minimize the 
loss in program continuity associated with recently expired CRSPs such 
as the Soils Management CRSP. Acceleration will minimize risks to food 
security and protection of the environment in developing countries and 
in the United States. An earlier competition for the new CRSP will go a 
long way toward preserving the momentum and expertise of the 
collaborative network of researchers involved in recently completed 
CRSPs.
  I believe that the committee recommendation for funds for 
Collaborative Research Support Programs in 2008 is sufficient to 
accommodate a request for applications--RFA--for a Soil, Water, and 
Ecosystem Services CRSP in 2008. I also emphasize that my interest is 
in a more comprehensive resource management CRSP solicited through 
established competitive processes based solely on merit and abilities 
to deliver science-based recommendations.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the Senator from Hawaii for bringing this issue to 
my attention. I agree about the importance of continuity and momentum 
in natural resource management research. I will work to ensure that 
your concerns are communicated to the Administrator of the U.S. Agency 
for International Development and that the Agency is encouraged to 
utilize funds appropriated for 2008 to accelerate the RFA process for a 
Soil, Water, and Ecosystems Services CRSP in 2008.
  Mr. INOUYE. I thank my colleague for his consideration and support of 
the Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Services CRSP.


                       Passport Services Offices

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I would like to engage the chairman of the 
Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee in a brief 
colloquy regarding the situation at the State Department's Passport 
Services Offices. Like many Members on both sides of the Hill, my 
office in recent months has been deluged by constituents who have had 
tremendous difficulties getting passports in time for trips they have 
planned, often many months in advance. I appreciate the fact that the 
subcommittee has responded to this situation by providing additional 
resources to the Department to address the passport backlog.
  Freedom and ease of travel to foreign destinations is extremely 
important to

[[Page 23809]]

the competitiveness of American business as well as for individual 
recreational and family needs. Many American businesses, including a 
significant part of the American travel industry, depend on passport 
services companies to obtain necessary travel documents for their 
employees and customers in an expedited fashion so they can travel not 
just when they want to but when they need to. Passport services firms 
also assist individual citizens when they are not located near one of 
the regional passport offices, have physical disabilities, or simply 
cannot get off work to make a personal visit to the passport office.
  The number of passport issuances nationally has grown by more than 
130 percent in recent years. At the same time, the demand of U.S. 
citizens and corporations for the expedited services of passport 
services companies has never been greater. However, in recent years 
regional Passport Services Offices have limited the number of 
``slots,'' or applications, that individual passport services companies 
can submit on a daily basis. The reductions at all the regional offices 
collectively have reduced nationally the number of applications 
individual companies can submit by over 40 percent. It is now clear 
that the recent problems with passport delays faced by the traveling 
public as a whole are related to the problems faced by passport 
services companies in the last few years: lack of resources and 
improper allocation of resources by the Department.
  Instead of creating more work, passport services companies assist 
passport services' adjudicators by using barcode computer technology, 
ensuring application forms and supporting documents are filled out 
accurately and completely, and improving efficiency and decreasing 
confusion at passport acceptance facilities nationwide by thoroughly 
preparing applicants before acceptance agents.
  Leading travel industry representatives have formally expressed 
strong support for efforts to allow passport services companies to 
submit more applications. The American Society of Travel Agents, Cruise 
Lines International Association, the National Business Travel 
Association, the Travel Business Roundtable, and the Travel Industry 
Association of America have all written the Department of State 
expressing unqualified support for the industry's request for more 
slots for individual companies.
  I would like to ask the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee, 
is it true that the committee has provided the Department $40 million 
over the President's budget request to enhance passport operations?
  Mr. LEAHY. That is true. I would say to my colleague from Arkansas 
that this subcommittee is not satisfied with the performance of the 
Department in the last few months with respect to the adjudication and 
distribution of passports in a timely fashion. We recognize that a 
tremendous number of dedicated public servants at all levels of the 
State Department have been putting in long hours trying to get rid of 
the backlog in passports. We think it is very important, however, 
especially as the deadline for implementation of the Western Hemisphere 
Travel Initiative gets closer, that the Department be better prepared 
to handle spikes in demand for passports and to disseminate better 
information about the procedures and options available for getting 
expedited passports.
  Mr. PRYOR. Increasing the number of daily applications individual 
passport service companies can submit is an essential component of 
meeting the personal and business travel needs of American citizens who 
require special assistance. Because these companies submit applications 
to the exact specifications of Passport Services, allowing individual 
firms to submit more applications daily would enable Passport Services 
to adjudicate a greater number of applications more efficiently.
  As the chairman may know, Arkansas is now home to a passport 
processing facility that is working on all cylinders helping to 
eliminate the backlog. The Washington Regional Agency of Passport 
Services already has staff dedicated exclusively to processing 
applications submitted by passport services companies. Does the 
chairman/ranking member of the subcommittee agree that we should 
encourage the consideration of a similar approach in all regional 
offices to facilitate the daily increase in applications for passport 
services firms and recommend Passport Services expand one of its 
regional offices to provide significantly expanded dedicated services 
to passport service companies?
  Mr. LEAHY. I agree that we should encourage the Department to 
consider providing such dedicated infrastructure, especially if it will 
help to alleviate the backlogs that have occurred all over the country.
  Mr. PRYOR. I thank the chairman of the subcommittee for his attention 
to this issue.


               Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations 
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, I remain deeply 
concerned about reports of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
  The people of the United States and the Philippines enjoy a close 
friendship that is deeply valued on both sides. Our nations have a 
strong bond that is supported and celebrated by the 3 million Americans 
of Philippine ancestry that live in the United States today. California 
alone is home to more than 1 million Filipino Americans.
  Because of the close ties between our two nations and our two 
militaries, it is essential that the government of Gloria Arroyo take 
strong action to end the killings and punish those who have committed 
abuses.
  Over the past 6 years, hundreds of extrajudicial killings have taken 
place throughout the Philippines. Those targeted have included 
journalists, religious leaders, political figures, human rights 
activists, and union leaders.
  For too long, the Government of the Philippines has not taken 
sufficient action to address extrajudicial killings and bring those 
responsible to justice.
  Last year, pressure from international human rights groups, foreign 
governments, and political leaders forced the government of President 
Arroyo to launch an investigation into the killings that was headed by 
retired Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo. The Melo Commission report, 
which was made public early this year, found that the killings of 
activists appear to be part of an ``orchestrated plan'' and that the 
Philippine National Police has made little progress in investigating or 
prosecuting cases.
  Philip Alston, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary 
or Arbitrary Executions has stated that the Philippine Armed Forces 
were in ``a state of almost total denial'' on the need to address ``the 
significant number of killings which have been convincingly attributed 
to them'' and that a ``culture of impunity'' exists within the 
Philippine justice system.
  In response, the Philippine Government has announced that it is 
taking steps to address these abuses. President Arroyo has said herself 
that ``these killings will be resolved and the military will continue 
to be a vanguard for freedom.''
  Last week in Manila, hundreds of relatives and supporters of those 
who are missing or killed marched to demand action and justice. One of 
the marchers carried a picture of her son, an activist who was 
reportedly abducted from a mall last April by seven armed persons who 
identified themselves as police officers. The car used in the abduction 
was traced to a vehicle impounded at a Philippine military base. 
Despite an order from the Supreme Court, the military has not released 
the missing activist.
  During a hearing I chaired in March on this issue, a bishop from the 
United Church of Christ in the Philippines testified that, ``with such 
an appalling death toll of extrajudicial killings in our country at 
this time of the Arroyo administration, nobody could ever claim that 
she or he is not afraid and is safe. I admit that I have that fear . . 
. ''
  I am very pleased that Senator Leahy has included language in the 
Senate State Department and Foreign Operations appropriations bill that 
fences $2 million of military assistance on the condition that the 
Secretary of

[[Page 23810]]

State certifies that the Philippine Government is implementing the 
recommendations of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, 
Summary or Arbitrary Executions, that the Philippine military is not 
engaging in acts of intimidation or violence against members of legal 
organizations that advocate for human rights, and that the Government 
is investigating and prosecuting those who have committed extrajudicial 
killings.
  This binding legislative language is critical. I hope that Secretary 
Rice is able to produce a report that states that the Philippine 
Government is taking real action and the Philippine military is no 
longer responsible for the deaths of innocent persons.
  Senator Leahy, if the Philippine Government fails to meet the three 
conditions contained in this act, will you work with me to place 
additional limitations on future U.S. military assistance to the 
Philippines?
  Mr. LEAHY. I share Senator Boxer's concern about extrajudicial 
violence in the Philippines and will continue to monitor this situation 
carefully. I will consider additional limitations on future U.S. 
military assistance if the Philippine Government fails to adequately 
address this issue.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I support amendment No. 2708 that would 
prevent contributions to organizations that perform or promote abortion 
as a method of family planning. I was unable to be in attendance for 
this vote. However, if I had been present, I would have voted in favor 
of this amendment. Similarly, I support amendment No. 2707 that would 
prohibit funding of organizations that support coercive abortion. If I 
had been present, I would have voted in favor of this amendment.
  I oppose amendment No. 2719 that would rescind the ``Mexico City 
Policy'' in its entirety, and, had I been present, I would have voted 
against it.
  Life is the most important gift each of us is given, and I believe 
that abortion unfairly takes the innocent life of an unborn child who 
deserves protection, morally and legally. For this reason, I oppose 
abortion, except in the case of rape, incest or when the life of the 
mother is endangered.
  The ``Mexico City Policy'' denies U.S. population assistance funds to 
private organizations that campaign to legalize abortion in foreign 
countries, or which otherwise promote abortion as a method of family 
planning. I believe that we must be committed to protecting the life of 
unborn children, and I do not support the expenditure of U.S. taxpayer 
dollars for the purposes of funding abortions, whether inside or 
outside the United States. While I understand the need for family 
planning services, particularly in developing countries, and support 
efforts to meet these needs, I do not believe that abortion is an 
appropriate form of birth control. For this reason, I oppose the 
allocation of taxpayer money to organizations that promote and provide 
abortion services.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the increasing instability along the 
Texas/Mexico border is of great concern to me. U.S. citizens who live 
in the border communities of my home State are caught in the crossfire 
of drug cartels engaged in illegal trafficking of drugs, weapons, cash, 
and people.
  Nuevo Laredo, a city across the river from Laredo, TX, has been 
caught up in a violent turf war between rival drug gangs fighting for 
billion-dollar smuggling routes into the United States. This issue is 
relevant because many people are missing as a result of the violence in 
Nuevo Laredo, including over 20 U.S. citizens.
  One tragic example involves Brenda Cisneros and her friend Yvette 
Martinez a 27-year-old mother of two young girls. On September 17, 
2004, the two women were celebrating Brenda's 23rd birthday at a 
concert across the border in Nuevo Laredo. Neither has been seen since.
  The ongoing drug wars in Nuevo Laredo are spilling over into Laredo 
and nearby communities in the United States. I fear the threat of 
violence to our citizens who live and work in border regions will only 
continue to escalate. This condition is unacceptable and Mexico must 
act immediately to end this situation.
  Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials along the border 
routinely seize guns, ammunition, drugs, and illegal aliens. 
Additionally, Border Patrol agents face hundreds of assaults each year 
ranging from shootings, to rock throwing, to attempts to run them over.
  In August 2005, I sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting 
that additional resources be allocated to remedy this situation. The 
Attorney General and the administration quickly took action to protect 
the people of Texas by sending a Violent Crime Impact Team to address 
the violence, particularly the problem of missing persons.
  However, as I noted in a letter to Tony Garza, the U.S. Ambassador to 
Mexico, ``the good work of U.S. law enforcement will never be enough 
without serious commitment and strong efforts from Mexico.''
  Since April 2006, I have been working with Ambassador Garza to 
encourage the Mexican government to help U.S. law enforcement and 
increase Mexico's efforts in locating the numerous missing persons from 
the Laredo area. I have also met with other top-level Mexican officials 
and urged them to allocate more resources toward finding the missing 
persons, and to coordinate efforts with the United States. It is clear 
that Mexico must do more to crack down on violence along the border.
  This legislation provides funds for international narcotics control 
and law enforcement. The purpose of this provision is to assist foreign 
countries in combating narcotics, gangs, terrorism, and crime. The 
House has already passed this bipartisan bill, and we must ensure the 
programs we are funding are focused in the right direction by including 
explicit language.
  According to the House Judiciary Committee report, the committee 
``continues to support a strong United States counternarcotics 
assistance program in order to protect United States communities from 
the ravages of drugs.'' Furthermore, the House Judiciary Committee 
recommendation includes $27.5 million for programs in Mexico to support 
the fight against human, drug, and weapon smuggling.
  The amendment I am offering today ensures that a portion of this 
funding will be allocated for locating the many missing Americans who 
have been lost in the battles between drug cartels. It is simply 
unacceptable to allow U.S. citizens to become casualties of the violent 
war being waged by drug gangs in Mexico.
  The truth is that, just as the violence and instability on the border 
is a serious problem for both countries, the solution lies both with 
the United States and Mexico. It will take all of our efforts and 
Mexico's efforts combined to win the battle against border violence.
  Any legislation that appropriates funding for programs to combat drug 
smuggling in Mexico must also allocate resources to combat the fallout 
of drug trafficking. My amendment simply goes one step further in 
protecting our communities from the turmoil surrounding the narcotics 
conflict by facilitating the return of missing Americans to their loved 
ones.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise to offer for the record, the Budget 
Committee's official scoring of H.R. 2764, the Department of State, 
Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal 
year 2008.
  The bill, as reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, 
provides $34.2 billion in discretionary budget authority for fiscal 
year 2008, which will result in new outlays of $17.1 billion. When 
outlays from prior-year budget authority are taken into account, 
discretionary outlays for the bill will total $33.5 billion.
  The Senate-reported bill is at the subcommittee's 302(b) allocation 
for budget authority and is $5 million below its allocation for 
outlays.
  The reported bill includes provisions that make changes in mandatory 
programs--CHIMPS--that result in an increase in direct spending over 
the 9-year period, 2009-2017. These provisions are subject to the point 
of order established by section 209 of the 2008 budget resolution.
  I ask unanimous consent that the table displaying the Budget 
Committee

[[Page 23811]]

scoring of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

H.R. 2764, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED AGENCIES
                          APPROPRIATIONS, 2008
  [Spending comparisons--Senate Reported Bill (in millions of dollars)]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                General
                                                                purpose
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senate-Reported bill:
    Budget Authority.........................................     34,243
    Outlays..................................................     33,511
Senate 302(b) allocation:
    Budget Authority.........................................     34,243
    Outlays..................................................     33,516
House-passed bill:
    Budget Authority.........................................     34,243
    Outlays..................................................     33,201
President's Request:
    Budget Authority.........................................     34,943
    Outlays..................................................     32,748
 
                    Senate-Reported Bill Compared To
 
Senate 302(b) allocation:
    Budget Authority.........................................          0
    Outlays..................................................         -5
House-passed bill:
    Budget Authority.........................................          0
    Outlays..................................................        310
President's Request:
    Budget Authority.........................................       -700
    Outlays..................................................        763
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, as we consider legislation to provide 
funding for our important international development and assistance 
programs, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight the issue 
of quality basic education and the ways in which increasing access to 
basic education can improve social, economic, and health outcomes in 
countries around the world.
  We cannot underestimate the importance of efforts by our Government 
and its partners around the globe to provide access to education for 
girls and boys around the world. Basic education is the cornerstone for 
success in sustainable development. It has a profound impact on the 
future of individual children, their families, communities, and 
nations.
  A population that can read, write, and think critically is far more 
likely to achieve democracy, economic growth, and improved health. A 
2004 report by Barbara Herz and Gene Sperling from the Center on 
Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations detailed the 
benefits that result from investments in education, particular for 
girls and women. A single year of primary education correlates with a 
10 to 20 percent increase in women's wages later in life, and a study 
of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa found that from 1960 to 1992, 
equality in education between men and women could have led to nearly 1 
percent higher annual per capita GDP growth.
  Nor is there any doubt that education saves lives. Educated children 
are less likely to contract HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases. Oxfam 
estimates that if all children completed primary education, 700,000 new 
cases of HIV/AIDS in young people could be prevented each year, 
totaling 7 million cases in a decade.
  I would like to commend the Senate for its efforts to significantly 
increase U.S. investments in basic education in the developing world. 
Over the last 15 to 20 years, there has been dramatic progress, 
particularly for girls, in school enrollment around the world.
  In 2000, our Nation made a commitment to the goal of achieving 
universal basic education by 2015. Through some of the initiatives and 
partnership in which our Government is participating with its 
international partners, such as the Education for All Fast Track 
Initiative, we have made progress. Since the Fast Track Initiative was 
launched in 2002, approximately 4 million children each year--both boys 
and girls--have gained access to school.
  But much more needs to be done. We are not on track to meet our 2015 
goal. In order to do so, we would need to help millions more children 
enter school each year requiring a global financial commitment of more 
than $7 billion every year. Of the 77 million children who are not in 
school, three-fifths are girls. Forty-three percent of all out-of-
school children are in countries affected by conflict and are often the 
hardest to reach. Approximately half of the school-age children who 
start primary school do not complete it. And there are hundreds of 
millions more children who are denied the opportunity to complete a 
secondary school education to become the next generation of doctors, 
nurses, lawyers, scientists, and teachers. These statistics represent 
an unconscionable misuse of human potential--a misuse that we can and 
must remedy.
  I have introduced legislation--the Education for All Act--that would 
enable the U.S. Government to make a significant commitment to reach 
the 2015 goal and help children in developing countries, particularly 
areas experiencing conflict or humanitarian emergencies, have access to 
a quality basic education. But I would also encourage my colleagues to 
support increased appropriations for basic education programs, and as 
this legislation moves forward, I will work with my colleagues to 
ensure that the United States is in the strongest position to meet its 
2015 goal and make education for all a reality. This is not only the 
right thing to do for the world's children; it is right thing and the 
smart thing to do for this country.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I would like to reiterate my 
longstanding opposition to any amendments or modifications to the 
Mexico City policy, the Kemp-Kasten amendment, or any exceptions on the 
use of funds as authorized in Public Law 108-25, the United States 
Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003. 
Some provisions related to these items are included in the State and 
Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that the Senate is prepared to 
pass, and I anticipate that if this language remains part of the final 
measure, the bill will draw a veto threat from the administration. 
Although I will support this bill in the spirit of moving this process 
forward, I look forward to working with my colleagues and Members of 
the House to ensure that the final version of the bill can be signed by 
the President and does not undermine these critical pro-life and pro-
family provisions.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on engrossment of the 
amendment and third reading of the bill.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I had a question of the manager or the 
ranking member. We have been waiting now a long time, and we have just 
heard that things are settled. I am not sure anybody knows what that 
means. I don't. I hate to ask other Senators if they do.
  Might I ask, procedurally, does this mean when we finish this vote 
tonight we are through?
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, if I might answer my friend, the senior 
Senator from New Mexico, it is my understanding from the leadership 
that this will be the final vote tonight. I understand the leadership 
has scheduled something for tomorrow morning, but this will be the 
final vote tonight.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I would say if the Senator is suggesting we 
adjourn sine die, I could support that.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am advised by the leader there will be 
one vote tomorrow at 10:15.
  Mr. DOMENICI. On a different matter.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House, and that 
the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall the 
bill pass?
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut

[[Page 23812]]

(Mr. Dodd), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln), and the Senator 
from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Idaho (Mr. Craig), and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 81, nays 12, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 325 Leg.]

                                YEAS--81

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Crapo
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--12

     Barrasso
     Brownback
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Corker
     Cornyn
     DeMint
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Inhofe
     Isakson

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Biden
     Clinton
     Craig
     Dodd
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
  The bill (H.R. 2764), as amended, was passed.
  (The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate insists on its amendments, requests a conference with the House, 
and the Chair appoints the following conferees.
  The Acting President pro tempore appointed Mr. Leahy, Mr. Inouye, Mr. 
Harkin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Reed, 
Mr. Byrd, Mr. Gregg, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Specter, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Bond, 
Mr. Brownback, Mr. Alexander, and Mr. Cochran conferees on the part of 
the Senate.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts.

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