[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 24408-24409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             THE WEEK AHEAD

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, on this day 220 years ago, in 1787, our 
Founding Fathers gathered at Philadelphia and signed a document that 
remains today our country's moral compass, our Constitution. The 
preamble to that Constitution reads:

       We the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
     perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
     tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the 
     general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
     ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
     Constitution for the United States of America.

  No matter how many times we hear that preamble, it touches a chord in 
all of our hearts because that is what this country is all about.
  The years since that day in Philadelphia, 220 years ago, have not 
been a perfect journey. In fact, it has been imperfect on some 
occasions--but more perfect than none. There are times where we have 
stumbled--we can all think of examples of that: Slavery, the Civil War, 
the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. But each time 
our fidelity to the ideals of justice has been tested, America has 
moved closer to securing the blessings of liberty.
  Over the past 6\1/2\ years, the Bush administration has challenged 
that fidelity time and time again. We have suffered through a White 
House that values secrecy and disdains the separation of powers. The 
Justice Department served the President rather than the people. The 
pervasive attitude among the administration was that civil liberties 
are a nuisance rather than an inalienable right.
  I spoke to the President's nominee to be Attorney General a short 
time ago, Judge Mukasey. I told him I admire his willingness to take 
this job. He has a good background, a good record. We will find out 
what happens during the time the hearings take place before the 
Judiciary Committee. But I told him that never in the history of our 
country have we had a Justice Department in such a state of disrepair, 
and he realizes that.
  But as we turn to the Defense authorization bill this week and likely 
the next, we in Congress have an opportunity to reassert our allegiance 
to the Constitution and the core American values for which it stands, 
values that have made America the world's beacon of freedom for more 
than two centuries.
  Senators will have a chance to show whether they support the 
inalienable right of habeas corpus, something that is talked about in 
our Constitution--the right to petition a court to review the grounds 
for a detention. Senators will have an opportunity to review the cost, 
both fiscally and morally, in maintaining the Guantanamo Bay detention 
facility, and whether closing it will do more to further the fight 
against terrorism and advance America's values, as I believe it would, 
than keeping it open indefinitely. We hope to debate the 
administration's use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques and 
whether we should bring the practices of intelligence agencies under 
the same rules that our military believes are proper under the Army 
Field Manual; in effect, no more torture.
  The Defense authorization bill is also our next best chance to 
continue our efforts to force President Bush to change course in an 
intractable civil war in which we find ourselves involved in Iraq. Last 
week the President delivered yet another prime-time address to

[[Page 24409]]

the Nation on his Iraq policy and once again he announced he has no 
intention to change his failed war plan. He has given neither a 
convincing rationale to continue the war nor a plan to end it. 
Meanwhile, brave American troops continue to be killed and grievously 
wounded, our Treasury is being depleted at an ever faster rate, the 
Iraqi Government has made no progress in political reconciliation, and 
those responsible for attacking us on 
9/11 grow stronger, as indicated in the latest video from Osama bin 
Laden. Today brings news that the President will not even return our 
troop presence in Iraq to presurge levels next year, meaning that a 
year from now we will be dug in even deeper than we were a year ago in 
Iraq.
  The President's speech last week made one thing clear, though: He has 
no intention of changing course. He plans to keep the status quo 
through the duration of his administration with the hope that if we 
stick around long enough, something, anything, will start going right; 
and if it doesn't--and there is no sign it will--he will leave it to 
the next President to clean things up.
  We could start to change course now. The overwhelming majority of the 
American people and the majority of Congress are ready to do just that. 
A majority of Senators has voted to send legislation to the President 
that will force him to change the mission and begin to bring our troops 
home, but the Republican leadership so far has not allowed the voice of 
the majority to be heard. By requiring a 60-vote margin on all Iraq-
related votes, they have repeatedly filibustered the will of the people 
and blocked the new direction our troops deserve. As long as our brave 
soldiers and marines remain mired in the crossfire of another country's 
civil war, we can continue fighting to responsibly end this war. We all 
know it will take the courage of our Republican colleagues to stand up 
to the President. A few have, and I admire and respect them. We know 
standing up to their President is not easy, but it is the right thing 
to do. It is long past time for those Republicans who expressed 
opposition to this endless war to work with us to find a way to end it; 
otherwise, this is not only Bush's war but the war of the Republican 
Senators as well, because we all know there has been little support in 
the House or the Senate by Republicans to change the direction of the 
war in Iraq.
  Next week we will turn our attention back to the Children's Health 
Insurance Program, known as SCHIP. This remarkably successful program 
was enacted a decade ago to fill a crucial gap in insurance, the gap 
between the children of families who often have private health 
insurance and the children of the very low-income families who are 
covered by Medicaid. But between the two, millions of children whose 
families neither qualify for Medicaid nor can afford private insurance 
were left uninsured--left without medical attention most of the time. 
Today 6.6 million children have insurance because of this program 
started 10 years ago. That is a 35-percent reduction in the number of 
uninsured children of working families. The program has been a 
remarkable success by any means, and a great example of what the State 
and Federal Government can do in a tangible way to make peoples' lives 
better.
  Earlier this summer, an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the 
Senate voted to reauthorize and approve this outstanding program. Next 
week we will vote on a compromise version between the House and Senate 
and send it to the President's desk. The bill we send to the President 
will continue the program and provide insurance for millions more 
children of working families. For many, it will replace emergency room 
care with regular checkups; it will mean proper dental care; it will 
mean preventive medicine.
  Study after study shows that kids enrolled in the Children's Health 
Insurance Program are much more likely to have regular doctor and 
dental care. The report shows that these children report lower rates of 
unmet need for care, the quality of care they receive is far better 
than it was before, and school performance improves. The plan is 
helping to close a disparity in care for minority children and it has 
become a major source of care for rural children.
  There is no doubt, no question at all, that the Children's Health 
Insurance Program is good for children, good for families, and it is 
certainly good for our country. This bill will be the product of real 
bipartisan cooperation.
  I appreciate very much the work of Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member 
Grassley of the Finance Committee, and the work of Senators Rockefeller 
and Hatch. They have done the right thing for this country.
  The President, though, has threatened to veto this legislation. This 
is pretty surprising because listen to what he said in the 2004 
election campaign, a direct quote:

       In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll 
     millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up 
     for the government health insurance programs. We will not 
     allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between 
     these children and the health care they need.

  I take the President at his word and expect he will live up to this 
promise. I hope before issuing more threats, he will take a real look 
at what he said before, and the legislation we are sending to him. It 
has the support of so many Democrats and so many Republicans for a 
reason. It is an example of Government at its best, lending a helping 
hand, providing a safety net to children who need a boost to reach 
their full potential. All too often we hear what Government can't do. 
The Children's Health Insurance Program is a stellar example of what we 
can do. I am confident the Senate will not be intimidated by the 
President's veto threats, especially, I repeat, based on what he told 
us during the reelection campaign of 2004. For the President to do 
anything less would be his not keeping his word. So I hope once again 
we will vote to pass this legislation with strong bipartisan support.
  I ask my unanimous consent request also include any statement my 
friend, the Republican leader, may give.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________