[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4632-4633]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           THE 110TH CONGRESS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, when we began the 110th Congress, I said:

       The American people want change, and it is up to us--
     Democrats and Republicans--to deliver that change.

  Two months later, the Senate has delivered. Democrats, Republicans, 
we have moved America in a new direction. As our first order of 
business, we changed the way Washington works literally, passing the 
toughest lobbying and ethics reform legislation in our Nation's 
history.
  Next, we ended the national disgrace of the $5.15 minimum wage and 
gave America's poorest workers a raise for the first time in 10 years.
  After the minimum wage, we passed an important continuing resolution 
to keep our Government fully funded and running. This Congress, the 
110th Congress, inherited a fiscal mess, but by setting tough spending 
limits, eliminating earmarks, and working together, we have begun to 
put our country's fiscal house in order. It was done with the support 
of the Republicans. We could not have done the continuing resolution as 
we did; that is, settling the country's financial problems, but for the 
support of Republicans. We could have done it, but it would have been a 
real knockdown, drag-out battle. We didn't have to have that. So as I 
have said a number of times, I commend the Republicans for working with 
us.
  Finally, before recess, we held an important Iraq vote where a 
bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate expressed its opposition to the 
President's plan to escalate the war in Iraq. That debate and that vote 
were just the start. The Senate, sometime in the future, will continue 
to work its will on the issue until there is a change of course in 
Iraq.
  In the last election, we promised that the days of the do-nothing 
Congress were over, and it is a promise we have kept. But I have to 
say, we were unable to keep it on our own. We needed the support of the 
Republicans, and we got that.
  At this time in the 109th Congress, the Senate had passed one piece 
of legislation and some nominations. This year, the Senate passed three 
significant legislative items--ethics, minimum wage, and the continuing 
resolution--and a number of judges, including a circuit court judge.
  On every one of these items, we have had the support of the minority, 
the Republicans. This year, the Senate has ended 4 years of 
congressional silence on Iraq. Senate committees have held almost 40 
Iraq hearings, where we asked questions and held the administration 
accountable for its policies. In the last Congress, you could count 
meaningful Iraq hearings on one hand. In the first 6 weeks of this 
year, the Senate has had 52 rollcall votes. By comparison, the 109th 
Congress during the same time period had 11 rollcall votes. It is a 
good start, but there is so much more to do, which is why this week the 
Senate will set its sights on extremely important work--keeping our 
country and our families safe by implementing the recommendations of 
the 9/11 Commission.
  Following the terrible attacks of September 11, 2001, our country 
turned to a respected group of Democrats and Republicans, the 9/11 
Commission, to review the lessons of that tragic day and to find a 
better way to fight the war on terror. Under difficult circumstances, 
including a lack of cooperation from the White House, the Commission 
did a fine job and, in July 2004, made a number of recommendations to 
Congress and the administration about how best to secure the homeland 
from al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Their ideas included 
improving security at our ports, on our rails, and in cargo holds, 
giving our first responders the tools they need to communicate with 
each other during the crisis--something the Presiding Officer has 
talked about many times in the Senate floor--and streamlining our 
intelligence community to help it better prevent another attack. These 
were commonsense solutions designed to keep America safe. 
Unfortunately, 2\1/2\ years later, too many have been ignored and too 
many of our communities remain dangerously unprepared to prevent or 
respond to another terrorist attack.
  We all feel so fortunate that we have not suffered another terrible 
incident like that of 9/11. In the last Congress, Democrats tried to 
move forward with tough and smart solutions to keep the homeland safe. 
Unfortunately, those of us who tried to follow the Commission's roadmap 
hit nothing but speed bumps. In 2005, we tried to increase funding for 
first responders by $1.6 billion. Our effort was rejected on a party-
line vote. Days later, we tried to restore $1 billion to the COPS 
Program, so important for law enforcement throughout the country. We 
were rejected again along party lines. In July 2005, just days after 
the subway bombings in London, the Senate considered legislation that 
would have improved security on rails. Again, with a party-line vote, 
we went down. That same day, the Senate voted on legislation to 
allocate money to secure our ports. The measure fell along party lines. 
The end result of this obstruction: America today is not as safe as it 
can be, should be, or must be.
  For 6 years, this White House and past Congresses have talked a good 
game about protecting America, but while they were distracted and 
consumed with staying the course in Iraq, they failed to heed the 
lessons of September 11, 2001--that we must do more to protect and 
secure our communities from the real terrorist threat here at home.
  The suggestions I have made today are not something I came up with. 
They are not Democratic proposals but were led by two patriotic 
Americans, Governor Kean, a Republican Governor of New Jersey, and 
Congressman Lee Hamilton, Democratic Congressman from Indiana, the 
leaders of the Commission. Last year, the 9/11 Commission released a 
report, grading Congress and the President on the job they had done in 
securing the homeland. It was a report card any child would be 
embarrassed to take home to their parents. It included 12 Ds, 5 Fs, and 
two incompletes: requiring proper screening of airline passengers, F; 
allocating homeland security funds based on risk, F; sharing 
information with State and locals, a little better but a D.
  Turning these and other failing grades into passing grades is what 
the Senate will focus on on a bipartisan basis this week. We will work 
together. We will take steps to protect America from the greatest 
threat we face--nuclear terrorism. We will enhance the security of our 
transportation system and our ports. We will provide America's first 
responders with the technology they need to communicate with each other 
during a crisis. In the process, we will make America more secure. Five 
and a half years after 9/11, we don't have a day to waste.
  I end where I started. We have had a good year. We have done 
tremendous work, such as our efforts on lobbying reform. We have done 
good work on the minimum wage. We have done good work on getting the 
financial house of this country in order. It has been done on a 
bipartisan basis. I look forward to this next week and the following 
week to make sure that the 9/11 Commission recommendations are 
implemented.
  When we get to this bill--and I have said this publicly when we were 
on the Iraq issue before we left for recess--it is going to be open for 
amendment. I have said it privately to the distinguished Republican 
leader. I say it here on the floor. The bill will be open to amendment. 
We have amendments we think will improve the bill. I know the 
Republicans think they have amendments that will improve the bill. I 
look forward to this debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Let me just say briefly, in response to my good 
friend, the majority leader, I appreciate his observations about how he 
intends to proceed on the 9/11 legislation. We have

[[Page 4633]]

a number of, certainly, relevant and important amendments to be 
considered in the context of that debate. As he may have indicated 
before I came on the floor, we are in the midst of a discussion about 
how to go forward on that legislation and at what point we can go 
forward on it. But I am optimistic that we will be able to work that 
out sometime in the next day or two and get started so that our Members 
will have an opportunity to lay down their amendments and get started. 
We will have a good debate on a very important issue confronting the 
country.

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