[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16810-16813]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, as Veterans Day 2013 approaches next 
Monday, I ask that in honoring the brave men and women who have served 
our Nation, we in Congress honor them in ways that are meaningful and 
help them return to civilian life after they have served. A mere thank-
you is little comfort to a veteran who cannot find meaningful 
employment, who is striving to provide for his or her family, or who is 
dealing with post-traumatic stress.
  President Woodrow Wilson established this holiday--originally known 
as Armistice Day--on November 11, 1919, when he proclaimed that it 
would be used to honor the brave Americans who fought and died in World 
War I. The holiday was officially recognized by the U.S. Congress on 
June 4, 1946. After the end of World War II, Armistice Day was expanded 
to honor all veterans of our military services, and the holiday's name 
was changed to Veterans Day.
  We should honor our veterans every day, but I believe that this 
annual holiday is especially important as it allows us to reflect on 
the true aspect of the sacrifices that our servicemembers have made. 
Their sacrifices are often made in stressful, frustrating, and 
dangerous conditions. Yet these brave men and women do not shy from 
committing themselves to serving our country. It is because of those 
who have served selflessly, with honor and dignity, that we can 
continue celebrating our history and our way of life.
  While I am proud of all of our veterans, I am especially proud of the 
veterans in my State. Maryland has a long and proud military tradition. 
Maryland is known as the Old Line State. Some people think that comes 
from the Mason Dixon Line, but it actually dates back to 1776, less 
than 2 months after the Declaration of Independence, when George 
Washington's army was nearing annihilation in an indefensible position 
at Brooklyn Heights. They were faced with overwhelming odds, and the 
British Army--the most powerful military force in the world at the 
time--was closing in around them. But on this historic day 400 
Marylanders who made up the Maryland Line stepped up against those 
overwhelming odds and ran into the breach in defense of our Nation. 
Today, there is a plaque over the mass graves of those citizen soldiers 
that reads simply this: ``In honor of the Maryland 400, who on this 
battlefield on August 27, 1776, saved the American Army.''
  Every year I make it a priority on Veterans Day to take an 
opportunity to thank the millions of brave men and women who served our 
Nation in uniform and honor them for their courage, dedication, and 
sacrifice. In my first year as a Senator of Maryland I went to Garrison 
Forest Veterans Cemetery in Owings Mills for a Veterans Day observance, 
as well as attended a Veterans Day Salute and groundbreaking of a new 
facility for Baltimore Station, which provides innovative therapeutic 
residential treatment program supporting veterans who are transitioning 
through the cycle of poverty, addiction, and homelessness to self-
sufficiency.
  I have also spent Veterans Day at the Leonardtown Cemetery and 
Crownsville Veterans Cemetery Remembrance Ceremony, where I placed 
wreaths honoring those who have paid the ultimate price in serving our 
country. Two years ago, I had the privilege of joining Maryland 
Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward Chow, Jr., to observe Veterans Day at 
Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery. Through our efforts, we were able to 
announce that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the 
cemetery a grant of $1.7 million to make improvements.
  Just last year, I had the opportunity to thank the millions of brave 
men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces and risk their 
lives for our Nation when I provided remarks at the Crownsville 
Veterans Day Ceremony. Additionally, I was invited by the Armed Forces 
Foundation to speak to students at Manor View Elementary School--
located on Fort Meade--as part of their Operation Caring Classroom 
Program. During my visit, I talked to students about Veterans Day and 
the importance of honoring the service of men and women in the 
military, as well as the sacrifices of their families. We far too often 
forget to thank the families of our veterans for all they have 
sacrificed. We want our veterans and their families to know we are 
grateful for their service to our Nation and are here today to honor 
them as well.
  This year I will have a chance to say thank you to veterans across 
Maryland as I participate in the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 
451 Veterans Day Celebration and Baltimore City's Veterans Day 
Celebration sponsored by the Baltimore City Veterans Commission. This 
Veterans Day, I am reminded that Maryland is home to over 470,000 
veterans to whom we made solemn promises. I am committed to making sure 
they receive the services and benefits they earned and the support they 
were promised. The United States is the strongest Nation in the world, 
and I am proud to honor Maryland's veterans with my gratitude and 
respect.
  For more than 237 years, Marylanders in every branch of service have 
been at the forefront of providing distinguished service for our 
national defense. Let me mention a few examples. Marylanders are 
justifiably proud of amazing soldiers like PFC Kevin Jaye, an Army hero 
born and raised in Smithsburg who saw his life change when he stepped 
on an improvised explosive device, IED, while serving in Afghanistan. 
Kevin lost his right leg below the knee, but despite the many surgeries 
and the long recovery process, he is determined to overcome these 
challenges. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, more than 
1,500 U.S. troops have become amputees and Kevin is one of them.

[[Page 16811]]

  We are justifiably proud of naval heroes like Navy Hospital Corpsman 
Michael Couch, who received a Purple Heart earlier this year as a 
result of the injuries he sustained while serving in Afghanistan. 
Michael was traveling in a convoy when his vehicle rolled over an IED 
which detonated. He was knocked unconscious, and his eardrum was 
ruptured. After 3 weeks of rehabilitation he rejoined his unit. Michael 
is now stationed at the Naval Academy, where he is an optometry 
technician who prescreens the vision of midshipmen before they meet 
with an optometrist.
  We are justifiably proud of marines from Maryland like HM3 Vanzorro 
Gross, Jr., who was awarded the Purple Heart in May by Naval Health 
Clinic Patuxent River. Corpsman Gross received the Purple Heart for 
wounds received in action during a raid while deployed in Afghanistan 
with the Marines. During the firefight, eight service personnel were 
injured and two were killed. Corpsman Gross was 30 days into a 6-month 
deployment at the time of the attack and was sent home with damage to 
the bones in his foot. He had a 3-inch hole in his foot from the 
shrapnel damage and has undergone four orthopedic surgeries so far to 
reconstruct it. Despite these injuries, when visited in Walter Reid 
National Military Medical Center by a commanding officer, Corpsman 
Gross' first question was, ``When can I go back?''
  We are justifiably proud of Air Force Airman Captain Barry F. 
Crawford, Jr., a member of the Maryland Air National Guard, who was 
recently awarded the Air Force Cross--second only to the Medal of 
Honor--and Purple Heart for his extraordinary heroism in military 
operations against an armed enemy of the United States as special 
tactics officer near Lagham Province, Afghanistan. Captain Crawford is 
credited for taking decisive action to save the lives of three wounded 
Afghan soldiers and evacuating two Afghan soldiers killed in action. 
Captain Crawford is only the fifth recipient, since 9/11, to receive 
the Air Force Cross.
  We are justifiably proud of Security Forces airmen stationed at 
Warfield Air National Guard Base, who were awarded the Bronze Star 
Medal for meritorious achievement while assigned to the Air Force 
Office of Special Investigations Tactical Security Element at Bagram 
Airfield, Afghanistan. MSG John Duly and MSG Olen D. Smith III led a 
15-man tactical security element that provided security wherever the 
Office of Special Investigations detachment needed to go. On a routine 
mission, an Army platoon came under attack from Taliban fighters, and 
Sergeants Duly and Smith moved their unit to provide support. For the 
next 48 hours their unit provided security and overwatch, responded to 
a vehicle rollover, initiated and received direct fire, coordinated 
with helicopter and fixed wing assets, and responded to a vehicle hit 
by an IED.
  We are justifiably proud of the A-10 pilots from the 104th Fighter 
Squadron with the Maryland Air National Guard assigned to Bagram 
Airfield, Afghanistan, who recently flew as part of a harrowing mission 
to support ambushed coalition forces fighting during dangerous weather 
conditions. A dozen pilots protected more than 90 coalition 
servicemembers during a major battle in the mountains of eastern 
Afghanistan.
  All across the services, our military members and veterans from 
Maryland are the best in the Department of Defense. But Congress simply 
has not done enough to provide enough support to our veterans. For 
example, unemployment is also an issue for the veterans community. 
Veterans, particularly young veterans from our most recent conflicts, 
are having trouble getting jobs. In this September's jobs report, the 
Bureau of Labor reported that while the unemployment rate for 
nonveterans was 7.2 percent and the unemployment rate for all veterans 
was at 6.5 percent, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was at 
an astonishing 10.1 percent. I find this troubling, as the experience 
that these veterans acquired during their recent military service 
should make them invaluable to prospective employers. We must do better 
in providing employment opportunities for our veterans.
  Ultimately, Veterans Day is an opportunity for all of us to thank our 
veterans for their service and to renew our commitment to serving and 
honoring them each and every day of the year. A true marker of our 
Nation's worth is our willingness to serve those who have served us. As 
we continue to wind down our commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan after 
a decade of war, we need to gear up our commitment to our veterans. Our 
veterans deserve every possible tool we can provide to help ease their 
transition to civilian life. I am committed to making sure that our 
veterans receive the services and benefits they earned and the support 
they were promised and deserve. The United States is the strongest 
Nation in the world because of our veterans, and we owe them and their 
families our gratitude and our respect.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, Veterans Day 2013 gives us an opportunity 
to set aside our day-to-day worries and celebrate the men and women who 
have served in the United States Armed Forces. It is a national day of 
recognition and gratitude for those who have bravely served and fought 
to defend the freedoms that make the United States a beacon of liberty 
to the world.
  I am heartened each year by the pride that Mississippians have for 
our Armed Forces, and their appreciation for the sacrifices made by 
loved ones on behalf of our Nation. The ceremonies, parades and 
programs taking place this year will reflect the admiration we share 
for our veterans. It is gratifying to see the deep respect that the 
people of my State have for those who have served, from the first 
Mississippians who took up arms to defend this land to those currently 
deployed around the world.
  Today, the new generation of all-volunteer veterans returning from 
more than a decade of sustained combat operations reminds us of our 
sacred obligations to all our veterans and their families. We must 
dedicate ourselves to meeting those commitments. Doing so will make us 
a stronger Nation.
  I appreciate that on Veterans Day the world will witness an American 
people united in its appreciation of the men and women who have served 
and fought for our republic.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor. 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.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                    Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity to 
associate myself with the remarks of the chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee, Senator Mikulski, earlier this week. She has really been an 
extraordinary leader for many years in this Congress. She is truly an 
expert appropriator. We could have no better person trying to bring 
this body together--Democrats and Republicans--in my mind than Senator 
Mikulski. She is trying to get our appropriations bills through the 
process--which is so important for the country, not just for our 
agencies and our departments, as the Presiding Officer knows, as a 
Senator from Massachusetts with thousands in his State and millions of 
private contractors and nonprofit organizations, not the least of which 
is one my favorites, the Catholic Church, which delivers so many social 
services to the people of our State and Nation.
  It is very hard for anyone to plan anything when the Federal budget 
is in such disarray. If there is anyone that can figure this out, it is 
Senator Mikulski. So as one of her subcommittee chairs, I want to be 
here to support her work. I am the chair of the Homeland Security 
Subcommittee, and I add my voice to how important it is for us over 
these next few weeks to get a budget resolution done.
  Senator Murray has passed a budget on this side. After the 
recklessness of a government shutdown, finally everyone

[[Page 16812]]

has come to their senses, and we are now in conference with the Budget 
Committee. We have to get that budget number down so that once we agree 
on what the top-line spending is, the budget for the country, we can 
then go about building the 12 bills that actually run the Department of 
Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of 
Education, and the others.
  The important reason for Congress to adopt a budget resolution would 
be for us to provide some stability--not just for the next year but the 
next 2 years, and not only for stability to our agencies but to our 
many private sector partners, so that we can give some idea of what the 
outlook for spending and investing is going to be by the Federal 
Government. It is very important for our overall economic strength. We 
cannot afford another government shutdown which puts our economic 
viability at risk and denies assistance to millions of Americans.
  In my State, I was trying to figure out a way to describe the cost of 
the shutdown--reckless, and it should have been avoided, and it was 
not. So I asked, what are some of the things that cost about $92 
million in Louisiana? One of the things I found out is that the New 
Orleans Saints payroll is $70 million a year. That would be like 
telling the Saints we are not paying you for one whole year. We would 
never do that in New Orleans. But when we think about not paying the 
salaries of the players and then the effect that would have on the 
whole operation, the whole organization, the city itself, the games, we 
can see the ripple effect; and that was just the impact to Louisiana. 
The impact to the Nation was extraordinary. We have to avoid it at all 
costs.
  One of the missions of the Appropriations Committee is to make sure 
the Federal Government continues to operate on behalf of the people, 
the taxpayers we serve, and that we invest in their future, in their 
opportunities to strengthen families and grow businesses. They need a 
budget that they can count on just like we do. When the Federal 
Government is not functioning under normal order and getting our 
budgets, our appropriations bills, it really does wreak havoc in many 
communities throughout our country. We need to pass our 12 
appropriations bills that set priorities and invest in our future.
  If we are not able to get to an agreement on the budget and to set 
top lines for all of our appropriations bills, we will basically punt 
to a continuing resolution--CR--which I think Senator Durbin said is 
like running your business for 2014 based on your checkbook receipts 
from 2013. Why would any smart businessperson do that? No one would run 
a family budget or business operation using last year's stubs from the 
checkbook. We want to pay for this year coming up. We want to budget 
for the future.
  Anytime we can't pass an appropriations bill and we punt to a 
continuing resolution, it is like putting the country on autopilot set 
for last year's weather, not what is coming ahead for next year. It 
really is a waste of money. It wastes taxpayer money.
  So I am hoping that cool heads can prevail and we can get a budget 
number. It is going to take some additional revenues put on the table, 
as well as some smart cuts and reductions, balancing between the Murray 
priorities and the Ryan priorities. Then we can be given our numbers to 
build the Homeland Security budget. That is what I want to talk about 
now just briefly.
  Everyone knows how important it is to keep the homeland security of 
this country intact. We have done a very fine job. It has been 
expensive. This budget has gone from zero to its current level of $42 
billion post-9/11, in the last 12 years, but it has been an investment 
worth making. We have a lot of threats against our country every day 
from border intrusions, to cyber security threats, to explosions, as 
the Presiding Officer knows so well, with the Boston Marathon, which 
frightened and terrorized an entire community and city. So there are 
lots of challenges. Throwing money at the problem isn't going to fix 
them all, but not having enough money to invest will ensure 
vulnerabilities which we cannot allow.
  When a homemade explosive device wreaked havoc at the Boston 
Marathon, we saw how critical it was that law enforcement and first 
responders had proper training and equipment. That training and 
equipment is funded through the Homeland Security bill. We have given 
robust grants over the years. We want to continue to be able to do 
that. However, if we don't get to a budget, if we don't get to an 
agreement, grant funding would be reduced to the lowest level since it 
was formed 10 years ago. I don't think we want to go back to pre-9/11 
investments. This is a new world. It is a dangerous world. The threats 
are evolving, as we saw play out in Boston. We need to be ready for the 
next attack, and we won't be if we can't get a budget agreement.
  Our cyber networks are under constant attack. There are 6 million 
probes on U.S. networks alone. Among the attackers we know are 140 
foreign spy organizations. One example: The Syrian Electronic Army 
defaced the Marine Corps Web site and hacked into numerous print media 
Web sites. A recent Annual Report to Congress from the U.S. Secretary 
of Defense documents that China is using its network exploitation 
capability to support intelligence collections--of course, that is 
understandable--but hacking into some of our manufacturing and private 
sector databases to steal U.S. trade and manufacturing secrets. We know 
this. It has been put into the record before, but it is worth 
repeating.
  Also this year, in the wake of serious chemical plant incidents in 
West, Texas and Ascension Parish in Louisiana, we are reminded that 
people live around chemical plants and industrial sites that are very 
dangerous. Lots is done to keep them safe, but if that perimeter was 
ever breached by people who had intentions other than to work there and 
produce legal products, it could be a disaster. That is ongoing. It is 
a big country. It is an open country. We have partnerships to build in 
the private sector, and in large measure that is part of what our 
budget does. Last week, a Transportation Security officer lost his 
life, and two others were shot in the line of duty at the Los Angeles 
airport.
  So these attacks are real. This budget does what it can with limited 
resources. We try to be strategic. We try to be as efficient as we can 
to make sure that we keep our hundreds of airports, land ports, and 
water ports safe for people to move, for manufacturing and trade, and 
for our economy to advance. It is a big job. It takes a lot of money to 
do that, and it takes cooperation. I sure hope in the next couple of 
weeks we can find it.
  We continue to face threats of weapons of mass destruction. Dirty 
bombs being detonated in one of our cities or ports is an ongoing 
worry. A radiological attack would incite not just harm but mass panic 
and shut down transportation systems. We just cannot afford not to have 
a Department of Homeland Security budget that is looking to the future. 
As these threats evolve, they are ever changing. People say: I just 
bought a cell phone. Do I have to buy another one? The technology is 
changing so fast, it is hard for people to keep up. I just got a laptop 
last year. I need to buy another one. The technology is changing. In 
the same sense, threats are evolving. We can't budget for what happened 
2 years ago. We need to budget for the future, and if we can't get this 
budget worked out, if we can't get our appropriations numbers, we will 
either be in a continuing resolution--which is basically funding what 
happened in the past, which makes no sense and wastes taxpayer money--
or we will be short-changing our constituents.
  For 4 years in a row the Department of Homeland Security has had to 
tighten its belt. Everyone has. We have been willing to do that. We 
have operated at reduced funding. But the impact of the sequester--
which is really a blunt instrument that cuts funding in a not very 
smart way. They are automatic cuts that were never intended, that were 
never designed to run the government. They were really designed to 
motivate us to do a better job of getting

[[Page 16813]]

to the budget. That seems not to be working. As a result, these 
automatic cuts that are blunt, that are harsh, and that really are not 
smart are happening to all of our agencies, defense and nondefense 
alike. It is time to get rid of that inefficient way of operating and 
go to a more strategic, forward-leaning planning budget process.
  I just want to mention an agency that I am very supportive of, the 
Coast Guard, not only because we build many of the boats in Louisiana 
but because so many of our people--and Massachusetts as well--are 
literally saved every year by the Coast Guard. We have lots of water, 
lots of lakes, lots of important work going on with offshore oil and 
gas drilling, and we are intercepting drugs that come into the United 
States. The Coast Guard is on the front line. They are operating their 
surface and air assets at 25 percent below planned levels because of 
sequestration--not smart cuts. It has resulted in a 30-percent 
reduction of drug seizures--people are not happy to hear this; I am not 
happy to say it--and an 11-percent reduction in the interdiction of 
undocumented migrants.
  Under a yearlong CR, Customs and Border Protection would not be able 
to hire any new officers for our air, land, and sea ports of entry. 
This is bad news for travel and trade. The Presiding Officer knows, as 
people come into America they ask: Why do we have to wait so long in 
line? We just came here to do business. We have to get to New York, 
Chicago, Boston, Louisiana, California, and to other places where 
people come to do international business.
  We can't shift assets from the past to the front line with a 
sequester. We can only do it with a rational budget that will help 
cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, New 
Orleans and Miami to grow. This is important to business. It is 
important to the Chamber of Commerce.
  So I urge my colleagues, let us work very hard together in a 
bipartisan way to come to some agreement on our budget, so that we can 
have direction as appropriators to design bills--whether it is for the 
Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, the Department 
of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce--to fashion budgets 
that meet future needs, that are not funding tired past priorities but 
are funding investing in the real future and real-time needs, present 
and future, of our citizens and of the great country that we believe in 
and want to see get stronger.
  Under a year-long CR, DHS would not be able to implement safeguards 
to prevent unauthorized release of classified information. 
Vulnerabilities in the existing system were highlighted in the 
Wikileaks releases and the more recent disclosures by Edward Snowden. 
There was no funding in fiscal year 2013 to stop this type of activity 
so DHS's classified data will not be adequately protected without 
fiscal year 2014 funding.
  Critical infrastructure protection efforts would be hindered. For 
example, without the $34 million above the fiscal year 2013 sequester 
level, inspections of chemical plants to prevent weaponization by 
terrorists will be delayed. Funding to better coordinate Federal 
chemical programs in the wake of the West, Texas facility explosion 
will not be provided. Increases to prevent catastrophic impacts to 
critical infrastructure during manmade or natural disasters will be 
eliminated.
  Because of these impacts, it is critical that we conference our 
fiscal year 2014 Senate bills with our House counterparts so that we 
can address the weaknesses that continuing to operate at sequestration 
levels would entail. A conference would also permit a necessary delay 
to flood insurance rate increases for properties that were formerly 
grandfathered into affordable rates since the House and Senate Homeland 
Security bills contain identical language on this issue. This is one 
small step in a larger effort I have been working on to fix flood 
insurance so that it is affordable, accessible and self-sustainable. 
Time and time again, Senators have heard from their constituents about 
the skyrocketing increases in flood insurance rates. Many homeowners 
throughout the United States will see their rates rise to unaffordable 
levels. For example, up to 2.9 million policies nationwide could see 
their previously grandfathered rates become absolutely unaffordable. 
One resident in my State of Louisiana could see rates increase from 
$633 to over $20,000 per year. That makes homeownership unachievable 
for many Americans and traps others in houses that they cannot sell.
  We must get our work done. We need to agree on a budget for fiscal 
year 2014. Then we need to finalize our fiscal year 2014 bills so that 
our agencies have the appropriate funding for their critical missions--
instead of lurching from one funding crisis to the next. This is a hard 
task but one I believe that is achievable. This is exactly what we were 
elected to do.
  I thank Senator Mikulski for her leadership.
  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. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Warner). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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