and judge deliver the members of this body from the pressures of daily duties the tension of our times and the confusion of many voices filled with certainty help our senators to pause and reflect enabling them themselves to follow truth wherever it leads to stand for justice even though they might stand alone to champion the right even when it appears on popular give them courage to engage in and introspection that will strip the so to its bare essence leaving them only with the desire to do your will with respect for other faiths conduct of america's national defense it's an important film made more important this year because the focus of debate at this moment is on the war in iraq we understand that this is an issue that is on the minds of most americans  also understand that this is a body the united states senate where we represent these people of this country i believe that the debate should be an open debate and one that gives opportunity for both points of view to be expressed i also believe that at the end of the debate on the central issue of the war in iraq we should take a majority vote and decide what the senate stands for when it comes to our policy those who stand for the president's position can oppose the levin reid amendment which is going to be spending and it's going to be considered soon it's an amendment which says stablish is a timetable for american troops to start coming home it's timetable for ending this war responsibly in the our combat role by the spring of next year it is the only amendment pen doing which is specific and really will change the policy and direction in iraq unfortunately mr president the procedural issues ahead of us are very complicated the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky has insisted that instead of majority vote on the war in iraq that it will be necessary to have sixty votes i think that's unfortunate last year in the course of debating the defense authorization bill there were two major amendments related to the war in iraq both of those considered and held to a majority vote standard earlier this year on the supplemental appropriation bill for the war in iraq another question came up about changing policy again majority vote but things have changed since that time at least three republican senators have stepped forward and said that they disagree with the president's policy and will vote to change the direction of this war because of that it is clear that we have a majority supporting this change in direction now the republican leader insists on sixty votes insists on filibustering the amendment that's before the senate is trying to stop the debate on whether or not we will change direction in iraq as a result we are going to have an unusual session of this united states senate which will commence shortly and run around the clock until tomorrow morning when we will face a cloture vote cloture vote is an opportunity for senators to step forward and say whether or not they truly want a change in the policy of this war the republican minority has insisted on the sixty vote threshold knowing it's more difficult to reach but we haven't given up on this we believe that with the three republican senators who over already expressed their dissatisfaction with the president's policy others may join we know that republican senators back in their home states have said publicly and repeatedly that they want to vote change policy they will have their chance on the levin reid amendment which will be brought up for cloture vote tomorrow morning this session which we will now commence is not likely to end during the next twenty four hours during that period of time it's an opportunity an invitation for members of the senate to come to the floor and express their feelings about this war in iraq for those who support the president's position and want to continue along this present course they have their chance for both those on both sides of the aisle who believe that we ought to bring this war to the end they also have their opportunity it is unfortunate that the republican minority has insisted on this procedural obstacle has insisted on filibustering this amendment is trying to stop us from getting to the heart of the issue about changing this policy in iraq but the american people know this and they know that those who are doing their best to protect the president protect him politically protect his position we're going to be well known across this country at the end of this debate i hope that those who agree with us on the democratic side and the three republicans who joined us will come together with us and dramatically change this reminds me of what the majority leader said back on january thirtieth seven and i quote sixty votes are required for just about everything caucus senator mcconnell about this you know we have to come up with a number of resolutions that require sixty votes because as you know in the senate a lot of times sixty votes are required for just about everything now that's life in the senate on defense authors patient bill we had two amendments last year at kennedy and n g m m s that both required sixty votes were happy to have this debate tonight it's not understanding the other side last evening agreed to accept the cornyn amendment to the defense authorization bill as we indicated we  request for a roll call vote on that amendment or we would be happy to schedule that vote at a reasonable time today told and we just heard again it and we plan to be here this evening leading up to the cloture vote on the eleven amendment and we'd be happy to have that vote today there's no particular reason to have the eleven eleven read vote tomorrow we could have it today but look it's perfectly fine with us to stay here today and saving to discuss this very important issue i couldn't agree with my friend from illinois more that it is a significant issue in the country at this particular juncture would be prepared to work with majority whip the majority leader to work out a floor schedule that allows us to rotate back and forth on a regular basis basis throughout the afternoon and the evening and we'll look forward to working that out in a way that's fair to both sides and gives us ample opportunity for a vigorous debate about this extremely important issue mr president you for joining with pursuant to the statement made by the republican leader i ask unanimous consent that the so we want provide a little bit of time for him this afternoon but i think we should be able to work this out shortly we could add some discussion here with the floor staff and see if we can't lock us down there's no particular reason why we couldn't work this out for the  but maybe two forty five would that be acceptable i would then my unanimous consent to two forty five time equally divided equally divided into fifteen into forty five on the corn amendment which will then be called for state to state the consent agreement again that a consent request maybe i can try later that is that debate will commence to fifteen on the corner an amendment equally divided for thirty minutes at two forty five the corner memet will be and i think that is about the sum and substance of this consent response to the republican minority leader he found two amendments where we required a sixty vote margin on the last defense authorization bill those two amendments did not relate to the defense authorization bill they were m m wage amendments they record budget points of order the senator from kentucky has been unable to find in iraq amendment raised in the defense authorization bill nor or in the supplemental appropriation bill which require this extraordinary majority now the republican leader has agreed to a majority vote on the corn amendment something that we offered yesterday now we're asking i hope that during the course of this debate he will reconsider his position on the levin reid  t this too should be a majority vote up or down vote what is so frightening on the republican side of the face a majority vote we know that an overwhelming majority the american people want to change this policy in iraq and yet the republicans have insisted that when it comes to the key amendment eleven read amendment which will actually bring our whole troops home and in this war responsibly that annet situation they want an exceptional majority sixty votes  to be considered well we're going to debate that and we're going to debate it long and hard between now and twenty four hours from now the senate will be in a rare all night session some of the critics of this all night session have said that it is just an effort to get some publicity well if they are arguing that it's an effort to get the attention the american people the right because the american people want us to debate this honestly and openly i happen to believe as well that the senate spending a sleepless night is no great sacrifice soldiers and the families of pray for him spend many sleepless nights in sign for the senate to do the same time for us to come to the floor and express what's in our heart about this war a war that has claimed over three thousand six hundred eleven american lives and war which has cost us thirty thousand injuries ten thousand of them severe injuries amputations traumatic brain injuries severe burns war that's cost this nation over five hundred billion dollars and costs us more than twelve billion dollars a month is it worth one night of lost sleep to discuss and debate that you bet it that's why we're here that's what the senate's all about i hope that the republican minority leader mr mcconnell of kentucky having agreed to a majority vote on the cornyn amendment a republican amendment will now give us a majority vote an or down vote on the levin reid amendment i don't understand why he would agree to one standard for one iraq amendment and then insist on a higher standard for democratic iraq amendment i think most americans can see through that  of the previous order the leadership time is reserved under the previous order there will now be a period of morning business for sixty minutes with the senators permitted to speak there and up to ten minutes each with the first half of time under the control of the republicans in the second half of the control of the majority mr president the senator from south carolina i rise today and to speak in support of the broadcast freedom act which i've often along with my friends from minnesota and south dakota senators coleman and thin some would say that the fairness doctrine is the perfect example of a regulation whose time has passed others would say it's a regulation that was never necessary to begin with in any event it is a certainly it's it is certainly not a regulation that we need today i think it's worth of brief recap of history of american mass media to show how utterly silly this doctrine would be if reinstated in today's environment in one thousand nine hundred eighty nine the year the fairness doctrine was created there were fifty one television stations in the united states hundred five when the doctrine was repealed by the f c c there were twelve hundred today there are nearly eight hundred radio stations or television stations excuse me the radio industry tells a similar story eighty nine there were about twenty five hundred radio stations in the united states in one thousand nine hundred five the number of grown to many eight hundred today there are almost fourteen thousand the significance of the growth of these numbers between believe that the interest of the public and viewpoint diversity is fully served the multiplicity of voices in the marketplace today that was when we had many less radio and television stations mr president that statement was made over twenty years ago the number of voices in the market was plentiful than when in the last two decades those numbers have grown even larger fifty percent in television and over forty percent in radio let's keep in mind too that there was no internet and one thousand nine hundred five there was no satellite radio offering hundreds of channels nationwide there was no digital television or radio allowing for there were not even wireless phones much less ones that could go online and even carry video and of course no one had yet heard of the podcast blogging or you to all of this is now changed it's easy to see that if the fairness doctrine was unnecessary in one thousand nine hundred five the cost of the multiplicity of voices it's downright laughable today mr president i would also like to speak to the fact that reinstated would have the opposite effect from which opponents tell us they see they say they want both sides of important issues presented with equal time well what happens if no one is available willing to offer an opposing viewpoint the answer clearly is a discussion will not take place at all and all the bureaucracy that is required to keep track of what someone said and what has to be responded to would cause most of the stations not to deal with important issues at all on commercial radio and television or businesses they are on the air only as long as someone is willing to pay for advertising and advertising is only attractive when someone is watching or listening and people watch or listen to things they find worth their time if a radio or television station is prevented from airing programming on public issues are forced to carry programming that may not suit their audience they will have a very very difficult time retaining listeners advertisers and ultimately their businesses it is not in the public interest for government to force content on a prevent content from reaching the the future from reinstating the arcane and damaging so called fairness doctrine is present i ask unanimous consent that that portion of my talk of be included separately in the record then my next comments and i'd like to speak now about the ongoing efforts here in the senate to block the earmark transpire the rules it's now been one hundred eighty days since they were unanimously adopted by the senate yet they still have not been formally enacted even worse the majority wants to take them behind closed doors where a conference committee can kill them in secret they tried to kill these reforms on the senate floor but failed now have fallen back to their plan b which is the got them in conference mr president that's not how we should write a bill about openness honesty and transparency i hope my friends on the other side will change their minds these are senate rules that i'm talking about and there's no reason why we need to negotiate with the house the house already has their earmark transparency rules my friends on the other side should stop blocking earmark reform and stop trying to change these rules in secret so we can move on americans have seen the ethical problems associated with their marks they watched what happened to duke cunningham and they've seen a number of members of congress forfeit their seats on appropriation committees due to conflicts of interest americans understand that lobbying and ethics reform will not be complete in fact it will be main englis if we don't do something to shine the light on earmarks let me repeat that because i think it's very important americans do understand that ethics reform is not complete without meaningful earmark reform many of the reforms in the ethics bill address what people outside of congress can do but earmark reform addresses what we here in congress can do that's the difference mr president americans want more than anything else for congress to be restrained and open about what we do they want us to reform the way we spend their money and shut down the secret congressional favor factory nothing would do more to restore america's faith in their government than enacting reforms that ensure that their elected officials are not going to use their ability to spend federal dollars to enrich their friends and supporters mr president i would like to draw the senate's attention to an article that ran this morning in the hill newspaper about earmarks earmarks that have not been properly disclosed the majority likes to say they're complying with the rules but that doesn't appear to be the case this story says and i quote as a proposal to require full disclosure of all senate earmarks languishes senators have not claimed responsibility for at least seven and a half billion dollars worth of projects approved by the appropriations committee according to analysis by a budget watch watchdog group and quote obviously the piecemeal approach being used by the democrats is not working we cannot allow appropriators and other committees to police themselves they're not doing it now and they never will we need a single enforcement rule for the whole senate that doesn't keep loopholes or secret earmarking let me repeat seven and i have billion in earmarks already this year are undisclosed this is business as usual in the united states senate mr president i'd like to point out that the defense authorization bill that we're debating now violates the rules it discloses the earmarks sponsors but the committee has failed to post on the internet the letters from the sponsors certifying that they do not have a financial interest in the earmark that they've requested before i can clue i want to update the senate on some progress we're making on earmark reform first we've added several sponsors to senate resolution one two three which is the earmark disclosure rules they are senators ensign inzy martinez coburn mccaskill and cornyn i thank them for their support some of the senators request earmarks while others do not but they all support earmarks disclosure and they all support this rule and it is as it is written right now we also have added a couple of co sponsors to senate resolution two sixty the rule that would stop the adding of earmarks in secret conference committees they are senators allard i thank them for their support a must stand as the president there was also an important editorial last tuesday in the roll call newspaper that supports our efforts to protect earmark reform i'll just read a couple of excerpts senate democratic leaders are resisting senator demands move and are insisting on going to conference on the ethics bill although they have yet to explain why already agreed upon earmark rules adopted a media continuing in the article is says we don't oppose earmarks in principle but as events last year amply demonstrated earmarks can be a source of rotten corruption full disclosure is crucial and the senate ought to institute it forthwith we think that on the merits senate leaders should have seed to demand so disclosure of spending qwest is not delayed until president bush signs an ethics reform measure that still has not even gone to a house senate conference in quote mr president the blogging community is watching what we're doing here countless bloggers including the the corner on national review online michel sunlight foundation pork busters red states many of them have weighed in on the need for the senate to implement these earmark transparency rules and now i thank them for paying attention to this debate and working to hold us all accountable finally mr president we have received letters of support from several important taxpayer watchdog groups including americans for prosperity and citizens against government waste of these groups know how important earmark reform is and they believe it should be implemented immediately these rules need to be adopted a mediately they should not be allowed to go to conference with the house where they can be changed it will they need to be enacted now before a single appropriation bill comes to the senate floor it has been one hundred eighty days since they were unanimously adopted by the senate i have asked consent to enact these whorls for taps but the other side  blocked them each and every time today needs to be the day that this obstruction stops today needs to be the day we end the earmark business as usual in the united states senate with that i will now propound a unanimous consent request that would enact the earmark transparency rules and requests that we go to conference with the house on the total ethics bill and i see my colleague from massachusetts is on the floor and i would like to ask unanimous consent request now i ask unanimous consent that the rules committee be discharged from further federation and the senate now proceed to senate resolution one two three and senate resolution two sixty the earmark disclosure resolutions all enbloc that the resolutions be agreed to in the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table i further asked that the senate then proceed to the immediate consideration of h r twenty three sixteen the house passed ethics and lobbying reform bill that all after the enacting clause be stricken in the text  consent that the senate proceed to consideration of calendar number one thirty nine s one six three that the committee reported amendment be withdrawn and i have a substitute amendment at the desk that the bond amendment to the subs thirteen sixty one the house companion which is at the desk that after the enacting clause that all after the enacting clause be stricken and the text of senate one sixty three as a amended inserted in lieu thereof that the bill to be read a third time passed and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table that the senate insist on its amendment request a conference with the house on the disagreeing votes of the two houses and that the chair be authorized to appoint conferees with a committee on from oklahoma object objections from this president senator massachusetts let me speak if i can for a minute about this legislation i appreciate senator better  senator de mint his need to object on the half of the senator from oklahoma this is legislation that has broad i do mean broad bipartisan support it was passed out of the small business notch printer ship committee on a unanimous vote and it now represents a very very broad compromise  worked on with the administration and with all of the members of the committee both republican and democrat alike i might just review very quickly what this bill does as everybody knows when katrina hit we had a terrible time getting small business assistance to the countless thousands of small businesses that were impacted not just in new orleans itself but in baton rouge and across into mississippi and alabama elsewhere where there were many services being provided by other folks so a lot of small businesses were impacted and we learned that there was not an adequate capacity within the small business administration to be able to deliver this kind of assistance in a rapid way so we have worked now after a series of hearings and over the course of  years to pull together the small business disaster response and loan improvements act and it does in number of things it provides catastrophic creates a new elevated level of disaster declaration referred to as the catastrophic national disaster and that triggers nationwide economic injury disaster loans for adversely affected small businesses in addition it requires the s b a to create an expedited disaster assistance business loan program to provide businesses with expedited access to short term money a lot of the businesses down new orleans could have survived or might have survived or chosen to try to if there had been some bridge money or available working capital but the absence of it forced a lot of them to close their doors and if we can provide assistance in a timely fashion obviously subject to the administration's approval and there is discretion there we would have the ability to be able to do a better job in addition there are improvements to the existing loan program with have been written in here there's improved agency coordination and marketing it directs the s b a to coordinate with fema in a more effective way it directs the s b a to create a proactive marketing plan to make the public aware of the disaster response services in addition it provides improved planning and oversight and directs the s b a to update the hurricane response plan to address all future disasters so this is  made to work with the u s small business administration and to address the administration's concerns with some of the provisions and as one sixty three the small business disaster response alone improvement act of two thousand and seven at this point if amended by the bond amendment and that is what we just saw to do the administration has no objections to senate passage of senate one sixty three however the administration would consider a longer extension of the authorization language in section three to avoid the need for concern over unintended expiration of programs and activities and we would obviously love to do that there it appears as if there's only one person in the senate the senate from oklahoma who is opposed to moving forward with this as i say there is a unanimous vote by our committee which would like to see if we could achieve this disaster assistance nobody understands how critical this is more than the senator from louisiana senator landrieu who has been fighting for from the moment that katrina hit to try to get this kind of disaster assistance and  k the senator if she would share with us her observations as to why this legislation is so critical and what specifically we've done to be able to address some of the concerns of those who had previously expressed those concerns in order now to have really a consensus about this legislation so i would ask the senator from louisiana if she would explain the situation in new orleans not just then but now and why this legislation is so critical i thank the senator from massachusetts and let me just begin by saying that his leadership has really been on point and so focused for the last two years mr president in trying to help lead his committee with the support and cooperation of his ranking member senator from maine senator snowe to move congress to adopt this important legislation the senator is absolutely correct that the a was one of several important federal agencies that were caught flatfooted when katrina and rita hit the gulf coast and subsequently when the levees failed the federal levee system in multiple places as the senator from massachusetts knows who was walked through neighborhood after neighborhood mile after mile who himself has visited with business owners and homeowners that lost everything that they had that it took them generations to build the senator knows very well that this particular administration was a name mc and very slow in its response in fact the gentleman leading at the time was really not the appropriate leader to the president's credit they have now and we have confirmed a new leader for the s b a i think the senator from massachusetts will agree with me that the director steve preston is making some very good and fundamental changes but there's just so far as mr president that this administrator can go without congress doing it's job to give him the tools that he needs to get the job done why this legislation is being held up by the republican side i am not sure it's a very disappointing not just to me but to the millions of people that are affected and still struggling having lost everything or having at risk everything that they own because we can't seem to get legislation passed because of obstructionist tactics so let me repeat again this bill is supported not just by the chair but by the ranking member in addition both senators from louisiana are co chairing co sponsoring this bill senator bill nelson from florida who has experienced himself senator  erry the disasters of hurricanes in florida senator johnny isaacson from georgia who himself also has experience this is not a democratic bill being rammed down the republican side of the aisle this is a good government officials see affective measure to try to reform the s b a but because of bureaucratic delays because of the inadequacy of the current law we were not able to help bring the eighteen thousand businesses that were destroyed many of them i'd say ninety seven percent of them senator small businesses as you know you and i visited together the manufacturer or the  i think the the cleaning a manufacturer for the hospital bed in an excess that was can't think of the name of the business but you and i walked through ourselves out in new orleans east one of hundreds of businesses that found themselves not only flooded but when the waters went down and receded the hospitals that they had serviced had closed so that basically through no fault of their own they were struggling as well this legislation would help them so i just want to say this is not only important to the gulf coast and to eighteen thousand businesses many are small businesses that need help and assistance but for the future the senator from massachusetts is saying let the federal government do better if we believe that business is important and we do we believe small business is important it is then let's at least have our response honed and tuned to the point where if god forbid another huge disaster would happen that we would be much more prepared than we were last time i think our constituents depend on us to be responsive and senator kerry that is exactly what what this bill does and let me again thank you for your leadership and just express truly my outrage that this is being held up for no apparent good reason at the expense of thousands of business owners that are looking for us for help and support times here on the floor the plight of those folks down in new orleans and in the immediate surrounding area and i want to emphasize what she has said what i said previously and that is that this is really been worked on now for two years in a bipartisan way senator snowe the ranking member who was in incidentally the chair when we first began working on this has supported the efforts to try to  make certain that we address these concerns other republican members of the committee have contributed significantly to those two hundred bond had concerns about the energy program we've addressed those concerns so i would really hope that we could move forward we've tried actually to reach out to whatever opposition there is with respect to this and we're happy to sit down and address any legitimate concerns but at this point this is long overdue we are into the hurricane season now about a month and a half into it and are are predictors those and they've been pretty accurate in these past years are suggesting we're going to have a very significant number of name storms and maybe as many as ten projected full blown hurricanes this year with thirteen to seventeen named storms last year they hit the number of named storms and hurricanes but we're very lucky they didn't blow into the shore and we didn't get hit but obviously you can't just sit around and be lucky all the time we can't afford another katrina like response there are specific things that this legislation empowers the s b a to do in order to take steps proactively to be in a position to be able to address the concerns of small businesses rapidly and in addition this bill  helps private lenders to be able to get in early on and be mediately on the scene and assist in the process of providing those loans so it really streamlines that process i just comment on  was reference to that cleaning place that we visited in new orleans we made the arrangements to go down and see that place because we knew that it needed help and we had talked to the o before going there about a week and a half later when we got there we went into this cleaning facility which had been completely flooded as senator said they'd cleaned it out themselves they worked gently to get the equipment up and working what they could much of it was ruined i'm going to have to be disposed of but these folks were working this place and since they were dependent on the services of hotels and others  the work that they did they were at the time mostly doing the hospitals that had reopened and that was it but the c e o was so despairing in the span of that week and a half or so between our making the appointment and getting there that when we arrived the c e o is left with his family taken off that was it had enough and left in charge was one of the workers who was the quote acting c e o desperately trying to hold on to this business this president when people are working like that and run into that kind of desperation we have to be able to look him in the eye and say we've done everything possible we've really put in place the mechanisms that they pay for and that they have a right to expect will be there to assist in that kind of an emergency and that's what we're trying to do here in a bipartisan way make certain that we don't lose c e o s and lose jobs and lose workers and lose hope as a consequence of our inaction here in the united states senate so i hope we're going to be able to come back to this in short order as i say i think we have worked in good faith with every legitimate question that has been raised with respect to this legislation we will happily sit down if another senator still has a concern but we certainly will not tolerate and at some point i hope the leader will allow us to take the time the senate to continue on the floor with this legislation if there's just one senator who is opposing it without any rationale whatsoever and just as something the senator would  we've all learned many things mr president since this disaster happened and one of the things that we've learned i guess rather painfully is that it's not only the geographic area that is struck by the high wind or high waters or flood waters that are impacted by a catastrophic disaster but it is the parameter of the area the towns that are of sorbs people fleeing to higher ground and trying to settle where they can find work  schools for their children businesses that might not of been directly impacted but they have lost half or seventy five percent of their customer base right now without senator kerry's bill there is virtually no authorization on the federal books to allow loans to be made to these kind of businesses so be because we don't have that authorization we are right now basically making the disaster worse senator kerry i hope people can understand this we buy our inaction by our hard headedness and it's not me and i can be hard headed but not on this issue but some leadership decision on the republican side is literally right now making this matter worse because businesses are continuing to go out of business businesses that didn't have a drop of water businesses that didn't have one shingle  let loose from the high wind continue to file bankruptcy as an out of business signs because there is right now no provision to allow low interest loans to them if you weren't directly impacted but they are directly impacted in terms of loss of customers except for us and in addition it's going to bring in the private sector we heard a lot senator kerry from the other side government can't do everything let the private sector b engage where your bill allows for more private sector involvement does it not it allows the banks that know these small businesses to be more of a part of helping them this is what the business community wants this is what the banks want this is what we recognize was a problem initially and yet we're being blocked i understand by the senator from oklahoma who has not made  his specific objections clear to us so i hope they can be made clear and if we can fix that fine if not then the leadership of the republican side senator from massachusetts i would say has a decision do they want to be part of the nonsensical opposition by a congressman or senator who's in oklahoma who's never going to have a hurricane or do they want to stand with the people in america from new york to taxes who are threatened every nine months with a hurricane season now that is a decision that the republican leader from from kentucky is going to have to answer is he going to support a bipartisan piece of legislation that aids businesses who are literally threatened from new york to taxes or they're going to stand with some nonsensical opposition coming from the middle of the country that never will be hit by a hurricane and i hate to be so pointed about it but that's basically where it is this is two years after the storm this isn't two months this isn't six months this is a bill that senator snowe herself started senator kerry is finishing and the people of the gulf coast are still still waiting so this is a real leadership question and i hope that as the day goes intervention at every step of away and there are billions of dollars that have gone down there as a consequence of the hard work that she's done here and let me just summarize what's being obstructed here expedited assistance from the the small businesses injured by a disaster private disaster loans private disaster loans the ability of private sector lenders to become involved in the process of quickly extending credit to the folks who need it as a consequence of that disaster which incidentally can only occur when the president ited states is legitimately declared a disaster third improvements to the existing program they why we wouldn't want to improve the existing program after we saw how it was incapable of meeting the problems of katrina is beyond me that's what we're doing here in a complete and total bipartisan unanimous committee vote that suggests that these improvements are important and will make a difference improved agency coordination in marketing i mean these are the things that make a difference when you can get the bureaucracy out of the way when you can streamline your getting better production for the taxpayers dollars and that's exactly what we're doing here improve planning and oversight and disaster assistance staffing necessary to be able to deliver the services because we didn't have sufficient personnel to be able to process the loan requests that came in so mr president i would ask unanimous consent that the letter from the small business administrator steve preston be made part of the record the objections  my understanding is that eleven o'clock we were supposed to go to the bill we are now going to go at eleven fifteen to the bill then we want the regular procedure as we consider legislation which would be whoever has right of recognition year regarding iraq today i understand that the leadership has decided to act on the levin reid amendment before considering other amendments to this legislation and given the existing parliamentary situation i'm not confident that they'll be an opportunity senate on those most critical issue of our day we cannot consider debate or vote on amendments affecting the lives and well being of our servicemen and women and the conduct of u s foreign policy in the most trouble spot in the world today  president i believe those who refuse to allow this senate to vote on this critical issue do a great disservice to the american people by enabling the president to continue with his failed strategy in iraq every additional day we stay the course in iraq our nation is less safe and the people of iraq get further away from coming together to fashion a political diplomatic solution to this civil conflict i'm going to women in uniform have served this nation valiantly in iraq and afghanistan and they will continue to do so i'm confident our political leaders see the error of their job going on this in this case and begin the process of drawing down u s troops in iraq it is imperative i believe that we change course in iraq immediately i think this is vitally important for our country and the well being of that part of the world sadly the president has allies stand in the way of that goal support for the president's policy erodes as each passing day and falls with more violence and chaos in iraq i predict the day will come when congress will have the courage to say enough is enough but sadly it won't be for more american lives lost or wanton destruction occurs in the beleaguered nation of iraq mr president let me speak briefly about the amendment that i hope to offer hope to offer still which i would like to offer the earliest opportunity if in fact this logjam breaks my meme it seeks to accomplish two critical tasks to present first to bring the iraq war to a close by ending the financing of combat operations mandate a phased redeployment of combat forces from iraq and ensure that the administration actually carries out that redeployment secondly the amendment proposes to redirect any savings realized from reduced military presence in iraq in order to restore the readiness of our very war battered national guard armed services strongly believe that we must not wait any longer to achieve either task now is the time for us to make difficult choice now is the time for the united states senate to an act legislation that i believe would hold this administration accountable to this policy i mr president i remain concerned about some aspects of that amendment extended delay in commencing the deployment and the absence of any funding linkage to redeployment based on past experience with this administration my concern is that the president would simply ignore the legislation proposed by the chairman the armed services committee and the senior senator from rhode island mr president a quite difficult to track the ever changing justifications for kid day of our continuing our combat operations in iraq including the surge there appears to be no end in sight first of ministration simply refused to admit there was no military solution in iraq or that iraq was in a state of civil war instead of acting upon a unique chance to implement the bipartisan baker hamilton commission which congress supported secretary of state rice explained that the administration was implementing a surge tactic but assured us that it was an iraqi plan most importantly she said and i quote are the iraqis have d desired advise their own strategy and our efforts will support theirs end of quote mr president our country was told that despite the catastrophic policy failure the ministration up until that point the surge would take time to work and that we couldn't judge it success and tell us forces had served their maximum levels and that would take up to six months but mr president search is now in full force we are told once again the time is right to make a judgment about the success or failure administration's policy now we're told we must wait until september to determine the success or failure of the surge as a present i strongly suspect as i stand here in july that when september draws near the administration will once again come up with some additional arguments to delay the day of reckoning on the policy in iraq as reson i don't need any more time frankly or any more reports of briefings to confirm what must be all right was what most of us already know the american people in the iraqi people don't need any more time to realize that the administration's iraq policy including the surge has been a failure with the exception of a handful of this body i have what i have not said anything that most of my colleagues here don't believe themselves why then are we waiting and as we wait mr president other two or three months to decide what we've already concluded most of us here while disagreeing about how best to achieve that result there's a consensus here that's emerged that i think is probably more than a super majority and all that time waiting here our servicemen and women and the beleaguered people of iraq will pay an awful price indeed as we pull around and dicker to deciding how best to come to the conclusion we've all basically reached already a highly respected international crisis group recently released report on iraq which examined the complex reasons for the current political violence in iraq and concluded that any surge based on purely military operations with a simplistic view of the bloodshed origins was destined to failure their words the crisis group i don't think we should sacrifice any more lives mr president we shouldn't countenance any more bloodshed we should support the continuation of the failed escalation of this disastrous policy the april may america death toll is a new two month record the civilian casualty rate in iraq is an all time high overall violence in iraq is up and according to the iraqi red crescent the number of internally displaced iraqis has quadrupled since january in fact the iraqi red crescent warns that there is currently and i quote them a human tragedy unprecedented in iraqi history as recent g a o reports of highlighted what we call intuitively what we call intuitively have concluded that there has been little progress on the key detail provision of iraq's hydrocarbon law let alone on reforming the iraqi constitution or on the db as a vacation or on a host of other essential political components of a functioning iraqi government focused on reconciliation tragic this situation has become the president told the american people that the surge of troops into cities interact was being executed not ago by the iraqis with some political breathing space to start the reconciliation process secretary rice explain quote again that the most urgent task now is to help the iraqi government stablish the confidence that it can and will protect all of its citizens regardless of the sectarian identity and that it will reinforce a purity with political reconciliation and economic chairman now ranking member of the foreign relations committee said recently and i quote him and his judgment my judgment he says the current surge strategy is not an effective means of protecting these interests he goes on to say its prospects for success are too dependent on the actions of others who do not share our agenda relies on military power to achieve goals that it cannot achieve it distances allies that we will need for any regional diplomatic effort it's they are without a careful transition to a back policy what intensify our loss of credibility it uses to mendis amounts of resources that cannot be employed in other ways to secure our objectives and of coke as reson i fully agree with our colleagues in the area the former chairman of the foreign relations committee that is why my amendment calls on the administration to appoint a high level special envoy to iraq to engage in a new diplomatic offensive exactly what the baker hamilton commission called for over six months ago it is imperative that w gauge iraqi leaders regional leaders and international organizations such as the united nations and the arab league to promote reconciliation and stability in iraq i know of no other way that's likely to occur this is ministration as long ago after the key diplomatic and political aspects of the conflict in iraq despite the calls for many of us including senator hagel of nebraska recently outlined a plan to internationalize as he called it our efforts self iraqis reach political reconciliation including appointing u n secretary un security council backed international mediator the memon offered by senators levin and reid also calls i would point out this progress for a mediator which i also fully support but despite the fact there is no military solution to this conflict which we've said for now almost three and a half years this is ministration too many of our colleagues here are too wedded to only military solutions in fact these defenders of the iraq war continue to claim that we are interactive fight al qaeda just like they continue to fal attacks this sunni group has arrived as a magnet for recruiting and a force for violence largely because of the american invasion of iraq in two thousand and three which was an american occupying force of more than one hundred thousand troops in the heart of the middle east and led to a that poses the greatest risk to american troops in baghdad yesterday the washington post reported that the mahdi's army frequent brazen attacks on u s soldiers also appear to challenge the idea that the mahdi army has been lying low to avoid confrontation with u s servicemen and women perhaps most frustrating it all mr president while fevers lee attempting to find linkages between osama bin laden and iraqi insurgents administration has taken its eye off the ball of the bigger threats posed by looming terrorists having little or nothing to do with the rack the general accounting office recently planned the administration's anti terrorism efforts in a report entitled law enforcement agencies lack directives to assist foreign nations to identify disrupt and prosecute terrorists and a quote the report found that there is a tremendous deficit of communication and coordination among u s key agencies which in turn severely hampers efforts at fighting international terrorism and aiding foreign governments in doing six years after nine eleven mr press this administration has singularly focused on iraq while failing to effectively fight international terrorism it may be true that for the bush administration that iraq is central to the front and their war on terror but this misplaced focus has made america less secure and far more vulnerable to my view as a result as a present simply put we must stop the downward spiral in iraq and refocus our efforts at effectively and robustly combating extremism and terrorism around the world in my judgment would begin in my memory rather would begin to do just that why is that the case of mr president because my m m it sets clear timelines for the phased redeployment of our troops out of iraq with three specific exceptions for activities that are critical to our national security interests in the interest of iraq first conducting counterterrorism operations in iraq targeted allies al qaeda in mesopotamia second training and equipping iraqi forces and third force protection for us personnel and infrastructure this amendment also provides a very specific timeline for all combat forces to redeploy out of iraq aside from the three exceptions that about lined by april thirtieth two thousand and eight to ensure that this process get would result in the funding penalties depressed the member would withhold twenty five percent of the fiscal year two thousand and eight military budget firaaq related act that is until present the present certifies that he can meet the overall april thirty two thousand and eight deadline ultimately this amendment calls for the redeployment of approximately ninety thousand combat troops within the next nine months leaving about seventy thousand to complete the three non combat missions i've already outlined the redeploy forces would be comprised of a majority of deployed ramp up to the first gulf war the department of defense coordinated the movement of over five hundred thousand troops and ten million tons of cargo and fuel in the same timeframe and this amendment grants that this immigrants to redeploy affords one fifth of that size  january of one thousand nine hundred one alone the transportation command moved approximately two hundred thirty two thousand troops one million tons of cargo and over a million tons of fuel if it's possible to coordinate the logistics to go to war it is certainly possible in my view to get our troops out of harm's way and bring this war or military involvement the civil war to a close of course there's always concern about the cost of conducting a redeployment senator conrad now chairman of the senate budget committee asked this very question of the congressional budget office in two thousand t of the cost of the iraqi war including the eventual redeployment of our forced the cvo concluded that the redeployment of our forces to their home bases would cost approximately seven billion dollars less of the cost of one month of ongoing operations in iraq and we trust those figures mr president the very same report notes that monthly cost of the war would run between six and nine billion dollars a month that was in two thousand and two which is exactly what we saw until the incursion the incursion of additional surge related cause the suppression of until now the cost of the war in iraq as a namely measured by the number of lives lost in the u s treasury spent and rightly so three thousand six hundred of brave american servicemen and women have lost their lives tens of thousands of iraqis have lost theirs as well and congress has approved approximately four hundred fifty billion dollars for this effort but yet there's another cost of this war that's our military readiness while a long long arduous deployments to iraq and afghanistan are testing the morale of troops in the field and their families are also taxing critical stocks of aircraft vehicles and equipment that our military needs to prepare for the challenges of the twenty first century according to recent military reports two thirds of the u s army is unable to report for combat duty and the army's top generals have said that if the administration continues to fail to meet those needs the situation could further deteriorate the situation for our national guard is even worse i would point out mr president according to the national guard bureau chief lieutenant general steven blum i quote an eighty eight percent of the force that are back here in united states are very poorly equipped today in the army national guard and a quote such a statistic is unconscionable to me mr president and the fact the national guard units in every state and every last senator in this chamber remember that i'm offering he will take steps to remedy this situation and begin to rebuild the military is debate is about priority will we continue to fund a failed strategy in my view in iraq is leaving us less secure that is hollowing out our military service all we meet our commitments to our service members and our nation by restoring the readiness of our forces which have already been severely damaged as a result of this is ministrations policy in my view the answer is a simple what our military's top generals and admirals have submitted to congress list of critical military priorities that would not be funded on the present fiscal year two thousand and eight budget billions of dollars a week of being squandered in iraq i would point out what a nation's military is calling out for additional resources to repair the damage caused by the administration's policy my memet therefore re prioritize our defense budget leave build the military stop financing of combat missions as i've pointed out in iraq and redirect funding to meet some of these priorities savings made available by downsizing our force in iraq would be invested in items identified by each of our military shortfalls including funding for space especially armored trucks known as m wraps or mine resistant ambush protected vehicles night vision goggles and bomb disposal gear the marine corps unfunded requirement list submitted by the  commandant includes over three billion dollars for similar priorities as well as new helicopters communications gear and training equipment the navy's list is over five point six billion dollars mr president including helicopters sailor housing and aircraft maintenance the air force unfunded priorities total over sixteen billion dollars includes much needed resources to modernize radar systems and restore our fleet of cargo aircraft helping deploy our troops and their equipment the national guard bureau chief has identified over a billion dollars needed to begin rebuilding the guard forces around the country to replace and repair vehicles aircraft and personnel gear necessary for homeland security missions remembered i would like to offer mr president would allow for funding to restore national guard equipment read of the administrations this management the national guard is facing a thirty eight billion dollars quitman shortfall according to general blum a recent report by the commission on the national guard and reserves disclose that the administration policies of actually endangered the guard's abilities to perform both their overseas and homeland defense missions under orders by the administration the national guard troops have been forced to leave their states equipment in iraq and afghanistan or other troops rotating into combat theaters many of their military vehicles and aircraft are being worn down or destroyed in battle but any critical equipment that may have survived simply being transferred to other units coming into iraq and afghanistan my home state of connecticut mr president the adjutant general made a little general that is mark recently reported that equipment shortages exceed two hundred million dollars in my state this includes more than two hundred humvees twenty one large support vehicles and tankers and heavy cargo vehicles over six hundred personnel and crew served weapons systems over fifteen hundred night of vehicle devices and even one medium left cargo helicopter what does all of this means depressed it means that we are short of equipment to respond to natural or manmade disasters here at home short of equipment for training short of equipment to maintain the standard of maintenance rotation for equipment currently in the field short of equipment for units deploying into harm's way out of equipment to protect the american people themselves the general accounting office highlighted is very important point in testimony released on october twentieth two thousand and five and i quote it it stated a cumulative effect of these personnel is that the transfers has been a decline in the readiness of army national guard forces for future missions overseas and at home and  this down alone should demonstrate to everyone on the quickly that each of us has to fulfill our obligations to our war to our war fighters now is the time to begin the rebuilding process and the sooner we redeploy in my view out of iraq and a military out of that situation the sooner we can redirect these vital funds and rebuild our forces at home here as a present none of our choices are easy i don't suggest by remarks today that they are but they are clear choice and it's about time we made to govern and to govern is to choose the policy that in the civil war the last several months of a story of squandered chance and we paid for them in american lives again to delay another two or three months i've got a conclusion already most of us have arrived at the present is something that i think is unacceptable here and those lives that may be lost or damaged because we waited two or three months arrive at a conclusion that most here already believe to be the case i think it's certainly a sad day for this body that we can't even have votes we can't even consider the various fifteen eighty five which the clerk will report can remember one of the nine h r fifteen eighty five an act authorize appropriations for fiscal year two thousand and eight for military activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes so  i will not object i would ask center eleven perhaps for the benefit of all of what our plans for the day are and what we expect i understand that we the senate intends to stay in throughout the evening and in debate on on this issue i will not object but i reserve the right to object perhaps the senator from michigan would eliminate meehan and the other members as to what we can expect throughout the day in the evening well i think good on our side there will be  because hopefully we can get to another vote tomorrow so that we can actually have a vote on levin really we can get to sixty votes to achieve cloture we then would actually be able to have a vote on the pending amendment other than that we would be thwarted there would be a procedural roadblock for reaching a vote on levon reid so that is the goal that gave everybody a chance to speak on level three whatever side there on so that we can then that there be a vote on the cornyn amendment at two forty five there was an offer yesterday's matter fact to i believe simply accept that amendment but somebody would wish to roll call vote on it that's their right but i ask my colleague further i understand we also have like well over one hundred pending amendments on the bill as well i would hope that at some point senator levin and i could sit down and maybe start sorting through those if we have any hope whatsoever of completing this bill i would i would remind all of my colleagues that we have had a this this body is passed and has been sign law defense authorization bill for the last forty five years there are aspects of this bill as a senator well knows as the distinguished chairman that we work very hard on that such as pay raises another authorizations for much needed equipment training etc and i would hope that the senate from michigan i could start working on that aspect of the bill if we have any hopes of passing an authorization bill the senator would yield it's my fervent hope that we would have a bill this year and it is not only my intent to try to work out amendments it has been our intent for many days to work out those amendments and i understand there's some kind of a procedure that some members on your side have assisted upon which has slowed down that process significantly so i am and our staff and i know you as the senator from arizona the ranking member on the committee are more than ready to work  out these amendments as many as possible usually can work out as many as one hundred on an authorization bill i think there's one hundred ninety amendments were up to the task our stamps are up to it we are a pathetic but we've got to be allowed to proceed and i understand are some kind of a road amendment throughout the day and and through tonight and perhaps a cloture vote sometime tomorrow is that is that your understand i believe it's set for one hour after we the senate convenes what what's  procedure is i would ask you there's no order for the time that the senate will come in tomorrow if we have but we we have to just await that leave well i i think  this is the second week as we know we are on this bill and we have not gotten to the many of the amendments that have anything to do with other aspects of defending this nation besides the issue of iraq and i look forward to working with them as we can try to not break a forty five year cost i'm here that we provide a much needed authorization for the men and women then our defense establishment and provide for our nation's security which i think we all agree is is our highest priority so i if i may continue the colloquy for just one moment  i know that there now we will be beginning and i will give a statement after that after the chairmanship it's his desire and then we will have speakers coming all day long on on either side wounded warrior legislation which is now on this bill and the i believe on on friday that there were speakers on the iraqi issue on the eleven read another amendments there were yesterday as well so that the debate vote procedural roadblock and i didn't want to say something that has been the case before we had a number of votes on iraq in the last authorization bill those were fifty vote votes there was not a threat of a filibuster at the private senate of voting on those amendments in the last authorization bill for instance there was eleven read amendment in the last authorization bill which i believe i received thirty nine or forty votes there was also a carry on them and on iraq which was voted up or down without that procedural roadblock and i would hope that on this bill we can given the absolute importance of this issue and the expression of opinion of the american people last november about this issue that we would be allowed to get to the who to be allowed to vote up or down and do remove that sixty vote filibuster threat roadblock that has now been put in the way a and will determine the morrow whether or not the coach will be invoked another roadblock can be removed but the senator is correct there's sample opportunity for people to come down today and continue the debate on  under his leadership we have now adopted as part of the bill is another compelling argument in my view to complete the bill if we're going to take care of our wounded veterans and we're going to take care of the men and women who serve and i think it is a compelling argument that we get this legislation passed and finally we've been back and forth on this and i don't like to get into the process and back and forth but sixty votes was not invented on this side nor was it invented on the other side the sixty vote procedure has been employed by the minority in recent years in my view all too often but the fact is to somehow say that the it it was invented here on this side of the aisle obviously is not the case many times when the democratic party was in the minority in this body i saw the sixty vote in vote a procedural vote because it was felt appropriately because that's the way the senate works as as the criteria for moving forward because of the urgency you are the importance of the pending legislation so what's missing here i would say to my friend from michigan and i think he agrees with me is it's what we've seen the erosion of over the past twenty years that i've been here of an ability to sit down and discuss and agree and move forward that's what's the missing ingredient here and it's been missing for some years i regret i regret that i know that well i'm maybe a little optimistic but i think if it was just between the center for michigan and me i think we could dispose of most of these issues rather readily and as stablish a procedure for moving forward so we're now at the point let's have some straight talk that this entire bill is in jeopardy because of the of the war in iraq being added to an authorization bill which was not intended to be a national security piece of legislation it was intended to be a bill to authorize the necessary funding training and equipping of the men and women in the military now has been added added to it care for our wounded veterans solve i regret the situation that it is but that's the way it is and we'll spend today debating this issue and discussing it but i would hope that at some point we would realize the war is going to be going on this bill if it's passed with the reid levin amendment on it would be vetoed by the president united states that would be a bad thing to happen the war will be discussed in september again we all know that when general petraeus is ready to report to the united states senate so at some point i would hope that we could just move forward on the authorization bill and do the things that are necessary to help the clip and training and ready the men and women who are serving in the military and preserve our national security and again i appreciate the efforts that the senator from michigan distinguished cha committee is making in this direction i think my friend and i think him for his his willingness to would always sit down trying to work these out of it to the roadblock here to our proceeding will be kept in place to remove iraqi issue last authorization bill the there was a vote up or down without that sixty vote procedural roadblock being put in place two was the then eleven read into the kerry amendment so that is the whether i'm right or wrong that is what happened last year and i hope again will be followed this year i think my good friend my remarks will be coming to sanford new so senator kennedy would be following senator from arizona if this is senator from rhode island and let's be very clear what this amendment would do it would mandate a withdrawal of u s forces from iraq the debate that has taken place on this floor for some months now comes to this just simple choice sponsors of this amendment would have us legislative withdrawal of u s combat forces from iraq within one hundred twenty days of an act meant leaving in place only forces authorized to carry out specific narrow mentioned missions that sees one choice to force an end to the war in iraq and except there by all the terrible consequences that follow the other is to defeat this amendment to give general petraeus and the troops under his command the time and support they have requests sted to carry out their mission to allow them to safeguard vital american interests and iraqi population at risk of genocide that's a choice mr president and all politics and popular opinion may be pushing us in one direction to take the easy course we as elected leaders have a greater responsibility measure of courage is required not the great courage exhibited by the brave men and women fighting today in iraq and afghanistan but a smaller measure the courage necessary to put our country's interests before every personal or political consideration i'd like to spend a few moments reviewing the state of affairs in iraq today the final reinforcements needed to implement general petraeus as new counterinsurgency strategy arrived several weeks ago from what i saw and heard on my recent trip and from briefings and reports since then i believe that our military in cooperation with the iraqi security forces is making progress in a number of areas areas where they are operating not suddenly become say they have not but they do illustrate the progress that our military has achieved under general petraeus as a new strategy the most dramatic advances have been province as tribal shakes broke formally with the terrorists and join the coalition side ramadi which just months ago stood as iraq's most dangerous city is now one of its safe since in february attacks numerous stations and have divided the city into gated districts leading to a decline in violence local intelligence tips have proliferated in the province thousands of men are signing up to the police and army and the locals are taking the fight to al qaeda u s commanders in anbar attests that all eighteen major tribes in the province are now on board with this security plan and they expect that a year from now the iraqi army and would have total control of security in ramadi at that point they project we could safely draw down american forces in the area the anbar model is one that our military is attempting to replicate in other parts of iraq with some real successes a brigade of the tenth mountain division is operating in the area south of baghdad the belts around the capital which have been havens for al qaida and other insurgents all soldiers in the brigades are quote living forward and commanders report that local shakes are increasingly siding with the coalition against al qaida the main enemy in that area of operations southeast  baghdad the military is targeting al qaeda and safe havens they maintain along the tigris river and major general rick lynch commander of operations there recently reported that attacks on civilians in his area of operations were down twenty percent since april and civilian deaths have declined by fifty five percent these another efforts are part of operation phantom thunder a military operation intended to stop insurgents present in the baghdad belts from originating attacks in the capital itself in baghdad the terry in cooperation with iraqi security forces continues to establish joint security stations and deployed throughout the city in order to get violence under control these efforts have produced positive results sectarian violence has fallen since january it told a number of car bombings and suicide attacks declined in may and june and the number of locals coming forward with intelligence tips has risen make no mistake violence in baghdad remains at unacceptably high levels suicide bombers in other threads pose farm double challenges and other difficulties abound nevertheless there appears to be overall movement in the right direction north of baghdad iraqi and american troops  province and are fighting to deny al qaeda sanctuary in the city of baquba for the first time since the war began americans showed up in force and did not quickly withdraw from the area aside the forces of extremism i offer these observations not in order to present a rosy scenario of the challenges we continue to face in iraq as a horrific bombing salo de province illustrates so graphically the threats to iraqi stability have not gone away nor are they likely to go away in the near future and our brave and our brave men and women in iraq will continue to face great challenges what i do believe however is that while the mission to bring a degree of sick you're already to iraq and to baghdad and it's environments in particular in order to establish the necessary precondition for political and economic process while that mission is still in its early stages the progress our military has made should encourage all of us it's also clear that the overall strategy has put into place a traditional counterinsurgency strategy that emphasizes protecting the population and which gives our troops off the bases and into the areas they're trying to protect that this strategy this strategy is the correct one some of my colleagues argue that we should return troops to the forward operating bases in confine their activities to training and targeted counterterrorism operations that's precisely what we did for three and a half years which i time after time said was doomed to failure and the situation in iraq only got worse i'm frankly surprised i'm frankly surprised that my colleagues would advocate a return to the failed rumsfeld casey strategy no one can be certain whether this new strategy which remains in the early stages can bring about ever greater stability we can be sure however that should the united states  seek to legislate an end to the strategy as it is just come in saying should we do that should we do that then we will fail for certain now that the military effort in iraq is showing some signs of progress that space is opening for political progress yet rather than seizing the opportunity the government of prime minister maliki is not functioning as it must we see little evidence of reconciliation and none of the eighteen benchmarks has yet been met progress is not enough we need to see results and today i'm sorry to report to you the results are not there the iraqi government can function the question is whether it will if there is to be hope of a sustainable into the violence itself plagues that country iraqi political leaders must seize this opportunity it will not come around again to encourage political progress i believe that we can find wisdom in several suggestions put forward recently by henry kissinger and intensified negotiations among the iraqi parties would limit violence promote reconciliation and put the political system on a more stable footing at the same time we should promote a dialogue between the iraqi government and its sunni arab neighbors specifically egypt jordan saudi arabia in order to build broader international acceptance for the iraqi central government in exchange for that government meaning specific obligations with respect to the protection and political participation of the sunni minority in these countries should cease their efforts to hand pick new iraqi leaders and instead contribute to stabilizing iraq an effort that would directly serve their national interests finally we should begin a broader effort to establish a basis for aid and even peacekeeping peacekeeping efforts by the international community to political progress in iraq in taking such steps we must recognize that no lasting political settlement and grow out of grow out of a us withdrawal on the contrary  withdrawal must grow out of a political solution a solution made possible by the end position of security by coalition and iraqi forces secretary kissinger is absolutely correct when he states that and i  would drawl would produce a disaster and one that quote would not end the war but shifted to other areas like lebanon or jordan or saudi arabia produce greater violence among iraqi factions and embolden radical islamists around the world but just keep in the front of our minds so like the consequences of premature withdrawal from iraq many of my colleagues would like to believe that should the withdrawal amendment we're currently debating become effort to contain the forces unleashed by our disengagement no matter where my colleagues came down in two thousand and three about the central idea of iraq to the war on terror there can simply be no debate that our efforts in iraq today are critical to the wider struggle against violent islamic extremism already the terrorists are emboldened excited that america is talking about not winning in iraq but is rather debating when in iraq a group of stablish by al qaeda general petraeus has called al qaeda quote a principle short term threat to iraq what do the supporters of this amendment believe to be the consequences of our leaving the battlefield with al qaeda in place if we leave iraq prematurely the hottest around the world will interpret their withdrawal as their great victory against our great power their movement thrives in an atmosphere of perceived victory we saw this in the surge of men and money flowing doubt qaida following the soviet withdrawal from afghanistan if they defeat the united states in iraq they will before his death that plan is to take shape in four stages stablish a caliphate in iraq extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring iraq clash with israel none of which will commence until the completion of stage one expel the americans from iraq mr president the terrorists are in this war to win it the question is are we supporters of this amendment respond that they do not by any means intend to cede the battlefield of qaida on the contrary the legislation would allow u s forces presumably holed up in forward operating bases to carry out targeted counterterrorism operations but our own military commanders say that this approach will not succeed and that moving with sir even with search and destroy missions to kill and capture terrorists only to immediately see the territory to the enemy is the failed strategy of the past three and a half years major general rick lynch who is directing a major part of the baghdad offensive said over the weekend that an early american withdrawal would clear the way for the enemy to come back to areas now being cleared of insurgents when we go out there he said the first question they ask is are you staying and the second question is how can we help general and chatted that should u s forces pull back before the job is complete we risk an environment where the enemy could come back and fill the void on monday last monday lieuten the number two commander in iraq said my assessment right now is i need more time i'm seeing some progress now here in iraq we have really just started what the iraqis term liberating them from al withdrawing before there's a stable and legitimate iraqi authority would turn iraq into a failed state and a terrorist sanctuary in the heart of the middle east we've seen a failed state emerge after u s disengagement once before and it cost us the costs of staying are visible the costs of getting out are almost never discuss if we get out before iraq is stable the entire middle east region might start to resemble iraq today getting out we leave iraq before there is a basic level of stability we will invite further reigning influence at a time when iranian operatives are already moving weapons training fighters providing resources and helping plan operations to kill american soldiers and damage our efforts to bring stability to iraq iran will comfortably step into the power vacuum left by a us withdrawal and such an act grand eisenman a fundamentalist power has great potential to spark greater sunni shia conflict across the region leaving prematurely would induce iraq's neighbors including saudi arabia and jordan egypt israel turkey and others to feel  d security eroding and may well induce them to act in ways that prompt wider instability the potential for genocide wider war spiraling oil prices and the perception of strategic american defeat is real and no vote on this floor will change that don't take my word for it consult perhaps your ex study group which says and i quote chaotic iraq could provide a still stronger base of operations for terrorists who seek to act regionally or even globally and i quote al qaeda will portray any player by the united states in iraq as a significant victory that will be featured prominently as they recruit for their cause in the region and in the world report goes on to say that quote a premature american departure from iraq would almost certainly produce greater sectarian violence and further deterioration of conditions the near term results would be a significant power by hume greater human suffering regional destabilization and a threat to the global economy al qaeda would depict our withdrawal as a historic victory or perhaps as the iraqis brigadier general customer tom the chief iraqi spokesman for the baghdad security plan said on last sunday that the iraqi military and police forces need more time before they're capable of assuming control of the country security or maybe our intelligence agencies which in the january national intelligence age estimate concluded if coalition forces were withdrawn rapidly during the term of this estimate we judge this this almost certainly would lead to a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict in iraq intensify sunni resistance to the iraqi government and have adverse consequences for national accept would be unlikely to survive as a nonsectarian national institutions neighboring countries might intervene openly in the conflict massive civilian casualties and force population displacement would be probable a q i m outside iraq would attempt to use parts of the country to plan increased attacks in and out of iraq and spiraling violence and political disarray in iraq along with kurdish moves to control care code and strengthen our cunt autonomy would prompt turkey to launch a military incursion these are the likely consequences withdrawal and i hope that the supporters of such a move which tell us what they believe to be the likely consequences of this course of action should their amendment become law and u s troops begin withdrawing do they believe that iraq will become more or less stable that al qaeda will find it easier to gather plan and carry out attacks from iraq use oil or that our would draw will somehow make this less likely that the iraqi people become more or less safe that genocide becomes a more remote possibility or ever likely or mr president this fight is about iraq but not about iraq alone is greater than that and more important still about whether america still has the political courage to fight for victory or whether we will settle for defeat with all of the terrible things that accompany cannot walk away gracefully from defeat in this war how we leave iraq is very very important as your x study group found if we leave iraq descends into chaos the long range consequences could eventually require the united states to return general petraeus and his commanders believe that they have a strategy that can over time lead to success in iraq general petra efforts can succeed and the political courage to support them in their work i believe that we must give them both right now as we continue our debate on the war in iraq american soldiers marines sailors and airmen are fighting bravely and tenaciously in battles that are as dangerous difficult and consequential as the great battles of our armed forces storied past americans who fought in france's hedge gro country those who bled in the sands and jungles of pacific islands who braved the onslaught of the chinese army in the frozen terrain of korea and a far desperate battle to retake way from the enemy during the tet offensive and against numerically superior forces in an isolated marine base and taste on the recognize and honor the sacrifice of americans who now fight with such valor determination and skill to defend the security interests and the honor of our country in desperate battles in iraq the hours indeed late in iraq how we arrived at this critical and desperate moment has been well chronicled and history's judgment about the long catalogue of mistakes in the prosecution of this war will be stern and unforgiving but history will revere the honor and the sacrifice of those americans who despite the mistakes and failures of both civilian and military leaders shoulder a rifle and risked everything everything so that the country they love so well might not suffer the many dangerous consequences of defeat we read in our leading newspapers about those veterans of the iraq war who have organized to oppose its continuation they fought for america's freedom and they have every right to exercise their freedom to oppose their government's policies i wish though that the press would pay at least equal attention to the many veterans many more veterans many more veterans who have fought suffered and witnessed the ultimate sacrifice the loss of their dearest friends and yet are still committed to america's success in iraq and to those who have served multiple tours in this terrible war and yet re enlist because they remain steadfast in the belief that they can achieve the mission they have already wrists so much to achieve the american public those who still support our effort in iraq and those who desire a quick into it should be daily reminded that although our country is deeply divided about this war most of the many thousands of americans who have suffered its worst miseries are still resolved still resolved that not in in an american defeat our new counterinsurgency strategy is succeeding where our previous tactics failed us were taken from the enemy and holding territory that was once given up for lost those who have falsely describe general petraeus efforts as quote staying the course unquote are the real advocates  continuing on the course of failure many of those who decry the way we got into this war and the way we fought it are now advocating a way out of it it suffers from more willful refusal to face facts and they accuse the administration although we all seem to be united in recognizing the mistakes and failures of the past the proponents of reducing our forces in iraq and keeping them in secure bases from which they could occasionally launch search and destroy missions are proposing to return to the very tactics that have brought us to the point of trying to salvage from the wreckage of those mistakes the last best hope for success that's what general petra and the americans he has the honor to command are trying to do to fight smarter and better in a way that addresses and doesn't strengthen the tactics of the enemy and to give the iraqis the security an opportunity to make the necessary political decisions to save their country from the abyss of genocide in a permanent and spreading war so far the maliki government has not risen to that challenge and it must do so it is obvious that america is losing our resolve to continue of sacrificing its sons and daughters while the iraqi government will not take the political risk to do what is plainly in the best interests of the iraqi people but we do not fight only for the interest of iraqis we fight for ours as well we too we members of congress must face our responsibilities honestly in bravely what is asked of us is so less onerous than what we have written asked from our servicemen and women but no less consequential we not we need not risk our lives in our heads but only our political advantages so that general petraeus has the time and resources he has asked for to follow up on his recent successes and help save iraq and america from the catastrophe that would be an american defeat that's not much to risk compared to the sacrifices made by americans fighting in iraq or the terrible consequences of our defeat or if we would draw from iraq if we choose to lose there is no doubt in my mind no doubt at all that we'll be back in iraq and elsewhere and many more desperate fights to protect our security and an even greater cost in american lives and treasure little is asked of us to help prevent this catastrophe but so much depends on our willingness to do so and accept willingly and graciously whatever small sacrifice we must make with our own personal and partisan ambitions ours is a noisy restive and contentious profession it has always been it always will be but in this moment of serious peril for america we must all of us remember to who and what we owe our first allegiance of security of the american people and to the ideals upon which our nation was founded that responsibility is our dearest privilege and to be judged by history to have discharge it honorably will in the end matter so much more to all of us and any fleeting glory of popular acclaim electoral advantage or office the history of this country after all is not merely a chronicle of political winners and losers it's a judgment  and who is not contributed to the continued success of america the greatest political experiment in human history it is my sincere wish that all of us republicans and democrats should know in our hearts whatever mistakes we have made in our lives personally or politically whatever acclaim we have achieved or disappointment we have suffered that we have in the end or in history's favor i hope we might all have good reason to expect a kinder judgment of our flaws and follies because when it mattered most we chose to put the interests of this great and good nation before our own and helped in our own small way preserve for all humanity the magnifique sent an inspiring example of an assured successful and ever advancing america and the ideals that make us still the greatest nation on arizona and his abuse about the position of the united states in its policy with regards to iraq is a statement to her earlier and you have reminded us that we ought to free ourselves from these a political considerations this situation is it too demanding the value of our involvement in terms of american servicemen and women to gear  resources of this country to important to squander them a number of us had did this serious reservations about involving united states and military engagement in war with iraq a number of us still remember being on the armed services committee and listening to the combat arms the first annul the armed services committee general clark as well  and all who urged that to the united states keep its a focus and attention on those that brought that kind of tragedy to the united states at times of nine eleven in iraq would be clearly not in our interest i always remember those extraordinary words of general hoar that said if we become involved in iraq the battle in baghdad that he spielberg and of that made a very profound impression upon me and that impression was enhanced when we listen to the statements that were made by  defense secretary rumsfeld and george tenet when he talked about the weapons of mass destruction being on the north south east and west of baghdad and the ranking member of our committee the chairman of the armed services committee levin said well if they are north south and east and west of baghdad why don't we give that information to the inspectors and on to mr tenet said we can't give it to the inspectors because then saddam hussein will move them well said sen  levin why don't them we watch where they're being moved to be able to convince the world community about these weapons of mass destruction at least it was a soon by the year response that was given at that time that we were going to make available to the inspection teams the locations of those locations abass of destruction we find out historically that never happened because there weren't any so there was  s there was important debate and discussion within the administration should we follow what the precedent of president bush one that said this is a very important issue about going to war in iraq and rather than that training it in the course of an election let's have an election and then have the congress make a judgment decision the decision was said oh no public opinion at that time overwhelmingly to go to war and we're going to have that vote just prior to the election so i hope we're going to spare ourselves this idea that for those of us who are supporting a eleven read amendment or some quiet looking at the politics of it we saw the reality of it when we made the mistake in going to war and secondly mr president we're very mindful that iraq is a country twenty six seven million people but it's basically has an extraordinary history an incredible culture made using oil reserves many different kinds of assets but it was defeated ten years ago by the united states of america in a war defeated and we had the airspace and the control over iraq and they have the best estimates was the military budget after they were able to use the oil for food program and maybe to a three billion dollars a year and now we have had the best fighting force in the world over there in excess of four years fighting as many of us have said the military is done everything that they were called to do does anybody doubt about the finest military force a military force that swept through western europe africa the italy went through the pacific in less time in world war two and we have had them over there bogged down in this country of twenty seven million continuously has anybody doubt that we need more than a military resolution and solution and that the fact that we continue to keep the american servicemen and women in farms way that we are somehow protecting them is that what we are being asked to believe here after they've been over there for four years and they are able and capable of doing everything which which they have done and done so bravely i say it's time to bring them home i say it's time to support the eleven amendment so i hope during that this debate that we're not going to have the continued sort of references on the issues of patriotism we warn that argument now we've heard it all before didn't work in the last election where many of us who were strongly opposed to the war face those kinds of dru secondly mr president our founding fathers had a very important view about what the sense of the united states should be and the importance of protecting minority views here in this body this is going to be the institution that was going to be able to permit individuals that represented minority views differing views to be able to express themselves as we have learned historically that so often that those views that are expressed by a small group often become the majority accepted views in future years founding fathers understood that and they want to make sure that those ideas and concepts were going to be protected but what the founding fathers never anticipated is that rules were going to be used to abuse abuse the american people's right to be able to express themselves particularly on issues of war and peace and that is what we're seeing now delay for delays that say delay for delays say not delay so that we can have greater information about what is happening over in viet nam that it in iraq that's not the issue is still a pretty late say a refusal to permit the senate to express itself that has expressed its out permit the senate to express itself want to bake discussion fine let's have it but the american people have made their mind up on this issue we don't have to doubt that the american people have made their mind they want their elected representatives to speak now i understand why republicans don't want their name on that roll call as supporting this president this war at this time i understand it i understand it and that my colleagues is really what this is about people just refuse don't want it let's have some process let's have some procedure let's have some way to avoid let's have some way to  avoid calling the robe and taking a stand on an issue of war and peace and that is what to this debate discussion at least for these next several hours ago to be about are we going to be able to permit to this institution to function and the way that it was intended to function and that is at a time when the american people have made a judgment and a decision on a particular issue to be able to call the roll and have accountability or whether we're going to be denied that after all the rhetoric about role in history and the importance of this issue that is where it comes down so mr president this is the extremely important discussion and debate and important to understand is that this is not an issue that's a going away i mean those of us who were opposed to the war continue to be opposed to it listen to what the consequences the argument about what the consequences are going to be what are the consequences going to be now what are they going to be in three years where they're going to be by vs where they're going to be the seven years many of us were sufficiently uncertain about to this issue that we voted no in terms of giving to this president the authority to move this country and commit it in the way that we have done so  r president america is paying an enormous cost for a war we never should have fought and it is time to bring it to an end the war has divided us here at home it has made us more isolated in the world never before even in the vietnam war as america taken such massive military action was so little international support as the intelligence community confirmed yet meant to reduce violence it has it prevent reconstruction it has to promote reconciliation it has it or we have to do is re as the intelligence community confirmed yet again today the war has become a significant recruitment tool for out idea it says yet i e we have sas that al qaida is association with al qaeda iraq helps al to energize the broader sunni extremist community raise resources and to recruit and indoctrinate operatives including for homeland attacks this has obviously made the war on terrorism harder not easier to win nevertheless the administration still continues to turn a deaf ear to all the voices calling for change continues to plead for more and more time to pursue its failed course in iraq republicans in the senate continue to filibuster any effort to outline a clear timetable for the withdrawal of american troops the disastrous consequences of our policy could have been avoided if the president and his advisors had asked the right questions before rushing headlong into an unnecessary and unjust war in my church there are six principles which guide the determination  just war they were developed by st augustine in the fifth century and expanded by st thomas aquinas in the thirteenth century to be just a war must have a just cause confronting a danger that is beyond question it must be declared by a legitimate authority acting on behalf of the people it must be driven by the right intent not all ter self interested motives it must be a last resort it must be proportional so that the armed the harm inflicted does not outweigh the good achieved and it must have a reasonable chance of success these are the sound criteria by which the president should have judged our war in iraq but he failed our men and women in uniform by refusing to seek honest answers to these important questions before recklessly plunging the nation into war we now know with crystal clarity that the war in iraq did not meet these criteria saddam did not pose the kind of threat that justified this war but we went to war anyway without legitimate support from the international community the administration was wrong to allow the and iraq is alex in its ranks to a quote exploit the nine eleven tragedy to make war against iraq a higher priority than the war against terrorism in afghanistan war with iraq was most certainly not the last result all options were not pursued we should have given inspectors more time to reveal that there were in fact no weapons of mass destruction the human cost of this war has been incompetence and waging this misguided war has left no reasonable chance for success americans who spoke and clearly and urgently about the need to end the war and it's time for the president to listen to their pleas we should end this war with the scaled back mission for our troops and the clear timetable for withdrawal as specified in the levin reid amendment america has been sadly diminished in the world because of this colossal blunder any american ism is on the rise we've seem to have lost our way our vision and our confidence in the future in his farewell address to the nation in again in the world and looked to for leadership other nations understood that the best guarantee of peace and stability was for the united states to live up to its ideals as a peak and a hope for the rest of the planet we were  for our democracy and respected for our economic strength today others have stopped listening to us the way they once did at the end of june the pew global attitudes project reported that since two thousand to the image of the united states has plummeted throughout the world are images appears mole in most muslim countries and it continues to decline among the people of many of america's oldest allies we have strained the extraordinary alliances that advanced our ideals as well as our interests at the root of much of the anti americanism that has surfaced in recent years is the perception of american unilateral ism in international affairs i'm astonished when some say it does not matter that so many of the world no longer respect the united states of course it matters it matters to our security as it has mattered since the first days of our republic  opening paragraph of the declaration of independence acknowledges the importance of a decent respect for the opinions of mankind that respect is as important today as it was when our founders signed the declaration affirming it on the first fourth of july to restore america's standing in strength we must end the war in iraq and recapture that combination of realism and idealism that have inspired americans for generations ending this unacceptable war is essential to our security and to regaining our respect in the world the great challenges facing our fragile planet require an abundance of hope that only a united and aged termit america can provide america has to lead america has to inspire but we cannot do so if we remain bogged down in iraq civil war my salone cannot make america right by perscribe ing our own rules for the modern world we have deprived our great nation of the moral claim that is the basis of our being the purpose of our power and we are paying an exorbitant price we can and sometimes must defend democracy by force but we cannot impose by force democratic principles are universal but to mark racine must find its champions within each country's culture and traditions we need to end the war and regain a time when america is able to seek common ground with our friends we really need to renew the alliances that kept the world safe for human rights and human survival when the threat of nuclear war was clear was a clear and present danger we will always defend our interests but we put them at grave risk when we act unilaterally in an independent world we live in a time of enormous possibility at enormous risk no nation is guaranteed a limitless future of prosperity or security we have to work for it we have to sacrifice for the sacrifices we are making in iraq are no longer worth immense cost in human lives or the immense cost to our national prestige and interest president bush has squandered every opportunity to stabilize iraq any honest assessment can realistically lead to only one conclusion american interests will best be served with our military disengage from iraq certainly they'll be beilenson when our combat troops leave but they'll be far more violence if we continue to police iraq civil war indefinitely as the accomplished when the tally of american dead was only beginning to mount americans are tired of an administration that continues to promise that hope is just around the corner and begs for time for a policy that stands no chance of succeeding now in september or ever years ago one of the giants of the senate said the partisan should partisanship should stop at the water's edge an the republican from michigan who is chairman of the senate foreign relations committee work closely with president truman to lay the foundation for a foreign policy of the united states that could guide us through the cold war senator vandenberg set the bar high for us in the senate we can expire to that ideal but it's hard to achieve it in this congress as it has been in other congresses over the past few weeks a shift has begun to take place not as quickly as many of us feel is necessary but nonetheless a change now the less than two weeks ago in a speech on this floor one of the successes about the vandenberg is chairman of the foreign relations committee our distinguished colleague from indiana who was himself chairman of the foreign relations committee reminded us that we do not owe the president our unquestioning agreement but we do owe him and the american people are constructive engagement last friday sent a loop that was joined by the senior senator from virginia senator warner in offering an amendment that would require the administration to review our wreck strategy and outline plans for an orderly redeployment of our troops two weeks ago in a statement on the floor senator lugar said united states had violated some basic national security precepts during our military engagements in iraq we have overestimated what the military can achieve and we have set goals that are unrealistic and we haven't adequately factored in the broader regional consequences of our actions perhaps more critically our focus on iraq has diverted us from opportunities to change the world in directions that strengthen our national security i agree with that judgment although i believe that the warner lugar amendment does not go far enough in bringing this war to an end it is undeniable that the american people have turned against this war and it's imperative for the president to understand after that basic fact we call for the president to end the war not as democrats or republicans but as americans who are deeply concerned about the perilous on which the nation is moving the american people understand that there are no easy options but they also understand that the president's strategy simply does not protect us interests they understand that it is wrong to buy time to hand off the mess in iraq to the next president and to keep our troops in harm's way with a policy that is not worthy of their sacrifice the overarching question is not whether we leave iraq but how we leave iraq disastrous choices and disastrous leadership has brought us to this dangerous point and we need to redefine our strategic goal in iraq and the region and have a realistic policy that supports that objective whatever we do it's going to be difficult but we need to move forward and begin the process and soon we need to work with iraq's neighbors to mitigate the damage the president's policy of created to minimize outside intervention but we cannot allow the fear of instability to put the brakes on the process of military disengage majorities in three countries bordering iraq turkey jordan and kuwait say our troops should be removed in turkey one of our most important allies in the region bordering iraq only nine percent support our position even in iraq it's out just a few months ago tens of thousands marching demanding an end to what they call the american occupation each country in the region has an interest in iraq's stability and we need to work with them diplomatically to find common ground and mitigate the damage caused by the current failed policy they need to come forward and work with our nation to play a constructive role part of that effort needs to address the growing needs of the millions who have fled the violence in iraq