spray almighty god make instruments of your love use our senators today as ambassadors of reconciliation direct them in their work and surround them with your gracious favor let all their plans and pu spirit so they will find solutions to the problems that challenge our lord make them good stewards of their calling guiding them to use their influence for your glory inspire their minds assist their wills and strengthen their hands that they may not falter o fail and when this day's work is done give them refreshment of mind spirit and body we pray in  washington d c october second two thousand and seven to the senate under the provisions of rule one paragraph three of the standing rules of the senate i hereby point honorable john tester a senator from the state of montana to perform the duties of the chair  consideration of one most important bills we do here every year and that's the defense appropriation bill that will be led and managed by senators in a way and stevens the senate will recess today from twelve thirty to fifteen for the regularly scheduled party conference meetings we want to finish this bill as quickly as possible and move to the congress to justice which is also very important in with law enforcement and we have also  some judges that we sure like to get rid of this week if at all possible have a circuit court judge in another district court judges we need to finish these things this week so that we can come back and start on the calmer i mean i'm sorry chicest appropriation bill which is extremely important and we finished these two bills we would have half of them done this year which is good we've gotten tremendous cooperation from both sides to move through these bills and i hope we can continue to get that cooperation on this bill in conference or will be some amendments offered some of them will not will have points for or against them because of too much money and  dissociate such vivid moral clarity is nowhere better reflected than in the recent advent events involving burma in burma we have indeed witnessed the combination a bad man a combination of a corrupt military junta and compliant the eggs in the burmese security forces this combination recently carried out the brutal suppression of peaceful protest in burma killing and imprisoning untold numbers of nonviolent demonstrators including scores of buddhist monks what is now needed is for the good to associate the global struggle against terrorism has compelled us to increase our foreign policy engagement in places such as the horn of africa and the nature and the philippines in the coming decades we must realize that china and india are two countries that will play a larger role on the world stage one would have hoped that is ending it takes on a greater role as a regional power and as a growing economic power that pro democracy elements within burma could look to associate with its next door neighbor the largest democracy on the planet our nation is pursuing a closer relationship with india in terms of military to military contacts and in the development of nuclear energy india should be wary of coddling the indian government has only issued tepid statements at best in so doing india has put itself in league with china and russia this is all the more troubling since india had been in the past supportive of burma is reformers in the early hundred ninety s as n d assumes a greater role on the world stage more will be asked of it and this is just such a case and it needs to recognize the responsibility it now has and abstained from supporting the understandably india has important interest and its neighbor to the east we understand that one india wants to counter the influence of china in burma that said it should look beyond its near term interests what better way to block chinese influence burma than to work to bring about a burma that reflects the indian values of democracy and openness rather than a burma that reflects the added democratic values of the chinese government mr president i strongly urge the indian government to reconsider its position on burma to speak directly to the regimes recent actions and to work for the cause of democracy and reconciliation in burma only then can a combination of bad man leading burma be  called be rescinded without objects or water and the previous sort of the leadership time is reserved for the previous order there will now be a period for the transaction of morning business for sixty minutes with senators permitted to speak there and for up to ten minutes each and with the time equally divided between the two leaders or the design with the republicans controlling the first half of the majority controlling the second half senate from texas thank you mr president this present yesterday marked the beginning of the new fiscal year when all of our projected spending for the next year ought to have be be budgeted and allocated to the appropriate programs and federal agencies unfortunately we have yet to see a single appropriation bill of some be sent to the president for appropriation bills that have been passed are still in conference the homeland security appropriation bill the military construction and veterans affairs appropriation bill the state and foreign operations bill and the transportation housing and urban development appropriation bill but those are stuck in conference and none have been sent to the president or his signature what's worse the remaining eight were never even brought to the for consideration by the senate majority leadership before the end of two thousand and seven one the course will be taken up this week the defense appropriations bill any business leader or small business owner in america can tell you that entering the fiscal year without an approved budget plan is disastrous policy but in washington we've grown to accept that the federal government can basically hold the american taxpayer to a double standard do what we say and not as we do in washington we've we've come to accept that we don't have to budget or pay our bills on time to keep the lights on instead we can just pass a law saying it's ok which we did last week a continuing resolution which keeps government basically on autopilot until november the sixteenth and as i said that's a double standard that the rest of america is not allowed to meet only congress only washington can do that this mentality of fiscal irresponsibility is a disturbing trend americans rightly expect us to keep the country running but to keep it running efficiently and keep it running well and to be good stewards of the taxpayers dollars we can't do that when we legislate on borrowed time and failed to pass any appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year zero for twelve is a dismal average even for the united states senate despite harsh criticisms for failing to pass all appropriations bills last year the new majority has failed to pass a single appropriations bill when given the chance this year passing appropriations bills is quote the most fundamental job congress is expected to do that's a quote from our colleague majority whip dick durbin in december two thousand and six in the new york times senator harry reid the majority leader current majority leader said in may of two thousand and seven he said quote the do nothing republican congress failed to pass the appropriations bills and now we find that notwithstanding their promise of new leadership and a change this situation as bears all too similar a comparison to what they complained about just last year but the lack urgency in passing these bills is only a part of the problem mr president my colleagues in the majority have used a few appropriation bills that have been brought forward as a vehicle for their political agenda and increased spending on expanded social programs and pet projects debated the defense authorization bill week after week the majority party delayed the bill's approval by trying to add and in fact successfully adding in some instances unrelated amendments amendments dealing with federal hate crimes legislation and immigration were even considered during the debate ultimately these tactics wasted valuable time and delayed essential resources our military is counting on as each minute each day and each week passes by we come closer and closer to what is known as an omnibus appropriations bill for those outside the washington bubble let me just say that omnibus is sometimes translated as trouble the spending proposals an extra two hundred and five billion dollars on top of the president's budget request over the next five years will force american taxpayers to send even more of their hard earned pay to the federal government we should instead be working to return to the to return the harder and money to the american people or to allow them rather to keep it in the first place as much as possible mr president now that we've already missed our own deadline for appropriations it's time we get serious about these spending bills i encourage all of my colleagues to join me in and vote to pass timely and responsible appropriations bills and reverse this when a fiscal mr president senate michigan i would ask for suspension of the quam call without objection so ordered thank you mr president i would ask to continue to speak and have that time allocated towards the majority tim morning business and i would ask unanimous consent to do so without objection sword thank you very much mr president a car colleague of mine and a friend spoke on the other side of the al a few moments ago about the budget process  and to specifically talk about children's health care but i think it's important to respond to what was said as it relates to the budget process and adopting a budget by october one i was thinking as he was speaking i have been here now this is my seventh year seventh budget process we have never met the act hole we're one deadline never and in fact i'm not sure i remember having done it in the house when i was there for four years either we all yes a nice political argument to make on the floor of the united states senate but it has no credibility because the reality is that the act tobar one deadline is something that's just difficult to meet and we usually work t fall on the budget everybody knows that what i think is significant though is the fact that if we're going to hold that test as the test of responsible leadership six of the last seven years the republican majority was in charge and six times they did not meet an october one deadline and in fact last year they never got a budget passed at all at all we came in as the new majority and had to pick up the pieces and figure out how to keep the government going for the last half of the year so i find it disingenuous and i'm i would say to my friend if you were here to come to the floor it makes great political speeches and  great theater but the reality is we all know on both sides of the aisle in the appropriators are working now together coming to the floor in a bipartisan basis to do what we do every single year every single year in october and november and and unfortunately times on until december but what i am very proud of is the fact that our leader senator reid and our leadership in our caucus take very seriously our responsibilities on the budget and in not only putting a budget in place but a budget with the right values the right priorities and we are changing the priorities on behalf of the people of this country we are changing the priorities as it relates to funding the troops and pay raises and making sure that our troops have what they need we're funding changing the priorities will be dealing with the bill later this week as it relates to the commerce justice state appropriation where we're going to stop the cuts the president's made in law enforcement and the cops program in the f b i and juvenile justice and drug enforcement reinstate that and refocus us on those things that keep our communities safe keep america safe from very proud of that and very proud of the priorities that we have been putting in place as relates to this budget and on top of that we are not digging a bigger hole as it relates to the deficit of this country because we have returned where we turned to a policy that was in place under the former administration under president clinton it simply says they've you're going to spend dollars you've got we have to cut someplace in order to increase another or you have to raise revenue basic principle ought to be a no brainer but that has been suspended in the last six years creating the largest deficits in the history of the country so i'm happy to come to the floor and talk about budgets and process and very proud of the direction we are going in and mr pres i'm also very proud of what we have done as it relates to and absolutely critical priority and that's children's healthcare we have a health care system system for low income individuals called medicaid if you work two parents are mom maybe work and two jobs maybe three minimum wage jobs to try to make sure that she pays the bills and has a roof over her children's heads and food on the table chances are if she's a low income working parent or couple working together or a dad working  his children chances are health care is going to be just too expensive just too expensive to buy in the individual market if you don't have it to the place where you work ten years ago this congress came together in a bipartisan way under a different president to say we want to help families that are working hard every single day that care about their children that are doing everything they can to do the right thing that was a values that we should be supporting in this country of hard work family caring about your kids we want to help them by putting in place a children's insurance program so that at least the children of low income working families can be able to get the health care that they need it's been a huge success we have overwhelming support from governors republicans and democrats and state legislatures in fact this is the ultimate strange bedfellows mr president we have the chamber us chamber and the business community we have the labor community we have health care providers we have children's advocates we have consumer advocates we have the broadest possible group of americans with the broadest possible have come together to work with us to be able to to design an extension of children's health care and in fact to be able to include additional children who qualify under that program for working families and we passed that on a huge bipartisan vote in the senate and not to override a presidential veto the house of representatives pass it was a very large vote as it relates to a very large bipartisan vote and now mr president today the president we assume will be getting this bill there's only one thing standing between ten million children getting health insurance in this country the parents of ten million chileans children being able to sleep a little easier tonight there's only one thing standing between that happening and those families and that is the signature of the president of the united states and so i'm here today as colleagues have done on both sides of the as our leadership and i want to thank not only again our leadership and senator reid but the wonderful bipartisan leadership of of senator max baucus senator grassley senator orrin hatch and senator rockefeller who have done a magnificent job of doing what we're supposed to do and that is bring people diverse interest to gather develop a true compromise and get things done mr president i urge today that this president look deep inside his heart that he take a few moments to talk to some of these families before he puts his veto on this bill this is one of the most significant things that we will do in this congress is one of the most significant moments for this president he asked us again to fund a war that is not pay for and for forty one days of funding of that war we could for forty one days we could pay for ten million children to get health insurance over the next five years this really is about values and priorities it always has been and in my home state i can tell you that we have ninety thousand children and parents families who are waiting waiting and hoping and praying that this president will join with all of us in doing the right thing too many families are struggling health care is skyrocketing these same families are being squeezed on all sides gas prices going up healthcare costs going up challengers with maybe keeping the mortgage in their houses mortgage foreclosures go up what happens to their job will it be shipped overseas will they get a pay cut what is happening in terms of preparing to send children to college families middle class families are being squeezed on all sides and for a group of parents working very hard but don't have health insurance through their job is congress has done the right thing by passing a children's healthcare bill that will say at least your children will be able to get the health insurance that they need and deser when the president this president was asked the republican convention in two thousand and four accepting his nomination for reelection for his second term president bush said in a new term we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for government health insurance programs we will not allow a lack of attention or information to stand between these children and the health care they need will not allow a lack of attention or information to stand between these chill and the health care they need since that time president bush sent to us a budget that in fact as he funded it would eliminate well over a million children who currently receive health care under the children's health care program we have rejected that and we have in fact turned to see how the program was working and found that there were millions more children eligible for this very same program as the economy gets tougher and tougher for families but the funding wasn't there to make sure those children receive children's health care as well so we work together and we are now including an additional four million children whose families are working but have not been able to get health insurance and that all together equals ten million children under the legislation we passed mr president there is nothing more important and we will do then to guarantee a trial gets a healthy start in life whether it's the general practitioner they need to see a dentist whether they need mental health help we have said that the children of this country are a priority for our majority for this senate for the house of representatives and i would simply ask today at this critical moment president bush the u s senate in a quorum call waiting for senator to return to the floor there's about fifteen minutes left in general speeches and then the senate will begin debate on the fiscal two thousand and eight defense appropriations bill over in the house on c span  e coverage there they house is considering several bills under suspension of the rules and closing bills on iraq exit strategy and time on defense also the nine hundred ninety eight embassy bombings and conditions on security aid to ethiopia live health coverage on c span right now on a companion network c span three the house oversight and go human affairs committee holding a hearing on the use of private security companies in iraq and afghanistan and focusing in on the performance of a security in just a few minutes at that ten eastern the senate is expected to begin their work on the fiscal two thousand and eight defense appropriations bill and then debate will halt it around twelve thirty until two fifteen p m for weekly policy lunches will resume our live coverage at two fifteen roll call votes are possible later today if iraq can be left out of the overall debate the senate is expected to pass quickly and send to house senate negotiators this four hundred sixty billion dollar defense spending bill senate leaders have pledged to keep all the controversial iraq related issues out of the appropriations debate to ensure its with passage and have asked their colleagues to do the same senate leaders intend to raise those issues during consideration of the fiscal two thousand and eight supplemental spending bill later this year live coverage here on c span t time is your many seventeen minutes thank you mr president this president two months ago i traveled to afghanistan pakistan kuwait and jordan with my colleague senator casey of pennsylvania we want to talk to and listen to our top generals and diplomats but equally important the soldiers and marines on the front lines of this war third time for me in visiting iraq the first time for some casey two impressions really struck me more than on either of my earlier visits i felt overwhelmed by the tragedy that has been created in that country for iraq for its neighbors for america's image around the world and sadly for our troops i was also  deeply moved by the skill and bravery of our troops and their love for this nation in a time when sacrifice seems outdated to some people our troops are willing to endure almost inconceivable hardship and risk everything to protect us and our nation when i visited iraq it was one hundred twenty degrees soldiers wore heavy body armor and backpacks carried their ammunition their weapons and had helmets on drinking water every chance they had to try to stay hydrated not suffer from heat exhaustion which had claimed the life of one of our soldiers just a day before soldiers who knew i was who i was asked me occasionally when the politicians in washington were going to start voting so that they could come home despite the unbearable heat the constant danger longings for home not one soldier i met in iraq ever complained about walking point for america not one we went ten miles south of baghdad to a place called patrol base murray with third infantry division i had lunch with a group of illinois soldiers from chicago aurora jacksonville chicago and elmhurst most were under first deployments one was honest third half are married with kids they try to keep in touch with things back home through e mails but it's tough they were laughing at me as i fumbled around trying to open up my am already a can of chicken noodles with  building heater i never quite got it right i'm glad i gave him some comic relief there at least for a few minutes on august eleventh after i came back home one week after i visited this patrol base two illinois soldiers stationed there died in a roadside bomb explosion along with two other soldiers in a place called arab jabour all four soldiers were assigned a third for chief division based in fort stewart georgia the illinois soldiers who lost their lives were specialist justin penrod twenty four years old of muhammad and sergeant andrew lancaster twenty three years old of stockton they were two of the hundred forty six sons and daughters of illinois who have died so far in this iraq conflict the same day they died a fifth soldier from the third i e d died in arab jabour in a separate incident while a sixth american soldier was killed by an i e d blast in six soldiers dead in one day sadly such grim numbers don't even make the big headlines anymore after you've lost thirty eight hundred i guess somebody who runs these newspapers and television stations decides it's not big news for some people the daily tolls of soldiers killed and wounded seems to just become another statistic like the weather not to the devastated families of these phone soldiers not to the children who will grow up never knowing the fathers or mothers who've died in this war not to the men and women with whom they served and week after sergeant lancaster died in iraq his platoon commander first lieutenant benjamin kim wrote me a letter about a man he considered a gifted leader and brother i've never met lieutenant kam i can't imagine why he sent this to me other than to share deep feelings that he just couldn't leave inside he wanted someone else to read them i really trust based on what that letter contained that he won't mind that i read his words into the record about his phone comrade the let dated august eighteenth two thousand and seven dear senator durbin my name is benjamin kim i'm assigned the second brigade third infantry division as an infantry officer by the time you receive this letter it will have been a number a week since you came to iraq and visited my unit if you recall you came to patrol base murray in southeast baghdad during village near a village named arabs a bore and you met some soldiers from illinois who were serving there one of the soldiers was a man named sergeant andrew lancaster he was the squad leader in my p he was killed in action on the eleventh of august two thousand and seven and as i write this letter lieutenant cam said he and the bodies of four other soldiers who died with him that day are being prepared for transportation back to united states lieutenant went on to say the purpose of this letter is not to seek any political action nor is it to recount the grisly details that resulted in the untimely deaths of five of my finest soldiers and subordinate leaders i do not seek to achieve anything except perhaps to communicate to you my boundless respect for the men who served with me in this remote corner of the world i will probably never meet you and i shall make no plans to do so but i find it oddly therapeutic to write to a man of your station in rank  earnest and sincere manner whether you personally read this letter ten occam wrote or not is irrelevant i write this i find my i have a temporary reprieve from my sorrow he goes on to write andrew lancaster was the iconic man of the midwest he was a pragmatist he valued commonsense and integrity as two of the most important traits a leader could have he was straightforward with everything he said and he was never afraid to speak his mind on issues that with an intellect that any general would envy there were countless times where he and the other leaders of the planet tune would discuss various tactics and methods we should apply in our mission and more often than not we found ourselves listening attentively to his analysis of the situation he was also compassion and one instance he spearheaded a plant tune level effort to capture a man who we suspected to be an i e d in place or in a high ranking insurgent in our area of operations when he finally when we finally caught him the insurgent knew he'd be going away for a long time caster as we called sergeant lancaster gave him a final opportunity to kiss his family goodbye he was a soldier the highest caliber and yet his humility offered a pleasing contrast to his confidence in his own abilities for all the times that he'd further the interest of our platoon i wanted to nominate him for a bronze star with a v device his response was always the same it say i don't really care about awards i just want all of us to go home alive and intact when these fifteen months and it was posthumously awarded his bronze star along with a purple heart nevertheless our ironic it is the true heroes never want to claim themselves as such in his personal life caster was strongly devoted to his family always singing the high praises for his wife and high school sweetheart tabitha whose outstanding cooking he would attribute both woefully  the weight gain he experienced a month before deployment he loved her tremendously and whenever we were talking shop her name was his constant refrain he would also speak reverently of his brother we would listen to a stories about growing up in small town illinois and laugh with him but all the trouble his brother would get into when he came to my platoon he welcomed young soldiers who were far from their families to his home frequently be it for thanksgiving dinner for a few beers or a football game he made our platoon is family and we will always cherish that bond i don't know what i plan to accomplish lieutenant tim said by writing this letter all i know is that this man was like a brother to me and i feel like i have to memorialize him somehow he taught me a lot of things that i need to know about being a good platoon leader and even now its legacy lives on in the soldiers he once led and the outstanding ways in which they conduct themselves i hope that i've given you a somewhat accurate picture of the man we loved but i have a sneaking suspicion that there are no words eloquent enough to describe him nevertheless i thank you in advance for taking the time to read this keep fighting the good fight and we here will do the same sign respectfully first lieutenant benjamin kim sergeant andrew lancaster stockton illinois enlisted in the army with a friend in two thousand and two to protect america after september eleventh before rock as a paratrooper in afghanistan with the army's hundred seventy third airborne and stockton small town population eight hundred sergeant lancaster was known as andy the kid everybody loved his death really hit the folks in that community hard at freeport high school where he graduated in two thousand  where he stood out football and basketball and choir his teachers and coaches talked about andy lancaster as an outgoing responsible young man who had a way of making everyone around him happy when the news of his death reached that town the high school football team posted a tribute to sergeant lancaster's family on the message board messages of support were posted in the local ice cream shop where sergeant lancaster's young widow tammy once worked in addition to a town and a wife who loved him sergeant lancaster left behind his mom stepfather don and steve vander hide his father harlan lancaster a brother two step sisters and grandparents he and tabby married just before sergeant landcare her left for afghanistan they plan to start a family when he came home instead last month tabby lancaster attended a ceremony at fort stewart at which ten trees were planted in honor of her husband and nine other members of the third infantry division who died recently in iraq since two thousand and three a total of three hundred sixty nine trees have been planted along the bases memorial walk mr president i regret i never had a chance to meet andy lancaster but i've met so many soldiers him they are natural leaders who succeed at whatever they choose to do in life they certainly of could've made a lot more money lived far more comfortably but they chose to enlist and to defend our country those are the kind of people we are losing every day in these wars in iraq and afghanistan like candy lancaster each of them leaves a hole in the hearts of those who love them and the heart of our nation we honor their sacrifice and grieve their loss in a few minutes mr president we will start debating the defense appropriations bill it's critically important bill as a member the appropriations committee i know that a lot of the discussion about this bill will be about numbers this little statement that i've made on the floor reading into the record the letter of lieutenant tim about his fallen sergeant really takes this discussion and debate way beyond numbers it reminds us of thirty eight hundred brave soldiers like andy lancaster who've given their lives for america soldiers whose lives continue to be lost every single day that we continue this war mr president i stand today in tribute to not just sergeant lancaster but to all the men and women who continue to service with such honor and dignity i hope that all of us who value and and cherish the contributions that they make well remember them in our hearts and our business closed on the previous order the senate will proceed to the consideration of h r three two two two which the clerk will report county number three fifty three h r three two two two an act making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september thirtieth two by this agreement that objection s aft of the appropriations committee was approved unanimously by the committee on september the twelfth president appropriates four hundred fifty nine point six billion dollars in new budget authority which is equal to the subcommittees freel to be allocation this amount is three and a half billion dollars less than the funding requested by the president not including supplemental spending for the cost of the war and it is the same level as recommendation by the house i wish to s percent more than requested it also recommends adding nearly nine hundred fifty million dollars for the defense health program to ensure that the health of our military families as protected this bill also includes four hundred eighty six million dollars above the budget requests to support our military hospitals which suffer from significant shortfalls and are stressed by our wounded heroes returning from the war the appropriations committee included a billion dollars above the president's request that purchase equipment for national guard and reserves recognizing the seri twenty two c and twelve joint strike fighters as requested the building crews four hundred seventy million dollars to support a multi year purchase of the virginia class submarine and provide full funding for the v two for the marines it will fund the all rise level for the missile defense program about three hundred million dollars below the requests as my colleagues all kno areas to address other urgent needs in doing so we have been able to increase funding for health care national guard equipment a higher pay raise and many other spending item which we commonly refer as your remarks as president i want to point out that this bill includes more than four billion dollars in ads which were not requested by the president under the definition of s one very few of these items are earmarks for example in many cases the committee chose to provide funding for items not because they were request don't funded by the committee for which a member sought an increase of the president's requests mr president we have gone way beyond the legal requirement to increase transparency because we have nothing to hide in the funding that we are recommending in this measure and i'm confident the members who requested these funds have no reason not to have their names  president today is october the second we have already started a new fiscal year our defense department is operating on scaled back funding on the short term continuing resolution funding they need for their pay their hospitals their housing and their schools the funding that we recommend in this bill  as needed as soon as possible mr president we understand the desire of many members to address policies which relate to the war in iraq the war is extremely controversial our nation is divided this bothers so serious it deserves to serve as follett tension and thoughtful debate but that will not that will take time while we don't all agree on the proper course in iraq there is a maze one thing in which there is universal agreement we must support those who are willing to wear our uniform our nation's uniform and make the sacrifices to protect the rest of us that is a huge sacrifice for as we all turn in the coming weeks the senate will consider a supplemental spending measure to address funding for the wars in iraq and afghanistan and the global war on terrorism we would urge our colleagues to hold off on supplemental related issues until that bill is considered resolve to oppose any amendment which could jeopardize quick and act and of this bill we can best show our support to the military by completing action on the fiscal year two thousand and eight defense appropriations bill as quickly as possible i hope that all of you will be able to endorse these recommendations and work with us to pass this bill all men and women in uniform approach that this is the approach that senator know and i have always maintained regarding department of defense appropriations in fact that this bill was reported out of the appropriations committee almost three weeks ago by a unanimous vote and and we hope that that this as the chairman of of subcommittee said to finish this bill this week so we can proceed to conference as soon as possible after the october a recess for columbus day year began yesterday and normally this bill would have been signed by the president by this time but it is a matter that still has extreme urgency as far as i'm concerned to get  that as a temporary measure and there are many acquisition activities mr president that simply cannot be initiated under a continuing resolution they require annual appropriations bill to be enact a continuous mission it's a very limited amounts of able to each month to the department and that's not sufficient to sustain a force in the field as we have an afghanistan then and iraq as a matter of fact mr president there are hundreds of thousands of men and women in uniform deployed throughout the world they serve our country now and over one hundred fifty four countries and and in our own country here and in ited states their brave  and dedication to our country are extraordinary and their sacrifices do not go unnoticed we must not lose sight of our responsibility to support them in an expeditious manner and completely these people depend on us and it's our job to see to it they have all of the supplies and ammunition and equipment that they need to carry out their their orders h here the department of faith that fence faces the critical challenge of balancing the cost of maintaining high levels of readiness being ready to respond to any call whenever it occurs and what whenever it is unnecessary  this means we must adequately invest in those technologies that will prepare us for the future prepares for the threats of tomorrow as well as conduct the activities we have ongoing and those two hundred fifty four countries and  between one fiscal year to the next in terms of the demands of the war very very clearly if we're going to send them racks over to iraq so the new new vehicles that protect the lives that are saving lives we need funding in advance we have several different i'm told over thirty different manufacturers working on these these machines now and they have to be paid  i do believe that the supplemental is absolutely necessary and i'm very worried about it because it is it is to me a very difficult thing to do to to believe that the time might come when we do not have the money to pay for these new and racks and they all say in this country rather than being taken to iraq and afghanistan there are other other new facilities and equipment that need are needed by the department of defense this is an and afghanistan are are are defending us and these other hundred fifty two countries we face problem transforming our military into the military of the future new technologies new techniques and new requirements demand change and that change demands new equipment and new research to assure we have the basic equipment and technology base protect our future to practice country it for the future i worry i really worry about a process that is slowing down the money that as been been  now for four years presented in a supplemental addition to this bill as it was passed will be the first year that we have not included that and consideration of that of the appropriations bill as i said i'm following the lead of our chairman but i do believe we cannot go home this year without providing the money to carry over to the new years and  the period of next year before we can get another bill passed this is to me a very serious matter and one that i hope to talk on later at great length this matter of fact but  center why this president on august second two thousand and seven by a vote of eighty three to fourteen the senate approved the bill as one of the honestly the ship and open  act of two thousand and seven the president signed the legislation on september fourteenth two thousand and seven this ethics reform legislation will significantly improve the transparency and accountability of the legislative process and soon to the new rule forty four the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction is required to certify that certain information related to congressional ly directed spending has been identified the required information must be available on a publicly accessible congressional website in a searchable form or at least forty dollars before vote on the pending bill in addition members who request such items are required to certify in writing that me though they know their immediate family i have a peculiar interest  the items they request and the gov it is required to make those certification letters all bailable on the internet the information provided includes identification of the congressionally directed spending and the name of the senator who requested such spending this information mr president is going to hand in the committee report numbered one one zero dollars one five five dated september fourteenth two thousand and seven and has been of their level on the internet for two weeks also available on the internet mr president i'm submitting for the record the certification by the chairman of the committee on appropriations and i  ah um and senator from south carolina mr graham proposes in a moment number thirty one seventeen ask consent that the further reading be waived the objection mr president this amendment that i've just offered would appropriate amendment which i've been involved in helping to develop it's an amendment that was offered on the homeland security bill essentially it's the same concept and the purpose of this amendment is something which i think there's general agreement here on the senate in which is that we supply adequate resources to make sure that our border is secure now this is an effort that we've been pursuing for quite a while i had the good fortune to be chairman of the subcommittee on homeland security the appropriations committee and during that time we dramatically increased our commitment to border security especially in the area number agents number of detention beds in the area the fencing in the area the electronic and virtual fencing in the area of making technology available and facilities available to border security agents and the ice agents it is a ramping up process however and there is still a way to go although we have made very significant strides but unfortunately in our opinion on this side of the aisle and this amendment was agreed to by the other side for all intents and purposes when it was offered on homeland security there is a need for additional funding to make sure that we put in place the resources which will basically assure the american people that the border can and will be secured along the southern border now what does that require well this amendment doesn't put specific numbers relative the number of agents or detention beds or fencing but what it does put in place is an additional three billion dollars in emergency fund which will essentially go towards three major areas the first well we know that we need about twenty three thousand agents on the border we know we're headed towards that number but we know it's going to take a significant increase in funding for us to get to that number now we wish we could sort of wave a magic wand of dollars and produce these agents overnight but you can't these people are highly skilled they require special qualities as individuals they have to be obviously law enforcement individuals but the they also have to speak spanish they have to have the character and the personality to be able to work in a very intense environment and deal with very threatening situations  time dealing with people who are just just coming across the border to try to make a better way of life for themselves and and really shouldn't be treated in a criminal way but should be treated as decent human beings trying to seek a better way of life here in the united states who come in properly and have to go back to handling that type of situation requires a little more care and sensitivity than dealing with someone who's coming across selling drugs so there is  individuals that we need to attract into the border security effort by i caliber individual so you can't just gather them up overnight it takes a while to get the applicants and then put them through the schooling process and but it does take money to do that in this amendment will allow us to the extent that we can find these type of individuals and and populate this workforce to do exactly that so we will have a full complement of agents on the southern border in addition it will add the additional detention beds which are critical there is a belief that we need around thirty three thousand attention does i think is the number we're headed towards building out a significant number of detention beds but this amendment or the dollars in this amendment will give the department the resources it needs to accomplish the additional detention beds buyer detention beds important because we've gone from a policy which was essentially catch and release of two years ago or three years ago to a policy where we actually catch and hold people we no longer say come back in a few months after we catch you for crossing the border illegally if you're not mexican  and come back for a few months and appear before the court and what happened was people never came back we'd send them off and they'd never return not surprisingly now we hold these folks and we make sure that they have their day in court and that they receive the proper protections of our law enforcement system but that if they're found of entered this country illegally they get sent back but it takes money and that's why the cement is important to accomplish that thirdly we are building a fence in those areas  physical fence in those areas where we need fencing fencing isn't appropriate for the entire border but more in areas along the border is appropriate and it is expensive and so were the money in this bill will allow us to complete the fencing commitments which we think are necessary and equally important will put in place the operations of what amounts to what we call a virtual fence what is a real fence there will be a centrally towers we have a tremendous electronic surveillance capability oversight capability through on manned aerial vehicles all of this has been put into the works and we're in the process of building out a system of surveillance in non physical fenced areas but areas which will have elected basically an electronic dance and a a visual capability but that again cost a lot of money and so this amendment fully funds the movement in that direction and that's what we need to do we need to spend this money now it is a lot of money three billion dollars there's no question about it but i see it very much as part of the war on terror as a necessity necessary elements of protecting our culture and our society a country which can't control its borders which doesn't know who's coming across borders is a country which is a considerable risk considerable risk for a lot of reasons but obviously the primary reason is the threat of terrorism and we have an obligation to our citizenry to make sure that people coming across the southern border we know who they are and that we know they're coming across illegally and i think the american people have grown and rightly so i'm afraid a little cynical about our efforts on the southern border they finally say well we're going to secure the sun where we're going to secure the southern border but then when they don't see it putting the resources on the border to accomplish that well these dollars will complete the debate on the issue of resources the dollars well be there whether the management capability is there whether the buildout capability is there that's delicate issue i admit to that but at least the dollars will be in the pipeline to come and so as a practical matter i think this is a very important step forward i congratulate the senator for south carolina has been a leader on this effort for a while he's obviously a leader on immigration reform and he's backed up his words on immigration reform which is that the first step to effective immigration reform is effective border security and that is true and that is essential and he has backed that up with this amendment which puts the dollars in place to accomplish that borders and that is a corollary to this whole debate which is that we do need to significantly overhaul our immigration laws make them more appropriate to the times and to the situations but you can't get the public confidence to do immigration reform unless the american people believe at the outset that our border especially our southern border is secure from people being able to cross willy nilly into this country illegally well these dollars are put in place the resources necessary to accomplish that to make sure that our southern border is essentially secure on the issue of crossings it may take a couple of years for them to bear fruit because there's an instant response as i mentioned even hiring of agents but the fact is at least the resources will be in the pipeline to accomplish that the american people can have confidence that is going to occur and so i again congratulate senator south carolina for as amendment happy to join him as a co sponsor on this and then and i hope that it will be adopted unanimously or with a large  of the previous order the senate stands in recess until two fifteen p