S10634 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 19, 2008 

Budget authority Outlays Revenues 

Revised Budget Resolution ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2,564,237 2,466,678 1,875,401 6 S. Con. Res. 70 assumed $108,056 million in budget authority and $28,901 million in outlays for overseas deployment and related activities. The Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110–252) designated funding for these activities as an emergency requirement, pursuant to ’section 204(a) of S. Con. Res. 21. Such emergency amounts are exempt from the enforcement of S. Con. Res. 70. Since current level totals exclude the emergency requirements enacted in 

P.L. 110–252 (see footnote 2), budget authority and outlay totals specified in S. Con. Res. 70 have been reduced for purposes of comparison. 

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office. 

Note: n.a. = not applicable; P.L. = Public Law. 

HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES 

CORPORAL SCOTT DIMOND

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise 

today to honor Cpl Scott Dimond of 

Franklin, NH. On Monday, October 13, 

2008, Corporal Dimond was tragically 

taken from us when his vehicle struck 

an improvised explosive device and his 

patrol was engaged in small-arms attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan. My 

deepest sympathy, condolences, and 

prayers go out to Scott’s family and 

loved ones who have suffered this 

grievous loss. At 39 nine years old, 

Scott will always be remembered as a 

dedicated citizen who consistently put 

others before himself. 

Scott enlisted in the U.S. Marine 

Corps during his senior year in high 

school but was medically discharged 

after a serious football injury. Still determined to serve his fellow citizens, 

Scott began a career in law enforcement. He served 18 years with the 

Franklin Police Department, retiring 

in 2006 as a sergeant. Upon his retirement, Scott’s unwavering determination to serve others remained. He enlisted in the New Hampshire National 

Guard while working toward a degree 

as a registered nurse, enabling Scott to 

assist others in a new way—the health 

care profession. To any observer, 

Scott’s professional pursuits will forever echo selflessness, sacrifice, and 

patriotism, and for that, we are eternally grateful. 

As a member of an embedded tactical 

training team, there is no doubt that 

Scott’s law enforcement background 

and his willingness to help others successfully contributed to the mentoring 

and strengthening of the Afghan army 

and police force, accelerating the eventual return of American military personnel from the battlefield. Consistent 

with the rest of his life, Scott routinely put his country and his fellow 

soldiers before himself. Because of his 

devotion and sense of duty, the safety 

and liberty of countless Americans is 

more secure. Unquestionably, Scott is 

a shining example of the highest caliber of person that New Hampshire, and 

this country, can produce. We are honored to speak of his contributions, spirit, and dedication. In the words of Daniel Webster—‘‘what a man does for others, not what they do for him, gives 

him immortality.’’ May God bless Cpl 

Scott Dimond, his family, and all those 

who are currently serving in uniform. 

f 

PROTECTIVE FORESTS AND 

WILDLIFE IN SUMATRA 

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to 

take a moment to call attention to the 

recent action of the Government of Indonesia to preserve the endangered 

rain forests an ecosystems of Sumatra. 

On October 10, 2008, the Indonesian 

Government, in cooperation with the 

World Wildlife Fund, WWF, announced 

an agreement between the 10 provincial 

governors of Sumatra to protect biodiversity on the world’s sixth largest 

island. Although long overdue, this is 

an important first step towards conservation of a unique habitat at a critical time. 

Sumatra is the only place on Earth 

where tigers, elephants, rhinos, and 

orangutans co-exist. It has also gained 

a reputation for having lost almost 

half of its natural forest cover since 

1985. The rapid expansion of palm oil 

and pulpwood plantations, as well as 

rampant illegal logging, have been 

largely to blame. These activities have 

contributed to the precipitous decline 

in numbers of these endangered species, whose habitat has become a 

patchwork of disconnected small parcels of forest. 

This action to protect the forests is 

important not only for Indonesia but 

for the rest of the world. Thirteen percent of Indonesia’s remaining forests 

grow on peat soil, which emits large 

amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when trees are felled. Further destruction of these forests will 

contribute to global warming at a time 

when we should be doing everything 

possible to reduce greenhouse gases. 

This agreement represents a significant change of attitude and policy, for 

which President Yudhoyono and his 

government deserve credit. Implementing the agreement will be difficult, requiring additional resources 

for alternative economic opportunities 

for people living in these areas, and for 

enforcement, and I urge the U.S. Agency for International Development and 

other donors to support it. 

f 

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE 

CORPORATION 

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, as Chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I want to take a 

moment to speak about the budget of 

the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 

MCC. 

The fiscal year 2009 State and Foreign Operations bill, reported by the 

Appropriations Committee on July 18, 

2008, recommends $254 million for the 

MCC. Since this is substantially less 

than the $2 billion requested by the 

President, it was predictable that the 

Senate committee’s action would cause 

concerns among the MCC and many of 

its supporters, as well as governments 

that seek MCC funding. Those concerns 

have been expressed and I want to address them briefly today. While differences are inevitable in the legislative process, it is important that such 

differences not be based on a misunderstanding or confusion about the facts. 

During the past several months, I 

have heard that some of those who 

have complained about the Senate 

committee’s action have suggested 

that it was motivated by an antipathy 

towards the MCC and a desire to close 

it down or dramatically curtail its 

functions. That is incorrect. 

To begin with, we have commended 

the MCC for what it has accomplished 

since its inception 4 years ago. Several 

compacts are beginning to show tangible results, including the implementation of agriculture, infrastructure 

and other projects. Ambassador John 

Danilovich, the MCC’s CEO, has been a 

strong leader at a critical time, and I 

commend him as well as deputy CEO 

Rodney Bent. They have both done a 

fine job of representing the MCC, both 

here and abroad. 

Earlier this year, when the subcommittee was dividing up funds allocated to State and Foreign Operations, 

we faced many difficult choices. Our 

fiscal year 2009 allocation was $2 billion 

below the President’s budget request, 

and the President underfunded or failed 

to fund many critical programs of interest to both Democrats and Republicans. For example, he cut funding for 

family planning/reproductive health by 

over $100 million below the fiscal year 

2008 level. He cut the U.S. contribution 

to the global fund to fight AIDS, TB 

and malaria by $350 million. He shortchanged humanitarian relief programs, 

peacekeeping, democracy programs, 

environment and energy programs. 

There are many other examples. 

We also considered the fact that Congress had appropriated $7.5 billion for 

the MCC, and by July 18 only $235 million had been disbursed of which a significant portion was for administrative 

expenses. While we made clear that we 

were not advocating faster disbursements, we do not support additional 

compacts until more of the funds we 

have already appropriated produce sustainable results. 

Many compacts were slow getting off 

of the ground, in some cases because 

the MCC rightly insisted that governments make further refinements, or because the contracting process took 

longer than expected. These kinds of 

delays are predictable and do not reflect poorly on the MCC. Unfortunately, I have heard that some MCC 

personnel in country are being urged to 

disburse funds more quickly. As we 

have said before, this is not our intent, 

particularly if it risks short-cutting 

procurement guidelines or other safeguards, or otherwise negatively affects 

the quality of implementation of compacts. 

I do not know what the optimal rate 

of disbursement is for the MCC. It may 

be disbursing funds at the right rate. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with SENATE