May 26, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7635

Legislative Affairs in February 1978

and in July 1981, was assigned as Commander Naval Air Forces, U.S. Atlantic

Fleet. He retired from the Navy in 1983.

His awards include the Distinguished

Service Medal; the Legion of Merit

with three gold stars; the Bronze Star;

the Air Medal; and awards from the

Governments of the Philippines and

the Republic of Vietnam.

Following retirement, Admiral

Kilcline formed a military and congressional consulting firm which he disestablished when he became the Retired Officers Association president in

December 1986.

Through his stewardship, the Retired

Officers Association played a pivotal

role in convincing Congress to enact

several legislative initiatives to maintain readiness and improve the quality

of life for all members of the military

community—active, reserve, and retired, plus their families and survivors.

I will not describe all of his accomplishments, but will briefly focus on a

few to illustrate the breadth of his concern for military people of all uniforms.

One particularly noteworthy effort

resulted from his unwavering commitment to affordable health care for the

military community. In 1988, after assessing the onerous and ill-advised seniors’ only surtax, associated with the

Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act,

he worked closely with me and other

Members of Congress and threw the full

resources of his organization behind

the successful effort to repeal that

act—a feat that has become a case

study in grassroots activism. Likewise,

under his direction, the Retired Officers Association supported strengthening the underpinning of the Montgomery GI bill and thus provided a solid

foundation for our Nation’s future

leaders by placing the wherewithal for

a college education on the horizons of

more than 1,000,000 young men and

women who otherwise might have been

denied that opportunity.

Finally, he was ever mindful of the

adverse effects on morale and retention

caused by broken commitments and inadequate compensation and forcefully

championed the causes of fairness and

equity. His leadership efforts to preserve the long-standing commitment to

lifetime care in military health care

facilities, to fight for retiree cost of

living adjustments, and to provide adequate military pay raises are some of

his other significant contributions.

Most recently, he fought for and won

the battle for a transition plan that

provides a comprehensive benefits

package for those personnel and their

families who are forced out of active

service as a result of the force structure drawdown that, hopefully, is in its

final stages.

It’s also most appropriate to recognize Tom’s wife of 44 years, the former

Dornell Thompson of Pensacola, FL.

Dornell has stood steadfastly at his

side, championing the cause of military people, particularly their families

and survivors, everywhere. For her

vital contribution, we owe her a debt of

gratitude.

I wish to extend to this great American and dear friend a grateful nation’s

thanks, our best wishes for a long life,

and fair winds and following seas.

f ∑

AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE

∑ Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise

today to recognize the American Jewish Committee for its contributions to

the ongoing debate on the appropriate

role for our Nation in international affairs.

Through a series of advertisements in

national and local publications in recent days, the American Jewish Committee has engaged in a worthy education effort to broaden public understanding of, and support for, America’s

investment in its leadership role in

world affairs.

This effort could not be more timely.

The budget resolutions that have been

adopted in this and the other body in

the past week, along with measures approved by the respective authorizing

committees to reorganize international

affairs functions and sharply reduce

foreign aid spending, could profoundly

compromise our ability to protect

America’s vital economic, political,

and strategic interests around the

world.

Underlying these shortsighted actions, I fear, is the common assumption that the public simply does not

and will not support expenditures for

international affairs. Indeed, public

opinion surveys have consistently

shown weak support for foreign aid.

But they also have revealed a general

and significant misunderstanding of

the Nation’s international affairs programs—including an overestimation,

by a factor of 15 in one recent survey,

of the portion of the Federal budget devoted to foreign aid.

That profound misunderstanding of

the cost, and I submit the cost-effectiveness, of American engagement in

international affairs must be confronted and reversed; it must not be allowed to dictate or excuse a retreat

from American leadership.

It is to raise awareness of the value

and necessity of America’s continued

international engagement, and to place

the current debate on foreign aid and

related programs in the proper context

of America’s leadership role and the

protection of America’s interests, that

the American Jewish Committee has

launched its current public education

effort, I commend AJC’s message to my

colleagues, and hope that it gains the

serious attention it so clearly merits.

Mr. President, I ask that the text of

the American Jewish Committee’s ad,

as it appears in the current issues of

the Washington Post weekly edition

and Roll Call, be printed in the

RECORD.

The text follows:

AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN WORLD AFFAIRS IS

EXPENSIVE UNTIL YOU CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE

During this century, America has played a

proud and unparalleled role in the leadership

of formal alliances and informal coalitions

to vanquish tyrants, extend human freedom,

and craft the rules and institutions of commerce and peace.

The cost of our leadership in world affairs

has been high; we honor the profound sacrifices made in the exercise of that leadership. At the same time, we know that, for

the realization of our fundamental principles

and the welfare of our country, the cost of

withdrawal from leadership—or of its assumption by other nations—would have been

intolerable. Through two world wars and five

decades of post-war conflict between the Soviet bloc and the Western alliance, America’s role has been central and irreplaceable.

In the uncertainties and conflicts that lie

ahead, we foresee no diminution—indeed, a

likely extension—of the call for American

leadership in international affairs.

It is in the interest of human progress, and

the particular interest of our own nation,

that America continue to answer that call to

leadership. In fact, America’s national and

international interests are mutually reinforcing. In the developed world, American

commitment to free trade in goods and ideas,

and to the entrenchment and protection of

democracy, strengthens our and our partners’ economies, the well-being of our people, and our political and strategic infrastructures. In the developing world, American commitment to human rights and to

the relief of human suffering, to the creation

and sustenance of democratic institutions,

and to defense against extremism,

ultranationalism and expansionism, is not

only morally compelling but yields alliances,

markets and regional security regimes vital

to American economic and political interests.

The American Jewish Committee, founded

in 1906 in part to spur U.S. action against the

oppression of Jews in czarist Russia, has consistently advocated our nation’s leadership

in world affairs. A participant in the Versailles conference of 1919 and consultant to

the American delegation to the San Francisco conference that chartered the United

Nations in 1945, the American Jewish Committee has long recognized the singular role

of the United States as a defender of freedom, protector of human rights, and proponent of peaceful relations between states.

As Americans, inheritors of the world’s

longest and most successful experiment in

constitutional democracy, we know the provenance of our freedoms—the struggle to

found a nation free of religious persecution,

intolerance and political oppression; we

know, as well, that our nation’s struggle for

freedom is incomplete and ongoing. As Jews,

inheritors of an ancient and noble tradition

of laws and culture, whose communities in

other lands have been decimated by political

and religious decree, we cherish the American ideal of liberty, a beacon of hope to all

the world.

For these reasons—America’s role and investment in shaping the modern world; the

dangers of alternative or absent leadership;

the economic, political and strategic benefits of active international engagement with

both the developed and developing worlds;

and the history, virtue and motivating power

of the American ideal—we commend our

Government’s continued dedication to the

projection of American leadership in world

affairs. To that end, we urge the following:

Vigorous resistance to neo-isolationist

calls for American withdrawal or retreat

from international commitments. American
S7636 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 26, 1995

economic, political and strategic interests

cannot be isolated or insulated from world

affairs; their successful engagement in world

affairs are America’s guarantor of prosperity

and peace.

An understanding of the cost-effectiveness

of U.S. foreign aid and a strong commitment

to maintain it as an efficient instrument of

foreign policy. Reduced in real-dollar terms

in recent budgets to less than 1 percent of

Federal spending—and the lowest, as a percentage of GNP, among major industrialized

nations—U.S. foreign aid serves to safeguard

America’s political and economic interests

abroad and spurs the development of new

markets, generates American jobs (with 3

out of 4 aid dollars spent at home), and helps

ease foreign crises that could escalate into

instability and military conflict.

Continued U.S. leadership in efforts to resolve regional conflicts in areas of vital economic, political and strategic interest; to

bar the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and to combat international terrorism that threatens America, Israel, moderate Arab states, and the values and institutions of modern civilization. America’s

role in the pursuit of Arab-Israeli reconciliation, and in the development of regional

economic and security arrangements to promote Middle East peace, has been, and continues to be, indispensable.

Continued U.S. leadership, active participation, and appropriate investment in multilateral and bilateral institutions, including

international lending agencies, trade and

health organizations, and the United Nations. These institutions are valuable tools

through which the United States, with vital

security and economic interests across the

globe, seeks global consensus on issues of national importance.

The protection of international human

rights as an essential component of U.S. foreign policy, reflecting America’s deepest values while advancing its interests in a safer

world. Indeed, at the founding conference of

the United Nations 50 years ago, it was

American Jewish Committee representatives

Joseph Proskauer and Jacob Blaustein who

argued persuasively that governments which

respect human rights in their own countries

are less likely to upset regional and global

stability.

This message, one of a series on public policy issues, was adopted by the Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee at

its 89th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.,

on May 3, 1995.

The American Jewish Committee, Robert

S. Rifkind, President; David A. Harris, Executive Director.

SENATOR THURMOND RECEIVES

HONORARY DEGREE

∑

f∑ Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, on Saturday, May 20, 1995, Senator STROM

THURMOND received the honorary degree of doctor of medical jurisprudence

honoris causa during the 16th commencement ceremony of the Uniformed

Services University of the Health

Sciences [USUHS].

Our Nation’s only military medical

school recognized the President pro

tempore of the U.S. Senate and the

chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee for his ‘‘uncompromising commitment to excellence in military service and in particular, to military medicine.’’ Through his vision and

efforts, 2,148 USUHS physicians have

been commissioned into the uniformed

services; and, of those fine, uniformed

doctors, over 81 percent remain on active duty in the service of their Nation

beyond their initial service obligation.

Senator THURMOND’S leadership and

foresight played a major role in the

conception of USUHS. Through his

consistent support and recognition of

the importance of pre-war and wartime

knowledge of military medical requirements, the Congress established

USUHS and the scholarship program

[HPSP] as complementary sources of

accession for military physicians. In

1972, Public Law 92–426 established the

HPSP program to be a flexible source

for the quantity of doctors required by

the Armed Forces. USUHS was established to provide a corps of military

medical officers—presently 14 percent

of the total physician force—who would

provide continuity and leadership to

the medical services.

It was Senator THURMOND’s sound

and correct judgment that without

continuity and leadership, the lessons

learned in military medicine from past

wars are forgotten and must be relearned at the expense of the fighting

forces. Senator THURMOND has continuously understood that it is essential for

military medical readiness to maintain

enough physicians in the military services to ensure that the lessons learned

in military medicine during both combat and peacetime will be safeguarded.

Because of his tenacity, the USUHS

military medical personnel, faculty,

active duty alumni and programs continue to serve as the institutional

memory for military medicine.

During four major assaults attempting to close USUHS, Senator THURMOND’s fortitude and mettle have provided the steadfastness of purpose to

thwart those who do not understand

that there is a vast difference between

a civilian doctor in the military and a

military physician. Senator THURMOND’s military physicians have demonstrated immediate deployability and

played key roles in numerous military

and humanitarian operations at home

and abroad, including: Operation Just

Cause (Panama); Operations Desert

Shield and Desert Storm; Operation

Provide Comfort (Kurdish relief); Somalia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Hurricanes

Hugo and Andrew relief operations; the

1993 Midwestern flood relief; the operations to restore democracy in Haiti,

and in operational planning support

provided in response to the 1995 bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma.

Without a doubt, through the passage

of time, the immediate deployability of

USUHS physicians to military and humanitarian operations, the extraordinary retention rates of the USUHS

graduates, the testimony of military

medical combat experts during congressional hearings in March and April

of 1994, the exceptional support from

both military and civilian medical

leadership and associations, the documentation from economic analyses

that verifies USUHS is a wise investment for the Federal Government, and

the renewed recognition of the need for

military medical readiness in support

of those whom we send into harm’s

way, have all combined to illuminate

the foresight and leadership of Senator

STROM THURMOND. He has truly proven

himself to be a visionary for the special needs of military medicine.

I sincerely thank Senator THURMOND

for his magnificent service to the Senate and to the Nation and join in the

standing ovation of the 2,000 attendees

at the USUHS commencement ceremony in recognition of his outstanding

leadership.

I ask to have printed in the RECORD

the citation conferring the honorary

degree upon Senator THURMOND.

SENATOR JAMES STROM THURMOND, DOCTOR

OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE HONORIS CAUSA

Senator Thurmond, over 70 years ago you

unselfishly answered your nation’s call for

service. Since that time, your commitment

to patriotism and concern for those who

serve their nation has won you the undying

respect of all Americans. Tens of thousands

of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines have

benefitted from your uncompromising commitment to excellence in military service

and in particular, military medicine. To provide the care to those who serve when called

is sometimes more perilous in the legislature

than on the battlefield. You are a luminary

of health care delivery and support of those

who serve. Your vision has been tested and

proven from the battlefields of Vietnam,

Grenada, Lebanon, Panama, Haiti, Somalia,

and the Persian Gulf to the clinics and

health centers that serve the American people. Your spirit and humanity, together with

your legislative acumen, have left a legacy

for this nation which is unmatched and truly

enviable. Through your efforts, this University is now a part of that legacy. Doctors,

nurses, and scientists are now serving their

nation because of your vision and commitment to purpose. Your nation’s health care

University takes great pride in awarding you

the degree of Doctor of Medical Jurisprudence Honoris Causa.

f∑

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON

THE BUDGET

The text of the concurrent resolution

(H. Con. Res. 67) setting forth the congressional budget for the U.S. Government for fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998,

1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, as agreed to by

the Senate on Thursday, May 25, 1995,

is as follows:

Resolved, That the resolution from the

House of Representatives (H. Con. Res. 67)

entitled ‘‘Concurrent resolution setting forth

the congressional budget for the United

States Government for the fiscal years 1996,

1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002’’, do pass

with the following amendment:

Strike out all after the resolving clause

and insert:

SECTION 1. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE

BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996.

(a) DECLARATION.—The Congress determines

and declares that this resolution is the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year

1996, including the appropriate budgetary levels

for fiscal years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and

2002, as required by section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this concurrent resolution is as follows:

Sec. 1. Concurrent resolution on the budget for

fiscal year 1996.