Liberated Text -> Congressional Record -> Nine Senators of Shame
The Presiding Officer: The Senator from Alaska.
Mr. Stevens: What is now the pending business?
Amendment No. 1977
The Presiding Officer: There are now 6 minutes evenly divided before a vote with respect to the McCain amendment No. 1977.
Who yields time?
The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCain: Mr. President, war is an awful enterprise and I know that. I do not think I am naive about how severe are the wages of war and how terrible are the things that must be done to wage it successfully. It is a grim, dark business, and no matter how noble the cause for which it is fought, no matter how valued their service, many veterans spend much of their subsequent lives trying to forget not only what was done to them and their comrades but some of what had to be done by their hand to prevail.
I do not mourn the loss of any terrorist's life, nor do I care if in the course of serving their noble cause they suffered great harm. They have pledged their lives to the intentional destruction of innocent lives, and they have earned their terrible punishment in this life and the next.
What I do regret, what I do mourn, and what I do care very much about is what we lose, what we, the American service man and woman, and the great Nation they defend at the risk of their lives, when by official policy or by official negligence we allow, confuse, or encourage our soldiers to forget that the best sense of ourselves, that which is our greatest strength, that we are different and better than our enemies, that we fight for an idea, not a tribe, not a land, not a king, not a twisted interpretation of an ancient religion but for an idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights.
I have been asked before where did the brave men I was privileged to serve with in Vietnam draw the strength to resist to the best of their ability the cruelties inflicted on them by our enemies? Well, they drew strength from our faith in each other, from our faith in God, and from our faith in our country.
Our enemies did not adhere to the Geneva Convention. Many of my comrades were subjected to very cruel, very inhumane, and degrading treatment, a few of them even unto death. But every single one of us knew and took great strength from the belief that we were different from our enemies, that we were better than them, that if the roles were reversed, we would not disgrace ourselves by committing or countenancing such mistreatment of them. That faith was indispensable not only to our survival but to our attempts to return home with honor. Many of the men I served with would have preferred death to such dishonor.
The enemies we fight today hold such liberal notions in contempt as they hold in contempt the international conventions that enshrine them, such as the Geneva Conventions and the Treaty on Torture. I know that. But we are better than them, and we are stronger for our faith, and we will prevail.
I submit to my colleagues that it is indispensable to our success in this war that our service men and women know that in the discharge of their dangerous responsibilities to their country they are never expected to forget that they are Americans and the valiant defenders of a sacred idea of how nations should govern their own affairs and their relations with others, even our enemies.
Those who return to us and those who give their lives for us are entitled to that honor. Those of us who have given them this onerous duty are obliged by our history and by the sacrifices, the many terrible sacrifices, that they have made in our defense. We are obliged to make clear to them that they need not risk their honor or their country's honor to prevail; that through the violence, chaos, and heartache of war, through deprivation and cruelty and loss, they are always Americans, and different, better, and stronger than those who would destroy us. God bless them as He has blessed us with their service.
The Presiding Officer: Who yields time?
The majority leader.
Mr. Frist: Mr. President, I rise to speak on leader time. I thank Senator McCain for his efforts on this very important issue that we have been debating, talking about, and focusing upon for a long period of time. It is an important matter that affects both our American reputation abroad and the conduct of our military personnel in this global war on terrorism.
It is important to state that the performance of American servicemembers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the globe has been outstanding, has been inspiring, and truly representative of the best our Nation has to offer. This amendment strives to establish uniform standards for the interrogation of prisoners and detainees as a means for helping ensure our service men and women are well trained, well briefed, knowledgeable of their legal, professional, and moral duties and obligations. Therefore, I fully support the purpose and intent of this amendment, and although I understand it may require some fine-tuning to prevent any unintended consequences, I do intend to vote for it with that in mind.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Chafee): The Senator from Alaska.
Mr. Stevens: I am compelled to speak in opposition to this amendment, although I wholeheartedly agree with what the Senator from Arizona has said. It was a marvelous statement made by a man who has every reason to say exactly what he said. I support what the majority leader has said, but there is a classified annex to the Army Field Manual that is not spelled out in this amendment, and there are people who are not in uniform who may not even be citizens of the United States who represent us in very strange and dangerous places, whose lives may be put in jeopardy by the process that is spelled out in part of this amendment. I speak for them.
I honor all service men and women, and I really believe they should absolutely follow the lifestyle of the Senator from Arizona, as well as his statement tonight. But as the leader has said, there are some changes that have to be made if we are to be faithful to those people who live in the classified world and will be covered by the classified annex that, if one reads the amendment, is not covered here.
I have to do my best to make sure that when we get to conference people understand that there is that problem. Therefore, I shall oppose the amendment and try to straighten it out in conference. I know it would pass.
I yield back the remainder of our time.
The Presiding Officer: All time is yielded back. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 1977.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. Durbin: I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Corzine) is necessarily absent.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Thune): Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 90, nays 9, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 249 Leg.]| YEAS--90 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akaka | Clinton | Frist | Leahy | Rockefeller |
| Alexander | Coleman | Graham | Levin | Salazar |
| Allen | Collins | Grassley | Lieberman | Santorum |
| Baucus | Conrad | Gregg | Lincoln | Sarbanes |
| Bayh | Craig | Hagel | Lott | Schumer |
| Bennett | Crapo | Harkin | Lugar | Shelby |
| Biden | Dayton | Hatch | Martinez | Smith |
| Bingaman | DeMint | Hutchison | McCain | Snowe |
| Boxer | DeWine | Inouye | McConnell | Specter |
| Brownback | Dodd | Isakson | Mikulski | Stabenow |
| Bunning | Dole | Jeffords | Murkowski | Sununu |
| Burns | Domenici | Johnson | Murray | Talent |
| Burr | Dorgan | Kennedy | Nelson (FL) | Thomas |
| Byrd | Durbin | Kerry | Nelson (NE) | Thune |
| Cantwell | Ensign | Kohl | Obama | Vitter |
| Carper | Enzi | Kyl | Pryor | Voinovich |
| Chafee | Feingold | Landrieu | Reed | Warner |
| Chambliss | Feinstein | Lautenberg | Reid | Wyden |
| NAYS--9 | ||||
| Allard | Inhofe | |||
| Bond | Roberts | |||
| Coburn | Sessions | |||
| Cochran | Stevens | |||
| Cornyn | ||||
| NOT VOTING--1 | ||||
| Corzine | ||||
The amendment (No. 1977) was agreed to.
Amendment No. 1978
The Presiding Officer: The time is evenly divided before a vote with respect to amendment No. 1978.
The Senator from Alaska.
Mr. Stevens: Mr. President, what is the pending business?
The Presiding Officer: The McCain amendment No. 1978.
Mr. Stevens: Mr. President, if I could have a minute, I want to warn the Senate that we may be here all night. We may have to have our cloture vote after adjournment at about 11:55. We would vote about 12:55 or 1:05 on cloture. Because if we are to have 30 hours and still finish by the time some people want to leave on Friday, it has to start at that time or else we have to get unanimous consent to shorten the time. If we vote tomorrow morning at 10, we will be here until 6 o'clock or 7 o'clock Friday afternoon. Just a warning--not yet. We are still trying to work it out.
The Presiding Officer: Who yields time on the amendment? The Senator from Arizona controls the time and the Senator from Alaska controls the opposition.
Mr. McCain: Mr. President, this amendment would prohibit for 1 year the transfer.
The Presiding Officer: The Senator will suspend for a moment. The Senate will be in order.
The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCain: Mr. President, this amendment would prohibit, for 1 year, the transfer of $23 million in cash to the Government of Uzbekistan.
Just this year, the government of President Islam Karimov has taken a number of actions so alarming, that one would think this body would be considering sanctions, not how to transfer millions of taxpayer dollars to this government.
In May, the government massacred up to 1,000 people, mostly unarmed men, women, and children protesting the government's corruption, lack of opportunity, and continued oppression. The government has rejected all calls for an independent international inquiry and blamed a foreign conspiracy for the protest. It even placed blame on the United States for the events, saying that rebels received money from the U.S. embassy in Tashkent.
The Uzbek government launched a campaign of anti-American propaganda after its massacre, staging rallies to denounce the United States. President Karimov suggested that the U.S. was behind not just the event in Andijan but also served as the "scriptwriters and directors" of the "colored revolutions" in other countries.
In July, Karimov's government announced that the U.S. will no longer have access to the K2 base in Uzbekistan, and evicted all U.S. troops from the country. In addition, his government has terminated counterterrorism cooperation with the United States.
This week the EU announced that it will impose sanctions against Uzbekistan. But the Pentagon wants to send $23 million to pay past bills. Paying our bills is important. But more important is America standing up for itself; avoiding the misimpression that we overlook massacres; and avoiding cash transfers to the treasury of a dictator just months after he permanently evicts American soldiers from his country.
We should postpone the cash payment to the Government of Uzbekistan for 1 year, at which point the Congress can decide whether to renew the prohibition or make the payment. If it had not been authorization, I would have said until a complete and thorough investigation of the massacre was conducted.
Mr. Stevens: May I ask the Senator from Arizona, would he allow us to adopt this by voice vote?
Mr. McCain: I would be pleased.
Mr. Stevens: I ask the Senate proceed to consider this by voice vote.
The Presiding Officer: Is there objection to vitiating the yeas and nays?
Without objection, the yeas and nays are vitiated.
The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
The amendment (No. 1978) was agreed to.
Mr. Stevens: Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. Craig: I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. Stevens: What is the pending business.
Amendment No. 2033
The Presiding Officer: The question is on agreeing to the Kerry amendment No. 2033. A motion to table has been made. Who yields time?
Mr. Stevens: Mr. President, if the Senator will permit me to do so, section 402 of the House Concurrent Resolution 95 of the 109th Congress, the fiscal year 2006 concurrent resolution budget, created a point of order against an emergency designation on nondefense spending.
The amendment contains nondefense spending with an emergency designation.
Pursuant to that section 402 of S. Con. Res. 95 of the 108th Congress, the fiscal year 2005 concurrent resolution on the budget, I make a point of order against the emergency designation contained in the amendment.
Mr. Kerry: Parliamentary inquiry?
The Presiding Officer: The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. Kerry: Mr. President, wasn't there an order already in place for the motion?
The Presiding Officer: A motion to table has been made.
Mr. Kerry: Wasn't there an order already in place for the motion?
The Presiding Officer: That would take precedence over the point of order.
Mr. Kerry: I believe that is accurate. I ask for the yeas and nays, Mr. President.
The Presiding Officer: Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. Stevens: Parliamentary inquiry: If the motion is not tabled, it is still subject to a point of order?
The Presiding Officer: The point of order can be made.
Mr. Kerry: Mr. President, first of all, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Collins, Byrd, Obama, and Salazar be added as cosponsors.
The Presiding Officer: Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. Kerry: Mr. President, this amendment is an emergency response to the natural gas shortage and crisis that has raised prices all across the country. In the South, there has been a 17-percent increase in electricity costs. In the Midwest, there has been a 69-percent natural gas increase. And in New England, the heating oil prices have gone up 29 percent. The industry tells us that there will be an average of a $600 increase per family. For people on fixed incomes, when you add that to the cost of tuition increases, gasoline increases, and health care increases, it is unaffordable.
The National Energy Assistance directorate has told us that 39 percent of those individuals in the country who are low income went without medical care in order to be able to pay those bills. Twenty percent didn't pay their rent or their mortgage.
I ask colleagues to approve this $3.1 billion emergency LIHEAP allocation.
Mr. Kennedy: Mr. President, sadly, the gap between rich and poor has been widening in our society. The number of persons living in poverty in the Nation has increased from 31 million in 2000 to 37 million today, including 13 million children. Two main parts of the problem are that wages are stagnant, and the long-term unemployment rate is at historic levels. After Hurricane Katrina revealed the plight of minorities, the "silent slavery of poverty is not so silent any more."
For many, the American dream has turned into a nightmare. Families stay awake at night worrying how to make ends meet. Parents wonder how they will feed their children and pay their bills.
Significant numbers of Americans live year-round with the constant threat of power shut-offs because they can't pay their energy bills, and there is no relief in sight. According to the Energy Information Administration, energy prices are likely to continue to increase.
The outlook for the coming winter is bleak. Heating oil will probably cost a third more than the already high prices Americans paid last year. Families who use natural gas to heat their homes will also pay more. The average 2005 price for residential natural gas is estimated to be 21 percent higher than it was in 2004.
These are not just abstract numbers. They represent real burdens on real people. Minorities, the elderly, and the disabled, and many others are forced to make painful choices between heating their homes and paying for food, healthcare, and rent. The good news is that a highly successful Federal program is available to prevent the poorest of poor from making impossible tradeoffs. LIHEAP grants money to low-income families who can't afford the steep cost of energy. The number of American households receiving LIHEAP assistance has increased from over 4 million in 2002 to 5 million this year, the highest level in 10 years.
Ninety-four percent of LIHEAP recipients have at least one member who is elderly, disabled, a child under the age of 18, or is a single parent with a young child. Seventy-seven percent of LIHEAP recipients report an annual income at or below $20,000 and 61 percent of recipients have annual incomes at or below the Federal poverty line.
The bad news is that these fortunate recipients comprise only 18 percent of the eligible population. In Massachusetts, the participation rate is 22 percent, which is still unacceptably low.
Last year in Worcester, the city's Community Action Council provided fuel assistance to 9,660 households, but it processed applications for almost 11,000 households before the funds ran out. Many of the unserved households were made up of the working poor, the elderly, the disabled, and children.
In Franklin and Hampshire counties in Massachusetts, over 6,000 LIHEAP applications were processed. The Franklin Community Action Corporation reported that emergency applications and payment requests increased this past winter. They told me that this was by far their most stressful year.
Across the United States, families are suffering from high energy prices. There are far too many stories of families that were eligible to receive LIHEAP, but didn't because the money just wasn't there. Here are just a few examples.
A single father just lost his job on June 15 and has three children. His electric bill was $117.33, but he is unable to pay it because he isn't receiving unemployment compensation, or any other income. He is looking for work every day. Even if he is hired soon, his electricity may be turned off before he gets his first paycheck.
A grandmother taking care of three grandchildren, ages 14, 11, 5 had an electric bill for $195. Her monthly income is $904. The house is totally electric, so the bills will probably be going higher. The grandmother also has extra medical expenses, but she too was turned away.
It is wrong to let people like this suffer. So how does the Republican leadership in Congress respond? By cutting or freezing funds for essential low income programs.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita upended the lives of millions of citizens in the Gulf region, and the administration was right to release emergency energy funds for the areas that were devastated. But, their response to the looming energy crisis is far less.
The administration and the House of Representatives closed their eyes to the needs of the poor. The House sent the Senate a continuing resolution which froze funding for the LIHEAP program. The current funding obviously isn't enough. Nineteen percent of current LIHEAP recipients say they keep their home at a temperature they feel is unsafe or unhealthy. Eight percent of recipients report that their electricity or gas was shut off in the past year for nonpayment.
The continuing resolution also cut the Community Services Block Grant by 50 percent. These funds are used by many community action agencies to administer the LIHEAP program.
According to ABCD, a community action agency in Massachusetts, since the outreach and application process for LIHEAP is handled through the ABCD neighborhood network, funding cuts will mean that access to this critical survival resource will shrink by more than 70 percent. Up to 10,500 households--out of a current total of 15,000 recipients--may not get their benefits.
Those in Congress who care about this issue sent an urgent request to the President to increase the funds, but our request has gone unanswered. In a news conference earlier this week, a reporter asked Energy Secretary Bodman if the administration plans to ask Congress for more funds for assistance for low-income families and seniors. Secretary Bodman replied, "At least at this point in time, that's not on the agenda."
The administration may not think the needs of the poor deserve to be on their agenda, but the States do. They are trying to do their part. In Massachusetts, State legislators want to add $20 million in State funds to LIHEAP, to supplement Federal funds.
Governors are stepping forward to acknowledge the problem. A bipartisan group of 28 Governors, led by Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, recently sent a letter to Congress urging additional emergency funds for LIHEAP. They know the importance of this issue first hand, and so should we.
Congress needs to stand up for the millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet. We have the ability to tell the elderly, and the disabled, and many others that we have heard them, and that we won't leave them shivering in the cold this winter. LIHEAP provides a critical service to desperate families who have nowhere else to turn for basic energy help, and LIHEAP is indispensable in filling that need. I strongly support this amendment to increase these emergency funds. We can't shortchange LIHEAP and all the people who need our help the most. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
Mr. Stevens: Mr. President, because we had a time agreement that gave each side time before a vote, the point of order I made is subject to that time agreement, as I understand it. But now we will be faced with two votes. Does the Senator wish to have two votes on this amendment?
Mr. Kerry: Mr. President, I am happy to change the order to serve the purposes of the Senate.
Pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95, which is the concurrent resolution on the budget, I move to waive section 402 for the purposes of the pending amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
Mr. Stevens: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the vote to table and that we proceed on the motion to waive the point of order.
The Presiding Officer: Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. Stevens: I ask for the yeas and nays.
The Presiding Officer: Is there a sufficient second? There is a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. Durbin: I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Corzine) is necessarily absent.
The Presiding Officer: Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 50, nays 49, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 250 Leg.]
| YEAS--50 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akaka | Coleman | Harkin | Lieberman | Rockefeller |
| Baucus | Collins | Jeffords | Lincoln | Salazar |
| Bayh | Conrad | Johnson | Lugar | Santorum |
| Biden | Dayton | Kennedy | Mikulski | Sarbanes |
| Bingaman | DeWine | Kerry | Murray | Schumer |
| Boxer | Dodd | Kohl | Nelson (FL) | Snowe |
| Byrd | Dorgan | Landrieu | Obama | Specter |
| Cantwell | Durbin | Lautenberg | Pryor | Stabenow |
| Chafee | Feingold | Leahy | Reed | Talent |
| Clinton | Feinstein | Levin | Reid | Wyden |
| NAYS--49 | ||||
| Alexander | Chambliss | Enzi | Isakson | Shelby |
| Allard | Coburn | Frist | Kyl | Smith |
| Allen | Cochran | Graham | Lott | Stevens |
| Bennett | Cornyn | Grassley | Martinez | Sununu |
| Bond | Craig | Gregg | McCain | Thomas |
| Brownback | Crapo | Hagel | McConnell | Thune |
| Bunning | DeMint | Hatch | Murkowski | Vitter |
| Burns | Dole | Hutchison | Nelson (NE) | Voinovich |
| Burr | Domenici | Inhofe | Roberts | Warner |
| Carper | Ensign | Inouye | Sessions | |
| NOT VOTING--1 | ||||
| Corzine | ||||
The Presiding Officer: On this question, the yeas are 50, the nays are 49. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is sustained.
Mr. Stevens: I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. Hatch: I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.