[Congressional Record: December 20, 2001 (House)]
[Page H10914-H10916]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr20de01-9]
WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3338,
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002
Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 324 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution as follows:
H. Res. 324
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be
in order to consider the conference report to accompany the
bill (H.R. 3338) making appropriations for the Department of
Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and
for other purposes. All points of order against the
conference report and against its consideration are waived.
The conference report shall be considered as read.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Camp). The gentlewoman from North
Carolina (Mrs. Myrick) is recognized for 1 hour.
Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), pending
which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration
of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Committee on Rules met and granted a
normal conference report rule for H.R. 3338, the Fiscal Year 2002
Department of Defense Appropriations Act.
The rule waives all points of order against the conference report and
against its consideration. In addition, the rule provides that the
conference report shall be considered as read.
Mr. Speaker, this should not be a controversial rule. It is the type
of rule we grant for every conference report we consider in the House.
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), who is managing this rule for the
minority, understands the importance of a strong national defense, and
I am sure I do not need to convince him or anyone else that this bill
is important, now more than ever before.
At a time when we are facing terrorism at home and engaged in combat
abroad, we need to give our government the tools to defend us overseas
and at home. This bill does just that. It provides our military with
$317 billion in much-needed support, including a 4.6 percent pay raise;
and the supplemental portion of the bill will bolster our fight against
terrorism by providing much-needed funding for border patrols, port
security, bioterrorism prevention, and the FBI.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, this bill contains our strong support for the
people of New York by providing another $8.2 billion in disaster
assistance, including $2 billion in community development block grants.
Mr. Speaker, we are about to go home for the holidays and after the
events of this fall, I cannot think of a better thing to do before we
leave town than to provide for our armed forces, for our fight against
terrorism, and for the victims of September 11.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as we speak, the brave men and women of the U.S.
military are halfway around the world waging and winning the war on
terrorism. Their courage and professionalism are a fitting tribute to
the strength and unity of the United States of America.
Meanwhile, here at home, domestic security has become our top
priority, and thanks to the funding priorities in this conference
report, America will now be better prepared to prevent, defend against,
and recover from any future terrorist attacks.
I am very pleased that the conference report more closely reflects
Democratic priorities on homeland defense than was provided in the
House-passed bill. Specifically, it provides more funding for nuclear,
border, port, aviation and bioterrorism priorities. On bioterrorism
alone, Democrats were able to secure $2.5 billion, $1 billion more than
the President requested. While additional funding will be necessary to
fully address other domestic security needs, this conference report is
a good start.
Mr. Speaker, here in Congress, there has always been strong
bipartisan support for America's armed forces. The history of this
defense appropriations bill reflects that fact.
Last month, the House Committee on Appropriations reported its
original version of H.R. 3338, and the full House passed it by a vote
of 406 to 20. I am confident that another large bipartisan majority
will pass this conference report today. That is because Democrats and
Republicans are strongly committed to America's national defense and to
a first-rate military that carries it out. As the President said
yesterday in addressing House Democrats, security of the United States
is not a partisan issue.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good conference report, and I support it. I
would like to commend the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young); the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the ranking Democrat; the
gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis); and the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee,
for the tremendous job they have done to support America's troops and
to protect Americans here at home.
This conference report provides $478 million to combat chemical and
biological attacks against the military and $404 million for the Nunn-
Lugar nuclear nonproliferation program. It provides for a significant
military pay raise and for substantial increases in critical readiness
accounts; and it strengthens research for tomorrow's weapons and
equipment while providing the weapons and equipment the U.S. military
needs today.
Mr. Speaker, I am especially pleased by the substantial quality-of-
life improvements funded by this conference report. It includes funding
for a significant pay raise of between 5 and 10 percent for every
member of the military. And to boost critical midlevel personnel
retention, much of the pay raise will be directed towards junior
officers. It also significantly increases funding for health benefits
for service members and their families.
I am also pleased that this conference report continues to fund the
wide range of weapons programs that ensure our military's superiority
throughout the world. For instance, it includes more than $2.6 billion
for the initial production of 13 of the F-22 Raptor aircraft, the next-
generation air dominance fighter for the Air Force. The conference
report also provides $882 million for research and development for this
aircraft.
Additionally, Mr. Speaker, the conference report provides $1.5
billion for continued development of the Joint Strike Fighter, the
high-technology multirole fighter of the future for the Air Force, the
Navy, and the Marines. It also includes $1.04 billion for procurement
of 11 MV-22 Osprey aircraft.
Mr. Speaker, all of these aircraft are important components in our
national arsenal, and moving forward on the research and production
sends a clear signal that the United States has no intention of
relinquishing our air superiority.
The first duty of the Congress, Mr. Speaker, is to provide for the
national defense and the men and women who protect it. This conference
report does a great deal to improve military readiness and to improve
the quality of life for our men and women in uniform as well as their
families. It is a good first step at providing the needed funding to
ensure that attacks like those that occurred on September 11 will never
happen again.
Mr. Speaker, I wish we could have done more, but Republican leaders
insisted that many homeland security priorities wait until next year. I
hope they will allow us to address the remaining priorities as soon as
possible.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this rule and of this conference
report.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the ranking member of the Committee on
Appropriations.
[[Page H10915]]
(Mr. OBEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks, and include extraneous material.)
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, there are two provisions in this bill which I
think are of note. One is a bad provision which is here because of OMB,
and the other is a good provision in the bill which is here despite
OMB.
This country has a serious need to purchase additional tankers. This
bill does that. It meets our national responsibility in doing so. But
because OMB would prefer to keep a pretty set of books, rather than
saving the taxpayers money, it will cost us significantly more to lease
those tankers than it would to buy them. That is unfortunate, but it
was the only choice the committee was left with because OMB appears to
be more concerned with accounting niceties than it is with fiscal
realities or cost realities. And I think people need to understand that
that regretful result is not the fault of the committee.
I would hope that OMB in the future would recognize the need to allow
reality to occasionally interfere with their philosophical biases.
Second, as was indicated by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), we
do have $2.8 billion in this bill above the House bill for homeland
security items. After the tragic events of September 11, on a
bipartisan basis the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and I tried to
put together a list of the actions that both sides of the aisle thought
were necessary in order to improve the homeland security of the United
States.
That process was rudely interrupted, to say the least, by OMB, who
informed us in rather blunt terms that they had all the wisdom, that
they did not need to provide any additional funding, and that we could
put a ``Wait 'Til Next Year'' sign on our homeland security needs.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that despite that resistance, the
conferees brought back to this House a bill which contains crucial
items that will increase the security of this country at home. I want
to congratulate Senators Byrd and Stevens and the gentleman from
Florida (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from California (Chairman
Lewis) for helping to see to it that rationality prevailed over
stubbornness. As a result, we have $664 million in this bill that was
not contained in the House bill to protect the country against
bioterrorist attacks; we have $50 million more in this bill to provide
for cockpit security; we have law enforcement additions to the bill of
over $407 million, including $208 million for the FBI so that they will
be able to modernize their computer system by this coming summer,
rather than having to wait until the year 2004.
Right now the FBI has a large number of computers that cannot even
send pictures of potential terrorists to other FBI terminals because
they do not have the adequate computer capacity. This bill fixes that.
The most crucial item of all is keeping weapons of mass destruction
away from terrorists. We wound up with $382 million in additional
funding in this bill above the amount that was originally in the House
bill. We have $120 million of additional funding to secure nuclear
material in the former Soviet Union so it does not fall into
terrorists' hands.
The bill provides $383 million for increased security for our
Nation's ports and for our border, especially the Canadian border. For
food safety, it increases the percentage of imported food subject to
inspection from the present 1 percent to 10 percent, as we have been
asking all along.
It contains a number of other items which I will insert in the
record.
Mr. Speaker, I insert the table in the Record at this point.
CONFERENCE ADDITIONS TO THE HOUSE BILL FOR DOMESTIC SECURITY
[in millions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference
House Conference over House
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protecting Against Bioterrorism
Upgrading State & Local Health 593 1,000 407
Departments & Hospitals.........
Expanding CDC Support of State 50 100 50
and Local Health Departments....
Accelerating Research on 100 93 -7
Biohazards, Detection and
Treatment.......................
Bio Safety Laboratories at NIH 0 71 71
and Fort Detrick, MD............
Vaccine and Drug stockpiles...... 1,103 1,105 2
Other Bioterrorism Requirements.. 110 56 -54
--------------------------------------
Total........................ 1,956 2,425 469
Securing the Mail
Procurement of Sanitation 0 500 500
Equipment for Postal Service....
Airport and Airline Safety
Federal Assistance for Mandated 0 175 175
Security Upgrades at Airports...
Increased Sky Marshals and Sky 288 155 -133
Marshal Training................
Cockpit Door Security & Explosive 159 209 50
Detection Equipment.............
Innovations in Airport Security.. 90 50 -40
--------------------------------------
Total........................ 537 589 52
Law Enforcement
FBI Case Management Computer 105 237 132
System (Trilogy)................
FBI Data Backup and Warehousing.. 0 56 56
FBI Cybersecurity, Transportation 434 452 18
and Other.......................
Other Justice Department Law 106 80 -26
Enforcement.....................
Law Enforcement Assistance 17 17 0
(Olympics)......................
Law Enforcement Assistance 25 234 209
(National Capital Area).........
Federal Law Enforcement Training 14 32 18
Center..........................
Secret Service, IRS etc.......... 236 236 0
--------------------------------------
Total........................ 937 1,344 407
Keeping Weapons of Mass
Destruction Away from Terrorists
Improved Security at 4 DoD Sites 35 35 0
Storing Tons of Chemical Weapons
Improved Security for Nuclear 88 131 43
Weapons Activities..............
Improved Security for U.S. 0 36 36
commercial/research nuclear
reactors (NRC)..................
Nuclear Non Proliferation 0 148 148
Assistance for Russia...........
Security of Russian Nuclear and 0 0 0
Biological Scientists...........
Nuclear, Chemical and Biological 18 78 60
Detection.......................
Improved Security at Nuclear 8 8 0
Cleanup Sites...................
Energy Intelligence.............. 4 4 0
CDC Oversight and Training for 0 10 10
Labs Handling Dangerous
Pathogens.......................
Improved Security at Fort 9 9 0
Detrick, MD.....................
Improved Security at CDC, NIH, 58 143 85
FDA and USDA Research Facilities
--------------------------------------
Total........................ 220 602 382
Immigration, Port and Border
Security
Additional Customs Agents for 160 246 86
Canadian Border and seaports....
Machine Readable Visa Machines at 0 0 0
All U.S. Consulates.............
Immigration Inspectors, Border 410 450 40
Patrol & Related Equipment......
Adequate INS Detention & Admin. 0 100 100
Facilities at U.S. Border
Crossings.......................
Full Annual Cost of Expanding 145 209 64
Coast Guard by 640 positions....
Federal Grants for Port Security 0 93 93
Assessments and Enhancements....
--------------------------------------
Total........................ 715 1,098 383
Train and Bus Security
Federal Grants for Enhancing 0 100 100
Security of Rail and Bus Travel.
Food and Water Safety
Expand FDA Inspections to Cover 61 97 36
10% of All Food Imports.........
[[Page H10916]]
Increase in FDA Emergency 0 0 0
Operations and Investigations
Staff...........................
Assessment and Enhancement of 115 80 -35
Security for Drinking Water.....
--------------------------------------
Total........................ 176 177 1
Security of Government Buildings
and Facilities
Security Upgrades for Supreme 32 93 61
Court and Other Federal
Courthouses.....................
Security Upgrades for Federal 182 248 66
Buildings and Facilities........
Increased Security for Federal 81 81 0
Museums, Parks and Monuments....
Security Upgrades for National 169 169 0
Water Infrastructure............
Security Measures for White House 306 306 0
and Congress....................
Security Upgrades for U.S. 105 104 -1
Military Facilities.............
--------------------------------------
Total........................ 875 1,001 126
Security for Schools and Colleges
Grants for Assessments and 0 0 0
Emergency Response Planning.....
Other Security
Counterterrorism Assistance for 400 400 0
State and Local First Responders
Grants for Firefighters.......... 0 210 210
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to say that I think what this
bill demonstrates is that when committees are allowed to work in a
substantive way, casting aside ideology or political views, the result
is good for the country, and it is good for this institution, and I
congratulate all of those involved.
Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire of the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Frost) if he has any other speakers.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, we have no more speakers.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the rule, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I
move the previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________
Copyright © 2001 American Immigration LLC, ILW.COM
|
Add to del.icio.us