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Wednesday, June 16, 2004 |
The Senate voted 97-0 to adopt the Warner amendment and is now about to vote on the Leahy amendment.
5:11:10 PM 
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Senator Warner said that the leadership has worked out an agreement that will allow a vote on both the Warner and the Leahy ammendments at 4:30 this afternoon. The Senate will also vote on three judges this afternoon.
4:21:02 PM
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Senator Leahy and Senator Warner have been debating the penalty provisions of the Leahy Amendment, with Senator Warner saying he believes that the penalties for profiteering may be too steep. Senator Leahy provided the example of someone that may buy a hammer for $5 but then sell the hammer for $2,000 without committing an act of fraud, but they would still be engaged in war profiteering.
3:33:04 PM
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After a lengthy quorum call Senator Leahy is again speaking about his war profiteering amendment. Senator Durbin asked Senator Leahy if the Senate voted on a similar bill last year. Senator Leahy replied, yes, that the Senate did vote on a similar amendment that was adopted, though it was dropped after the White House opposed it. Senator Leahy continued to say that the current statutes are limited and that his amendment is a real deterrent to war profiteering.
2:51:07 PM
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Senator Leahy is speaking on the floor about his amendment that would prohibit profiteering and fraud relating to military action, relief, and reconstruction. The Senator noted that a similar amendment was overwhelmingly adopted during the debate of the appropriations bills, yet members of the conference committee dropped the provision because of pressure from the White House. He continued to say that over the past few weeks the news has been dominated by events in Iraq and that we have learned a few things. We need to improve accountability and transparency to prevent illegal acts. He said the misdeeds of a few can jeopardize the good work of all of our troops in Iraq and put them in jeopardy.
1:44:17 PM
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Senator Cantwell is speaking in support of the Bunning amendment. She said that there are thousands of workers in Washington state that have been exposed to radiation and that she supports moving the responsibility for compensation to the Department of Labor.
1:19:56 PM
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Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa is talking about the original plan set forth by Congress to help the workers who have been made ill because of their work with nuclear weapons. He is voicing his object the way in which Senator Bunning's amendment provides compensation, because it does so based on state compensation programs. Senator Harkin feels that everyone who has been injured should receive the same pay, regardless of which state they are in, he feels that the amount is grossly inadequate, and he believes that this method of compensation would place a large burden on the Department of Labor to figure out how to pay these claims. On account of these reasons, Senator Harkin will be offering an amendment with Senator Bond that will deal with the matter of compensation.
1:05:11 PM
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Senator George Voinovich of Ohio is thanking his colleagues, Senator Bunning and Senator Bingaman, for offering an amendment to help the Cold War veterans by amending the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. He is concluding with urging his collegues to support the amendment.
12:54:23 PM
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Joining his colleague from New York, Senator Chuck Schumer is talking about the need to help those who worked in weapons production and have had their health suffer as a result. Stating that Senator Bunning's amendment would greatly improve the effectiveness of outreach and claimant assistance, Senator Schumer is praising this amendment. He is stating that the Act that was implemented to help those who had suffered has utterly failed, as is evidenced by a number of factors, including that the Department of Energy has only paid four people out of the more than 24,000 who have filed claims.
12:44:34 PM
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Senator Hillary Clinton is talking about the need to protect the weapons workers who may have been contaminated by residuals. Saying that many have paid a heavy price concerning their health, she is asking for her colleagues to join her in supporting the Bunning Amendment to help these people.
12:39:37 PM
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Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky came to the floor to discuss his amendment to the Department of Defense bill which would amend the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program to help those who have been disabled as a result of working with nuclear weapons. He is pointing out that more than 24,000 workers have filed claims with the Department of Energy, and the Department of Energy has received $95 million to deal with these claims, yet only four people have received payments.
12:34:03 PM
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After Senators Warner and Levin came to the floor to voice their support of Senator Durbin's amendment, the Senate voted by voice vote to accept the amendment.
12:23:37 PM
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Senator Durbin came to the floor to discuss his amendment to the Department of Defense bill that would call for the United States to uphold the Geneva Convention, the Convention Against Torture, the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and the prohibition against torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
12:21:40 PM
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The Senate voted 54-43 on the motion to table the Dodd Amendment.
11:43:42 AM
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The Senate is now voting on the motion to table the Dodd Amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill.
10:59:27 AM
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Saying that we are living in a different world after September 11, Senator Dodd is talking about the importance of having in-house people who have been trained to interrogate and is saying that it should not be something that will be outsourced out.
10:56:55 AM
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Apologizing to Senator Dodd for having not looked closely at the amendment, Senator Lindsey Graham is talking about the importance of his amendment.
10:51:46 AM
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Passionately refuting comments that we would lose our capacity for interrogation, Senator Dodd is speaking about the need for his amendment. He is saying asking if his colleagues understand how much trouble our country is in and is urging them to wake up and support this important amendment. He is stating the 539 interrogators are being graduated this year.
10:49:39 AM
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Stating that "hundreds of hundreds of hundreds" of contractors are professionally doing their job, Senator Warner is stating his opposition to Senator Dodd's amendment.
10:45:27 AM
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After brief comments made by Senator Warner, Senator Jeff Sessions came to the floor to say there is nothing inherently wrong with using trained contractors and is saying that past problems probably arose from the poorly selected contractors. He is saying that in his view Senator Dodd's amendment is a bad idea.
10:43:46 AM
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Beginning with stating that he has altered the amendment to deal with some concerns of his colleagues, Senator Dodd has come to the floor to talk about his amendment which would prohibit the use of private contractors for certain duties, including translation.
10:36:18 AM
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Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia is talking about the role the U.S. should play concerning the people of Iraq. Following his comments, the period of morning business closed and the Senate resumed consideration of the Department of Defense Authorization bill.
10:21:59 AM
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Coming to the floor to discuss Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests, Senator Mike DeWine is talking about when he recently questioned Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, about the processing of FISA requests. Director Mueller responded that there are still frustrations and concerns surrounding FISA processing and admitted that certain requests are not being processed as fast as possible. Stating that is disconcerting and downright frightening, Senator DeWine is saying that it is necessary to find our why we are behind in processing FISA requests.
10:14:08 AM
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Responding to the comments made by Senators Harkin and Corzine, Senator Bob Bennett is saying that presidents are not responsible for the state of the economy, but, rather, must deal with the economy that has come about as the result of the years prior to when presidents come into office. He is claiming that the next Administration will inherit a strong economy and will take credit for it, even though it is the result of a series of events that happened during this Administration. Changing topics, Senator Bennett is now discussing Iraq. Stating that we are fighting a global war on terrorism, he is saying that it is irrelevant when people say the U.S. should have gone after those responsible for the attacks of 9/11 rather than attack Iraq. He is claiming that we are now in Iraq and so it should no longer be an argument.
10:02:56 AM
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Adding to Senator Harkin's comments, Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey is talking about the stresses that the Administration's policies places on middle class families.
9:49:40 AM
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Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa is talking about what he is deeming "the middle class squeeze." He is saying that while there has been job growth in the past two months, he is stating that an Administration is not judged by two months but by four years. He continued with stating that in the past four years, millions of Americans have lost their jobs, credit card fees have doubled, utility expenses have gone up by 15% and college tuition has increased by "a whopping" 35%. Focusing on the matter of discrimination of women, he is claiming that it is wrong that women do not make the same pay as men for doing the same job. Because of this, he has introduced a bill that would allow women equitable treatment and pay.
9:39:14 AM
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Majority Leader Bill Frist came to the floor to urge his colleagues to work quickly through consideration of the Department of Defense Authorization bill. In addition, he spoke about what he sees as the progress that has been made concerning the state of Iraq.
9:20:14 AM
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The Senate reconvenes this morning at 9:00 for a period of morning business prior to resuming consideration of S.2400, the Department of Defense Authorization bill. Consideration of S.2400 will begin this morning with debate of Senator Chris Dodd's amendment concerning prohibiting the use of contractors for certain Department of Defense activities. A vote is expected later this morning on the amendment.
8:52:14 AM
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