|
|
|
 |
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 |
Senator Hatch is responding to the comments made by Senator Leahy and Senator Durbin on the floor about torture in the Abu Gharib prison. He said that we all decry the events that occurred there and that we are all ashamed of it. Senator Hatch said that he believes that the opinions that have been leaked from the Administration are simply opinions. He continued to say that it is not okay to say that the Geneva Conventions apply across the board because the battles that are being fought are not against armies wearing uniforms and the enemies of the U.S. are not from a single nation.
5:48:00 PM 
|
|
Senator Leahy continued to speak on the lack of cooperation by the Administration in discussing the issue of Iraqi prisoner abuse. He said that he hopes the Senate will stand up and be an independent body and do their job of oversight. The Senator said that he believes that the President's top lawyer, John Ashcroft, is required to provide the Congress with any memos about how he advised the President on this issue.
5:08:21 PM
|
|
Senator Leahy is speaking about the life of Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek, a young man with muscular dystrophy who had written a best selling book. He said that when he turned on the news this morning he was saddened to see that Matthew had passed away. He is also speaking on his amendment regarding the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and memos that the administration has not provided the Senate. Senator Leahy said that his amendment will require a quarterly report on the number of prisoners being held, previous Red Cross reports on the treatment of prisoners, and memos regarding the interrogation techniques approved by the Administration.
4:58:55 PM
|
|
The Senate voted 94-0 to confirm the nomination of Walter Kelley. The Senate will now continue consideration of the Defense Authorization bill.
4:29:00 PM
|
|
The Senate voted 98-0 to approve the Sanchez nomination. The Senate will now vote on the nomination of Walter Kelley to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia.
4:11:15 PM
|
|
The Senate voted 44-58 not to adopt the Byrd amendment and will now vote on the nomination of Juan Sanchez to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
3:37:15 PM
|
|
The Senate voted 45-53 not to adopt the Reed amendment. The Senate will now vote on the Byrd amendment which will cap the number of troops in Colombia at 500.
3:16:14 PM
|
|
The Senate voted 48-50 to defeat the Kennedy amendment. The Senate will now vote on the Reed amendment regarding testing of new missile defense systems.
2:56:19 PM
|
|
The Senate has voted 71-26 to adopt the McConnell amendment and will now vote on the Kennedy amendment.
2:35:42 PM
|
|
The Senate will now vote on the McConnell amendment regarding reporting requirements for the war in Iraq. After the vote on the McConnell amendment the Senate will vote on an amendment from Senator Kennedy regarding the same issue. Senator Kennedy's amendment requires more reporting than the McConnell amendment.
2:20:20 PM
|
|
The Senate voted 49-49 not to adopt the Corzine amendment. Because a budget point of order was made against the amendment sixty votes were needed to add it to the Defense Authorization bill.
2:16:32 PM
|
|
The Senate is now voting on the motion to waive the budget act with respect to the Corzine amendment. This amendment would reduce the retirement age for members of the National Guard and Reserves from 60 to 55.
1:49:10 PM
|
|
Senator Ensign is speaking about what he called the "Oil for Food" scandal. He noted that a bi-partisan group of Senators wrote to Paul Bremer in Iraq and asked him to secure this program. The Senator continued to describe the situation in Iraq, saying that Saddam Hussein took kick backs from the Oil for Food Program and how Hussein used these funds to attempt to rebuild his military and bribe other business officials. Senator Ensign said that he hopes that a full investigation into this issue, and he has offered an amendment that would require documents pertaining to the investigation be brought to the U.S. before the June 30th handover of Iraq. His amendment would also require a General Accounting Office review of the Oil for Food Program.
1:21:35 PM
|
|
Senator Bond's amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
12:23:54 PM
|
|
Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa is thanking Senator Bond for the work he has done concerning his amendment. He is saying only four Iowans who worked on nuclear weapons and whose health has suffered have been compensated. Senator Bond's amendment would help people from Iowa and Missouri.
12:14:17 PM
|
|
Senator Kit Bond is talking about his amendment which include some nuclear weapons program workers in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program.
12:02:27 PM
|
|
Senator Coleman responded to Senator Levin's comments saying that he feels there have been positive results as the result of Plan Colombia and feels that the cap on number of troops and civilians in Colombia in connection with Plan Colombia should be set at the level requested by the Administration.
11:58:49 AM
|
|
Senator Levin is voicing his support for Senator Byrd's amendment on number of troops and civilians in Colombia in connection with Plan Colombia. He is stating that he believes Senator Byrd's amendment sets a cap that is a proper, modest and cautious increase, as opposed to the higher cap requested by the Administration.
11:56:40 AM
|
|
Beginning with saying that he has visited Colombia, Senator Norm Coleman is saying that he would like the cap to be raised on the number of troops and civilians in Colombia in connection with Plan Colombia.
11:52:23 AM
|
|
Saying that there has been dramatic success in the war on drugs as a result of Plan Colombia, Senator Ted Stevens, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, is expressing his belief that the Congress should support the Administration's decision to raise the cap on the number of troops and civilians in Colombia in connection with Plan Colombia.
11:42:22 AM
|
|
Beginning with describing Plan Colombia, a six year anti-narcotics initiative authorized in 2000, Senator Robert C. Byrd is talking about his amendment which provides a reasonable amount of support to continue Plan Colombia and which calls for a cap on the number of troops and contractors in Colombia in connection with Plan Colombia.
11:36:05 AM
|
|
Senator Wayne Allard is joining Senator Warner in voicing his opposition to Senator Reed's amendment on ground-based midcourse defense programs.
10:59:57 AM
|
|
Saying that too often the Department of Defense thinks that the law does not apply to it, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan is speaking about Senator Reed's amendment and is stating that the law calls for operational testing. He is saying that the amendment is about obeying the law and is different than amendments than have been voted on in the past about ground-based midcourse defense programs.
10:58:18 AM
|
|
Speaking about his amendment on ground-based midcourse defense programs, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island is reminding his colleagues that his amendment does not take away money from the program, but delays it until the missiles have been operationally tested.
10:50:44 AM
|
|
Beginning with stating that he also appreciates all of the help from international allies in Iraq, Senator Kennedy is saying that his colleagues must remember that the greatest burden by far is on Americans. He is mentioning that 96.9% of those killed in Iraq have been Americans. He is saying that the Administration should let Congress know an estimate of how many troops will be needed in Iraq. Senator Kennedy is saying that this estimate is the primary difference between his amendment and Senator McConnell's amendment, and is concluding with stating that he believes the American people have a right to know this estimate.
10:36:36 AM
|
|
Responding to Senator Kennedy's comments, Senator Mitch McConnell is praising the work by the Administration to stabilize Iraq and is claiming that the international coalition in Iraq has grown.
10:23:37 AM
|
|
Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is speaking about his amendment which would call for the President to report on the Administration's efforts to stabilize Iraq.
10:18:19 AM
|
|
Senator John Warner is voicing his opposition to Senator Corzine's amendment and is expressing his concern about the cost of the amendment. He is saying that the exact amendment was offered before but did not pass because of budgetary reasons.
10:00:50 AM
|
|
Senator Bill Nelson thanked Senator Corzine for his amendment and then mentioned that he was displeased that a study on Internet voting might not be included in the bill.
9:58:01 AM
|
|
Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey is talking about the National Guard and Reserves and how demand on them has increased. Stating that 40% of the troops serving in Iraq are Guard and Reserves members, he is talking about his amendment which would reduce the age at which some retiring military personnel can receive pensions.
9:55:06 AM
|
|
After Majority Leader Frist came to the floor to remind his colleagues that cloture has been filed on S.2400, Senator Harry Reid is saying that he is pleased with how quickly the Senate has moved through the number of amendments that have been offered to this bill.
9:41:28 AM
|
|
The Senate reconvenes this morning at 9:30 to resume consideration of S.2400, the Department of Defense Authorization bill. Debate this morning will focus on amendments offered by Senators Corzine, McConnell, Kennedy, Reed and Byrd, after which there will be stacked roll call votes on these five amendments. Cloture has been filed on S.2400, and the cloture vote will occur tomorrow.
9:20:55 AM
|
|
|
