Waiving Points of Order Against Conference Report of H. R. 2863, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006
WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2863, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - December 18, 2005)
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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, today the Rules Committee met and reported the rule for consideration of House Resolution 639.
Mr. Speaker, the rule waives all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration and provides that the conference report shall be considered as read.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support of the rule for H. Res. 639 and the underlying bill.
Normally in these situations, Mr. Speaker, we focus on matters such as force levels, military capabilities, procurement, pay and benefits for our men and women in uniform, and budgetary concerns, and of course, in the course of this debate and debate on the underlying bill we will. Before we do, however, I think we ought to reflect on the nature, the mission and the morale of our current military forces.
The United States military is the most remarkable, capable and multifaceted armed force in the history of the world, but it is much more than a proficient military force designed to protect our country. It contains our finest and our most dedicated citizens, it embodies and exhibits our best ideals and traditions, and it projects our values as well as our power around the world.
We should always remember that the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States are all volunteers. They represent every race, every ethnic group, every geographic region, every shade of political opinion in this country.
Their mission is not just to defend our country but to spread and defend freedom around the world. While they are feared by our enemies, they are respected by our friends and seen as a source of protection and assistance in time of need and disasters by people all over the world. Their recent performance in the tsunami and the Pakistani earthquake disasters are an indication of that.
Our men and women embody the best of who we are as a people. This was brought home to me when I visited the 101st Airborne in Mosul in October of 2003. I had the occasion to talk to a gentleman who was on the city council of that dangerous and troubled city, and while we were having our discussion I pointed out that his city was one of the most ethnically diverse in Iraq. It had Kurds, it had Sunnis, it had Shiites, it had Turkmen, it had other groups in that country.
I asked the question, which is still pertinent today, how can you get all these different groups to work together. He answered in a rather unusual way. He said first, you did in your country and you have given us an extraordinary example of how it can be done; we see it in your military, again, every religion, every race, every ethnic group, both genders, cooperating for a common purpose. That is what I want for my people, what you demonstrate in your military.
This remarkable force is once again engaged in defending our country, confronting our enemies and extending freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq and other troubled spots around the world.
This mission, as the President noted earlier this evening, is dangerous and difficult. Yet we are succeeding as we have seen in historically unprecedented elections in Afghanistan and Iraq.
And the morale in the forces, despite the challenges they face, is high. Reenlistment rates, as reported in the Washington Post today, are among the highest in our history, and those rates are often even higher among units involved in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mr. Speaker, our job here in this Congress is to make sure that this magnificent armed force of dedicated Americans has the equipment, the training and the capabilities to defend our country and accomplish their very many important missions.
I believe this bill accomplishes that important mission and keeps faith with the men and women in the uniform who have volunteered to defend our country.
There are many highlights in this bill. It appropriates $97 billion for military personnel and fully funds the pay raises that have been promised for next year. It adds $123.6 billion for operation and maintenance, $76.5 billion to procurement, $72.1 billion for research development test and evaluations, and over $50 billion in emergency wartime appropriations.
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that this bill directs the expenditures of vast amounts of money. Frankly, I wish the bill were even more generous in that regard as I believe we need to expand the size of our forces in the years ahead.
However, it is important to note and for the American people to realize that our military is by any measure a bargain. It consumes only a fraction of our national wealth, and that fraction has declined dramatically over recent decades.
President Eisenhower and President Kennedy served our country with great distinction at the height of the Cold War. Military consumed almost 9 percent of the national wealth and 50 percent of the Federal budget.
Ronald Reagan began to rebuild the military in the 1980s, another critical juncture in the Cold War. It consumed only 6 percent of our national wealth and about a third of the Federal budget, and today, even in the difficult time of war, it consumes only 3.6 percent of the national wealth and about 18 percent of the Federal budget. This suggests our military, by historical standard, is more efficient and less burdensome than at any time than at least 1940.
Mr. Speaker, this Defense Appropriations Act also contains a number of items which, while not usually found in such legislation, are nevertheless important to our security and the welfare of our Nation.
These include the prohibitions that allow for the drilling of oil and natural gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, where there is an estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil. This measure will generate billions of dollars of revenue for the Federal Government. It is critical to the energy security of America, and it is favored by bipartisan majorities in both Houses of Congress and by the President.
Another item in this bill is over $3.7 billion set aside to deal with the avian flu preparedness initiative. That is only half of what the President requests, but it is enough to get things moving and enough to give Congress the time to come back and more fully consider this appropriation in next year's session.
There is also hurricane disaster relief for troubled and distressed Americans along the gulf coast, $29 billion in all of reprogrammed and additional funds.
Finally, there are offsets in this bill, $23 billion plus, for FEMA disaster relief fund reprogramming, $8.5 billion across-the-board cuts in discretionary spending except in Veterans Affairs, and over $1 billion in other rescissions.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good rule and a good bill, and it deserves the support of this House of Representatives. To that end, I urge the support of the rule and the underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for a couple of quick remarks.
First, I share the gentlewoman's concern about allegations of torture and misbehavior of any kind, and I am pleased that this legislation contains compromise language worked out between the President and Senator McCain that I think will take care of any concerns.
We know that, frankly, any instances of misbehavior, whenever they have been identified, and I can say this from having sat in numerous hearings on the Armed Services Committee, have been dealt with swiftly and severely by the appropriate authorities on our side. We do not ever condone torture.
As for spying and those conversations, I think the President has been well within his power, particularly in the aftermath of 9/11, to keep up an appropriate level of surveillance on people who wish to do harm to the United States of America. This body has been informed about that. The ranking members and chairmen of the intelligence committees have been kept apprised of this, according to what I have been told at least.
And finally, on process, we quite often get hung up on this. I hope we spend at least some time talking about the merits of this very important bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).
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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me first address my good friend's concern about ANWR and point out a couple of things. ANWR has been voted on repeatedly in both Houses of Congress. Frankly, bipartisan majorities in each House have repeatedly expressed their support for this measure. The President has indicated he would sign it.
Minorities in both Houses, particularly in the other body, have frustrated that process. I have no objection to that, because they have done that, frankly, under the rules and traditions of the Senate. They have been shrewd, they have been tough, and they have been wily; but they have represented a minority viewpoint on the issue.
I think it is somewhat disingenuous now, when the majority bipartisan proponents of this measure are equally tough and shrewd and wily and find a procedure to pass their measure, that they somehow are engaging in something that is either unprecedented or unfair or untoward in some way. Frankly, this is a matter that has been discussed extensively and debated extensively. People have settled opinions on it, but this is simply a case where the majority of Congress and the President are working their will and passing a very important piece of legislation.
As to the avian flu matter that my good friend discusses, I still would point out that wrongful action lawsuits are still permitted under this legislation. A fund has, as he points out, been established. It has not been filled up yet, but it is in being. And, finally, we are only appropriating roughly half of what the President requested. We will be back and review this issue again, and I suspect we will review not only funding mechanisms but liability protections as well.
So I do not think this is the last time we are going to discuss it; but it is critical that we begin the process so that if, God forbid, something I know all of us on each side does not want to happen, but something should occur, this country is well down the road for preparation, and we can move quickly to meet the needs of our citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me quickly make a point that oil and gas drilling is something if you are from Oklahoma you know something about. And, frankly, in the history of my State, we have had over half a million wells drilled.
The technology today is unbelievably different. I sometimes think when I listen to my friends on the other side or friends from States that are not energy States, they sort of have the picture of the old movie ``Boom Town'' with Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable that all oil wells are wooden derricks about 6 feet apart. That is not what modern energy exploration is all about. Frankly, we do it again and again across this country.
As to the fact of this being an unusual method of passing ANWR, I would remind my friends on the other side that ANWR has passed this House repeatedly by large bipartisan majorities. As a matter of fact, I would talk to my good friends on the other side, 30-odd, who have consistently supported them and suggest that a vote against the rule is to vote against ANWR and is to take out your own vote and, frankly, cancel your own interest. So I hope you consider that if you happen to be someone who has previously been in favor of this measure.
Finally, I would like to point out that this legislation adds enormous amounts of new money in addition to LIHEAP to deal with the heating challenge that we undoubtedly will have this winter, and I think that is a wise measure.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).
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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, we have had a good debate here today. We have talked a lot about ANWR. And I want to point out to my good friends again, this body has repeatedly passed ANWR. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit for the RECORD the last vote we had in this House on this issue, where 231 of our Members favored ANWR and only 200 opposed.
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