Making Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2003

MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I came to the floor last night to give extensive remarks about the tremendous importance of the amendment that has been offered by Senator Byrd in the area of transportation for port security, airport security, and transit security. I have been listening to the debate this morning.

I wanted to come to the floor to refute a critical misstatement that has been made about the amendment that has been offered by Senator Byrd. It was argued by my friends on the other side of the aisle that the funds in this bill are all over and above the funding requested by President Bush. I need to tell my colleagues that in the area of transportation that is just simply not true. In the underlying bill, the funding level for the Transportation Security Administration is some $460 million short of what is needed to fully fund all of the congressionally directed initiatives, as well as fully fund the security requests of the Bush administration. It is a simple mathematical fact. This amendment that has been offered by Senator Byrd provides $460 million for the TSA needs to fully fund what President Bush has requested for the Transportation Security Administration. Without the amendment offered by Senator Byrd—if we enact this without that—the TSA will have to cut $460 million to make way for the congressional mandates that all of us have worked on, supported, passed, and told our constituents are coming. The only way to fully fund what President Bush has requested for screening passengers at our airports and purchasing the explosive-detecting machines is by providing the funding for the Byrd amendment.

I thank the Senator from West Virginia for yielding me a minute to clarify this critical point—that we need to have this amendment to fully fund President Bush's request, particularly in the area of transportation security.

I thank the President. I yield the floor.