Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief Act, 2005--Conference Report--Continued

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the supplemental appropriations bill we are considering which funds our military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Overall, I support this bill. We do need to get the money out to our troops. But I am here today because I have several concerns about what it leaves out and how it was put together.

I have to say I am particularly troubled that I and other Senators were denied a promised opportunity to debate and vote on some very controversial immigration changes that have been attached to this bill.

First, let me say, I know how important the funding is to our troops overseas. In March, I traveled with the Senator from Illinois and several others on a bipartisan trip to Iraq and met with troops from the State of Washington. To a person, each of them was a dedicated professional who was putting duty above their personal well-being. They need our support, and they deserve every resource our grateful Nation can provide.

As I have said before, I am the daughter of a disabled World War II veteran. I represent hundreds of thousands of Washington State veterans and military families. I support every dollar in this aid bill to help our troops protect themselves and complete successfully the dangerous mission we have assigned them. But I am concerned that when all of these new veterans come home and need medical care, they are going to be pushed into a VA system that does not have medical staff, facilities, or the funding needed to care for them. That is exactly why I was on the Senate floor fighting to include within the supplemental the critical cost of war, and that is taking care of our Nation's veterans.

I am disappointed that Republicans in the Senate have decided that funding for veterans care is not an emergency and not a priority. By denying that there is a crisis at the VA, they are simply ignoring our responsibility to fully provide for the men and women who are risking their lives for our freedom. Our veterans, our military, and our future recruits deserve better. Taking care of our veterans is part of the cost of having a great military. It is a real disservice that we have not taken care of that funding within this bill.

I am here today because I am also very troubled by how far-reaching and unrelated immigration rules got attached to this bill without a vote and without an opportunity to debate. The REAL ID provision has ramifications for privacy, for States rights, and for immigration policy. I am disappointed that it has been rammed through as an attachment to a desperately needed bill that funds our troops. Frankly, a lot of us are kind of scratching our heads about how this REAL ID provision ended up in this conference report. I know I didn't vote for it. I know there wasn't even a discussion of it in conference, but somehow it is included in a must-pass bill.

Mr. President, I served on the conference committee, and I want to share with my colleagues exactly what happened in that conference committee so they will understand why the sudden appearance of the REAL ID provision is so surprising to many of us.

When the conference committee met, the chairman gave assurances to the minority that we would be able to vote on several provisions when the conference met again. But that conference never met again, leaving no opportunity for the minority party to vote, much less to strike these provisions.

I want to share with the Senate the specifics. In our second meeting of the conference committee, Senator Durbin, who is now on the Senate floor, asked Chairman Cochran for his assurance that we would get a chance to vote on these immigration changes, and other open items as well, before the supplemental was sent to the floor.

In fact, I want to read a portion of the transcript of that meeting. This discussion took place on Thursday, April 28.

Senator Durbin said:

I would also like to say to my colleagues, if this bill contains--as I believe it does--the REAL ID Act, I would like a vote on that so that we can be on the record on an issue that has never been brought before committee in the Senate.

My question to you is this, Mr. Chairman: There have been times when conference committees of this magnitude have recessed and never been heard from again. The next thing we find is a conference committee report on the floor on a take it or leave it basis.

Can we have your assurance that we will return for votes on amendments such as those we have debated today and those that I have mentioned?

Senator Cochran's response to Senator Durbin:

Senator, I would be glad to make the assurance that if there is work to be done, if there are open items to be considered, that we can consider those in conference. I am not prepared to make a commitment as to when that will be. I don't want to lead you to believe that I am going to surreptitiously or in secret reach an agreement on the other side without consulting all the conferees on the Senate side.

I think everyone in this conference has a right to participate in this discussion and I wouldn't want to cut off anybody's right to participate.

Mr. President, I have worked closely with Senator Cochran for many years, and I do know him to be a man of his word. But to me, what that exchange meant, sitting there in that conference, was that we would have an opportunity to vote on the REAL ID provision, but that never happened. To me, that was wrong.

The REAL ID provision will have dramatic and far-reaching changes and puts an unfunded mandate on many States. Yet it was never brought before a Senate committee, and it was never voted on in the conference.

That is exactly why I did not sign the final conference report, which is very unusual for me. I did not sign it because I believe the process was flawed and we were denied an opportunity to debate and discuss these immigration changes before they were brought to the floor as part of a must-pass bill.

Mr. President, we are all very concerned about security, but this received very little debate. Before Congress mandates these kinds of changes, we should have a more informed debate. In fact, it begs the question, why was this added to a must-pass bill without a debate? Probably because it could not withstand a rigorous and open public debate. We should have that, and I am disappointed that the majority denied us that opportunity.

I also want to note today the irony that the Senate is about to allow a technical fix to immigration-related language that was included in the supplemental, which I agree needs to be fixed; but the Democrats in the conference committee were not provided any opportunity to fix any other immigration provision.

I want to reiterate my frustration with how the REAL ID Act was included and that we were not given the same consideration regarding that language.

Mr. President, the REAL ID provision has some unique impacts for my home State. This section on immigration is particularly troubling to me because Washington State has proactively enacted several laws to protect the privacy of Washington State residents.

While I understand the needs for increased security, I don't think Washington State laws should be completely overridden by this provision, especially without ever having had the chance for debate and discussion on it.

We know this bill is going to pass. Our troops need the funding it includes. I am already working with communities and officials across Washington State to help find a way to implement these new requirements. I will continue, once this is passed, to push the administration to now provide the funding necessary to make these changes without piling new burdens onto our already cash-strapped State.

Mr. President, it is really unfortunate that at a time when we should be focusing on the needs of our troops and our veterans, the majority party is using the supplemental aid bill as a vehicle to legislate on subjects that have not received the debate and attention they deserve. But at the end of the day, we know we cannot afford to fail in our missions abroad. With hundreds of thousands of troops sacrificing every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, I will support this supplemental bill, and I will continue to work to fight for their care as they return home.

I thank my colleague from Illinois for yielding me time and allowing me to express my frustration on how this part of the bill was put in without anybody able to discuss it in conference committee.

I yield the floor.

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