SENATE—Thursday, May 14, 2009
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May 14, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 155, Pt. 9 12451 SENATE—Thursday, May 14, 2009 The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was SCHEDULE RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY called to order by the Honorable LEADER Mr. REID. Madam President, fol- KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the State of New York. lowing the remarks of Senator MCCON- NELL and myself, there will be a period pore. The Republican leader is recog- nized. PRAYER of morning business for up to an hour. Senators will be allowed to speak for f The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- up to 10 minutes each, with the excep- fered the following prayer: GUANTANAMO tion of Senator FEINSTEIN, who will Let us pray. Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, control the full 30 minutes on the Almighty God, You know all about last night we learned that the supple- Democratic side. The next 30 minutes us. You know when we sit down and mental war spending bill the Senate will be under the control of the Repub- when we rise up. You know when we sin will take up contains $80 million to be licans. Following morning business, and when we obey. Give us Your Holy used for closing Guantanamo. But the the Senate will resume consideration Spirit to purge us from every wrong language of the bill acknowledges what of the credit card legislation. thing, that our lives will glorify You. Republicans have been saying for Today, guide the steps of our law- Last evening, I filed cloture on the months: The administration has no makers. Help them to run when they substitute amendment and on the un- plan to safely close this secure deten- can, to walk when they ought, and to derlying bill. That was under rule tion facility. wait when they must. Open their minds XXII. Because of that, the filing dead- Closing Guantanamo without a safe to discern Your will and make them line for germane first-degree amend- alternative would be irresponsible, ready to do it. In everything, do ments is at 1 p.m. today. I hope we can dangerous, and unacceptable to the through them what is best for our Na- reach agreement to have that cloture American people. Americans are wor- tion and the advancement of Your vote today. It is scheduled for the ried that closing Guantanamo by an ar- kingdom in our world. morning. If we can’t do it in the morn- bitrary deadline won’t keep them as We pray in the Redeemer’s Name. ing, we will have to do it Tuesday safe as Guantanamo has. They are par- Amen. morning because of the Senate sched- ticularly worried about the administra- ule. If we complete that cloture vote tion’s reported plan to transfer some f tonight, we would be able to finish the detainees to detention facilities right PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE germane amendments Tuesday morn- here on American soil. State and local ing and move on to other matters we officials in places such as Louisiana, The Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLI- have to do next week before we take California, Virginia, and Missouri have BRAND led the Pledge of Allegiance, as our Memorial Day recess. We want to been introducing resolutions to keep follows: be able to leave here, if at all possible, terrorists from coming to their com- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the on Thursday of next week. People have munities. United States of America, and to the Repub- things scheduled. But we may have to One look at the experience that Alex- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, work into Friday. I hope not. I hope we andria, right across the river here, had indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. don’t have to work into Saturday. But a few years ago during the trial of 9/11 f we have to do this credit card legisla- conspirator Zacharias Moussaoui tion, the financial fraud. We have been makes it easier to see why all these APPOINTMENT OF ACTING in contact with Republicans. They will communities are so concerned. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE have a number of amendments. They Moussaoui was just one terrorist. Yet The PRESIDING OFFICER. The want it to come back from the House. the effect his presence had on the city clerk will please read a communication There will be some amendments in of Alexandria was enough for the city’s to the Senate from the President pro order. I have spoken to the Republican current mayor to state emphatically tempore (Mr. BYRD). leader on that, and they are going to that he is absolutely opposed to relo- The bill clerk read the following let- try to get us those amendments as cating prisoners from Guantanamo to ter: quickly as possible. Hopefully this Alexandria. ‘‘We had this experience,’’ U.S. SENATE, morning we can set that up to com- he said recently. ‘‘Let someone else PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, plete that legislation quickly. have it.’’ Washington, DC, May 14, 2009. Then, of course, we have to do the According to press accounts, housing To the Senate: supplemental appropriations bill. I Moussaoui turned parts of Alexandria Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, hope that is not going to be controver- into a virtual encampment. Every time of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby he was moved to the courthouse, he appoint the Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLI- sial. It will be marked up in the Senate today, and then we will have the abil- was transferred in a heavily armed con- BRAND, a Senator from the State of New voy that shut down traffic and locked York, to perform the duties of the Chair. ity to look at what the House and Sen- ROBERT C. BYRD, ate did before it comes to the floor down the surrounding community. President pro tempore. here. One security expert recently told the Washington Post that housing detain- Mrs. GILLIBRAND thereupon as- There are a number of issues that ees from Guantanamo would likely be sumed the chair as Acting President will be discussed. I hope there aren’t even more complicated than it was for pro tempore. any that should take a lot of time, but Moussaoui, with more locations for se- f we will see. curity personnel to cover and even That is our workload this work pe- more snipers. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY riod. I hope we can work through this, According to the same Post article, LEADER as much as we can get done today. If one of Moussaoui’s lawyers said that The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- not, we can complete a lot of the work bringing just two or three Guantanamo pore. The majority leader is recog- on tomorrow and Monday even though detainees to Alexandria would be a nized. there will be no votes on those days. ‘‘major headache.’’ Alexandria’s sheriff ● This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:01 Aug 24, 2011 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR09\S14MY9.000 S14MY9 erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with BOUND RECORD 12452 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 155, Pt. 9 May 14, 2009 has warned that multiple detainees The Guantanamo detainees include the five The 450–inmate jail was locked down every could ‘‘overwhelm the system.’’ accused planners of Sept. 11, among them time Moussaoui was moved to the back of Based on the Moussaoui experience, former al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid the nearby courthouse in a heavily armed local business owners in Alexandria Sheik Mohammed. Putting detainees on trial convoy. Traffic was stopped as snipers in Alexandria would mean moving them watched from rooftops. The route from the also think the arrival of detainees from from an isolated island prison 90 miles from jail is much denser today. Guantanamo could be a serious drag on Florida to a neighborhood brimming with On a single block behind the courthouse, commerce. But even more worrisome residents, thousands of federal employees there is a luxury 326–unit apartment complex for residents is the concern that hous- and the new Westin Alexandria Hotel 190 feet with a Fed Ex/Kinko’s, cleaners and cafe on ing detainees in Alexandria could in- from the courthouse door. the first floor; an office building with room ‘‘It would be a disaster,’’ said Rep. Frank for ground floor retail; another office build- vite terrorist attacks. ing; and a Marriott Residence Inn. All I ask unanimous consent to have the R. Wolf (R-Va.), who co-sponsored legislation to ban the use of federal funds to transfer de- opened within the past 18 months. Washington Post article I am referring Pramod Raheja, owner of Intelligent Office tainees to Virginia detention facilities, one on the ground floor of one building, said he to entitled ‘‘Security Worries in the of at least 10 similar bills filed by Repub- would ‘‘strongly oppose’’ bringing Guanta- Suburbs, Possible Move of Terrorist licans nationwide. In a March 13 letter to At- Suspects to Alexandria for Trial Raises namo detainees to the neighborhood. torney General Eric H. Holder Jr., Wolf ques- Directly in front of the courthouse, in a Outcry’’ printed in the RECORD. tioned how officials would protect the com- thriving community near Old Town known There being no objection, the mate- munity. as Carlyle, the Westin anchors a virtually rial was ordered to be printed in the Dean Boyd, a Justice Department spokes- all-new block with a coffee bar, an upscale RECORD, as follows: man, said the administration is reviewing restaurant, a condominium complex with how to handle Guantanamo detainees.