Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 110 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 110 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 153 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2007 No. 60 Senate The Senate met at 2 p.m. and was U.S. SENATE, I ask unanimous consent, regarding called to order by the Honorable MARIA PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, any germane and timely filed first-de- CANTWELL, a Senator from the State of Washington DC, April 16, 2007. gree amendment under rule XXII, with Washington. To the Senate: respect to cloture on S. 372, that it be Under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby in order for the amendment instruction PRAYER appoint the Honorable MARIA CANTWELL, a line to be modified to comport to the The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Senator from the State of Washington, to managers’ amendment. fered the following prayer: perform the duties of the Chair. Before the Chair rules on my request, Let us pray. ROBERT C. BYRD, I make this request since we are in a Eternal Spirit, evermore creating: President pro tempore. situation where the managers will offer About us today are needs unattended Ms. CANTWELL thereupon assumed an amendment at 3 p.m., which must and problems unsolved. Use the hearts the chair as Acting President pro tem- be filed by 2:30, the filing deadline for and hands of our lawmakers to lift bur- pore. first-degree amendments, and Members dens and liberate lives. Give our Sen- f will not have an opportunity to review the amendment prior to the time for ators the wisdom that will lead them RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY filing their amendments. to know what must be done to make a LEADER better world. Open their ears to hear The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the cries of those on life’s margins. In- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- pore. Without objection, it is so or- fuse them with courage to act by bring- pore. The majority leader is recog- dered. ing relief and release to those who are nized. f f bruised by life’s storms. Whisper words TRAGEDY AT VIRGINIA TECH of counsel to our leaders, particularly SCHEDULE during their moments of important de- Mr. REID. Madam President, as men- Mr. REID. Madam President, today cisionmaking. As they seek to honor tioned in the prayer by Admiral Black, the Senate will conduct morning busi- You, give them a deeper understanding today America suffered a tragedy that ness for a period of 60 minutes, with of Your ways. defies our ability to comprehend. The Senators permitted to speak for up to And, Lord, help them to do the very news out of Virginia Tech and 10 minutes each. Following morning best they can each day, leaving the re- Blacksburg is still breaking. We don’t business, the Senate will resume con- sults to You. know yet all the facts except there are sideration of S. 372, the Intelligence au- We end this prayer by asking You to 22 dead, at least 28 wounded. But what thorization bill. comfort those affected by the tragedy we do know breaks our hearts and Once the Senate resumes the bill, at Virginia Tech. shakes us to our very core. For now, we Senator ROCKEFELLER, the majority We pray in Your sovereign Name. can only offer our thoughts and our manager, will be recognized to offer a Amen. prayers in our individual ways. managers’ amendment on behalf of One of my good friends is the athletic f himself and Senator BOND. A cloture director of Virginia Tech. He formerly vote on the bill will occur this after- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was the athletic director at UNLV— noon at 5:30. That will be the first vote Jim Weaver, a wonderful man. He has The Honorable MARIA CANTWELL of the week. Members have until 2:30 to done such a great job with that pro- led the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: file any first-degree amendments. gram. The Virginia Tech program has I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the ORDER OF PROCEDURE received such notoriety—positive in re- United States of America, and to the Repub- I ask unanimous consent that Mem- cent years because of their athletic lic for which it stands, one nation under God, bers have until 5 p.m. today to file sec- program. They also have a great aca- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ond-degree amendments. demic program. f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- We all pray for the students, faculty pore. Without objection, it is so or- members, and the families of the Vir- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING dered. ginia Tech community and do hope for PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE Mr. REID. Also, during today’s ses- a speedy recovery of the wounded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sion I will move to proceed to S. 3, the We pray that America can find the clerk will read a communication to the prescription drug bill that was reported strength, which we will find, to over- Senate from the President pro tempore by the Finance Committee last come our grief and outrage as we face (Mr. BYRD). evening. yet another tragedy. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S4459 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:04 Mar 13, 2014 Jkt 081600 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\2007SENATE\S16AP7.REC S16AP7 mmaher on DSKCGSP4G1 with SOCIALSECURITY S4460 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 16, 2007 I think it would be appropriate, our admiration: Rookie of the Year, 6 HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES Madam President, if the distinguished All-Star games, Most Valuable Player SPECIALIST MICHAEL R. HAYES Republican leader wishes to say some- Award, and a World Series champion- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, thing about this tragedy, that after he ship. our Nation owes a debt of gratitude to does, I ask for a moment of silence for Yesterday, I was visiting my daugh- the brave men and women who fight to the faculty, the students, the adminis- ter, and especially my grandchildren, preserve it, a debt so great that a trib- tration, and everyone in Virginia here in the Washington, DC, area. I ute befitting their sacrifice may well Tech—and our country, really. A mo- have three grandchildren here. My 16- lie beyond our power to express it. Nev- ment of silence. year-old grandchild, Mattie, was going ertheless, I ask the Senate to pause Does the Senator wish to speak? to have to give a talk to a group of today in loving memory of SPC Mi- f young people. She said she only needed chael R. Hayes of Morgantown, KY. He to talk for a couple of minutes. What was 29 years old. RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY could she talk about? Specialist Hayes of the Kentucky Na- LEADER I said: Mattie, why don’t you talk tional Guard died in support of Oper- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- about Jackie Robinson? Tell them ation Iraqi Freedom on June 14, 2005, pore. The minority leader is recog- what a great athlete he was. But he when a rocket-propelled grenade nized. isn’t known today because he was a struck his humvee while he was secur- f great athlete and stole home more ing a roadside bomb site in Baghdad. than any other baseball player and did Earlier that year, he had served val- TRAGEDY AT VIRGINIA TECH all the great things athletically; he is iantly in a brutal 30-minute firefight in Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, famous today because of his integrity. which 10 guardsmen fought off dozens let me just, on this side of the aisle, So that is what Mattie spoke to her of Iraqi attackers, killing 26 anti- offer my condolences for this unspeak- friends about. American fighters. able tragedy to which the majority Jackie Robinson is now a legend. He For his actions as a guardsman, Spe- leader has been referring and join him taught a generation of African-Amer- cialist Hayes earned several medals in calling for a moment of silence. ican children that they, too, must be, and awards, including the Bronze Star (Moment of silence.) on occasion, insubordinate to injustice and the Purple Heart. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- whenever they find it, whether on a bus It is certainly sad but perhaps fitting pore. The majority leader is recog- or on a ballfield or in a board room. that Mike would be taken from us nized. Sixty years later that lesson still rings while helping his fellow soldiers. Help- true, from Brooklyn to Los Angeles ing others was one of the defining fea- f and every town and city in between. tures of Michael Hayes’ life. JACKIE ROBINSON America is a better place because of When Mike wasn’t yet 5 years old, he the integrity of Jackie Robinson. was joined by his little brother, Jamie. Mr. REID. Madam President, in July Soon after returning home from the of 1944, 11 years before Rosa Parks be- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- pore. The minority leader. hospital, his mother, Barkley Hayes, came the mother of the civil rights heard newborn Jamie crying in his movement, an African-American sec- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, when I was a youngster, I became a fan crib. ond lieutenant of the U.S. Navy was Before she could get to him, however, of the Brooklyn Dodgers for two rea- court-martialed on charges of insubor- Mike met her in the hallway, Jamie in sons.