CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE March 20, 1997
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
S2610 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE March 20, 1997 changed cannot be over-emphasized. The Laboratory examinations are constantly ances. I hope that this plan will help wording in all MAU dictation is carefully subject to extraordinarily vigorous challenge guide congressional and White House thought out, discussed, peer reviewed often through cross-examination and the presen- negotiators during their upcoming times, and results from correct interpreta- tation of expert testimony by defense wit- budget talks. tions of the data. Any dictation signed out nesses. With that, Mr. President, I hope all by the MAU Unit Chief or his designee The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. should not be changed in any manner with- of our colleagues come back fully BROWNBACK). The Senator from Vir- out the proper notification and consent of reenvigorated and ready to start pro- the AE. ginia. ducing some results. In my opinion, SSA * * * chose to ignore Mr. ROBB. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor. this longstanding practice, a practice that f The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who everyone else adheres to. seeks time? BALANCE THE BUDGET It is clear that SSA * * * does not under- Mr. GRASSLEY addressed the Chair. stand the scientific issues involved with the Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, leadership The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- interpretation and significance of explosives often involves seizing the moment. And ator from Iowa. and explosives residue composition. He therefore should realize this deficiency and right now the moment is a realbut rap- f idly fleeting chance to actually bal- differentiate between his personal opinions COL. JOHN BOYD and scientific fact. An expert's opinion ance the Federal budget. For those of should be based upon objective, scientific us who have long been dedicated to Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am findings and be separated from personal stopping the Federal Government from very sad to report that Air Force Col. predilections and biases. spending more than it takes in, the John Boyd died in West Palm Beach, In order to identify a given material, it is moment is now. While we're away from FL, on March 9, 1997. necessary for the examiner to acquire suffi- Washington during the recess, I hope He was 70 years old. cient data using acceptable scientific tech- He passed away after a long and dif- niques/protocols and instrumentation to spe- that we will use this time to prepare ourselves for serious work on the budg- ficult fight with cancer. cifically identify it. If that level of data is His remains were laid to rest today not acquired or does not exist, then complete et when we return. We cannot let an- identification is not possible and words such other opportunity to do what's right in Arlington Memorial Cemetery. John was a native of Erie, PA. But as ``consistent with'' or ``similar to'' are pass us by. John came to Iowa to go to college. used. This is nothing new. It is taught in our I recognize the fear on both sides. Iowa is where his Air Force career colleges and universities. It is a standard set The President is understandably reluc- began. by MAU based on experience/background, tant to embrace a necessary change in education, discussions, research and peer re- He won an athletic scholarship to the view of the analytical procedures in place. the Consumer Price Index because of University of Iowa and enrolled in the By rewording AE dictation, SSA * * * places its effect, however minimal, on bene- Air Force ROTC program. an examiner in the position where he/she fits for a large and vocal segment of After graduating in 1951, he went to would be required to advise the court that the population. The Republican Party flight school. He earned his wings and the report overstates the findings and there- is reluctant to scale back its calls for a began flying the F±86 Saber jet. fore is incorrect. massive tax cut because of a similar ef- Then he went to Korea with one goal: A FBI Laboratory report is evidence. Often fect on an equally vocal segment of times the report itself is entered into evi- shoot down a MiG. dence during the trial proceedings. The fact their supporters. Fortunately, for everyone concerned, that SSA * * * did make unauthorized But simple math dictates that both that conflict came to an end before his changes in these reports could have resulted must occur if we are truly interested in wish came true. in serious consequences during legal proceed- balancing the budget and keeping it in But to John that was one of the big- ings and embarrassment to the Laboratory balance over the long term. And the re- gest disappointments of his life. as well as the entire FBI. ality is that entitlements have got to Mr. President, I am proud that John In conclusion, SSA * * * committed errors be curbed, and the resulting savings Boyd was educated in Iowa. which were clearly intentional. He acted ir- He was a great American who dedi- responsibly; he should be held accountable; have got to go to reducing the deficit, he should be disciplined accordingly. The not tax cuts. cated his life to public service. problems regarding AE alterations by SSA The Speaker of the House has taken I would like to honor him by speak- ** * are verified. All of the AE dictation fur- a bold step by expressing a willingness ing briefly about some of his most im- nished to SSA * * * by SSA WHITEHURST to surrender tax cuts until the budget portant accomplishments. has been reviewed. The causes, reasons and is balanced. I hope the President will First and foremost, John Boyd was a events which led to the occurrence of the er- meet this bold step by expressing his legendary Air Force fighter pilot. rors has been discussed. The appropriate ad- willingness to reconsider an adjust- But John was no ordinary jet jockey. ministrative action, in my opinion, should be He applied his vast intellect to under- that SSA * * * be given a letter of censure. ment in the CPI, or some other means to accomplish the same goal. stand the dynamics of air combat ma- As meetings take place over the neuvering at which he excelled. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, To do that, though, he had to teach FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, course of the congressional recess, I Washington, DC, November 8, 1995. would encourage both sides to use as a himself calculus so he could work the FBI Director Louis J. Freeh today released starting point the Centrist Coalition formulas to quantify the problem. This was the problem he saw. the following statement: budget developed last year by a biparti- The FBI looks forward to working with the Why did the heavier and slower san group of Senators, including my- Blue Ribbon Panel named today. The FBI American F±86 achieve near total will assist the panel in every manner pos- self. domination of the superior MiG±15 en- sible to ensure an objective review of our ex- The Centrist plan, known also as the countered in Korea? aminations and policies. Chafee-Breaux plan, was the only budg- John wanted an answer to the ques- Over the past several years, Special Agent et in the Senate last year that received Frederic J. Whitehurst has raised a variety tion. bipartisan support. In fact, the Cen- After doing some truly original and of concerns about forensic protocols and pro- trist plan received 46 votes. And to me, cedures employed in the FBI Laboratory. pioneering work, he began advancing a The FBI has vigorously investigated his con- that seems like a logical place to start. theory. cerns and is continuing to do so. The FBI Our plan used conservative economic His tactical ``Aerial Attack Study'' alone has reviewed more than 250 cases in- assumptions, a rational reduction in became the bible for air-to-air combat volving work previously done by the Labora- the Consumer Price Index, and a mod- training. tory. To date, the FBI has found no evidence est tax cut. We did not have, within It was instrumental in the creation tampering, evidence fabrication or failure to our coalition, universal agreement on of the Fighter Weapons School at report exculpatory evidence. Any finding of all aspects of the plan. Personally, I Nellis Air Force Base, NV. such misconduct will result in tough and have always wanted to postpone even That's the Air Force equivalent of swift action by the FBI. The FBI Laboratory conducts over one modest tax cuts until we actually the Navy's ``Top Gun'' program. million examinations per year and our ex- achieve balance. But, I believe it pro- John being John, he never slacked perts testify hundreds of times annually in vides a reasonable roadmap now of how off. He kept right on working and de- state and federal courts of law. At trials, FBI to get from here to a budget that bal- veloping his theory of aerial combat. March 20, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE S2611 He wanted to take it to a higher The Wall Street Journal and Boston It helped our top military leadership plane. Globe had already published major re- understand the advantages of maneu- And he did. ports on Spinney's briefing. A number ver warfare. Those ideas were used to It culminated in the Energy Maneu- of other newspapers had it and were defeat Iraq. verability Theory. ready to roll. And finally, Col. David Hackworth This was a very important piece of The press knew this was a substan- has devoted his weekly column to John work. tial and credible piece of work.