E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, JULY 23, 2012 No. 110 Senate The Senate met at 2 p.m. and was appoint the Honorable RICHARD BLUMEN- understand why anyone would target called to order by the Honorable RICH- THAL, a Senator from the State of Con- so many innocent people. ARD BLUMENTHAL, a Senator from the necticut, to perform the duties of the Chair. Friday’s events were a reminder that State of Connecticut. DANIEL K. INOUYE, nothing in this world is certain and President pro tempore. that life is precious and short. Today PRAYER Mr. BLUMENTHAL thereupon as- we pause to mourn the dead but also to sumed the chair as Acting President The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- honor how they lived. We pledge our pro tempore. fered the following prayer: support to the people of Aurora, CO, Let us pray. f both as they grieve and as they begin to heal from this terrible tragedy. Eternal Savior, our help in ages past, RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER take our lawmakers to a safe refuge, LEADER for You are their strong defense. Let The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- them find safety under Your wings, as pore. The Republican leader is recog- pore. The majority leader is recog- You protect them with Your constant nized. nized. love and faithfulness. Today, refresh AURORA, COLORADO SHOOTINGS our Senators with Your spirit, quicken f Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, we have all been sifting through the their thinking, reinforce their judg- MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT ACT— ment, and strengthen their resolve to events of last Friday, and I think it is MOTION TO PROCEED entirely appropriate for the Senate to follow You. Show them what needs to Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to take a moment today to acknowledge, be changed and give them the courage proceed to Calendar No. 467. as we just did, the victims of this and wisdom to make the changes. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- nightmarish rampage, their families, Lord, we conclude this prayer by ask- pore. The clerk will report. and the wider community of Aurora. ing You to embrace with Your arms of The legislative clerk read as follows: In the life of a nation, some events mercy the victims and the families af- are just so terrible they compel all of fected by the tragic shooting in Au- Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 467, S. 3412, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue us to set aside our normal routines and rora, CO. We pray in Your holy Name. Code of 1986 to provide tax relief to middle- preoccupations, step back, reflect on Amen. class families. our own motivations and priorities, f MOMENT OF SILENCE and think about the kind of lives we all aspire to live. This is certainly one of PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- imous consent that the Senate now ob- those times. The Honorable RICHARD BLUMENTHAL serve a moment of silence for the vic- As is almost always the case in mo- led the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: tims of the shooting in Colorado. ments such as this, the horror has been I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- tempered somewhat by the acts of her- United States of America, and to the Repub- pore. Without objection, it is so or- oism and self-sacrifice that took place in the midst of the violence. I read one lic for which it stands, one nation under God, dered. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. report that said three different young (Moment of Silence.) f men sacrificed their own lives in pro- AURORA, COLORADO SHOOTINGS tecting the young women they were APPOINTMENT OF ACTING Mr. REID. Mr. President, this after- with. We know the first responders and PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE noon the Senate pauses to remember nurses and doctors saved lives too, in- those killed in last week’s horrific The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cluding the life of an unborn child. shooting in Colorado. clerk will please read a communication I think all of us were moved over the Among the dead was 26-year-old Jon- to the Senate from the President pro weekend by the stories we have heard athan Blunk—a graduate of Hug High tempore (Mr. INOUYE). about the victims themselves. It is School in Reno, NV, a Navy veteran The legislative clerk read the fol- hard not to be struck by how young and father of two. My heart goes out to lowing letter: most of them were, of how many his loved ones and to all the victims dreams were extinguished so quickly U.S. SENATE, and their families as they struggle to and mercilessly, but we were also PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Washington, DC, July 23, 2012. make sense of the senseless. How can moved by the outpouring of compas- To the Senate: you make sense of something that is so sion that followed and by the refusal of Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, senseless? We may never know the mo- the people of Aurora to allow the mon- of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby tivations behind this terrible crime or ster who committed this crime to ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S5239 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 00:50 Jul 24, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A23JY6.000 S23JYPT1 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S5240 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 23, 2012 eclipse the memory of the people he than the Defense authorization bill. I morale, their welfare? Cannot we pass killed. respectfully but vehemently disagree a defense authorization bill through President Obama, Governor Hicken- with that statement. this body? Are we so parochial? Is the looper, and the religious leaders in and According to the majority leader, Senate majority leader oblivious to the around Aurora are to be commended ‘‘We’re going to have to get to cyberse- needs of the men and women who are for the time and effort they have put curity before we get to the defense au- serving this Nation? They deserve bet- into consoling the families of the vic- thorization bill because on the relative ter than what they are getting from tims and the broader community. I merits, cybersecurity is more impor- the leadership of this Senate. think the best thing the rest of us can tant.’’ The Senate Armed Services Com- do right now is to show our respect for Let me repeat this. The majority mittee version of the fiscal year 2013 those who have been affected by this leader of the Senate is arguing that National Defense Authorization Act terrible and senseless crime and to con- legislation dealing with cybersecu- provides $525 billion for the base budget tinue to pray for the injured, that they rity—which is a subset of national se- of the Defense Department, $88 billion recover fully from their injuries. curity, of national defense—is more for operations in Afghanistan and There are few things more common important than legislation responsible around the world, and $17.8 billion to in America than going out to a movie for ensuring that the men and women maintain our nuclear deterrent. with friends, which is why the first re- of the Armed Forces have the resources In the area of pay and compensation, sponse most of us had to the shootings and authorities necessary to ensure our the bill authorizes $135 billion for mili- in Aurora was to think: It could have national security—a bizarre statement. tary personnel, including costs of pay, been any of us. It is the randomness of I have been involved in national secu- allowances, bonuses, and a 1.7-percent a crime such as this that makes it im- rity issues for a long time. I have been across-the-board pay raise for all mem- possible to understand and so hard to involved with the bills concerning na- bers of the uniformed services, con- accept. But as the Scripture says, ‘‘The tional defense, and I have never heard sistent with the President’s request. rain falls on the just and the unjust.’’ a statement that cybersecurity is more The bill improves the quality of life of So we accept that some things we important than the overall security of the men and women in the Active and just can’t explain. Evil is one of them. this country. That either was the ma- Reserve components of the all-volun- We take comfort in the fact that while jority leader misspeaking or the major- teer force. It helps to address the needs tragedy and loss persist, so does the ity leader having a lack of under- of the wounded servicemembers and goodness and generosity of so many. standing of what national security is their families. It also authorizes im- Now I would like to join Governor all about. portant military construction and fam- Hickenlooper in honoring the victims He is arguing that a controversial ily housing projects that cannot pro- by reciting their names: and flawed bill on cybersecurity—a bill ceed without specific authorization. Veronica Moser-Sullivan, Gordon of such ‘‘significance’’ that it has lan- All major weapons systems are au- Cowden, Matthew McQuinn, Alex Sul- guished for over 5 months at the Home- thorized in this legislation, including livan, Micayla Medek, John Larimer, land Security and Governmental Af- those that will benefit by the commit- Jesse Childress, Alexander Boik, Jona- fairs Committee, with no committee tee’s continuous rigorous oversight of than Blunk, Rebecca Ann Wingo, Alex- markup or normal committee process, poorly performing programs.