The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL SECURITY ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S8933-S8934 on Sept. 17, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL SECURITY ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009
The bill (S. 3004) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2009 for defense activities of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes, was considered, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed, as amended, as follows:
(The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
Mr. NELSON of Florida. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Salazar). Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this bill is the 47th consecutive national defense authorization bill that has come out of the committee and been brought to the Senate floor for debate and passage. Every year since 1961, the Senate has met the challenge, overcome obstacles, and negotiated ourselves to the point of final passage. Because of the vital importance of this bill to the men and women of our Armed Forces and to the Nation, this was a bill that was worth fighting for for passage. It is part of the rich tradition of the Senate. We all can be proud of that tradition.
It is also part of our custom to thank our staffs and Members. For some this sounds routine, but it never should be.
My thanks go to the ranking member, Senator McCain. His leadership helped forge this bill through the committee.
I next acknowledge our former chairman particularly, Senator Warner, because of everything he did to make this bill possible and to get to the point where we are today. Working within arm's reach of John Warner for the past 29 years has truly been one of the highlights, if not the highlight, of my Senate career. He is truly a good friend, not just to me and my wife Barbara but also to this institution and to the Nation. He has stood watch over national defense for almost three decades, with unwavering dedication. Before that, he stood watch because of his being Secretary of the Navy. Because of his being in the Navy, the Marines, he is truly a profile in courage. Next year, we promise we will pick up his banner. We will carry on in his honor, just as he has always done for the Nation.
I thank our majority leader, Senator Reid, and his floor staff and give them a special word of thanks for giving us the time to get this bill to the Senate and through the Senate.
To our committee members, thanks for your great work on a bipartisan basis the entire year. This bill could not have gotten to this point, with all of our problems, all the bumps in the road--and there are many that lie ahead--but we could not have gotten to this point without the bipartisan support of the Armed Services Committee and our staff.
We have one-quarter of the Senate on our committee. We have worked together in committee, and our differences on this bill did not divide us, as we reported the bill by unanimous vote.
To Charlie Armstrong in the Office of the Senate Legislative Counsel, thank you for drafting about 300 amendments. We wish more of them could have been adopted, but, nonetheless, they had to be drafted, and we had to do what we do, which is to do everything we can to get Members' amendments passed.
To our committee staff members, thank you. That is about all we can say. You have earned our thanks and the recognition of the Senate for the time and dedication you have shown on this legislation. Rick DeBobes, who is our staff director, and Mike Kostiw, who is our Republican staff director, and their talented staffs worked amazingly hard.
We have a lot of work ahead of us to get to the point where we can pass a bill in the next couple of weeks. We have a huge amount of work. I hate to tell them that, but they know it. They also know, I hope, how appreciated they are. They work 24/7, and they work magic, and they always seem to believe that sleep is overrated. It is not. I hope they can get some in the next few days. So thank you to our staff. They deserve tremendous recognition for their professionalism. As an expression of the gratitude of the members of our committee, I ask unanimous consent that the names of the members of our staff be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Staff of the Committee on Armed Services
Richard D. DeBobes, Staff Director; Michael V. Kostiw, Republican Staff Director; June M. Borawski, Printing and Documents Clerk; Leah C. Brewer, Nominations and Hearings Clerk; Joseph M. Bryan, Professional Staff Member; William M. Caniano, Professional Staff Member; Jonathan D. Clark, Counsel; Ilona R. Cohen, Counsel; David G. Collins, Research Assistant; Christine E. Cowart, Chief Clerk; Madelyn R. Creedon, Counsel; Kevin A. Cronin, Staff Assistant; Marie F. Dickinson, Administrative Assistant for the Minority; Gabriella Eisen, Counsel; Richard W. Fieldhouse, Professional Staff Member; Creighton Greene, Professional Staff Member; Gary J. Howard, Systems Administrator; Paul C. Hutton IV, Professional Staff Member; Mark R. Jacobson, Professional Staff Member; Gregory T. Kiley, Professional Staff Member; Jessica L. Kingston, Staff Assistant; Michael J. Kuiken, Professional Staff Member; Mary J. Kyle, Legislative Clerk.
Christine G. Lang, Receptionist; Gerald J. Leeling, Counsel; Peter K. Levine, General Counsel; Thomas K. McConnell, Professional Staff Member; Michael J. McCord, Professional Staff Member; William G. P. Monahan, Counsel; David M. Morriss, Minority Counsel; Lucian L. Niemeyer, Professional Staff Member; Michael J. Noblet, Professional Staff Member; Ali Z. Pasha, Staff Assistant; Christopher J. Paul, Professional Staff Member; Cindy Pearson, Assistant Chief Clerk and Security Manager; John H. Quirk V, Security Clerk; Lynn F. Rusten, Professional Staff Member; Brian F. Sebold, Staff Assistant; Arun A. Seraphin, Professional Staff Member; Travis E. Smith, Special Assistant; Robert M. Soofer, Professional Staff Member; William K. Sutey, Professional Staff Member; Diana G. Tabler, Professional Staff Member; Mary Louise Wagner, Professional Staff Member; Richard F. Walsh, Minority Counsel; Breon N. Wells, Staff Assistant.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
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