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.
“UNANIMOUS CONSENT--S. 739” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S11273-S11274 on Oct. 31, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNANIMOUS CONSENT--S. 739
Mr. WELLSTONE. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 191, S. 739, the Homeless Veterans Program Improvement Act; that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SESSIONS. I object.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, this is the second or the third time I have come to the floor. My colleague from Alabama, though we do not agree on all issues, is a friend, so nothing I am about to say is directed to him. He has to object.
I would like to know which brave Senator has put an anonymous hold on this bill. With all due respect, this piece of legislation, which is called the Heather French Henry Veterans Assistance Act, is named after Heather French Henry, a Miss America who made this her No. 1 priority. Her dad is a disabled Vietnam vet. It passed out of the Veterans' Affairs Committee with bipartisan unanimous support.
It is the same piece of legislation introduced by Lane Evans. There is nobody better in the whole Congress, House and Senate; he is the best when it comes to being for veterans. He has introduced this, moved through the House, and the VA has supported it. We had the Secretary there. He approves of this legislation--Secretary Principi. The VA reported there were 345,000 homeless veterans in 1999, a 34-percent increase in homeless veterans from 1998 to 1999. I bet a third of the males who are homeless are veterans. That is a scandal. I know my colleague from Alabama agrees with that.
What does this bill do? It increases the $50 million authorization for the Department of Labor Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. They basically contract out; the nonprofits do the work at the local level. These are effective job training programs for homeless veterans so they can get back on their feet.
The bill authorizes additional funding for community-based organizations which do the best work in providing different transitional services to veterans, whether it be programs that deal with addiction, whether it be programs to help veterans find more affordable housing.
Finally, it talks about more comprehensive homeless centers that will be available in the country's major metropolitan areas; in other words, a place where there can be medical care, where there can be job counseling, and where there can be social services.
My understanding is--and I don't know how many veterans organizations have now sent in letters, but I can safely say there is not a veterans organization in the country that would oppose this legislation. I could travel to any State, any center, and I could go to a homeless shelter. I used to organize with homeless people, visit with homeless veterans, many Vietnam veterans. This legislation provides some support services for them--job training, counseling for veterans struggling with addiction, other social service programs.
There is a Senator who has put a hold on it, and I cannot find out who he or she is. These anonymous holds drive me up the wall. I have never put an anonymous hold on a bill--never. I am putting a hold on just about every single piece of legislation that any Senator on the other side of the aisle wants to put through here until this piece of legislation goes through. I have come out here twice or three times. I can't find out who objects to it. I would love to debate a Senator about why he or she opposes this homeless veterans bill.
So I am going to come to the Chamber every day, every single day, and I am going to ask unanimous consent to pass this bill. I hope that whoever opposes it will tell me why. In the meantime, I am putting a hold on just about every single piece of unanimous consent legislation that is proposed from the other side of the aisle, which I hardly ever do.
This is a great way to proceed in a bipartisan manner, to have some Senator, who has apparently very little courage, put an anonymous hold on a bill which provides more homeless assistance to veterans, who will not come out here to debate it, and basically stops it dead in its tracks. I have been around here 11 years. The only thing I can figure out is I just put a hold on pretty much everything that comes from the other side of the aisle. I will review them one by one, but I will not do it anonymously.
Let me say to my colleagues, many of whom I enjoy and like and rarely am angry with even if I disagree, I am sorry. I apologize. But I am putting a hold on just about every single piece of legislation that comes through here from the other side.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cantwell). The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THOMAS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. THOMAS. I ask that I may speak up to 10 minutes in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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