Regular Session - March 21, 2007
1526
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 21, 2007
11 11:18 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 LT. GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON, President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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21
22
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25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 come to order at 1118 hours.
4 Would all assembled please rise and
5 join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 THE PRESIDENT: For our
9 invocation today we are very honored to have
10 with us Father Edson Wood, OSA, United States
11 Corps of Cadets Chaplain, Most Holy Trinity
12 Chapel, West Point, New York.
13 CHAPLAIN WOOD: Thank you, sir.
14 Will you join me in prayer.
15 Almighty God, we pray that You
16 guide this great state and those who lead it.
17 Preserve our unity, save us from violence and
18 discord, from pride and arrogance. In the
19 time of our prosperity, temper our
20 self-confidence with thankfulness. And in the
21 day of trouble, let our trust in You never
22 fail.
23 Look too with your bounty on West
24 Point, which is to be honored here today. Let
25 her always remember that her mission of "duty,
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1 honor, country" is not a way of looking only
2 at certain things, it's a certain way of
3 looking at everything.
4 Let this West Point Day be for all
5 of us a happy reminder and a serious
6 challenge, a reminder of past glory and a
7 challenge to keep our motives pure, our goals
8 high, and our vision clear.
9 Our prayer this day comes from
10 hearts that are open to You, Eternal God, and
11 we ask these things in Your name, which is
12 mighty.
13 Amen.
14 THE PRESIDENT: We're honored,
15 Father Wood. Thank you very much.
16 The reading of the Journal.
17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
18 Tuesday, March 20, the Senate met pursuant to
19 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, March 19,
20 was read and approved. On motion, Senate
21 adjourned.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Without
23 objection, the Journal stands approved.
24 Presentation of petitions.
25 Messages from the Assembly.
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1 Messages from the Governor.
2 Reports of standing committees.
3 Reports of select committees.
4 Communications and reports from
5 state officers.
6 Motions and resolutions.
7 Senator Bruno.
8 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I
9 believe there is a privileged resolution at
10 the desk by Senator Larkin. I would ask that
11 it be read in its entirety and move for its
12 immediate adoption.
13 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
14 will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
16 Larkin, Legislative Resolution Number 1095,
17 memorializing Governor Eliot Spitzer to
18 proclaim March 21, 2007, as West Point Day in
19 New York State.
20 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is
21 justly proud to celebrate the establishment of
22 the United States Military Academy at West
23 Point and to call upon Governor Eliot Spitzer
24 to proclaim March 21, 2007, as West Point Day
25 in the State of New York; and
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1 "WHEREAS, By an act of Congress, on
2 March 16, 1802, the United States Military
3 Academy was established within the borders of
4 New York State, on the banks of the Hudson
5 River; and
6 "WHEREAS, The Academy and its
7 graduates are an integral part of the proud
8 history of this state and nation; and
9 "WHEREAS, The leadership and
10 sacrifices of the members of the Long Gray
11 Line have helped this country withstand
12 countless threats to our cherished democratic
13 way of life; and
14 "WHEREAS, The alumni have excelled
15 not only on the battlefield but in many fields
16 of endeavor; and
17 "WHEREAS, The academy continues to
18 provide our country with able and dedicated
19 future leaders; and
20 "WHEREAS, Its scenic campus is a
21 mecca each year for thousands of visitors from
22 across our state, continent and other
23 countries; and
24 "WHEREAS, The United States
25 Military Academy is in the forefront of our
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1 state's outstanding institutions of higher
2 learning; and
3 "WHEREAS, Fifty-five years ago, the
4 late James T. McNamara, then a member of the
5 New York State Assembly, and a member of the
6 academy's class of 1939, was the author of the
7 State Legislature's first 'West Point Day'
8 resolution; and
9 "WHEREAS, For decades, our nation
10 has enjoyed the legacy of freedom and the
11 United States Military Academy at West Point
12 has played a vitally significant role in the
13 maintenance of peace and freedom; and
14 "WHEREAS, The members of this
15 Legislative Body are proud to commemorate this
16 event, marking March 21, 2007, as West Point
17 Day in New York State; now, therefore, be it
18 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
19 Body pause in its deliberations to celebrate
20 the establishment of the United States
21 Military Academy at West Point and to
22 memorialize Governor Eliot Spitzer to proclaim
23 March 21, 2007, as West Point Day in New York
24 State; and be it further
25 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this
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1 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
2 to the Honorable Eliot Spitzer, Governor of
3 the State of New York."
4 THE PRESIDENT: On the
5 resolution, the chair recognizes Senator
6 Bruno.
7 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 Chaplain, Father Wood, thank you
10 for your prayer and your good thoughts and
11 your good wishes.
12 And we want to just add a welcome
13 to Major General Taluto, who heads up our
14 naval and military affairs for New York State,
15 and who is a good friend of all of us, and
16 Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, who leads
17 this very distinguished delegation with
18 officers and noncommissioned officers and the
19 really special people, the cadets from West
20 Point.
21 We here join with Senator Larkin --
22 Colonel -- who has distinguished himself
23 throughout his whole career, as a soldier, as
24 an officer, a real hero. A hero in that
25 sense, but a hero here with the Senate and
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1 representing his constituency and all the
2 people of New York State. So we thank Senator
3 Larkin for helping bring us together.
4 You are representative of people --
5 and let me tell you, I speak for everyone here
6 when we indicate how proud we are. We look
7 forward to this day to have you here as
8 representatives of the most revered, devoted
9 institution dealing with military affairs in
10 the world throughout history, since your
11 founding.
12 Everyone knows West Point.
13 Everyone knows the heroes that have come out
14 of West Point, that have gone on.
15 And every single one of you, we
16 want to say from our hearts, are heroes.
17 You're special. You have been selected to be
18 where you are, and you had to overcome
19 obstacles that most of us couldn't overcome --
20 not physically, not mentally, not emotionally.
21 So we want to thank you and tell you, truly,
22 we are honored.
23 We're very conscious of the fact
24 that people take freedom for granted. And we
25 in this country and in this state take freedom
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1 for granted. But we couldn't be here if it
2 wasn't for the service of you and your
3 predecessors and the people throughout the
4 world who are in the military fighting so that
5 we can be here deliberating and people like us
6 all over the world, in a free society,
7 expressing our thoughts without intimidation.
8 So we thank you for everything that
9 you represent.
10 Thank you, Mr. President.
11 THE PRESIDENT: On the
12 resolution, Senator Larkin.
13 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 Thank you, Senator Bruno.
16 You know, this is a special day for
17 us, as Senator Bruno has said. We're honored
18 here to welcome the academic dean of the
19 United States Military Academy, the dean
20 having been appointed last year by the
21 president. It's a challenge. The cadets say
22 they wish that you would be a little more
23 lenient.
24 But, you know, just look at the
25 Corps of Cadets. The Corps of Cadets know
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1 these statistics. We've had 50 members of the
2 Long Gray Line killed in Iraq. We've had two
3 United States presidents. We've had over 80
4 Medal of Honor winners, Heisman Trophy
5 winners.
6 But the most important thing is we
7 have men and women that have gone to the Long
8 Gray Line and have served our country in
9 peace, in war, converting into jobs in the
10 civilian industry, in government, and have all
11 shown the basic functions that they learned at
12 West Point.
13 We're truly honored when we start
14 to think about what they've done, where
15 they've come from. Someone said to me: "Well
16 wasn't there a West Pointer out in space?"
17 Yes, more than one. The first modular had Ed
18 White.
19 But think about all of the other
20 things that they've done. The nation's first
21 engineering school. When you start to look at
22 what has transpired in the 240 years that West
23 Point has been on the banks of the Hudson
24 River, you start to realize that it takes
25 talent to lead these gentlemen and ladies.
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1 General Finnegan, a JAG officer,
2 the first academic dean from the JAG corps.
3 And those of us who have known of him are very
4 proud and honored that the President picked
5 him, because he has been a solid figure for
6 the academy.
7 The class of 1971, the
8 superintendent today is a Class of '71, and
9 his predecessor, General Lennox, is also a
10 member of the Class of '71.
11 But what do we have here? Look at
12 the spread of young men here. First time we
13 haven't had a couple of young cadet females --
14 because they had a commitment that the First
15 Captain told me couldn't be changed. You
16 won't get back to Nebraska for a while.
17 Today we have some cadets from all
18 over. And what we'd like to do now is to
19 introduce you, the cadets. And please, as
20 your name is called, please stand that we can
21 recognize you.
22 The Cadet First Captain is Jon
23 Nielsen, of St. Paul, Nebraska.
24 (Applause.)
25 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet Edward
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1 "Chris" Beeler, from the great city of Albany.
2 (Applause.)
3 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet Andrew
4 Byers, from Clarence.
5 (Applause.)
6 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet Jack
7 Cooperman, from Hobart.
8 (Applause.)
9 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet John
10 Corretti, from White Plains.
11 (Applause.)
12 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet David del
13 Cuadro-Zimmerman, from Brooklyn.
14 (Applause.)
15 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet Gerald
16 Gangaram, from Queens.
17 (Applause.)
18 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet Hobin Lee,
19 from Rockaway Beach.
20 (Applause.)
21 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet David
22 Richards, from Baldwinsville.
23 (Applause.)
24 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet Matthew
25 Schiller, from Germantown.
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1 (Applause.)
2 SENATOR LARKIN: Cadet Benjamin
3 Sylvester, from Poughkeepsie.
4 (Applause.)
5 SENATOR LARKIN: And Cadet Joshua
6 Taft, from White Plains.
7 (Extended applause.)
8 SENATOR LARKIN: You know, three
9 words that these cadets here and everybody in
10 the Hudson Valley associates with it. And I
11 remember when the Majority Leader was down
12 there with us. He was impressed, he told me,
13 because he remembered from his military days
14 the words "duty, honor, and country."
15 You never see Senator Bruno cry,
16 but when he saw those young cadets going by,
17 he turned to me and he said, "Bill, that's our
18 future. Those are the guardians of our
19 peace."
20 And these cadets will never forget
21 you, Senator.
22 But today we're looking at -- we're
23 looking at the future. Some of these young
24 men in six months will be on foreign soil, in
25 harm's way. The academic dean will tell you
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1 that academically they're well qualified. The
2 commandment of cadets will tell you that they
3 are physically qualified. Father Wood will
4 tell you they are morally qualified.
5 We're honored. You are the best
6 and the brightest in the world. When people
7 talk about an educational facility, you can't
8 walk away from it. As my good friend the
9 chairman of Higher Education said, "What an
10 honor, what an honor to have the United States
11 Military Academy here in our back yard."
12 The best and the brightest of
13 America, chosen through a long process wherein
14 you were competing with tens of thousands.
15 Last year there were 23,000 applied for the
16 1400 seats. That goes to tell that that
17 incoming class of 2010 has really put together
18 a group of individuals -- not football stars,
19 not baseball stars, not basketball stars or
20 hockey stars, but stars of the future,
21 individuals who have made a commitment.
22 Every one of you could have gone to
23 any college in America because of your
24 qualifications. But you stood up and said, I
25 want to be a part of the greatest school in
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1 America, I want to be a part of showing my
2 fellow citizens that I'm up to the charge of
3 leading and defending. And that's exactly
4 what they're doing.
5 Their challenge is not easy. It's
6 not simple. While some of us are still asleep
7 in the morning, as you and I know, they're out
8 running at 5:30. And they're studying late at
9 night.
10 What an honor it is for me to stand
11 here and welcome you. I'm very proud. I had
12 served for 23 years, and during 23 years I
13 never met a member of the Long Gray Line that
14 I was ashamed of. I found some of the best
15 and brightest. Some were my peers, some
16 superiors, some subordinates. But they always
17 had one thing in mind: Let's get the job
18 done.
19 That's not only true for you here
20 today, but across the world. One of your
21 latest famous grads, General Petraeus. Great
22 article yesterday in the New York Post; you
23 should read it. For those of you who don't
24 dare to question him, when he was in high
25 school he was named "Peaches." Very bright
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1 gentleman. He married the superintendent's
2 daughter -- couldn't do better than that.
3 But I don't want to hold you up.
4 You have a lot of things to do here today, and
5 I'm sure there are other Senators who would
6 like to say something.
7 But you know, I live just outside
8 the gate at West Point. I'm there at least
9 once or twice a week. Why? I enjoy it. It
10 makes me feel comfortable. Makes me feel
11 comfortable when I can see the cadets, even
12 with the new garb that you wear, to know that
13 you are there and your intent is to finish and
14 go wherever you are called to go and that you
15 will respond in a manner that will make every
16 American proud.
17 You are the best, you are the
18 brightest. Go, Long Gray Line.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
20 Senator Larkin.
21 On the resolution, Senator Smith.
22 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very
23 much, Mr. President.
24 And to Senator Larkin, let me thank
25 you. Each year these young men and sometimes
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1 young ladies come before us, and it's a
2 significant day. Not only significant because
3 it is always very special, but you have taken
4 the time to allow us to pause for a moment
5 from our normal legislative duties to
6 recognize the significance and the importance
7 of our armed services as well as the young men
8 and young women who have dedicated themselves
9 to that.
10 And I thank you for that, because
11 from time to time we forget. We actually
12 forget that beyond what we to here every day,
13 there's a reason why we can do this and why we
14 can do it feeling safe and not worrying. It's
15 because of what you do. So I thank you for
16 your constant reminder each and every year.
17 To Brigadier General Finnegan, to
18 Command Sergeant Major Bergman and Lieutenant
19 Colonel Cassella, let me also thank you as
20 well. Because the time and effort that you
21 take to make sure that these young men and
22 women understand the importance of serving
23 their country is critical to us. Because,
24 one, it allows us to be to sleep at night,
25 and, two, it allows us to know that there is a
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1 future for the families that we are trying to
2 raise and protect by what we do here as a
3 legislative body.
4 To Chaplain Wood, prayer is
5 important. And I understand that, and many of
6 us understand that as well. But not as
7 important as it is to what you say to us each
8 and every day and the prayers that you place
9 amongst our heads. And I would ask that you
10 continue to do that and make them understand
11 how important it is to carry prayer and God
12 with them in all that they do.
13 To the young men, you are going to
14 serve us beyond the borders of this country.
15 But I also want to ask your help and challenge
16 you to help us as well with the young men and
17 women that live not only in this state but in
18 this country.
19 There is also a war going on with
20 our young men and women in this country. A
21 lot of them don't recognize what their purpose
22 is in life. They have not sought the time to
23 assess where they are going in terms of their
24 purpose in life.
25 You've had wonderful mentors. They
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1 have helped you understand your purpose. And
2 I would only ask that you would look to serve
3 as mentors to some of the other young men and
4 women throughout this state and country who
5 have, for some reason or another, gone astray
6 and don't seem to understand that they too
7 have a purpose in life, and that purpose is to
8 do what they can to make sure society is
9 better, to make sure that they enjoy not only
10 their lives but fulfill their cycle and to get
11 in that cycle of life that they are supposed
12 to be into.
13 So I would ask Hobin Lee, who is a
14 sergeant, comes from Rockaway Beach, you have
15 a special assignment.
16 I would ask Gerald Gangaram, who
17 comes from Queens Village, you have a special
18 assignment. Not because of what you have done
19 in terms of West Point, but because as someone
20 who lives in the district that I've been
21 blessed to represent, I need your help with
22 those other young men and women in my district
23 who for some reason don't seem to understand
24 that there is a higher calling for them in
25 life.
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1 You recognize that. It is obvious
2 by you being here today. When I walked over
3 to you, to Mr. Gangaram, Sergeant Gangaram,
4 Lieutenant Gangaram, you stood up with
5 professionalism, you stood up with respect.
6 When I talked to Sergeant Lee, he
7 stood up with respect and he said, "Yes, sir."
8 Now, some people will say that that's
9 old-fashioned. I say that's tradition and
10 respect. And that is what some of our young
11 people are lacking today.
12 So I want to again, Senator Larkin,
13 thank you. I want to thank all the officers
14 of West Point. But also to the young men, I
15 want to thank you for what you are doing but,
16 more importantly, I want to thank you for what
17 I believe you will do -- not only beyond these
18 borders, but what you will do to save some
19 other young men and women in this state and
20 this country.
21 Thank you and be blessed.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
23 Senator Smith.
24 On the resolution, Senator
25 DeFrancisco.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 I think it's a special time now at
4 West Point, and that is because the individual
5 who's the academic dean is a judge advocate.
6 For you who don't know anything about the
7 military, that means he's a lawyer. He's in
8 charge of the academics at West Point. I
9 think it's only fitting that that be mentioned
10 at this important day.
11 Having been in the Air Force as a
12 judge advocate, we share many experiences, I'm
13 sure. But to have him as a leading academic
14 person at West Point is really special, to me,
15 anyway.
16 Secondly, it's special today
17 because David Richards, from Baldwinsville, is
18 one of the cadets who's visiting us. One of
19 my best friends was one of his teachers.
20 And just to share those little
21 thoughts with someone, it really hits home
22 what we're doing here today. These are people
23 from our own back yards that had a choice.
24 They could turn their back on an opportunity
25 that is an incredible opportunity, but they
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1 had that choice at a time when the nation is
2 at war.
3 How many of us -- think about it --
4 how many of us would have really shied away
5 from this opportunity, for self-preservation
6 or for personal reasons? But they took it on.
7 You know, that's really
8 encouraging. Because there's so much
9 negativism going on in our communities and in
10 the world, actually. And to think there's
11 people of this character and integrity that we
12 have among us today.
13 So, Senator Larkin, again, thank
14 you for keeping this tradition alive. The
15 military has no stronger advocate. And we are
16 benefitting from their presence today.
17 And all I can say to all of you,
18 thank you for everything you have chosen,
19 thank you for what you're going to do, and
20 thank you for being the leaders in our country
21 when my grandchildren will be citizens and
22 relying on your leadership. Because that's
23 what we truly need in this nation today.
24 So thank you very much.
25 THE PRESIDENT: On the
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1 resolution, Senator Bonacic.
2 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 I want to thank Senator Larkin for
5 his eloquent remarks.
6 Senator Morahan and I, along with
7 Senator Larkin, serve portions of Orange
8 County. And we are proud of the institution
9 of West Point, of all of the soldiers who have
10 come out of West Point and those that are
11 there.
12 On Monday, Private Kaiser, from
13 Narrowsburg, Sullivan County, a 27-year-old
14 young man, was killed in Baghdad, Iraq. That
15 is the sixth soldier from my district. And I
16 am sure that all of my colleagues have
17 soldiers that have made the ultimate
18 sacrifice.
19 So to the Kaiser family today, we
20 offer our condolences. We thank their son for
21 the ultimate sacrifice.
22 And I want to say, in conclusion,
23 that every soldier was a hero the day they put
24 the uniform on. Not when they went to war,
25 not when they were injured or killed -- the
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1 day they put the uniform on. And we thank
2 you, all of you, for protecting America and
3 our way of life.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 THE PRESIDENT: On the
6 resolution, Senator Wright.
7 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 I too rise to join with my
10 colleagues in recognizing the young men and
11 women from Fort -- excuse me, from West Point.
12 I almost said Fort Drum, because I have the
13 honor and distinction of representing Fort
14 Drum.
15 And I had the privilege of spending
16 some time with your superintendent when Buster
17 Hagenbeck was assigned at Fort Drum. And I
18 can assure you that, unlike the chief
19 academic, who's a lawyer, your superintendent
20 is a warrior. And he proved that in his
21 tenure over in Afghanistan. He related that
22 story to us, and there are some wonderful
23 tales.
24 But more importantly, we're here to
25 recognize the young men and young women from
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1 West Point who are here with us, those cadets
2 who will the future Buster Hagenbecks, the
3 leaders of the United States Army.
4 And I too want to recognize my
5 colleague to the right, Colonel Larkin, who
6 could not be a more passionate, articulate
7 advocate for the United States Army in this
8 state or anywhere else in this nation. You
9 can be proud that he served with many of your
10 officers and leaders. We are.
11 There isn't a week that doesn't go
12 by in my community, home to the Tenth, that we
13 are constantly encountering young men and
14 young women either returning from deployment
15 or being prepared for deployment, dealing with
16 hardships that that imposes upon their
17 families.
18 At the same time, as you go through
19 those experiences, you could not be more proud
20 of the men and women wearing the uniforms of
21 this nation, the pride that they take in
22 serving this country, the pride in their
23 mission, the pride in their duty, and the
24 pride in serving to protect the citizens of
25 this state, this country, and their families.
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1 So my hat is off to you. I look
2 forward to some of you someday being assigned
3 or rotating through Fort Drum. You will find
4 it's one of the finest duty assignments that
5 you will have.
6 But more importantly, it's an
7 opportunity, when you come here once a year,
8 to recognize your commitment to all of us. On
9 our behalf, thank you.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very
11 much, Senator Wright.
12 On the resolution, the chair
13 recognizes Senator Leibell.
14 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you very
15 much, Mr. President.
16 First I want to respond to Colonel
17 Larkin. He's making the assumption that I'm
18 not up at 5:30 in the morning running.
19 (Laughter.)
20 SENATOR LEIBELL: I don't know
21 where he gets his information from, General.
22 I chair the Committee on Veterans,
23 Homeland Security and Military Affairs. And I
24 am immensely pleased, as my colleagues are, to
25 have you once again in Albany. This has
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1 become quite a tradition, as was noted, over
2 the course of many years now.
3 As chairman of this committee I can
4 tell you it's been my great honor to have
5 worked with veterans and active-duty members
6 of our armed forces from all of our branches.
7 And we're particularly blessed in this nation
8 and in our great state to have West Point.
9 Literally, you are and have been
10 the tip of the spear. As our country has gone
11 through challenging times and will continue to
12 do so, it is a great comfort not only for our
13 President and Commander-in-Chief but for all
14 of our citizens to know that Long Gray Line
15 continues.
16 You will be going into harm's way,
17 without doubt. And we respect you for your
18 commitment to our nation, to our nation and
19 its allies. We thank you and honor you for
20 your service, as we do for all those who have
21 served in the past.
22 And I might say, as a former Naval
23 officer: Go, Army.
24 THE PRESIDENT: On the
25 resolution, Senator Adams.
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1 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you,
2 Mr. President. I too rise in support of this
3 resolution.
4 Clearly we sit in the shade of the
5 tree of freedom because a military person
6 planted that seed many years ago with their
7 blood. And we have a belief that freedom is
8 cheap. And I have great pleasure to be here
9 as a State Senator and give acknowledgment to
10 West Point.
11 And I join my colleague Senator
12 Leibell: I'm excited and enthused at being
13 the ranking member on Veterans Affairs,
14 because you and I both share that desire of
15 making sure that our young men and women who
16 fight abroad can come home and not have to
17 fight an additional war for some of the basic
18 benefits and things they desire.
19 One of the most difficult things
20 for me was when my two relatives left to go
21 fight in Iraq. And upon returning, my young
22 nephew, Steven Victor Cruz, told me how, being
23 in the Marines, he had to soften the beach.
24 He had the responsibility of making sure, as
25 those military persons returned or fought,
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1 they had an easier time to go into those
2 difficult countries.
3 We have a responsibility here. And
4 I want to say to our West Point young men and
5 women, we are your Marines. No matter which
6 side of the aisle we sit on, we are consistent
7 in not being a detached spectator in this
8 full-time battle of fighting for what's right
9 for you. We're going to soften the beach for
10 you here in America to make sure your VA
11 benefits are protected, to make sure when you
12 come back home you don't have to fight and
13 rebuild those things that you fought for
14 abroad.
15 I support this, and I believe
16 wholeheartedly that we have a responsibility
17 for our men and women that are fighting for
18 our freedom here in America, that we fight for
19 their treatment and rights here at home.
20 THE PRESIDENT: On the
21 resolution, Senator Breslin.
22 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 Each year when West Point Day is
25 planned so ably by Senator Larkin, it gives us
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1 a time to reflect what we do. Because we
2 worry about what we do, are we planning
3 properly for the future. And when we look at
4 the young men and women from West Point and
5 see them and talk to them and know what their
6 future is about, we know that our future is
7 also safe.
8 And I also rise to single out Chris
9 Beeler, who's from my district and who's doing
10 so well at West Point.
11 And finally it gives me, every
12 year -- there's one day of the year that I say
13 something nice about one of my brothers.
14 That's not on his birthday, it's on West Point
15 Day.
16 And in the back, County Executive
17 Mike Breslin, of Albany, who's Class of '61
18 and then went to jump school, Rangers school,
19 jungle warfare school, air transportation
20 school, and ended up as a major in the
21 airborne infantry in Vietnam.
22 And he only knows it this day that
23 I still look up to him for all of his
24 accomplishments. But it was his
25 accomplishments then and not now.
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1 Thank you, Mr. President.
2 (Laughter.)
3 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
4 Senator Breslin.
5 On the resolution, Senator Morahan.
6 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 I too thank our young cadets for
9 their service and what they're about to do in
10 the near future.
11 As a neighbor of West Point, I
12 travel through that facility reasonably often.
13 And for those of our Senators here who are
14 spectators, who have never had the opportunity
15 to visit West Point, it's an experience that
16 will never leave you.
17 The awe that emanates from the
18 cannon that looks over the Hudson, the
19 cemetery that holds veterans and people who
20 died in service of this country, back to the
21 Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Buffalo
22 soldiers, all of those who have served through
23 the years and lie in rest overlooking the
24 beautiful Hudson River.
25 And for all of the young people who
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1 have passed there and through that academy and
2 gone on to glory -- the statues of General
3 Patton, who had the Third Army, an army which
4 I served in for a short period of time.
5 It is truly amazing the sense that
6 you walk away of such a deep American
7 tradition. It makes one so proud to be a
8 citizen of this country and know, when you see
9 the young men and women walking those grounds,
10 that they are keeping this country the freest
11 and the safest nation on the face of the earth
12 in the history of civilization.
13 I envy you because now you belong
14 to the Point. You will never be less than
15 part of the Long Gray Line. So many have gone
16 before you -- Pershing, MacArthur, all who sat
17 as cadets in that great institution.
18 And I would just advise anyone who
19 has not been there to get there to see what
20 these young people go through. On a Saturday
21 parade as they unfold the flags, as they march
22 in great step across the great Plain, and you
23 hear those beautiful drums and the great
24 hymns, it makes one wonder why we, as young
25 people, didn't recognize the opportunity that
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1 is there for those young people and that they
2 are so lucky and so blessed to be part of that
3 tradition.
4 But you pay a price for that with
5 your code of honor, all the rigors of getting
6 through the four years, Beast Barracks, all of
7 those experiences that make you what you are
8 today.
9 And we thank you for volunteering.
10 We thank you for what you're going to do. And
11 we salute you and God bless you.
12 Thank you, Mr. President.
13 THE PRESIDENT: On the
14 resolution, Senator Krueger.
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
16 I rise today to thank all of you
17 young men, and your women colleagues as well
18 back at West Point, for the work that you are
19 doing.
20 And I am proud to say that my young
21 cousin was a West Point graduate in 2002,
22 Andrew Gordon. He's a captain in the 101st
23 Airborne now.
24 And many of my colleagues have
25 spoken so eloquently about the importance and
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1 the history of West Point and all that you can
2 be proud of. And I know that I am proud of
3 Andy, who comes to visit in between his trips
4 abroad.
5 And we've talked about the fact
6 that unfortunately we may be sending you into
7 harm's way. I hope we're not, but I suspect
8 we are.
9 We are a young democracy; we are a
10 fragile democracy. The history of West Point
11 is extraordinary. And I tell you, as young
12 people, that I look to you for your leadership
13 to help direct our country in your futures to
14 make the right decisions, even though so many
15 of them are tough and the decisions that you
16 will be taking on as graduates of West Point
17 will be so difficult.
18 But I know, because of the
19 unbelievable training that you receive and the
20 great history of West Point, that you will be
21 well-prepared to make the decisions that
22 affect not only your lives and the men and
23 women who may be reporting to you but the
24 democracy of this country.
25 So I thank you, and I respect you.
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1 And I'm so glad that we take time off here in
2 the New York State Senate each year to welcome
3 you here and to share our support for being so
4 proud to have West Point be the great
5 institution it is here in New York State.
6 Thank you very much.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
8 Senator Krueger.
9 On the resolution, all those in
10 favor please indicate by saying aye.
11 (Response of "Aye.")
12 THE PRESIDENT: Louder.
13 (Response of "Aye.")
14 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
15 (No response.)
16 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is
17 adopted.
18 (Applause.)
19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno.
20 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
21 thank you. And colleagues, with your
22 unanimous consent, I would ask Brigadier
23 General Finnegan to share some thoughts with
24 us at this time.
25 Thank you, General. Thank you,
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1 Mr. President.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Without
3 objection, we would ask that Brigadier General
4 Finnegan join us and offer a few remarks to
5 all the members and others assembled.
6 General.
7 GENERAL FINNEGAN: Lieutenant
8 Governor Paterson, Senator Bruno, Senator
9 Larkin, members of this distinguished Senate,
10 thank you for having us up here again. All of
11 us at West Point appreciate West Point Day in
12 Albany.
13 I bring you greetings from the
14 Superintendent, Lieutenant Governor Buster
15 Hagenbeck, who wishes he could be here today.
16 Unfortunately, he's recovering from both
17 rotator cuff surgery and pneumonia, so he's
18 not able to be here.
19 I have a connection with New York.
20 I didn't grow up in New York, but I went to
21 West Point. My dad -- I'm not sure I'm
22 allowed to say this in this assembly -- grew
23 up in New Jersey.
24 (Laughter.)
25 GENERAL FINNEGAN: But he was a
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1 staunch New York Yankees fan, and so I am a
2 lifelong Yankees fan as well.
3 (Applause.)
4 GENERAL FINNEGAN: My better
5 connection to this state is that I had the
6 good fortune to marry a New York girl.
7 (Applause.)
8 GENERAL FINNEGAN: My wife, Joan,
9 was born in Brooklyn, raised in Long Island,
10 and went to college in Syracuse.
11 I have to tell you that our
12 relationship had somewhat of a rocky start
13 when at Super Bowl III she insisted that the
14 Jets, her team, would beat my team, the Colts.
15 (Laughter.)
16 GENERAL FINNEGAN: Somehow we
17 endured, and we will celebrate our 36th
18 anniversary this June.
19 The army has a strong presence in
20 New York and greatly appreciates the
21 tremendous support provided by the
22 Legislature, by the towns and communities and
23 families that support our mission in so many
24 ways, to include military service.
25 This year the army must put 84,000
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1 young men and women in boots to serve in the
2 active component and 26,500 to serve in the
3 reserves. And New York continues to help us
4 meet those accession requirements. Since the
5 start of this year, more than 2,000
6 New Yorkers have raised their right hand and
7 agreed to help fight the global war on terror
8 as active-duty soldiers. Another 700-plus
9 have agreed to do so as members of the Army
10 Reserve.
11 There are two major military
12 installations in New York. We've talked about
13 both of them a little this morning, Fort Drum
14 and West Point. And General Hagenbeck, our
15 superintendent, has had the privilege to
16 command both of them.
17 Right now there are over 17,000
18 soldiers stationed at Fort Drum. This number
19 doesn't represent the people who are always
20 there, because many of them are currently
21 deployed far from Fort Drum in harm's way.
22 And with those soldiers there are almost
23 15,000 family members also at Fort Drum.
24 West Point is a slightly smaller
25 installation. Military personnel and family
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1 members are just under 4,000. That's without
2 the 4,000 cadets we have. There are about
3 1,071 military members at West Point.
4 We thank you for the support you've
5 provided throughout our time at West Point and
6 the support you continue to provide.
7 We may be a smaller installation at
8 the academy, but our mission is large. It's
9 to educate, train and inspire the Corps of
10 Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned
11 leader of character committed to the values of
12 duty, honor and country and prepared for a
13 career of professional excellence and service
14 to the nation as an officer in the United
15 States Army. We are a leader development
16 institution.
17 The academy could not accomplish
18 this mission without the continued support of
19 the New York Legislature and the surrounding
20 communities outside our gates. We work hard
21 to be good neighbors and friends. There are
22 4,320 members of the Corps of Cadets, from all
23 50 states and 34 nations around the world.
24 Three hundred twenty-four New Yorkers are in
25 the corps, 271 men and 53 women. And today,
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1 along with Cadet Jon Nielsen, the First
2 Captain, a proud Nebraskan, we've traveled to
3 Albany with 11 cadets from the Empire State,
4 from cities and suburbs, small towns,
5 farmlands and rural areas.
6 Several of them have been
7 introduced, but I'd like to share a little bit
8 more information on this group of three
9 firsties -- that's seniors -- and eight
10 cows -- those are juniors.
11 Nearly every one of them comes from
12 a family that includes military veterans.
13 Most have grandfathers who fought in
14 World War II or Korea. Each of them has
15 racked up a few semesters on the dean's list,
16 with half of them being on the dean's list
17 every semester while they've been at the
18 academy. That's a strong testament to the
19 New York school system.
20 You've heard -- and when you meet
21 them you'll know -- that they're involved in a
22 variety of activities, from intercollegiate
23 athletic teams to club sports to community
24 service in programs like Big Brothers and Big
25 Sisters.
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1 Here are a couple of other
2 interesting points. Chris Beeler is here from
3 Albany; he was introduced. And it's a good
4 thing we brought him along, because the bus
5 driver got lost.
6 (Laughter.)
7 GENERAL FINNEGAN: Chris was able
8 to redirect the bus so that the cadets
9 actually arrived here at the State Capitol.
10 David del Cuadro-Zimmerman spent
11 last summer working with the NYPD.
12 Joshua Taft spent last semester in
13 Chile, studying abroad pursuing language and
14 cultural-immersion goals.
15 Hobin Lee's brother is a second
16 lieutenant, and his father served as a captain
17 in the Republic of Korea's army.
18 Ben Sylvester's brother just
19 enlisted in the Army as a member of the
20 Special Forces.
21 And there are some other facts as
22 well. Dave Richards once played blackjack
23 with NBA star Carmelo Anthony. And Dave
24 Gangaram once owned a version of KITT, Knight
25 Industries Three Thousand, a car from the
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1 1980s show Knight Rider, complete with red
2 scanning light, automatically opening doors,
3 internal monitors, and even limited speech
4 abilities. It's often those extra facts that
5 make it even more interesting.
6 Our cadets, these cadets and all
7 4,320 of them, are what many call the next
8 "Great Generation." Their desire to serve
9 something larger than themselves -- in this
10 case, our nation in a time of war -- echoes
11 the actions of those who have served before
12 them. They understand service, and they
13 understand sacrifice.
14 New York has a rich history of
15 military service. Many New Yorkers have
16 served with valor and distinction, and some
17 have given up their lives in this long war.
18 We're proud of all of them and sorrowful for
19 the families who have suffered the losses.
20 We believe that leaders are made,
21 not born. That's what we do at West Point,
22 with the wonderful young men and women who
23 come there from your communities. We
24 challenge them every day, physically and
25 intellectually, to achieve excellence. We
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1 instill in them the virtues of duty, honor and
2 country, to produce leaders of character for
3 our soldiers and nation. We bring in the best
4 and brightest to do this, and I want to tell
5 you about two of them.
6 One is a young man named Scott
7 Cassidy. He's West Point Class of 2005. I
8 happened to teach him when he was a cadet.
9 When he was there, he was captain of the men's
10 volleyball team. His older sister Mary is
11 also a lieutenant in the Army; she's an ROTC
12 graduate. His youngster sister Eileen is
13 currently a firstie; she is going to graduate
14 in two months. She was captain of the women's
15 volleyball team.
16 After Scott graduated in 2005 and
17 went through some initial training, he joined
18 the 101st Airborne Division, which was
19 deployed to Iraq. After Scott had been there
20 with his platoon as a platoon leader for three
21 months, he had earned three Purple Hearts.
22 He and I have stayed friends, and
23 he spent me and a bunch of other people an
24 email describing what he was doing as a
25 platoon leader in Iraq. And I think you
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1 should hear this.
2 He said: "Last month hit our
3 company hard, and we're still feeling the
4 effects of it. We lost two soldiers at the
5 start of the month as the battalion increased
6 our target list. I've now been wounded
7 twice" -- this was before his third wound --
8 but that makes me part of the majority in my
9 platoon, with nearly every soldier holding a
10 Purple Heart.
11 "We're running missions constantly,
12 hoping to drive the enemy out of our sector as
13 we prepare to turn this over to the Tenth
14 Mountain Division. My platoon took part in
15 multiple air assault mounted and dismounted
16 missions that led to the capture of several
17 key terrorist leaders. It was a rewarding
18 experience but exhausting at the same time.
19 "At one point we spent 23 days
20 outside the wire trying to meet the demands of
21 the fight. That's 23 days without a shower,
22 in the same clothes, eating the exact same
23 packaged meals. We sleep on sheets of plywood
24 and the guys pull guard even when we rest.
25 Every day they enter the most dangerous
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1 neighborhoods that our world has to offer, and
2 they do so without question and without fear.
3 I must say that I am proud to and honored to
4 call myself a leader in this platoon. I can't
5 imagine a more rewarding experience.
6 "If you watch the news, you know
7 that the greater Baghdad area is in turmoil.
8 We are spread thin, but we are getting the job
9 done. The television highlights every
10 explosion and loss of life, but you miss what
11 we do. You miss my soldiers giving water and
12 food to local nationals. You miss my soldiers
13 giving the little kids high-fives and soccer
14 balls. You miss my soldiers placing sewer
15 systems and rebuilding roads. You miss my
16 medic treating the locals for injuries.
17 "The news shows death, murder and
18 violence, but daily I see smiles, hard work
19 and hope. Is the area in turmoil? Yes. Is
20 it lost? No. And every day American soldiers
21 bring hope to these people. You won't see it
22 in the morning paper or evening news, but I'm
23 telling you it's here. I know; I am seeing it
24 and I am doing it.
25 "I miss everyone and look forward
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1 to coming home. Know that your Army is making
2 you proud to be an American."
3 There's another young man --
4 (Standing ovation.)
5 GENERAL FINNEGAN: I accept that
6 applause on behalf of Scott Cassidy and all of
7 the other young men and women who are doing
8 wonderful things.
9 There's another young man I want to
10 tell you about. His name is also Scott,
11 Scotty Smiley. He's a captain in the Army.
12 He's a West Point graduate from the Class of
13 2003.
14 And about two years ago, in
15 April 2005, he was in Mosul, Iraq, when an IED
16 exploded, gave him a severe head wound, and he
17 lost his eyesight. Now, of course most times
18 in the past that would mean that he would be
19 medically retired from the Army, separated
20 from the Army.
21 During his recovery at Walter Reed,
22 Scotty was told by doctors that his Army
23 career was over. But he pleaded to stay on
24 active duty, wanting to fulfill the obligation
25 that he taken on when he graduated in 2003.
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1 And after a determined fight and
2 some help from people in high-ranking places,
3 the Army retained Scotty as part of the
4 Wounded Warriors Program. He's been serving
5 at Fort Monroe.
6 And last summer, at the invitation
7 of Coach Mike Krzyzweski of Duke University,
8 West Point Class of 1969, Scotty even provided
9 some words of inspiration for the USA
10 Basketball Team. You may have seen that in a
11 short feature that ESPN did as Scotty talked
12 with Dwyane Wade and Shane Battier and others
13 on the Sports Center segment.
14 Scotty has learned to use his
15 computer, he's skied in Colorado, he's
16 skydived, and he's tried to take on a normal
17 life, although for him life is always going to
18 be extraordinary. He came up to West Point
19 several months ago, and with his company
20 commander, the man who was his company
21 commander -- also a West Point graduate --
22 when this injury occurred, they taught a class
23 on leadership and what it meant to lead
24 soldiers in combat and what it meant to
25 undergo that experience.
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1 Scotty wants to stay in the Army,
2 and one of his mentors asked him, "What do you
3 want to do?" And he said, "What I'd really
4 like to do, if I could do anything, is teach
5 at West Point."
6 It's a little bit unusual; he
7 hasn't gotten as much time in service as most
8 of our instructors do. But we jumped at the
9 chance, of course, to get him back.
10 So he is going to start graduate
11 school in the fall, right about the time that
12 his first child is born. He's going to go to
13 Duke University, get a graduate degree there,
14 and in the fall of 2009, Captain Scott Smiley
15 will come back to West Point and call a class
16 to attention, and he'll teach them leadership
17 and he'll teach courage and determination and
18 he'll teach them life.
19 He's going to educate and inspire,
20 and without a doubt every cadet who steps into
21 his classroom will get a new perspective on
22 what it means to toss their white hat in the
23 air and take an oath and serve their country.
24 What West Point has done, what
25 we're privileged to do is to prepare the next
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1 generation of Scott Cassidys and Scotty
2 Smileys. And you see some of those young men
3 who are here today.
4 I urge you to come see us, come
5 visit us. Come visit your academy, talk to
6 our cadets. They'll inspire you as they
7 inspire me and all of us who are at West
8 Point.
9 Thank you very much. And go Army.
10 (Standing ovation.)
11 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
12 General.
13 Would you please extend our prayers
14 and best wishes to Lieutenant General
15 Hagenbeck for his speedy recovery.
16 And would you please extend to your
17 wife, Joan, my memory of January 12, 1969,
18 when the world champion New York Jets
19 destroyed your Baltimore Colts.
20 (Laughter.)
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno.
22 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
23 can I suggest that we add everyone's name here
24 in the chamber to this resolution unless they
25 approach otherwise.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: We will place the
2 names of all Senators on the resolution. Just
3 ceremonially, we have to say that if anyone
4 didn't want to be -- and no one does -- that
5 they would come up to the desk and indicate
6 so. Everyone is on the resolution.
7 So to all of you members of the
8 United States Military Academy, it is an honor
9 and a pleasure to have you in the chamber.
10 I would want all of you to know
11 that 42 years ago today, there was a very
12 dangerous and foreboding event in American
13 history when there was a civil rights march
14 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. After that
15 march, one of marchers was killed. But
16 because of the intervention of the National
17 Guard, the marchers actually were able to go
18 through that period without injury.
19 There was a young colonel who led
20 the National Guard march from Selma to
21 Montgomery who is in this chamber with us
22 today. You know him as Senator Bill Larkin.
23 (Applause.)
24 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank
25 you for joining us. Thank you for your
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1 service to this country.
2 Senator Bruno.
3 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I
4 believe we are privileged to have the parents
5 of Cadet Chris Beeler here, Ed and Sarah.
6 And just recognize the sacrifice
7 that parents make when their sons and
8 daughters are removed from the family,
9 voluntarily, willingly, after they've raised
10 their children and offer them to the rest of
11 the world for all that they stand for.
12 So we're indebted to them. And
13 would they stand and be recognized? Thank
14 you.
15 (Applause.)
16 SENATOR BRUNO: And,
17 Mr. President, can we at this time take a few
18 moments and be at ease while the general and
19 the cadets and the officers go to their next
20 appointment.
21 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
22 stand at ease.
23 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
24 ease at 12:15 p.m.)
25 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
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1 at 12:17 p.m.)
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 come to order.
4 The chair recognizes Senator Bruno.
5 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
6 can we return to reports of standing
7 committees.
8 I believe there's a report at the
9 desk of the Finance Committee. I ask that it
10 be read at this time.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
12 will read the report of the Finance Committee.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
14 Johnson, from the Committee on Finance,
15 reports the following nominations.
16 As Commissioner of the Department
17 of Health, Richard F. Daines, M.D., of
18 New York City.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson.
20 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Move the
21 nomination.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Hannon.
23 SENATOR HANNON: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 I was getting quizzed about the
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1 progress of the state's health budget by a
2 reporter.
3 I am very honored to be able to put
4 forward for confirmation by the Senate the
5 nomination of Dr. Richard F. Daines to be
6 Health Commissioner of the state.
7 Dr. Daines is a product of the best
8 that the state has for educating doctors. A
9 graduate of Cornell Weill Medical College, he
10 served as medical director and then as chief
11 of the institutions both at St. Barnabas and
12 St. Luke's, major facilities in the City of
13 New York.
14 I think in terms of the
15 confirmation, he came before both the Health
16 Committee and the Finance Committee, has been
17 recommended.
18 And he made a very telling
19 statement about his background. He said when
20 he first walked into the Health Department in
21 the beginning of February of this year, as a
22 commissioner-designate, that he was walking
23 into an institution that wasn't a hospital for
24 the first time in a long time in his adult
25 life.
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1 So he is a product of delivering
2 healthcare in this state. He comes at a time
3 when it's an exciting new look at what we're
4 going to do for healthcare in this state.
5 And he comes as the product, by the
6 way, of a family dedicated to medicine. His
7 father and mother have come here from Utah.
8 His father is a physician, had also been
9 involved in local government. He is
10 accompanied, I believe, by his brother and by
11 his sister. His brother is the saving grace
12 in the family: I think the only nonphysician.
13 He's a lawyer. So we welcome that. And he
14 has a son who is in medical school right now
15 in New York.
16 And just -- we had a meeting this
17 morning in Finance, and the family and
18 Dr. Daines have been waiting. And I'm glad
19 you have seen what you've just seen about West
20 Point, because that's also part of the
21 diversity and richness of this state. And
22 with probably one of the finest set of
23 speeches I have ever seen at West Point Day in
24 the history of this chamber.
25 I put forward Dr. Daines's
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1 nomination before this body with a full
2 recommendation. There is a challenging period
3 ahead. This is a gentleman who is
4 well-equipped to meet that challenge. He has
5 already experienced, through the rich
6 questioning by the members, both sides of the
7 aisle in both committees, their concerns,
8 their hopes. And I think he comes in now with
9 a sense of the policymaking and the
10 seriousness of deliberation of this body as we
11 approach healthcare in all its different
12 aspects.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 THE PRESIDENT: On the
15 nomination, Senator Saland.
16 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 Mr. President, I rise to second
19 Dr. Daines's nomination.
20 In all candor, it's only recently
21 that I've had the good fortune of meeting
22 Dr. Daines. He was kind enough to stop by and
23 visit with me a matter of several days ago,
24 extending me the courtesy inasmuch as he has a
25 residence in my district.
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1 But I also had the good fortune of
2 having the opportunity to hear him testify in
3 the Finance Committee earlier this morning.
4 A resume certainly is a measure of
5 an individual, but it's not by any stretch of
6 the imagination a true measure of any
7 individual. And while it would be certainly
8 an understatement to say that Dr. Daines'
9 resume is extraordinarily impressive, the rich
10 history he has of commitment to the healthcare
11 system, particularly his extensive work with
12 one or another hospital and its administration
13 over the course of the past couple of decades,
14 in and of itself stands as testimony to his
15 qualifications.
16 However, I found even more
17 impressive his responses and his general
18 comments during the course of the questions
19 that he was taking. I learned, for example,
20 that for a number of years he had given
21 physicals to Boy Scouts as part, I guess, of
22 some summer position that he might have had
23 assisting some camp or Boy Scout activity.
24 I got the impression that this was
25 a man who certainly understood the needs not
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1 merely of hospitals but of primary care and is
2 very much concerned about the entire spectrum
3 of the delivery of healthcare.
4 I would say that perhaps, if I
5 understood his comments correctly, there was
6 some comment having to do with litigation.
7 This may be a sibling rivalry thing. But you
8 made it clear that litigation is nothing that
9 you are particularly interested in. I'll let
10 you work that out with your brother.
11 I do wish you well, because your
12 success will in very large part be a measure
13 of our success. We thank you for accepting
14 this rather extraordinary responsibility.
15 I've always pointed to the
16 education and health portions of the budgets
17 as being the gorillas of our state budgets.
18 And perhaps it's my own parochial selfishness;
19 chairing the Senate Education Committee, I've
20 referred to education as the 800-pound
21 gorilla, followed closely by the 799.5-pound
22 gorilla, the healthcare system.
23 So please do well so we can all
24 revel in your success and perhaps, in turn,
25 make us look well by your accomplishments. I
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1 wish you all the best.
2 THE PRESIDENT: On the
3 nomination, Senator L. Krueger.
4 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 I rise also to second the
7 nomination of Dr. Daines, who I'm proud is a
8 constituent of my district. I guess we'll be
9 sharing him, Senator Saland and I, now.
10 Today is West Point Day, so we all
11 just got up and talked about the importance of
12 our pride in the West Point cadets and their
13 defense of our nation. And in fact, I would
14 just stand here and say that I want to thank
15 Dr. Daines for being the defender of our
16 public health and the fact that it is a
17 critical issue for all 19 million New Yorkers.
18 As he knew before he accepted
19 Governor Spitzer's request to become the
20 commissioner and clearly learned more about in
21 the last two days of questioning, it is a
22 challenging assignment. It is a demanding
23 responsibility. We have so many issues we
24 must confront, to assure that our elderly are
25 assured the best public health that can be
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1 provided to them, our children, all of us in
2 between.
3 We have problems almost at every
4 level in our hospital system, in our access to
5 healthcare, in our health insurance issues, in
6 our improving on our delivery of healthcare to
7 all New Yorkers, on ensuring that we focus our
8 dollars most effectively to the most tested
9 and true practices of medicine, that we ensure
10 that no matter what part of the state you live
11 in, what ethnicity you have, what economic
12 stature you or your family are in, that
13 everyone has the access to the best healthcare
14 we can provide.
15 And the fact that Dr. Daines has
16 committed his life, clearly from his resume
17 and from his discussions with so many of us,
18 to improving on the public's health is
19 equivalent, to me, of the people that commit
20 their lives to our country's defense.
21 So I know that you are here with
22 your family; I had an opportunity to chat with
23 them briefly. And I'm just so delighted to be
24 able to support your confirmation to be the
25 next Commissioner of Health.
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1 I know that we need your skills and
2 your talents and that you will be there for
3 us. So on behalf of all 19 million of us,
4 thank you very much.
5 THE PRESIDENT: On the
6 nomination, Senator Gonzalez.
7 SENATOR GONZALEZ: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 I'm proud to rise to second the
10 nomination of Dr. Daines. I have known
11 Dr. Daines for practically over 20, over
12 20 years -- he was my personal doctor -- and
13 as a professional, as a caring person,
14 extremely, extremely well. And I learned
15 yesterday, when I met his dad for the first
16 time -- because his dad is a doctor that made
17 house calls. And so did Dr. Daines.
18 And I think that as he moves on --
19 and I commend the Governor for this
20 nomination -- that he will be making house
21 calls throughout the state and trying to deal
22 with the healthcare of the 19 million
23 residents of this great state.
24 And so I thank him for taking on
25 this, I congratulate him and his family for
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1 continuing to be that old tradition of taking
2 care of people's health with love.
3 Thank you, Mr. President.
4 THE PRESIDENT: On the
5 nomination, Senator Schneiderman.
6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 I have to rise. I know we have --
9 we want to move things along, but I do have to
10 rise to say I think this is an extraordinary
11 nominee and really reflective of the new
12 direction that the Governor and the whole new
13 administration is taking us.
14 I was with Dr. Daines up in
15 Washington Heights in my district last week,
16 and I have to say, you know, standing there on
17 180th Street in Amsterdam, he seemed
18 completely at home.
19 He has spent his career working in
20 poor communities, and he has the awareness of
21 what it requires to bring healthcare to where
22 we really need it and ensure that all
23 New Yorkers get the quality of healthcare they
24 need.
25 I'm tremendously impressed in the
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1 short time I've had to deal with him, but I
2 think we can look forward to expanding
3 healthcare coverage for all New Yorkers, to
4 improving healthcare coverage towards making
5 our system more efficient under his watch.
6 And I really just have to say a
7 great nomination by the Governor, and we
8 should all be proud to vote in favor of this
9 nominee.
10 Thank you, Mr. President.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
12 Senator Schneiderman.
13 On the nomination, Senator Sampson.
14 SENATOR SAMPSON: Thank you very
15 much, Mr. President.
16 I rise in support of this
17 nomination. But most of all, we are giving
18 all the -- most of the kudos to Dr. Daines,
19 but I want to give it to his parents. His
20 father, who was a community doctor, and his
21 mother, who is right there by his side, they
22 laid the foundation for Dr. Daines to be the
23 individual he is today.
24 And Dr. Daines, as Senator Gonzalez
25 said, you made house calls. And I want you to
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1 make a house call to my district, the 19th
2 Senatorial District, in dealing with these
3 issues, especially with respect to these
4 healthcare cuts.
5 And not only are you going to be
6 the defender of our public health system, but
7 most of all, you are truly a visionary. The
8 way you answered questions in the Health
9 Committee, you have a vision for where
10 healthcare is supposed to be in the future.
11 And one thing I've always noticed
12 from a saying in church, if you don't prepare
13 for the future, you will revert back to the
14 ways of the past. But in you we have a
15 visionary who's concerned about making sure
16 that our healthcare system is accessible to
17 all New Yorkers. For that, I am proud that
18 you are the new Commissioner of Health.
19 But most of all, I want to give
20 credit to your parents, the ones who laid the
21 foundation for you.
22 Congratulations, Dr. Daines.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
24 Senator Sampson.
25 On the nomination of Dr. Richard F.
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1 Daines as the Commissioner of the New York
2 State Department of Health, all those in favor
3 please signify by saying aye.
4 (Response of "Aye.")
5 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
6 (No response.)
7 THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Richard F.
8 Daines, of New York City, is confirmed as the
9 Commissioner of the Department of Health.
10 (Applause.)
11 THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Daines is
12 joined by his wife, Linda. He is joined by
13 his father, Dr. Newel Daines; by his mother,
14 Jane. He is joined by his brother, George,
15 his sister, Pam Johnson, and by his son,
16 William. William, thank you.
17 And all the Daines family, thank
18 you for joining us. This is an awesome
19 responsibility. All of us here wish you well.
20 Congratulations.
21 (Applause.)
22 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
23 will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: As Commissioner
25 of the Division of Criminal Justice Services,
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1 Denise O'Donnell, of Buffalo.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The chair
3 recognizes, on the nomination, Senator
4 Johnson.
5 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Move the
6 nomination.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Nozzolio.
8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 Mr. President, I rise as chairman
11 of the New York State Senate Committee on
12 Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections to report
13 to the full house that the committee reviewed
14 Denise O'Donnell's qualifications, spent over
15 an hour in discussions on important criminal
16 justice issues confronting our state, and
17 unanimously supported the confirmation of this
18 important nomination.
19 The committee was very impressed
20 with Ms. O'Donnell's grasp of all criminal
21 justice issues as well as her proven track
22 record in working as the U.S. Attorney for the
23 western district of this great state, with
24 local prosecutors and local police departments
25 to maximize their efforts to fight crime and
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1 particularly violent crime.
2 Ms. O'Donnell committed, time and
3 again, to focusing on the problem that the
4 upstate cities are having with the exportation
5 of violent crime into the cities of Albany,
6 Schenectady, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.
7 That these cities are facing enormous
8 challenges. And this nominee, Ms. O'Donnell,
9 as experienced as she is, is looking to use
10 that experience, expertise, team-building
11 talents and partnership with those law
12 enforcement departments to fight this very
13 important issue.
14 The committee was extremely
15 impressed and unanimously supported her
16 confirmation, and I rise to make that report
17 and to advise that we will be supporting her
18 wholeheartedly. Governor Spitzer has provided
19 us with an excellent nominee.
20 Thank you, Mr. President.
21 THE PRESIDENT: On the
22 nomination, Senator Volker.
23 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I
24 must confess that Denise has been a friend, a
25 personal friend of mine for many years. And I
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1 see next to her that one of the more
2 distinguished judges in the O'Donnell family
3 is with her.
4 I have to say that -- and I have
5 been here for the confirmation of every DCJS
6 commissioner since the change has been, and
7 there is no one, I think, more capable of
8 running the Department of Criminal Justice
9 Services than Denise O'Donnell. When her name
10 first came up, I said, "Well, there's no
11 question she'll be fine."
12 And I told her a story about the
13 other night I was at some dinner or something,
14 and a fellow who I didn't really know said to
15 me, "Who's going to be the new head of DCJS?"
16 And I said "Denise O'Donnell." And he said,
17 "She would have made a great Attorney
18 General." I said, "Yes, I know that." But I
19 said she didn't quite make it to that one.
20 But she's very bright, was
21 extremely competent as a U.S. Attorney in
22 Buffalo. And I related a story that during
23 the time when I was about to go to the
24 Republican convention -- I was a delegate -- I
25 was warned by some people from Washington, be
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1 careful, because they said that, well, the
2 previous administration was looking at people
3 who were directly involved with the
4 convention.
5 I said, "I have nothing to do to
6 worry about." "Why not?" "Well, my U.S.
7 Attorney is Denise O'Donnell."
8 And they didn't quite understand
9 what I was saying, but I made it very clear
10 that we had no concern about that because of
11 her integrity and devotion to duty.
12 So I commend the Governor -- and I
13 told him personally, by the way -- for your
14 nomination. And I'm sure we'll be able to
15 work together. I've tried to work together
16 with all the previous commissioners, and I'm
17 sure we'll be able to.
18 So good luck.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
20 Senator Volker.
21 On the nomination, Senator
22 Stachowski.
23 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 I too rise to second the nomination
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1 of Denise O'Donnell. I have the good fortune
2 of being Denise O'Donnell's Senator, so it's
3 with great pride I stand.
4 I think the Governor has made a
5 truly outstanding appointment here. I think
6 that her experience as a U.S. Attorney and in
7 all her other positions, including that as a
8 social worker, will lend great experience and
9 will make it a lot easier to do all the
10 multitasking that you have to do as the
11 Commissioner of DCJS.
12 And I know that she will do an
13 outstanding job and make all of us proud, and
14 I think we'll all be happy that this day took
15 place, that we all had the chance to get up
16 and support Denise O'Donnell, because she will
17 truly be a great commissioner.
18 Thank you.
19 THE PRESIDENT: On the
20 nomination, Senator Maziarz.
21 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
22 much, Mr. President.
23 I too rise, along with my
24 colleagues, in support of this nomination by
25 Governor Spitzer. It's a great nomination.
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1 As Senator Stachowski and the
2 others have pointed out, Ms. O'Donnell's
3 background, both in the U.S. Attorney's office
4 and extensive legal background, makes her
5 eminently qualified to be the Commissioner of
6 the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
7 And I just want to congratulate
8 her. I see that she's here today with her
9 great family.
10 And on an entirely different topic,
11 off the record, I want to welcome Judge
12 O'Donnell here and just to let him know that I
13 was here today to let his colleagues back in
14 Western New York know that I've been working
15 on Senator DeFrancisco on the most important
16 issue facing the judiciary in the State of
17 New York and particularly Western New York.
18 Thank you, Judge.
19 Thank you Mr. President.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Thompson.
21 SENATOR THOMPSON: Mr. President,
22 I rise in support of Denise O'Donnell, someone
23 I've had the pleasure of knowing for about
24 10 years now. She and her family are held in
25 very high esteem. Judge O'Donnell, Jack
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1 O'Donnell, is a very hardworking young man as
2 well.
3 And one of the good things I'd like
4 to say about Denise O'Donnell is that when she
5 was over at the U.S. Attorney's office in
6 Western New York, she did an awesome job of
7 working with block clubs and neighborhood
8 associations, which I believe are the
9 foundation for the social fabric in many of
10 our neighborhoods.
11 She took a very strong liking to
12 many of the neighborhood associations, helping
13 to work to establish the Weed and Seed program
14 in Western New York and helping to have
15 roundtables and advisory committees with a
16 number of stakeholders.
17 And I believe, as my colleague
18 across the aisle talked about the upstate
19 crime problem, I believe if she takes that
20 similar strategy in working with law
21 enforcement, also with the judiciary in
22 addition to the neighborhood associations, we
23 can finally have safer communities in upstate.
24 Because, for example, in Buffalo
25 over the last year there's been a rise in
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1 violent crime. One of the things that I'm
2 working on right now is to work with Mayor
3 Byron Brown to get more police officers on the
4 street, because to me it's unacceptable for
5 Western New York to have some of the highest
6 crime rates while New York City enjoys one of
7 the safest crime rates in America.
8 I believe we can change that. And
9 hopefully, with her nomination, in addition to
10 working with the Governor and local mayors
11 upstate, that we can make Western New York
12 safer again. Thank you.
13 And I strongly support her
14 nomination.
15 THE PRESIDENT: On the
16 nomination, Senator Schneiderman.
17 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 Once again, I rise with great pride
20 in our new Governor for his nomination of
21 Denise O'Donnell.
22 And I think that the support from
23 farthest fringes of the political spectrum, as
24 represented by Senator Maziarz's comments,
25 reflects the fact that we have someone who has
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1 the overview, the experience, the competence
2 and the vision to bring together all of the
3 forces you need to bring together to actually
4 reform the criminal justice system in a
5 positive way.
6 We have had tremendous success in
7 some areas in New York State in crime
8 reduction in recent years, but we've had some
9 areas where we have serious problems. A new
10 report that just came out shows that the
11 increase in gun-related crimes outside of
12 New York City has jumped 22 percent in recent
13 years. There's a very serious problem that
14 has to be addressed.
15 We have to have a commonsense
16 approach to gun violence, we have to have a
17 commonsense approach to sentencing reform, and
18 we have to deal with the issues of police
19 practices to make sure that all of our
20 citizens have confidence in law enforcement,
21 in the fact that they believe they can be
22 treated equally and fairly and will come
23 forward to cooperate with the police.
24 Denise O'Donnell understands that
25 law enforcement and crime prevention is not
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1 just a matter for the professionals, but it's
2 something that we all have to share in, in all
3 communities in New York State.
4 I cannot think of a more qualified,
5 better suited person to take over this agency,
6 this set of agencies at this point in our
7 history. And again, the Governor is putting
8 together an incredible team to take New York
9 to the next level. It's with great pride that
10 I rise to support the nomination of Denise
11 O'Donnell.
12 THE PRESIDENT: On the
13 nomination, Senator Rath.
14 SENATOR RATH: Yes, I rise to add
15 my support and a second for Denise O'Donnell's
16 new position and to say how proud Western
17 New York is of you, Denise.
18 We have known you for many years.
19 You and I have personally crossed paths so
20 many times out on the speaking circuit and out
21 in the community. And we've held you in the
22 highest esteem from the very beginning.
23 And now, to see the Governor
24 holding you in his high esteem and appointing
25 you to this wonderful position, makes all of
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1 Western New York proud.
2 Thank you for your willingness to
3 serve.
4 THE PRESIDENT: On the
5 nomination, Senator Adams.
6 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 I too rise in support of
9 Commissioner O'Donnell. I thank my
10 counterpart across the aisle, Senator
11 Nozzolio. He held hearings yesterday that
12 allowed us an opportunity to speak and
13 question the commissioner.
14 I believe when you look at
15 technology and ensuring that the upstate
16 region can deal with the issue of technology
17 in some of these smaller police forces, as we
18 deal with crime and violence and youth
19 violence in the upstate region -- I believe
20 Commissioner O'Donnell not only brings the
21 know-how but the spirit to ensure that it is
22 carried out fairly and appropriately.
23 And we look forward to assisting
24 her, particularly on the Crime Victims
25 Committee, to allow her to do her job and to
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1 partner with her and to be a partner in
2 dealing with the issue of crime throughout the
3 entire state.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 THE PRESIDENT: On the
6 nomination, Senator Montgomery.
7 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank
8 you, Mr. President.
9 I rise to also second the
10 nomination, and I join my colleagues in
11 commending the Governor on this appointment.
12 This candidate, Ms. O'Donnell, has
13 experiences that are so appropriate, I think.
14 And she is well-prepared because she's had --
15 she has an MSW, which I think is extremely
16 important for this particular area, as well as
17 the fact that she has her law and criminal
18 justice background and experience.
19 So I look forward to working with
20 you, Commissioner. And I think that this
21 really is such a great time in our history to
22 have you there, because you understand both
23 the front end as well as the back end. And we
24 deal with both of those in trying to change
25 the environment as it relates to criminal
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1 activity in our state.
2 So I'm very, very happy to second
3 this nomination and also to say that I'm fully
4 prepared and looking forward to being able to
5 work together with the commissioner to help
6 her shape and reshape our thinking and our
7 approach and our outcomes as it relates to the
8 environment around criminal justice issues.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 THE PRESIDENT: On the
11 nomination, Senator Perkins.
12 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very
13 much.
14 I want to briefly second the
15 nomination and to commend her candidacy.
16 She's, I believe, a visionary choice, and I
17 know that she will be very responsive,
18 especially on issues of reentry. And I look
19 forward to working with her in her new
20 capacity.
21 And I want to thank her publicly
22 for already reaching out to my office in
23 response to some of the concerns that I raised
24 with her earlier.
25 So thank you very much, and
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1 congratulations.
2 THE PRESIDENT: On the nomination
3 of Denise O'Donnell as Commissioner for the
4 Division of Criminal Justice Services, all in
5 favor please signify by saying aye.
6 (Response of "Aye.")
7 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
8 (No response.)
9 THE PRESIDENT: The nomination is
10 confirmed.
11 Denise O'Donnell is joined today in
12 the chamber by her aforementioned husband, the
13 Honorable John F. O'Donnell, who is a judge in
14 the integrated Family Court system of Western
15 New York.
16 She's also joined by her son, Jack,
17 and her daughter, Maura.
18 She has been an outstanding public
19 servant, a crime fighter in crime prevention,
20 victims' rights, public policy with respect to
21 law enforcement, and today is now confirmed as
22 the Commissioner for the Division of Criminal
23 Justice Services.
24 Denise, congratulations. You have
25 taken on an awesome task, and we wish you our
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1 best.
2 (Applause.)
3 THE PRESIDENT: And we thank
4 Senator Johnson, Senator Nozzolio and Senators
5 Volker, Stachowski, Maziarz, Thompson, Rath,
6 Adams, Schneiderman, Montgomery and Perkins
7 for their nominations.
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
10 the New York State Housing Finance Agency and
11 director of the State of New York Mortgage
12 Agency, Judd S. Levy, of New York City.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Move the
14 nomination, please.
15 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor on
16 the nomination.
17 (Response of "Aye.")
18 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
19 (No response.)
20 THE PRESIDENT: Judd S. Levy is
21 hereby confirmed to his membership on the
22 Housing Finance Agency and director of the
23 State of New York Mortgage Agency.
24 Senator Skelos.
25 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
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1 if we could return to motions and resolutions,
2 there's Resolution 1054 at the desk, by
3 Senator Hassell-Thompson.
4 Could we have the title read, open
5 it for cosponsorship, and move for its
6 immediate adoption.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
8 will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
10 Hassell-Thompson, Legislative Resolution
11 Number 1054, mourning the death of the
12 Honorable Jane Bolin, the first
13 African-American woman judge in the United
14 States of America.
15 THE PRESIDENT: On the
16 resolution, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
17 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
18 you, Mr. President.
19 I rise to ask my colleagues to
20 mourn with me the death of an extraordinary
21 woman, one who I think warrants our
22 consideration and our time in this chamber.
23 You have heard that the Honorable
24 Jane Bolin was the first African-American
25 woman judge in the United States of America,
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1 and she is my hero. She died January 8, 2007,
2 at the age of 98. And in honor of Black
3 History Month, I believe her life should be
4 celebrated.
5 Jane Bolin graduated from high
6 school in Poughkeepsie, New York. And in this
7 chamber, those of us who live in certain areas
8 are very possessive of the people that come
9 from the districts woe serve. So,
10 Poughkeepsie, be proud of Jane Bolin today.
11 Jane Bolin came from a history of
12 education. Her father was an attorney and was
13 the first African-American graduate of
14 Williams College. Jane Bolin entered
15 Wellesley in 1924, one of the only two
16 African-American freshmen women, and she
17 graduated in 1928 as a Wellesley scholar.
18 Jane Bolin matriculated, after much
19 dissent from her dad from going into the legal
20 profession, from Yale University in 1931,
21 becoming the first African-American woman to
22 graduate from Yale Law School.
23 Jane Bolin was appointed in 1939 by
24 Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to be a judge of the
25 Domestic Relations Court, later to be named
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1 the Family Court, where she served with
2 distinction for forty years. And in her work
3 as the first African-American woman judge, she
4 viewed the many different kinds of legal
5 trouble a family could experience.
6 And during her years on the bench,
7 Judge Bolin brought revolutionary changes to
8 New York's legal bureaucracy. Among them were
9 the assignment of probation officers to
10 individuals without regard to race or
11 religion, and the assurance that private
12 childcare agencies receive public funding and
13 that they must accept children regardless of
14 their race, ethnicity, or religious
15 background.
16 Judge Bolin, I believe, is worthy
17 not because she was the first African-American
18 to graduate from Yale, certainly not because
19 she was the first African-American to be a
20 judge in the United States of America. But I
21 think that, in Women's History Month, Jane
22 Bolin is an example of womanhood that should
23 be proclaimed by all.
24 And so therefore I submit this
25 resolution for your consideration and ask you
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1 to mourn with me her death but to celebrate
2 the life of Jane Bolin in this chamber today.
3 Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
5 you, Senator.
6 The question is on the resolution.
7 All in favor signify by saying aye.
8 (Response of "Aye.")
9 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Opposed,
10 nay.
11 (No response.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The
13 resolution is adopted.
14 The resolution is open for
15 cosponsorship. If you do not want to be a
16 cosponsor, please notify the desk.
17 Senator Skelos.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
19 if you would recognize Senator Farley. Thank
20 you.
21 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you very
22 much, Senator Skelos.
23 And thank you, Madam President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
25 you, Senator.
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1 SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
2 Senator Golden, Madam President, I move to
3 commit Senate Print 459, Calendar Number 270,
4 to the Committee on Finance.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: So
6 ordered.
7 SENATOR FARLEY: Madam President,
8 on behalf of Senator Seward, I move to
9 recommit Senate Print Number 1656, Calendar
10 Number 119, to the Committee on Local
11 Government, with instructions to strike out
12 the enacting clause.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: So
14 ordered.
15 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
17 Skelos.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
19 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading
20 of the calendar, please.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The
22 Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 166, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 2375, an
25 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
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1 including.
2 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside,
3 please.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
5 is laid aside.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 210, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 1236, an
8 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
9 relation to age of driver's license.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect one year after it shall
14 have become law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays,
19 1. Senator DeFrancisco recorded in the
20 negative.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 265, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 2510, an
25 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
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1 authorizing.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect on the first of April.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
10 Farley, to explain his vote.
11 SENATOR FARLEY: Just quickly to
12 explain my vote.
13 This is a very unique piece of
14 legislation, one that goes back with Senator
15 Skelos and myself so many years. It's been
16 vetoed twice by prior governors. It's got 61
17 sponsors. I don't think you'll see another
18 piece of legislation in years.
19 It permits senior citizens to take
20 courses on a space-available basis. I expect
21 that we have a Governor that will sign it.
22 And I urge my colleagues on the
23 other side of the aisle who are sponsors of
24 this legislation to get it out of the
25 Assembly. They were always worried that it
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1 would get vetoed again; that's why it didn't
2 get out.
3 But it's a good piece of
4 legislation. I think this is the year it's
5 going to become law.
6 Thank you, Madam President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
8 you, Senator Farley. You will be recorded in
9 the affirmative.
10 Announce the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays,
12 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 280, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 1897, an
17 act to authorize the Commissioner of General
18 Services.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
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1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 284, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 3052, an
6 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
7 prohibiting employers.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 315, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 3548, an
20 act to amend the Retirement and Social
21 Security Law, in relation to the employment of
22 retired persons.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
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1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 318, by Senator Stachowski, Senate Print 944,
10 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
11 criminal impersonation.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect on the first of
16 November.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 319, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
25 1825, an act to amend the Penal Law, in
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1 relation to payment of reparation.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 327, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 2949, an
14 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
15 enhancing the penalties.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 33. This
19 act shall take effect on the first of
20 November.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. Nays,
25 2. Senators Montgomery and Perkins recorded
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1 in the negative.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 329, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 3079,
6 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
7 criminal impersonation in the first degree.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 332, by Senator Young, Senate Print 3245, an
20 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
21 establishing the offense of promoting and
22 possessing.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
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1 act shall take effect on the first of
2 November.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 351, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 3544, an
11 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to
12 the date for the spring primary.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator,
21 do you want to explain your vote?
22 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
24 Thompson, to explain his vote.
25 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, I rise to
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1 explain my vote, Madam Chairwoman.
2 I think this is a very important
3 law, for a couple of quick reasons. One, over
4 the last three presidential cycles, I've had
5 the opportunity to be involved with a number
6 of presidential campaigns. And the last one
7 was really disturbing because New York State
8 was really almost out of the process.
9 And I think the effort to move the
10 presidential primary up is very good. This is
11 one of the largest states in the union. I
12 think it gives us the opportunity to do some
13 amazing things.
14 We have a number of people that are
15 interested in leading this country from both
16 sides of the aisle. And I think if we were to
17 allow it to stay later, that we would have
18 been an afterthought in this process. And I
19 believe it gives us an opportunity to do that.
20 Thank you. And I rise in support
21 of this. I think it's a great opportunity.
22 The only thing I was going to say,
23 too, is that the whole issue -- and I know we
24 probably won't be able to deal with it this
25 cycle. One of the things that I don't like
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1 about the New York process as relates to this
2 bigger prize is the fact that so many people
3 have to go out in November and December to
4 help candidates get on the ballot. And I know
5 that one of the candidates who ran before,
6 McCain, had frustration with that. And I
7 think that that's something that should be
8 looked at down the road as well.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
11 you, Senator Thompson. You will be recorded
12 as a yes.
13 Announce the results.
14 Oh, I'm sorry. Senator
15 Hassell-Thompson, would you like to explain
16 your vote?
17 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes.
18 I'm the Thompson with the Hassell. Yes, I
19 would, Madam President, just briefly.
20 I understand that if New York State
21 doesn't do something that in the process of --
22 in this election process, by the time they get
23 to New York, they may decide that there's no
24 need to even bother with the state of
25 New York. And I understand all of that.
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1 But I also, as one someone who has
2 spent a lot of years just encouraging people
3 to get out and vote and to just bring people
4 out, I understand that the winter months are
5 just more difficult. And that may not be
6 relevant for some people in this chamber, but
7 it's very relevant for me.
8 And so therefore, I just think that
9 this change is just not something that I can
10 support. I mean, I understand that it will
11 pass. I just need to go on the record as
12 saying that I don't think this is appropriate
13 in terms of some neighborhoods and communities
14 that I work in and have responsibility to get
15 people out to the polls.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
17 you, Senator Hassell-Thompson. You will be
18 recorded as a no.
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays,
21 1. Senator Hassell-Thompson recorded in the
22 negative.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
24 is passed.
25 Senator Skelos, that concludes the
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1 noncontroversial reading. The bills are
2 ready.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Madam
4 President. If we could go to the
5 controversial reading of the calendar.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 166, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 2375, an
10 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
11 including.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
13 Sabini.
14 SENATOR SABINI: Madam President,
15 if the sponsor would yield for a question.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
17 Skelos, will you yield for a question?
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, Madam
19 President.
20 SENATOR SABINI: Thank you.
21 Through you, Madam President, I just had a
22 question regarding the implementation of this.
23 Is it the sponsor's intention that
24 the DNA sample would be taken upon the arrest
25 under these convictions?
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1 SENATOR SKELOS: No, upon
2 conviction.
3 SENATOR SABINI: Madam President,
4 on the bill.
5 My concern was that the DNA being
6 kept in a database, rather than a hard copy
7 like a fingerprint, would not be returned to
8 the person who was charged if a conviction was
9 not upheld. And I'm concerned about the
10 privacy rights of someone who was found not
11 guilty.
12 But based on the answer to the
13 question, I feel I can vote for this bill.
14 Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
16 you, Senator Sabini.
17 Does any other member wish to be
18 heard on this bill? Then the debate is
19 closed.
20 The Secretary will ring the bell.
21 The Secretary will read the last
22 section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Call the
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1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
4 Duane, to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam
6 President.
7 I have concerns about this
8 legislation. And as many of you know, I am
9 one of the very few in the Legislature who
10 voted against the DNA expansion legislation.
11 Now, I feel that DNA, when used
12 correctly, is in fact a wonderful tool --
13 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Excuse
14 me.
15 It's noisy in the chamber. Could
16 people please keep the noise to a minimum?
17 Senator Duane.
18 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam
19 President.
20 So DNA, when used correctly, can be
21 a wonderful tool. However, when used
22 incorrectly, it can be a nightmare.
23 I also think that expanding the DNA
24 database too quickly is bad public policy. We
25 still haven't settled on where we're going to
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1 store it and where we're going to get people
2 trained to handle the samples. And that was
3 based on the old legislation.
4 So I can't see why we should expand
5 it further when there's so many unanswered
6 questions about the original DNA expansion.
7 Not to mention it's very expensive, and we
8 have limited resources to do this work
9 correctly.
10 I'd like to see some discussions
11 and hearings on how the old legislation has
12 been implemented before we put any more into
13 our DNA work in this state.
14 And based on those reasons, I feel
15 compelled to vote no, Madam President.
16 Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
18 you, Senator Duane. You will be recorded as a
19 negative.
20 Announce the results.
21 Senator Rath, to explain her vote.
22 SENATOR RATH: No, I have a point
23 I want to make, not --
24 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Okay.
25 Thank you, Senator.
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1 May we have some order in the
2 chamber, please.
3 Senator Skelos.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could
5 announce the results, please.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Announce
7 the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
9 the negative on Calendar Number 166 are
10 Senators Adams, Connor, Montgomery, Parker,
11 Perkins and Serrano.
12 Absent from voting: Senator C.
13 Kruger.
14 Ayes, 54. Nays, 6.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: The bill
16 is passed.
17 Senator Skelos.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
19 is there any further business at the desk?
20 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
21 Rath.
22 SENATOR RATH: Yes, Madam
23 President. I'd like the record to reflect
24 that had I been in the chamber yesterday, I
25 would have voted no on Calendar Number 254,
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1 Senate Bill 2391.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
4 you, Senator. The record will so reflect.
5 Senator Montgomery, why do you
6 rise?
7 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Madam
8 President. I was in the Crime and Corrections
9 Committee meeting yesterday, and had I been in
10 the chamber, I would have voted no on Calendar
11 Numbers 245, 246, and 218.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
13 you, Senator. The record will so reflect.
14 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Senator
16 Skelos.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
18 there being no further business to come before
19 the Senate, I move we stand adjourned until
20 Monday, March 26th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
21 days being legislative days.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT YOUNG: Thank
23 you, Senator.
24 On motion, the Senate stands
25 adjourned until Monday, March 26th, at
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1 3:00 p.m., intervening days being legislative
2 days.
3 (Whereupon, at 1:13 p.m., the
4 Senate adjourned.)
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