Robert Bennett

Mr. BENNETT

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask how much time would the Senator like?

Mr. BENNETT. Now, if other amendments arise, we can deal with them, but at the moment this is what we believe we have before us.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I have no objection.

Mr. BENNETT. I ask unanimous consent that following the vote on final passage, the Senate insist on its amendments, request a conference with the House, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate to consist of the members of the subcommittee and Senators Stevens and Byrd.

Mr. BENNETT. It is my understanding--if this unanimous consent request is agreed to--that debate on the Daschle amendment will cease at 4:30; we will then address the other amendments--only two of which I know of would require a rollcall vote--and if the majority leader and the Democratic leader so determine, we would then have a series of stacked votes on those three amendments.

Mr. BENNETT. It would be my intention, when Senator Harkin arrives to speak on the Daschle amendment, to ask that the Senator from North Dakota summarize his remarks to allow the Senator from Iowa to speak. I ask if the Senator from North Dakota would agree to do that.

Mr. BENNETT. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the time running on the Daschle amendment be set aside and reserved.

Mr. BENNETT. I thank the assistant Democratic leader and repeat his plea to Senators on our side of the aisle. If there are additional amendments, the time to call them to our attention is rapidly running out. Mr. CRAIG addressed the Chair.

Mr. BENNETT. And that we now allow the Senator from North Dakota to proceed with his amendment.

Mr. BENNETT. I am always happy to engage in a little humor with my friend. We served together as chairman and ranking member on another subcommittee. I assure him I am always happy to hear him at any time on any subject. To move the bill forward, I have checked with Senator Kohl and he is fully in support of the Dorgan amendment. I have no objection to it. I ask unanimous consent that it be agreed to.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I see the senior Senator from Delaware here. I don't think he will talk about mad cow disease. I am happy to yield what time he might require for his statement. I ask him in advance if he will tell us how much time he will use. I send the message out to those enjoying lunch, or those who are at the White House, or wherever, that we intend to finish this bill today. The assistant Democratic leader has told me that it is his desire from the other side that we finish this bill today. So I hope Senators who have amendments will come to the floor in a timely fashion. We will do the best we can to deal with the amendments in a timely fashion so we can finish the bill and get it on its way. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum and request that the time for the quorum call be charged equally to both sides.

Mr. BENNETT. If the Senator will stay on the floor for a moment longer. If he doesn't talk when he comes back at 2 o'clock, we will accept the amendment now, at 1 o'clock; is that acceptable?

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, in an effort to establish a glidepath for us to bring this particular airplane in for a landing, in consultation with the assistant Democratic leader, I intend to offer a unanimous consent request that would set a time agreement for the debate on the country-of-origin labeling amendment. It would be my intention, once that time has expired, that we would turn to the amendment the Senator from North Dakota and the Senator from Montana wish to offer. At that time, I would be prepared to attach a time agreement to their offering of that amendment, as well as offering a time agreement to attach to the amendment to be offered by the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy. As far as I know, those are the only three amendments remaining that would require a rollcall vote. So I say to the Senator from North Dakota, I would ask him to support my unanimous consent request that I will now propound, with the commitment on my part that as soon as the time has expired on the country-of-origin labeling amendment, we would then go to his amendment. I think the appropriate thing would be for him to offer his amendment at that time and then go directly into debate of that amendment. With that explanation, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time until 4:30 this afternoon be equally divided for debate on the Daschle amendment No. 2078; provided, that at 4:30 the amendment be temporarily set aside and a vote occur in relation to the amendment at a time to be determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the Democratic leader; provided further, that no amendments be in order to the amendment prior to the vote.

Mr. BENNETT. I understand there are a number of amendments to be offered. Senator Dorgan has approached me about one he would like to offer. I have no particular preference as to the order in which the amendments come. I understand some Senators wish to make comments before we get into the amending process. I do not see the Senators in the Chamber who told me they planned to make some kind of a statement. Senator Kohl and I are open for business.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I am thinking we should not plan on any votes until maybe 2 or 2:30. I understand there are some conflicts going on on both sides of the aisle. I would say to the Senator, if he is going to insist on a rollcall vote, we should stack it at that time. I have a problem with the Senator's amendment in that the offset he cites is from buildings and facilities at the Department of Agriculture. One can say, well, you can always find an extra $5 million, but that is an account that is committed to lease payments and other contracts that have been established for a while. It is $5 million, which in the scheme of things is not all that much money, but the offset is a bit problematical. We did fund this program at the requested level of $10 million, so it is going above the level. These are the only comments I have on the amendment. I say to the Senator, if he insists on a rollcall vote, we possibly could set a time some time after 2 or 2:30 where the votes might occur, and I would hope to stack some votes at that time on amendments.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I have no objection.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I thank my ranking member for his thoughtful analysis of this and concur. We will be happy to look through the bill and see if we can find an offset and, as he said, if not this year, then in future years, because I do think the issue the Senator from New Mexico has raised is a legitimate one. Amendment No. 2115 Withdrawn

Mr. BENNETT. I ask unanimous consent that we resume consideration of H.R. 2673.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from Idaho in opposition to the Daschle amendment.

Mr. BENNETT. Madam President, have the yeas and nays been ordered?

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BENNETT. Senator Cochran is in the cloakroom and will be coming on to the floor momentarily. I simply want to once again apologize to him for our inadvertence in leaving his amendment off the list. I appreciate the indulgence of Senators to have this additional 5 to 10 minutes for the opportunity to dispose of this particular amendment.

Mr. BENNETT. When Senator Harkin arrives--we have been saving time for him--I ask if the Senator from North Dakota would summarize his statement at that point and allow Senator Harkin to make his comments on the Daschle amendment, after which we could then return to the Dorgan amendment.

Mr. BENNETT

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space be authorized to meet on Thursday, November 6, 2003, at 2:30 p.m. on Lunar Exploration.