Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have had discussions with my own leader about PNTR and about getting on with appropriations bills. We had several discussions. I have had discussions with the minority leader's floor staff as to whether or not we could get back on those two appropriations bills, energy and water and Treasury-Postal Service. That was the reason why I wanted to know what had happened when I went off the floor, because I have had these several discussions. I had not finally agreed to this. The agreement that has been entered into, I had not finally agreed to that because I wanted some definite understandings about Treasury-Postal Service and energy and water before I agreed.

Mr. BYRD. As I understand it, when we get back, we are going to operate daily on a double track, with PNTR on the first track and appropriations bills on the second track.

Mr. BYRD. Well, I will just add in the last moment here that we are almost at the complete mercy of the executive branch in situations such as that. The executive branch comes in and they want a bill or two added in the conference report, and I think we ought to avoid that. That is what I am trying to discourage here. I have no objection.

Mr. BYRD

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I simply cannot understand what is going on here. I wish someone would tell me. I think we had a unanimous vote a little earlier here on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the consideration of the Treasury-Postal Service appropriations bill. Why don't we vote? Why don't we vote? As the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, I can say to my colleagues that Senator Ted Stevens and I--the chairman and I--and the various chairmen and ranking members of the subcommittees on Appropriations have worked hard--have worked hard--to bring these appropriations bills to the Senate floor. We need to get on with acting on these appropriations bills so that we can send them to the President. I can tell you what is going to happen. I have seen it happen all too often in recent years. We don't get the appropriations bills down to the President one by one, so that he can sign them or veto them, which he has a right to do. What we do is delay and delay and delay. As a result, when the time comes that the leaders and Senators have their backs to the wall, and there is a big rush on to finalize the work so Senators can go home and the Senate can adjourn sine die, then everything is crammed into one big bill, one omnibus bill. I am telling you, you would be amazed at what happens in the conferences. You would be amazed to see what occurs in those conferences. Entire bills are sometimes put into the conference report--entire bills, bills that may or may not have passed either House. And the administration is there also. The executive branch has its representatives there. They are there for the purpose of getting administration measures or items that the executive branch wants put into those conference reports. The items may not have had a word of debate in either House. Neither House will have had an opportunity to offer amendments on bills or to debate measures, and yet those measures will be put, lock, stock, and barrel, into the conference reports. Then the conference report comes back to the Senate, where Senators cannot vote on amendments to that conference report. So Senators, as a result, have no opportunity to debate these matters that are crammed into the conference reports in those conferences. They will have had no opportunity to debate them. They will have had no opportunity to amend them. They will have had no opportunity to vote on parts thereof. Yet Senators in this Chamber are confronted, then, with one package, and you take it or you leave it. You vote for it or you vote against it. We have experienced that on a number of occasions. When we were considering the fiscal year 1997 appropriations, we had a conference report on the Defense Appropriations Bill and five additional appropriations bills were crammed into that conference report in conference, five appropriations bills. I believe two of them had never been taken up in the Senate. I believe two of them had had some debate, had been brought up, but had not been finally acted upon. I intend at a future time to have all of this material researched so I can speak to it. Today, I recall there were five appropriations bills crammed into that conference report on the DOD Appropriations Bill. It was brought back to the Senate where Senators were unable to amend it and have votes on parts of it. And if Senators think that was bad, in fiscal year 1999, eight different appropriations bills were put into the final omnibus package. In addition thereto, a tax bill was put into that package in the conference. I believe that tax bill involved about $9.2 billion. That was put into the conference report. It had never had a day, an hour, or a minute of debate in this Senate. There were no amendments offered to it. Eight appropriations bills and a tax bill were all wrapped into one conference report in FY 1999, tied with a little ribbon, and Senators were confronted with having to vote for or against, that conference report--take it or leave it! That was right at the end of the session when many Senators wanted to go home. They had town meetings scheduled; they wanted to go home. When that kind of circumstance arises, we are faced with a situation of having to vote on a bill that may contain thousands of pages which we have not had an opportunity to read. As I remember, there were 3,980 pages in that conference report. Imagine that. If the people back home knew what we were doing to them, they would run us all out of town on a rail. And we would be entitled to that honor, the way we do business here. All we do is carry on continual war in this body, continual war, each side trying to get the ups on the other side. It isn't the people's business we are concerned with. It is who can get the best of whom in the partisan battles that go on in this Chamber. A lot of new Members come over from the House where they are accustomed, I suppose, to being told by their leaders what to do and how to do. Others come here fresh from the stump. I suppose they feel this is the way it has always been done. They don't know how it used to be done. They don't know that there was a day when we used to have conferences, and it was the rule that only items could be discussed in conference which had passed one or the other of the two bodies. Nothing could be put into a conference report that had not had action in one or the other of the two bodies. Otherwise, a point of order would lie against it. I can assure you, those of you who are not on the Appropriations Committee, you ought to see what goes on in the conferences. Bills that have never passed either body, measures that have never passed either body, measures, in many instances, which are only wanted by the administration, are brought to that conference and are crammed into that conference report. The conference report comes back to the Senate. It is unamendable, and we have to take it or leave it. That is no way to do business. I regret that it has come to this, and we are getting ready to do it again. I see the handwriting on the wall. Those of you who have read the book of Daniel will remember Belshazzar having a feast with 1,000 of his lords. They drank out of the vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon. And as they were eating and drinking and having fun, Belshazzar saw a hand appear over on the wall near the candlestick. And he saw the handwriting: mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. So he sent for his wise men, his astrologers, and wanted them to tell him what this writing meant. They couldn't do it. But the Queen told Belshazzar that there was a young man in the kingdom who could indeed unravel this mystery. As a result, Daniel was sent for. He told the King what was meant by the handwriting on the wall: ``God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and the Persians.'' And that night, Belshazzar was slain and the Medes and the Persians took the kingdom. I see the handwriting on the wall: mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. I see the handwriting. We have voted unanimously in this body today to proceed to take up the appropriations bill making appropriations for the Department of Treasury-Postal Service and so forth, but we are not going to vote on that. I have asked questions around: When are we going to vote? There is no intention to vote on that today. We have another cloture vote coming up within a few minutes. If that cloture motion is approved, the Senate will then take on that subject, and the Treasury- Postal appropriations bill will go back to the calendar. We are not going to take it up. There is no intention of voting on that bill, no intention. It will go back on the calendar. Then what will happen? I see the handwriting on the wall. We will go to conference one day when we get back from the August recess. We will go to conference one day on another appropriations bill, and everything will go on that appropriations bill. I wish Daniel were here today so he could tell me exactly what the handwriting on this wall really means, but I think I know what it means. It means this bill isn't going to see the light of day until after the recess, and probably not then. In all likelihood, the Treasury-Postal Service bill will be put on a conference report, maybe on the legislative appropriations bill. This bill will go on that. As time passes, more and more appropriations bills will likely go on that in conference. So we will get another conference report back here that is loaded-- loaded--with appropriations bills. We won't know what is in them. We Senators won't know what is in those bills. We didn't know what was in the 3,980-page conference report in fiscal year 1999. We voted for it or against it blindly. I voted against it. I didn't know what was in it. That is what we are confronted with. The American people, I think, are going to write us off as being irrelevant. We don't mean anything. We just stay here and fight one another and try to get the partisan best of one another. Democrats versus Republicans, Republicans versus Democrats. Who can get the ups on the other side. The people will say we can go to hell. That is the attitude here. Hell is not such a bad word. I have seen it in the Bible, so I perhaps will not be accused of using bad language here. But that is what we are in for. That is the handwriting on the wall. We are going to replay the same old record and have these monumental conference reports come back here, unamendable, and we take them hook, line, and sinker, one vote. No amendments. We won't know what is in the bill. How is that for grown up men and women? We won't know what is in the bill because we are playing politics all the time. We are playing politics. That is why we are not getting our work done. I am not blaming that side or this side. I am just blaming both sides. We are all caught in this. I am sure the American people can't look at this body, or this Congress, and get much hope because we play politics all the time. I am sorry that things have come to this. But Congress doesn't work by the rules; the Senate doesn't operate under the rules it operated under when I came here and that existed up until a few years ago. This game has been going on and it is getting worse. It is getting worse. Mr. President, I don't intend to hold the floor any longer. I will have more to say about this. If you want to know the truth, what is said is exactly the truth. We are absolutely working a fraud on the American people. They look to this body and expect us to legislate on the problems of the country, and we are just tied in knots. We only seem to think about partisanship. I am sick and tired of that. I am sure we have to have a little of that as we go along, but it has become all partisan politics. Who can win this? If they come up with something, we have to come up with an alternative. I don't think the American people want that. I think they know more than we think they know, and I believe they are pretty aware of what is going on. We are just playing politics. That is exactly why we can't get this Treasury-Postal Service Appropriations Bill up and get it passed and send it to conference. Mark my words; we are going to play the same old game over and over again that we have played all too many times now, not passing appropriations bills, but having them all in conference put into one monumental, colossal conference report, and it is sent back here and we will vote on it and we won't know what is in the conference report. Shame! Shame on us! I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, do I have the floor?

Mr. BYRD. Under the rules, once a quorum is called off, if nobody seeks the floor, is it the requirement that the Chair put the question?

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, over the past month and a half, a brightly lit torch has made its journey through nineteen cities, carrying with it each step of the way the passionate and able spirit of the disability community. Today the torch arrives at its 20th stop along the way, our Nation's Capital, to mark the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is indeed an important day in our Nation's long history. President Franklin Roosevelt once said, ``No country, no matter how rich, can afford to waste its human resources.'' I am proud to say that the Americans with Disabilities Act lives up to President Roosevelt's objective. For 10 years now, this momentous, landmark civil rights legislation has opened new doors to the disability community. It has, at long last, allowed handicapped individuals the opportunity and the access to have their potential recognized both inside the workplace and outside in the community. It has brought the American dream within reach for the millions of American families with disabled members. Over the past decade of the ADA, we have seen dramatic changes throughout the nation in equal opportunity--from new and advanced technology allowing for greater public accommodation at places of business and in commercial establishments, to state and local government services and activities, to transportation and telecommunications technology for disabled Americans. Look around today--people with disabilities are participating to a far greater extent in their communities and are living fuller, more productive lives as students, workers, family members, and neighbors. They are dining out; cheering at football games and other sporting events, often even playing sports themselves; going to the movies; participating in state, local, and Federal Government; and raising families of their own. It is evident that that the capability of this community far outshines the challenges of a disability. I am proud that the ADA has been particularly instrumental in removing many of the barriers that would otherwise impede the ability and success of the disability community. Take the example of Casey Martin, the professional golfer from Orgeon with a rare disability that substantially limits one's ability to walk. Casey had long dreamed of playing in a PGA tour, but, because of his disability, Casey encountered a huge barrier. In these tournaments in which Casey wanted to play, the tour would not allow the use of a golf cart. When a Federal trial court in Oregon found that the PGA tour is a ``public accommodation'' and should modify their policy of no golf carts to accommodate Casey's disability, his vision became a reality. According to Casey, ``Without the ADA I never would have been able to pursue my dream of playing golf professionally.'' While for Casey Martin the ADA has meant achieving his most far- reaching goal, for other disabled Americans, the ADA has simply allowed them to live each new day with a little more ease and comfort. To name just a few areas in which the ADA has facilitated progress--access to restaurants and public restrooms, modifications to the aisles and entrances of supermarkets, assistive listening systems at places like Disney World and many theaters for the deaf and hard of hearing, and large print financial statements for those with vision impairments. Mr. President, these are the kind of simplicities in life that those without disabilities expect and take for granted, and because of the ADA, they have now come to be a part of the disability community's life too. Just as the barriers that continue to face each of us in life take many years to craft, they take many years to conquer. Together, we must find the strength and the courage to pick our battles. I commend the disability community today on their passion and their vigilance, and I celebrate with you on this 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act for all that this day has brought to your community, and for all that it will continue to bring in the years ahead. Let today recommit each of us to the ADA for all Americans.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, today, as the Senate recalls the tragic loss two years ago of two fine Capitol Police Officers, Officer Jacob J. Chestnut and Detective John M. Gibson, our hearts also bear fresh bruises from the loss of a Senator and a former Senator. Mr. President, on Saturday I traveled with several other Senators to Atlanta, GA, to attend the funeral of our late Senate colleague, Paul Coverdell. Senator Coverdell's departure from this life had been sudden. It had come without warning. Paul was only 61 and he could look forward to many fruitful years of service to the Nation and to his people. But it was not to be. The Scriptures tell us: As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, So he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. On Wednesday of last week, I journeyed to Rhode Island with several other Senators to pay our last respects to a late departed former colleague, John O. Pastore, and to commiserate with his bereaved family and a great host of friends. We said the last goodbye to a man who had given much to the service of his country and who had retired from this body 26 years ago. A great throng paid homage to the remembrance of one whom they loved and who had served them so well, as was the case with our beloved late colleague, Paul Coverdell. There was a great throng, a large church filled to overflowing. In both instances to which I have just referred, the choirs sang beautifully, the eulogies came forth from wounded hearts, the final farewells were spoken; then the crowds departed, and each person went on his or her own way to family hearth and home. Over a long life of more than 80 years I have traveled this same journey many times. It is always the same. We travel the last mile with a departed friend and we come to the end of the way, when we can go no farther. That is as far as we can go. There we must part forever-- insofar as this earthly life is concerned. From there, the loved one must go on alone, to ``The undiscovered country,'' as Shakespeare said, ``from whose bourne no traveler returns''. So it is, and so it has been since the very beginning of our race, and so it will be in all the years to come. We are here today, and gone tomorrow. The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power to know just when the clock will strike, At late or early hour. Now is the only time you have, so live, love, work with a will; Put no faith in tomorrow for the clock may then be still. Mr. President, John Pastore lived to be the ripe old age of 93; for Paul Coverdell, the grim reaper beckoned earlier, and the end came at 61. For those of us who remain on this side of the vale of trials and tears, the message from both of these lives is clear: be ready, be ready to go. William Cullen Bryant said it for you and for me: All that breathes will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh when thou art gone, the solemn brood of care plod on, and each one as before will chase his favorite phantom; . . . As one who has lived in this town of inflated egos for nearly half a century, I can testify that William Cullen Bryant had it right. I have seen the great, the near great, those who thought they were great, those who would never become great, and each incoming wave of life's sea surges forward on the sands of humanity's rocky coast, and then, just as quickly recedes into the vast emptiness of the past. But what cannot be washed away is the love and the memory of man's deeds and service to his fellowman. So, each of us will carry within ourselves the memory of Senator Pastore's, Senator Coverdell's, Officer Chestnut's, and Detective Gibson's deeds and service to his fellow man. They have touched all of us, and we have been changed by them, because it was Tennyson who said, ``I am part of all that I have met.'' And so, in this small way, they live on in our hearts and in our dedication to do good with the hours and days that remain to us. The poet John Donne expressed it well, how each man's life--and each man's death--touches ours: No man is an island, entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main; If a clod be washed away by the sea, [America] is the less, As well as if a promontory were, As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were; Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind; And therefore Never send to know for whom the bell tolls: It tolls for thee. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, last evening, the Senate completed action on the Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies. The bill was passed by a vote of 79 to 13. I commend Senator Cochran, Chairman of the Subcommittee, and Senator Kohl, the Ranking Member, for crafting this very important legislation. This bill includes many ongoing programs that are vital to the American people. It also includes a number of items to deal directly with problems that our farmers and rural residents are facing this year as they struggle to recover from natural disasters last year, and are now faced with the reality of continuing drought. Overall, in Division A, the bill provides a total of $75.6 billion in non-emergency spending for fiscal year 2001. Of that amount, a little more than $60 billion is for mandatory programs, such as Food Stamps and reimbursements to the Commodity Credit Corporation which funds a wide array of commodity, conservation, and international trade programs. The balance of the non-emergency appropriations in this bill, $14.8 billion, is directed toward discretionary programs and represents an increase of nearly $900 million above last year's level. In addition to the $75.6 billion in Division A of the bill, Division B, as passed by the Senate, contains approximately $2.2 billion in emergency agricultural disaster assistance for the nation's farmers and rural communities. I will discuss these vital programs in more detail later in these remarks. America's farmers have made this nation the breadbasket of the world. Our ability to produce plentiful safe, wholesome, and nutritious food is one of the basic foundations of economic and national security. The term ``food security'' may be little more than a vague concept to most, unfortunately not all, Americans; but in much of the world, it is an everyday reminder of the struggle to survive. The prosperity and the fate of nations throughout the history of the world are closely tied to their agricultural production capabilities. When the fields of Carthage were sown with salt by the legions of Rome, that once-great nation of northern Africa soon disappeared into the sands of the Sahara. This appropriations bill includes many of the tools American farmers need to sustain their historically high levels of production. Research, conservation, credit, and many more items important to agriculture receive much-needed funding in this bill. Programs to promote exports of U.S. agricultural products throughout the world are included in this bill. American producers, and consumers alike, benefit from the work of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, and we should all join in supporting their efforts. Agriculture exists in every part of the nation, and every Senator knows the important contributions farmers make to his or her state. When one thinks of farming, instant images of broad, flat fields of wheat or corn, spreading from horizon to horizon, easily come to mind. Visions of combines combing the Great Plains and of massive grain elevators reaching to Midwestern skies are a solid part of our national consciousness. But farming does not only exist in the flat plains of Kansas or the rolling hills of Iowa or in many of the other states most familiar to Americans as ``Farm Country.'' Agriculture exists in the tropics of Hawaii and the bogs of Maine. Agriculture exists in the orchards of the Pacific Northwest and in the groves of Florida. Agriculture even extends to the vegetable fields and reindeer herds of my Chairman's state, Alaska. West Virginia is not famous as an agricultural state, but West Virginia agriculture is changing to meet the new demands of consumers. The future of agriculture includes diversification to meet the changing demands of consumers at home and abroad. Farmers in West Virginia, through the help of the Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center at Beaver, West Virginia, and the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture at Leetown, West Virginia, are but two examples of the diversification of agriculture in my state and I am glad this bill provides increased funding for these two facilities. In addition to the regular programs funded in this bill, I would also like to mention a few of the items included to address special problems farmers and rural residents have to face this year. Last year, Congress provided more than $8 billion in emergency funding to help farmers and rural areas respond to adverse weather and depressed commodity prices. This year, all indicators point to continuing drought conditions and prices for some commodities have fallen more than ever in history. While it is important for Congress to respond to emergencies, it is equally, or perhaps more, important to prepare for them. Last year, many livestock producers in West Virginia suffered horrible losses from drought and, in many cases, had to liquidate their herds at depressed prices. Congress finally provided assistance to cover the costs of feed, but in many cases the assistance was too little and, more tragically, too late. Accordingly, I met with USDA Secretary Dan Glickman this spring and outlined for him my plan to put in place a program that will help prevent a repeat of some of the losses suffered by West Virginia farmers and farmers all across America last year. The Secretary agreed that action now is proper to provide him the tools necessary to mitigate losses that are likely to occur this summer. While it is beyond the power of the Congress to overcome the awesome powers of nature, it is within our power, and our responsibility, to provide assistance to the American people in the most effective manner possible. Where the likelihood of drought is certain, where acts of prevention are possible, there lies our responsibility and I want to thank my colleagues for supporting an amendment I offered to put these preventive tools in place. Pursuant to my amendment, this bill provides $450 million for livestock assistance this year in the event drought conditions continue to worsen. These funds will only be available in counties which receive an emergency designation by the President or the Secretary. In the event no emergencies are designated, none of these funds will be spent. On the other hand, the ounce of prevention we provide in this bill may easily outweigh the costs producers, and possibly taxpayers, will later realize unless we act now to help mitigate losses that are likely to occur. Drought conditions not only affect production agriculture, they drain water resources necessary for basic community services in rural areas. Currently, drought conditions in part of the nation are so severe that rural water systems are at risk from depleted supplies, wells will not function, and the increased demand for water have compounded this problem to the point of crisis. I am pleased that my amendment also provides $50 million for rural communities that are at-risk due to natural emergencies or due to threats to public health or the environment. Similar to the livestock provision mentioned above, a portion of these funds would be limited to counties which have received an emergency designation by the President or the Secretary and for applications responding to the specific emergency. In addition to addressing problems related to drought, my amendment, as contained in this bill includes a number of other provisions. Included is $443 million to help dairy farmers recover from the current collapse in market prices. Also, $58 million is provided for compensation to producers from losses due to pests and disease such as Plum Pox, the Mexican Fruit Fly, Pierce's Disease, and Citrus Canker. During floor consideration of the bill, a manager's package of some fifteen amendments was adopted to provide additional emergency agricultural assistance to farmers across the nation. That package of manager's amendments total approximately $1 billion, the largest portion of which, $450 million, will provide emergency assistance to producers who have suffered losses from recent natural disasters. This assistance will help offset losses from the heavy rains that recently affected more than one million acres of farmland in North Dakota, as well as losses in other parts of the country affected by drought. Additionally, $175 million was included to assist apple producers who have suffered from a combination of both market and quality losses; $40 million was provided to help compensate for losses due to citrus canker; $70 million was provided to fund emergency watershed operations in a number of states; an additional $50 million was included for community facility needs associated with losses from Hurricane Floyd and related storms; and the balance of items in this package will assist producers and rural communities across the nation in a variety of ways. Overall, this bill strikes a good balance for providing funds to meet regular, ongoing needs and to prepare for problems that we are likely to experience later this year. I especially thank Senator Stevens and Senator Cochran, Chairmen of the Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, respectively, and all members of the Appropriations Committee for their support of provisions which I authored that will provide the Secretary of Agriculture the ability to meet the developing drought conditions this summer. By meeting this challenge head on, we will be helping producers avoid a repeat of some of the terrible losses incurred last year. I support this bill, and I urge all Senators to support this bill. Mr. President, I yield the floor. oyster industry in connecticut

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on Wednesday, the day before yesterday, I went with a delegation to the State of Rhode Island for the funeral of our former colleague, John O. Pastore. I was accompanied by Senators Jack Reed and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and Joseph Biden of Delaware. Former Senators Claiborne Pell and Harris Wofford were also present. The Catholic Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception was uplifting. John Pastore, Jr., and grandson, Gregory, spoke warmly of our former colleague. Senator Ted Kennedy was especially eloquent in his remembrance of Senator Pastore. It was obvious that this man was much beloved by his family and community. Mr. President, I can recollect John Pastore's departing speech from the Senate. There he remarked that he had wanted to be a physician, but that his father had died when he was nine, and he had to help raise his four brothers and sisters and support his mother, who worked as a seamstress. How proud he must have been of his son, John, Jr., a Notre Dame graduate, a physician and cardiologist. So the son became what the father--John O. Pastore, the Senator--had wanted to be. Instead of being a physician, Senator Pastore studied law at night at Boston's Northeastern University, eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree. This is an effort I can especially appreciate. At age 36, he became Governor of the State of Rhode Island, and was reelected twice before winning a Senate seat in 1950, where he served for 26 years. Senator Pastore was a strong supporter of the National Defense establishment, with a great appreciation for the U.S. Navy--and especially the nuclear Navy. As the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, he was equally mindful of the power, and the terror, of all matters nuclear, and worked hard for passage of the first nuclear test ban treaty, which barred nuclear tests in the atmosphere. John Pastore and I served for some 18 years together in the Senate. John was an effective and fiery orator. My recollection is that not many members were willing to take him on in a debate, because of his quick mind and fierce demeanor. Sometimes he would finish his debating points, leaving his opponent's arguments in shreds, and stride off the floor. But, even then he maintained his self-deprecating sense of humor--sometimes remarking under his breath, ``If I had been a foot taller, I would have been president.'' Mr. President, I wonder why he would have wanted to be President. He was an extraordinary Senator. But he may well have become President had he wanted to do so. He was the keynote speaker at the 1964 Democratic Convention. According to news reports, his 36-minute speech was interrupted by applause 36 times, and he enjoyed a brief consideration for the Vice- Presidential nomination that eventually went to Senator Hubert Humphrey. John Pastore's priorities were love of, and dedicated service to, God, Country, and family--especially family. I am told that John had the desk in his office equipped with a special buzzer that rang out to alert him whenever Elena, his wife since 1941, would call. I am told that no matter how important a visitor he might have in his office even if it had been Admiral Rickover, if the buzzer went off John Pastore would interrupt his meeting to take the call from ``Mama''--as he affectionately referred to his wife--for a list of groceries, perhaps, to pick up on the way home or some other domestic chore. After carefully writing down her instructions, he would turn to his visitor and resume the meeting. John Pastore was the Chairman of the Communications Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. He was instrumental in the formation of legislation that created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service. John Pastore was opposed to violence on television and, especially, in children's programming. The deterioration of TV programming to what it is today must have been upsetting to him. John Pastore's commitment to God, to competence, and to compassion, set a high standard. He used these commitments, I believe, to promote justice and peace. He was so very proud that his son John, Jr., who served as secretary of the Boston-based International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. So on Wednesday, I took the opportunity along with my illustrious colleagues whom I have named, to extend, on behalf of the Senate, my sympathy and prayers to John's wife, Elena, his son, John, Jr., and his daughters, Francesca and Louise. What a great outpouring that was on Wednesday--a huge church auditorium, and a great crowd. What a wonderful family. I was so very impressed with Mrs. Pastore, by her grace and poise, and with the two daughters and with that son, John Jr., the physician, which John himself had wanted to be. I close with words by John Donne: Death Be Not Proud Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow, Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me, From Rest and Sleep, which but they picture be, Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow; And soonest our best men with thee do go-- Rest of their bones and souls' delivery! Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell; And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die! Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the distinguished Senator yield?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order in the Chamber?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I wonder if we can have a voice vote on final passage.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, we still do not have order. May the Senate be in order. May we have order.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I insist that there be order in the Senate before the Senator from Vermont proceeds. I hope Senators will listen to the Chair. The Chair is entitled to that respect, and so is the Senator from Vermont.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order in the Chamber.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order in the Chamber.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the peace talks that President Clinton has been hosting at Camp David between Prime Minister Barak of Israel and Chairman Arafat of the Palestinian Authority appear to be reaching their climax. The President has made clear from the outset that the negotiations would be difficult, but that it was his hope to recreate the spirit of the Camp David summit hosted by President Carter more than 20 years ago that resulted in the historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The goal of the current discussions is no less ambitious than the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt that was enshrined in the first Camp David accords. Certainly, a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians would be a welcome advance in the quest for a lasting peace in the Middle East. We would all like these discussions to lead to an end to the conflict that has caused so much suffering and instability in that troubled region. Whether such a positive outcome is possible is still very much in doubt. There is no guarantee of success; indeed, many think the chances are dim. But when there is a chance for peace, the opportunity should be seized. That being said, Mr. President, it should be made clear what the role and responsibility of the United States are here. The most important role of the United States is our ability to serve as the facilitator of these discussions. That is due to the nature of our relations with Israel and the Palestinians, and the personalities of the leaders involved at this time in history. But providing a forum and encouragement for the Israelis and Palestinians to solve their own conflict should not be translated into a commitment to solve the conflict for them. Stability in the Middle East, including the state of relations between Israel and the Palestinians, is a matter of great importance to the United States, but it is not our conflict. It is theirs. We can help them find common ground, but ultimately it is their ground to find. This distinction is significant in light of the potential cost of a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Figures ranging from $15 billion to $40 billion have been floated in the media over the past several days as the possible sums that U.S. taxpayers will be asked to contribute to a peace agreement. If history is any guide, this is only the beginning. According to the Congressional Research Service, from 1979 through 2000, the United States has provided over $68 billion to Israel, and over $47 billion to Egypt to support the Camp David accords. That amounts to more than $115 billion in U.S. tax dollars to two countries alone. Besides that, from 1994 and 2000, the United States has provided $927 million--almost a billion dollars--to the Palestinians. I wonder how many Americans are aware of this. I wonder how many Americans knew, at the time of the first Camp David summit, that the price of an Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement would be an open-ended financial commitment of U.S. tax dollars exceeding $100 billion. Yet after more than 20 years of paying the bills, that is indeed the cost. And there is no end in sight. Mr. President, there has been a lot of talk about President Clinton's legacy and Secretary of State Albright's legacy. I appreciate their zeal to achieve historic agreements and to be remembered for their achievements. I recognize that peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians would be a crowning achievement. But what legacy at what price? Are we going to be told somewhere down the line that in order for the Israelis and Palestinians to agree--and this does not include the Syrians--the Administration had to promise them billions and billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer aid? Why is it the responsibility of the United States Congress to pay to implement an agreement that we are not a party to, and about which we have, so far, received no details? There is a disturbing tendency on the part of the Administration, and it is by no means unique to this Administration, to negotiate agreements and make costly financial commitments behind closed doors, and then inform the Congress, in so-called ``consultations,'' after the fact. I fear that is what is contemplated again, and I think it is wrong. If consultations are happening, that is news to me. As ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have not been consulted, and perhaps for good reasons. I am not aware of any other Senator who has been approached by any administration official who has suggested what the price of implementing a peace agreement might be, or why it is the responsibility of the American taxpayers to pay that price. I say this particularly when it was only last year that the Congress provided a total of $1.6 billion to Israel and the Palestinians to implement the Wye River agreement--another deal that was made without any prior consultations, as far as I know, with Congress. Again, I fear we are being led down the path of ``sign now, pay later'' without even knowing how much we are going to be asked to pay later, or why. Now, I recognize that the discussions underway at Camp David may fail. There may be no agreement. That would be unfortunate. But whatever the outcome, I want to remind the administration, and the Israelis and Palestinians, that the negotiations are being hosted by the administration, not by the Congress, not by the Appropriations Committees of the Congress. No one should assume that the check is in the mail. No one should assume that we are going to dig another hole for ourselves the way we did the last time there was such a negotiation at Camp David. We all want to see peace in the Middle East, and if there is a legitimate need for funding to implement a peace agreement, we can discuss what role the United States should play--but not after the commitments have already been made, not after the ink has already dried, not if this ancient Senator has anything to say about it. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak out of order.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Yes, I agree with you that $5 million of the emergency funds will be used to implement the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, with final passage of the Fiscal Year 2001 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, I wish to take a moment to thank all Senators for their time and effort in helping to make this important measure a better product. As I have frequently noted, crafting the Interior bill is not an easy charge. Weighing the thousands of Member requests that come in to the Interior subcommittee against the limited resources made available to us is an arduous task, indeed. Yet, this year, as in past years, that job has been handled with great skill by the subcommittee chairman, Senator Gorton. My friend from Washington is, I can say unequivocally, the best subcommittee chairman I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His dedication to duty, his graciousness under fire, and his commitment to working with me in a bipartisan manner are simply unparalleled. Moreover, the fact that this legislation will be adopted by the Senate by an overwhelming vote is testament, I believe, to the incredible job done by the distinguished subcommittee chairman. Let me also extend my appreciation to all subcommittee staff, in particular, Bruce Evans, who serves Senator Gorton in an efficient and capable manner. And, on the minority side, I wish to offer a special thanks to Peter Kiefhaber. Although this young man has been on my staff for more than eight years, this is his first year working for the Appropriations Committee. In the span of less than 6 months, he has worked hard, distinguishing himself not only to me, but obviously to other Members of the Senate, who have told me personally of his good work. Finally, let me again thank all Senators and say that I look forward to working with the subcommittee chairman as we proceed to conference with the House of Representatives.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I want to thank the distinguished Senator from Michigan and our colleagues from the Great Lakes states for highlighting the importance of Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration grants to the chairman and myself. We are pleased to recommend continuation of this program which is so vital to the fish and wildlife of the Great Lakes. I assure the Senator that the conferees will keep this program in mind, should additional funds become available for the appropriations in this bill.

Mr. BYRD. I would be pleased to offer my views about this bill to my friend from Michigan.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, what is the question on which we are voting?