Ben Campbell

Mr. CAMPBELL

Mr. CAMPBELL. The amendment No. 3386 offered by Senator Grassley and amendment No. 3380 offered by Senator Glenn are acceptable to the managers. I therefore ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back and ask for their immediate adoption and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. CAMPBELL. The Senator is correct.

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, on behalf of the majority leader, I now ask unanimous consent the Senate resume consideration of S. 2312, the Treasury and general Government appropriations bill.

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator McConnell, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order for me to send a modification to the desk for amendment No. 3379.

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the pending McConnell amendment, and I ask unanimous consent that the yeas and nays be vitiated, and for the Chair to put the question.

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent all previous yeas and nays ordered on other amendments be vitiated.

Mr. CAMPBELL. With that, Mr. President, I have no further comment. I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CAMPBELL. I ask unanimous consent when the Senate completes all debate on S. 2312, the Fiscal Year 1999 Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, the Chair lay before the Senate Calendar No. 478, the House companion measure, H.R. 4104; that all after the enacting clause be stricken and the text of S. 2312, as amended, be inserted in lieu thereof; and that the House bill, as amended, be read for the third time and the Senate immediately move to final passage of H.R. 4104; that the Senate insist on its amendment and request a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and the Chair appoint the following conferees on the part of the Senate: Mr. Campbell, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Faircloth, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Kohl, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. Byrd, and that the foregoing occur without any intervening action or debate.

Mr. CAMPBELL. I thank my colleague from Alabama for raising this important issue and I look forward to working with you, Senator Faircloth and the Majority Leader in Conference to develop an effective solution.

Mr. CAMPBELL. It is my understanding that the other amendments will be resolved in various fashions. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent the vote in relation to the final passage of H.R. 4104 occur at 2 p.m. today.

Mr. CAMPBELL. I thank my colleague from North Carolina. The public's lack of access to federal research data is an issue of growing concern to Members of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee. The lack of public access to research data feeds general public mistrust of government and undermines support for major regulatory programs. The Senator from Alabama has taken the lead on this important issue and I look forward to working with him and all my colleagues who have expressed support for enhanced public access to research data in Conference.

Mr. CAMPBELL. I agree with the Senator from New Mexico that methamphetamines are an increasingly difficult problem to control. This funding will significantly help in controlling the problem there.

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to speak about one aspect of the Statement of Administration Policy on this bill. Specifically, the section referring to the Customs Automation Enhancement Account. The SAP makes it appear that the Committee neither funded nor considered the Administration's request for this program. In fact, we fully funded the request, which was $8 million. When the budget was submitted, it included authorizing legislation on a Merchandise Processing Fee, which would net $56 million for this program. This is not within the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee and if the authorizers were not going to act in sufficient time, the Administration should have sent up a budget amendment to cover the cost of the program so that it could be considered by the Committee. That did not happen, this committee never received a formal request to increase the funding for this program. If we had, we would have given it consideration. I just wanted to let my colleagues know that we fully funded this program and would have considered the request to increase it, but we never received anything upon which to act. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. CAMPBELL

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

Mr. CAMPBELL

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

Mr. CAMPBELL. I believe that concludes the debate, Mr. President. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I have one further unanimous consent request. I ask unanimous consent that after passage of H.R. 4104, S. 2312 be indefinitely postponed.

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, before asking for the yeas and nays, I would like to say a few words in closing about S. 2312. As many of you may have noticed, this bill has not been an easy one to craft to stay within our funding constraints. We started on this bill before the August break and we are still at it. I believe in some instances, we have probably had to rob Peter to pay Paul because this bill carries programs which are all worthy and all important to everyone in this Nation. We have had to make some difficult choices between the programs in the bill and it has been easy to do because the goal is to emerge with an acceptable balance while still doing the right thing and staying within our funding limits. I believe though, however, we can honestly say we have done our very best to accommodate everyone's wishes and everyone's requests, even though it has not been easy. As always, the ranking member, Senator Kohl, has been great to work with, and without him, we could not have completed this bill. So I thank the Senator from Wisconsin. I want him to know that his friendship and professional efforts and courtesy have meant a great deal to me. In addition, I would like to take a moment to thank his staff-- Barbara Retzlaff, who has been so diligent working on this bill the entire year, as well as Paul Bock and Liz Blevins for their support on the floor during our consideration. And I also thank our staff--Pat Raymond, Tammy Perrin and Lula Edwards, who spent a lot of evenings, long evenings at that, trying to make sure the bill came out the way we wanted it to. In spite of our difficulties, I believe that we have put forth a good bill which deserves the support of the Senate. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill. Mr. KOHL addressed the Chair.

Mr. CAMPBELL

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the passage of S. 2334, amendment No. 3539, previously adopted, be vitiated.

Mr. CAMPBELL

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation that seeks to extend the legislative authority for the construction of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial and for the Foundation raising funds to construct the memorial. Mr. President, in 1986, the Congress enacted and President Reagan signed into law, legislation establishing a Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial, a memorial to honor the more than 5,000 African- Americans who fought for this country during the Revolutionary War. In order to appropriately recognize the bravery and sacrifice of these honorable and distinguished patriots, Public Law 99-558 sought to establish a suitable memorial, a monument which will be located on the Mall here in Washington, DC. When complete, the memorial will be the first monument on the Mall to be dedicated solely to the accomplishments of African-Americans. The centerpiece of P.L. 99-558 was the establishment of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation, as a not-for-profit organization whose sole charter is to raise the necessary funding for the costs associated with constructing the memorial. When enacted, the foundation was authorized to operate for a period of 10 years. In 1996, I introduced legislation which provided an additional 2-year extension of the legislative authority for the establishment of the memorial. While the foundation has raised a substantial amount of funding, it remains short of its $9.5 million goal. The bill I introduce today would allow for a second and final extension which will provide the foundation with valuable time to complete its fundraising. Mr. President, this memorial serves a noble purpose, honoring the service and patriotism of individuals long deserving of this praise and I strongly support the ongoing efforts for its establishment. Likewise, I am proud that the sculptor who has been commissioned to design this memorial, Ed Dwight, is not only from my home state of Colorado, but is also the first African-American astronaut trainee. Mr. Dwight is an accomplished artist residing in Denver and his work is known across the world. I would very much like to see his design for the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial become one of the memorials situated among many of this country's most distinguished monuments. Mr. President, I believe Congress has demonstrated its commitment to the establishment of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial by authorizing its construction 10 years ago. It is my hope this legislation will receive the full, expeditious support of the Senate. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. CAMPBELL

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation that seeks to extend the legislative authority for the construction of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial and for the Foundation raising funds to construct the memorial. Mr. President, in 1986, the Congress enacted and President Reagan signed into law, legislation establishing a Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial, a memorial to honor the more than 5,000 African- Americans who fought for this country during the Revolutionary War. In order to appropriately recognize the bravery and sacrifice of these honorable and distinguished patriots, Public Law 99-558 sought to establish a suitable memorial, a monument which will be located on the Mall here in Washington, DC. When complete, the memorial will be the first monument on the Mall to be dedicated solely to the accomplishments of African-Americans. The centerpiece of P.L. 99-558 was the establishment of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation, as a not-for-profit organization whose sole charter is to raise the necessary funding for the costs associated with constructing the memorial. When enacted, the foundation was authorized to operate for a period of 10 years. In 1996, I introduced legislation which provided an additional 2-year extension of the legislative authority for the establishment of the memorial. While the foundation has raised a substantial amount of funding, it remains short of its $9.5 million goal. The bill I introduce today would allow for a second and final extension which will provide the foundation with valuable time to complete its fundraising. Mr. President, this memorial serves a noble purpose, honoring the service and patriotism of individuals long deserving of this praise and I strongly support the ongoing efforts for its establishment. Likewise, I am proud that the sculptor who has been commissioned to design this memorial, Ed Dwight, is not only from my home state of Colorado, but is also the first African-American astronaut trainee. Mr. Dwight is an accomplished artist residing in Denver and his work is known across the world. I would very much like to see his design for the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial become one of the memorials situated among many of this country's most distinguished monuments. Mr. President, I believe Congress has demonstrated its commitment to the establishment of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial by authorizing its construction 10 years ago. It is my hope this legislation will receive the full, expeditious support of the Senate. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. CAMPBELL

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I rise to discuss an important funding issue contained in the Treasury and General Government appropriations bill. This appropriations bill provides $84 million for construction of an annex to the Rogers Courthouse in Denver. The General Services Administration has included this project high on its list of priorities, at the recommendation of the Administrative Offices of the Courts. GSA and the AOC have provided me with detailed information on the costs of this courthouse and assured me repeatedly that these costs are prudent, practical and necessary to meet the future judicial needs of Colorado. I have also been assured that the renovated courthouse will be functional, but not extravagant. I have demanded this of every project on the list and will continue to work to ensure that this standard is applied to all new construction. Members of the Federal bench in Colorado have expressed gratitude that I have included construction money for the Rogers Courthouse. I am of course happy to help meet the needs of our federal legal system, especially in Colorado. In addition to the Rogers Courthouse, this bill contains fourteen other projects totaling almost $500 million. I believe that if Congress is going to pass laws, we'd better provide sufficient attorneys and judges to enforce those laws and adequate facilities in which those laws may be administered. I am aware of the growing federal caseload in other parts of Colorado. For example, the City of Grand Junction is experiencing rapid growth, and with that comes a need for more government attorneys and judges. Being from the West Slope, I appreciate the time and expense required to travel to Denver. Traveling 5 or 8 hours to get to a federal court can be a burden to all parties in federal lawsuits. While I am happy to accommodate the wish of the federal bench in Colorado to provide this money, I will continue to listen to members of the Colorado Federal Bar, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and other areas of the state that experience growing needs for judges and courtroom space to ensure that this appropriations bill accurately provides for the needs of the entire state.

Mr. CAMPBELL

Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam President, I further call for the regular order with respect to the Daschle amendment.

Mr. CAMPBELL

Mr. CAMPBELL. The Customs Service has certainly had to make difficult choices in the marine program under budget constraints. However, I recognize the importance of these vessels to drug interdiction efforts.

Mr. CAMPBELL. I agree that the U.S. Customs Service should revisit this issue.