John Chafee

Mr. CHAFEE

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I wish to announce that Senator Jeffords will necessarily be absent from today's Senate session due to an illness in the family.

Mr. CHAFEE

Mr. CHAFEE. How much time will the Senator from Minnesota need?

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I, in control of the opponents' time, yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Wyoming.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I urge opponents, please come to the floor. We have something like 25 minutes left on the opponents' time. Here is the opportunity that they have to speak. So I urge any opponents who wish to speak to come quickly to the floor. Now is the chance to voice their opposition to the amendment. Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, we have additional time for opponents. How much time is there for the opponents?

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, the second amendment which I have is by the senior Senator from New Mexico, Senator Domenici. I send it to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. CHAFEE. All right.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I am deeply concerned over the high incidence of highway fatalities in our country that involve alcohol. In 1996, more than 17,000 lives were lost as a result of alcohol- related collisions out of the 40,000 deaths overall in our country. So that is about nearly half. I believe that this measure will help reduce that. I understand the views of the opponents who think that it should be left to the States. But when you have a small State such as mine where there are people who are constantly going into the neighboring States, back and forth, it seems to me that in order to make our highways safer, and which obviously involves out-of-Staters, a law such as this is necessary. So I support it, Mr. President. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleagues from New Jersey, Senator Lautenberg, and from Ohio, Senator DeWine, in support of the amendment to strengthen drunk driving laws throughout the Nation. I am very concerned about the safety of our nation's highways. I am particularly troubled by the high incidence of highway motor vehicle injuries and fatalities involving alcohol. The statistics are truly alarming. In 1996, more than 17,000 lives were lost on our nation's highways as a result of alcohol-related collisions. This represents nearly half of the 40,000 fatalities that occur on U.S. highways every year. The real tragedy, however, is that drunk driving accidents are completely avoidable. This amendment would strengthen drunk driving laws across the country and dramatically reduce the number of fatalities attributable to driving while intoxicated. The amendment specifically targets those states that have not enacted a .08 blood alcohol content (BAC) drunk driving law. In 1997, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a report entitled ``Setting Limits, Saving lives: The Case for .08 BAC Laws.'' The report cited studies which indicate that virtually all drivers, regardless of skill, are significantly impaired at the .08 BAC level. At that level, basic driving skills such as braking, steering and speed control, as well as judgment, reaction time, and focused attention are adversely affected. Contrary to the claims of those who oppose this amendment, the .08 standard does not punish social drinking. To exceed the .08 limit, one would need to consume an excessive amount of alcohol. The NHTSA report includes an example. In order to exceed the .08 BAC level, a 170 pound male would need to consume more than four drinks in an hour, while a 137-pound woman would need to consume three drinks, the report indicates. Despite these statistics, 35 states still maintain the higher .10 standard before someone is considered legally drunk--and that puts many lives at risk. Drunk drivers not only risk their own lives, but the lives of every other motorist on the road. The .08 level is a sensible approach to preventing senseless tragedies on our nation's roadways. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Thank you. Mr. President, I know the Senator from Oklahoma would like some time. And the opponents have 10 minutes?

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. CHAFEE. Do you want to speak now?

Mr. CHAFEE. You have a few moments. Come on back and see us in a few moments. Let's all agree that a few moments isn't very long.

Mr. CHAFEE. We all know what ``moment'' means. If you want several moments, you go to it. As of now, I'm saying everybody come on over here with their amendments, all individuals come with their amendments, and hopefully we would like to have a vote by a quarter of 3. But because of the urging of the Senator from Florida, a few moments will get us along for a while. Please, all I would say to the Senator from Florida, a few moments really doesn't mean a meeting at 6 o'clock tonight.

Mr. CHAFEE. Yes.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, as I previously announced, we want to get on with this legislation. It is my intention that at 3 o'clock, I will ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 1684 be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and the amendment be considered as original text for the purpose of further amendment. I ask unanimous consent that Senators Wyden and Sessions be added as cosponsors of this amendment.

Mr. CHAFEE. Yes; I will be glad to. If there is nobody here who wishes to speak against, and we have time left, I am certainly glad to yield.

Mr. CHAFEE. Yes.

Mr. CHAFEE. We want to be sure she is going to show. The Senator from Oklahoma has been very patient.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, we spent a good deal of time this afternoon without any action on the floor, in quorum calls. We want very much to get on with this bill. People ought to bring over their amendments. If they have problems--as you know, we are just dealing solely with the so-called Chafee amendment, which is the major amendment dealing with the increased financing for a whole series of programs. I see no reason why we should not go to a vote. No one has brought over any amendments. Nobody is proposing anything here on the floor. We have worked out the ones who have. We have worked them out. Others say they are going to get together. They may be along. It is all very indefinite. I see no reason why at a quarter of 3 we should not have a vote. So, Mr. President, that is the tilt I have, because I want to get on with this bill. There are other lengthy amendments after this. This is not the last amendment by a long shot. There are other amendments that we have to consider. We have one involving disadvantaged business enterprises and a whole series of others. There are some 100-plus amendments out there. Clearly, hopefully, they are not all going to be brought up, but we ought to get on with this. If people have problems, come on over here. Several Senators addressed the Chair.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I just want to point out to the Members what the next order of business will be. We now will take up the funding amendment that provided a good deal of additional money for a whole series of States, every State, and we would like, obviously, to get a time agreement on that, but we are having some trouble doing it. We are going to get started nonetheless. Amendment No. 1684 to Amendment No. 1676 (Purpose: To provide for the distribution of additional funds for the Federal-aid highway program.)

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, yesterday, the Committee on Environment and Public Works held an important meeting on the pending business before the Senate; namely, the underlying legislation, S. 1173, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1997. During yesterday's business meeting, the committee agreed unanimously, the 18 members of the committee voted 18-0, to adopt an amendment to S. 1173, which will provide an additional $25.9 billion for the Nation's highway programs over the next 5 years. The additional funds will bring the total authorization for highways in the bill to $171 billion. As I mentioned last Thursday in my opening statement on ISTEA II, which is how we will refer to the underlying legislation, the majority leader, Senator Lott, and Senators Domenici, D'Amato, Byrd, Gramm, Warner, Baucus, and I have been working to try to resolve the difficult issue of how much additional funding should be directed to transportation. We have participated in a challenging but ultimately productive set of meetings. Although I am not an advocate of spending the 4.3 cents gasoline tax on highways, I believe that the agreement we reached is a fair one that will allow the Senate to complete its work on ISTEA in a timely fashion. The principal question on everyone's mind is how this additional funding will be allocated among the 50 States and various ISTEA programs. I am pleased that the amendment before us distributes the new money in a manner that is responsible to all States and to all regions of the country. Moreover, the committee amendment does not affect the allocations or program structure in the underlying ISTEA II bill. The lion's share of the additional funds, $18.9 billion, goes to all 50 States in the same proportion as the formulas under S. 1173. Before we proceed, I want to outline the package adopted by the committee yesterday. To make the bill fairer, the committee amendment provides additional funds for those States that did not fare as well as the majority of the States in S. 1173. First of all, this amendment does address the inequities of the so- called donor States, those States that contribute more money to the highway trust fund than they receive from the Federal aid highway program. The underlying bill, S. 1173, as reported, guaranteed that each State would receive at least 90 cents in return for every dollar allocated to the States from the trust fund. The amendment before us includes an additional $1.9 billion over the life of the bill to ensure that each State receives at least 91 cents in return. Now, the States that will benefit from this donor State bonus are the following: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These States have complete flexibility to use the additional funds for any purpose authorized under title 23, which is the Federal aid highway title of the U.S. Code. That is the first thing we did. Second, there are a number of densely populated States, such as California, Illinois, and New Jersey, where high volumes of traffic clog the roads and high repair costs impede routine maintenance. The committee amendment provides an additional $1.8 billion over the next 5 years for these high-density States. The additional funds may be spent for any purpose authorized under title 23 to relieve the terrible congestion problems and address tremendous infrastructure needs. Those States which are neither donor States nor high-density States also may spend a percentage, 22 percent, of the additional funds they receive pursuant to this amendment for any purpose authorized under title 23. The committee amendment also provides additional funds for those ISTEA programs directed to regions of the country with unique needs. For instance, the Appalachian Development Highway System was first authorized in law in 1965, but is not yet completed. The committee amendment provides an additional $1.89 billion for the Appalachian Highway Program for fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to help complete the 3,025 mile system. Second, as a result of the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other key trade agreements, states along the Mexican and Canadian borders have experienced a substantial increase in truck traffic. The increased traffic and congestion along these routes has put a heavy burden on the corridors that connect border locations and other ports of entry. The committee amendment provides $450 million over the next five years in contract authority for the nation's border infrastructure and trade corridors. Third, the roads that run through the nation's parks, Indian reservations, and other public lands are in great need of maintenance and repair. The committee amendment provides an additional $850 million over 5 years for the Federal Lands Highway Program. This is in addition to the money that was included in the bill originally as we submitted it. Of the $850 million total, the committee amendment provides $50 million per year for fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to help address the mounting needs of the nation's 49,000 miles of Indian reservation roads. An additional $50 million per year for the next 5 years, is provided for the Public Lands Highway Program, which funds Forest Service roads and other public roads that run through federal lands. The remaining $350 million in the Federal Lands portion of the committee amendment is directed to the Park Roads and Park Ways Program. An integral part of our National Parks System is the 8,000 miles of park roads and parkways that make the splendor of these national treasures accessible to all Americans. Fifty million dollars of the $70 million annually for the Park Roads and Parkways Program is directed to these roads that run through our national park system. The remaining $20 million per year is set-aside to address the backlog of needs for the roads in our National Wildlife Refuge System. I am delighted that the committee has agreed to include this additional funding for the 4,250 miles of refuge roads within the system. Indeed, the National Wildlife Refuge System, which is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, plays a pivotal role in the conservation of fish and wildlife resources throughout the country. The additional funds provided in the committee amendment will allow the Service to better focus its appropriations on the core mission of protecting fish and wildlife and their habitats. Mr. President, before closing, I want to thank all of the members of the committee for their diligence and cooperation in adopting the amendment before us. I see Senator Warner here, who has been a very valuable ally and originator, actually, of much that is in this legislation. I thank them all for their diligence and cooperation in adopting the amendment before us. I thank the majority leader, Senator Lott, who presided over the negotiations in which we arrived at this compromise; Senator Byrd, Senator Warner, whom I previously mentioned, Senator Baucus, the ranking member of the full committee, who has been so helpful, Senator Gramm, and particularly Senator Domenici. All I thank for their determination and resolve during our discussions. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support the amendment before us so we can proceed to the business at hand and enact an ISTEA II bill which will bring the Nation's transportation system into the next century. I thank the Chair. Mr. WARNER addressed the Chair.

Mr. CHAFEE

Mr. CHAFEE. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CHAFEE

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 4, 1998 beginning at 9:30 a.m. until business is completed, to conduct an oversight hearing on the FY99 budget and operations of the Library of Congress, and to review the reauthorization of the American Folklife Center.