Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I do agree with the Senator regarding the Fargo ARS center.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I would like to point out that the committee recognizes the very serious threats to potato production posed by late blight, and the heavy damage that has been incurred to date in Maine and other States. In response to the Senators' question, I can confirm that the President's fiscal year 1996 budget request for pest management does include $800,000 to continue the late blight control program described by the Maine senators.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendments be dispensed with.

Mr. COCHRAN. And an amendment offered by Senator Bennett regarding the Colorado River Basin salinity control program; an amendment offered by Senator Feingold regarding rural development program; an amendment offered by Senator Leahy regarding a research facility. Mr. President, these are amendments that we have reviewed and have been cleared on both sides of the aisle. I send the amendments to the desk en bloc and ask they be reported.

Mr. COCHRAN. It is an amendment proposed by Senators Gorton, Murray, and Burns.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we do have a list of amendments which we will present to the Senate and ask for their approval. An amendment offered by Senators Dorgan and Conrad on flooding at Devils Lake, North Dakota; an amendment offered by Senator Dole providing funds for the Agricultural Research Service Grain Marketing Research Lab; an amendment offered by Senator Abraham eliminating certain USDA advisory committees; an amendment for Senator Gorton regarding a timber regulation.

Mr. COCHRAN. The committee did urge the Department to give consideration to funding a number of applications for both of these programs. I appreciate the Senator bringing these proposals to my attention. I would urge the Department to give equal consideration to these applications as those included in the committee report.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess under the previous order.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements appear at an appropriate place in the Record as if read.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 171, relating to the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian declaration of principles, and that the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. For the information of all Senators, the Senate will resume consideration of the agricultural appropriations bill tomorrow morning. Under the previous order, there will be three rollcall votes beginning at 9:45 a.m. tomorrow. In addition, also following disposition of the agricultural appropriations bill the Senate will begin consideration of the foreign operations appropriations bill. Therefore, votes can be expected to occur throughout Wednesday's session of the Senate.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today it stand in recess until the hour of 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, September 20, 1995; that following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be deemed approved to date; the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and then there be a period for morning business until the hour of 9:40 a.m., with Senator Ford recognized for up to 20 minutes.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. For the clarification of this situation, of course I will be happy to read this agreement. Let me read it, and if there are any problems, we will be told about it, I am sure, by Senators who have any questions.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I think we have other amendments that can be disposed of tonight, or argued. I notice the Senator from Nevada and the Senator from Arkansas have a Market Promotion Program amendment which they intend to present. The Senator from North Dakota has an amendment which he can propose and describe, if he chooses, at this time or we can defer it to later. But we are going to proceed to try to meet the challenge of getting all these amendments argued tonight so we will know what we are going to vote on tomorrow. We appreciate the cooperation of the Senators. Mr. CONRAD addressed the Chair.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, has all time been used on the amendment under the agreement?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am advised 4 minutes equally divided has been made part of the agreement. That is the understanding.

Mr. COCHRAN. I think we are prepared to vote. There are a couple other Senators that need to speak on the Stevens amendment. Why do not we do this and get the Stevens amendment over, and as we vote on that we can announce the schedule for the evening and tomorrow rather than talk about what we are doing. Rather than talk about it, let us just do it. Mr. BUMPERS addressed the Chair.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, if the Senator would yield to me. I am prepared to respond and advise the Senate that the majority leader has given his consent and as a matter of fact requested that we try to identify the amendments, get time agreements on them, and stack votes tomorrow, and vote on final passage tomorrow. The point is, that we will continue to work here tonight though on those amendments we cannot agree on for votes, and with time agreements tomorrow. So this may not be the end of the session as far as the managers are concerned and Senators who have amendments. But we know of, for instance, this amendment which will require a vote. We know the Senator from Arkansas, the Senator from Nevada, have another amendment on the Market Promotion Program; and that will require a rollcall vote. The Senator from Wisconsin, Senator Feingold, has an amendment to strike special grants, research grants from this bill. And we cannot accept that, so we will have to move to table that and ask for the yeas and nays. Those are three amendments that I know of that will require rollcall votes. We hope that the others will either not be offered or we can accept them on a voice vote and work out something that is satisfactory that would not require a rollcall vote. We are trying to see if we can do final passage on a voice vote. I would have no objection to that, if no one Senator insists on a rollcall vote. That means we could vote on the conference report when it comes back with a rollcall vote. I am told we do have to have one vote. We have to vote on the Stevens amendment. I have just been advised on that. It would be nice if everybody got their stories straight and requests before I made these announcements like I knew what I was doing.

Mr. COCHRAN. Under the agreement, there is time. It starts at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The sequence would be, I presume, the order in which the amendments were offered. The yeas and nays were granted. So the sequence would be the Feingold amendment, the Conrad amendment, and the Bryan-Bumpers amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to table the amendment of the Senator from Massachusetts and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the situation, for the information of Senators, is that we are at the point now where we can proceed to take the remaining amendments up and consider them, dispose of them, and move to final passage. There are several amendments that have been listed in an agreement we entered into yesterday limiting amendments that we understand will be called up and we will have to consider them. Senator Stevens has an amendment on the salary of an Under Secretary position at the Department of Agriculture. That will be offered soon, we understand. Senator McCain has an amendment dealing with education funds for tribal colleges, and we are happy to consider that amendment at any time the Senator would like to offer it. We may very well be able to work that out without a rollcall vote. We hope we can. I am saying all this to let Senators know that we are making progress. We are getting to the point where we hope we will be able to move to final passage on this bill in the early evening so we will not have to stay in late on this bill tonight. We want to finish the bill tonight. The majority leader has indicated that we will stay in until we finish the bill. I am simply saying I am encouraged that we may be able to finish this bill early this evening if Senators will come and offer their amendments. Mr. McCAIN addressed the Chair.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, there are several amendments we have agreed to take and to recommend that they be included in this bill. We have a package, a managers package that will be presented to the Senate. We will do that tonight. Other than that package of amendments, which have been cleared on both sides, I know of no other amendments that are going to be offered, or intend to be offered, tonight. But just to be sure, I am going to yield the floor and await a call from the Cloakroom or someone coming to the floor to offer an amendment that we may not have heard about, that is described in the agreement and that would be eligible to be offered tonight. We expect to hear from anybody who intends to offer one that we have not indicated a willingness to accept.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I suggest to Senators who have time under the agreement if we yield back all time we can vote on the amendment on a voice vote.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, if the Senator would yield for a response, the amendment now is acceptable, I am told, on both sides of the aisle. I understand, too, that the yeas and nays had been ordered but that we can vitiate the yeas and nays and no rollcall vote would be necessary. If there is no objection, I ask unanimous consent that the yeas and nays be vitiated.