Tom Daschle

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I yield to the Senator from Vermont.

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Senator.

Mr. DASCHLE. I will be happy to yield.

Mr. DASCHLE. I will be happy to yield.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I appreciate my colleagues' and everyone's attention. If I may say for a moment, I remember this day 3 years ago as if it occurred just yesterday. I did not know Officers Gibson and Chestnut personally, but I knew them, and as we all recognize, we take for granted all too often the tremendous service provided to us by our police and by those who guard our security each and every day. The loss of life under circumstances such as this is all the more tragic when you appreciate their dedication to public service, their commitment to our good health and security, and the recognition that their families still grieve their loss. I know I speak on behalf of the entire Senate in wishing the families of Detective Gibson and Officer Chestnut our very best and most heartfelt wishes and recognition, once again, of their tremendous dedication to public service and their commitment to us and to all those who survive and continue to work each and every day, in keeping with the spirit and dedication that they so ably demonstrated.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, in about 1 minute we will be observing a moment of silence in memory of Officers Gibson and Chestnut. As my colleagues will recall, it was 3 years ago to the minute these unfortunate and tragic deaths occurred. I ask at the appropriate time, which is now, that we observe a moment of silence. (The Senate observed a moment of silence.)

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I know there is a discussion going on off the floor with regard to coming to some resolution on the issue of Mexican trucking. I hope we can find a way to resolve this procedurally. I applaud Senators Murray and Shelby and others who reached the compromise that is now part of the bill, and I hope, whether we reach another agreement or whether we can't reach agreement and simply have votes, we can do that. I think we have made reasonably good progress before the August recess on appropriations. I have had some discussions with the Republican leader, as well as with our caucus and my leadership. We have discussed just what remains to be done prior to the time we leave. I think it is fair to say we are way behind the curve with regard to where we should be on the appropriations front. We have only completed three appropriations bills so far. I hope at the very least we can complete our work on at least two more--Transportation and HUD/VA. I have indicated to Senator Lott that would be my desire. I have indicated to my caucus that there is no question that we ought to be able to do those two. Senator Byrd, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, shares my view. So my expectation and my determination is that we complete our work on those two bills. We also have two emergency issues to deal with. First is the Agriculture supplemental authorization. It has already passed in the House. I am told that the Agriculture Committee is intending to vote on it tomorrow. It would be my expectation to take it up shortly after the committee action in an effort to get it through the floor and into conference in time to bring it back prior to the time we leave. That, too, is a very necessary piece of legislation, first, because of the relief it provides to millions of producers across this country--producers that are not only incorporated into the farm bill itself, but many other producers that do not have farm programs per se. If we do not act before the August recess, we will lose the budget authority that is dedicated under the budget resolution to agriculture and disaster assistance. It would then be taken out of next year's authorization. We can't afford to lose the $5.5 billion authorization. But that is exactly what we face if we are not able to act. So I don't think we have any alternative, any recourse, except to ensure that the work is complete before we leave for the August recess. Finally, the Export Administration Act is also in peril. The act expires during the August recess. The administration has indicated this is a high priority for them. It is a high priority for our caucus, but I think, on a bipartisan basis, Senators on both sides of the aisle have indicated a strong desire not to allow this legislation to expire in August. So it is my expectation that it, too, must be dealt with prior to the time we leave. In addition, our Republican colleagues have expressed a strong interest in confirming additional nominees, and I have every expectation that we will be doing that as well. In the past 2 weeks, the Senate has now confirmed 77 nominees. I intend to move as many additional nominees to the floor prior to the recess as we can. I have discussed the matter with each of our Chairs, and they have volunteered extensive cooperation in bringing additional nominees to the Executive Calendar so we can move on them once the work has been done. To my knowledge, except for those nominees for whom there is a Republican hold, there are few, if any, nominees who have been on the calendar more than a couple of days. I do believe we owe every Senator the right to examine the nominees and to ensure that they are prepared to support them. But I will press for consideration and ultimately confirmation of those nominees prior to the time we leave. All of us have August recess plans, but we have to accomplish these four essential items, in addition to the nominations that I want to be able to move forward and confirm before we take a vacation. I think we have a fundamental duty not only to build on what we have been able to do in the appropriations process, but also to deal with the many other additional requirements that are pending before the Senate prior to the time we leave. So just to sum up, it is my hope, even though we are not making a lot of progress today so far on the Transportation bill, that we can complete it. I see the distinguished Chair of the subcommittee on HUD/ VA on the floor. She has indicated that she knows of no significant legislative impediments to consideration of her appropriations bill. So at least those two bills will need to be addressed prior to the time we leave. And then, of course, as I said, there is the Agriculture authorization supplemental. I can't imagine that anybody would want to hold it up or want to delay its implementation. As I have noted, the House has already acted. It would be our hope and expectation that we cannot only act but that we can work out our differences with the House in time to assure that this bill is sent to the President before we leave. If we fail to do that, of course, we then fail to allocate the $5.5 billion committed to emergency agricultural spending in the budget. The Export Administration Act, of course, is also something we need to consider. I see the Chair of the Banking Committee, whose jurisdiction it is, and he has indicated as well his desire to cooperate and move forward in a bipartisan way to ensure that we attain that goal. So we have a lot of work to do in 2 weeks. I expect we are going to stay in late Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. I think it is important for us to make full use of this week, and we will be doing so. If I am required to file cloture on Transportation by the end of the day, I will do so. I am withholding that at this point because I hope that some accommodation can be reached on a vote on whatever amendments may be offered on Mexican trucking. But we have to get on with our work. We simply can't afford these long delays throughout the week.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the previously agreed to amendment numbered 1029 be modified with the language at the desk in order to vitiate action on the last division of the amendment.

Mr. DASCHLE

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

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, Members of the Senate, on Monday the Senate will convene under this request at 2 p.m. with 2 hours of morning business. At 4 p.m, we will resume consideration of the Transportation Appropriations Act. There will be no rollcall votes until 5:45 p.m. on Monday. There will be a rollcall vote at that time. I expect there could be additional rollcall votes on Monday evening.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Friday, July 20, 2001, to hear testimony on Trade Adjustment Assistance.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Friday, July 20, 2001, for a markup on the nomination of Gordon H. Mansfield to be Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The meeting will take place in the Senate Reception Room after the first rollcall vote of the day.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, this is the end of the week. I thank my colleagues for the effort that has been made to get as much accomplished as we were able to achieve. We passed the energy and water appropriations bill. We passed the legislative branch appropriations bill. We just now passed the supplemental appropriations conference report. We appointed conferees to the bankruptcy reform legislation. We confirmed 23 nominations, including 3 judicial nominees this week. And we began consideration of the Transportation appropriations bill. While I wish we could have gone further with regard to our work on the Transportation bill, I am pleased that as a result of a bipartisan effort to achieve this success at the end of the week I think we have accomplished a good deal. I thank the distinguished Republican leader for his efforts in allowing this kind of accomplishment to be noted. I appreciate very much the hard work of the Appropriations Committee and the appropriations subcommittees that were very involved in the work of this week; that of Senator Domenici, the ranking member of the energy and water appropriations subcommittee, and Senator Reid in particular for his outstanding leadership in bringing about the successful conclusion of his bill. Senator Durbin has done an outstanding job with his legislative branch appropriations bill. As my colleague just noted, so much work went into the supplemental appropriations bill. I am very pleased that Senator Byrd and Senator Stevens once again were able to complete their work as expeditiously as they did. I was contacted earlier today by the Vice President who asked if we could move this bill today. It was originally my intention to hold the bill over the weekend in order to give Senators more of a chance to examine the results. The bill was just presented to us this morning. But in order to accommodate a request by the administration, we chose to take up the bill, given the fact that no one had made a request for a rollcall vote. I thank my colleagues for their cooperation in not asking for a rollcall on this particular bill so we could move it ahead to accommodate the administration's request. I am also very pleased with the success we have had in confirming 23 additional nominations; as I said, including 3 judicial nominees. That means that in the last 2 weeks we have now confirmed 77 nominations. I don't know what kind of a record that is, but it has to be one of the largest numbers of appointments confirmed in the shortest period of time. And we will continue to work at achieving just as impressive results in the coming weeks. Madam President, we have had a good week. I look forward to a very successful week again next week working on, first, the Transportation appropriations bill, and, secondly, other available appropriations bills, in addition, of course, to other nominations.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until the hour of 2 o'clock on Monday, July 23. I further ask unanimous consent that on Monday, immediately following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period for morning business until 4 p.m. with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the following exceptions: Senator Kyl, or his designee, from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m.; and Senator Byrd, from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m.; and, further, that at 4 p.m. the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 2299, the Transportation Appropriations Act.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order. Thereupon, the Senate, at 2:30 p.m., adjourned until Monday, July 23, 2001, at 2 p.m.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, as in executive session, I now ask unanimous consent that the Agriculture Committee be discharged from further consideration of the following nominees to be members of the board of directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation, and that they be placed on the Executive Calendar: Eric Bost, William Hawks, Joseph Jen, James Mosely, and, J.B. Penn.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I know the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee just complimented the Presiding Officer, and I, too, want to add my commendation. She is an outstanding Presiding Officer, and she is willing to spend the time and make the commitment to preside over the Senate. As the chairman has indicated, we have a number of extraordinary Senators who are spending the time and making that kind of commitment. I applaud all of them and I appreciate the way in which they are presiding. I commend especially the distinguished Senator from Michigan. I am disappointed that beginning next week we will not have bipartisan Presiding Officers. I appreciate the importance of the job of the Presiding Officer, especially late in the day on a Friday.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment found on page 56 of the managers' amendment numbered 1024 to H.R. 2311, the energy and water appropriations bill, be modified with the technical correction to the instruction line which I now send to the desk.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, for the information of Senators interested in the schedule this evening, it is our intention to complete the debate on the two nominations. I know of no interest in debate on the Ferguson nomination, but there is, of course, debate on the Graham nomination. Following completion of debate on the nominees, it is my expectation and determination to move to the legislative branch appropriations bill, and that would be the final piece of business to be completed tonight. Tomorrow, it is my hope--and this matter has yet to be completely resolved--that we move to three judicial nominations and then proceed to the Transportation appropriations bill. We will have more to say about that later in the evening. For now, I hope we could begin the debate on the Graham nomination.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we are still attempting to come to some resolution about the sequencing of other legislative priorities for the balance of the week. Until that time, under a prior agreement, the Senate had the understanding that we would move to the consideration of the John Graham nomination, Calendar No. 104. Pursuant to that agreement, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now move to executive session to consider Calendar No. 104, the nomination of John Graham to be the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, and that immediately following the consideration of Calendar No. 104, pursuant to the agreement, we consider Calendar No. 223, the nomination of Roger Walton Ferguson to be a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve for a term of 14 years.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, for the information of our colleagues, we are now prepared to go to third reading on the energy and water appropriations bill. Senator Lott and I and Senator Domenici and others have been working on what we will do following the completion of our work on energy and water. Unless there is an objection, I think this would be an appropriate time to complete our work on that bill. Senator Lott and I will have further announcements as soon as we complete our work on this particular bill. At this time, it would be my suggestion we go to third reading and final passage.

Mr. DASCHLE

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

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Appropriations Committee be discharged from consideration of H.R. 2299 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration; that once the bill is reported, Senator Murray be recognized to offer the text of S. 1178 as a substitute amendment; that no further amendments be in order during today's session; that once the action has been completed, the bill be laid aside until Friday, July 20; the Senate resume consideration of the bill upon returning to legislative session, following any rollcall votes with respect to the Executive Calendar.

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank my colleagues. For the information of our colleagues, Senator Murray will now be recognized simply to lay down the Transportation bill, and we will proceed then immediately to the Graham nomination.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am voting today against the nomination of Dr. John Graham to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OIRA, at the Office of Management and Budget. I do not take this action lightly. I respect the tradition that deference should be given to a President's nominations for posts within an administration. Nevertheless, it is the role of the Senate to provide advice and consent to the President, and I take this responsibility seriously as well. OIRA is a little known department that has some of the most sweeping authority in the Federal Government. It is the gatekeeper for all new regulations, guiding how they are developed and whether they are approved. Its actions affect the life of every American, everyday. The director of this office must have unquestioned objectivity, good judgement and a willingness to ensure that the laws of the Nation are carried out fairly and fully. I regret to say that Dr. Graham's record has led me to conclude that he cannot meet these high standards. Dr. Graham currently heads the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, and in this capacity he has produced numerous studies analyzing the costs and benefits of Federal regulations. These studies raise serious and troubling questions about the way in which Dr. Graham would carry out his duties. First and foremost, I am concerned that Dr. Graham has consistently ignored his own conflicts-of-interest in the studies he has conducted, and that he had not demonstrated an ability to review proposed regulations in an evenhanded manner. Time after time, he has conducted studies of regulations affecting the very industries providing him with financial support. Virtually without fail, his conclusions support the regulated industry. Dr. Graham downplayed the risks of second-hand smoke while soliciting money from Philip-Morris. He overestimated the cost of preventing leukemia caused by exposure to benzene in gasoline while accepting funds from the American Petroleum Institute. He even downplayed the cancer risk from dioxin exposure while being supported by several major dioxin producers. This last item is perhaps the most troubling of all. Virtually since entering Congress, I have fought on behalf of the victims of Agent Orange who have suffered from cancer and other terrible illnesses due to their exposure to dioxin. There is absolutely no question that this chemical is a known carcinogen with many devastating health effects. Yet remarkably, with funding from several dioxin producers, Dr. Graham suggested that exposure to dioxin could actually protect against cancer. I also question the analytical methods Dr. Graham uses in his studies. He contends that the cost of regulations should be the primary factor we consider, instead of the benefits they provide for health or safety. This position is totally inconsistent with many of our basic health, workplace safety and environmental laws. After all, we may be able to calculate the value of putting a scrubber on a smokestack, but how do you assign a value to a child not getting asthma? We can calculate the value of making industries treat their waste water, but what is the value of having lakes and streams in which we can swim and fish? If Dr. Graham brings this way of thinking to OIRA, I can only conclude that it will lead to a profound weakening of the laws and regulations that keep food safe, and our air and water clean. As over two dozen of Dr. Graham's colleagues in the public health community wrote, ``We are forced to conclude that there is such a persistent pattern of conflict of interest, of obscuring and minimizing dangers to human health with questionable cost-benefit analyses, and of hostility to governmental regulation in general that [Dr. Graham] should not be confirmed for the job of Director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.''