Tom Daschle

Mr. DASCHLE

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

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I think what the Senator from Minnesota said so eloquently, passionately, and accurately probably leaves little left to be said in regard to what this amendment is. I rise today to express my disappointment with this amendment. The Senate has been debating the Elementary and Secondary Education Act--off and on--for more than eight weeks now. This is an important debate. We are talking about the blueprint for federal education policy and funding. So far, this has been an unusually bipartisan debate. We have been making principled compromises, and real progress. And now this. Let me be clear: I believe the Boy Scouts should have the same access to public school facilities as any other private organization. But I fear that is not what this amendment is about. I oppose Senator Helms' amendment for two reasons. First: It could usurp the rights of states, counties and local communities to make certain decisions for their own schools. Under this amendment, communities that feel strongly that discrimination based on sexual orientation is wrong could face a terrible choice. They could either disregard their own conscience. Or they could follow their conscience and lose millions of dollars that their children's schools need. Both sides have said, throughout this debate, that one of our goals should be to find ways to allow communities to make more decisions about their own schools, not fewer. This amendment does exactly the opposite. The second reason this amendment is such a disappointment to me is that--in my opinion--it tolerates discrimination. A year and a half ago, Congress awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor--the highest honor this nation can bestow on civilians--to the ``Little Rock Nine.'' More than a generation ago, as children, they had the courage to help desegregate the Little Rock public schools. Back then, millions of Americans--in Little Rock and across this nation--believed that segregation was a moral imperative. There are many people today who believe that discriminating against gays and lesbians is also a moral imperative. I understand that. But that is not the American way. Over the years, I've been honored with awards from many groups. There are only a few that I keep in my office in the Capitol. One is an award I got three years ago this week from the National Capital Area Chapter of the Boy Scouts. It's a sculpture of a young boy. I keep it in my office because of my profound respect for the good work the Boy Scouts have done in this country for more than 90 years. We believe in principled compromise. But we cannot compromise on fundamental issues of civil rights. Supporters of this amendment say they are merely defending the constitutional right of free association. They say they are simply protecting the right of a private organization to set its own rules. But the Supreme Court has already ruled that the Boy Scouts have the same right as any other community or youth group to use school facilities. This amendment seeks special rights for one organization. It could force communities to grant that organization special privileges--or lose thousands, perhaps millions of dollars in federal education aid. It is sad to see the Boy Scouts--a group that has worked for more than 90 years to avoid political polarization--being used now by some to foster political polarization in this Senate, and in our society as a whole. I hope my colleagues will reject this amendment. I hope that we can work together to finish this good bipartisan education bill because our children's future, our country, and the rights of all people, minorities, and those who are not minorities, stand in the balance. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, with this request having now been agreed to, the Senate will not be in session on Friday, as I have announced. On Monday, the Senate will convene at 1 p.m. with a period for morning business. There will be no rollcall votes on Monday. Rollcall votes will occur on Tuesday afternoon and throughout the remainder of the week as the Senate begins consideration of the Patients' Bill of Rights.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that following the remarks of Senators Byrd, Akaka, and Wellstone, the Senate stand in adjournment as under the previous order.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am today introducing the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 2001. This proposal is the culmination of more than 3 years of discussion with local landowners, the South Dakota Water Congress, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, local legislators, representatives of South Dakota sportsmen groups and affected citizens. It lays out a plan to convey certain parcels of land acquired for the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal features of the Oahe Irrigation Project in South Dakota to the Commission of School and Public Lands of the State of South Dakota for the purpose of mitigating lost wildlife habitat, and provides the option to preferential leaseholders to purchase their original parcels from the Commission. To more fully understand the issues addressed by the legislation, it is necessary to review some of the history related to the Oahe Unit of the Missouri River Basin project in South Dakota. The Oahe Unit was originally approved as part of the overall plan for water development in the Missouri River Basin that was incorporated in the Flood Control Act of 1944. Subsequently, Public Law 90-453 authorized construction and operation of the initial stage of this unit. The purposes of the Oahe Unit, as authorized, were to provide for the irrigation of 190,000 acres of farmland, conserve and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, promote recreation and meet other important goals. The project came to be known as the Oahe Irrigation Project, and the principal features of the initial stage of the project included the Oahe pumping plant, located near Oahe Dam, to pump water from the Oahe Reservoir, a system of main canals, including the Pierre Canal, running east from the Oahe Reservoir, and the establishment of regulating reservoirs, including the Blunt Dam and Reservoir, located approximately 35 miles east of Pierre, South Dakota. Under the authorizing legislation, 42,155 acres were to be acquired by the Federal Government in order to construct and operate the Blunt Reservoir feature of the Oahe Irrigation Project. Land acquisition for the proposed Blunt Reservoir feature began in 1972 and continued through 1977. A total of 17,878 acres actually were acquired from willing sellers. The first land for the Pierre Canal feature was purchased in July 1975 and included the 1.3 miles of Reach lB. An additional 21-mile reach was acquired from 1976 through 1977, also from willing sellers. Organized opposition to the Oahe Irrigation Project surfaced in 1973 and continued to build until a series of public meetings were held in 1977 to determine if the project should continue. In late 1977, the Oahe project was made a part of President Carter's Federal Water Project review process. The Oahe project construction was then halted on September 30, 1977, when Congress did not include funding in the FY 1978 appropriations. Thus, all major construction contract activities ceased, and land acquisition was halted. The Oahe Project remained an authorized water project with a bleak future and minimal chances of being completed as authorized. Consequently, the Department of Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, gave to those persons who willingly had sold their lands to the project, and their descendants, the right to lease those lands and use them as they had in the past until they were needed by the Federal Government for project purposes. During the period from 1978 until the present, the Bureau of Reclamation has administered these lands on a preference lease basis for those original landowners or their descendants and on a non- preferential basis for lands under lease to persons who were not preferential leaseholders. Currently, the Bureau of Reclamation administers 12,978 acres as preferential leases and 4,304 acres as non- preferential leases in the Blunt Reservoir. As I noted previously, the Oahe Irrigation Project is related directly to the overall project purposes of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin program authorized under the Flood Control Act of 1944. Under this program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed four major dams across the Missouri River in South Dakota. The two largest reservoirs formed by these dams, Oahe Reservoir and Sharpe Reservoir, caused the loss of approximately 221,000 acres of fertile, wooded bottomland that constituted some of the most productive, unique and irreplaceable wildlife habitat in the State of South Dakota. This included habitat for both game and non-game species, including several species now listed as threatened or endangered. Meriwhether Lewis, while traveling up the Missouri River in 1804 on his famous expedition, wrote in his diary, ``Song birds, game species and furbearing animals abound here in numbers like none of the party has ever seen. The bottomlands and cottonwood trees provide a shelter and food for a great variety of species, all laying their claim to the river bottom.'' Under the provisions of the Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, the State of South Dakota has developed a plan to mitigate a part of this lost wildlife habitat as authorized by Section 602 of Title VI of Public Law 105-277, October 21, 1998, known as the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, and State of South Dakota Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Restoration Act. The State's habitat mitigation plan has received the necessary approval and interim funding authorizations under Sections 602 and 609 of Title VI. The State's habitat mitigation plan requires the development of approximately 27,000 acres of wildlife habitat in South Dakota. Transferring the 4,304 acres of non-preferential lease lands in the Blunt Reservoir feature to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks would constitute a significant step toward satisfying the habitat mitigation obligation owed to the state by the Federal Government and as agreed upon by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. As we developed this legislation, many meetings occurred among the local landowners, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, business owners, local legislators, the Bureau of Reclamation, as well as representatives of sportsmen groups. It became apparent that the best solution for the local economy, tax base and wildlife mitigation issues would be to allow the preferential leaseholders (original landowner or descendant or operator of the land at the time of purchase) to have an option to purchase the land from the Commission of School and Public Lands after the preferential lease parcels are conveyed to the Commission. This option will be available for a period of 5 years after the date of conveyance to the Commission. During the interim period, the preferential leaseholders shall be entitled to continue to lease from the Commissioner under the same terms and conditions they have enjoyed with the Bureau of Reclamation. If the preferential leaseholder fails to purchase a parcel within the 5-year period, that parcel will be conveyed to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to be use to implement the 27,000-acre habitat mitigation plan. The proceeds from these sales will be used to finance the administration of this bill, support public education in the State of South Dakota, and will be added to the South Dakota Wildlife Habitat Mitigation Trust Fund to assist in the payment of local property taxes on lands transferred from the Federal government to the state of South Dakota. In summary, the State of South Dakota, the Federal Government, the original landowners, the sportsmen and wildlife will benefit from this bill. It provides for a fair and just resolution to the private property and environmental problems caused by the Oahe Irrigation Project some 25 years ago. We have waited long enough to right some of the wrongs suffered by our landowners and South Dakota's wildlife resources. I am hopeful the Senate will act quickly on this legislation. Our goal is to enact a bill that will allow meaningful wildlife habitat mitigation to begin, give certainty to local landowners who sacrificed their lands for a defunct federal project they once supported, ensure the viability of the local land base and tax base, and provide well maintained and managed recreation areas for sportsmen. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am today introducing the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 2001. This proposal is the culmination of more than 3 years of discussion with local landowners, the South Dakota Water Congress, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, local legislators, representatives of South Dakota sportsmen groups and affected citizens. It lays out a plan to convey certain parcels of land acquired for the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal features of the Oahe Irrigation Project in South Dakota to the Commission of School and Public Lands of the State of South Dakota for the purpose of mitigating lost wildlife habitat, and provides the option to preferential leaseholders to purchase their original parcels from the Commission. To more fully understand the issues addressed by the legislation, it is necessary to review some of the history related to the Oahe Unit of the Missouri River Basin project in South Dakota. The Oahe Unit was originally approved as part of the overall plan for water development in the Missouri River Basin that was incorporated in the Flood Control Act of 1944. Subsequently, Public Law 90-453 authorized construction and operation of the initial stage of this unit. The purposes of the Oahe Unit, as authorized, were to provide for the irrigation of 190,000 acres of farmland, conserve and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, promote recreation and meet other important goals. The project came to be known as the Oahe Irrigation Project, and the principal features of the initial stage of the project included the Oahe pumping plant, located near Oahe Dam, to pump water from the Oahe Reservoir, a system of main canals, including the Pierre Canal, running east from the Oahe Reservoir, and the establishment of regulating reservoirs, including the Blunt Dam and Reservoir, located approximately 35 miles east of Pierre, South Dakota. Under the authorizing legislation, 42,155 acres were to be acquired by the Federal Government in order to construct and operate the Blunt Reservoir feature of the Oahe Irrigation Project. Land acquisition for the proposed Blunt Reservoir feature began in 1972 and continued through 1977. A total of 17,878 acres actually were acquired from willing sellers. The first land for the Pierre Canal feature was purchased in July 1975 and included the 1.3 miles of Reach lB. An additional 21-mile reach was acquired from 1976 through 1977, also from willing sellers. Organized opposition to the Oahe Irrigation Project surfaced in 1973 and continued to build until a series of public meetings were held in 1977 to determine if the project should continue. In late 1977, the Oahe project was made a part of President Carter's Federal Water Project review process. The Oahe project construction was then halted on September 30, 1977, when Congress did not include funding in the FY 1978 appropriations. Thus, all major construction contract activities ceased, and land acquisition was halted. The Oahe Project remained an authorized water project with a bleak future and minimal chances of being completed as authorized. Consequently, the Department of Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, gave to those persons who willingly had sold their lands to the project, and their descendants, the right to lease those lands and use them as they had in the past until they were needed by the Federal Government for project purposes. During the period from 1978 until the present, the Bureau of Reclamation has administered these lands on a preference lease basis for those original landowners or their descendants and on a non- preferential basis for lands under lease to persons who were not preferential leaseholders. Currently, the Bureau of Reclamation administers 12,978 acres as preferential leases and 4,304 acres as non- preferential leases in the Blunt Reservoir. As I noted previously, the Oahe Irrigation Project is related directly to the overall project purposes of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin program authorized under the Flood Control Act of 1944. Under this program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed four major dams across the Missouri River in South Dakota. The two largest reservoirs formed by these dams, Oahe Reservoir and Sharpe Reservoir, caused the loss of approximately 221,000 acres of fertile, wooded bottomland that constituted some of the most productive, unique and irreplaceable wildlife habitat in the State of South Dakota. This included habitat for both game and non-game species, including several species now listed as threatened or endangered. Meriwhether Lewis, while traveling up the Missouri River in 1804 on his famous expedition, wrote in his diary, ``Song birds, game species and furbearing animals abound here in numbers like none of the party has ever seen. The bottomlands and cottonwood trees provide a shelter and food for a great variety of species, all laying their claim to the river bottom.'' Under the provisions of the Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, the State of South Dakota has developed a plan to mitigate a part of this lost wildlife habitat as authorized by Section 602 of Title VI of Public Law 105-277, October 21, 1998, known as the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, and State of South Dakota Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Restoration Act. The State's habitat mitigation plan has received the necessary approval and interim funding authorizations under Sections 602 and 609 of Title VI. The State's habitat mitigation plan requires the development of approximately 27,000 acres of wildlife habitat in South Dakota. Transferring the 4,304 acres of non-preferential lease lands in the Blunt Reservoir feature to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks would constitute a significant step toward satisfying the habitat mitigation obligation owed to the state by the Federal Government and as agreed upon by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. As we developed this legislation, many meetings occurred among the local landowners, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, business owners, local legislators, the Bureau of Reclamation, as well as representatives of sportsmen groups. It became apparent that the best solution for the local economy, tax base and wildlife mitigation issues would be to allow the preferential leaseholders (original landowner or descendant or operator of the land at the time of purchase) to have an option to purchase the land from the Commission of School and Public Lands after the preferential lease parcels are conveyed to the Commission. This option will be available for a period of 5 years after the date of conveyance to the Commission. During the interim period, the preferential leaseholders shall be entitled to continue to lease from the Commissioner under the same terms and conditions they have enjoyed with the Bureau of Reclamation. If the preferential leaseholder fails to purchase a parcel within the 5-year period, that parcel will be conveyed to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to be use to implement the 27,000-acre habitat mitigation plan. The proceeds from these sales will be used to finance the administration of this bill, support public education in the State of South Dakota, and will be added to the South Dakota Wildlife Habitat Mitigation Trust Fund to assist in the payment of local property taxes on lands transferred from the Federal government to the state of South Dakota. In summary, the State of South Dakota, the Federal Government, the original landowners, the sportsmen and wildlife will benefit from this bill. It provides for a fair and just resolution to the private property and environmental problems caused by the Oahe Irrigation Project some 25 years ago. We have waited long enough to right some of the wrongs suffered by our landowners and South Dakota's wildlife resources. I am hopeful the Senate will act quickly on this legislation. Our goal is to enact a bill that will allow meaningful wildlife habitat mitigation to begin, give certainty to local landowners who sacrificed their lands for a defunct federal project they once supported, ensure the viability of the local land base and tax base, and provide well maintained and managed recreation areas for sportsmen. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we will put forth a unanimous consent request, which we will be prepared to propound later tonight. We will take that request into consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I compliment both managers. I thank especially my colleague, Senator Kennedy. We have made a lot of good progress today. Obviously, we have a full night's work tonight. With that understanding, I have talked with Senator Lott, and I think we are prepared to say tonight there will be no more votes. We will have those two votes side by side tomorrow at 9 o'clock. So we will begin again following our work tonight with the votes tomorrow, and we will go on to the Dodd amendment and the order that Senator Kennedy has suggested.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce legislation that would implement a long-awaited bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam. This agreement marks another step in the long road toward normalizing relations between our two nations. When we pass this and other important trade legislation, we send the signal that we, as a Nation, are committed to engaging with countries around the globe by using our mutual interests as a foundation for working through our differences. By fully implementing this agreement, Vietnam will also send a clear message that it is interested in continuing, and completing, a process of reform and modernization of its economy and institutions. The Clinton administration signed the bilateral agreement with Vietnam on July 13, 2000, after nearly four years of meticulous negotiations. Under terms of the agreement, Vietnam will reduce tariffs on approximately 250 products, about four-fifths of which are agricultural products. My own State of South Dakota will be among the beneficiaries of Vietnam's market opening commitments. As the second- largest producer of sunflower seeds, our farmers will no doubt benefit from the slash in duty on this product from the current level of 30 percent to 10 percent. Exporters of soybeans, furthermore, will see the rates drop by half, to only 5 percent. In addition to the significant reduction in tariffs on agricultural and industrial products, the agreement opens Vietnam to American financial, banking and telecommunications services. While the agreement does not make Vietnam a member of the World Trade Organization, WTO, a number of its provisions bring Vietnam one step closer to compliance with WTO accords. Specifically, Vietnam has committed to abide by WTO standards regarding customs procedures, import licensing requirements and phytosanitary measures. In addition, Vietnam has also agreed to follow WTO agreements on intellectual property rights, which protect American copyrights, patents and trademarks. The same can be said for regulations involving American investment there. Hopefully, passage of this bilateral agreement will add momentum to Vietnam's bid for full membership in the global trading body. The United States, in return, has promised to grant Vietnam normal trade relations, NTR. The practical effect of this action would be that products imported from Vietnam would now be subject to the same level of tariffs as products from almost every other country in the world. Vietnamese companies would no longer face significant tariff barriers to our market. The agreement does include, however, a safeguard provision to prevent a surge in Vietnamese imports from injuring our own domestic industries. The implementing resolution introduced today would fulfill our obligation to grant Vietnam normal trade relations. Under this legislation, however, Vietnam's trading status would still be subject to annual Congressional review. The legislation is in no way a permanent extension of such treatment. This is due to the so-called Jackson-Vanik provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, which allow for an annual review by Congress of an extension of normal trade relations to any non-market economy country, such as Vietnam. Specifically, the Jackson-Vanik amendment mandates that a non-market economy country's access to American markets is conditioned on their completion of a bilateral commercial agreement with the United States and their policies on freedom of emigration. According to the statute, a non-market economy country like Vietnam must sign an agreement with the United States extending nondiscriminatory treatment to our products. In other words, they must grant normal trade relations to the United States. Access to our markets is further contingent on their policies on freedom of emigration. If the President determines that such policies meet certain standards, or that a waiver of the Jackson- Vanik provisions would, in fact, encourage further liberalization of their emigration policies, only then can the United States grant these countries normal trade relations. President Clinton first waived Jackson-Vanik provisions with respect to Vietnam in 1998 on the basis that such action would promote further liberalization of its emigration policies. The waiver has been extended every year since then. But since Vietnam does not currently have a bilateral agreement with the United States, and therefore does not receive normal trade relations, the waiver simply allows for the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation, OPIC, and the U.S. Export- Import Bank to support U.S. businesses exporting to and/or operating there. The legislation I am introducing today would grant normal trade relations to Vietnam, meeting the second requirement of Jackson-Vanik, and therefore allow the market opening agreement to take effect. The Presidential waiver of Vietnam's treatment under Jackson-Vanik has never been disapproved by Congress. In fact, support for the waiver has grown substantially in both chambers. Last year, for instance, 330 members of the House voted in favor of the waiver's extension and a bill disapproving the President's waiver was voted down by 94 Senators. I am confident that such action indicates strong support by Members of Congress for passage of this agreement. I am encouraged that President Bush has sent the agreement to Congress for final approval. Indeed, last month, I signed a letter urging him to do so as soon as possible. This is an important agreement, and today we are taking the first step towards swift Senate consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, on behalf of the Senate, I rise to bid farewell to our current class of Senate pages, who have served the Senate with distinction over the last five months. On behalf of the entire Senate, I would like to thank them for their fine work and tireless efforts to help the Senate run smoothly. This class of pages has served during an historic time in the United States Senate. When they arrived, we were still in the midst of a close presidential election, one that held the fate of the Senate in balance. When the election was decided, they served in an unprecedented evenly divided Senate. And as they leave, they have been witness to a change in who is the majority. They've even served during a rare weekend session. And through all of these challenges, they have maintained excellent academic records. Most people do not know of the rigorous nature of a Senate page's life. On a typical day, the pages rise early and are in school by 6:00 a.m. After several hours of classes, they come to the Capitol to prepare the Senate Chamber for the day's session by providing each Senator with a copy of the Senate Legislative and Executive Calendars, the legislation under consideration, and the Congressional Record, as well as any other document a Senator might request. During the remainder of the day, they run numerous errands and perform a myriad of tasks, including providing Senators with the appropriate bills and resolution under consideration, obtaining documents one of us may want to refer to during a debate, running errands between the Capitol and the Senate Office Buildings, and helping out at our weekly caucus lunches. The pages stay here as long as we're here, no matter how late. Once the Senate has concluded business for the day, the pages return to their dorm to prepare for the next day's classes, and, we hope, to get some much-needed sleep. Despite the hectic schedule, they perform their duties cheerfully and efficiently. The presence of the pages on the Senate floor serves as a constant reminder to all of us here that the legislative work we perform is not just for our generation, but for the children and young people of our Nation as well. It is my hope that we have given the pages some insight into the need for individuals to become involved in community and civic activities. The future of our nation strongly depends on the generation who will follow up in this august body. Perhaps a number of the current group of pages will one day return here to serve as members of the United States Senate. These young men and women have been an integral part of our daily life here in the Senate and they have faced quite a few challenges in this historic year. Again, we wish the pages a fond farewell. I hope that they will take their experiences here and return to their hometowns as better citizens with a greater appreciation for public service. Speaking on behalf of the Senate, we wish them well in whatever endeavors they choose. I ask unanimous consent that a list of the current class of pages be printed in the Record. The list follows: Senate Pages Libby Benton, Michigan; Steve Hoffman, Vermont; Alexis Gassenhuber, Wisconsin; Kelsey Walter, South Dakota; Michael Henderson, South Dakota; Kathryn Bangs, South Dakota; Tristan Butterfield, Montana; Lyndsey Williams, Illinois; Joshua Baca, New Mexico; Andrew Smith, Texas.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I welcome Rabbi Einstein and compliment him for his prayer. I also want to thank him for the outstanding representation he has here in the Senate. California is well represented. We are glad he is here.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today we resume the education reform bill. The current order will require 1 hour of additional debate on the Dodd testing amendment, 1 hour of debate on the Carnahan-Nelson amendment regarding assessments, and a rollcall vote on the Carnahan- Nelson amendment is scheduled at approximately 11:30 under a previous order. There will be additional rollcall votes throughout the day. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I am happy to yield to the Senator from Nevada.

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, this has been a constant lament of both Senator Lott and myself. He has attempted to address it on occasion. I have always been supportive of the effort, to try to be as managerial with these votes as we can be. He and I have talked about it as recently as just prior to the break. My intent, in answer to the Senator from Nevada, is to do all that we can to terminate the vote at the end of 20 minutes. I think that is ample time. If we are going to be efficient in the use of our time, we cannot allow these votes to drag on. This has been a source of increasing concern to me personally. So we will do our utmost--in fact, I will ask that the votes be terminated at the end of 20 minutes. I hope Senators can be made aware that will be the policy and we will implement it. If there is an emergency, we can accommodate that. But I also will attempt to impose some discipline with regard to the votes. We will attempt to implement that beginning tomorrow. I put all Senators on notice in that regard. Let me also say I have discussed the schedule with Senator Lott with regard to both Friday and Monday. I know that there were a number of Senators who indicated they had conflicts of some consequence on Friday. Because, as I understand it, some consideration had already been given to those conflicts, I want to respect the decisions made with respect to that consideration. And so in keeping with my understanding of the conversations the Republican leader had with some of our colleagues, there will be no votes on Friday. It is my intention, however, to be in session on Monday and to at least have one, if not more, votes beginning at 5:30. So there will be votes on Monday; no votes on Friday. I hope we could respect the agreement Senator Lott and I had with regard to votes on Fridays and Mondays through the month of June. We laid out a calendar that we expected both of our caucuses to appreciate. I am not going to divert from that. I will respect the days that were committed to with regard to concerns raised about schedule with our colleagues. But I will also insist, on those days that are not on that list, that we have votes Fridays and Mondays. We have to finish the elementary and secondary education bill next week. We will stay for whatever length of time it takes to finish our work. We have been on it now for several weeks. Senator Lott has been accommodating in his effort to address the issues of schedule raised by colleagues, but I think next week we must culminate our work with a completion of the bill and a vote on final passage. So that will be the schedule next week. Votes on Monday, votes throughout the week, with an expectation that we will not complete the week until the bill has been finished. We will have additional comment about the schedule on Monday at a later date. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from consideration of H. Con. Res. 80 and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. It is my expectation the Collins amendment will not require a great deal of debate, so Members should be alerted that a second vote will be expected shortly after the Wellstone vote. Yesterday the managers made some progress on the bill. At least 10 amendments were cleared by unanimous consent, and I understand the managers expect to clear other amendments today. I also say to my colleagues who have amendments to this bill to contact the bill managers so they can continue to move forward in working through the remaining amendments. My hope and expectation is that we can complete action on this bill next week. At some point--preferably this week--we will take up the organizing resolution. But I will have more to say about that at a later date. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, it is my expectation and hope we can resume the consideration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. As some of my colleagues may recall, under a previous order there will be 20 minutes of debate remaining on the Wellstone amendment regarding testing and then we expect a vote at the expiration of that period of time. Senator Collins has an amendment regarding a study which will be considered after the Wellstone amendment. The Collins amendment will not require much debate.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider and move to table the motion to reconsider.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I send a resolution to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider and move to table the motion to reconsider.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I send a resolution to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I ask unanimous consent that the amendments numbered 603 and 517, as previously agreed to, be modified further to conform to the substitute amendment. This has the approval of the distinguished minority leader.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I send a resolution to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statement relating thereto be printed in the Record.