Tom Daschle

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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, Wednesday I was asked by a member of the press about the President's announcement of an initiative to spend $500 million, including $200 million Congress has already approved for the current fiscal year, to fight the global AIDS pandemic by targeting the transmission of the disease from mothers to infants. I applauded the President and his decision. His participation in the bipartisan campaign to combat this international health crisis is welcome and significant. It is important to understand, however, that the President does not pledge any new resources until 2004. And the overall amount of resources he does commit to, while important, isn't enough. The human toll this health crisis has already inflicted on this country and the world is staggering. Every twelve seconds, one person dies due to complications from AIDS. Every minute, one of those people is an infant. Each day brings 14,000 new infections, with half of those infected under the age of 25. There are currently 30 million people with HIV in Africa, and the National Intelligence Council estimates that number could double in the next five years. And, as if these numbers are not tragic enough, there is one more staggering statistic: by the end of this decade forty-four million children will have lost their parents to AIDS. It is also important to understand that, as these statistics demonstrate, the international community doesn't have the luxury of time in reversing the spread of AIDS worldwide. Good intentions must be matched by commensurate resources if we are to reverse current trends. Earlier this month, against the backdrop of those horrific--and mounting--numbers, the Senate debated its version of the FY2002 emergency supplemental appropriations bill. Prior to the Senate's consideration of this important legislation, a bipartisan group of Senators urged the Appropriations Committee to provide additional resources in this bill to combat AIDS so that funds to address this problem could be released right away. The committee responded by including $100 million to fight AIDS and other diseases in the supplemental. And before the Senate could take up the committee's work, a group of senators--Democratic and Republican-- proposed that this bill not leave the Senate floor with less than $500 million for this purpose. Regrettably, according to news stories, the White House feels $500 million is too much for AIDS this year. Under pressure from the White House, several Republican Senators withdrew their support for adding $500 million for AIDS this year, and the effort failed. The Senate was forced to settle for $200 million. Just $200 million to fight a deadly disease that already infects 40 million people and is projected to infect millions more. So, while I find Wednesday's announcement an encouraging indication of a growing awareness within the administration of the need to engage in the battle against the international AIDS crisis, the resources it is willing to commit to this challenge still fall far short of what is needed. And far short of what I believe this great nation is capable of and should be doing. As for availability, the President's initiative sets aside $300 million in fiscal year 2004, 16 months from now. Based on UN estimates, over those next 16 months, more than 1.1 million babies could contract HIV. The President's plan aims to prevent just 146,000 infections in 5 years. Again, these resources are welcome, but I cannot help but feel that we have just missed a tremendous opportunity. When we wait to dedicate the resources necessary to fight this battle, we make our eventual victory against this threat harder--and more costly. Does the administration truly believe that this $300 million could not be spent wisely and well now? If not, why? So I come to the floor this afternoon to offer to work with the President and my colleagues to do two things with regard to the new initiative. First, because the transmission of HIV from mother to child is an area where we know we can reduce the spread of HIV, it is vital that we increase funding in the area of mother-to-child transmission. But it is not enough to keep children from being infected with HIV in utero. We should commit to a major effort to treat the mothers and other family members already infected with the deadly virus so that children, free from the virus at birth, will grow up not as orphans, but with the support of their families. Second, I do not believe we should wait until 2004 to put this initiative fully into action. We should include the full $200 million in this year's supplemental, and we must find significant, additional resources in the next fiscal year. On a bipartisan basis during the last two years, Congress has significantly increased the amount of resources the President has sought for the global HIV/AIDS battle. And we must do so again. In announcing Wednesday's initiative, President Bush said, ``The wasted human lives that lie behind the numbers are a call to action for every person on the planet and for every government.'' He is right. Our nation has begun to heed that call, but our commitment to beating back this disease and our compassion for the millions who now suffer-- compel us to do much, much more. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am sure everybody is aware that this is the last vote of the day. I know our colleagues, both Senator Levin and Senator Warner, are interested, however, in continuing debate on the bill throughout the day and on Monday. We will be in session. We will be in a position to entertain amendments and to bring them to closure. My hope is we can use these 2 days. I am inclined to press for a finite list, but we will not do that today. Senators should be aware that next week is going to be a very busy week. Those who want to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday should not count on having a lot of time to debate their amendments. We have 2 great days--today and Monday--to offer amendments. I hope Senators will do so. There will be a vote Monday night--at least one and maybe more. So Senators should be prepared to vote on Monday after 5 o'clock. We will announce a time certain after consultation with the Republican leader, and Senators should be prepared to come back and vote on Monday so that we can begin a full day of work on the bill on Tuesday and, hopefully, complete our work Wednesday or Thursday. I know the distinguished Republican leader has some comments and questions. I will yield the floor to him at this time.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, let me reiterate what we did say yesterday for the record. Under the agreement we have now entered into, amendments have to be relevant--not necessarily germane, in the definition of Senate parlance, but certainly relevant. We leave it to the two managers to determine that--not the Parliamentarians but the managers. They will be the arbiters of relevancy. They are fair and they are respected on both sides of the aisle. I respect their judgment and will stand behind the decisions they make. Having said that, I hope we are limiting ourselves to relevant amendments, that Senators at least come forward with some understanding of what the amendments--relevant amendments--are. While we don't need a finite list today, it would be helpful to know what relevant amendments Senators are intending to offer so that we have some ability to schedule for the remainder of the week.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I share the concern for the growing list of executive nominations. I say to my colleagues that the distinguished Republican leader and I and our staffs have been discussing this matter at length over the course of the last couple of weeks. There have been meetings as late as yesterday with the White House with regard to an understanding about how we might go forward. I have not had the opportunity to talk with my staff this morning as to the progress made on those discussions, but I have every reason to believe we have made substantial progress and that we ought to be in a position to begin moving all of those nominations on the calendar next week. I also share his view that when that happens, we do not want to leave them to the end. We may dual track next week to the extent that it is possible with the Defense bill so we can complete work on the Defense bill on schedule but chip away at that Executive Calendar list throughout the week. Certainly, if negotiations have been completed and we have all come to some agreement, it would be my intention to do it perhaps as early as Monday.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I have no intention at this point to bring it up certainly this coming week. As the distinguished Republican leader knows, I have made no secret of my opposition to the resolution, and I know that sentiment is shared by a large percentage of our colleagues on this side of the aisle. It is, of course, within the right of any Senator without debate to move to the resolution under the law. This is not a Senate rule. This is a law promulgated in 1982. Any Senator can move to it, and when that occurs, the motion to proceed is voted upon, and then a 10-hour debate, wherein no amendments are authorized to ensue, with a vote to follow at the expiration of that 10 hours. Every Senator has the confidence that if he or she chooses to make that position, it supplants whatever is on the floor at the time. That is the prerogative, unfortunately in my view, of any Senator given the law. It supersedes all Senate rules. I hope we will not avail ourselves of these expeditious moves in the future. Senate procedure ought to be respected, but I can do nothing about the current circumstances. As the Senator knows, clearly that is within his right or the rights of other colleagues interested in moving legislation. I would oppose it when or if it is offered, but that is certainly the right of a colleague to consider.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am sorry the Republican leader had to bring up the score of the game last night. He could have quietly and graciously noted that the Republicans won, but it is his right to notice publicly that we got trounced last night. But there is another day. I graciously admit defeat in this case. We did have some star players, and I congratulate Senator Ensign on his valiant performance. But there is another day, another game, and we are going to try to level the playing field next year. In the meantime, we will try to do the best we can to win our victories on the Senate floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, over the course of the last hour or so, I have had a number of conversations with the distinguished Republican leader and the chairman and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. We have been discussing how we might proceed on the Defense authorization bill. I know there are Senators on both sides of the aisle who have amendments they would like to have considered, and they are certainly within their rights to offer these amendments. My concern is that if we find ourselves in debates on unrelated issues for an extended period of time, there is the real danger that we will not finish our work prior to the time we leave next week. I have already indicated publicly and privately to anyone who is interested in the schedule that we must finish this bill before we leave. That is an absolute necessity. So I do not want any Senator to complain about any misunderstanding they may have. I want to be as clear and unequivocal about that as I can: We will finish this bill before we leave. As we have discussed how we might ensure that happens, of course one option would be to file cloture. Unfortunately, there are defense- related amendments that may be relevant and may be related to the Defense bill but not technically germane. I have consulted with the Republican leader, and we have concluded, with the support of the chairman and ranking member--and I thank both of them for their willingness to support this effort--we have concluded that we will move to table or make a point of order against any amendment which is not defense related from here on out in this debate. We do it regretfully because we oftentimes are supportive of some of these amendments on both sides. I know an amendment was going to be offered on marriage tax penalty, and I know some of my Republican colleagues and perhaps Democratic colleagues would be interested in the amendment. There are amendments on this side that I will move to table that I would otherwise support. We have come to the conclusion that the only way we can complete our work is by taking this action. So I am announcing at this point that from here on out, all amendments that are not related to the Defense bill are amendments that either Senator Lott or I or our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee, Senators Levin and Warner, will move to table or will file a point of order against. I want to notify all of our Senators that will restrict significantly the opportunities they have to offer additional amendments, but we intend to follow through, and we hope that sends a clear message. We want to complete our work. While we respect Senators' rights to offer amendments, we need to get this legislation done. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for their comments and their support for this agreement. The Senator from Virginia made a constructive suggestion that the two of them be the determinants of relevance, and I think that is a very appropriate way to proceed. We will have our managers make that decision, and I will stand behind the decision our managers make on these amendments. Given that understanding, let me say it is our understanding Senator Murray's amendment having to do with military hospitals will be offered shortly. I would not expect that the debate on the amendment would be completed tonight, but I would expect that the vote would be sometime tomorrow morning. I do not want that amendment to be all we do for the remainder of the week. So hopefully we can dispose of the amendment either tonight or tomorrow. We will consult with her on how much time may be required. We have debated this before. We have had votes on this on many occasions. So it would be my hope that we would not have to debate it at length, but we will return to the floor to make some announcement about the remainder of the evening and a vote on the Murray amendment either tonight or tomorrow morning. Given the fact that it is late in the afternoon, I would not be surprised if we would have to wait until tomorrow morning, but there may be hope we can complete it within a couple of hours. So we will consult with colleagues on both sides of the aisle with regard to the Murray amendment. Senators may lay their amendments down. We will see if we can get a unanimous consent agreement on the Murray amendment. If there is the possibility of reaching agreement on time on the amendment, that vote will still occur tonight. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 wanted to come to the floor for a moment to express the hope that we can get cloture, that both Republican and Democratic Members can vote for cloture this morning and move on. I remind all of my colleagues that there will be 30 hours of debate at least potentially available to Senators with germane amendments. So there is absolutely no reason to vote against cloture. I might just say for the record, prior to the time we take this vote, we began negotiations on this matter months and months ago. We have offered virtually every conceivable proposal I can think of to be able to bring this bill to the floor under unanimous consent. We asked unanimous consent on many occasions and were unable to get that consent. We even offered to bring up the House bill with a limit of five relevant amendments on either side, and that was not successful. I am at a loss for how we will proceed under these circumstances if we are not able to get cloture today. My intention would be to put the bill back on the calendar and move directly to the Defense authorization bill if we fail to get cloture today. Only after we would have in writing the number of Senators required to bring the bill back would I be able to reschedule this legislation. So this is our chance. This is our window. This is our opportunity. Colleagues on both sides of the aisle have made it very clear it is important we take up the Defense authorization bill. So we are not going to extend the debate on this legislation. We will either get cloture, deal with germane amendments, and move on or we won't get cloture, and we will move on in any case. So that is our option this morning, and I am very hopeful we can achieve that. I hope colleagues will understand we have been tolerant, we have been patient, we have been innovative, and we have been imaginative. I can't think of anything else we can be in an effort to get this job done. I know there is a great deal of interest in it. But the time has come for us to bring this to closure if, indeed, Senators want a terrorism insurance bill this work period. So I urge my colleagues to vote for cloture, and I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. I yield 2 minutes of my leader time to the Senator from Connecticut.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 380, H.R. 4560.

Mr. DASCHLE. I understand Senators Ensign, Kerry, and Stevens have a substitute amendment at the desk. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider and agree to the amendment, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, the bill as amended be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record without further intervening action or debate.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives with respect to S. 1214, the port security bill. The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the House insist upon its amendment to the bill (S. 1214) entitled ``An Act to amend the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to establish a program to ensure greater security for United States seaports, and for other purposes'', and ask a conference with the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon. Ordered, That the following Members be the managers of the conference on the part of the House: From the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for consideration of the Senate bill and the House amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Coble, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Oberstar, and Ms. Brown of Florida. From the Committee on Ways and Means, for consideration of sections 112 and 115 of the Senate bill, and section 108 of the House amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Mr. Thomas, Mr. Crane, and Mr. Rangel.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate disagree to the House amendment, agree to the request for a conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, and that the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 370, S. 2514, the Department of Defense authorization bill; that there be debate only on the bill during today's session; further, that the Senate resume consideration of the bill at 11 o'clock on Wednesday, June 19.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today the Senate Republican Leader and I are pleased to reestablish the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, or SNOG. We originally established the SNOG in April 1997 to advise the full Senate on the historic first round of enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. It served as an important line of communication between the Senate and NATO and the Senate and candidate countries in the months prior to the July 1997 NATO summit in Madrid at which Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were admitted to the alliance. The SNOG and the information it generated was central to the Senate's ratification of the protocols of accession in April 1998. The Senate debate in 1998 foreshadowed further enlargement of NATO, and in June 2001, the North Atlantic Council determined that NATO would admit at least one candidate country at the November 2002 summit in Prague. In reestablishing the SNOG, we are asking this bipartisan group of our colleagues to closely monitor the enlargement process and to keep the rest of the Senate fully informed as we move to another historic decision at Prague. The SNOG will work with the Administration, our NATO allies, and the NATO candidate countries, of which there are nine. The fact that nine countries have been designated as candidates only highlights the importance of the SNOG in assessing each country's progress in meeting the qualifications for accession and reporting to the Senate on that progress. The Senate takes its constitutional role of advise and consent on treaties very seriously. The protocols of accession signed by new NATO members are considered amendments to the North Atlantic Treaty and will require the advice and consent of the Senate. The inclusion of new member countries into NATO involves a commitment, under Article V of the Treaty, to defend those countries in case of attack--a solemn commitment and one we will not undertake lightly. It is in the security interests of the United States to see NATO expanded, to create a Europe that is whole and free. But it is also the solemn responsibility of the U.S. Senate to look carefully at any new commitments to which American troops might be subject. The SNOG will be chaired by the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, and co-chaired by Senator Helms. The Senate Majority Leader and Republican Leader will be members, ex officio. The other Democratic Senators on the SNOG will be Senators Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Jean Carnahan of Missouri, Max Cleland of Georgia, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Carl Levin of Michigan, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Robert Torricelli of New Jersey, and Paul Wellstone of Minnesota.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, a few minutes ago, prior to the vote we have just now taken, I asked unanimous consent to set aside the Brownback and Ensign amendments, and that was not agreed to. It is now my intention to file a cloture motion on the bill, and I ask that the cloture motion be read.

Mr. DASCHLE. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we will announce the time of the cloture vote which will, of course, occur on Tuesday morning, but I do hope Senators who are interested in the bill at the very least will express themselves today and on Monday. We will be in session on Monday. I hope we can achieve cloture on the terrorism bill. Of course, that is still accommodating Senators who wish to offer amendments for a 30- hour period following the cloture vote should it be successful. Senator Lott and I have just been discussing the schedule for the remainder of the week. Once we have completed our work on the terrorism insurance bill, it will be my intention to move to the Defense authorization bill. I do not think that will take a motion to proceed, but certainly one will be offered if it is required. We will be on that for the remainder of the week and for whatever length of time it will take in the following week. Senators should be reminded that we only have 2 weeks to go in this work period. We are hopeful we can accommodate a number of nominations and a lot of other work besides the Defense authorization bill and the terrorism insurance bill. At the very least, we are going to finish those two pieces of legislation prior to the time we leave. I will announce later today the time for the vote on cloture, but it will be Tuesday morning. I urge my colleagues to be present for that vote. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I am sorry, the Harkin-Allen amendment. Once the Harkin- Allen amendment is disposed of, the pending business is the Ensign and Brownback amendments. I know Senator Brownback could not be here today. So I ask unanimous consent that the Brownback amendment be set aside so that we can entertain other amendments.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Ensign and Brownback amendments be set aside so we can entertain other amendments today and on Monday.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we are about to vote on the Allen amendment----