Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Yes.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, let me just clarify, following the vote we will finish the action on the immigration matter. We will then come back, and it will be all the time anybody needs for colloquy, debate, or any other question they may want to ask either Senator Byrd or Senator Hatfield on the large appropriations bill.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 3019, the omnibus appropriations bill, with the reading having been waived.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I now send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Lautenberg in offering this legislation to remember the 10th anniversary of the terrible nuclear accident at Chernobyl. While 10 years have passed since that tragic day, the health and economic consequence of Chernobyl continue to be borne by the Ukrainian people. I recall quite well how the Chernobyl accident on April 26, 1986 signaled the inhumanity of the totalitarian system of government. At first, the Soviet Government feebly attempted to deny the incident-- with the effect of causing further harm to those who lived in its vicinity. Ultimately, the full scale of the disaster became known, but only after millions in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Poland had been exposed to radioactive fallout. That a government could be so brutal to its people is no surprise to those of us who worked for many years to confront and defeat the totalitarian system. That the Soviet Government could be so brutal to the people of Ukraine was no surprise to a people who endured the forced starvation, massacres, and genocidal policies of Joseph Stalin in the 1930's. The radioactive wasteland around Chernobyl will, unfortunately, serve as a lasting and hideous monument to refute those who would defend such a system, or whose historical memory has faded sufficiently to allow them to forget its evil. Within the catastrophe at Chernobyl were sown the seeds of the downfall of the Soviet system. A fiercely independent people such as the Ukrainians cannot be subjected forever to such abuse. I am proud of the role that I was able to fulfill in the Congress, in full support of Presidents Reagan and Bush, as the United States prevailed, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Ukraine again became an independent state in the momentous year of 1991. I was proud to sponsor legislation which called for direct United States aid to the republics, rather than through Moscow in 1990. The goal of defeating communism and achieving independence for Ukraine was not easily achieved, it was one that required the combined efforts of many nations and many people, including the Ukraine-American community, who simply refused to accept that communism would prevail over the spirit of Ukrainians. Democracy is prevailing in Ukraine today, but the Ukrainian people and Government continue to shoulder the burden of the Chernobyl disaster. Just as the United States joined with the Ukrainian people to defeat communism, we work in partnership to overcome the tragic consequences of Chernobyl. I was pleased to support the Republican initiative in Congress to provide Ukraine with $225 million in assistance this year, including specific assistance to nuclear safety, the development of alternatives to nuclear power and to address the ongoing health problems due to the Chernobyl disaster. I am certain that working together we can bring peace, prosperity, and a better quality of life to the people of Ukraine. I urge my colleagues to support our resolution.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, we still have just a couple of items to do with reference to the pending legislation. But I have had a discussion with the distinguished Democratic leader. We would like to move now to the conference report, then following the vote on the conference report go back and complete action on the pending measure.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I move to table amendment No. 3671 and ask for the yeas and nays. I ask unanimous consent that the vote be 10 minutes.

Mr. DOLE. I will yield for a question. I do not want to frustrate the Democratic leader.

Mr. DOLE. Let me indicate to my colleagues that it will probably be fairly late. We will have a series of votes here. I will try to reduce the votes from three to one. That may be objected to. If not, there will be three votes. That will be followed by the appropriations bill that is here from the House. I am not certain how much debate we will have. It is a $160 billion package. I assume there will be considerable debate. We are probably looking at 12 o'clock, somewhere in there. Having said that, I now ask unanimous consent that it be in order for me to move to table en bloc, which would save time, amendments numbered 3669, 3670, and 3671. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, today marks the 81st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As Armenians gather worldwide today to commemorate the anniversary, I rise to pay tribute to the victims of this tragedy. Although some still refuse to recognize historical fact, there should be no doubt that the Armenian people suffered the first genocide of the modern age. As many of my colleagues know, between the years 1915-23, 1.5 million Armenians were subjected to systematic extermination through a policy of deportation, torture, starvation, and massacre. At the time, the world recognized that the Ottoman Empire had committed a crime against humanity, though the term ``genocide'' would not be coined until years later. The United States condemned the brutal treatment of the Armenians. The United States rendered humanitarian assistance to many of the survivors in the largest relief effort every organized by this country. Yet even with all the facts that we have before us, most of which have been compiled by U.S. sources, some still refuse to acknowledge that there was a genocide. Most of us are willing to look history in the eye and see the danger of closing our eyes and hearts to the truth of the tragedy which took place. We will not cease in our efforts to remember what happened. This year, along with 25 of my colleagues, I signed a bipartisan letter urging the President to use the word ``genocide'' in his statement commemorating the anniversary. Mr. President, while nearly every other nation recognizes the Genocide, one nation still insists that the Genocide never happened--the Government of Turkey. As I have stated in the past, no responsibility for the history of the Genocide rests with either the Turkish people or their modern-day government. The Ottoman Empire, which committed the Genocide against the Armenians, has not existed since October 19, 1923. As Operation Desert Storm again demonstrated, Turkey is an important friend and partner to the United States, and we highly value our friendship with the Turkish Government and people. That friendship would not suffer from, and in fact, would be strengthened, by recognizing the fact of the Armenian Genocide. At a time when the world is beset by problems, including acts of genocide, the United States cannot fail to send a unified message. Only by issuing a clear statement on genocide can the United States convey to the world our Nation's resolve and determination to prevent such crimes from recurring. We cannot allow history to dictate the future, but neither can we forget history nor turn our backs on the truth. On this 81st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, let all of us as Americans, even as we remember the tragic events of the past, rededicate ourselves to making sure it never happens again. Finally, I would add that President Clinton has just issued his statement commemorating the anniversary of the Genocide. It is unfortunate that unlike his statement in 1992, this year's statement does not use the historically correct word of ``genocide'' to describe what happened to the Armenian people from 1915 to 1923. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that our letter to the President be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I am pleased today to announce the Senate's Golden Gavel Awards for the 104th Congress. Each Congress, one important tradition we have is to honor colleagues who preside over the Senate for more than 100 hours. As all Senators know, presiding is frequently a difficult, thankless, and tiring task. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Golden Gavel recipients today for their tireless efforts. I know that all Senators join me in congratulating our colleagues. The recipients are as follows: Senator Mike DeWine, Senator Rod Grams, Senator Bill Frist, Senator John Ashcroft, Senator Rick Santorum, Senator Fred Thompson, Senator Spence Abraham, Senator Craig Thomas, Senator Jon Kyl, and Senator Jim Inhofe.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I make a motion to table and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DOLE. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for 1 minute.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, under Title 8 of the U.S. Code, a number of criminal offenses are deemed deportable offenses. However, although aliens are deportable for criminal offenses, there are a number of crimes that should be grounds for deportation that are left unaddressed; and the wording of the statute itself uses vague language like crimes of moral turpitude that lack the certainty we should desire. The amendment offered by Senator Coverdell and myself seeks to remedy this problem by making clear that our society will not tolerate crimes against women and children. The criminal law should be a reflection of the best of our values, and it is important that we not only send a message that we will protect our citizens against these assaults, but that we back it up as well. Under our amendment, certain criminal offenses would be grounds for deportation. These offenses include: conviction of a crime of domestic violence; violation of a judicial protection order in a domestic violence context; conviction for stalking; conviction for child abuse, child sexual abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment, and conviction of rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, or other crimes of sexual violence. crimes of domestic violence Adding these additional and specified categories of offenses closes the existing loopholes. Many crimes, ranging from simple assault to murder can be committed in a domestic violence context. Simple assault or assault and battery are not necessarily going to be interpreted as crimes of moral turpitude. Yet, because they may not otherwise fall within the other definitions--such as an aggravated felony--of deportable offenses, an alien convicted of such a crime might not be deported. Our amendment would cover all convictions for domestic violence offenses, including those for which a sentence of less than 1 year is available. violation of a protective order In many States, protective orders in domestic violence situations have been ineffective due to problems with enforceability and insufficient penalties for violations. This is undoubtedly one reason all 50 States have passed anti-stalking legislation. Greater attention to the problem has influenced a number of States to make violation of a protective order a separate criminal offense. However, making violation of a protective order a grounds for deportation will put more teeth into such an order. The amendment does not require a conviction of violating protection order and thus would cover violations even in States where violating an order is not a separate criminal offense. This is an important loophole that must be closed. stalking It is long past time to stop the vicious act of stalking in our country. We cannot prevent in every case the often justified fear that too often haunts our citizens. But we can make sure that any alien that commits such an act we no longer remain within our borders. It is estimated that over 200,000 women are stalked each year in the United States. Approximately 5 percent of all women will be stalked at some point in their lives. Stalking behavior often leads to violence which may result in the serious injury or death of stalking victims. Stalkers often repeat their stalking behavior and escalate to violence. Of all the women killed in the United States by husbands or boyfriends, 90 percent were stalked before being murdered. But since stalking laws are fairly new, they may not be defined as crimes of moral turpitude in many States--they thus may not be covered by existing law. Similarly, in many States, the maximum penalty for stalking is less than 1 year--which strikes me as far too little--and therefore an alien may be convicted of a stalking offense and yet not be deported. We can't wait for stalkers to strike a second time. Let's deport them the first time. Mr. President, we face the same kinds of problems with existing law when we confront other crimes against women and children. While some of these offenses may be deportable under the existing headings of crimes of moral turpitude or aggravated felony, they are not necessarily and always covered. They should be. Uniformity is also a problem. Whether a crime is one of moral turpitude is a question of State law and thus varies from State to State. An offense may be deportable in one State and not deportable in another. Mr. President, America already bears a horrendous burden when it comes to the level of violence among our citizens. It is not asking too much that we insist that we treat crimes against women and children as seriously as we do other offenses. Nor should we have to wait for that last violent act. When someone is an alien and has already shown a predisposition toward violence against women and children, we should get rid of them the first time. We owe that much to our citizens.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Concurrent Resolution 54 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 55, submitted earlier by Senator Hatch. I further ask unanimous consent that these resolutions be agreed to, en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc, and that any statements relating to either of these resolutions appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, late this afternoon the conference committee on the five major appropriations bills had a breakthrough and reached an agreement. I want to reinforce what has been said by other Members of leadership and by Chairman Hatfield, Chairman Livingston on the House side, and their Democratic counterparts. In my view, after a long, long difficult process, I believe we have a package that can be supported by hopefully nearly everybody on both sides of the aisle. Some will complain the cuts are not deep enough. Others are going to complain the cuts go too far. But I believe that in the final analysis we will save about $23 billion over the last fiscal year through the appropriations process. That is very significant. That is a lot of money. That is an indication that the appropriations process has worked and we can make reductions, the Government can continue even though we make reductions. Many of us hoped we could do better. There are also a number of environmental issues that were resolved to the satisfaction, I believe, of most everyone in the conference. Some will be raised again on subsequent appropriations bills. But I wanted to take a moment to thank all those who were involved in the negotiations and all those who were willing to give and take so that this matter could be resolved and get it behind us. It is time to move on to 1997 appropriations. We look forward to that. We hope we can pass all the appropriations bills by August 1 of this year. So keep in mind, we will take this up tomorrow. The House will act first. We hope to dispose of it before we go out tomorrow evening. We need to dispose of it before we go out tomorrow evening. But the bottom line is, according to those who have been keeping track of the numbers, we will save $23 billion this fiscal year because of the appropriators and the appropriations process and their good work. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, 2 years ago, the Medicare trustees--three of whom are members of the President's Cabinet--reported to President Clinton and Congress that Medicare would be bankrupt by the year 2002. From the day the Medicare trustees issued their report, Republicans have worked to preserve and strengthen Medicare. We proposed to do this not by cutting Medicare--but by slowing its rate of growth. Under the Republican plan adopted by Congress, annual spending per Medicare beneficiary would increase from $4,800 this year to more than $7,200 in 2002. If you believed what President Clinton and some of my friends on the other side of the aisle had to say, however, you would have thought that instead of increasing Medicare spending from $4,800 per beneficiary to $7,200 per beneficiary, Republicans were trying to throw America's seniors out on the streets. And to the President's credit as a public speaker, a lot of Americans believed what he was saying. There is, however, a very big difference between leading and misleading. Republicans chose to lead--and we suffered in the polls because of it. President Clinton chose to mislead--and he gained in the polls because of it. But as a story in this morning's New York Times makes very clear, the President's gain came at the expense of the millions and millions of Americans who depend on Medicare. The story reveals the fact that Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund, which pays hospital bills for the elderly and disabled, lost $4.2 billion--that is billion with a ``B''--in the first half of the current fiscal year. Those losses are more than 100 times larger than the $35.7 million loss the trust fund experienced all last year. The $4.2 billion loss is also in stark contrast to the rosy scenario coming out of the White House last year. As part of their attempt to lead the public to believe that Republicans concern with Medicare was ``much ado about nothing,'' they predicted that the Medicare trust fund would take in $45 million more than it would spend in the current fiscal year. Obviously, the White House was as off base in its economic projections as they were in their political accusations. The article also reports that Roland King, former chief actuary of the Health Care Financing Administration, which runs Medicare, said that after analyzing these new numbers, he believes the hospital insurance trust fund will not run out in 2002 as the trustees originally projected. Instead, it will run out in 2000 or 2001. I am sure that a number of Republicans are tempted to say ``I told you so,'' this morning. But saying that will get us no closer to the solutions necessary to save Medicare from bankruptcy. And so, Mr. President, this Senator stands ready to work on a bipartisan basis to save, preserve, and strengthen Medicare. It is my hope that in the face of these alarming new numbers, the President will choose the path of leading rather than the path of misleading.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I ask for my leader time on this issue plus another issue I will speak to briefly.

Mr. DOLE. Madam President, was leader's time reserved?