Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Is the Senator prepared to vote at, say 5 after 3?

Mr. DOLE. Up or down on the amendment?

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to vote on the Harkin amendment.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I just want to give my colleagues a status report on where I think we are. I believe we are making progress, but I am not certain because I see some additional amendments that have been added, additional cost items, add-backs--about $60 million. Then the offset has been reduced by about $60 million. It is about $120 million that has sort of disappeared here without our knowledge on this side. We are perfectly willing to discuss these items or look at offsets that might be offered. $46 million for Job Corps; I do not know where that came from. That came out of the blue; never discussed it yesterday. TRIO, whatever TRIO is; immigration and education; substance abuse and mental health--all these things. There is already a great deal of money in the bill for all of these programs. Then the IRS offset disappeared. That was $50 million. Library is $10 million; maybe one or two others. So we have sort of gone backwards on the deficit reduction and forwards on spending more money. Now, maybe in the overall mix of things, because this is about a $16 billion rescission package, we should not quarrel about $120 million. But I think there may be principle involved here, too. If we are going to negotiate, then we ought to negotiate and finish this bill, or finish it tomorrow. I am not going to stay here very much longer tonight if we are not making any more progress than we are. So we will come back tomorrow. But I hope before that decision is made we can come to some conclusion on where these amendments came from. Why were there not any offsets? Why did we lose some $60 million on the offset side, savings side? Then I think we would be prepared to reach some agreement. know the Senator from Minnesota has an amendment. And I know there is a managers' amendment. Then I think there was one additional amendment. The Senator from Iowa has an amendment on CPB. I thought those were all of the amendments. Then we discovered there are four more amendments that have been added back without a vote or anything else. Then there were some taken out of the savings side without a vote or anything else. I just say to my colleagues on the other side. We want to be cooperative, but we cannot do business this way. I am prepared to see if we cannot work something out in the next 30 minutes. If not, we will recess for the evening and come back sometime tomorrow. Are we yet in a position to get a time agreement? We are never going to finish it unless some people are willing to give us some time agreements.

Mr. DOLE. I just say to my colleagues, if they want to stay here all night, that is fine. But we are going to come back in the morning if we cannot close this down in about 5 minutes. It is about 10 o'clock. Most everybody is here tomorrow, and we will come back if we cannot conclude this, come back tomorrow morning. If everybody needs to talk, let them talk and we will come back and vote tomorrow morning. Mr. President, why can we not proceed to vote on the Harkin amendment?

Mr. DOLE. Sure.

Mr. DOLE. On your side.

Mr. DOLE. I am not quarreling with the Senator from Kentucky. I will give you one example. The Senator from Mississippi, Senator Cochran, has been following the Women, Infants, and Children program, WIC, very carefully. He is very sensitive to that program. So we are adding back $35 million, which he says we cannot spend, just cannot spend it. But you know we added it back. So I assume it will not be spent. So it is not really an add-on. I am certain there are other programs which are the same. But all I am suggesting is I think we are very, very close to getting this done, except for these new add-backs that I was not aware of, and then some of the deductions that have gone on that I was not aware of. So, hopefully, we can resolve those matters very quickly. And one way to do it quickly is to get Members to give us a time agreement. I wonder if we not in a position to get a time agreement on the Bryan-Bumpers amendment so we can move on to some other amendments and so we are not just wasting our time waiting for the Senator from Arkansas to give us permission to proceed. Is there another amendment that we can proceed to?

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

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

Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 30 minutes equally divided on the Bryan-Bumpers amendment. In fact, we are prepared to give Senator Bryan 20 minutes as the proponent of the amendment and we will take 10 on this side.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that, following the disposition of the above listed amendments, the Senate proceed to vote on the Hatfield substitute, to be followed by third reading and final passage of H.R. 1158, as amended, all without any intervention action or debate. But before the Chair rules on that, I think it is best to have a colloquy at this time with the distinguished Senator from New York with reference to the amendment on Mexico, which would be critical to winding up this package this evening, as I understand from the Democratic leader and others. So I am happy to yield to the Senator from New York. Mr. D'AMATO addressed the Chair.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I think we have the agreement. I think I did ask unanimous consent that following the disposition of the above-listed amendments, the Senate proceed to vote on the Hatfield substitute, to be followed by third reading and final passage of H.R. 1158, as amended, without any intervening action or debate.

Mr. DOLE. I also ask unanimous consent that, if there is more than one vote, any succeeding votes be limited to 10 minutes.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I would also ask my colleagues, even though they have 20 minutes or 15 minutes, different time allotments, that I think we could save some time. I want to thank the distinguished Democratic leader for his cooperation throughout the day and throughout yesterday, and throughout part of the night last night. I believe we are within striking distance of concluding a bill that now totals about $16 billion in rescissions--$16 billion. This bill will go to conference and some of the issues that some people have concerns about will be raised again in the conference. Regardless of what your concern may be, if you think it is too much or too little, it can be raised in the conference. So I thank all of my colleagues for their cooperation. I think we have made progress. I can tell you that the end is in sight. I yield the floor. Mr. DASCHLE addressed the Chair.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, by my calculation, we should be voting by now. Could I be advised why we are still talking?

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, with all the rhetoric spoken over the last few days, some of us seem to have forgotten why we are here--to cut unnecessary spending. Yes, there will always fundamental commitment to reassess every Federal program and reduce Federal expenditures must be paramount. I am pleased the Democratic leader and I have reached agreement, supported by our colleagues, that will enable us to help keep our promise to the American people. In the amendment, a very limited number of programs which Members on both sides of the aisle support, have received smaller reductions in their rate of increase. At the same time, the amendment also contains a number of items that will result in additional savings being achieved. Most important to this Senator, overall the amendment will result in additional deficit reduction. As a result of this amendment, the package we will send to the conference will contain approximately $16 billion in savings. I repeat, $16 billion--that's not over 2 years or 5 years, that's this year. For all those who supported a balanced budget--rest assured we are committed to achieving that goal even if it means making some tough choices. Of course, the real hard decisions have yet to be made. And, we will not be deterred by the hue and cry of the last few days about all the so-called terrible things the Republicans have proposed. This bill is certainly progress, but we still have a long way to go. While I am pleased we were finally able to reach consensus--I caution everyone that the real hard choices are yet to come.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, if I could have my colleagues' attention.

Mr. DOLE. It is my understanding there will be no requests for a vote on either side on the defense supplemental bill, no request for a vote on the contract board, the District of Columbia, no request for a record vote on child pornography, and the paperwork simplification conference report is done, and other wrap-up material with only minor changes in the Constitution. But I just say for my colleagues, it will be our intention at 1 o'clock on Monday, April 24, to begin consideration of H.R. 956, the product liability bill, and following disposition of product liability it will be my intention to proceed to S. 652, the telecommunications bill. Votes could occur during Monday's session of the Senate but will not occur prior to the hour of 3 p.m. on Monday, April 24.

Mr. DOLE. This will be the last vote until hopefully April 24, after 3 p.m. There could be votes after 3 p.m. If we should decide in the interim there will be no votes, we will try to notify you the earliest possible time before you are in the air. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DOLE. So that will be 20 and 10, 20 minutes for Senator Harkin and 10 minutes in opposition.

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, as I understand it, the Senator from Nevada is prepared to offer an amendment. I wonder if we might agree to a 30- minute time agreement on the amendment?

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, if the Senator from Minnesota would just give us about 5 minutes, then we will come back to the Senator from Minnesota.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, for several years there have been attempts to create a national tall grass prairie preserve on nearly 11,000 acres in Kansas, known as the Z-Bar Ranch. Proposals for this preserve have faced valid opposition from concerned citizens and landowners in the area. Today, Senator Kassebaum is introducing legislation which I expect will establish a successful public/private partnership. I commend Senator Kassebaum's leadership efforts to establish a prairie park in Kansas. In January 1992, she organized the Spring Hill/ Z-Bar Ranch Foundation to raise money for the purchase of the ranch. This private foundation also addressed many of the concerns of local residents and landowners. Last summer, the Z-Bar Ranch was sold to a private trust. But establishing Z-Bar as a national preserve requires legislation. Senator Kassebaum has worked diligently to strike a balance which is acceptable to all parties. This bill authorizes the Federal Government to purchase or to accept a donation of up to 180 acres of the Z-Bar Ranch. I have always supported Senator Kassebaum's efforts to encourage private participation in the establishment of a national prairie preserve. With a private/public partnership, we can officially recognize the tall grass prairie while limiting the involvement of the Federal Government. This year, the National Park Trust, who currently owns the ranch, offered to donate the core area of land to the Federal Government. This will minimize the cost of establishing the preserve. In my view, a compromise which includes minimal Federal ownership and continued local input sets this proposal apart from other efforts. The tall grass prairie is a vital part of the natural environment and heritage of the high plains. We must protect and preserve it. Anyone who has driven through the Flint Hills of Kansas appreciates the beauty of this prairie. I am pleased to join Senator Kassebaum today in cosponsoring this legislation. Her success in creating a partnership between public and private efforts will help preserve the history of the Midwest.