Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, if I could have the attention of my colleagues, I ask that the cloture vote be postponed. Let me indicate what we believe is in progress. We have been working for the last 2 or 3 hours with a number of Members on each side of the aisle and with Chairman Lugar and the ranking member, Senator Leahy, on the Senate Agriculture Committee. I am not certain if there is an agreement yet, but we may be close to an agreement. We think it would save a considerable amount of time if we could suspend it temporarily. I understand the Democrats have a conference at 5:30.

Mr. DOLE. I know a number of Members have other engagements. I will be in a position, maybe by 6 o'clock, to indicate whether we have an agreement or do not have an agreement. If we do not have an agreement, we will vote on cloture. If we do have an agreement, we will try to get a time agreement and consider all amendments--en bloc?

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I can tell Members now that there will not be any votes for a while. We will try to give an a announcement at 6 o'clock. We hope we can have a short time agreement. If there is an agreement overall on the agriculture bill, we would not be here too late this evening. If not, we would have to come back tomorrow or sometime next week. So I say to my colleagues that we will let you know as soon as we have any information. And I appreciate your cooperation. Mr. DASCHLE addressed the Chair.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, 16 years ago, America was flat on her back. Our economy was a disaster. The only things up were inflation, interest rates, and unemployment--all in or near double digits. Abroad, our resolve was questioned by our allies and doubted by our adversaries. Many so-called experts--including some in the Government--surveyed the situation, wrung their hands, shook their heads, and pronounced that the United States was in decline: That our best days were far behind us. But one man knew better. And that man was Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan knew that power belonged with the people, not with the Government. He knew that the best solutions to our problems came not from bureaucrats on the Potomac, but from men and women on the Mississippi, the Colorado, and the Columbia. Ronald Reagan knew that economic recovery could be achieved not through regulations and redtape, but by allowing the magic of the marketplace to work its wonders. Ronald Reagan knew that America was right far more often than she was wrong. Ronald Reagan knew that military strength was not the means to war, but the key to peace. Ronald Reagan knew that world respect came not from appeasement, but from standing by your friends, by speaking up for freedom, and by drawing the line against dictators. Ronald Reagan knew that America was still a shining city on a hill, and that our Nation's best days were truly yet to come. It was this vision that Ronald Reagan presented in 1980 and 1984. It was this vision that the voters approved in overwhelming margins. It was this vision that brought hope and opportunity to millions. It was this vision that revitalized America, and changed the world. Mr. President, next Tuesday is Ronald Reagan's 85th birthday. And the resolution we pass today will extend to President Reagan the greetings and best wishes of the U.S. Senate. And I know I speak for all Members of the Senate, when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with the President and Nancy.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. We would like to dispose of it this evening. We are hoping there can be an agreement and that we have 80 votes on cloture--not 61 or 59, or whatever. I know some Members have to depart fairly soon. We are trying to accommodate everyone. It is difficult to do. But I think they are meeting as we speak in a bipartisan group.

Mr. DOLE. I will assure the Senator I am interested, too, just as the Senator from Arkansas is. If we get bogged down on this, we could set it aside. We have regular order to bring it back.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that the pending cloture vote be temporarily laid aside.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, what is the pending business?

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Let me repeat the request.

Mr. DOLE. Yes.

Mr. DOLE. I have not made the request yet. I will repeat what I said and make the request.

Mr. DOLE. I think the managers on each side of the aisle are here. We do not want to take a lot of time. We are trying to work out something on the agriculture bill, a bipartisan solution, if you please. Senator Lugar, Senator Leahy, and others on both sides have been active. We had a meeting in Senator Daschle's office, including myself, Senator Daschle, Senator Leahy, and Senator Lugar. We believe there can be a resolution. But rather than keep people here late, late tonight, we would like to move ahead and have the debate on the telecommunications conference report. I understand that is agreeable to the Senators from South Dakota and South Carolina. I think there is a need to get consent on the other side of the aisle before we can proceed. There is no time limit. We hope to get an hour or two for a time limit. We said we cannot get that at the present time. But we would like to ask consent--I will not make the request now, but if we can get it cleared, I would simply ask consent that, notwithstanding the absence of official papers, the Senate now turn to the consideration of the conference report to accompany S. 652, the telecommunications bill, and the conference report be considered read. That would just permit us to go ahead and have the debate. I ask unanimous consent, notwithstanding the absence of official papers----

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the absence of the official papers--they are somewhere else--the Senate now turn to the consideration of the conference report to accompany S. 652, the telecommunications bill, and the conference report be considered read.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE. I thought we had an agreement about voting on yours first, then you vitiated the yeas and nays, and so there is nothing there.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, here we go again, another farm debate. Winter wheat farmers have already planted. They could not wait any longer for Congress to act. It happens about the end of every 5-year farm program. There is always a little gap, and particularly winter wheat producers do not have much choice but to plant fence to fence and hope we will pass the farm bill, and then they can comply with the law at that time. President Eisenhower was born in Kansas and raised in rural America. He hit the nail on head when he said, ``Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're 1,000 miles from a corn field.'' That statement was made a long time ago, but it has not changed over the years. What I see happening here is we thought we had a pretty good compromise worked out, but now I understand the other side of the aisle, for the most part, has said, ``No, we are not going to let it happen. We do not believe in the freedom to farm. We do not believe in transition payments. We do not believe you ought to take a look at many farmers and say, OK, have this 7-year period also be a transition and during that period they will determine whether or not we ought to continue farm programs or whether we ought to bring them to an end.'' I must say, as I sat in a meeting here a while back with Secretary Glickman--a good friend of mine who is doing a good job as Secretary-- one thing he said bothered me: ``Farm prices are so high in the market, people may not sign up for the program.'' I thought that was the goal-- go back into the marketplace with high prices so farmers could rely on the market rather than the Government. Produce for the market. That is what the freedom to farm act is all about. I do not know where we go from here if we do not get cloture on the so-called compromise. I want to congratulate the distinguished chairman of our committee, Senator Lugar, and Senator Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee, and others, Senator Craig from Idaho and Senator Grassley from Iowa, my own staff and others who have been working, we thought, in sort of a bipartisan way so we can get to conference. If we do not go to conference, we will not have anything. I know farm bills are difficult. We have had farm bill debates on this floor before and they are even more difficult on the House side. Normally you can pass a farm bill in the Senate. It is a little easier because most of us represent some farmers. Some may not fully realize it, but there are always a few farmers in every State. I know in my State we have a saying, ``if you do not eat, don't worry about the farm.'' A lot of people do eat, but not many worry about the farm. We have the best food bargain in the world. We spend less of our disposable income on food in America than any other industrialized nation because of our farmers and ranchers in America, and now we are trying to have a little safety net here, a little farm bill, to make certain that certain things happen and there will be some protection there. Farming looks pretty easy to some. But we know the tremendous amount of work required by not only farmers but their families. We know there is overregulation, overtaxation, and I have had farmers tell me if we get rid of some of the regulations and other things we could keep the subsidies. We would probably be better off. Farmers make a lot of sacrifices. They have hailstorms, winter kill, a lot of other things to contend with, sometimes they do not have any crop at all, sometimes they live from crop to crop, and sometimes they borrow money every year and every year and every year. It is pretty important that we move ahead in this Chamber. They have enough uncertainties out there without the uncertainty of whether or not we will act. I believe on this side of the aisle we are prepared almost unanimously to act. It does not mean we think it is perfect. It does not mean we cannot address some of the concerns expressed by my distinguished colleagues on the other side, including the Democratic leader, who also understands agriculture, coming from South Dakota, and hopefully we will be able to work together on this. While negotiations continue, as I said, Kansas farmers have planted their crop without knowing any program details, and farmers of other crops will be in the same position unless we take action. We did take action last year, and we attached the legislation to our historic Balanced Budget Act. The legislation would have provided farmers with certainty, simplicity, and flexibility-- three key words when you are on the farm. It would have allowed them to plant for the market and not for the Government. It would have set a policy that transitions our farmers into the next century, without disrupting the farm economy or land values. That act was vetoed by the President of the United States. I do not think the American farmer should forget that--or the farm families. That act was vetoed by President Clinton. That is why we are here today. That is why we are late. That is why we do not have our work done. It seems to me that we ought to get together here, pass the legislation contained--the language we passed last year. That will be the first vote on cloture. I urge my colleagues to support that. I believe the plan is good for farmers and good for taxpayers and good for America. I have some reservations just as some of the others have reservations, that we could address in conference. I probably would be a conferee. After that vote, we will also have a cloture vote on a bipartisan package, and I congratulate those who put that together. I think it does respond to the crisis. I thought we would have a third cloture vote but the Senator from North Dakota, Senator Dorgan, vitiated cloture, which really started all this--I do not quite understand that--on a 1-year extension. My view is we have two votes, we have two opportunities to move ahead for American agriculture. Stop the uncertainty right now. I guess the good news for America's farmers is that this bipartisan agreement keeps intact the provisions farmers have overwhelmingly endorsed: Certainty, simplicity, and flexibility. We also have dairy provisions, nutrition, and conservation. I believe the Senate must provide leadership and keep faith with our commitment to rural America and move this farm bill forward. I believe it is good for farmers, it is good for America. I finally say, if I can take a minute or two of leader's time, over 200 years ago, George Washington wrote: ``I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture.'' I think those words were probably pretty good a couple hundred years ago and I think they are just as true today. Now, I certainly hope that we could obtain cloture on both bills, if not on the bipartisan efforts put together by Democrats and Republicans--by Democrats and Republicans. Then let us go to conference, let us work together in a bipartisan way in the conference, come up with a package that the American farmer can live with, the American consumers will benefit from, and that the American taxpayers will also support.

Mr. DOLE. Not today.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I first want to thank the Senator from Arizona for his statement. I can assure him that if the FCC means what they say in the letter, ``only pursuant to additional legislation it may adopt resolving this issue''--I think both the Senator from Arizona and the Senator from Kansas are going to be around. And there will not be any legislation unless it resolves the issue fairly for the American taxpayer. I think this is very important. I know there are Members on each side of the aisle who are concerned about it. It is not a partisan issue. Here we are, trying to balance the budget, cutting welfare, cutting other programs, and about to give a big handout here to the rich, the powerful. We have not seen a single story on any of the networks about this issue. We see a lot of stories on the networks about some Member of Congress going somewhere on a ``junket,'' they always like to say on the networks. But I have not seen anybody, except for CNN, not a single story on what could be the biggest giveaway of the century--not one. I think we could have done better in the discussions, myself, yesterday. I talked to the Speaker, and the Speaker said, ``You got rolled.'' Everybody got rolled. But that is history. It will not happen again. I think this is a very important issue. You will not see it on television. You will not see it on the networks. You probably will not see it in any newspaper that owns television because this affects them. We should not raise things, in effect, for the rich and the powerful. So I appreciate the concerns expressed, and we will continue to pursue this matter.

Mr. DOLE. I am happy to yield.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be deemed read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements be placed at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I regret that we were not able to accommodate the House of Representatives with reference to House Concurrent Resolution 141. I am not certain what action the House will take. It will be up to them. We have tried it for an hour and a half. My view is that it should not be our concern what the House does. They are a separate body and they wish to adjourn until the 26th of February. We are not able to get the Democratic leader to agree.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. President, the plaintiff in a child support controversy pending in California Superior Court has requested that a former caseworker for Senator William V. Roth, Jr., submit a declaration for use in that proceeding. The plaintiff, who resides in Delaware, obtained assistance from Senator Roth's office in aid of her efforts to obtain child support. The substance of telephone conversations between Senator Roth's caseworker and the Monterey County District Attorney's office, which has responsibility in child support matters in California, has become an issue in the case, as a contention has been made that Senator Roth's caseworker had authority to speak for the constituent regarding proposed settlement of the case. Senator Roth's former caseworker has informed the plaintiff's attorney to the contrary that she never sought to convey to the District Attorney instructions about settling the case or represented herself as authorized to speak for the constituent in approving a settlement. Senator Roth's believes that it is appropriate for his former caseworker to submit a declaration describing her conversations with the District Attorney's office to ensure that the Court is accurately informed about the limited role played by his office. Mr. President, this resolution would authorize Senator Roth's former caseworker to submit a declaration in this matter.