Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Faircloth and ask for its immediate consideration.

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. For the information of all Senators, the Senate will reconvene on Tuesday for a period of morning business. There will be no rollcall votes. We will be in about 2 hours. Each side will have about an hour for morning business. The Senate will then convene on Wednesday for another period of morning business. The Senate will then adjourn over until Thursday. And on Thursday, at 11:45 a.m., there will be a joint meeting of both Houses to hear an address by the President of France, President Chirac. Members should be in the Senate at approximately 11:25 in order to proceed to the House of Representatives. Following that address, the Senate will then debate and conduct a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to a Lugar-Dole farm bill introduced earlier this evening. Also, the Senate could turn to any items that can be cleared for action, and all Senators should be aware that rollcall votes are expected during Thursday's session.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until the hour of 11 a.m., Tuesday, January 30; further, that immediately following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be deemed approved to date, no resolutions come over under the rule, the call of the calendar be dispensed with, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and there then be a period for morning business until the hour of 1 p.m., the time equally divided between the two parties.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate concur in the amendment of the House to the Senate amendment and that any statements relating to the measure appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives on H.R. 2029, a bill to amend the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to provide regulatory relief. The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the House agree to the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 2029) entitled ``An Act to amend the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to provide regulatory relief, and for other purposes'', with the following amendment: In lieu of the matter inserted by the Senate amendment to the text of the bill, insert:

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, let me indicate that we hope to have a conference report on the telecom bill by Thursday. It is a very important bill. It ought to be completed. We are working on a number of issues including the spectrum issue which I feel strongly about. If you noted--in fact, I will place it in the Record-- today the spectrum sale which was estimated by the CBO to bring between $20 million and $100 million brought $682 million. So as we look at ways to reduce the deficit, let us not start a big giveaway program to some of the broadcasters in America who can afford to pay for it. I know they are not very happy. I know they are not very happy with me. But all I ask them is when they make their statements and their criticisms, they use the facts. I see a lot of things on the networks about things that happen in Congress and how we waste money and all the things that Members of Congress do, but I have not seen a single story except for CNN on the spectrum on any of the major networks, on how much it means to them, how many billions of dollars it means to them--free. So I would just hope in their objective reporting as they cover us in the Congress and as they cover other events across America they might at least devote maybe one or two minutes to what the spectrum is all about so the American people understand it is not what they say it is about; it is about real money. The late Senator Dirksen used to say, ``$1 billion here and $1 billion there soon adds up to real money.'' This is real money, and at the time we are reducing welfare programs and other programs that affect poor people, I hope that those who could afford to pay would be happy to do so--or I would say at least would do so. And we hope we can work that out.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1544, a bill to authorize the conveyance of the William Langer Jewel Bearing Plant to the Job Development Authority of the city of Rolla, ND, introduced earlier today by Senators Dorgan and Conrad; that the bill be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with the above occurring without intervening action or debate; and that any statements relating thereto be placed at the appropriate place in the Record as if read.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, with the passage of the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, instead of the headline reading ``Government Shuts Down,'' it will read ``Government Scaled Down.'' Instead of adding to the frustration that the American people have with Government, we'll be adding to the amount of money we are saving taxpayers. Instead of punishing Federal employees; we'll be eliminating unnecessary Federal programs. Everybody knows that this bill is not perfect. Each of us, if given the opportunity, would write it differently. Some, like President Clinton, would prefer to spend more tax dollars. Others, like me, would spend less. But I think we can all agree that this bill is much better than shutting down the Government. The bottom line here, Mr. President, is that with this Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, we fulfill our commitment to keep the Government open, while at the same time we ensure at least $30 billion in budgetary savings for the current fiscal year. This puts the focus back where it belongs: On cutting unnecessary Washington spending and reducing the budget deficit. And let me leave no doubt: The Republican promise to the American people to balance the budget the right way in 7 years is not something we are willing to sacrifice. We will never relent in our fight to protect future generations of Americans and leave them the legacy of a better America. And today's continuing resolution is a genuine downpayment on that promise. Let me also briefly mention that this continuing resolution includes the fiscal year 1996 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, which has been held up for many months by pro-abortion special interest groups. I am pleased that the resolution contains many provisions which I drafted or strongly supported. These include: An assurance that countries which have embarked on the peace process in the Middle East--Israel, Egypt, and Jordan--will receive important support for their search for a just and lasting peace. A restriction on aid to Bosnian Serbs, a doubling to $100 million in military draw down authority to equip, arm, and train Bosnian Government forces, and a provision limiting assistance to any country which harbors international war criminals. A requirement of human rights certification before additional assistance can be provided to Haiti. This is in response to the overwhelming evidence indicating that elements of the Government of Haiti have been involved in political assassinations--a sad outcome for a U.S. military operation that was alleged to be about democracy and the rule of law. Assistance for critical states on the periphery of the newly resurgent Russia--especially Ukraine and Armenia. This bill also provides for the Transcaucus enterprise fund--an idea I first proposed in 1994. This bill also contains provisions to encourage the administration to honor its stated commitment to expand NATO eastward--sooner, rather than later. The Republican Congress has repeatedly been forced to push the Clinton administration on the issue of NATO expansion--another case where the administration's deeds have not matched their words. Finally, the bill contains the Humanitarian Aid Corridors Act--a limitation on aid to countries which impede the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid to other countries. This important provision will help ensure we get the best bang for our foreign aid buck. I was proud to be the lead sponsor of this provision. Mr. President, it has been a long and difficult process to get the foreign operations conference report to this point. And let me congratulate subcommittee Chairman McConnell for his leadership and perseverance.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I want to ask consent now that we have three consecutive votes. I will make the request here. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that H.R. 2880 be advanced to third reading. I now ask for the yeas and nays on final passage of H.R. 2880.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that it be in order for me to ask for the yeas and nays on adoption of the conference report to accompany S. 1124, the DOD authorization bill, and that the vote occur on adoption of the conference report immediately following the vote on H.R. 2880.

Mr. DOLE. Sure. I would put them en bloc.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, what we may propose here, at the Democratic leader's suggestion, is to vote on this matter, vote on final passage, vote on the START treaty, vote on DOD, and then anybody who may wish to discuss these matters can do that.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I certainly want to compliment the distinguished Senator from South Carolina, Senator Thurmond, for his dogged determination. The bill went to the White House once. It was vetoed. It came back. As everybody knows Senator Thurmond, he did not give up, and tonight the bill passed with a wide margin, primarily because of Senator Thurmond's persistence and insistence and his willingness to make some changes that satisfied Members on the other side and the President. I think it was an outstanding job. I congratulate the Senator because I think he has the assurance it will be signed by the White House.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, in his State of the Union Address, President Clinton announced his intention to reenlist his administration in the war against drugs. Those are welcome words to all of us who have looked to the White House for leadership in that war these past 3 years, only to be disappointed time and time again. From the gutting of the Drug Czar's Office to the appointment of a Surgeon General who spoke out in favor of legalizing drugs, the message from this administration has been one in stark contrast to the ``just say no'' message that was so successful in reducing drug use in the 1980's. The President's words of Tuesday evening, however, give hope that he has recognized that the very disturbing increase in drug use among America's youth these past 3 years is proof that his policies have not worked. And I look forward to hearing from General McCaffrey, the new Drug Czar, and hope that he will work closely with the Congressional Task Force on National Drug Policy, which Speaker Gingrich and I appointed, and which is chaired by Senators Grassley and Hatch, and Congressmen Zeliff and Hyde. If we are to truly win the war on drugs, however, then President Clinton should appoint Federal judges who punish law breakers, and not law enforcement officers. And if a case that occurred in New York City this week is a sign of the type of judges that the President has appointed, then we might as well wave the white flag. Let me briefly describe this case: While stationed in an unmarked patrol car, a New York City police officer watched four men walk single file up to a trunk of a car parked in a known hub of drug activity, and place large duffel bags inside the trunk. The men then noticed the police officer and ran off in different directions. Upon searching the trunk of the car, the officers discovered that the duffel bags contained 75 pounds of cocaine, and 4 pounds of heroin--a discovery that had a street value of $4 million. The driver of the car gave the police a full videotaped confession, detailing her 4-year history in a drug-dealing ring. On Wednesday, however, Federal District Court Judge Harold Baer, Jr., ruled that the drugs and the videotaped confession could not be used as evidence. The reasoning? The judge said that running away from the police was not suspicious behavior, because--and I quote: ``The residents of the neighborhood tended to regard police officers as corrupt, abusive, and violent.'' Unless this ruling is overturned, a confessed drug dealer will go free. Let us hope that this is the only appointee of President Clinton who apparently believes that police officers are a bigger threat to the well-being of our communities than those who peddle drugs to our kids. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an editorial from today's Wall Street Journal discussing this very disturbing case be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I just want to indicate this is the last day for our pages. We will have a new group of pages beginning next week. We certainly want to indicate to all of them on each side how much we appreciate their services and how meaningful their services have been. We hope that it has been a great experience for you. We look forward to seeing some of you standing where we are standing in a few years, because that is how it all starts. You get sort of interested in something. But primarily I want to say thank you, and the best wishes as you go back to school. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that their names be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, today we again consider the fiscal year 1996 Defense authorization bill. We are voting on this bill again today because the President vetoed the first bill the Congress sent to him. President Clinton vetoed the first Defense authorization bill because of his insistence that America remain vulnerable to ballistic missiles carrying weapons of mass destruction--and because of his insistence that American soldiers be permitted to serve under the blue flag of the United Nations. I believe that the White House is wrong on both accounts. Defending America should be the No. 1 defense priority. The U.N. Secretary General is no substitute for the Commander in Chief. I know that many of my colleagues, including the Republican members of the Armed Services Committee agree with me. Because the annual Defense authorization bill is critical for the operations of the Department of Defense and contains many provisions crucial to the well-being of the men and women of our Armed Forces, the distinguished chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Thurmond, crafted a bill that would be signed by the President. The distinguished chairman was assisted, in particular, by the distinguished Senator from Mississippi, Senator Lott, in negotiating the compromise on ballistic missile defense provisions. With respect to those provisions that will support our men and women in uniform, the bill we sent to the President last month included a number of quality of life initiatives. The bill authorized a 2.4 percent pay raise and a 5.2 percent increase in allowance for quarters. In addition, for the Reserve components, the bill authorized an income insurance program for involuntarily mobilized reservists and established a dental insurance program. These provisions will enhance the readiness of our Reserve Component Forces--who, like their active counterparts, have deployed to Bosnia. Additionally, the bill contains a new military housing privatization initiative. This initiative will allow the Department of Defense to utilize new approaches to reduce the family housing backlog. To further enhance the quality of life of our troops, the agreement increases military construction funding by $480 million. Apparently, meeting the basic needs of the Americans who have dedicated their lives to defending our Nation, was not sufficient reason for approving the Defense authorization bill. In order to ensure the readiness of our forces, the conferees added over $1 billion to the operations and maintenance accounts. Furthermore, they increased research and development and procurement funding. This is the only way to ensure the long-term readiness of our forces. As for the ballistic missile defense provisions in the bill, the comprehensive approach to defending America from ballistic missile attack adopted in the original conference report did not survive as a whole. The provision establishing a deployment goal of 2003 for a national missile defense system was dropped in the aftermath of the President's veto. Furthermore, the provisions regarding demarcation between strategic and theater missile defense were watered down also in face of White House objections--despite the fact that these provisions reflected the very proposal originally made by the Clinton administration to the Russians. In short, the Clinton administration has made a conscious decision to make our theater missile defense [TMD] systems less capable and subject to a Russian veto. On the other hand, this bill does retain the provisions establishing a core program in the area of theater missile defense, which includes THAAD and Navy Upper Tier--two of our most capable TMD systems. These systems are also required to be deployed by specific dates--in an attempt to ensure against repeated administration attempts to delay their deployment. Critical to both theater missile defense and national missile defense is the brilliant eyes program. Under this bill, an initial operational capability [IOC] of 2003 for the brilliant eyes space sensor is also established. This will facilitate earlier deployment of national missile defense system. It is indeed regrettable that the President was unwilling to join with us in supporting all of our initiatives related to the defense of our country, our citizens, and our allies. Once again, President Clinton has demonstrated his preference for cold-war-era arms control treaties, and multilateral sensibilities. Once again, the President has revealed where our Nation's future security fits on his list of priorities. But, let the White House be warned: We have agreed to this bill in order to support forces--many of whom are deployed overseas--not to support ill-conceived and short-sighted administration policies. This bill reflects the Republican-led Congress' commitment to equipping and training our forces to guarantee their overwhelming superiority on the battlefield. We have taken steps so our military--though smaller--will maintain their ability to project power around the world--quickly and decisively. We have not given up on our goal of defending America. We will continue to press forward on a national missile defense system. I understand that the Secretary of Defense has recommended the President sign this bill and that the President intends to do so. In closing, I again want to commend Senator Thurmond for his hard work on this bill.

Mr. DOLE. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Environment and Public Works Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2111, designating the Francis Hagel Federal Building in Richmond, CA, and that the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration; that the bill be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with the above occurring without intervening action or debate.

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

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent, as if in executive session, that it be in order for me at this time to ask for the yeas and nays on the adoption of the resolution of ratification to accompany the START II treaty.

Mr. DOLE. Further, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent as if in executive session that the vote on the resolution occur immediately after the vote on adoption of the DOD authorization conference report.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 1 minute in between votes to explain the next vote.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the votes be 10 minutes each.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I also thank my colleague, Senator Lott, in negotiating the compromise on the ballistic missile defense provisions. He did a good job in that area.