Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. That is true.

Mr. DOLE. I thank Congressman Wolf and Congressman Davis and also Congresswoman Morella, because they have been working with us, with the Senator, with our office, and I know they have been working on the House side. They may be in a little better position to appreciate the importance of some early action because they have a great number of Federal employees in their districts. Obviously, they are very concerned.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, it had been our thought we might remain in session tonight because the House may take action with reference to our deeming resolution which passed here the other day. There will be a House Republican conference at 7 o'clock. They have not yet passed, and I do not know precisely what, if anything, will pass, but we wanted to be here if something passed later this evening. I now understand that would be objected to--an effort to do it tonight--so if there is any action it would come tomorrow. I had hoped we would do it tonight because if it passed Federal employees could be back to work tomorrow morning. I know that is the hope of the Senator from Virginia who has been working on this on a daily basis. We have had meetings throughout the day on the balanced budget amendment and we have also talked about Federal employees. Speaker Gingrich is very forthcoming. I know he has been in meetings throughout the day. I think all of us regret the deadline of January 3 passed without reaching a balanced budget agreement. We have not given up. We will be back, as I said, negotiating tomorrow afternoon and probably Saturday afternoon. I would say perhaps by the weekend or sometime early next week we probably ought to have some agreement--or disagreement, maybe; that we cannot put it together. But we have not reached that point yet. I will keep everybody informed. If there are any rollcall votes, as I have indicated to the Democratic leader, Senator Daschle, there would be at least 24 hours' notice provided to our colleagues.

Mr. DOLE. I would do it as quickly as we can. I thought if the House took it up in the morning it might be finished at 11 o'clock and we could take it up at any time it comes from the House. I will say, as I said before, some of our House colleagues have a different view of this than some of us in the Senate; maybe not all of us in the Senate. But I also add, at least this Senator has been here the last couple of weeks doing a lot of the heavy lifting. We explored almost every option I can think of to get people back to work. I know that is the view of all the House Members, both Republicans and Democrats, that they should be working and they should be paid, and you should not pay people for not working. In this case the workers are willing. I hope there will be some positive measure to come from the House tomorrow so we can take it up and pass it very quickly and then get back to where we ought to be, back on our message. Our message is balancing the budget over the next 7 years. It is not a Government shutdown. Our message is to balance the budget. That is what the American people want us to focus on, on both sides of the aisle. That, and a number of other issues like welfare reform and tax cuts for families with children. In my view, the other message is an impediment. If you watch the evening news tonight you will probably see two or three stories on the Government shutdown but not one on the balanced budget, not one. So I think somewhere along the way we have gotten off message. I hope things will move along here, we will get back, get our work done. I would think Members on both sides would like some free time this month or next month because we have sort of gone around the calendar here.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the nomination of Stuart E. Eizenstat, of Maryland, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, received on January 4, 1996, be jointly referred to the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I think it is clear that the effect of this will be to continue the District of Columbia government until January 25 at which time we hope we will have an agreement, or we will have some permanent resolution of appropriations bills and the D.C. appropriations bill. There is only one outstanding difference on that appropriations bill. It relates to vouchers. So, if that could be resolved, we could pass the District of Columbia bill.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, for the information of my colleagues, leaders' time has been reserved. There will be a period of morning business until 12 noon. We are not expecting any rollcall votes to occur during today's session. I am not certain whether or not anything may come from the House. There is that possibility. But something may come from the House. So I hope that maybe after Members have had any discussion they want, we might stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, first I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate receives from the House, House Joint Resolution 153, a funding resolution for the District of Columbia until January 25, 1996, that the joint resolution be deemed read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, all without any intervening action or debate.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. If there be no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now stand in recess under the previous order.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today it stand in recess until 11 a.m. on Friday; that following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be deemed approved to date, 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 12 noon with Senator permits to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. For the information of all of our colleagues, negotiations with the Republican and Democrat leadership, the White House, and the President will continue tomorrow to see if we can reach some agreement on a balanced budget. I also believe there will be a meeting on Saturday afternoon, maybe into the evening. We do not expect any rollcall votes during Friday's session of the Senate.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, 100 years ago today, Utah became the 45th State of the Union. I wish to join with Utahns everywhere and celebrate this momentous day, as I am sure my colleagues would as well, and I extend my best wishes for the next century.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, we will meet again, as the Democratic leader knows, at 3 o'clock, with the President to talk about whether or not we can come together on a balanced budget amendment over the next 7 years, using CBO numbers. I hope that can be accomplished. I think we are, again, serious in what we are attempting. Whether or not it will happen, we will have to wait and see. We have honored, as far as I know, the so-called blackout. I think we make a lot more progress when none of us are talking to the media. They are all good people, do not misunderstand me, but I think in order to accomplish this very difficult task, we better have an understanding of what it is before it becomes public--not just for our sake, but for the sake of the American people, for the sake of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle. They are going to have to vote on it up or down when and if we reach that point. I yield the floor. Mr. DASCHLE addressed the Chair.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I wanted to quickly review the historic 1st session of the 104th Congress, the first Republican Congress in 40 years. On January 3, 1995, I spoke from this podium and outlined the agenda the Republican Senate would be advancing. Exactly 1 year has now passed since that day, and as we begin the second session of this Congress, I would now like to offer a progress report to the American people--detailing the promises we kept in 1995, and the work we hope to complete in 1996. As I said on the first day of this session, the primary goal of this Congress would not be to pass unnecessary new laws--but instead to remember a timeless one--the 10th amendment to our Constitution. That, of course, is the amendment that sets out the principle of federalism, stating that ``The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.'' Shifting power out of Washington, and returning it to our States, our cities, our neighborhoods, and to the American people. That's what the 10th amendment is all about. And that is exactly what the 104th Congress has been about since day one--and since Senate bill 1--which put an end to unfunded Federal mandates. That is what we were about when we passed landmark welfare reform legislation that will give our States the flexibility to design programs that best meet the needs of their citizens. And that is what we have been about these past few weeks, as we continue our fight for a balanced budget that will ensure a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. As budget negotiations continue, it is important to note that for as much as this Congress has accomplished in giving Government back to the American people, there is more we could have accomplished--had President Clinton not time and again stood in the way of fundamental change. In fact, it was President Clinton's active opposition that prevented the Senate by just one vote from joining the House in sending a balanced budget amendment to our States for approval. And it was his veto of the Balanced Budget Act of 1995 that put us in the situation we are now in. Had President Clinton not chosen to engage on a campaign to scare the American people, America's seniors would be beginning 1996 secure in the knowledge that Medicare was solvent. It seems to me that we have made some progress, but we need to make more, and whether or not that can be done will be determined, I assume, in the next very few days. It is also worth noting that President Clinton's misguided insistence on the status quo has prevented the enactment of much-needed regulatory reform legislation which would ease the burden of Government redtape and regulations on America's small business men and women. Let me make it clear that although we are very frustrated with the President's actions, we have not given up on a balanced budget or on regulatory reform. Something else we have not given up on is doing everything we can to help law-abiding Americans in the fight against crime and drugs. In the wake of the terrible tragedy in Oklahoma City, the Senate moved quickly to pass antiterrorism legislation. And at our insistence, this legislation included historic habeas corpus reform, which would put a limit on frivolous lawsuits that convicted felons use to clog our courts and delay justice. Republicans also included a number of tough anticrime provisions in the Commerce, State, Justice Department appropriations bill. Unfortunately, President Clinton vetoed the bill. I know that the distinguished chair of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, will continue to look for ways in which Congress can provide the leadership in the fight against crime that has been missing at the White House. We took steps to do that just last month, when Speaker Gingrich and I announced the formation of a congressional task force on national drug policy. A series of national surveys have shown a very disturbing increase in drug use among America's youth. Drug use among young people was down-- way down--in the 1980's, when Presidents Reagan and Bush made the war on drugs a national priority. And these surveys show what has happened now that the Clinton administration has all but declared a cease-fire. The Speaker and I have charged this task force with convening the Nation's top experts, and coming up with an antidrug action plan which we can implement in the coming year. Earlier this year, the Speaker and I also asked Jack Kemp to chair a 14-member blue-ribbon national commission on economic growth and tax reform. We asked the commission to start with a blank piece of paper, and to design a tax system that is flatter, fairer, and simpler--one that strengthens families, and one that encourages savings, investments, strong economic growth, and greater opportunity for all our people. The Kemp commission will issue its report next week, and I anticipate their recommendations will significantly advance the tax reform debate. Hopefully, these recommendations will lead us to a new system so we can end the IRS as we know it. We also made substantial progress this past year in our efforts to pass a line-item veto, to bring much-needed reform to America's telecommunications industry, and to restore some common sense to our civil justice system. With our House colleagues, we hope to put the finishing touches on both of these important issues early this year. That is still in conference. It is our hope, perhaps, if there should be a budget agreement, that might become part of the budget agreement. The Senator from Arizona, Senator McCain, and Senator Coats, on this side, have worked on this for years, as have many other of my colleagues, too. We have not given up on regulatory reform. We are just shy of the 60 votes we need; we have 58. We are working with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle because this area affects real people. It costs the average American family about $6,000 per year. We believe in this case it should not be a partisan debate. So I hope we can come together on that. I also say with pride that just as this Republican Congress has insisted on returning power to the people, we also have made clear that Congress is not a ruling class that is above the people. While we were in the minority, Republicans fought for legislation that would subject Congress to the same laws we impose on everybody else. And once we were in the majority, we were able to do just that by passing the Congressional Accountability Act. With Republicans in the majority, Congress was able to enact into law legislation that will shine additional sunlight into the lobbying process, and we also placed a strict limit on gifts that Members of Congress and Senators can receive. And with Republicans in the majority, we were able to cut more than $200 million from the congressional budget--the largest cut in 40 years. One thing we did not cut, however, was America's national security. Over the past few years, the Clinton administration has come dangerously close to gutting our national security budget, and this Congress reversed that ill-advised course. Let me conclude, Mr. President, by thanking all Senators on both sides of the aisle. Our first session was a lengthy one, and at times, the debates have been contentious. But I believe that all of us can take great pride in the fact that history will reflect we were all part of a truly revolutionary U.S. Congress: A Congress that kept its promises. A Congress that fought to change the status quo. A Congress that succeeded in bringing fundamental change to Washington, DC. A Congress that, above all, remembered the 10th amendment by returning power to our States and to the American people. Also, again, I trust that in this session, as it says in the 10th amendment, we will return power to the people.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, this resolution commends J. Keith Kennedy, who has served as the Republican staff director for the Appropriations Committee for 15 years, having assumed that position 15 years ago today. Keith is a very valuable member of the Senate staff, upon whom we have all relied at one time or another. I know my colleagues join Senator Hatfield and Byrd in wishing Keith continued success in his position--we will continue to rely on his sound counsel.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period for the transaction of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 5 minutes each.

Mr. DOLE. I think leader time was reserved.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1643, MFN status for Bulgaria; that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that there be one amendment in order, the text of which is a clean continuing resolution for all agencies of Government without funding at this time which shall expire January 12, 1996; that the amendment be deemed agreed to, the bill be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, all without any intervening action or debate. I send up the amendment.

Mr. DOLE. Let me indicate we did not cover all those in the other one because we thought some were not as urgent as others, but I think we ought to enable people to be able to get a passport, to open the parks, and other things that I think are important to all people.

Mr. DOLE. When they do not get the check, we say, ``Oh, well, they can borrow the money.'' If they borrow the money, they have to pay for it--if they can borrow the money. So I hope, based on fairness and getting people back to work and eliminating some of the stress that I am certain some have undergone, that the House will look upon this favorably. If not, I think the second option--I know it is not the preferred option by a lot of people--would be the first bill we passed, which deems all workers essential and promises they will be paid. That is not the same as being paid. Plus, we added a number of categories--the Senator from Maryland was not here at the time--to take care of Meals on Wheels, protective services for children, unemployment insurance--there are about 11 States, plus D.C., which will have exhausted Federal funds for administering the Federal Unemployment Insurance Program, including, I might add, the State of Kansas, where somebody said today they shot out the windows at the unemployment office. I have not verified that story. In other words, if the office is closed, people with unemployment benefit claims cannot have their claims addressed. The District of Columbia would be included, and also assistance payments to 53,000 Indian families and foster family care for about 3,000 Indian children. Then we have the same problem with about 170,000 veterans. And we believe that, of course, if you have a CR, you do not have to worry about that. If you do not have a CR, then the backup would be adopting the deeming provision. Let me just say, in fairness--I will not make all these requests, because I hope that we have a bipartisan, or nonpartisan solution here that can be dealt with in the same way on the House side--but I would say, everybody wants to assign blame. I am not here to assign blame. I am just here to suggest that we have three appropriations bills that were vetoed. Had they not been vetoed, a lot of people would be working, they would not be worrying about the 7- or 9-day CR. But the President vetoed those bills. I understand some of them just have two or three areas where we have disagreements. I urge my colleagues--on the Interior bill, for example, I understand there are only three areas of disagreement. If we can work out the areas of disagreement, we ought to pass the bill, meet the President's request, and send it back and that will take care of any future problems in case the Government was shut down a third time. I hope that would not happen. The same is true with VA-HUD. I understand that is another bill that could be, with a little effort, worked out, just a give and take on both sides. State, Justice, Commerce, I think there are probably a number of differences there. I am not certain that can be accommodated. On the D.C. appropriations bill, there is one issue, vouchers. Only one issue keeps that bill from going to the President and being signed by the President. Foreign operations, one issue, one issue on the Mexico City policy. That is the only issue that keeps that bill from going to the President. I do not think he has a problem with that bill. Finally, Labor-HHS, and we have had two party-line votes on bringing it to the membership on the floor. It takes 60 votes. It has been a party-line vote so we have not been able to bring Labor-HHS to the floor. Maybe there is some way to work out our differences there. But one way to avoid the CR's and the potential problems of a shutdown would be to get together on the appropriations bills. We are urging our colleagues on this side to do that starting immediately. We would be happy to accommodate anybody on the other side. I know there is a lot of interest in Interior and State, Justice, Commerce; foreign operations; HUD; District of Columbia. If those bills could be passed-- and three of them have been vetoed--but passed again, to accommodate some of the concerns raised by the administration, then we would not be here worrying about 5 days, 9 days, and 10 days. Mr. DORGAN addressed the Chair.

Mr. DOLE. And they live from paycheck to paycheck.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I think the amendment was adopted in the agreement.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until the hour of 11:55 a.m. on Wednesday, January 3, and 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 during the day, and the majority leader be immediately recognized to adjourn the Senate until the second session of the 104th Congress reconvenes at noon.

Mr. DOLE. It will be a short 5 minutes there. So I just say for the information of all Senators we do begin the second session of the 104th Congress at noon tomorrow, January 3, 1996. I ask unanimous consent that once the Senate reconvenes, the leaders' time be reserved for their use later in the day and there be a period for the transaction of morning business until the hour of 12:30 p.m., with statements limited to 5 minutes each.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate receives from the House a bill entitled ``A bill to provide for deficit reduction and achieve a balanced budget by fiscal year 2002,'' and the majority and minority leaders are in agreement, that the bill should be considered under the reconciliation process, and then once the Senate begins consideration, the bill be deemed a reconciliation bill, and all provisions under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 apply to the bill.