Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. First, I want to apologize to my friend from New Jersey. I was so anxious to be accommodating, because I always have been, but I took the amendment before I realized that it had some points that were not what I thought they were. I do not suggest that he said anything, but I did not read it carefully enough. What the Bradley amendment would do is amend the plans that States must submit to receive Federal block grants. It does three things. It requires the State to define who is eligible and who is not eligible for cash assistance, and this creates the invitation for welfare litigation against the States over who is eligible for assistance. It creates an individual entitlement by requiring States to provide benefits to all individuals that the States deem eligible. This amendment shifts the time limit from the Federal Government to the State government. The cycle of dependency created by the entitlement must be broken. We do not want to shift that from the Federal to the State government. Finally, the amendment creates an unfunded mandate by possibly requiring States to provide unmatched funds to individuals. We do not want to create additional unfunded mandates. The point of this exercise, all the debate we have had, is to provide States with the needed flexibility to address welfare reform and not to create a possible unfunded mandate on the States or, as I said, second, another entitlement. We do not know what the cost of this amendment could possibly be. For the reasons stated, I should not have accepted the amendment. I now move to strike the amendment, and after the debate I will ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DOLE. For the information of all Senators, at 2:15 p.m., there will be 30 minutes for debate, under the control of the leaders or their designees, for wrap-up statements with respect to the welfare bill, and then the Senate will proceed to three back-to-back votes on the Gramm amendment No. 2615, the Dole modification, and final passage of H.R. 4.

Mr. DOLE. There were 39 votes and there will be three more, so that is 42 votes before we complete action. Unanimous-Consent Agreement

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate reconvenes at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday--and we will be here Monday, but this is after the policy lunch Tuesday--the Senate proceed to 30 minutes of debate to be equally divided in the usual form, to be followed immediately by a vote on the Gramm amendment No. 2615, to be followed by a vote on the Dole modification, to be followed by adoption of the Dole amendment No. 2280, third reading and final passage of H.R. 4, as amended, with 2 minutes for debate between the second and third votes, to be equally divided in the usual form.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to consider and adopt the following amendments, en bloc, that any amendment be considered as modified where noted with the modifications I send to the desk, and that any statements accompanying these amendments be inserted at the appropriate place in the Record as if read. Those are as follows: A Bryan amendment No. 2552; a Graham of Florida amendment No. 2567; a Bond amendment No. 2499; a Grams of Minnesota amendment No. 2580, as modified; a Stevens amendment No. 2585, previously agreed to, now as modified; a McCain amendment No. 2544; a Levin-Dole amendment No. 2486, previously agreed to, as modified; and an Abraham-Jeffords amendment. I send them all to the desk.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. DOLE. The contingency grant fund. This is in addition to the loan fund. We keep the loan fund at $1.7 billion. The contingency fund is $1 billion over 7 years. Funds must be matched at Medicaid matching rates, and States must have maintained their 1994 level on spending on title IV-A and IV-F programs. Limited additional funds are available for those States whose base years do not fully reflect subsequent adjustments related to emergency assistance. I understand that affects 12 States. I am not certain of the total cost of that provision, but I think around $900 million. The hardship exemption has been increased from 15 percent to 20 percent. There is $75 million per year for abstinence education. Program evaluation authorizes $20 million per year for evaluation. Food stamps. We worked out a provision which will save about $1.6 billion. In the food stamp program, the standard deduction for all food stamp recipients will be reduced from the original S. 1120. It stages from its current level of $134 in increments of $2 per year down to $124 in fiscal year 2000. This modification will reduce the standard deduction to $132 in fiscal year 1996, as in the original S. 1120, and then immediately down to $124 in 1997, where it remains through fiscal year 2002. CBO gives this change a preliminary savings estimate of $1.1 billion in additional savings. SSI. The SSI provision is the one, $50 million per year for 2 years for treatment, funded under the substance abuse block grant, a matter of interest to Senator Cohen and Senator Bingaman. I also ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record at this point a letter from the National Governors' Association. As the Democratic leader knows, we received letters asking for more child care funding and contingency grant funding and a number of other things.

Mr. DOLE. Before I yield--if I could get this--I ask as part of the unanimous consent that when the Senate proceeds to consideration of S. 143, Calendar No. 153, that it be considered under the following time limitation: The committee-reported amendment be withdrawn, the managers be allowed to offer a substitute amendment; further, that the debate time be limited to a total of 9 hours equally divided between the two managers, with the only amendments in order to the bill be the following first-degree amendments, with no second-degree amendments in order, and that each amendment be limited to 45 minutes in the usual form. The amendments are: An amendment to strike the repeal of trade adjustment assistance; a Specter amendment regarding Job Corps; a Breaux amendment regarding dislocated workers; a Jeffords-Pell amendment regarding adult education; a Dodd amendment regarding national set-asides for migrant workers, dislocated workers, and others; five relevant Kassebaum amendments; and five relevant Kennedy amendments. This agreement was worked out with my colleague from Kansas, Senator Kassebaum, and the Senator from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy.

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that the summary of the leadership amendment, the Dole-Daschle amendment, be printed in the Record. I stated just briefly what the summary entails. And there will be a record vote on this amendment; is that right?

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, let me also commend and congratulate the Senator from Utah, Senator Hatch, because we were in some very tense discussions yesterday. And we have tense discussions around here from time to time. It was over how do we do the right thing and still save enough money and change the system. I think we ended up right on track in all three areas. Much of it was due to the efforts of Senator Hatch working with Senators on the other side and working with a number on this side of the aisle and working with the majority leader. I, in turn, went to the Democratic leader, and we were able to come together after a little misunderstanding late in the afternoon about whether it was $2 or $3 billion. In any event, we have now accomplished that, and I think we will have a little debate on Tuesday before the vote. I hope that the two leaders will have 5 minutes each so we can make a closing statement on the bill. I would expect broad bipartisan support. We have had 95 hours, I think, on this bill, and 38 votes, tough votes. There were a lot of votes today. In fact, there were 10 today. I think we have had a good debate. Everybody has had an opportunity to express their views. I believe when a final vote is taken, there will be a strong bipartisan support for changing welfare as we know it, giving power back to the States. I think that is a big step in the right direction. There are a number of amendments that have been cleared, and I will offer those at this time. I ask unanimous consent to temporarily set aside amendment No. 2683 so that I may offer these amendments.

Mr. DOLE. I make a motion to strike the amendment numbered 2496. The Bradley amendment amends the plan that States must submit to receive Federal funds under the new block grant. Specifically, the amendment does three things: It requires the State to define who is eligible and who is ineligible for cash assistance. This creates the invitation for welfare litigation against the States over who is eligible for assistance. It creates an individual entitlement by requiring States to provide benefits to all individuals that the States deem eligible. This amendment shifts the entitlement from the Federal Government to the State government. The cycle of dependency that is created by the entitlement must be broken. Finally, the Bradley amendment creates an unfunded mandate on the States by possibly requiring States to provide unmatched funds to individuals. Mr. President, the point of this exercise is to provide States with the needed flexibility to address welfare reform, not to create another unfunded mandate on the States.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I renew the request with reference to Gramm amendment No. 2617. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be so modified.

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

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I know there are some of our colleagues that want to make statements this afternoon on that. I would go over that just very quickly. I think we agree on the child care, the first provision, with a set- aside in 1994 of $1 billion. Then we provide an additional $3 billion over 5 years for child care to be distributed among the States based on the funds for the title IV-A at-risk child care program. Job training. I will get that agreement, which I think has been cleared by the Democratic leader, which will be handled under a separate freestanding agreement.

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, it is my understanding, now that we have completed action on all the amendments, with the exception of the Gramm amendment No. 2615--there was a motion to table that amendment. It was 49-49. It was not tabled. I think we have agreed that that vote can occur Tuesday. Amendment No. 2683 (Purpose: To make modifications to amendment No. 2280)

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the next two votes be 10-minute votes.

Mr. DOLE. I ask we temporarily set aside the Kennedy amendment No. 2564 and move to the Kohl amendment No. 2550.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, just down the hall from my office, the POW/ MIA flag stands in the Capitol rotunda. That flag flies as a sad, but proud, reminder of the sacrifices which brave people made in the defense of our country--in Vietnam, in Korea, and in World War II. As I am sure my colleagues know, today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day-- a day for all Americans to reflect on those who faithfully served this Nation but whose ultimate fate remains unknown. America must never forget those who have gone missing in the battles to defend our freedom. I opposed President Clinton's decision to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam. Shortly before the took office, then president-elect Clinton said that ``there will be no normalization of relations with any nation that is at all suspected of withholding any information.'' And while Vietnam may have selectively cooperated here and there, all signs continue to point to the fact that Vietnam is still willfully withholding information. We are still watching the Vietnamese Government. We are still expecting total cooperation. And we will not close the book until we are certain that we have the fullest possible accounting of every American POW and MIA. Today, let us look up to the POW/MIA flag in the rotunda, and really reflect. Many here have answered this country's call to arms, but today, let us remember those who endured a heavier burden as prisoners of war. Let us recall the pain felt by the families and friends of those who didn't come back, and those who remain missing in action. By honoring our POW'S and MIA's, we honor the freedom and peace they defended. We can take inspiration from their example and courage from their actions. Our country is great because of these American heroes, and we cannot rest until the fullest possible accounting is achieved.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, a few weeks ago, there was a movie on television which told the dramatic and inspiring story of the Tuskegee Airmen, who courageously fought for America's freedom during World War II. All Senators can take great pride in the fact that a veteran of the Tuskegee Airmen worked here in the Senate for many years. His name is Carl McNeal, but everyone called him ``Mac.'' After 17 years in the Senate and 34 years of Federal Service, Mac has retired to spend more time with his wife, Dorothy, his six children, and eight grandchildren. Mac McNeal has been a dedicated and valuable member of the Senate family, and I know all members join with me in wishing him many years of health and happiness.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Government Information of the Committee on the Judiciary, be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on September 15, 1995, at 10 a.m. to consider ``The Ruby Ridge Incident.''

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Friday, September 15, 1995, for purposes of conducting a full committee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The purpose of this hearing is to review S. 1144, a bill to reform and enhance the management of the National Park Service, S. 309, a bill to reform the concession policies of the National Park Service, and S. 964, a bill to amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 with respect to fees for admission into units of the National Park System.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in recess until the hour of 9:45 a.m. Monday, September 18, 1995; that following the prayer, the Journal of the proceedings be deemed approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, that there be a period for the transaction of routine morning business not to extend beyond 10 a.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 5 minutes each.