Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I will be glad to yield some of my leader time.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, this morning leader time has been reserved. There will be a period for morning business until the hour of 10 a.m. Following morning business, it will be our intention to go to the legislative branch appropriations bill. I hope we can get permission or clearance to do that. There will be rollcall votes, I understand, on that. It is also my hope that we can bring up the military construction appropriations bill. That would need the consent of our colleagues. We need to do six appropriations bills before the August recess-- whenever that starts. This will be very helpful. We will at least complete action on two of those this week. We still have the matter of the rescissions package, which I am not going to worry about anymore, for the next few days. I had it up to my eyeballs with the rescissions package. Then we have also S. 343. There could be a vote on cloture today on regulatory reform. It seems to me we have just about reached--we have been negotiating, I think, in good faith. We have had people on both sides. I think we are prepared to make some additional changes if that will be helpful. But I do not see much movement on the other side, as far as votes are concerned. It seems to me that that vote could come today. I will be visiting with the distinguished Democratic leader, Senator Daschle, and will make a judgment, whether that be today, tomorrow, or next week. I did indicate to the President that I was inclined to accede to his request for Bosnia, but I want to talk to some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are cosponsors. I certainly want to cooperate with the President where possible. I have indicated to the Democratic leader if we could work out some agreement on a vote on that early next week, that we certainly would try to accommodate the President's request. Beyond that, depending on what happens today, we could be on the Ryan White measure tomorrow. On Monday, we will be considering gift and lobbying reform. On Tuesday, we hope to go to foreign ops and the State Department authorization bill. That will probably take at least 2 or 3 days. I advise my colleagues, as far as we know at this point, there will be votes throughout today. There will be votes tomorrow. If there should be any change, I will certainly come to the floor and make the announcements so my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will have notice. I reserve the balance of my leader's time.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I will just conclude, we are making some progress. I think the American people are probably happy that now the laws we impose on them also apply to Congress. We have done that this year. That was a big step in the right direction. It probably means we will not pass so many crazy laws because they now also apply to Congress. On Monday, we will take up gift ban reform and lobbying reform. We will overhaul that. We are also considering a constitutional amendment later on this year to limit terms of Members of the House and the Senate. It is not that we are not aware that some of these things, I think, cry out for action. We are addressing more, in this first year, than we have addressed in the years past. We will continue to try to make improvements, so that the American people understand that. But I think also we need to keep our eye on the ball. A lot of these other issues do not mean a great deal to the American people, too. Amendment No. 1805 (Purpose: To stop the practice of hiring elevator operators for automatic elevators)

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I have listened to the debate on this issue. The debate has not changed. I came to the conclusion years ago that we are never going to get campaign finance reform if we leave it up to the two parties, because there is always the case that the party in the majority will obviously try to fix it to suit them and make it a little better for the majority than members of the minority. That has been true in the past, and I assume it will be true today. In fact, I suggested a number of times that we have a commission of outsiders with no ax to grind to take a look at campaign finance reform. I guess that is pretty much what Speaker Gingrich and President Clinton suggested to each other up in New Hampshire. In any event, it seems to me that with all the things we have yet to do in this Congress, and certainly campaign finance reform is important, we have regulatory reform right now. It means a lot more to most families than campaign finance reform. It costs each family about $6,000 per year, and we are about 2 votes short of getting 60 votes to move on regulatory reform. It is much more important than campaign finance reform. We are taking money out of someone's pocket. They may not care a thing about politics and never contributed a nickel to anyone. We cannot do that, because we cannot get the votes on the other side. We have welfare reform to take up. It will take a long time. I just suggest that this may be a matter of great priority with a few Members of the Senate. It does affect all Members. We can all reach down and find some horror stories. In fact, we could go to the White House if we had $100,000--I think that is the going rate to do business with the President--$100,000. They have different packages for different people of different economic circumstances. That does raise eyebrows, when people say, ``I have to see the President. It is $100,000''--I guess that is per couple. That is only $50,000 apiece. Maybe that is what the people have in mind here. I assume this would apply to the executive branch as well as the Congress. There are excesses. There are people who get elected without a lot of money. I am finding out right now in the Presidential race, the worst part of the job is trying to raise the money. I do not ask people for money. I will not call people. I will not make telephone calls. I do not like to do that. I do not mind somebody else asking, but I do not like to ask. In any event, this may have some merit, but with all the other things we have on our plate, and with part of the August recess already slipping away, I know this says ``by the end of the 104th Congress,'' and it seems to me that it will be even more difficult next year because then we are in an election year, when everybody wants to be involved in politics, politics becomes the focus of a lot of people. Mr. President I move to table the underlying amendment, No. 1803, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I send a perfecting amendment to the Feingold amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Kentucky.

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 1804 be withdrawn and the vote occur at 4 p.m. on amendment No. 1807. So the amendment (No. 1804) was withdrawn.

Mr. DOLE. That will accommodate one of our colleagues on the other side and also permit the Senator from South Carolina to proceed with his amendment. Mr. HOLLINGS addressed the Chair.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

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

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

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, let me just indicate what I am doing here. I am trying to determine whether or not we will go to S. 343, which is regulatory reform, which I had a right to do under the order. That is why I do not want to get bogged down with some other amendment because I need to give an hour or so, or some advance notice to the minority leader, Senator Daschle. Then there would be 1 hour of debate and then there would be a vote on cloture on S. 343. Following that, we would, if cloture is not invoked, either move on to something else, or I assume somehow we get back to this bill, which I thought would take 2 hours. We started at 10 o'clock. I want to accommodate the Senator if I can. Does he want to speak for 10 minutes or 15 minutes?

Mr. DOLE. If I could request that I be recognized at 5 p.m.

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

Mr. DOLE. Before we start the vote, I will enter a unanimous-consent request. I am waiting for Senator Daschle. In that request will be that, regardless of the outcome of the cloture vote, notwithstanding rule XXII, immediately following the cloture vote, Senator Mack be recognized to move to table the Hollings amendment. He has done that. So the vote will occur on the motion to table the amendment No. 1808.

Mr. DOLE. I did not propound it. I wanted to wait until the Senator was on the floor.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I exercise my right to call for the regular order, thereby beginning 1 hour of debate prior to a cloture vote on the reg reform bill.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess until 8:15.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period for morning business.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I would just add, my understanding is the White House is working in good faith. I have talked to the chief of staff, Leon Panetta. And as far as I know, everyone is in good faith. But nobody accepts anybody's good faith, at least the Senator from Minnesota does not. He has every right to have someone object to the agreement, but it is important to the people of Oklahoma City. This bill is important to people in about 39 States. It is not just important to the Senator from Minnesota. The amendment he is talking about is less than $5 million, the third amendment. I have tried to help him on that amendment. I have asked the White House, myself, to try to accommodate the Senator from Minnesota. I would think, in the spirit of comity, he would let us proceed and have the debate tonight. I assume when the President or chief of staff indicate they think they can work something out, that would be--at least good enough for this Senator. But maybe not the Senator from Minnesota.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now turn to the consideration of H.R. 1944 and that it be considered under the following agreement: One amendment in order to be offered by Senator Wellstone, regarding education funding/job training and LIHEAP, on which there be a division, and each of the two divisions be limited to 1 hour to be equally divided in the usual form, with all time to be used this evening with the exception of 40 minutes; then, when the Senate reconvenes on Thursday at 9 a.m., the Senate resume H.R. 1944 and the remaining 40 minutes on the amendment and the 10 minutes for the managers on the bill, to be followed immediately by a motion to table the first Wellstone division, and that following that vote, the majority leader be recognized to place the bill on the calendar. If that action is not exercised, the Senate then proceed immediately to vote on a motion to table the second Wellstone division to be followed immediately by a vote on passage of H.R. 1944.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, we have been unsuccessful in working out an agreement with the Senator from Minnesota. It is unfortunate. We would have hoped he would come to the floor and use some of the time this evening. He has refused to do that. So it seems to me, if you cannot get anybody to cooperate, there is no reason to worry about the rescission package and I am not going to worry about it. Somebody else can worry about it from now on. I have talked to the President about it today. I have talked to the chief of staff at the White House. We thought we had an agreement. We cannot get the agreement. I am going to ask consent and let somebody object to the agreement as soon as we can find an objector. I wish it were the Senator from Minnesota, Senator Wellstone, since he is the one who we are trying to accommodate. It is hard to do. So, tomorrow we will have morning business from 9 to 10, then we will go on to the legislative branch appropriations. And hopefully, following that, military construction appropriations. And perhaps, maybe by then we will be able to go back to the reg reform bill, S. 343.