Pete Domenici

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, first let me say I am very grateful to everybody for being accommodating. We are just about ready to adopt the budget resolution. We have two amendments that are being worked on. They should be worked out soon. I don't think it will be very long before we start the vote. We will be ready to wrap it up. While that is continuing on the other side, and they have amendments they are going to be working on, I want to say this process is a very tough process. It is very difficult when you have five or six votes to spare on one side or the other. It is difficult when it is tied and, as a matter of fact, when you have 50 Senators on each side of the aisle and you are attempting to pass a budget resolution--actually, on a budget resolution, a lot of things are voted on that don't mean what they say. But we have gotten into the habit of doing that, so everybody thinks they do what they say. We will try to get out of conference as quickly as we can. It is my understanding that we have resolved the issues on that side.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, the Senator is correct. Senator Bingaman has an amendment No. 302 regarding LIHEAP. I ask that it be appropriate to modify that amendment. Two of the cosponsors are Senators Murkowski and Jeffords. I ask that I be made a cosponsor also. I send this amendment to the desk.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, this is budget neutral.

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

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I understand that on the Bingaman LIHEAP amendment we did not complete action; is that correct?

Mr. DOMENICI. We have no objection on this side.

Mr. DOMENICI. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. DOMENICI. I ask the distinguished Senator, has he modified the amendment so it is budget neutral?

Mr. DOMENICI. These are important concerns that the Majority Leader, the distinguished Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Senators Sessions, Snowe and Collins have raised. The Senate version, section 201, Restriction on Advance Appropriations, provides for the funding of capital projects, while maintaining the discipline of full advance funding. I assure my colleagues that I will work to ensure that this issue is adequately addressed.

Mr. DOMENICI. Only to say we have no objection to the amendment. As drafted, it is budget neutral, and we accept it on our side.

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. I am not going to argue. We are going to vote for Senator Murkowski's first. I hope they vote for it because the alternative is going to be the Corzine amendment. I yield the floor.

Mr. DOMENICI. Might I thank the distinguished Senator. I thank him for his request on his side. I say to our side, we have 10 amendments. We sure hope we can find some way to narrow that down to three or four. We will be working with Senators when we finish tonight. Let me tell Members what these amendments are: 289 is Crapo-Murray; 237 is Grassley; 286, Santorum; 236, DeWine; 214, Collins; and four Smith amendments, 83, 46, 45, and 57. We very much would like to get the list down to about three. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DOMENICI. Will the Chair explain this to Senators.

Mr. DOMENICI. Would the Senator like another minute?

Mr. DOMENICI. It is a simple amendment. It is an amendment about which the Senator feels strongly.

Mr. DOMENICI. I understand the next amendment is amendment No. 225 offered by the distinguished Senator Hollings. We have a second-degree amendment we will offer, but we would like to treat them side by side as we have other amendments. Senator Hutchison of Texas will offer it. I yield the floor.

Mr. DOMENICI. Senator Collins would like to offer an amendment. I think that is the way we have been doing it.

Mr. DOMENICI. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 225

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, we laid aside the amendment of the distinguished Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Frist. He will accept a voice vote. If we can proceed to that now, he will not ask for a rollcall.

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

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, we are working on a UC. We are going to try not to delay the Senate. We have four amendments that have been approved on both sides. I may call them up and ask that they be adopted en bloc.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, we will just do these one at a time. I will call up 208. I send the amendment to the desk.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, we are willing to accept this amendment. It is a procedural change that makes all of the processes much better. We will work on it in conference. On our side we are willing to accept it.

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