Pete Domenici

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Yes.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I announce that when we finish this series of votes tonight, there will be no more votes tonight, but we will stay and debate five additional amendments --three from the Democratic side, two from the Republican side. Those will be stacked in the morning under the previous order, a 15-minute vote followed by 10- minute votes. I will tell everyone, we now have in excess of 75 first-degree amendments filed. We will take care of five of them tonight, and that will probably leave us with about 70. Obviously, we could not dispose of 70 amendments at 10 or 15 minutes each in a very short period of time. So tomorrow morning, we will have, and my friend Senator Lautenberg says his staff will have some charts to show you your amendments while we are voting in the morning. We would like you to be honest; we don't ask you tonight in the full light of everybody which ones you really want to vote on and which ones you would like for us to consider and which ones you might withdraw. We are going to work on accepting as many as we can, with the idea that there is still a conference to go to, during which time those accepted amendments will be given due consideration.

Mr. DOMENICI. I thank the Chair. I have 1 minute on this amendment. Let me just say there is a statement behind me that was made in the budget by the President of the United States. It is very simple. It says: The construction and renovation of school facilities has traditionally been the responsibility of State and local government, financed primarily by local taxpayers; we are opposed to the creation of a new Federal grant program for school construction. I acknowledge that is a grant program. But I believe that we should change that word and say, ``We are opposed to tax credits for school construction,'' because I don't believe the U.S. Government ought to change its tax laws to allow a total tax deduction, which is what a credit is for the interest that a bond will yield if it is for construction of schools in the United States. There is no formula. We don't know how we will do this. We don't know whether poor districts will get it. I think we ought not start down this path. I know for some any education program is difficult. I understand this may be one of those. But I truly don't believe we ought to do this. I remind everyone, in any event, this is a sense-of-the-Senate resolution. It is not binding. That will give you latitude to vote differently than I recommend, since it is not binding. But I don't believe we ought to tell the Finance Committee we want them to start down this path in a big way with reference to school construction. Having said that, I move to table, and I ask for the yeas and nays on my motion to table.

Mr. DOMENICI. I would like to ask. I thought when we entered into the unanimous consent agreement earlier in the day about stacking votes that we said we were going to have them 15, 10 and 10.

Mr. DOMENICI. My understanding is there will be no second degrees. I ask unanimous consent that no second-degree amendments be in order to the four amendments that are pending.

Mr. DOMENICI. I had my entire time left on Senator Moseley-Braun's. I yield that back and will use 1 minute before I move to table.

Mr. DOMENICI. I make that request.

Mr. DOMENICI. It will be the case with the subsequent ones, will it not? You said it is not a part of the unanimous consent already. I thought it was.

Mr. DOMENICI. We would like to make sure that occurs. So I ask unanimous consent that be the case with reference to this amendment.

Mr. DOMENICI. We are going to vote on four amendments very shortly. Senator Moseley-Braun is going to be first with her amendment, then we are going to follow that with Senator Hollings' amendment, which is subject to a point of order, and then we are going to follow that and Senator Faircloth's marriage penalty, to be followed in fourth place by Senator Craig. I have a parliamentary inquiry with reference to Senator Moseley- Braun's amendment. What is the unanimous consent? Does the Senator have some time, and do we have some time at this point?

Mr. DOMENICI. All time is yielded back then on the Faircloth amendment, and we will proceed to Senator Craig at this point.

Mr. DOMENICI. That was before we had an agreement. I don't want to argue over it. That is what we did with anybody who argued an amendment two nights ago. If he could have 15 minutes, you 15 minutes, we will get 4 votes in here in 15 or 20 or 30 minutes--assuming you won't use all the time.

Mr. DOMENICI. I assume we are operating on the half hour.

Mr. DOMENICI. Yes, he did.

Mr. DOMENICI. I would like to get one more stacked.

Mr. DOMENICI. Let me correct that. I believe that only I was thinking that that previous vote did that and nobody else was, so I must not have told anybody. Everybody on the staff agrees. They must be right. We can't do anything without them. Perhaps what we can do--Senator Craig, would you be willing to spend 15 minutes on your amendment?

Mr. DOMENICI. Let me correct that.

Mr. DOMENICI. I think people heard 9 o'clock or 9ish, so we ought to get on with more amendments. I thought the 7 o'clock was precluded when the Chair went right ahead and made us vote on previous amendments.

Mr. DOMENICI. Nine o'clock.

Mr. DOMENICI. When we take up Senator Moseley-Braun, Senator Hollings, this would be the third one in that sequence.

Mr. DOMENICI. And trade for 3.

Mr. DOMENICI. What I was trying to do is give back the 6 minutes.

Mr. DOMENICI. I ask unanimous consent that after the time is yielded back and we proceed to the next amendment, that nonetheless, prior to the vote at 9 o'clock or thereafter on the Faircloth amendment, that he be permitted to speak for 3 minutes.

Mr. DOMENICI. I will try to arrange this right now, if you listen to my consent. If it doesn't work, we will use some time here. Unanimous-Consent Agreement

Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I am prepared to yield back the time.