Pete Domenici

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period for the transaction of morning business.

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. 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 Tuesday, March 31, for purposes of conducting a full committee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1100, a bill to amend the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, the legislation approving such covenant and for other purposes; and S. 1275, a bill to implement further the Act (Public Law 94-241) approving the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be permitted to meet Tuesday, March 31, 1998 beginning at 2:00 p.m. in room SH-215, to conduct a markup. Note this markup was originally scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Labor and Human Resources be authorized to meet for a hearing on Charter Schools during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 31, 1998, at 10:00 a.m.

Mr. DOMENICI. The Committee on Veterans' Affairs requests unanimous consent to hold a hearing on tobacco-related compensation and associated issues. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 31, 1998, at 10:00 a.m., in room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be permitted to meet on March 31, 1998 at 10:00 a.m. for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet on Tuesday, March 31, 1998 at 9:30 am to receive testimony on strategic nuclear policy and related matters in review of the Defense authorization request for fiscal year 1999 and the future years Defense program.

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask unanimous consent the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full floor access and privileges of the floor be granted to Austin Smythe and Anne Miller on S. Con. Res. 86.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, let me respond in this way. Normally what time we start Monday would be up to the distinguished Republican leader. I strongly recommend and concur with the Senator that there is no real need to start early. They are going to have plenty of time. I concur with my colleague and want to make sure everybody knows, we are not going to cut off any debate as far as debate on this resolution. As a matter of fact, what is going to happen is unless we fix the process up a little bit, we are still going to have, at the end, 10 or 15 or 20 amendments. I would like to find a way to alleviate that. But in the meantime, it seems to me, it would be better to start sometime after lunch. We will have somebody here representing me. I think the Senate knows I cannot be here until sometime shortly after 5. The distinguished Senator from New Jersey is not going to be available in the morning either, is he?

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar Order No. 330, the fiscal year 1999 concurrent resolution on the budget.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, fellow Senators--Senator Lautenberg is present on the floor--we have just agreed that we will relinquish 6 hours of the debate time of the 50 hours that we are allotted under statute. I personally do not intend today to make an opening statement explaining this budget. I will do that Monday evening when I arrive back from a funeral in New Mexico for Representative Steve Schiff. Anybody who would like to come down and speak is welcome. I now yield the floor to the distinguished Senator from New Jersey.

Mr. DOMENICI. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DOMENICI. We have nothing further, no further discussion, and we have under the unanimous consent agreement how much time is taken off the bill. Mr. President, I assume until the leadership decides otherwise, we will be in open session in quorum calls or other business. But if Senators want to speak to the budget resolution, I assume for a significant amount of time the floor is going to be open for them to do that. I have already indicated that I cannot stay here and manage under these circumstances, but I assume that, with the Parliamentarian, things will run pursuant to the unanimous consent agreement.

Mr. DOMENICI. Let me just state, it has been our precedent around here that we do not have amendments for the first 4 hours we invite general discussion. But we are going to count 6 hours against the bill, and I think it is only fair, under those circumstances, rather than make her wait for 4 hours, that she be allowed to introduce this amendment now. I want it understood that we have not agreed as to the timing of this amendment in that it has usually been a Republican has an amendment, then a Democrat. This sequencing or chronology of her amendment, the amendment of the distinguished Senator, will be up to the Senator from New Jersey as it pertains to Democratic amendments. Is that acceptable, Senator?

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the presence and use of small electronic calculators be permitted on the floor of the Senate during consideration of the 1999 concurrent resolution on the budget.

Mr. DOMENICI. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that staff of the Senate Budget Committee, including congressional fellows and detailees named on the list that I send to the desk, be permitted to remain on the Senate floor during consideration of S. Con. Res. 86 and that the list be printed in the Record. Mr. President, the list is for both majority and minority. I send the list to the desk at this time.

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, might I say that I understand that Senator Conrad is going to manage the bill for the Democrats. He didn't know exactly when we were going to start. We are calling now to tell his staff, which is observing that maybe he could come down. I say to the Senate, however, that we don't intend to do a great deal today on the budget. We have agreed that when we are finished with some preliminary remarks--and I don't even know how long they will be--the majority and minority have agreed that we would then, by unanimous consent, take 6 hours off the bill, which has 50 hours, as everybody knows. So we would have accomplished a reduction in the time by 6 hours. That is not an exorbitant amount. But we will wait for the Senator before we do that. In the meantime, while we are waiting, we need unanimous consent, and I will wait for his arrival. (The remarks of Mr. Domenici pertaining to the introduction of S. 1874 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

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

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, partnerships among our federal laboratories, universities, and industry provide important benefits to our nation. They help to create innovative new products and services that drive our economy and improve our quality of life. I have personally observed the positive impacts of well crafted partnerships. These partnerships enhance the ability of the laboratories and other contractor-operated facilities of the Department of Energy to accomplish their federal missions at the same time that the companies benefit though enhanced competitiveness from the technical resources available at these sites. I have also seen important successes achieved by other federal agencies and companies that utilized the resources of the national laboratories and other Department sites through contract research mechanisms. Contract research enables these sites to contribute their technical expertise in cases where the private sector can not supply a customer's needs. Partnerships and other interactions enable companies and other agencies to accomplish their own missions better, faster, and cheaper. I've seen spectacular examples where small businesses have been created around breakthrough technologies from the national laboratories and other contractor-operated sites of the DOE. But, at present, only the Department's Defense Programs has a specific program for small business partnerships and assistance. All programs of the Department have expertise that can be driving small business successes. Historically, in the United States, small businesses have often been the most innovative and the fastest to exploit new technical opportunities--all of the Department's programs should be open to the small business interactions that Defense Programs has so effectively utilized. I have been concerned that barriers to these partnerships and interactions continue to exist within the Department of Energy. In addition, the Department's laboratories and other sites need continuing encouragement to be fully receptive to partnership opportunities that meet both their own mission objectives and industry's goals. And finally, small business interactions should be encouraged across the Department of Energy, not only in Defense Programs. For these reasons, I introduce today the Department of Energy Small Business and Industry Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998. This Partnership Enhancement Act removes barriers to more effective utilization of all of the Department's contractor-operated facilities by industry, other federal agencies, and universities. The bill covers all the Department's contractor-operated facilities--national laboratories and their other sites like Kansas City, Pantex, Hanford, Savannah River, or the Nevada Test Site. This bill also provides important encouragement to the contractor- operated sites to increase their partnerships and other interactions with universities and companies. And finally, it creates opportunities for small businesses to benefit from the technical resources available at all of the Department's contractor-operated facilities. This bill amends the Atomic Energy Act, which limited the areas wherein the Department's facilities could provide contract research, not in competition with the private sector, to only those mission areas undertaken in the earliest days of the AEC. My bill recognizes that the Department's responsibilities are far broader than the original AEC, and that all parts of the Department should be available to help on a contract basis wherever capabilities are not available from private industry. One barrier at the Department to contract research involves charges added by the Department to the cost of work accomplished by a site. This bill requires that charges to customers for contract research at these facilities be fully recovered, and stops the addition of extra charges by the Department. The bill requires that any customer of these facilities pay only the direct charges at that facility for their contracted work, plus an overhead rate that is calculated for broad groups of customers. For example, where other federal agencies, companies, or universities do not require secure facilities or do not utilize the extensive special nuclear material capabilities of the laboratories, then the customer will be charged an overhead rate that excludes security costs and environmental legacy costs. This will ensure that each class of customers is paying for the services they actually utilize. The bill provides direct encouragement for expansion of partnerships and interactions with companies and universities by requiring that each facility be annually judged for success in expanding these interactions in ways that support each facility's missions. The bill requires that the external partnership and interaction program be considered in evaluating the annual contract performance at each site. And finally, the bill sets up a new Small Business Partnership Program in which all of the Department sites participate. This action will enable small businesses across the United States to better access and partner with any of the Department's contractor-owned facilities. A fund for such interactions up to 0.25 percent of the total site budget is available for these small business interactions. With these changes, Mr. President, the Department of Energy facilities will be better able to meet their critical national missions, while at the same time assisting other federal agencies, large and small businesses, and universities in better meeting their goals and missions. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, partnerships among our federal laboratories, universities, and industry provide important benefits to our nation. They help to create innovative new products and services that drive our economy and improve our quality of life. I have personally observed the positive impacts of well crafted partnerships. These partnerships enhance the ability of the laboratories and other contractor-operated facilities of the Department of Energy to accomplish their federal missions at the same time that the companies benefit though enhanced competitiveness from the technical resources available at these sites. I have also seen important successes achieved by other federal agencies and companies that utilized the resources of the national laboratories and other Department sites through contract research mechanisms. Contract research enables these sites to contribute their technical expertise in cases where the private sector can not supply a customer's needs. Partnerships and other interactions enable companies and other agencies to accomplish their own missions better, faster, and cheaper. I've seen spectacular examples where small businesses have been created around breakthrough technologies from the national laboratories and other contractor-operated sites of the DOE. But, at present, only the Department's Defense Programs has a specific program for small business partnerships and assistance. All programs of the Department have expertise that can be driving small business successes. Historically, in the United States, small businesses have often been the most innovative and the fastest to exploit new technical opportunities--all of the Department's programs should be open to the small business interactions that Defense Programs has so effectively utilized. I have been concerned that barriers to these partnerships and interactions continue to exist within the Department of Energy. In addition, the Department's laboratories and other sites need continuing encouragement to be fully receptive to partnership opportunities that meet both their own mission objectives and industry's goals. And finally, small business interactions should be encouraged across the Department of Energy, not only in Defense Programs. For these reasons, I introduce today the Department of Energy Small Business and Industry Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998. This Partnership Enhancement Act removes barriers to more effective utilization of all of the Department's contractor-operated facilities by industry, other federal agencies, and universities. The bill covers all the Department's contractor-operated facilities--national laboratories and their other sites like Kansas City, Pantex, Hanford, Savannah River, or the Nevada Test Site. This bill also provides important encouragement to the contractor- operated sites to increase their partnerships and other interactions with universities and companies. And finally, it creates opportunities for small businesses to benefit from the technical resources available at all of the Department's contractor-operated facilities. This bill amends the Atomic Energy Act, which limited the areas wherein the Department's facilities could provide contract research, not in competition with the private sector, to only those mission areas undertaken in the earliest days of the AEC. My bill recognizes that the Department's responsibilities are far broader than the original AEC, and that all parts of the Department should be available to help on a contract basis wherever capabilities are not available from private industry. One barrier at the Department to contract research involves charges added by the Department to the cost of work accomplished by a site. This bill requires that charges to customers for contract research at these facilities be fully recovered, and stops the addition of extra charges by the Department. The bill requires that any customer of these facilities pay only the direct charges at that facility for their contracted work, plus an overhead rate that is calculated for broad groups of customers. For example, where other federal agencies, companies, or universities do not require secure facilities or do not utilize the extensive special nuclear material capabilities of the laboratories, then the customer will be charged an overhead rate that excludes security costs and environmental legacy costs. This will ensure that each class of customers is paying for the services they actually utilize. The bill provides direct encouragement for expansion of partnerships and interactions with companies and universities by requiring that each facility be annually judged for success in expanding these interactions in ways that support each facility's missions. The bill requires that the external partnership and interaction program be considered in evaluating the annual contract performance at each site. And finally, the bill sets up a new Small Business Partnership Program in which all of the Department sites participate. This action will enable small businesses across the United States to better access and partner with any of the Department's contractor-owned facilities. A fund for such interactions up to 0.25 percent of the total site budget is available for these small business interactions. With these changes, Mr. President, the Department of Energy facilities will be better able to meet their critical national missions, while at the same time assisting other federal agencies, large and small businesses, and universities in better meeting their goals and missions. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOMENICI

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I further ask that when the Senate completes its business on Monday, March 30, there be 34 hours remaining on the budget resolution.

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when we complete our business today there be 44 hours remaining for debate on the budget resolution.

Mr. DOMENICI

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