J. Exon

Mr. EXON

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive the applicable sections of that act for the purpose of the consideration of the pending amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to waive.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, this amendment has no effect on reducing the deficit, which is what this bill is all about. It is a good political statement for people who are involved in politics at this particular time in the year. I think we do not have the time to look at this. I may be for a flat tax at some time in the future, but this is not the place or the time to put the Senate on record. Therefore, Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment is extraneous and violates the Byrd Rule, section 313(b)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, the next amendment will be offered by Senator Wellstone, the Senator from Minnesota. I yield him 30 seconds for that purpose at this time.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Brown and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time. We approve of the amendment.

Mr. EXON. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I believe the next amendment that we have would be by the Senator from New Jersey. I yield 30 seconds for the purpose of an explanation of the amendment to the Senator from New Jersey. Amendment No. 3023 (Purpose: To strike sections 5400 and 5401 of the reconciliation bill, sections which provide for the discounted prepayment of construction costs currently owed by farmers to the Federal government for irrigation water provided under the Reclamation program, thereby relieving them of the 960 acre limitation on delivery of federally subsidized water contained in the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982)

Mr. EXON. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, the following unanimous consent request has [[Page S 16020]] been cleared with the majority managers. On behalf of the Senator from Vermont, Senator Leahy, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its consideration, and further, I ask unanimous consent that further reading be dispensed with after it is started, the amendment be agreed to, and the motion to table the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. EXON. This amendment allows pregnant women to stay on food stamps, if they otherwise are eligible for food stamps, even after 6 months if they cannot find a job. This treats pregnant women with their first child in the same manner as women who care for dependent children. The amendment is paid for by cuts in the standard deductions. The amendment saves money. Without this change, pregnant women will be taken off food stamps in their third trimester of pregnancy if they cannot find a job. That is a brief explanation of the amendment that has been agreed to.

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

Mr. EXON

Mr. EXON. I yield my time back.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive the applicable sections of that act for the consideration of the amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to waive.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, the chairman of the Budget Committee was kind enough to discuss with me in advance the list that he just submitted for the Record. I, in turn, have shared with him my view of which items in the bill violate the Byrd rule against extraneous matter in reconciliation. There is a great deal of agreement on these two lists, but some differences persist. To make the Record more complete, I submit my list of extraneous provisions and ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record. At the close of debate on the bill, after Senators and the Parliamentarian have had a full, fair chance to review these lists, I intend to raise an omnibus point of order under the Byrd rule against a large number of provisions that we have determined to be extraneous. I ask unanimous consent that my list be printed in the Record to give Senators the maximum amount of notice as to which provisions are under review for that purpose.

Mr. EXON. I thank the Chair.

Mr. EXON. I simply say we are looking at this. I do not know whether we are going make a point of order against this or not.

Mr. EXON. We are simply reserving the right to do that at a certain time, and I will not give that up at this juncture.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, Senator Byrd will be next in line, and I am pleased to yield to him whatever time we have on this amendment.

Mr. EXON. We do. I might say at this time, following Senator Chafee's presentation, I will yield our 5 minutes, which is the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee, to the Senator from West Virginia.

Mr. EXON. Has all time been used on the amendment before us?

Mr. EXON. I will be glad to yield half of it to my colleague.

Mr. EXON. I do not think the rule specifies that. But in a matter of fairness, I agree to the chairman's--who wishes to speak in opposition?

Mr. EXON. I yield half my time to the Senator from Rhode Island.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I thought he was next. I was mistaken. I believe Senator Breaux is next. I yield our 5 minutes to the Senator from Louisiana.

Mr. EXON. When Senator Bond finishes, I wish to yield the 5 minutes on our side to the discretion of the Senator from Arkansas. Amendment No. 2975 (Purpose: To increase the health insurance deduction for self-employed individuals and to strike the long-term care insurance provisions)