T. Gorton

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Certainly. I yield the floor to the Senator from North Carolina.

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

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

Mr. GORTON. They are.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this amendment includes five items, all of which apply within the general direction of the Interior Committee portions of this bill. They are at the request of individual Senators and have offsets there for relatively small projects. They have offsets. They have been cleared with the majority and minority parties. They include elements in Ohio, Illinois--that is one in which Missouri is interested--and Connecticut.

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

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that we lay aside the pending amendment if we have one.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. GORTON. I am aware that both of my colleagues from Michigan and from elsewhere in the Great Lakes region strongly support the work being done by the NBS Great Lakes Science Center. Hopefully, in conference, we can arrive at a compromise which will prevent cuts in the NBS research budget that would close or hamper operations at NBS centers and cooperative units.

Mr. GORTON. Yes. While there is not a correlation between the funding levels rescinded by the House and by the Senate and the fiscal year 1995 appropriations level necessary for keeping the Great Lakes Center open, it is the committee's intent to provide sufficient funds for NBS research so that the Great Lakes Center and other NBS centers can continue to operate in fiscal year 1995.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, Senator Helms is correct. Therefore, it is important for the Smithsonian, like all other entities that receive taxpayer dollars, to take note of the budgetary constraints under which we are working. It is a time for fiscal responsibility and the careful allocation of increasingly scarce resources. I have been assured in all conversations I have had with Secretary Heyman that he is aware of his institution's role and its attendant responsibilities. The Secretary has underscored the importance of prioritizing projects during his tenure.

Mr. GORTON

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

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this amendment is offered on behalf of the junior Senator from Alaska, [Mr. Murkowski]. It rescinds $150,000 in administrative funds for the Office of Aircraft Services, and is at the request of the Senator from Alaska. It is a rescission in Alaska.

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

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this is a technical correction to a rescission with respect to the Kennedy Center here in Washington, DC. It does not affect the rescission. But it makes its meaning clear.

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

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this amendment makes a correction in an amendment earlier adopted by the body on the part of the distinguished Senator from South Dakota [Mr. Pressler]. A confusion between himself and myself left out a couple of very important words. This makes that correction.

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

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this is the first of a series of five minor amendments to the Interior section of this rescission bill which had been worked out in each case with all of the affected parties, including the chairman and ranking minority members of authorizing committees where they include authorizing language. Their first amendment deletes a proposed $3 million rescission of funds available to the Fish and Wildlife Service in the Endangered Species Act, and it is placed at this point because such a rescission and certain set of restrictions proposed on the Defense supplemental by the distinguished junior Senator from Texas has now been accepted as a part of that conference committee.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.