T. Gorton

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. I would be pleased to yield to the Senator to discuss this important issue.

Mr. GORTON. Thank you, Senators Mack and Graham. I share your desire to support the need of our National Wildlife Refuges, in particular the needs of Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, and will work with Senators Mack and Graham to see if funds can be identified to support site evaluation for a visitor center/research and education center.

Mr. GORTON. I understand that the USGS is willing to address North Carolina's specific needs for stream gauges and monitoring equipment through the Real Time Hazards Initiative. The Committee recognizes the unique danger in North Carolina and, therefore, strongly encourages the USGS to ensure that North Carolina's stream gauges and monitoring devices are enhanced or upgraded to the degree possible within appropriations provided for these types of activities. electro-catalytic oxidation (eco)

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I would inform the Senator from Ohio that I have been made aware of ECO.

Mr. GORTON. I would certainly encourage the Department to take a close look at this technology within the context of its coal research programs, and consider carefully any related research or demonstration proposal that may be submitted.

Mr. GORTON. I appreciate the Senators' interest in this worthy project and I would be happy to work with the Senators to ensure appropriate consideration is given to these projects in Conference.

Mr. GORTON. Once again, I appreciate the Senators' interest in this worthy project and I would be pleased to work with the Senators to see that this project is considered fully in Conference.

Mr. GORTON. I am very much in support of what the parties are trying to preserve--a way of life through forestry in Maine and the conservation of the magnificent Northeast forests of this nation--and I will carry that support into conference. Funding of this project is certainly a wise use of federal funds for the conservation of outstanding undeveloped lands, and also keeping the Maine woods in sustainable forestry.

Mr. GORTON. I agree with my friend that the Clean Coal Technology program is meant to encourage projects that develop environmentally- friendly technologies, such as coal conversion. I believe that the Department of Energy should use its limited funding resources to expand its efforts to encourage the development of domestic renewable energy sources.

Mr. GORTON. As my colleague is aware, the Senate report accompanying the FY 2001 Interior bill directs the Department to report on options for a new solicitation in the Clean Coal program. In the context of preparing this report, and in conducting any future solicitation, I would expect the Department to give full consideration to such worthwhile projects as the one described by my friend from Pennsylvania. Mr. President, with 1 minute to spare, that concludes the introduction of all amendments pursuant to the unanimous consent agreement of last week. I repeat, if Members wish to speak to these amendments, they may do so after the conclusion of all of the votes on H.R. 4810, which will begin almost immediately. These amendments, to the extent that they require rollcall votes, will be voted on tomorrow, with the exception of the Bingaman amendment. It has 15 minutes for debate tomorrow.

Mr. GORTON. The Senator from Nevada states my position perfectly.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet today, July 17, 2000 from 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. in Dirksen 628 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to an outstanding representative of Washington State, Jan Stewart. Ms. Stewart will soon complete her year as national president of the American Assocaition of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA). I am very pleased that one of Washington State's own was tapped as the 1999-2000 president of this prestigious national organization. The AANA is the professional association that represents over 27,000 practicing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Founded in 1931, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists is the professional association representing CRNAs nationwide. As you may know, CRNAs administer more than 65 percent of the anesthetics given to patients each year in the United States. CRNAs provide anesthesia for all types of surgical cases and are the sole anesthesia provider in over 65 percent of rural hospitals, affording these medical facilities obstetrical, surgical and trauma stabilization capabilities. They work in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered, including hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms, ambulatory surgical centers, and the offices of dentists, podiatrists, and plastic surgeons. Jan has been a nurse anesthetist since 1982. She received her extensive anesthesia training at the Mayo School in Rochester, Minnesota. She is currently self-employed with an independent practice that encompassed several States and is based in Seattle. Jan has held various leadership positions within the field of nursing generally since 1985, and within the field of nurse anesthesia served on the Finance Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee and as a member of the AANA Board of Directors representing Region 5. She was elected Vice President of AANA in 1997 and is furnishing her service as the organization's President. In addition to her service to the AANA, I would like to thank Jan for her input as a member of my local advisory committee. I have always appreciated her advice and interest in the health issues before the Senate. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing Ms. Jan Stewart for her notable career and outstanding achievements.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I strongly support elimination of the federal Death Tax. The Death Tax is an injustice that should be removed from the tax code. The bill the Senate is considering, which passed the House of Representatives with a large, bipartisan majority, takes a responsible approach to ending the Death Tax by phasing-out the tax rate over a decade, and at the end of that decade eliminating the capital gains step-up in basis and creating a carryover basis to treat families with fairness upon the death of a loved one. It is simply wrong for the Tax Collector to knock on a grieving family's door to collect taxes on the life's work and earnings of the recently deceased. There are those who charge that the Death Tax affects only the richest Americans. Apparently, they have never met the Revesz family from Battle Ground, Washington. Peter and Jane Revesz are family tree farmers, and they recently wrote to me to express their fear that the federal Death Tax may mean their farm will have to be sold and the forestland lost to development. To those who claim ending the Death Tax affects only the rich, I challenge you to listen to their words. Peter and Jane wrote to me that the Death Tax could cause the ``loss of so much of our farm and timber to taxes when we die that our children and grandchildren will lose the farm. . . . For us to have sustainable, productive timber on a family farm means that every year or two we need to have a small harvest and that the profits go to the family. To accomplish this in a 60 or more year cycle it is necessary to have a considerable value in the timber so that there can be small but steady harvest and reforestation over a long growth cycle. If much of this long-term crop is lost with each generation to estate taxes, it is impossible to continue a sustainable income for the family or a sustainable annual supply of wood products for the public. Often if a family loses a tree farm, that land becomes something other than forestland. If one family cannot make it, probably the next one cannot make it.'' These are not the words of the greedy rich, they are the honest words of hardworking Americans who simply question why part of the farm they have built-up must be sold to pay the government because they die. Uncle Sam did not maintain and care for the farm, why is the government due a portion of it upon the death of its owners? I have heard from many constituents who share this very real fear that the Death Tax will cause their children to have to sell the family farm or business to be able to pay the Internal Revenue Service. Oak Harbor Freight Lines is a family owned business in Auburn, Washington, about 15 miles outside Seattle. Ed Vander Pol and his brother David began working at the business in the early 1970s when Oak Harbor had around 100 employees. As the years went by, Ed and David bought the business from their father and grew it to where it is today: a thriving regional trucking line with over 1100 employees. Out of those 1100, over 700 are union workers; Teamsters, mainly, driving the freight trucks and doing other jobs within the company. Naturally, Ed and David would like to keep this business in the family, and not have to sell the company to a larger, national carrier when they die. But for all their hard work, the Vander Pol's have been rewarded with uncertainty about their company's future. They must pay a yearly life insurance bill of over $150,000--dedicated solely to helping their children pay the onerous Death Tax bill that will be due, in cash, nine months after Ed or David dies. If not for the Death Tax, this money would be re-invested in the business and its people, growing the company and providing additional well paying jobs to people in the Seattle area. Why should Ed and David's children have to pay a tax to the federal government upon the death of their father? Those who fight elimination of the death tax refuse to answer this basic question; they refuse to justify its existence. Instead of directly telling the American people why they oppose ending this disgraceful tax, they choose to dust-off tired ``tax cuts for the rich'' rhetoric. The American people deserve honest, straight-forward answers: Those who oppose elimination of the Death Tax simply believe they know better how to spend your money than you and your children. They want to control your pocketbook both when you are alive and when you are dead. They oppose tax reform and tax cuts, whether it is ending the death tax or fixing the marriage penalty, because it means less money for them to spend from Washington, DC. Ending the Death Tax is about protecting hard work, honoring responsible saving and investment, and protecting family farms and small businesses. The federal government should stop punishing those who pursue the American dream and restore some fairness to the tax code by eliminating the federal Death Tax.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, as manager of this bill, I have been extraordinarily gratified by this debate on something I thought might be very controversial, but the Senator from New Mexico and his allies have given us a wonderful, totally bipartisan compromise on a significant issue, one I believe personally to be very constructive and very important. Rather than say anything more about it, I think we should take advantage of this opportunity and call for the question.

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

Mr. GORTON. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. GORTON. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, notwithstanding the DOD concept, that the votes occur in the following order, with no second-degree amendments in order prior to the votes, with 2 minutes prior to each vote for explanation in relation to the Durbin amendment on the subject of grazing and the Inhofe amendment on the subject of the National Endowment.

Mr. GORTON. The Senator is correct. Basically, we will have two rollcall votes now and then go to DOD. I understand the leaders were attempting to arrange to finish Interior on Monday.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I don't believe the Senator from Illinois is available.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, in light of this agreement, there will be no further votes this evening. The next vote will occur in a stacked sequence beginning at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. The Senate will begin the death tax repeal at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday morning.

Mr. GORTON. We are working with the two Senators from Minnesota on a follow-on amendment. I hope we will be in a position to accept that relatively quickly. Mr. President, two amendments were inadvertently left off the list for consideration. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Thomas' amendment regarding a management study be included, and Senator Lincoln's amendment on black liquor gasification be included under the agreement.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, we started with 112 amendments. We have adopted 1 and added 2, so we are now at 113. With that, the floor is open. I believe the Senator from Michigan is here to speak on one of his amendments.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this confirms a reprogramming of an energy program in the State of West Virginia over which there have been some technical difficulties, and assures that money previously appropriated will be used for the purpose stated in the amendment.