Phil Gramm

Mr. GRAMM

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I think it would be useful for the American people to get some idea what the Legal Services Corporation is doing. The Heritage Foundation has put together a list of lawsuits that describe the horror stories that have come into existence as a result of the Legal Services Corporation and its actions. Let me just read the first one, but I am going to ask that all of these be put in the Record. The first one is a Georgia Legal Services lawsuit June 15, 1995. Here is a short summary. The Legal Services Corporation defended a Miss Whitehead from eviction after crack cocaine was found in her apartment, arguing that she had not violated her lease because she was not present at the time the search warrant was executed. I have page after page after page of these horror stories, and let me turn to the last page. Here is a lawsuit--I will just pick the second one on the page. The Legal Services Corporation sued to obtain unemployment benefits for a teacher fired for drug possession, arguing that the teacher had not lost his job through misconduct. I am perfectly aware--and I do not want anybody to be confused--that Senator Domenici has nothing like the restrictions on legal services that I would impose in the committee bill, but he cannot stand here and defend the Legal Services Corporation, and instead he has proposed limiting actions they can take. I should like to remind my colleagues that this is the same Legal Services Corporation that President Reagan was not able to rein in as a Federal program. I am hopeful that if the amendment is successful, which I hope it will not be, we can at least enforce some of these restrictions. I also can go through other examples of Legal Services misconduct. Let me just pick one here on agriculture because the American Farm Bureau very strongly opposes this amendment. This is a lawsuit filed by the Legal Services Corporation on June 23, 1995. All these examples are from this year or last year. You do not have to go back 20 years to find horror stories. The Legal Services Corporation sued a tomato farmer, the neighbor who rented the labor camp to the farmer, their crew leaders, and the tomato packing company when a farm worker got injured while reaching under a moving truck at a labor camp. Every day in America the Legal Services Corporation is hassling American agriculture. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this very short, concise list of abuses, most of which occurred in 1994 and 1995, be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMM. It is true. In fact, the money goes directly to the tribe, bypassing the State.

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the Domenici amendment.

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, is the pending business the Domenici amendment?

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

Mr. GRAMM

Mr. GRAMM. I thank the Senators from Montana for bringing this concern to the committee's attention. And I will encourage the Attorney General to award this grant if the need exists.

Mr. GRAMM. I certainly understand the concern of the Senator from Oklahoma. I strongly support the efforts to modernize and streamline the National Weather Service. During the conference with the House, it is my intention to support a level of funding that will facilitate this ongoing modernization and streamlining effort at the NWS, including the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma. on noaa coastal zone management fund

Mr. GRAMM. The Senator is correct. It is the intention of the committee that $4,000,000 be designated in order to fund administration of the CZMA Program, $3,300,000 be used to administer the National Estuarine Research Reserve Program, and $500,000 is left for State program development grants out of the total amount of $7,800,000 in the coastal zone management fund.

Mr. GRAMM. I understand the concerns of the Senator from New York and I will seek to address them in the Conference Report.

Mr. GRAMM

Mr. GRAMM. I appreciate those kind words. I would only say that the Senator's interpretation of these removals is correct. It was the intent of the Committee to clearly indicate that no funds have been appropriated for race-gender bias studies.

Mr. GRAMM

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I as unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Friday, September 29, 1995, to conduct a nomination hearing of the following nominees: Dwight P. Robinson, of Michigan, to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; John A. Knubel, of Maryland, to be the Chief Financial Officer of HUD; Hal C. Decell, III, of Mississippi, to be an Assistant Secretary of HUD; Elizabeth K. Julian, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of HUD; Kevin G. Chavers, of Pennsylvania, to be the president of the Government National Mortgage Association; Joseph H. Neely, of Mississippi, to be a member of the board of directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Alicia Munnell, of Massachusetts, to be a member of the Council of Economic Advisors; Norman S. Johnson, of Utah, to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Isaac C. Hunt, Jr., of Ohio, to be a member of the Securities and Exchange of Commission.

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be permitted to meet Friday, September 29, 1995, beginning at 11 a.m. in room SH-216, to continue a markup of spending recommendations for the budget reconciliation legislation. THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Select Committee on Intelligence

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Friday, September 29, 1995, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a closed hearing on intelligence matters.

Mr. GRAMM

Mr. GRAMM. Would the Senator yield?

Mr. GRAMM. So that we can get things moving, why do you not go ahead and start debating the amendment. Let me notify the Senator who thought he had objected that the unanimous-consent request was agreed to, and if he wants to do something about it, he should come over. In the meantime, we will begin the business.

Mr. GRAMM. Will the distinguished Senator yield?

Mr. GRAMM. The modification is certainly acceptable to me.

Mr. GRAMM. I withdraw the motion to table.

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I think Senator Hatch is coming over to debate this amendment. What I suggest is that we set this amendment aside and that we take up the Kerrey amendment. I think we can make arguments on both sides very briefly, and then we can have a vote.

Mr. GRAMM. I think having that vote and getting everybody over here will move us in the right direction. So I ask unanimous consent the Biden amendment be temporarily set aside and that the Kerrey amendment be the pending business. I ask unanimous consent that there be 10 minutes of debate equally divided on the Kerrey amendment, to be controlled by Senator Kerrey and by myself.

Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I personally do not object to the modification, but it was my understanding that there had been an objection on our side and that it had not been modified.

Mr. GRAMM. Reserving the right to object, I cannot grant a unanimous- consent until I have seen the amendment and know what we are doing. I do not mind it being brought up if the distinguished Senator from Nebraska is willing to step aside, but I cannot agree to a time limit.

Mr. GRAMM

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

Mr. GRAMM. Which is this?

Mr. GRAMM

Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, we have many things working and trying to work out an agreement. I think it would probably be advantageous at this point to suggest the absence of a quorum.