Judd Gregg

Mr. GREGG

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, we yield the remainder of our time, and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREGG

Mr. GREGG. It is my understanding that since the NMFS regulation was proposed, that community has offered comments. Given the scope of the EFH proposal, and the wide-ranging impacts on nonfishing entities, I believe the agency should take the view of all entities into consideration.

Mr. GREGG. The report accompanying this bill directs the General Accounting Office to review the National Marine Fishery Service's implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including the essential fish habitat provisions. Congress should receive a thorough report on this matter, and I look forward to receiving the results of the GAO's review.

Mr. GREGG. I appreciate the concerns raised by the Senator from Utah. As you know, we inserted this provision after learning of several cases in which large fines were imposed for realtively minor violations of the Controlled Substances Act. We will be glad to work with you and our House colleagues during the conference, and we appreciate your forebearance in not offering an amendment at this time. courthouse security renovations

Mr. GREGG. I am aware of the security needs of the various courthouses.

Mr. GREGG. I am aware of the problems you have raised with respect to courthouse security, and you have made a strong argument on behalf of increased funding for courthouse security projects. I would like very much to fund more courthouse security projects such as those in Michigan. Unfortunately, we are operating under tight budgetary constraints. While there are many deserving projects, the Committee could only fund a limited number. I will continue to work with you in the coming year to solve this serious problem of courthouse security. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, the bill assumes funding of the Economic Research Division of SBA's Office of Advocacy at $1.4 million for FY 1999. This Subcommittee believes the office has provided good service to the small business community. Much of that work is also useful for Congress and other policymakers.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, my home State of New Hampshire leads the nation in the percentage of private sector employees in high technology jobs. The high technology business in New Hampshire has made the State economy strong and has helped lower the unemployment rate. I am pleased with the investment that high technology companies have made in my state. I am concerned, however, that the benefits to the State from these industries do not reach the more rural areas of New Hampshire. Much of the benefits of the high technology growth have been concentrated in the southern, more urban parts of the State. The more rural areas in the north are not growing as quickly or realizing the benefits of new, innovative technology as widely. It recently came to my attention that the University of Hew Hampshire's Wittemore School of Business Small Development Center (NH SBDC) has come up with a plan to help the rural areas in New Hampshire take advantage of New Hampshire's technology industries' growth. The NH SBDC proposes to launch a model program to provide technical assistance to small-medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) in rural areas, which will allow them to benefit from the innovative technology being utilized in other parts of the state. New Hampshire's program could serve as a model for other states that are experiencing similarly slow growth in rural areas. Among the services that NH SBDC intends to provide are: linking rural SMMs to high technology companies; identifying SMMs that have the greatest potential for implementing economic development in rural areas; and helping SMMs identify critical paths to success in their areas. The NH SBDC would like to implement this plan with funds from the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA often funds projects similar to this and, in fact, currently has a successful program in place called the SBA 7(j) program that provides funding for training and technical assistance to rural areas. If the SBA and the NH SBDC work together to develop the plan outlined by NH SBDC, I believe that it could have a significant positive impact on New Hampshire's rural manufacturers. The knowledge gained from this innovative concept can eventually help all States overcome similar problems in rural areas. I urge the SBA to accommodate the NH SBDC's request for assistance with this project. I look forward to working with the SBA to ensure that this program can be launched to help rural companies all over the United States benefit from the innovative technologies that are used in more urban areas.

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

Mr. GREGG. I will work with Senator Hollings and Senator Johnson to locate funding for additional NOAA Weather Radio transmitters for South Dakota.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I, too, would like to say that I am committed to working during conference with both Senator Hatch and Senator Torricelli to address the Judiciary Committee Chairman's concerns.

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

Mr. GREGG. Madam President, to bring our colleagues up to speed, we now are down to four amendments which are still to be debated and on which votes may be ordered. We presently have votes ordered on at least three amendments. We are waiting for our colleagues who have these amendments in order to come to the floor and make their presentations. It looks as if we will begin voting probably in an hour or so, I hope. There will be a sequence of votes that will be at least three long, potentially six. Madam President, I make a point of order a quorum is not present.

Mr. GREGG. I ask unanimous consent that at 3:15 we begin the vote on the Smith amendment, to be followed by the vote on final passage.

Mr. GREGG. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Durbin.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the Smith amendment.

Mr. GREGG. I call for the regular order.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREGG

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety be granted permission to conduct a hearing on FEMA reform Thursday, July 23 at 9:00 a.m., Hearing Room (SD-406).

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on International Operations of the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 23, 1998 at 10:00 am to hold a hearing.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent on behalf of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Governmental Affairs Committee to meet on Thursday, July 23, 1998, at 9:30 a.m. for a hearing entitled ``Cramming: An Emerging Telephone Billing Fraud.''

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 23, for purposes of conducting a subcommittee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 2109, a bill to provide for an exchange of lands located near Gustavas, Alaska, and for other purposes; S. 2257, a bill to reauthorize the National Historic Preservation Act; S. 2276, a bill to amend the National Trails Systems Act to designate El Camino Real de los Tejas as a National Historic Trail; S. 2272, a bill to amend the boundaries of Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in the State of Montana; S. 2284, a bill to establish the Minutemen Missile National Historic Site in the State of South Dakota, and for other purposes; and, H.R. 1522, a bill to extend the authorization for the National Historic Preservation Fund, and for other purposes.