Mark Hatfield

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. I am told there is. Typographical error.

Mr. HATFIELD. I have not asked yet unanimous consent, but we do have that included. That is on the second page. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to temporarily lay aside the Thurmond amendment so that we might consider some other amendment at this time.

Mr. HATFIELD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, let me clarify the Gramm amendment, which is in the context of what the leadership has been doing in trying to negotiate with the White House. In fact, the leadership supports my effort to try to table or to kill or vote no on the Gramm amendment, and that is simply this. The negotiators on our side said to the President there would be $10 billion that we would consider adding in nondefense discretionary spending if you agree to balance the budget through this process by the year 2002. That was our leaders, the Speaker of the House and Mr. Dole, the majority leader of the Senate. So, consequently, the administration came up with a request for this particular fiscal year for $8 billion of additional spending under the proposed agreement contingent upon getting that agreement. We in the Appropriations Committee went over those requests. We cut it to $4 billion and we said, ``But that $4 billion is contingent upon the leadership, who have been negotiating that long-term agreement finding an agreement.'' So what we are trying to do is to help the leadership by providing the incentive, by providing the continuing leverage, and that is simply it. There is not a dollar of this that can be spent until the leadership has reached an agreement with the White House, and that is to assist the leadership to pursue this expeditiously.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, let me, first of all, indicate to the Senate our progress. We have now completed all of our amendments, with the exception of a Thurmond amendment and then the matter relating to the pending appeal of the ruling of the Chair by Senator Burns. Then I want to put in a quorum call for a few minutes for us to catch our breath and review things, because the only other item to be taken into consideration is the managers' package--the managers' package. In this package are those accommodations we made to Senators who were not able to meet the deadline for filing amendments and for those which had been in the process of being cleared on either side with the authorizing committees. Everyone's right is reserved in the managers' package, because anyone can move to strike or move to modify or second degree, whatever. So I want to make that process clear. We have copies now of the managers' package. I would like to make sure everyone has reviewed these, and I have made sure their own interests are protected. So at this time, Mr. President, I would like to, with the two parties on the floor, dispose of the two remaining issues, the Burns appeal and the Thurmond amendment. Mr. BURNS addressed the Chair.

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

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I send to the desk the managers package, as I have outlined it and explained it.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, for the better part of an hour we have notified Members through the communication system that we are ready to go to third reading and finalize, first of all, the managers' package-- for the better part of an hour. And I think it has now reached a reasonable period of time to bring this to a halt. So I want to say that at 5:05--in 15 minutes--I will ask for the lifting of the quorum and the Chair will put the question. So that will mean we have waited for an hour and 10 minutes for anyone to exercise their parliamentary right. I think that is a fairly good test of knowing if anyone is interested in doing so. Then we will move to the third reading following the adoption of the managers' package. Mr. FAIRCLOTH addressed the Chair.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, again, let me call to the Senate's attention--as I have done now in the Republican caucus at lunch, and others in the Democratic Caucus, I think, had similar material--that we have put together, with the clearance of Senator Byrd on the Democratic side of the aisle, a managers package to accommodate those Members who were not present when a unanimous-consent agreement was entered into at 7:45 last Thursday night. The deadline was 8:05. So there were those who were negotiating at that time with other colleagues. I have recited those amendments and we have indicated very clearly that people's rights to either modify, to change, second degree, or strike were certainly open. We have waited now close to half an hour for anyone to appear to take advantage of that opportunity. I ask unanimous consent that the statements that the following statements and colloquies--I am just boxing those together--be placed in the Record. As I recited before, there is a statement by Senator Hutchison; a statement by Senator DeWine; a colloquy by Senators Hatfield and Specter; a colloquy by Senators Stevens and Campbell; a colloquy by Senators Specter and Pell; a colloquy by Senators Simon and Specter; a colloquy by Senators Hollings, McCain, and Specter; a colloquy by Senators McConnell and Leahy; a colloquy by Harkin, Johnston, and Specter; a colloquy by Senators Simon and Specter; a colloquy by Senators McCain and Burns, which I ask be placed in the Record in the appropriate place following the Burns amendment that we will have adopted in this package.

Mr. HATFIELD. I am pleased to see that the Senate provided an increase of funding for education research in fiscal year 1996. There is not a more central and basic role for the Federal Government than to be funding research and development activities. Within that increase, have you provided for the regional educational laboratories?

Mr. HATFIELD. Have you designated the purpose of these funds for the laboratories?

Mr. HATFIELD. Does this mean that the Department of Education can direct these funds in any way?

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following the passage of H.R. 3019, the Senate proceed to vote passage of the small business regulation bill.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. HATFIELD. I move to reconsider the vote by which the substitute was adopted. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I move that the Senate insist upon its amendments and request a conference with the House of Representatives on the disagreeing votes thereon of the two Houses, and that the Chair be authorized to appoint the conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I would like to take a very brief moment to acknowledge the input of many people to make this possible. I need not, Mr. President, indicate further this has been a very difficult and intricate package to craft; and this could not have happened without the cooperation of Senator Byrd, the ranking member, and the ranking members of our committee, as well as our own Republican members. I want to commend particularly the leadership that has been so important in getting us to this particular point. I hope that all of you will say your prayers, and include the Appropriations Committee, as it now goes to conference with the House of Representatives.

Mr. HATFIELD

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

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, for the better part of an hour we have notified Members through the communication system that we are ready to go to third reading and finalize, first of all, the managers' package-- for the better part of an hour. And I think it has now reached a reasonable period of time to bring this to a halt. So I want to say that at 5:05--in 15 minutes--I will ask for the lifting of the quorum and the Chair will put the question. So that will mean we have waited for an hour and 10 minutes for anyone to exercise their parliamentary right. I think that is a fairly good test of knowing if anyone is interested in doing so. Then we will move to the third reading following the adoption of the managers' package. Several Senators addressed the Chair.

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, we are in the process of trying to clear some other amendments which we have--11 amendments that we had clearance at one time, or agreement--and other intervening actions have now made it impossible to adopt those amendments at this moment. Mr. President, I also indicate that we were here 3 hours today waiting for amendments, as we were most of Friday. I am very grateful to the Senators who have just completed the colloquy on this ninth circuit subject for at least bringing up one of our amendments. Very frankly, I have more important business pending in my office than I have waiting for Senators to appear on the floor and offer their amendments. I have to also say, again in the context as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, that we are expected to create miracles around here by completing this omnibus package, going to conference with the House of Representatives, getting that resolved, and getting the conference reports adopted before midnight Friday this week. I am not a miracle person. I cannot commit miracles. Others in history have. But I am not such a person. Also I note that the Senator from Arizona, the Senator from Idaho, and myself as western Senators--and the Senator from Nevada--four western Senators find it increasingly difficult due to the plane schedules to get out to the West and back. And we all would like a 3- day workweek in order to do that. But we are here to do business. And I would be highly tempted to do a bedcheck vote right now of how many Senators are in town to do business. So I think it is imposing upon our time, and it is imposing upon the time of the requirements with the conference of the House. Therefore, it is an imposition on the House as well for us to then say everybody comes back to Washington and they will come running in here with their amendments on Tuesday, and they have to all be acted upon by a certain time on Tuesday. I can see it now. They will come to Senator Byrd and myself where they do not have time to debate their amendments, or get them acted upon, and they will say, ``Include my amendment in the managers' package.'' I am going to look with great reservation on such requests because that is not again the procedure by which we should enact some of these very important amendments or dispose of them. I stood here before with such pleas to my colleagues. Maybe I could get a going away present and have them all come immediately and we will complete this bill this afternoon because this is my last year to stand here and manage an appropriations bill. But having been gentle in my remarks in so urging our colleagues, I suggest the absence of a quorum.