Mark Hatfield

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. I would agree.

Mr. HATFIELD. I would agree.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, if the Senator will withhold, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Pressler be authorized to offer an amendment tonight and be able to modify that amendment tomorrow in the sequence of the amendments to be taken up tomorrow.

Mr. HATFIELD. Every consideration will be given to the House position in regard to the Sidney Lanier Bridge. The Senator is to be commended for his diligence on behalf of this important project and we will attempt to facilitate him in the conference committee.

Mr. HATFIELD. I say to my colleague and comanager, on the written amendments that we have on our list, that concludes all of those amendments.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, we have not been able to clear the Burns amendment on both sides. Therefore, I suggest that we provide for the yeas and nays on disposing of the Burns amendment in the context of tomorrow's actions.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, the pending business is the Burns amendment?

Mr. HATFIELD. Parliamentary inquiry. I want to make sure it is clearly understood that these are technical amendments that were not incorporated in the unanimous consent agreement.

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

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. Madam President, I would associate myself with the remarks of the Senator from New Jersey in responding to the Senator from North Dakota. Amendment No. 2328

Mr. HATFIELD. Madam President, I would like to now respond to the amendment offered by the Senators from Pennsylvania, Mr. Specter and Mr. Santorum. Madam President, first of all, I want to commend the Senators from Pennsylvania for the careful crafting of an amendment in which they took full responsibility to have reductions to offset the increase they are seeking for the transit operating fund. I wish that I could accept their amendment because I know they speak not only for their State of Pennsylvania, but for all States that have a system which depends so much an transit operating aid. I have one in my own State of Oregon, in the city of Portland. Madam President, I have to say, in looking at the total picture as to what is happening to this fund, not only this year but in the previous year, 1995, it would be, in my view, offering less than full support, it would be raising false hope that we somehow are going to reverse the trend. In 1995, that fund was reduced by 12 percent. In 1996, the President reduced it from $710 million down to $500 million. He suggested an across-the-board reduction which would turn out to be about a 30- percent reduction in transit operating aid to all systems. The House reduced it down to $400 million, which translates into about a 44- percent reduction across the board to all systems, large and small. The Senate suggested the same figure of $400 million that the House did. But we try to draw a distinction between small and large operations. In small operations, on the average, their budget is supported by transit operational aid from 12 to 20 percent in their total budget. You take a large operation and, on the average, it is 4 percent of their total budget, supported by transit aid. So we took a figure of 200,000 population and said that under 200,000, it would be reduced by 20 percent. The lowest percentage of reduction between the President's suggested 30 and the House's suggested 44. We increased the reduction, of course, to offset that 20 percent consideration to the small operations by increasing the larger ones up to a 48-percent reduction. Let me also add that the budget resolution we passed in this body has made very clear that we are phasing out that fund entirely over the life of the budget resolution. So when you look at all of those trend lines as it relates specifically to that particular account we are dealing with in this amendment, as much as I would like to be helpful and accommodate Pennsylvania and all the others that would be involved and affected, I really feel that I cannot do so. Let me also say that all of those deductions that were taken in this amendment identified as offsets, those accounts have already taken heavy reductions in light of the total budget caps that we are working on. And I again say, almost apologetically, but within the context of my duty and responsibility to keep this appropriation bill and all 12 other appropriation bills within the caps, and to indicate a strong determination moving toward a balanced budget by the year 2002, we just have to come to grips with the fact that we have too little money for the demands and needs and for the justified requirements that are being asked here. So I do not want to stop the discussion necessarily, but I will soon move to table the Specter-Santorum amendment.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be a time agreement of 20 minutes equally divided in consideration of the Harkin amendment, equally divided between Senator Harkin and myself.

Mr. HATFIELD. Senator Harkin is going to offer an amendment now, and he said he would be willing to enter into a time agreement of 20 minutes equally divided.

Mr. HATFIELD. Does anyone wish to be heard on this? If not, Mr. President, I move to table the Harkin amendment.

Mr. HATFIELD. I yield back.

Mr. HATFIELD. I move to table the Harkin amendment, and ask for the yeas and nays.

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

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

Mr. HATFIELD. This amendment strikes Hawaii from the listing of essential air services. It has been cleared on both sides.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I urge the adoption of the Inouye amendment.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I send to the desk a technical amendment that has been cleared on both sides and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2334