Mark Hatfield

Mr. HATFIELD

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

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, let me return to the Gorton-Baucus amendment we were discussing a little bit earlier. We now have the clearance on the Democratic side, so I urge the adoption of that amendment.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I urge its adoption.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I am very pleased to be able to present the fiscal 1997 appropriations bill dealing with the Department of Transportation and related agencies. The subcommittee allocation was $11.95 billion in budget authority and $35.453 billion in outlays. This allocation is $240 million lower in budget authority than the House's allocation when they passed the bill on June 28. In spite of this limitation, I am proud of this bill because it addresses a number of concerns of not only the administration and my colleagues but also the American people. I should point out, however, that the bill is right at its allocation for both budget authority and outlays. So any amendments that increased spending would have to be offset with the necessary cuts to other parts of the bill. This bill provides funding above that requested by the administration and above that provided by the House in two areas of critical importance: Safety and infrastructure development. In the safety area, this bill provides the Federal Aviation Administration funding for 250 additional air traffic controllers. In the FAA's regulation and certification area, the bill provides for more than 250 additional staff, including airworthiness inspectors, airline operations inspectors, certification inspectors of engineers and pilots, and manufacturing inspectors. However, in light of and in response to the ValuJet crash, there is also funding for an additional 130 hazardous materials inspectors in the aviation area. These inspectors were not originally requested by the administration, nor were they funded in the House appropriations bill. And the bill also provides 20 new inspectors for the Research and Special Programs Administration, the lead agency within the Department of Transportation regarding hazardous materials. Global air transportation of hazardous materials has been growing at a steady rate of approximately 7 percent per year. The majority of these goods--60 percent--are transported on passenger-carrying equipment. And, according to the FAA, the reported incidence in air transportation associated with this type of cargo has increased 122 percent since 1991. Although the FAA with its given resources monitors the compliance of such carriers to the extent possible, it is estimated that almost 80 percent of the problems associated with this type of cargo originates with shippers. I believe that the traveling public needs an acceptable level of safety that can be achieved, not only with air carrier inspections but also with targeted inspections of freight forwarders, repair stations, and commercial shippers. Therefore, this bill has funding of approximately $12 million above the administration's request to address these safety problems. I believe that this is important to point out in light of the TWA Flight 800 tragedy. This bill fully funds the administration's request for operational security of $71.9 million which funds approximately 780 security personnel. This is a 6.6 percent increase over what was provided in fiscal year 1996. The bill also provides the full amount requested at research funding for explosives and weapons detection. That is $27.3 million. In addition to increasing a number of positions in the aviation control, regulation, safety, and security areas, the bill provides an airport improvement program grant funding level of $1.46 billion, $160 million above the House's level, and $110 million above the administration's level. I want to emphasize again, Mr. President, that this bill is still under the House allocation. In the Coast Guard area, the subcommittee has provided funding for very critical maintenance activities, and is $14.3 million above the House level. The House cut was appealed directly to me by the Commandant of the Coast Guard who felt that a continued level was necessary in maintenance in the aircraft and boat area, which severely hamper the operational effectiveness of the Coast Guard in 1997. I should also point out that the committee has not rescinded previous years' funds for the vessel traffic service systems, known as the VTS, and has provided the requested $6 million for these VTS systems in 1997. However, there is report language directing the Coast Guard to tone down their ambitious plans and to develop a common platform and common architecture for a vessel traffic system before proceeding in the future. In the highway area, the committee rejected the administration's request that would have made some previously exempt highway programs part of the overall obligation ceiling, and would have rescinded $300 million of previously authorized ISTEA highway projects. Despite the budget constraints, there is an increase of $100 million over the House level for the Federal aid highway program of $17.6 billion. And there is $250 million for the State Infrastructure Bank Program, which was not funded in the House bill. In the rail area, the committee has increased funding for the House bill by providing $200 million as requested for the Northeast Corridor Improvement Program, and provides $130 million above the House mark for the Amtrak Capital Program. We have also fully funded, as has the House, the $80 million requested for high-speed transits. In the transit area, we are slightly less than $100 million above the House in the formula grants program, and are $235 million above the House in the discretionary grants program. These funds are for rail modernization projects, transit new starts, and bus and bus related projects. So you can see, despite having a lower 602(b) allocation in budget authority than the House, we have provided significant funding increases for areas that I feel very strongly about; namely, infrastructure improvement and safety related activities. I believe that summarizes the bill. This year we received 770 separate requests from Senators, totaling $16.3 billion in earmarks and specific requests. It is difficult to balance these varied and sometimes conflicting needs, but I think this bill does a good job performing that balancing act while providing needed funds for safety improvement and infrastructure investments. Mr. President, I am happy to yield to my colleague and former chairman of the subcommittee, a man who has been very supportive and helpful in crafting this bipartisan bill that we bring to the floor today, Senator Lautenberg.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, first I thank my colleague and ranking member of the subcommittee, Senator Lautenberg, for his kind personal remarks. It has been a great pleasure and honor to work with Senator Lautenberg in this role. I am grateful to him for his many suggestions and recommendations. I think, I say to Senator Lautenberg, if you and I were to really put the focus on the hard work and the effort and the accomplishment of this subcommittee, we would have to really look to our staff--your staff, Peter Rogoff, and my staff, Pat McCann and Anne Miano--who worked so well, beautifully together, meshing our common interests, crafting a bill that we are able to stand here and defend before the Senate. I say, of Senator Byrd's very generous and kind remarks, that he has been a mentor. I should be thanking him for those remarks because I am sure that, like many, if not most of the Senate who have watched and listened to Senator Byrd over the years, we have learned a great deal not only about the Senate's history, but about the way legislation proceeds and the cooperation, collaboration that must be achieved on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation. I am very grateful for his most generous remarks. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendments be considered and agreed to en bloc and that they be considered as original text for the purpose of further amendment and that no points of order be waived thereon.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I have three technical amendments that I offer on behalf of the committee. They have been cleared on both sides, correcting the spelling, other such technical matters.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendments be considered and agreed to, en bloc, and that the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I believe the parliamentary situation is the bill is open for further amendments.

Mr. HATFIELD. Yes. The report language directs the Coast Guard to tone down their ambitious plans, and to develop a common platform and common architecture for vessel traffic systems before proceeding in the future.

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

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

Mr. HATFIELD. I say to Senator DeWine that it is the intent of the Appropriations Committee that the $30 million earmarked in Senate Report 104-325 for Ohio bus and bus-related facilities be available to the Ohio Department of Transportation to be used for bus and bus- related facilities in a manner determined by the Ohio Department of Transportation. Mr. President, we have a list of notifications of Members that indicated they wished to present an amendment--about a dozen. I invite Members to the floor to present those amendments. We are going to have to finish this bill tonight, as the leader indicated earlier, and I hope the Senators would see fit, if they are interested in pursuing these amendments, to appear on the floor and make their presentation. At some point in time I think the courtesy of waiting for those amendments will expire, and I will suggest we might go to a third reading of the bill and pass the bill. My patience is growing less at this point in time. I think every Senator is busy. I have many things I can do rather than stand here waiting for other Senators. I make a very strong appeal to Senators, and if their staffs are present, to alert those Senators that we are here to do business. If not, we will go to third reading.

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I send two amendments to the desk, en bloc, on behalf of Senator Kohl and Senator Bond, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

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

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, these two amendments have been cleared on both sides of the aisle.

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 suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, if I might have the attention of my friend from New Mexico, the distinguished manager of the pending legislation, I would like to clarify a clerical error which appeared in the Senate committee report on this legislation. The item I seek to clarify involves the role of the Bonneville Power Administration in advancing the use of renewable energy resources and promoting energy conservation in the Pacific Northwest. The following language was included in the subcommittee report to accompany S. 1959: Renewable Resource Development.--The Committee understands that the BPA, in keeping with the goals of the 1980 Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act, is involved in four renewable resource demonstration projects in the region. The Committee supports BPA's efforts to confirm and expand the supply of renewable resources in the Northwest, and expects BPA to complete the two wind and two geothermal projects it has underway. Completing these projects will lay the foundation for building a renewable marketplace in the region, and will benefit both the environment and the local economy. The Committee understands that BPA may spend up to $40,000,000 each year on these projects once they are all in service, and encourages BPA to move forward expeditiously on their completion. The Committee directs BPA to prepare a report on the progress of this program by March 1, 1997. Subsequently, during the markup of S. 1959 in the full Appropriations Committee, language on renewable energy was agreed to which was intended to replace, not be added to, the above subcommittee report language. The language is as follows: Renewable and conservation resources.--The Committee continues to strongly support conservation and renewable energy resources. These resources remain the foundation for a sustainable energy future in the Pacific Northwest as the region approaches the new century. The Committee strongly encourages the Bonneville Power Administration, the Northwest Power Planning Council, and other participants in the regional review being conducted by the Governors of the four Northwest States, to explore all innovative measures to assure achievement of pace-setting energy conservation and renewable resource targets in the coming decade. The Committee urges that new mechanisms be defined to assure adequate funding to sustain and substantially expand energy conservation and renewable resources as the electric power industry transitions to a more deregulated energy marketplace. While the Committee recognizes the BPA's need to remain competitive and assure its payments to the U.S. Treasury, BPA should make every effort to fulfill the commitments it has made to renewable energy and energy conservation resources. To summarize, the paragraph entitled, ``Renewable and conservation resources,'' adopted in the full committee markup, was meant to replace the paragraph entitled, ``Renewable Resource Development'', which was adopted in the subcommittee markup. My purpose in speaking on this issue is to clarify this point with the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Domenici. Does the Senator from New Mexico's understanding of committee's intent comport with what I just described.

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, it is a pleasure today to introduce to my colleagues the Reverend Charles Hart. Reverend Hart understood Christ's words when he told his disciples, ``Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.'' Charles Hart's treasure has been in his service to God by acting on his faith with the skills that he has been given and blessed with. Reverend Hart earned his undergraduate degree at Arlington College in Long Beach, CA. While Reverend Hart's first love was baseball, finance and his faith won out in his life. He began his career with Security Pacific Bank while at the same time serving as the associate pastor of South Bay Church of God in Torrance, CA. Reverend Hart's skill in finance led to a successful career in the secular world of banking. While this type of success can bring satisfaction, it did not bring to him the deepest satisfaction that comes from serving God full time. At that point, Reverend Hart decided to use his skills as a development officer for a small Christian liberal arts college in California. Reverend Hart has continued in his capacity by lending financial expertise to Christian institutions throughout this career. From Azusa Pacific University, he went on to Warner Pacific College in Portland where he still serves as a member of the board of trustees. He has also assisted Wycliffe Bible Translators in raising funds to translate God's word to all nationalities and is currently working with the Associated Churches of God in Oregon and Southwest Washington in securing expansion funds. Reverend Hart has also worked to share the treasure of his faith with others in the business community through his 25-year involvement with the Christian Businessmen's Committee. God provides us all with special skills, and Reverend Hart is a prime example that we can use those skills to better ourselves and the world in which we live. Again, on behalf of my Senate colleagues, we are privileged that Reverend Hart is willing to fulfill the duties of Senate Chaplain today, and I would like to officially welcome him to this Chamber. Also accompanying him today is his wife, Sally, and his son, Ken Hart, who is my press secretary, and Ken's wife, Sheila.

Mr. HATFIELD

Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, on behalf of the majority leader, this morning the Senate will immediately resume consideration of the energy and water appropriations bill. Under the agreement reached last night, there will be 30 minutes of debate prior to a series of rollcall votes which will begin at 10 a.m. this morning. Senators should be aware that the first vote in the sequence will be the normal 15 minutes in length with the remaining votes limited to 10 minutes each. Once again, the majority leader asks for the cooperation of all Members in allowing us to proceed to these votes in an orderly and timely fashion. Senators should be prepared to remain in or around the Chamber during these stacked votes. During this voting sequence, the Senate will also be voting on amendments and completing action on the legislative appropriations bill. The Senate may remain in session late this evening to consider other available appropriations bills and conference reports that are available. Therefore, additional votes may occur.