Ted Kennedy

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, our former colleague in the Senate from Arkansas, David Pryor, has a new mission, and I believe that all of us will be greatly inspired by his commitment and dedication. During the spring term this year, Senator Pryor has been a fellow at the Institute of Politics in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Last week, touched by the tragic plight of the hundreds of thousands of refugees from Kosovo, he left for Tirana, Albania to be a volunteer with the International Rescue Committee, which is dedicated to easing the plight of the refugees. I commend our former colleague for the inspiring example he is setting of service to those most in need. His action clearly and deeply impressed his students at Harvard. An article in the Harvard Crimson last week reported his decision and his departure for Albania. I believe the article will be of interest to all of us in the Senate, and I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. That is right.

Mr. KENNEDY. No, it is not, Senator. You have identified something which is enormously important and that is the increasing evidence that the smaller the schools--schools where every schoolteacher knows the name of every child in the school, and knows the parents--and the smaller the classrooms, the greater the reduction in incidences of hall rage, and other types of school violence. This, it seems to me, would be worthy of debate and discussion. If we spent some time, knowing that we will debate that, went back to our States and listened to schoolteachers and parents for a few days and then came back and talked about these types of issues, perhaps we could do something that might be useful.

Mr. KENNEDY. As mentioned earlier, it is not just today that we have been refused an opportunity to debate it. I have in my hand what the leadership has provided as the schedule for all of April and all of May. We are coming to the end of April now, but there are still several items that haven't been finished in April, and all of May. And nowhere on this do we have any indication that we will have the opportunity to debate either a minimum wage increase or a Patients' Bill of Rights. If the Senator remembers, we were denied the opportunity to debate both of those issues at the end of last year as well, and we received assurances from the majority leader that the Patients' Bill of Rights would be considered in an early part of this session. We have had the markup in our Health and Education Committee, but still there is no priority on that particular issue. So the Senator is right. Not only can we not consider that today, but it doesn't seem that it will be possible for consideration at any time in the foreseeable future.

Mr. KENNEDY. If the Senator will yield, I am quite familiar with what he is talking about--health care and some of the other issues that make a difference. I represent a State that is proudly one of the leaders in this area, and I look forward to hearing what the Senator has to say.

Mr. KENNEDY. We were 55 in favor to 44.

Mr. KENNEDY. Let me answer very specifically on the time-sensitive aspect. If we do not increase the minimum wage now to 50 cents this year and 50 cents next year, next year the real value of the $5.15 minimum wage will be $4.90. So they are going to be worse off. Even with the 50 cent increase, as the Senator can tell from this chart, we are still below what we were during the 1960s, all during the 1970s, and up through the 1980s, in terms of purchasing power. This last increase was supported by Republicans and Democrats alike. Yes, this is time sensitive, because the people who are living on the minimum wage are not just holding where they are, they are going down. This is at a time when our nation is experiencing the greatest economic prosperity in the history of the world. But we evidently don't have time to debate and act on this. I yield to the Senator from Illinois.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. Senator Moynihan is necessarily absent. It would have been 55 tabling and 45 against tabling. Every Member of the other side of the aisle was for denying the opportunity to consider this and everyone on this side of the aisle thought we ought to at least consider it.

Mr. KENNEDY. I know the Senator has.

Mr. KENNEDY. I will be glad to yield.

Mr. KENNEDY. I could not agree with you more, Senator. And, tragically--tragically--the Republican leaders were able to kill the effort to consider the minimum wage here today. I do not know why they will not even give us an opportunity to debate and vote on the merits of the issue. I hope that we are able, through the efforts of our leader working with the majority leader, to agree on a process that gives these issues, and others that are important to our colleagues, their day on the floor of the Senate.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is correct. An opportunity to debate the prescription drug issue is also important to our senior citizens. I know the Senator is home just about every weekend, and I am sure that when he meets with senior citizens they raise, in an almost unanimous chorus, their concerns about prescription drugs. I daresay they think we ought to be addressing that issue in the Senate. When I go home and meet with workers, they are concerned about the minimum wage, they are concerned about the Patients' Bill of Rights, they are concerned about prescription drugs. Sure, the legislation before us is important, but then I look at this agenda and wonder, where are the issues the people at home care about? It is important that we have the opportunity to debate and discuss these issues. We are denied that opportunity now.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is absolutely correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. Yes.

Mr. KENNEDY. I know there may be some who differ, but I think we could pass the minimum wage and the Patients' Bill of Rights and the Y2K in a relatively short period of time and do the country's business. As it is we cannot do the country's business, as the Senator has pointed out, if we can never even reach the minimum wage or the Patients' Bill of Rights. In the meantime, we are told by my good friend from Arizona--I wish he were here--that he is frustrated because we have not had an amendment all week. Well, you know what he is saying? ``We haven't had an amendment that the majority can agree to all week.'' He said right here on the floor, ``We haven't had an amendment all week.'' Well, the rest of that sentence is: ``that he will permit, to be offered.'' That is not what this place is about. I really am quite surprised that a Member of the Senate would interpret the rules that way.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is correct again.

Mr. KENNEDY. Absolutely.

Mr. KENNEDY. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY

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

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I send a motion to the desk and ask for its consideration.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I object.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I will not object in just a moment, but I do send a cloture motion to the desk at this time.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I think I am entitled to express my right to object.