Frank Lautenberg

Mr. LAUTENBERG

Mr. LAUTENBERG. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Wyden of Oregon and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

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

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I have a technical correction to the bill that simply changes the wording without changing any sums; and one that makes reference to direct loans. We have cleared this with both sides. I send them to the desk for their consideration.

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

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the current amendment, and I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Wellstone and ask for its consideration.

Mr. LAUTENBERG

Mr. LAUTENBERG. I appreciate my colleague's remarks. The VTS 2000 program was one that we considered very carefully during markup of the Transportation appropriations bill this year. I believe that the VTS 2000 system provides great promise in promoting the safety and environmental protection of our Nation's waterways. The conference committee will indeed consider very carefully during our deliberations these cost issues you have just raised.

Mr. LAUTENBERG

Mr. LAUTENBERG. The Senator from Arizona asked for the floor. It is all right with me.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I have to reserve the right to object until we clear a matter here that, frankly, raises concerns. So I am sorry to say it, but we do have to take a couple of minutes to check this. Therefore, unless there is somebody else who we are going to go to, I would note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. There seems to be a question about clearance on our side, if we can review that for a couple of minutes. I would be happy to then discuss it.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, will the manager yield for a moment?

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, what we are attempting to do is to get to that finite list, and that is in the process now. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. LAUTENBERG. I am willing to yield back the time on this side.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I will take such time as remains out of the time that I have to make a couple of points. We hear that the subsidy for passenger rail service is an egregious purpose, something that ought not be done, and we talk about the subsidy per passenger. However, we neglect to talk about the fact that there is over $2 billion a year that goes into maintaining FAA's services. That has nothing to do with the trust fund. That is out of the taxpayers' pocket--$2 billion a year. Those who are paying into the trust fund by virtue of a ticket tax, when that is operating, pay into the fund when, in fact, they may not use a particular routing or particular region when they pay that tax. If we start to cut up the country into how much did you pay for how much service--I think the Senator from Delaware made the point very clearly when he described the need to subsidize water projects, irrigation projects, and flood control projects out West. It is a very divisive approach, I think, to what this country of ours is supposed to be as a single nation. Just to remind those who are concerned about what would happen if we did not have the Amtrak service that is now available--those services would not be available, I assure you, if we further diminish the assistance that the Federal Government gives to Amtrak. Yes, the needs have been miscalculated over the years. Yes, they have grown substantially. But so has the population. The population of the country has grown significantly. To no one's surprise, much of that population growth is in the urban areas where rail is an essential factor. Here we fail to recognize that passenger rail service is part of a balanced transportation structure that we need in a society in a country as large as ours. Commuter lines in States like Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey all use Northeast corridor lines that are owned by Amtrak. They have to function; otherwise, the costs for commuting would increase substantially, or maybe they would not be able to function altogether. Mr. President, I hope we will defeat this amendment. I think it is very short-sighted and neglects to recognize what the needs of this country are, at a time when we are straining with every mode of transportation, including aviation, including highways, and including rail. We are underinvested in transportation infrastructure and we have to continue to plow ahead, whether we like it or not, if we are to be a mobile society, operating with as much efficiency as we can. Mr. President, I note Chairman Hatfield is here on the floor, and I yield the floor.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. I thought I heard the Senator from Arizona yield back.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, how much time remains on our side?

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I yield 2 minutes to the Senator from Vermont.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. I am delighted to yield.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Rhode Island.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Absolutely. I yield 2 minutes to the Senator from Delaware.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. I yield 1 minute.