Patrick Leahy

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I see the distinguished senior Senator from Florida, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in the Chamber. He would be recognized next, but while he is preparing his papers, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LEAHY. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. LEAHY. I thank my friends for their comments. This is an issue of great importance to the Senate. In crafting this bill, Senator McConnell and I had three principal objectives with respect to the FRY. First, we want to send a message to Serb reformers that we strongly support their efforts. We recommend $115 million for Serbia in fiscal year 2002, a $15 million increase in United States assistance above last year. We have also provided authority for debt relief for Serbia. We were told by Serb finance officials and our Treasury Department that this is a top priority if Serbia is to attract new foreign investment, which is the key to Serbia's future economic development. Second, we want to make clear that we expect to see continued cooperation with the War Crimes Tribunal and respect for the rule of law. While we fully appreciate the courage of Serb officials in arresting and transferring Milosevic to The Hague in April, since then we have seen little in the way of cooperation with the Tribunal. We are also disappointed that political prisoners continue to languish in Serb jails, even though Serb officials have acknowledged that they should be released. We therefore include language similar to last year, that links our assistance to continued progress in these areas. Finally, with respect to Montenegro, we want to provide sufficient assistance to convey our strong support for Montenegro, and at the same time ensure a proper balance within the $115 million available for the FRY. Montenegro is making impressive strides in reforming its economy, and we should support that. The reports of corruption are disturbing, and we need to ensure that our assistance is not misused. Unfortunately, corruption is a region-wide phenomenon, and we have emphasized to USAID and the State Department that combating corruption should be a key component of our assistance relationship. Corruption corrodes democracy, and the new leaders of Montenegro and Serbia, and indeed throughout the former Yugoslavia, will pay a heavy price in the long run if they ignore it.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I want to take a moment to speak briefly about two interconnected issues--the destruction of the world's few remaining tropical forests, and the pressures of population growth, poverty, and development that is causing it. The world's few remaining tropical forests, which are located in Indonesia, Central Africa, and parts of South America, are being cut down at a staggering rate. Whether it is local farmers scratching out a living by slash and burn agriculture, or multinational timber or mining companies, experts predict that these irreplaceable ecosystems will be completely gone in 15 to 20 years. The forests are not just trees. They are the habitat for the majority of the Earth's endangered species, from great apes to insects, many of which we have yet to identify. They are also the source of many of the life-saving drugs that are sold in America's pharmacies today, and who knows how many future cures wait to be discovered from rainforest plants. They are home to the few remaining groups of indigenous people who continue to live in much the same way as they have for centuries, threatening no one. Development is widely regarded as synonymous with progress. That is why the United States Agency for International Development has its name. But it would be unforgivable if a decade or two from now the few remaining virgin tropical forests were gone. It is not simply a matter of planting new trees. They are a complex web of species. There are many private homes in Washington, DC that are worth more than what it would cost to protect hundreds of thousands of acres of virgin rainforest in some African countries. Yet we have difficulty finding a few million dollars to do that. Even worse, the United States is a major consumer of timber stolen from the forests of Indonesia, Africa and South America. According to a recent report, the U.S. imported over $300 million in illegal timber from Indonesia alone last year. The international trade in illegal timber is out of control. It is rampant. It is accelerating, and it is driven by greed, an insatiable demand, corruption, and the lack of effective strategies and resources to address it. This bill contains funds to increase our efforts, but I would be the first to say is not enough. There are two ways to protect these forests, and both are essential. One is law enforcement. Many countries, like Indonesia and Brazil have environmental laws, but they are routinely violated, including by those who are responsible for enforcing them. In Indonesia, the military is deeply involved in the illegal timber trade, and I encouraged the White House to discuss this with President Megawati when she was in Washington recently. The same is true in Cambodia and the so-called ``Democratic'' Republic of the Congo. The military trades protection for illegal loggers in exchange for a slice of the profits. So cracking down on this corruption is essential. What also must be done is to provide the people who live in the forests alternative sources of income and access to family planning to reduce population pressures on these fragile ecosystems. As it is, they have no other way to survive except by cutting the trees for fuel or timber and killing the animals for bush meat, which has become a high priced delicacy. Once the forests are gone, they will have to abandon their homes, joining the throngs of other impoverished people migrating to urban slums--without housing, without jobs, without health care, without hope. On the other hand, if they are made to understand that the forest and the animals can be a continuing source of tourist income, then they become the protectors of the forests. We want USAID to expand its support for organizations and individuals who have devoted their lives to protecting endangered species and the tropical forests where they live. In some countries, like Brazil, some of the most courageous advocates for the environment have been murdered, presumably by the mining and timber interests. There is still time to stop this, but only if we make it a priority. We have to, because ten years from now will be too late.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I thank the ranking member, Senator McConnell, for his support and cooperation throughout this process. He has been a partner in writing the bill, in resolving the amendments, and I value his friendship and his advice. I also commend the staff, for all their work. In particular, I recognize Paul Grove, who took over as the Republican clerk for the Foreign Operations Subcommittee earlier this year. Paul has quickly learned the appropriations process and has been a pleasure to work with. In addition, Mark Lippert, the new deputy clerk on the Democratic side, has done an outstanding job. Jennifer Chartrand, who has been a professional staff member for the Appropriations Committee for several years, provided essential advice and support to my staff. She was indispensable. I thank Tara Magner of my Judiciary Committee staff, and J.P. Dowd, my legislative director, for their help during floor consideration of this bill. I recognize Tim Rieser, the Democratic clerk for the subcommittee, for all his help. And I thank Dakota Rudesill, staff member for the Budget Committee, who provided excellent and very helpful advice during floor consideration of this bill. Finally, as always, we owe a debt to Billy Piper, on Senator McConnell's staff. Billy came in at crucial times to resolve a number of important issues. That completes action on the Foreign Operations bill for fiscal year 2002.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I know of no other amendments. I ask unanimous consent that with respect to H.R. 2506, the foreign operations appropriations bill, upon the disposition of all amendments, the bill be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill; that upon passage, the Senate insist on its amendments, request a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate, with the above occurring with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays on final passage.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. I urge adoption of this amendment.

Mr. LEAHY. It has been almost a year since the fall of Milosevic, and more than five months have passed since his arrest. While some Albanian prisoners were released earlier this year, there are still more than 100 Albanian political prisoners languishing in Serb jails. There is no justification under any circumstances, to imprison innocent people. Serb officials know this. These people should never have been arrested, and they should have been released long ago.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I know there are several Senators who wish to speak. I will quickly yield the floor. While the Imam is still here, I join Senator Reid in welcoming him to the Senate Chamber. Of course, I thank Dr. Ogilvie for making him available as a visiting Chaplain. It provides an example of the nature of the United States where we do not subscribe to one religion but have the advantage of many religions; the fact that our country has been stronger and better for that, that we make the Nation available to all religions and respect all religions and an individual's right to practice the religion they choose. We were honored this morning by having the Imam here at the opening of our session. He demonstrated to our Nation that we are a diverse nation, diverse in our heritage. We are all either children or grandchildren or great grandchildren of immigrants, certainly in my family, my mother and my wife, first-generation Americans, speaking in a different language than English until they learned English. But we are also so different in all our religions. Look across the Senate floor. There are a number of different religions represented right here. We have Mormons, Protestants, Jews, and Catholics. It is a wonderful example of the diversity of this Nation. So I was pleased to hear Senator Reid's comments. I associate myself with them. I thank the Imam for opening our session.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, first, I thank the Senator from West Virginia. Last week, when it seemed as if everybody, except the Senator from West Virginia, the Senator from South Dakota, the Senator from Mississippi, and the Senator from Alaska were bailing out of this place, the Senator from West Virginia was very kind to let me use his office for a hearing. I say this for the benefit of the Senator from Alaska, who is present, that we can find space for these things. We had, I believe, five judges for whom we held hearings. While everybody else was leaving, the Senator from West Virginia made his office available so we could hold those hearings. I do want to thank the one Republican who came for part of those hearings to help us out with the hearings. Of course, I thank the distinguished Senators from New York and Massachusetts and others on the Democratic side who stayed during the hearings. As the Senator from West Virginia knows--and he knows these appropriations bills better than anybody else, but for those who might not know--this foreign operations bill has, of course, $5 million for our Middle East Camp David partners: Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. It also has one item that people may not be aware of: $175 million to strengthen surveillance and response to outbreaks of infectious diseases overseas, a very interesting part because the Ebola plague or anything else is only an airplane flight away from our shores, and we have this money to alert us about anything that is coming from overseas, including anthrax and other matters that might be an airplane ride or a postage stamp away from our shores. We have $175 million that we put in before these attacks, but we cannot get it to the President for signature. We also have $327 million for antiterrorism efforts helping other nations strengthen the security of their borders and their nuclear and biological and chemical weapons programs. I know the President has been telling these other nations we will get the money to them, but it is stuck in this bill. And the $450 million for steps to combat HIV and AIDS--each day this bill is being held up, another 17,000 people are infected with AIDS. We have $3.9 billion in military assistance included for a number of those countries in eastern Europe and central Asia that we are asking to help us in overflight and refueling. We have a whole lot of money saying the check is in the mail but, of course, we cannot send it. We have a billion dollars in refugee and disaster aid to deal with the humanitarian crisis around the world from Afghanistan to Sudan, also money the President wants to use but we cannot move forward with it. We have hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce poverty and disease in countries where the Osama bin Ladens of the world tried to foment resentment against the United States. We have money to help those countries but, of course, it is held up. I mention that not because the Senator from West Virginia does not know. I daresay there is nobody in the administration, the Congress, or anywhere else who knows every jot and tittle of these bills the way the Senator from West Virginia does, but I thought I would let some of the other Members know and the White House know all the various things the President has promised and we are holding up by not going forward with this bill. I thank the distinguished Senator from West Virginia for his help because he has been like the granite quarries of Vermont. He stands rock solid, as he always has.

Mr. LEAHY. I am sure the distinguished senior Senator from Nevada knows how much I appreciate his kind words of support. And of course our friendship, of nearly a generation now, I value as much as any friendship in this body. It is interesting, I wonder if the Senator from Nevada knows that last week when a number of buildings were being closed down and all, I had several members of the other party come to me and tell me privately: I assume, of course, you won't have an executive meeting and pass out judges; you certainly aren't going to be able to have any hearings on judges. In fact, some of them were saying they not only assumed that, they hoped I wouldn't because they wanted to get out of town. The Senator from Nevada told me one of President Bush's nominees had made a 3,000 mile trip here and is there some way we could hold the hearing for this Republican judge, having made the trip. Of course, I had the hearing. Of course, we met. In fact, we had a picture in one of the papers showing we had about 100-some-odd people crowded into the President's room and a couple other people crowded into Senator Byrd's Appropriations committee room to have both of the hearings. We voted out about 20 nominees between U.S. attorneys and judges. And then we had a hearing on four or five more judges that afternoon, even including one from a State where the Republican Senator didn't bother to show up.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. I want to thank my good friend from New York for bringing this to the Senate's attention. She has been a strong supporter of USAID's programs to improve the health of women and children in poor countries, and I applaud her for that. I look forward to having the benefit of her expertise on these issues, and will certainly encourage USAID to consider supporting the initiative she speaks of to combat primary immunodeficiencies in Latin America. cambodia's ministry of women and veteran's affairs

Mr. LEAHY. Senator, one more question please? Is there any limitation on who may receive these chairs? Are they designated for one group in particular?

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I have a series of managers' amendments: Leahy-McConnell amendment and statement regarding Ken Ludden; McConnell-Leahy, antiterrorism; Brownback, human antitrafficking; Leahy-McConnell, AID operating expenses; Leahy-McConnell, notification; a Leahy endangered species; a Helms-Leahy-McConnell amendment on Iraq; a McConnell-Leahy on Hong Kong; McConnell on Georgia; Leahy-McConnell on Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Leahy-McConnell on orphans; and McConnell on computer equipment. I ask unanimous consent that they be considered en bloc, that the statements and colloquies be printed in the Record, and they be agreed to en bloc.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, as one who, like many here, traces part of his ancestry back to that beautiful and often troubled island of Ireland, I am happy with this news. Amendments Nos. 1909 Through 1920, En Bloc

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, we have a number of things we can probably do in a couple of minutes to go through here. I would like to note that there is some promising news from Ireland. The International Independent Commission on Decommissioning, led by GEN John de Chastelain, of Canada, has announced that the IRA has begun to decommission its weapons. The Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has appropriately called this an ``unparalleled breakthrough.'' David Trimble, with whom I talked here in Washington a few days ago, has said he will recommend to the Ulster Unionist Council that the party reenter the Northern Ireland Executive. I commend Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness from Sinn Fein for their efforts to take this important step. I have been one who has been critical of the IRA taking so long to begin to decommission its weapons. There are justifiable and long-held grievances on both the Protestant and Catholic sides in Northern Ireland, and there are generations who will never completely forgive or forget. But for the sake of the children in Ireland, both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, they must move forward, and this is a critical step. Peace will not be won by assassinations or guns and bullets, whether done by Protestants or by Catholics. Peace will only come about if children are allowed to grow up in peace so we will not have scenes such as we saw just in the opening of school this year of little children, 7- and 8- year-old girls and boys, running terrified past a mob, screaming at them because all they wanted to do was go to school. That cannot continue. I ask unanimous consent that a number of news items be printed in the Record.

Mr. LEAHY. This bill is of enormous importance to our country. In fact, in the last 15 or 20 years when I have been either chairman or ranking member of this subcommittee, I don't know if I can think of a more critical time when we needed to quickly pass this bill. Before we start, though, I think it is appropriate to pay tribute to Ken Ludden, an official at the Treasury Department's Office of the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, and formerly a congressional staff member, who died suddenly of a heart attack on September 10. Senator McConnell's staff, Senator Stevens' staff and my own staff, knew him well. At an appropriate time, Senator McConnell and I will offer an amendment to name this Foreign Operations Appropriations Act after him in recognition of his years of government service, and in particular for the invaluable assistance he gave to our subcommittee. Mr. President, in the past, there were times when the foreign operations appropriations bill has been the vehicle for divisive and time-consuming amendments on controversial foreign policy issues. But we are in an unusual time. Our country has suffered a grievous loss. This is a time for unity and for getting our work done quickly. I have amendments, Senator McConnell has amendments, and I am sure other Senators have amendments that would be controversial. Senator McConnell and I do not plan to offer our controversial amendments. This is not the time. We should work together to get this bill passed as quickly as possible. Frankly, I was impressed this afternoon, listening to the President speak of his discussions with foreign leaders during the APEC summit in Shanghai. The President forthrightly told us what he said. I am sure he did so there. It was not carefully drawn out diplomatic language, it was the President's own words, and I commend him for it. I think of the situation today. The President has a limited window of opportunity to do a number of things to help counter this long-term threat. Whether the President serves one or two terms, that threat will continue after he is gone. I am afraid it is going to continue long after every one of us is gone, whether one is new in the Senate and just beginning a career, or those who are winding down their careers in the Senate. No matter who one is, we are going to face this threat of terrorism for years to come. For the sake of our children, grandchildren, and generations to come, we have to make sure to do the right thing and take the steps that diminish the threat of terrorism over the long term. I know the President feels that way. I suspect all 100 Members of the Senate feel that way. What does this mean? It means that special forces attacks in Afghanistan, brave and effective as they were--and I think they were the right steps to take--are not enough. It goes well beyond the momentary alliances. It will not even end with the capture or the destruction of Osama bin Laden. All of these things are critical. But, there will be others who will rise in the same kind of milieu that created Osama bin Laden, rise in countries that fear us or hate us or cannot believe in the diversity we relish and practice, the democracy we cherish, the same democracy, Mr. President, that you and I and every Senator take a solemn oath to uphold. There are people in the world who may fear our Constitution. I have often said that the greatest part of our Constitution is probably the same part they fear--the first amendment. It gives us the freedom of speech. We do not all have to say the same thing. We can say what we want in this country. It also allows us to practice whatever religion we want or to choose to practice no religion at all. There is this wall, this Jeffersonian wall, between us. Think what that has allowed. It has allowed each one of us to hold whatever beliefs we want, free of any interference by the Government. It allows us to say what we want to say, free of interference from our Government. Perhaps, most importantly, it guarantees we are going to have diversity in this country. It means Nebraska will have its unique nature as will Vermont. It means there will be people in Nebraska who think differently than people in Vermont on some issues and think the same on others. It is this wonderful diversity that helps to guarantee a vibrant democracy in this country. It is that same diversity and that same attitude that holds totalitarianism to be an anathema to our way of life. It is this tolerance and diversity which frightens some other parts of the world. Unfortunately, we can build the most powerful army on Earth, and we have, the most powerful air force on Earth, and we have, the most powerful navy on Earth, and we have, and as a proud father of a young marine, the most amazing and powerful marine corps in the world. But none of that by itself can protect us. To truly have security, we must also do the things that help do away with ignorance and fear, abhorrence of the United States in parts of the world. And, we must sustain this effort for decades to come. One good example of this are the programs to help combat the spread of disease in the developing world. Many parts of the world, simply do not possess the health care infrastructure to treat a number of life- threatening conditions that are curable with the proper treatment and care. And as a result far too many do not live beyond the age of 3 or 4. Think what the United States can do to help eradicate disease, not only help eradicate disease but also to make sure diseases stay away, by putting in place the infrastructure so people are there to give the shots--polio vaccines, diphtheria shots--and remove river blindness once and for all. We can do that, and we will have a better and healthier populace in doing it, and we can point to this record and say: This is what the United States stands for. We do not speak your language, we do not follow your culture or customs, but we want your children to be healthier. Don't my colleagues think that in the long run this makes everyone better off and minimizes the kind of terrorist attacks we face? I would also ask my colleagues to think about the fact that every disease in the world is only an airplane trip away from our shores--or maybe even a postal stamp--away from our shores. Think about the things in this bill that will have countries to identify diseases, such as the ebola plague or some new strain of disease to which we are not resistant, to help isolate them, and to help cure them. We have a good bill. It was not an easy task. Senator McConnell has been an invaluable partner in putting this together. We are trying to do many things. We want to help educate people. We want to improve health care around the world. We want people to see and understand the best of the United States. At the same time, we are trying to combat these global problems by spending less than 1 percent of our budget. It is embarrassingly little for a superpower that is in a position to lead the world in solving these critical issues that threaten our interests and the health and safety of every American citizen. As a result, we often find ourselves unable to respond effectively to serious threats. That has proven to be true with international terrorism, but also when you consider what is needed to spot the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. It is the case when you consider how little we are spending to protect the environment. We are more than $200 million in arrears in our payments to the Global Environment Facility. The amount in this bill for family planning, although $25 million above the Administrations request, is $89 million less than we provided in 1995. Yet hundreds of millions of impoverished people who want safe, voluntary family planning services are not able to get them. For those who have concerns about the numbers of abortions worldwide, think of the number of abortions that could be prevented if we had had adequate family planning, voluntary family planning services, in place. We ought to do a lot more to support the development of free markets and to strengthen democratic institutions, from central Asia to Macedonia to Latin America. There are major humanitarian disasters today in many regions of the world. We are hearing a lot about the looming catastrophe in Afghanistan, but similar tragedies exist in the Congo and Sudan, and drought and earthquakes have devastated parts of Central America. We are by far the richest country in the world--the richest country history has ever known--but on a per capita basis we often spend less than other industrialized countries to help people whose lives are hanging by a thread. This bill attempts to respond, within our limited allocation, to these and other problems. I very much appreciate the support we have received from Chairman Byrd and Senator Stevens. They have the unenviable task of dividing up a shrinking pie for 13 appropriations subcommittees. The bill contains $15.5 billion in discretionary budget authority. Although our 302(b) allocation was higher than the House's allocations, the House cut deeply into many of the President's requests for essential programs--programs which are also Strongly Supported by Senators. The Senate bill has restored many of those cuts. We restore sufficient funding for the Export-Import Bank to support subsidy financing well above the fiscal year 2000 level. We restore full funding for the foreign military financing program and provide a $10 million increase above the President's request for international military training. We restore most of the House cuts in the Economic Support Fund, as well as assistance for the former Soviet Republics. We provide additional funding for international peacekeeping and for assistance for the former Yugoslavia, including Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. We include $450 million to combat HIV/AIDS, including $50 million for the Global Fund to combat AIDS, TB, and malaria. This falls well short of what we should be spending, it is an increase above last year's level. We also increase funding against other infectious diseases and for children's health programs, and I would note that both Republican and Democratic Senators have requested this. These programs are desperately needed to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to conduct surveillance and respond to diseases such as polio and measles. They are also equally important for combating the spread of biological agents such as anthrax used in acts of terrorism. There are tens of millions of dollars for those programs in this bill. We provide $718 million for the Andean countries, primarily Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, of which over half a billion dollars is for counterdrug programs. That is in addition to the $1.3 billion for Plan Colombia we appropriated last year. It is interesting, that about--who made requests to our subcommittee--even mentioned the Andean program, items which has not accomplished a great deal. The bill contains the usual earmarks for Middle East countries. It also continues various limitations or conditions on assistance to several countries. Senator McConnell and I have a number of amendments, including one to name this bill after Ken Ludden, and another to prohibit U.S. assistance to governments that harbor or provide financing for individuals involved in the September 11 terrorist attacks. We have a bill that that was reported in record time by the appropriations committee. And while I will now reveal a political secret that has probably gone unnoticed in this body, Senator McConnell and I are not politically ideological soulmates. We have kept this well hidden, but it is a fact. Only because it is late in the evening and the Chamber is nearly empty do I dare whisper that. I would not want anybody to know that outside of this Chamber. This political odd couple has worked together to bring before this Senate a bill, within the amount of money we had, that I think is well balanced. It is not precisely the bill Senator McConnell would have written by himself, nor that I would have written, but I am proud to join with Senator McConnell in support of this bill. I appreciate his friendship in working with him. I yield the floor.

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

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am sorry some of our colleagues have had to wait. Both Senator McConnell and I have been down at the White House meeting with the President and other Members on foreign policy issues. It is a day when I have been wearing two hats--going from the Judiciary Committee, and some of the issues we are handling there, to the foreign policy issues. But I am glad we are going to do the foreign operations appropriations bill. We tried bringing it up a week ago, but it was held hostage by partisan sniping over judicial nominations. I think that is both unnecessary and unwarranted. I consider it an honor that the desk that I sit in was once held by Senator Vandenberg, who coined the phrase that ``politics ends at the water's edge.'' The senior Senator from Kentucky and I have done this for years in writing the foreign aid bill, alternating us chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee. We work closely together, and I have stated many times how much I respect and admire him for his efforts to get a good, balanced foreign aid bill through. There are things on which we can have partisan debates, but we should not allow it on this bill, especially today when our Nation is at war.

Mr. LEAHY. Senator, I concur with your assessment and hope that the foundation reaches its goals for the coming year.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, there were a number of hearings scheduled for today and tomorrow in the Judiciary Committee, hearings to be chaired by Senators Schumer, Biden, and Feinstein, which have been postponed. The reason we have done this is because of all the conditions of rooms and all, so we can save the time for the nominations hearing which has been scheduled for Thursday afternoon to be chaired by Senator Edwards, provided we can find the room for it. That will go on. The others are routine hearings which can be done at any time.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to make an announcement.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.