Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. 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.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the continuing resolution, that no amendments be in order, the vote occur immediately; that following the vote the time be divided as follows: 15 minutes under the control of Senator McCain and 30 minutes under the control of Senator Harkin.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this will be the last vote of the night. We will then be on the Tax Relief Act conference report. Of course, Senators have indicated that they wish to speak on that, and perhaps other subjects. The pending business then will be the Tax Relief Act conference report. But this will be the last vote tonight.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I believe we are ready to report the conference report.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I move to proceed to S. 2557 regarding American dependence on foreign oil. I hope any Members who want to speak on the conference report will do so this evening. I will work with the minority leader to try to set up a time for a vote tomorrow. In the meantime, I yield the floor for the tax debate. I observe that Senator Bond of Missouri is on the way to talk about the contents of the Tax Relief Act.

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

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I understand that we do have Senators who intend to use time tonight on the tax debate or other matters: Senator Reid, for 20 minutes; Senator Daschle for 10 minutes; and Senator Dodd for 30 minutes. I am not asking to lock the time but reserving. They have indicated they would need part of that time. Senator Bond, the chairman of the Committee on Small Business, is here and wishes to continue the floor discussion on the tax bill.

Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, today, I have the pleasure to announce that Senator Jeff Sessions has achieved the 100 hour mark as presiding officer. In doing so, Senator Sessions has earned his second Golden Gavel Award. Since the 1960's, the Senate has recognized those dedicated Members who preside over the Senate for 100 hours with the golden gavel. This award continues to represent our appreciation for the time these dedicated Senators contribute to presiding over the U.S. Senate--a privileged and important duty. On behalf of the Senate, I extend our sincere appreciation to Senator Sessions and his staff for their efforts and commitment to presiding duties during the 106th Congress.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, for the information of the affected members of the Senate, I would like to state for the record that if a Member who is precluded from travel by the provisions of rule 39 is appointed as a delegate to an official conference to be attended by Members of the Senate, then the appointment of that individual constitutes an authorization by the Senate and the Member will not be deemed in violation of rule 39.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to recognize and bid farewell to an outstanding naval officer, Lieutenant Commander Clayton O. Mitchell, Jr., upon his departure from my staff. Lieutenant Commander Mitchell has truly epitomized the ``Can Do'' spirit of the Seabees and Navy core values of honor, courage, and commitment during his assignment as a Navy Legislative Fellow on my staff. He has been a valued team member who has had an enduring impact upon the State of Mississippi. He will be sorely missed. Lieutenant Commander Mitchell reported to my staff from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seventy Four, a Seabee battalion homeported in my home State of Mississippi. As operations officer for the ``Fearless'' Seabees of NMCB 74, he directed the military and construction operations for the unit at 11 deployment sites throughout the Atlantic coast, Caribbean, and Central America in addition to leading disaster recovery efforts in the aftermath of hurricane Georges. He spearheaded recovery operations which helped clear roads and restore vital services at Construction Battalion Center Gulfport and the Mississippi Gulf Coast within 24 hours. Lieutenant Commander Mitchell is a 1985 industrial engineering graduate of California Polytechnic State University (Cal-Poly), San Luis Obispo. He was commissioned as an Ensign through the Officer Candidate School at Newport, Rhode Island after working two years as an engineer for Rockwell International. He began his career as a Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer with Chesapeake Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command as the Assistant Resident Officer in Charge of Construction, Andrews AFB, Maryland. He then reported to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Forty for two nine month deployments which included Assistant Officer in Charge, Detail Sigonella, Sicily and Officer in Charge, Detail Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territories. After his first Seabee tour with NMCB Forty, Lieutenant Commander Mitchell then attended the University of California at Berkeley, earning a Master of Science degree in civil engineering. He followed Berkeley with an assignment to the United States Naval Academy as Shops Engineer in the Public Works Department, directing a 270 member workforce responsible for the Academy's facilities maintenance, transportation, and utilities operations. His next challenge was as Facilities Planning Officer, Public Works Center, Yokosuka, Japan. In this capacity, he directed a host nation construction program with over $1.7 billion in projects under design and/or construction. He spearheaded execution of some of the Navy's most critical projects in Japan, including the delivery of 854 family housing units with the completion of the $1 billion Ikego family housing complex and a $41 million carrier pier at Yokosuka. For nine months during this tour, Lieutenant Commander Mitchell also served as Staff Civil Engineer to the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, where he was the Navy's ``go to'' man for facilities and civil engineering issues. Lieutenant Commander Mitchell has also made a significant impact in the various communities in which he has served. He directed a Mids'N'Kids tutorial/mentorship program, providing Annapolis youth with a midshipman sponsor and access to Naval Academy facilities on a weekly basis during the school year. As treasurer for the Samuel P. Massie Educational Endowment, he distributed over $35,000 in scholarship awards to Maryland college and university students. In 1995, he was recognized as the ``Volunteer of the Week for Father's Day'' by the Annapolis Capitol newspaper for his contributions in the community. In 1997, he was recognized by Black Engineer magazine with an ``Engineer of the Year: Special Recognition Award'' as one of the nation's promising young engineers of the future. On my staff, he has established himself as a consummate professional providing guidance and oversight on a plethora of Department of Defense issues ranging from Defense health care, military construction, shipbuilding, and various weapons systems programs. His efforts also yielded over $100 million in research, development, test, and evaluation funds for Mississippi Universities. Lieutenant Commander Mitchell is married to the former Karen Elaine Blackwell of Washington, D.C. and their family includes daughter, Kendra and son, Austin. He is a registered professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a Seabee Combat Warfare qualified officer who enthusiastically returns to his Navy. I have appreciated greatly Lieutenant Commander Mitchell's contributions to my team and wish him fair winds and following seas in the future.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to recognize and say farewell to an outstanding NASA Manager, Stephen C. Nunez, upon his departure from my staff. Mr. Nunez was selected as a NASA Congressional Fellow to work in my office because of his knowledge of the aerospace industry, NASA programs, and NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in my home state of Mississippi. It is a privilege for me to recognize the many outstanding achievements he has provided for the United States Senate, NASA, and our great Nation. During his NASA fellowship, Mr. Nunez worked on legislation affecting NASA, the aerospace industry, and veterans. He worked hard to ensure the NASA Authorization Bill and the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 2001 included legislative provisions that will lead to the next generation of reusable launch vehicles. These initiatives will reduce the cost of getting payloads into orbit by a factor of 10. These provisions also support specific programs aimed at fostering the development of a robust U.S. propulsion industry, which includes rocket engine testing at the Stennis Space Center. Specifically, he helped ensure that NASA's Space Launch Initiative was fully funded in fiscal year 2001 at $290 million. Mr. Nunez also worked to ensure that legislative provisions were included in both bills to support robust funding of the Commercial Remote Sensing Program to enable a $10 billion commercial remote sensing industry by 2010. He assisted greatly in the economic development in the State of Mississippi by bringing Aerospace companies and Mississippi Economic Development officials together. Mr. Nunez worked with former Congressman G. V. ``Sonny'' Montgomery to enhance the educational benefits of the Montgomery G.I. bill through S. 1402, the ``Veterans and Dependents Millennium Education Act.'' He also worked with the Veterans Administration to open more Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Mississippi. Mr. Nunez began his aerospace career as a contract engineer supporting the Space Shuttle Main Engine Test Program at NASA's Stennis Space Center shortly after graduating from Mississippi State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He joined NASA as a systems engineer supporting various propulsion development programs at Stennis Space Center, including the Space Transportation Main Engine and Space Shuttle Main Engine. He then took on additional responsibilities as Chief Engineer for various component and hybrid motor development test programs, including the first ever successful tests of a turbopump-fed hybrid motor. His next challenge was project lead for test program support of Boeing's Phase I Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Low Cost Concept Validation Program. The test program support was completed under budget and ahead of schedule. This program demonstrated water recovery of a Space Shuttle Main Engine propulsion module and culminated in a successful hot fire test after the propulsion module was dropped into the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Nunez is no stranger to Washington, D.C. where he served a one year detail to the Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters. Prior to starting his Congressional Fellowship, Mr. Nunez served as X-33 Project Manager at Stennis Space Center where he was responsible for all reusable launch vehicle initiatives there totaling $35 million. As X-33 Project Manager, he led a team of engineers and technicians in the successful test firing of the X-33 Linear Aerospike Engine, whose success has been a major highlight of the X-33 Program. A native Mississippian, Mr. Nunez is married to the former Cynthia Marlene Cuevas of Leetown, Mississippi. They have one son, Stephen C. Nunez, II. Mr. Nunez is a registered Professional Engineer in Mississippi who looks forward to returning to the NASA team. I will truly miss his talents and expertise, and wish him all the very best as he helps NASA's efforts to advance human space flight in the 21st century.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, time has been reserved for two or three other Senators. We are checking to see if they are going to make it this afternoon. While we are waiting on that, I do want to put in the Record a report of some of the things that have happened in the Senate. There are those who are complaining that the Senate has not been doing its business. In fact, I have about four pages of legislation that has been passed over the past 2 years, but I want to read the list of things that have passed since Labor Day alone. I am not going to read them all. When the assertion is made the Senate has not been doing serious work, this belies that and makes it clear we have been doing very important and serious work. For instance, we have already repealed the telephone excise tax, a tax that was put on temporarily to help pay for the Spanish-American War. That was a part of one of the bills we passed a week or so ago. That has been repealed. We passed the Safe Drug Reimportation Act as part of one of the bills that passed last week. We passed permanent normal trade relations with China, legislation I am sure most people would describe as important trade legislation, whether they disagreed or agreed with it. We passed the H-1B visa bill which certainly has a very important effect on small businesses and high-tech industries in the United States, as well as other bills related to children's health, breast and cervical cancer prevention, rural schools and community self- determination, and Aimee's law wherein a State can require or use law enforcement funds in relation to the release of a convict who commits a crime in another State. That information can be provided to the other State. The Violence Against Women Act was passed; victims of terrorism legislation; the Water Resources Development Act, including the very important Everglades provisions. We passed portions of the conservation bill called CARA, and perhaps even more of it will pass before we leave. We passed the intelligence authorization bill; the NASA authorization bill; and the Department of Defense authorization bill just last week, very important legislation for the future of our military men and women, not only in terms of their readiness and modernization of their equipment, but also a pay raise of 4.8 percent for our military men and women, and the strongest health care package for our military men and women, their families, and our retirees in the history of the country. In addition, we have passed seven appropriations conference bills. There have been questions about the tax bill. I do not think there is any big secret about it. All you have to do is look at bills that have passed the House or the Senate or the Finance Committee, and you will see that there is the community renewal legislation, which has the support of the President, the Speaker of the House, and a number of Senators. There has been an expectation that it would be done in some form before we leave; the very important improvements in pensions and IRAs, as well as 401(k)s, so that a greater amount can be put into these IRAs and 401(k)s. Then, since we have not been able to overcome objections from some of the Senators--I think Senator Wellstone, Senator Kennedy, and maybe others--the small business tax relief package, which is attached to the minimum wage, would be something that we want to get done before we leave here. Finally--certainly not least--I have tried to move, several times, the Foreign Sales Corporation legislation reported overwhelmingly by the Finance Committee--very important for our ability to do business in the trade area with Europe. We have not been able to clear it from an objection. So the expectation is that several of these bills that have broad bipartisan support would be joined together and passed before we leave at the end of the session. So I want the Record to reflect a portion of what has been done since Labor Day--not exactly an inactive period of time. Mr. President, so that this will be made a part of the Record, I ask unanimous consent that my entire list be printed in the Record.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, we wish to thank the very distinguished House Chaplain, Rev. Daniel Coughlin, for being with us today. We appreciate the work he does in the House of Representatives also.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. For the information of all Senators, the Senate will be in a short session today for scheduling announcements and to accommodate some morning business requests. The Senate is expected to take action on the conference report to accompany the foreign operations appropriations bill as soon as it becomes available. However, votes are not expected to occur during today's session of the Senate. Votes are more likely to occur on Wednesday, and all Senators will be notified as to the exact time votes can be expected to occur. It is the leadership's intention to complete all business by the end of this week. I hope that that can be achieved, and I thank my colleagues for their attention. Let me emphasize again, at this time, as I had indicated to Senator Reid last week, we will notify the Members as to whether or not there will be votes on Tuesday or what time they will occur. As it now stands, while there will be, I believe, reports filed on Tuesday to accompany appropriations bills and perhaps even a tax bill, we do not anticipate any votes to occur on Tuesday, but we do expect perhaps even several votes to occur on Wednesday. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Mr. President, let me reclaim the floor. I do have some additional business here that we can go ahead and do at this time.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House to accompany S. 2796.

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate disagree with the amendments of the House, agree to the request for a conference, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 154 submitted by myself and Senator Daschle.

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it recess until the hour of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24. I further ask unanimous consent that on Tuesday, immediately following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then proceed to a period of morning business until 5 p.m, with Senators speaking for up to 5 minutes each, with the following exceptions: Senator Thomas, or his designee, 15 minutes; Senator Durbin, or his designee, 15 minutes.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the conference report to accompany S. 835, the estuary bill; further, that the conference report be adopted, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.