Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the health committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4365 and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, certainly. We will modify our closing script to make that possible for Senator Byrd. I know it will be informative, interesting, and entertaining, as his speeches always are, and it will recognize some great moment, some great individual, or some important point about the Senate itself. We will certainly accommodate that request.

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, this cloture vote will occur on Tuesday. I will announce to the Members the time of that vote later today, after consultation on both sides. In the meantime, I ask that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. LOTT. Certainly.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I move to recommit the bill back to the committee to report back forthwith, and I send the motion to the desk.

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk to the motion to recommit with instructions and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, first, I know there is a lot of interest in this amendment, and there are a number of Senators who have interest in other amendments on both sides of the aisle--additional immigration amendments. There is a lot of interest on this side--and probably on both sides of the aisle--with regard to a H-2A provisions, which has to do with additional, I guess, temporary visas in the agriculture area. I understand the interest and support in both of these areas. But Senator Daschle and I tried to get clearance. We worked on it over a period of days. We both were very serious in trying to get it agreed to. We have not been able to get it cleared. Even though I think Senator Daschle got an agreement cleared on his side, there was objection on our side. We have tried over a period of months to get an agreement on how to take up this H-1B immigrant visa issue. It is important to industry in America. We have over 2,000 jobs that are going unfilled now. We need these high-tech workers. It is not something that is critical in my own State, but it is critical to the economy and the high-tech industry in our Nation. We are down to the last few days. We need to get this done. Therefore, I have to object. I object, Mr. President.

Mr. LOTT. Let me say, Mr. President, I am sure we have not heard the last of this issue. As we get to the conclusion of the session, there will be other areas or bills where this issue will be presented and argued. I fully expect that to happen. Mr. President, is there objection?

Mr. LOTT. We are back to the original objection to the motion and the reading be dispensed with.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I commend the Senator from Nebraska for his remarks. He certainly is making points that need to be made. I am sure we are going to hear a lot more about it in the next few days. I thank him for wrapping up his remarks at this point so that we may proceed with a number of business items before we go out for the week.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I call for regular order with respect to the H-1B bill.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Has the Senator ever tried giving Senate or House appropriations members orders or directions? What I am saying to the Senator is, it won't do any good; they are going to do what they are going to do in due time. All I ask from the appropriators on Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Interior is to give me a bill. Whatever you agree on is fine with me. All I want is to be able to schedule the conference report. I have tried saying, Do this; do that. How about that? What about this time? What about another time? They will act when they get ready, I guess. They will have a conference meeting and do their work or they won't. It beats the heck out of me. It is mystifying. They have a job to do. All I am saying is I have confidence in Thad Cochran. I will support whatever he wants to do. I believe the farmers of North Dakota and Mississippi are going to be better for whatever he does. That is all I can do. I am ready to go the minute they get a conference report. We will bring it to the floor like white lightning. Hopefully, that is next week. I would love to do it next week. The last time I checked, that is the end of the fiscal year. If they have it ready Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, the happier I will be.

Mr. LOTT. I was one of the cowboys trying to keep the cats; they won't herd up, though.

Mr. LOTT. You are a cat, and you will want to get grouped up for a conclusion.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 552, S. 2557, regarding the increasing price of gasoline and decreasing America's dependency on foreign oil.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise in support today and bid farewell to a dear colleague and a member of our Senate family. That person is Patricia ``Pat'' Wade, who has worked on Capitol Hill with distinction and loyalty for over 28 years. Pat came to Washington from Memphis, TN. I have known her throughout these 28 years. I have been in Congress all those years and remember when she first came. She came in 1970 and actually began working for Congressman Dan Kuykendall from Tennessee--the Tennessee talking horse, we affectionately called him, a great guy and a good friend. During her tenure on the House side, she also worked for then- Congressman Thad Cochran and his successor in the House, Jon Henson, both from the great State of Mississippi. After a stint in the House, she moved over to the Senate side to work for Vice President George Bush in his Capitol office. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole's office was her next stop. Then I brought her on board when I took the position in the Senate majority leader's office. She now works with Elizabeth Letchworth, and she is administrative assistant to the secretary for the majority's office. She is invariably friendly and effective. When I call looking for this very important floor staff director, Pat can find her no matter where she is. She always has a smile on her face. She has a fun-loving attitude and is just a very nice person. I will miss her dearly. Pat will certainly do well as she goes back to her home State and spends more time with her beloved mother. We will miss her, but we wish her luck in all future endeavors and thank her for her contributions to this body over these many years.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 667, S. 2511.

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate agree to the amendment of the House.