Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate immediately adopt the motion to proceed to H.R. 4733 and the cloture vote regarding the China PNTR immediately occur, and if cloture is invoked, the 30 hours postcloture not begin until the Senate resumes the motion in September.

Mr. LOTT. Let me explain, if I could, what just occurred. We will have 15 to 20 minutes of time now that will be used for Senators to speak, those I just mentioned. That will be followed by the vote on the China PNTR motion to proceed. Then there will be a period of morning business time to follow that. When we return in September, we will go during the day to the China PNTR debate. That will be laid aside at 6 o'clock, and we will do the energy and water appropriations bill. This is classically described as a double tracking. We will be doing the appropriations bill at night. I hope it won't take but a couple nights. It may take three. During the day, we will be debating the China PNTR. I have assured Senators on both sides of the aisle that we are not going to shove this through. Senators who need time, Senators who want to offer amendments on the China trade bill are going to have the opportunity to do that. I think that is the right way to do it. We are not going to do it in the wee hours of the night. We are going to do it in the day. This is a major international trade agreement, and it needs to be done carefully and with thought. The Senate has a long tradition of acting carefully and with dignity when it comes to important matters of this nature. That is the way we are going to treat it when we return. There will be no rush to judgment, but I do think the responsible thing to do is to begin to make progress toward an eventual judgment. I thank my colleagues, Senator Daschle and Senator Byrd, Senator Hollings, Senator Wellstone and all, for their cooperation on this. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT. If the Senator will yield, that is correct. I indicated there would be 15 or 20 minutes of statements by the four Senators who were identified before that vote. So I expect this vote will occur at approximately 4:30.

Mr. LOTT. I have no objection to that, but part of the agreement was that these four would speak before the vote. Let me suggest this: In view of the request that has been made, Mr. President, I will ask an additional unanimous consent request, if Senator Daschle will yield me the time to do this. I ask unanimous consent, of those Senators who wish to speak immediately before the vote, that they agree to speak immediately after the vote in the order that we read them, 5 minutes each, and that be followed by Senator Helms for 5 minutes and Senator Wellstone for 5 minutes.

Mr. LOTT. The agreement with regard to the vote this afternoon was that we would have the vote after statements by Senator Baucus, Senator Hollings, Senator Moynihan, and Senator Roth for 5 minutes each. Then we would go to the vote. I have now asked unanimous consent to amend that to add that the speeches be made immediately following the vote and to include Senator Helms and Senator Wellstone for 5 minutes. Those speeches would occur immediately following the vote.

Mr. LOTT. I am glad to yield to Senator Feingold.

Mr. LOTT. Part of that agreement was that there would not be cloture during the first week of debate. I must say, I did not intend to do it that way.

Mr. LOTT. I will go ahead and make that commitment now. I won't file or have a vote that week. After all, it is going to be a short week, and we do have appropriations work to do. We will not file cloture the first week we are back on PNTR.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, did Senator Byrd wish further clarification?

Mr. LOTT. Under the earlier request, you did.

Mr. LOTT. Certainly, we want the Senator to have that information. I believe the Senator has it before him. If I could sum it up in laymen's language so the rest of us will understand it, we would have four speeches before the vote on the motion to proceed on China PNTR, to be followed by a vote on that motion to proceed; that we would then come back in on September 5. We would have debates on China PNTR during the day. At 6 o'clock on that Tuesday, we would turn to debate and action, perhaps, on the energy and water appropriations bill, and that we would continue the next day on China PNTR and continue that next Wednesday night on energy and water, if necessary. So, basically, it was to get a vote on this motion to proceed this afternoon, with some prior statements, and then we would work on debate on China PNTR during the day, as we should, and that we would double track and try to move these appropriations bills. I know Senator Byrd wants us to do our work and wants our appropriations bills to be done. I would like to have an agreement beyond this, but it is progress. We will get back on the energy and water bill, which was the next bill in order. I believe Senator Reid and Senator Domenici will finish that bill probably in a matter of hours.

Mr. LOTT. If Senator Byrd will allow me to comment on that, this does get us started back on the appropriations bills, with energy and water. It will be my intent, as soon as that is completed, to try to move to another appropriations bill. I will have to consult with the chairman and the ranking member. We still have Treasury-Postal Service, Commerce-State-Justice, Housing and Urban Development, VA, and DC. I want to do them all as soon as we can so they can move on to conference. That is four bills we need to get done as soon as we can. I will continue to try to move those, but it takes consent, or I have to file a cloture motion, which doesn't expedite the proceedings. But we will continue to work with Senator Byrd, Senator Stevens, and Senator Daschle to try to move on to the other appropriations bills. It is pretty obvious by now that I am very committed to that.

Mr. LOTT. Yes, daily.

Mr. LOTT. Yes.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if Senator Byrd will give me the opportunity, I associate myself wholeheartedly with his remarks, and I would like my name to be followed right after his remarks on that subject. I agree with him. I have been through those experiences. They don't do the institutions any good. I think they do the people a disservice. I hope we can avoid that.

Mr. LOTT. I thank Senator Byrd. Mr. President, I will withdraw my earlier unanimous consent request. In order to accommodate a Senator, and perhaps others, who are desirous of attending a funeral, we will move the comments to after this vote. I ask unanimous consent that the speaking order after the vote be as follows under the same time constraints: Senator Helms for 40 minutes, Senator Bryan for 40 minutes, Senator Bob Smith for 40 minutes, Senator Dorgan for 40 minutes, Senator Roth for 5 minutes, Senator Moynihan for 5 minutes, Senator Hollings for 5 minutes, Senator Baucus for 5 minutes, and Senator Wellstone for 25 minutes.

Mr. LOTT. The other speeches by Senator Helms, Bryan, Smith, and Dorgan were speeches that had already been ordered immediately after the vote. So what we are doing is we are adding those who want to speak with relation to China PNTR to that list.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, today I rise to honor the oldest African- American church in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, Mount Helm Baptist Church. Not only is it the oldest African-American church, but it is also one of the oldest churches in the State of Mississippi. Throughout this year, Mount Helm will be celebrating its 165th Anniversary with a theme ``Celebrating Our Heritage: Anticipating Our Future''. This year's theme should be echoed in the hearts and minds of everyone. This church clearly exemplifies this theme. Mount Helm, which was founded in 1835, has continuously been a community leader and a strong advocate for Christianity and the spreading of the Gospel. Prior Lee, a prominent Jacksonian, developed a deep interest in religion and provided the resources for the construction of the First Baptist Church. After the church was completed, Lee persuaded the congregation to allow the African-Americans to hold their own worship services in the basement of the church. The Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, was ratified in 1867 and African-Americans withdrew from the First Baptist Church and erected their own church home, thus forming Mount Helm Baptist Church. During its 165 years of existence, Mount Helm Baptist Church has had the leadership of 21 pastors. Mount Helm is currently being pastored by the Reverend John R. Johnson, Jr. Under his leadership, it has always been a pillar of faith and support to local churches and the surrounding community. The Thomas and Mary Helm family, motivated by a benevolent and sympathetic spirit, donated the land upon which African- Americans built their first church edifice. The City of Jackson and the State of Mississippi are grateful for Mount Helm's Baptist Church leadership and accomplishments.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Maine for her comments, her leadership on so many important issues in the Senate, and for yielding to me at this time so we may proceed.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, obviously I had hoped we would be making a lot more progress this week on appropriations bills and other issues. That has not transpired yet. But we have been filing cloture motions, and we will be getting votes. In some way we will deal this week with the Treasury-Postal Service appropriations bill. I hope we can find a way to proceed on the energy and water appropriations bill. We will get to a vote at some point on the intelligence authorization bill. So, hopefully, we can still go forward. I do not feel as if we are proceeding appropriately, but in spite of that, I think it generally was interpreted or understood that I would try to begin the discussion on the China PNTR bill. Even though it will be difficult to get through the maze of clotures we have had to file this week, I still think it is the appropriate thing to do to begin this process because we do not know exactly how long it will take to get to a final vote on the China trade issue. I am still going to do my best to find a way to have the Thompson- Torricelli legislation considered in some manner before we get to the substance of the China trade bill because I think Chinese nuclear weapons proliferation is a very serious matter. We should discuss that and have a vote on it. I think it would be preferable to do it aside from the trade bill itself. In the end, if we can't get any other way to get at it, these two Senators may exercise their right to offer it to the China PNTR bill. But I am going to continue to try to find a way for that to be offered in another forum. I think Senator Daschle indicated he would work with us to try to see if we could find a way to do that. But I do think if we can go ahead and get started--and since there will be resistance to the motion to proceed--then we will file cloture and have a vote on it then on Friday.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. So, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 575, H.R. 4444, regarding normal trade relations with the People's Republic of China.

Mr. LOTT. I am sorry there is objection just to proceeding to the bill. But I know that Senator Reid is objecting on behalf of others who do not want us to proceed to it. I hope we can get to a vote on Friday; and then when we come back in September this will be an issue we can go to soon rather than later in the month. Cloture Motion I move to proceed to the bill. So I make that motion to proceed at this time, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this cloture vote will occur on Friday, unless consent can be granted to conduct the vote earlier or we are in a postcloture situation on the Treasury-Postal Service appropriations bill. There is opposition, obviously, to this motion to proceed. But I still think that adequate time can be used for discussion. I know there are a number of Senators who would like to see this vote occur on Thursday instead of Friday. I am willing to accommodate that. But if that cannot be worked out, then we will have the vote on Friday. If we are in a postcloture situation, the vote could be postponed for some time. But I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum be waived.

Mr. LOTT. I now withdraw the motion to proceed. I believe I have that right.

Mr. LOTT. In conclusion, while we seek Utopia in dealing with these appropriations bills, the promised land of how we can work together to do the people's business, which we are not doing right now, at least in the case of this bill, I believe we will have broad bipartisan support for the China PNTR bill. I might add, there is going to be some bipartisan opposition, too. So as we get into the substance of this--which I would rather be getting into rather than having to once again file cloture on a motion to proceed--I think we will have a good debate. I think it is going to serve the Senate well. I think it will serve the American people well. I believe when we do finally get to a vote, it will pass--and probably should. But there are a lot of serious questions still involved in how we are going to deal with China. So I look forward to this discussion. Mr. President, I yield the floor.