Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I finally ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the pro forma sessions, it be in order for committees to file legislative and executive matters.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. As just announced, the Senate will be conducting pro forma sessions on Friday and Tuesday. No business will be transacted. The Senate will be in legislative session on Wednesday and may consider any legislative or executive items that may be available. The Court of Impeachment will next meet at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Mr. ROBB addressed the Chair.

Mr. LOTT. I yield, Mr. President, the floor so that the Senator can offer a bill. Mr. ROBB addressed the Chair.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 10 a.m. on Friday, January 29, for a pro forma session only. I further ask consent that immediately after convening on Friday, the Senate then adjourn over until Tuesday, February 2, at 10 a.m., for a pro forma session only. I further ask that immediately upon convening on Tuesday, the Senate then adjourn automatically until 12 noon on Wednesday, February 3. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate convenes on Wednesday, immediately following the prayer, the Journal of the proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and there then be a period for morning business until the hour of 2 p.m. with the time divided as follows: 60 minutes under the control of the majority leader, or his designee; 60 minutes under the control of the minority leader, or his designee.

Mr. LOTT

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. For the information of all of our colleagues--obviously, they have already received the word by the fact that they are not all present--but we are still attempting to reach an agreement with respect to the remaining procedures for the trial, particularly with regard to how and when the depositions will be taken. We have been making progress, but it is something we need to be careful about. Hopefully, we will be able to reach an agreement yet today. If agreement is reached, I expect it very likely that a rollcall vote would be requested on that agreement and, therefore, all Members should be aware of that. We will notify them via the hotline system as the voting schedule becomes clear. Certainly we will keep the Chief Justice informed of our deliberations and when we anticipate the need to reconvene. recess

Mr. LOTT. But in view of the continuing negotiations and conferences that are meeting at this time, I ask unanimous consent the Senate stand in recess until the hour of 2 p.m. today.

Mr. LOTT. Thank you, again, Mr. Chief Justice. Order of Procedure

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, in an effort to get an agreement on how to proceed, it is very important that all parties are aware of the procedures that we are outlining and that those include Senators on both sides of the aisle, the House managers, the White House, the attorneys for the witnesses. So it does take time. Just as we were prepared to come in at 2 and move to a resolution, questions were raised about a couple specific points. We feel like those questions need to be clarified for certainty. Rather than continue to recess hour to hour, which I know is not fair to the Chief Justice, I think it would be better at this point to make sure Senators are aware that we are working to get an agreement on this procedure, and we need to get that done today so the depositions can get underway with the attorneys consulting with their clients Friday and Saturday, and hopefully, the depositions will begin on Sunday and Monday, and hopefully, completed by Tuesday. But we are working on the details of that. This still could very well require a vote or two today or even tomorrow. But we will make that announcement once it is clear that it is going to take a recorded vote of one or more and exactly how that would work. So, we will keep the Chief Justice notified of the expected timeframe, and as information becomes available as to exactly when we will come back into session, and whether or not or how many votes will be required. We will get that information to Senators. Recess Subject to the Call of the Chair

Mr. LOTT. In view of all that, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. LOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. I thought we were ready to proceed. I see Senator Daschle is not on the floor. He should be back momentarily. Maybe I can explain a few details. He is returning now. We may still need a little more time. We thank you for your patience, and our colleagues on both sides for their patience, as we have tried to work through the details of these resolutions and how to proceed with the depositions. There are a lot of details to it and everybody needs to be relatively comfortable they understand how that will work. That is why it has taken this additional time. I think we are to the point where we are ready to proceed. I believe the way it will proceed is that we will have a resolution that I will send to the desk, followed by a substitute from Senator Daschle. Then Senator Daschle has indicated that they may want to have a motion to go straight to the articles of impeachment. That would require three votes. Then we also, at that point, would make it clear the depositions would begin on Monday, the 1st. It is our intent to then go to those three votes. I also understand that both sides are willing to waive-- the parties--willing to waive the debate time on these issues. With that explanation, I begin that process. Relating to the Procedures Concerning the Articles of Impeachment Against William Jefferson Clinton

Mr. LOTT. I send a resolution to the desk and ask that it be read in its entirety by the clerk, and time for the two parties be waived.

Mr. LOTT. I believe there was a request for unanimous consent.

Mr. LOTT. I believe the regular order is, now we would go to a vote on the two resolutions. Just for the information of the Senators, after that, Senator Daschle may have a motion, again, as I indicated earlier, just to go to a vote on the articles of impeachment. So there could be three votes now, in order, without intervening debate. After that, Senator Daschle and I will formally lock in the beginning time for the depositions. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, in a moment we will begin two consecutive votes. The first will be on the motion to dismiss. That will be followed by an immediate vote on the motion to subpoena. Following those votes, there will be an opportunity to describe how we would go forward from there with the depositions. I have discussed this with Senator Daschle. It is likely that we would take a break at that point so that we could have further discussions with our conferences to make sure we understand how that subpoena and deposition process would go forward. I have a resolution prepared. We have some simpler ones that we can consider. But we would want to discuss those with each other during the vote, and perhaps even after the two votes occur, depending on what the results are. The idea is that we have now before us Senate Resolution 16, which has brought us to the point to these two votes. We need to give some consideration to making sure we understand how the process will go forward to a conclusion after that. I thank my colleagues for their attention. I believe we are ready for the votes, Mr. Chief Justice. Vote on Motion to Dismiss

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, as I indicated earlier, we are attempting now to clarify exactly how this will proceed and to reach agreement with regard to the remaining procedure and the beginning of the deposition process. We are acting in good faith, but we want to make sure we are at least going to try to think about all contingencies, and we are exchanging resolutions and suggestions between Senator Daschle and myself at this time. We may be asked to vote later on today on a procedure. We will let you know if that is necessary today. It could happen tomorrow. But we don't want it to go much longer than that because we need to make sure this procedure is going forward. Of course, if we don't have a resolution, I presume we will begin to go forward anyway, but we would like to have some orderly procedure as we have had in the past. My thinking at this time is that we would just stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair while we talk this through. It may not be necessary to do anything further as far as a recorded vote but it may be. So we just wanted Senators to be on notice of that. Recess Subject to the Call of the Chair Therefore, I ask unanimous consent, Mr. Chief Justice, that the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. LOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. First, I thank all the Members, all concerned, for their patience throughout this process. We have had a productive day, and I believe this recess that we have been experiencing has been helpful in allowing further discussions to occur and to clarify what the procedures will be from here through the subpoena and deposition process and, hopefully, even to a conclusion. Senator Daschle and I have traded proposals which outline those procedures for the remainder of the trial, and although I won't go into detail at this time, I will say that both proposals bring us to a final vote on the pending articles of impeachment in an expeditious manner. We have been narrowing the questions that are involved, and we are now working on what I hope will be the final draft. But it is not going to be possible to complete that this afternoon. We hope to be able to do it when we reconvene at 1 p.m. on Thursday. There will be conferences of the two parties in the morning so that we can go over this with all the Senators. It is not enough just that the leaders understand or agree; we have to make sure every Senator understands it and agrees with the procedure that we would go forward with.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I now ask unanimous consent that the Court of Impeachment stand in adjournment until the hour of 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, for years the Administration has expressed a need for targeted legislation which will provide necessary, regulatory flexibility for successful clean up goals of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unsuccessfully tried several times to address those needs through regulatory reform. While those efforts have attempted to speed cleanup and make more rational requirements, these attempts have repeatedly been met with legal challenges. These challenges severely limit the Agency's ability to effectively address this concern. Furthermore, a General Accounting Office (GAO) study concluded that EPA cannot achieve comprehensive reform through the regulatory process. GAO also believes that such reform can best be achieved by revising the underlying law. Indeed, my colleagues and I have been working with the Administration and stakeholders for several years to try to give EPA the flexibility it needs. We recognize that Americans are fed up with ineffective environmental programs that do little for cleanup. Americans want their hard-earned dollars used wisely and effectively. RCRA's goals are very important. RCRA involves cleanup of properties contaminated with hazardous waste, at more than the 5000 sites. Therefore, the barriers to cleanup are a great concern. The GAO report echoes these concerns, noting that EPA believes that current RCRA requirements can lead parties to select cleanup remedies that are either too stringent or not stringent enough--given the risks posed by the wastes. Ultimately these requirements can discourage the cleanup of sites. The current RCRA cleanup program potentially affects all state cleanups, including the cleanup of ``brownfield sites.'' Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. As Brownfield redevelopment activities have increased, it has come to our attention that the hazardous waste management and permitting requirements under RCRA either preclude the redevelopment of these properties all together or significantly add to the cost and time of their redevelopment. Late last year, EPA attempted once more to address the need for regulatory flexibility to speed effective RCRA cleanups. This new rule, called the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule, addresses several of the disincentives to clean up. We applaud the Agency for its efforts. Nonetheless, EPA notes with certainty that additional reform is needed. The Administration is sending a clear message. RCRA reforms are desired. EPA will do what it can, and should be commended for their most recent effort. However, legislative reforms are needed this year. I commend Senators Chafee, Smith, Lautenberg, Baucus, and Breaux for their past efforts to address this problem. I have given them my full support in their plans to definitively fix the problem and given certainty to recent agency actions. Thank you for your leadership in recognizing the need for action. This effort addresses a real need, focusing on expediting clean ups. This need can be readily met if we continue to work in a bipartisan manner.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate return to open session.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, could I inquire about the balance of the time remaining for the House managers?

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

Mr. LOTT. If all Senators, counsel and managers would return to their desks, I believe we are ready to begin. Mr. Chief Justice, again, just for the information of all Senators, what happens next is I believe that a manager will be recognized on behalf of the House to present a motion with regard to subpoenaing witnesses and then the presentations will begin first by the House managers and then by the White House counsel and then closed by the House managers to be spread over 4 hours, but that at approximately 1:30 we will take a break so that we can assess how to proceed the balance of the day, and perhaps even get a bite to eat if Senators hadn't had that opportunity. It won't be an extended break, but it will be longer than normal. I believe we are ready to proceed, Mr. Chief Justice.

Mr. LOTT. For the information of all Senators, we are now prepared to hear arguments regarding the subpoenaing of witnesses and the taking of their depositions. I understand the House managers will submit the list and begin their argument; the White House counsel will then state their arguments, with the House managers making the final closing statement. This period has been limited to 4 hours instead of the 6 hours that had been earlier indicated. I also expect a motion may be offered again to close the session with regard to deliberations by the Senators. I need some further consultation with Senator Daschle to confirm that. It could be that we could work it out without having to do the recorded vote. Therefore, votes could occur this evening--probably between 4:30 p.m. and 5 o'clock. As always, we expect to take a break after about an hour and a half in the proceedings, and it may be a little bit longer than usual, so that if Senators were not able to grab a quick bite, they might be able to grab a little something in the cloakroom during that first break. So it might be a little longer than ordinary. And I expect that will occur sometime around 1:30 approximately. Before we begin, since I see that there are still a few Senators who are not in the Chamber, I suggest the absence of a quorum, Mr. Chief Justice.