Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT. Now, Mr. Chief Justice, I believe at this point it would be in order for a motion to be made that we go into open debate, if any, and then when that is dispensed with, we would go to the move to close and would deal with that issue, and then we would begin the closed session. And so I believe we are ready for a motion to be offered, if any, at this time.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that during each day the Senate sits as a Court of Impeachment, it be in order for Senators to submit to the desk statements and introduce legislation.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, in view of the time that we have been in without a break, the next pending business is that we would want to have a motion by Senator Harkin or Senator Wellstone. Before we do that, I suggest that, without objection, we take a 15-minute break.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I have a unanimous consent request to propound. We have discussed this with Senator Daschle and it has been cleared. I ask unanimous consent that following the conclusion of the arguments by the managers and the White House counsel today on the motion to subpoena witnesses, it be in order at that point only for Senator Harkin or Senator Wellstone to make a motion to open that debate pursuant to his motion timely filed, and that the Senate proceed immediately to the vote, pursuant to the impeachment rules. I further ask that following that vote, if defeated, it be in order to move to close the session for deliberations on the motion to subpoena witnesses, as provided under the impeachment rules of the Senate and proceed to immediate vote. If we have any change in either one of these, certainly we would have to ask for consent on that and would notify Members to that effect. I further ask that if the Senate votes to proceed to closed session, those deliberations be limited to 3 hours equally divided between the two leaders, notwithstanding the 5-minute allocation of time under the impeachment rule. I further ask unanimous consent that when the Senate concludes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 1 p.m. on Wednesday, January 27. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that pursuant to S. Res. 16, the votes occur immediately upon convening on Wednesday, first on the motion to dismiss, and if defeated, the motion to subpoena witnesses without intervening action or debate.

Mr. LOTT. I believe, Mr. Chief Justice, we are ready to proceed with White House counsel.

Mr. LOTT. Do they intend to use more of their time now? Well, Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that we take a 30- minute break at this point.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, that motion being defeated, I believe it is now in order to move to close the session so we can have debate on the question of the motion to subpoena witnesses.

Mr. LOTT. I so move, Mr. Chief Justice.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I would like to ask that Senators remain at their place, but I will put in a request for a quorum just momentarily so the appropriate arrangements can be made for the closed session. Mr. Chief Justice, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment as under the previous order.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chief Justice Rehnquist.

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

Mr. LOTT. As is obvious by the absence of the managers and counsel, and a number of the Senators, the two parties are still meeting in conference at this time. I believe we are close to reaching an agreement which would outline today's impeachment proceedings. It will probably be an hour or so before we can complete that because we need to explain it in detail to our respective conference, and also make sure that we reduce it to writing so we understand exactly what we are agreeing to. I will in a moment ask that the Senate stand in recess until 2 p.m. I apologize for any inconvenience to Senators and the Chief Justice. But I think that what we are discussing in the long run would save some time and lead us to a fair procedure through the balance of the day and how we begin tomorrow. Recess Therefore, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess until 2 p.m.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, it is my understanding that the question and answer period is now completed. In a moment I will propound a unanimous consent agreement that will outline the next steps in this process.

Mr. LOTT. In the meantime, I would ask unanimous consent that Senators be allowed to submit statements and introduce legislation at the desk today. I further ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 1 p.m. on Tuesday to resume the articles of impeachment.

Mr. LOTT. I just want to observe, Mr. Chief Justice, that there are still some discussions underway. You will note that Senator Daschle is not here, and unless there is objection to what I just did, I am prepared to note the absence of a quorum so that we can have time for Senators to return to the Chamber.

Mr. LOTT. I did. If I might respond, Mr. Chief Justice, there had been some discussion about coming in earlier, but because of a number of conflicts, I understand, from the House managers and concerns that we would need that time to continue to have discussions, we thought we would go ahead and come in at 1. But let me add that if during the process of the day there is a decision that we need to change that to either earlier or later, we could revise that request. This is just to move the process forward, as we have announced each day we would come in at 1 except on Saturday. But if there is a need to change the time, we will certainly be prepared to consider that request.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I had earlier asked a couple of unanimous consent requests, but the Democratic leader was not on the floor, and it was not officially objected to or officially ruled as not having been objected to. So I am going to assume that is all null and void, and we are going to start over again.

Mr. LOTT. Now, to repeat what we had earlier discussed and to make sure Members understand it, it is our understanding and our agreement that the question and answer period is now completed. Order for Submission of Statements and Introduction of Legislation

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that Senators be allowed to submit statements and introduce legislation at the desk today.

Mr. LOTT. With regard to the time that will be involved today and the time that we will come in on Tuesday, we will have further discussions on that, and we will have a consent request on that later in the day or at the close of business. Now I have a unanimous consent request that will allow us to have a clear understanding and an orderly procedure for the balance of the day. I have discussed this with my counterpart on the other side of the aisle, both conferences have had a chance to talk about it, and I think it is a fair way to proceed, where we would have a chance to discuss the issues that are before us and get us to a conclusion of this part of the impeachment proceedings in a logical way. Unanimous-Consent Request

Mr. LOTT. First, Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that following the conclusion of the arguments by the managers and the counsel today on the motion to dismiss--and I note that the next order of business is 2 hours equally divided, 1 hour on each side, on a motion to dismiss when and if it is filed by any Senator--and after that, it be in order for Senator Harkin to make a motion to open all debate pursuant to his motion timely filed and that the Senate proceed immediately to the vote pursuant to the impeachment rules. I further ask that following that vote, if defeated, it be in order to move to close the session for deliberations on the motion to dismiss, as provided under the impeachment rules, and the Senate proceed to an immediate vote. I further ask that if the Senate votes to proceed to closed session, that those deliberations must conclude by the close of business today, notwithstanding the 10-minute rule allocated under the impeachment rule.