Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, did the Senator object, then?

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I know there may be a couple of statements by the managers of the bill. I thank them for the work they have done. They stayed here until about midnight last night. The distinguished chairman from Missouri and ranking member, Senator Mikulski from Maryland, have done outstanding work. By staying here until midnight last night, they completed a bill that probably would have taken 2 full days next week, so I congratulate them for their good work. We just passed the HUD-VA appropriations bill. That is the fourth appropriations bill this year. We will next proceed to the legislative appropriations bill. However, no further votes will occur during today's session. Because of the good progress we are making and the cooperation we are receiving, we can go to the legislative appropriations bill. Any votes with respect to the legislative appropriations bill will be postponed to occur at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Therefore, there will be no recorded votes on Monday. On Monday, the Senate will begin the State-Justice-Commerce appropriations bill.

Mr. LOTT. I will be glad to yield to the Senator from Kentucky.

Mr. LOTT. I respond, Madam President, to the Senator from Kentucky, it is our intent to complete debate on all amendments with the possibility of one amendment where there could be some further debate on that on Monday. But all debate on all issues will be completed during today, except that one amendment. There could be 2 hours debate on Monday and hopefully complete it with a voice vote; hopefully complete legislative appropriations on Monday. If a vote or votes are required, they will not occur until Tuesday morning.

Mr. LOTT. We will propound another unanimous consent request to lock that in. There will be no more recorded votes today and no recorded votes on Monday. The next will occur at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I now ask for a second reading, and I object to my own request.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I send a bill to the desk and ask that it be read a first time.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask the Senate now turn to H.R. 4112.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, unfortunately in this case Members on our side of the aisle have insisted on an amendment that made it impossible for us to get a unanimous consent agreement as to how to bring up a complete legislative appropriations bill. In order to expedite that legislative appropriations bill, I did, then, file a cloture motion. That vote will occur on Tuesday, July 21, at approximately 9:30 a.m. I now ask that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. LOTT. I want to confirm that I have discussed this, of course, with Members on our side of the aisle and with Senator Daschle. He is aware of this. Any first-degree amendments, then, that are to be offered to the legislative appropriations bill, must be filed by 2 p.m. on Monday, July 20.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I now ask that there be a period for morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. In light of the objection, I have no alternative than to call up the legislative appropriations bill and file a cloture motion.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now turn to H.R. 4112, the legislative appropriations bill, and the following amendments be the only amendments in order: One, a Thomas- Brownback amendment regarding nongovernmental services, and one managers' amendment. I further ask unanimous consent that debate must be concluded today, with the exception of the managers' amendment, and that any vote ordered with respect to the bill be postponed to occur at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 21. I further ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the State-Justice-Commerce appropriations bill following the conclusion of debate on the legislative appropriations bill.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this is a sense-of-the-Senate resolution. I know the issue is very important. I know Senators had wanted to be heard on it. But we have now been in session for 1\1/2\ hours and we have been on a sense-of-the-Senate resolution. I wonder if the Senate is not prepared to vote here momentarily. I know Senator Cochran has been working on that. Senator Harkin will use just a couple of minutes, and Senator Daschle--did the Senator want to comment on this?

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, it is 12:15 and we have had one vote. We have dispensed with a sense-of-the-Senate resolution on the agriculture appropriations bill. Now the managers are having difficulty getting Senators to come to the floor and offer amendments. This is beyond ridiculous. If we don't get going in the next 15 minutes or so, we are going to go live on a quorum. I am going to look, then, for the next serious action to take, because we should be through with this bill. If Senators are serious, they should be here offering their amendments. If they are not, then we are going so start having votes of another nature. We are not just going to stand in a quorum for the next hour, hour and a half. It is not fair to the managers. We will be here at midnight tonight, and I don't think anybody wants that. So again, I call on Senators to come to the floor. Surely a Senator has an amendment, out of the 40 amendments we have pending, that could be offered. Let's dispose of it. We will wait 15 minutes, or so, to get one going and then we will go to a live quorum. Mr. BUMPERS addressed the Chair.

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

Mr. LOTT. I would like to do that, because someone else will come in and say, ``Could you delay it a little longer?'' Or, ``Do it quicker?'' I would like to accomplish it quickly, but it is impossible to accommodate everybody. I want to make this point. We have had some good debate on this. I know there are some important issues out there. But we need to get on with it and we need to complete this bill this afternoon. I would say to my colleagues, we are going to have to finish it today because we have other votes. I hope everybody would recognize that this afternoon at some point we should just start, on both sides of the aisle, moving to table all amendments. If we had a vote right now on this bill, it would get over 90 votes. So I hope the Senate would cooperate. I know Senator Daschle and the managers on both sides are trying to do that. But I am a little nervous that the tempo is not there yet to get this completed so we could go on to other appropriations bills and so Senator Daschle and I can continue to work to try to get agreement on other important issues. So please let's cooperate. Let's bring this to a conclusion by the middle of the afternoon. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Now, Mr. President, I know that there are several amendments that need to be worked through. I see that Senator Wellstone is here on the floor ready to go. And I believe we can get some time agreements on other issues. Does the manager, Senator Bond, wish to comment?

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now resume the HUD- VA appropriations bill.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Certainly.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I would like to make an announcement here of how we are going to proceed for the balance of the night. Senator Sam Brownback Receives Golden Gavel Award

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I want to recognize the distinguished Senator that is the Presiding Officer at this time. He is another one of our Members that has reached that magic mark of 100 hours as Presiding Officer. Senator Brownback has done an outstanding job in presiding and handling the gavel. He has earned the Golden Gavel Award. This is a tradition that started several years ago, and it helps make this institution work as it should. And I would like to extend a sense of appreciation to Senator Brownback for his time as the Presiding Officer. (Applause, Senators rising.) 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 very important duty. Senator Brownback spent a significant amount of unscheduled time in the chair during last night's votes and still insisted upon meeting his presiding duties today. For his ongoing commitment to presiding, we thank him and extend our congratulations on receiving the Golden Gavel Award. Order of Procedure

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this was old home week in the Senate. Former Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, who served almost two decades in this body, returned to give us a piece of his mind--in the best sense of the phrase. To be precise, he delivered, in the august Old Senate Chamber, the second presentation in our Leader's Lecture Series. The first address earlier this year, by former Senator Mike Mansfield, was both moving and memorable. Senator Baker's remarks were no less so. He entitled his remarks ``On Herding Cats,'' a reference to the nature of the work of a Senator Majority Leader--or, for that matter, a Minority Leader. Suffice it to say that, as the current holder of the leadership office which Senator Baker gave up when he left the Senate, I fully understand what he means. To advance the public's understanding of the Senate, and to further appreciation of its unique traditions and procedures, I ask unanimous consent that the text of Senator Baker's Lecture be printed in the Record.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, today I wish to congratulate Bud Selig on his unanimous election as the ninth Commissioner of major league baseball. Baseball is enjoying a renaissance of popularity at all levels of play. Participation and interest in youth baseball is at an all-time high. Minor league baseball sets new attendance records each year while bringing the joy of the sport to smaller communities across our Nation. Major league baseball is enjoying unprecedented interest as its great players and teams continue their assault on the all-time records. As a lifelong fan of baseball, I know Mr. Selig will continue to make baseball even more popular for its millions of fans and players from youth league through the major leagues. He will also bring considerable experience and background to his new post all of which will add to the glory of our national pastime. I wish him well. Baseball has chosen well.