Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate turn to S. 936, the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I announce when the Senate returns following the Independence Day recess, the Senate will return to consideration of the Department of Defense authorization bill. I want all Senators to know in advance it is my intent to complete action on that bill--the DOD authorization bill--that week, and I intend to stay with it even though it means votes on Friday, July 11, and even on Saturday, if necessary. We have a lot of work to do. Earlier this year, because we were in a new Congress, some of the committees were not able to get their bills out, but we now have a lot of bills that are coming to the floor. The appropriations bills will be coming in rapid order. We have bills such as the FDA reform legislation, wildlife refuge bill, Amtrak reform, a whole number of bills. We are just going to have to work on Fridays, and we should begin, certainly, with the Department of Defense authorization bill. In order to expedite action on the bill, I want any amendments that are going to be offered to be delivered to the committee. We would like for them to be given to the Armed Services Committee as soon as possible next week. The Armed Services staff will work through the recess to clear the amendments of any Senators that do have amendments they want to offer. So we urge Senators to make us aware of the amendments they have.

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, we will go to the DOD authorization bill on Monday, July 7. Senators who have amendments are urged to offer them during the day on Monday. However, no votes will occur during Monday's session of the Senate. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote occur at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, and the mandatory quorum of rule XXII be waived.

Mr. LOTT. Under rule XXII, all first-degree amendments must be filed with the clerk by 1 p.m. on Monday, July 7. All second-degree amendments must be filed just prior to the cloture vote on Tuesday. Unanimous-Consent Agreement--H.R. 2014

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now resume consideration of H.R. 2014, the Tax Fairness Act and that the Senate insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. LOTT. We are, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, before I resume my unanimous-consent request, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I believe we had gotten unanimous consent that the Senate insist on its amendment and request a conference with regard to H.R. 2014, and to authorize appointment of conferees on the part of the Senate. Is that correct?

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I now ask unanimous consent the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 2015, the Balanced Budget Act, and the Senate insist on its amendment and request a conference with the House on disagreeing votes, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination on the Executive Calendar, Calendar No. 122, 132, 138, 140 through 159, and all nominations placed at the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy; I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any statements relating to the nominations appear at this point in the Record, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then return to legislative business.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I want to observe what an excellent job the Presiding Officer has done over the last 2 days. He was there until the wee hours, or late hours last night, and has been in the chair most of the day. The Senator from Wyoming has done an excellent job. We appreciate his work.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. It remains my hope that we can work with Chairman McCain and other members of the Committee to produce a bill that more of us can support. We need to recognize that American industry will have increased difficulty of competing in the international marketplace unless we provide some real reform. It is as if we erected a 30-foot wall between the United States and the rest of the world. The problem is that in today marketplace, American industry only has a 10-foot ladder while their foreign competition has a 35-foot ladder. Foreign firms are able to climb the wall while our American industry faces an insurmountable obstacle. This is both short-sighted and wrong. If we follow our current path, we will rue the day when we allowed our policies drive world leadership of the important information security business to shift to Germany, Russia, Japan or China. I fully intend to work toward a legislative solution that will help solve the problem while protecting American security interests. We need to create the mechanisms that will allow American companies to have the same sized ladders that the rest of the world can use. Mr. President, we all appreciate the legitimate law enforcement and national security issues involved in this debate. Our national security and law enforcement agencies need to work with industry to ensure that our interests are protected. I remain convinced that we can do this in a way that insures that our national security and sovereignty remains protected.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I too would like to work with my colleagues to improve the McCain-Kerrey bill before it is brought to the floor. I would like to ask my good friend from Missouri to pay special attention to this bill while it is under consideration by the Judiciary Committee. I know that I can count on him to work hard to improve this important legislation.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise today to thank the junior Senator from Montana for his leadership on the important issue. Senator Burns has led a valiant effort to address an area that I believe is in great need of reform. He has championed the cause of allowing citizens to protect their information through readily available strong information security technology. In the 104th Congress, he introduced legislation that set the stage for our reform efforts in this Congress. Again, last week, Senator Burns offered a compromise version of his original bill before the Commerce Committee, but unfortunately this measure did not pass. I hope that now we can go through a process to bring all parties together, industry and Government, to try to relieve some of the problems created by current law. We did not accomplish everything that I wanted in Committee, but I am confident that there is still time to improve this legislation. I want to congratulate Senator Burns and others on the committee like Senator Ashcroft and Senator Dorgan who have taken the time to understand the technology and to attempt to effectively guide us through these difficult issues. Mr. President, the demand for strong information security will not abate. Individuals, industry, and governments need the best information security technology to protect their information. The Administration's policy and the McCain-Kerrey bill allow export of 56-bit encryption, with key recovery requirements. How secure is 56-bit encryption? That question was answered the day before the Senate Commerce Committee acted. Responding to a challenge, a secret message encoded with 56-bit encryption was decoded in a brute force supercomputing effort known as the ``Deschall Effort.'' The message that was decoded said ``Strong cryptography makes the world a safer place.'' Now that 56-bit encryption has been cracked by individuals working together over the Internet, information protected by that technology is vulnerable. The need to allow stronger security to protect information is more acute than ever.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate amendment to H.R. 2014 be printed as passed.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 102, H.R. 173.

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

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 77, S. 417.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following the wrap-up of the chairman and ranking member, there be a period for the transaction of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 5 minutes each. I know there are some Senators here wishing to speak. I don't know if the Senators have any wrap-up that they need to do from the Finance Committee. But once that is done, we can continue on to the 5-minute order for morning business.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, the next vote will be final passage. It will be the last vote of the week before the Senate adjourns today. I will file cloture on the motion on the DOD authorization bill. That cloture vote will occur on Tuesday, July 8, at 2:15. That will be the next vote. Senators that have amendments to submit are urged to do so by Monday, July 7. Once again, I want to thank all the Senators for their cooperation. I think this has been a historic week. I appreciate the leadership from the chairman of the committee and the ranking member. Thank you all very much.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, the vote we're about to take will be one of the most important any of us will ever cast. The decision before us is as important as our families and as large as the American future. If this is not an historic moment, then it is as close to it as most of us will ever come. Several weeks ago, when we first reached the broad outlines of an agreement with the President, I called it a victory, not for a party or a person, but for the American people. We can reaffirm that today. We listened to the American people. We knew what they wanted us to do. And somehow, by the grace of God and the endurance of Pete Domenici and Bill Roth, we did it. We set out to lower the tax burden on the American people. We did so. In this bill, more than 75 percent of the tax breaks go to people with incomes under $75,000. We set out to make the Tax Code family-friendly. We did so. After far too many years of talking about a tax credit for children, we're finally approving one. In addition, we're making it easier for families to save for the costs of education. On top of that, we're expanding the availability of IRA's to virtually all homemakers in the country. And we're easing the death tax on family farms and businesses. This bill rides in tandem with the Balanced Budget Act the Senate passed 2 days ago. That marks a turning point in the way Congress deals with the entitlement programs that have driven our country to the depths of indebtedness. Even more important, it fulfills our commitment to strengthen and preserve Medicare, not only for today's beneficiaries but for those who will depend on that program in the years ahead. Taken together, what the Senate and House have done this week gives the American people the assurance of something they have not had in three decades: a long-term balanced budget. That, of course, is more than an end in itself. It is the surest way to touch off a dynamic economic expansion that will make the first years of the new century an opportunity decade. What we have done this week, and what we do today, is more than an exercise in bookkeeping. It is a commitment of the heart to an America where every willing worker can find a good job, where industry and thrift are rewarded, and where every family can aspire to a better life. And yet, this is not a perfect bill. I wish we could have reduced taxes more, just as I wanted to reduce spending more in the Balanced Budget Act. But we had to craft both pieces of legislation through compromise and consensus. If the American people understood everything we were up against these last few weeks, they would be amazed that we were able to do for them as much as we did. This is not the end of the story. We have one hurdle left, and that is the highest of them all. After passing this bill, we will go to conference with the House. I will do all I can to make that conference quick and productive. Our hurdle--our challenge--will be to preserve the historic work of the Senate and the House in the face of opposition, and perhaps veto threats, from the administration. On behalf of our entire Republican leadership, and all Senators who will be our conferees, I want to give this pledge to the American people: We will go the extra mile to advance this legislation that is so vital to you. We will do our utmost to work out disagreements with the President. But by the same token, we will not agree to any settlement that denies your tax cuts or turns them into the kind of tax fiddling that does nothing to advance opportunity and job creation. So as we prepare the conference report on these two bills, we will listen in good faith to anyone who speaks in good faith. We will share credit, take blame, and let others have the spotlight. But we are not going to yield on matters of principle. With that in mind, Mr. President, I urge the passage of the Taxpayers Relief Act as the Senate's Independence Day salute to the taxpayers of America. byrd rule list

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I would like to agree with the distinguished chairman of the Commerce Committee, of which I am a member. The work of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission could result in a unique opportunity for an often divided aviation industry to reach a consensus on important funding issues. Congress should not force its will on the industry prematurely. The Commission is in the process of developing legislative recommendations, and plans to complete its work soon. Unfortunately, the reconciliation process is moving faster than the ability of the Commission to reach a comprehensive solution. The Commission recently wrote to the leadership of both the Senate and House on this issue. We should ensure that the reconciliation bill, or budget rules, do not foreclose the ability to consider the commission recommendations in the future. At that time, we will have a full and fair debate on the recommendations themselves.