Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I am proud to announce to the Senate today the names of the four youngsters who are recipients of the 1997 American Automobile Association Lifesaving Medal. This is the highest award given to members of school safety patrols throughout the United States. It is presented annually to students, who, while on duty took heroic lifesaving actions to save the life of a fellow student from imminent danger. I would like to briefly describe the heroic actions of these four young citizens. The first two honorees hail from the State of Ohio. On February 28, 1997, Leawood Elementary School Safety Patrol Captain Surmel D. Cummings and Patrol Edwin H. Berry were assisting students on their way home. Surmel noticed a 6-year-old boy and his 8-year-old cousin walking close to the westbound on-ramp for I-70. The cousin was trying to prevent the 6-year-old from climbing over the guardrail next to the on-ramp. Surmel ran over to the two boys and tried to hold the 6-year-old. The boy began hitting and kicking Surmel. Edwin ran to help his partner. The 6-year-old broke loose from Surmel and scrambled over the guardrail. He was now confronted by the fast- moving cars on the on-ramp. Surmel told Edwin to try to get the 6-year- old back across the guardrail while he returned to the school to get help. When a car driver started blowing his horn, the 6-year-old covered his ears and turned his back toward Edwin. At that moment, Edwin grabbed the 6-year-old and pulled him back across the guardrail to safety. This was a great team effort by both of these two young men. The State of Indiana can be proud of the next honoree. While on duty on December 6, 1996, Shambaugh Elementary School Safety Patrol Marcus A. Morgan, noticed a 6-year-old girl running alongside a van. This vehicle had just dropped her off and was pulling away from the curb. Marcus yelled for the girl to stop chasing the van, but he quickly realized the girl's string was caught in the van door. She then fell and was being dragged by the van. Marcus raced after the van, shouting for the driver to stop. he ran to the passenger-side and banged on the window to get the driver to stop. The van kept moving so he ran to the driver-side window to get the driver's attention while a parent banged on the passenger-side window. The driver finally stopped after 54 feet. The girl was not seriously injured due to Marcus' quick and heroic actions. AAA's last honoree is from California. It was a clear afternoon on November 4, 1996, at St. Jarbeth's School when School Safety Patrol Domonique Fines and April Corral took their post on the northwest corner of Harold and Champion Streets. A white pickup truck stopped at the stop sign next to their post and then started up the steep hill on Harold Street. Near the top of the hill, the truck stalled and rolled backward. As it came down the hill, the truck picked up speed. Unaware of the truck, April handed her patrol sign to Domonique as she bent down to tie her shoe. Domonique noticed the truck rapidly heading toward them. She shouted to April to watch out and started to cross Harold Street to get out of its way. Halfway across the street, Domonique looked back to see if her partner, April, was following her. Unaware of the danger, April was still tying her shoe. Domonique yelled again, but April couldn't hear her over the noise from the street traffic and the playground. Unconcerned about her own safety, Domonique ran back to April, grabbed her arm, and pushed her out of the way. The truck jump the curb where April had been tying her shoe and then crashed into a fence. I also want to recognize and thank the American Automobile Association for their invaluable safety program and for honoring these outstanding safety patrol members. In the 1920's AAA began organizing safety patrol programs whereby older students assist younger students while crossing streets as they walked to and from school. Today, more than 500,000 students across the country serve as AAA safety patrol volunteers. In fact, there are currently 50,000 schools with safety patrols. AAA supplies training materials, belts, badges, and other items needed to operate the safety patrol programs. Importantly, AAA promotes and recognizes patrol efforts each year through a series of awards, newsletters, summer camps, and scholarships. On behalf of my Senate colleagues, and for parents all across the country, I want to thank AAA. Their work in helping to keep our youngsters a little safer on their way to and from school is extremely praiseworthy. I am very proud of Surmel, Edwin, Marcus, and Domonique who exemplified courage and citizenship. I know that their parents and communities are equally as proud. These four youngsters showed great courage in saving another individuals life.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I object to further proceedings on this matter at this time.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I have no further requests at this time. I observe the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 2:30 p.m. today.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I now ask for its second reading and will object to my own request in behalf of the other side of the aisle.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I understand that H.R. 867 has arrived from the House. I ask for its first reading.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, the Senate will be in session today for a period of morning business to give Senators an opportunity to speak. At 2:30 the Senate will resume consideration of S. 4, the Family Friendly Workplace Act. I encourage any Senator who intends to offer an amendment to this legislation to be prepared to offer the amendment during today's session. Any votes ordered on amendments offered today will be set aside with the possibility of votes occurring on those amendments after 5 p.m. today. In addition, a cloture motion on S. 4 will be filed today. Therefore, the Senate can expect a vote on cloture on S. 4 to occur on Wednesday morning. As a reminder to all Senators, tomorrow from 9:30 until 12:30 a.m. the Senate will honor the services of our President pro tempore, Senator Thurmond, the longest serving Member of the Senate. I encourage all Senators to participate in this important tribute on Tuesday morning. For the remainder of the week Senators can anticipate Senate action on the concurrent budget resolution, the supplemental appropriations conference report, and possibly the adoption of legislation. As Members are aware, this is the first week of a 4-week legislative period prior to the Fourth of July recess. The Senate has a number of important issues which need to be considered prior to that next recess. We anticipate action on the budget reconciliation bills, both on the spending side and the tax cut bill. The DOD authorization should be ready, and the chairman of the committee has asked that we try to reserve time in the latter part of June to do that, if at all possible. Product liability legislation is pending, as well as various appropriations bills, including the legislative branch, foreign ops, and Treasury-Postal Service as they become available. So we are looking at those three appropriations bills that we would like to be able to finish in the Senate before we go out for the Fourth of July recess. As all Members know, this is not an exclusive list that the Senate may consider. There are other issues that are pending legislatively and executive matters as they are cleared. For instance, I understand the national missile defense legislation has cleared the Armed Services Committee. That is an issue that we may be able to take up before the Fourth of July period. Therefore, I encourage all Members to adjust their schedules for a busy month of Senate work. That could very well include some votes on Monday afternoons late and evenings on Friday. But later on this week, probably tomorrow, we will try to give Senators some clear idea of what Mondays and Fridays they should expect to be in session. At a minimum, the Friday that we are scheduled to go out for the Fourth of July recess--that would be Friday, June 27--is clearly one that we will likely have to be in session to complete our work on reconciliation bills.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Welcome back, all of you. I hope that you are all rested and recharged physically and in spirit because we do have a little work that we need to get done this week.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, since this is the first time I have seen the distinguished Senator from South Carolina since it has been official, I want to congratulate him, as all Americans do, on the record you have set. We are very proud of you. And I want to say that I enjoyed seeing you on television when we were home, too. It is a magnificent record, and you are a magnificent human being. We look forward to commending you further later on this week, Mr. President.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Chaplain, for your wonderful opening prayer. We appreciate it, as always.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I have a couple unanimous consent requests that I think Members will be very interested in. First, let me take a moment to comment on the cooperation and the significance of that vote. It truly was a bipartisan effort. It was cooperation between the Congress and the President. I think we should be proud of it, and it is an example of what I hope we can do more of in the future. I thank the Democratic leader for his efforts, his willingness to be on the floor and work with us on some of these votes. We had a couple of bumpy spots along the way, but I think the result was a good one. I particularly thank the chairman of the committee. I know he feels a rush of emotion right now. He has been working on trying to get us to this type of budget resolution for 25 years. I think he has done a great job. I commend him and thank him for the great work he has done. [Applause, Senators rising.]

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I say to the chairman, I will yield to him. He has earned the time.

Mr. LOTT. I thank the Senator. I do have a couple unanimous-consent requests to make. I think Members will be very interested in this. Then we can go on with some closing statements and some wrapup information. We have some other matters that we are going to try to work through in the afternoon. But if we can get these two agreements, then we could announce there would be no further votes today. I think that would be very important.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. For the information of all Senators, so they will understand, this is the Chemical Weapons Convention implementing legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the previous order with respect to the bill be vitiated and, further, the committee substitute amendment be agreed to. The committee substitute amendment was agreed to.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 60, S. 610.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. On that basis, I would be happy to yield.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: No. 73, Donald Middlebrooks; No. 74, Jeffrey Miller; No. 75, Robert Pratt. I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, statements relating to any of these nominations be printed in the Record, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and that the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I do note, Mr. President, that I have discussed this with Senator Daschle and this substantially cleans the Executive Calendar. There are a few remaining, but they are awaiting companion nominations or have problems that I think we may resolve soon after we get back. This is a major list of nominations that are being confirmed this afternoon. I am glad we were able to work out the difficulties. nominations of Ann Jorgensen and Lowell Junkins

Mr. LOTT. Calendar 43 through 48, 50, 51, 67, 68, 71, 72, 90 through 93, 98 through 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 116 through 120, and 125; and all nominations placed on the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, Foreign Service, Navy, and Public Health Service. I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, any statements relating to the nominations appear at this point in the Record, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed immediately to executive session to consider the following nominations on the Executive Calendar.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I want to take a few moments to recognize the dedication of a gentleman who has long been a part of the Senate. Larry Harrison, Senate Chamber attendant, is retiring after over 36 years of Federal service. Larry began his long Government career in the U.S. Army in 1942. Those who have been around the Hill for a while may have known him in various capacities as he worked for the Architect of the Capitol and in the Senate's Environmental Services operation. As a Chamber attendant for the past 10 years, Larry frequently was here before we arrived and remained after we left, opening the Chamber in the morning and locking it again after the day's business was completed. He has greeted us each day with a smile and a friendly word. We will all miss Larry around here. Larry's retirement will allow him to do something that makes us all a bit envious--and I'm not talking about playing golf, though I'm sure he'll be doing plenty of that, too. He will be spending more time with his wife, Jean, and sons, Michael Henry, Albert Philips, and Kevin Harrison. I want to express my personal appreciation to Larry and his family, and I'm certain my colleagues share my sentiments. Our best thoughts and wishes are with him.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period for the transaction of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this has been an extremely busy week for the Senate and a historic week, capped off by our work on the landmark budget resolution. Before we finish today, and before Members return home to observe Memorial Day, I want to join my colleague, Senator Cochran, from Mississippi, and others who are interested in paying special tribute to a special lady. I thank my colleagues that do have time reserved to speak for giving us these few minutes to say to our good friend, and, in my case, a former colleague when I was a staff member, Jonna Lynne Cullen, and thank her for a lot of great memories and for a lot of great work and for all that she has done for our country. I think it is appropriate that we do this at the end of this week when we have done something good for this country by passing a budget resolution that will, at last, ensure a balanced budget for the American people. It is appropriate because most of Jonna Lynne Cullen's life has been devoted to good things for her country. She first came to Capitol Hill as a young woman. I got to know her in 1959 as a college freshman at the University of Mississippi. We were friends then. A few years later, then, in 1967, when she came to Capitol Hill, she went to work for the Rules Committee with the legendary chairman, William Colmer of Mississippi. One year later, I joined the Congressman's staff as his administrative assistant, beginning a close working relationship with Jonna Lynne--or J.L., as we all affectionately call her--and that relationship grew as we worked on bills before the Rules Committee and we spent time in the presence of Chairman Colmer and as she worked in the Reagan administration. Through the years, our relationship and friendship has continued to grow. Over the course of 30 years in the Nation's Capitol, J.L. has remained much as she was when we first met. Without dealing in stereotypes, it's true that she is very much a southern woman: Gracious even in the face of rudeness, generous to a fault, ready to make others feel at ease and at home, tolerant of other's opinions but quite sure of her own, soft of heart and tough of spirit. Last week, many Members of the House of Representatives took to the floor of the House to recount their own memories of J.L. And the recurrent theme of their recollections was how much she has helped them, in one way or another. I remember when she worked on the Rules Committee staff. She would come back to the rail, and they would have a rule up, and she would not only watch the rule, but she worked with many of us who had various and sundry problems to try to help us get through a legislative problem or to deal with a family problem. She was sort of the mother hen in the House back in those days in the early 1970's. Senator Cochran and I enjoyed her friendship so much. I can't think of a better tribute to any person than to be known by how much she helped others. And certainly that is true with J.L. The reason she could help so many is because she really was so able. She is a master of the House rules. She not only knows every in and out of the legislative process, but she knows the people involved as well to help you get the results you are looking for. She has always had their trust, and her word was good. She has never been a part of the deplorable side of Washington that thrives on leaks or negative information or self-promotion. It is just not her style. Indeed, she represents an older tradition--maybe one she learned from Chairman Colmer in the behind-the-scenes service in which the good of the Congress and the good of the country that it leads to by its actions must come before any personal considerations, which helps to explain why she has friendships across the partisan aisle, too. She worked both sides of the aisle. She can fight someone on policy and yet respect them on principle. She has always been a winner who understands how to win the right way. It was little wonder, then, that in January 1981 when President Ronald Reagan came into office, Jonna Lynne was asked to take charge of the Congressional Affairs Office at the Office of Management and Budget to work with then head of OMB, David Stockman, a Congressman from Michigan at that time. That has always been an important job. But it was at a particularly critical juncture at that time, which was an extraordinary period of active legislative involvement by the President--changes in a number of laws, major tax cuts, some restraint on the budget--that really made a difference. The President-elect and his inner circle knew they were facing a national crisis. At that time we had a sinking economy with worse ahead, raging inflation, regulatory strangulation, the Iranian hostage situation, a hollow military force, Soviet proxy aggression on three continents, and on Capitol Hill, deeply entrenched majorities from the other party with a minority in the House and the Senate--or in the House at least--of the President's party. Today, we tend to forget just how bad things really were then or just how gloomy the future might have appeared to us at that time. The President-elect and most of his key aides were strangers to Capitol Hill. But OMB was to be the vanguard, the spearhead actually, of what we needed to accomplish. We had Jonna Lynne Cullen working at OMB, working with the House and with the Congress that she knew so well. So to OMB she went working around the clock to help forge a governing coalition in the House. In those days we couldn't get a majority on any vote if we didn't get around 50 Democrats. We had 180 or so Republicans--I think there were about 186--and in some instances every one of the Republicans and we had to get something over 50 Democrats to be able to win any votes. Time after time after time we won by one vote, two votes, six votes. It was scary. It was tedious. But Jonna Lynne was there helping us work both sides of the aisle to get the victories for the American people. Much later, when the fruits of her labors came to harvest in the historic economic package that set the stage for the longest sustained economic recovery in our Nation's history, there were plenty of people around to take credit. But Jonna Lynne is not that type. She continued to be the ultimate insider, shy of the news media but bold in her commitment to what will forever more be known as the Reagan revolution. Even after she left the administration, she was always on call for a good cause. She handled congressional relations for Reagan's bipartisan commission on Central America-- an interesting commission. Henry Kissinger was involved in that, Jack Kemp, and I think even Alan Greenspan--quite a group--Jonna Lynne, and Democrats and Republicans. They went to Central America and did a great job. She helped develop a policy consensus that turned the tide against the Soviet and Cuban meddling in this hemisphere. Devoted as she has always been in public service, J.L. has still a remarkable private life. Professionally, she has not only been a lobbyist but, as businesswoman, very successful with culinary skills that have led to the Pesto Plus line of food products. Somehow she found time to paint along with her Pesto Plus products. Her botanical water colors outshine their real life subjects. With flowers, as with people, J.L. is able to look beneath the surface to bring out the hidden beauty. It must be said that J.L. came up through the ranks of the congressional staff from the lowest entry level at a time when it was very difficult for women. Not all doors were open to them. But she opened them, not by confrontation or argument but by excellence and by hard work. I doubt if she ever considered herself a pioneer, but, in fact, she has led the way for others, getting ahead the old-fashioned way--with strength of conviction and hard work. Characteristically, she has translated her commitment in that area to the advancement of women in Government, and especially within the Republican Party, into positive action. She has pulled together women Members of Congress, of the media, and others to better understand and assist one another. Of course, bringing people together like that and finding common ground on which to make progress has always been J.L.'s trademark. A few years ago, when many of us joined together to help celebrate a milestone birthday for J.L., the walls were decorated with large blowups of photos from her childhood days and her days in college. I remembered some of them, actually. Needless to say, there had been certain changes along the way. But you could see the same openness, frankness, and sparkle, and the same zest for life in Jonna Lynne every day as in those childhood days and those pictures, too. When illness struck J.L. several years ago, she turned even that into an opportunity for service. She gave her time and energy to fighting against cancer while waging her own individual battle in that regard. According to Senate procedure, we are not supposed to address individuals here on the Senate floor but, Mr. President, if Jonna Lynne were here with us, I would tell her what all of her many friends are trying to tell her in many different ways, and that is simply this: Thank you, J.L., for all that you have done for us and for our country. And though you are not with us in the Capitol, you will always be in our hearts. God bless you and thank you.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.