Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, we have been discussing the schedule and voting order with Senator Daschle and the managers of the legislation and how we would handle other issues. I think we have a good agreement. We need to read it carefully and make sure we understand exactly who is going to be offering the amendments. I ask unanimous consent that if the House of Representatives has adopted and copies have been made available under the Senate rules, then the Senate proceed to the conference report to accompany the budget resolution at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 7, and the time between then and 6:30 p.m. be divided with 12 hours under the control of the minority manager and 3\1/2\ hours under the control of the majority manager. I further ask unanimous consent that the vote occur on adoption of the conference report at 6:30 p.m. and that paragraph 4 of rule XII be waived. As in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that immediately following the 6:30 p.m. vote on Monday, May 7, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 39, the nomination of John Robert Bolton to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and there be 3 hours of debate equally divided as follows: 30 minutes under control of the chairman, 30 minutes under the control of the ranking member, 60 minutes under control of Senator Dorgan, 30 minutes under the control of Senator Feinstein, and 30 minutes under the control of Senator Kerry. I further ask unanimous consent that following the use of time the Senate proceed to vote at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 8, on the confirmation of Mr. Bolton, and following the vote, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and the Senate immediately resume legislative session. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate resumes consideration of S. 1 at 10 a.m. on Friday, the next amendment to be in order be offered by Senator Craig regarding ESEA funding, and the next amendment in order for the minority side of the aisle be an amendment by Senator Kennedy, or his designee, and that any votes ordered with respect to these amendments occur in a stacked sequence after the 6:30 vote on Monday, with no second degrees in order, and 2 minutes prior to each vote for explanation. I note that we are not sure which amendment Senator Kennedy or the Democrats will want to go with in the morning. It could be Senator Murray, Senator Wellstone, or some other amendment. I believe you will work that out during the vote, and we will need to be notified, of course, of which one it will be and its substance.

Mr. LOTT. If the Senator will withhold one moment, I believe Senator Byrd has a question, too, and then I will come back to the Senator in a minute.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Daschle working with me. Senator Daschle and I have been talking about ways we could accommodate as many Senators as possible. It is often difficult because a lot of us have very important responsibilities. But we also have a responsibility to pass education amendments, a budget resolution, and nominations. So I will modify the unanimous consent request in this way, without at this point changing the time. If any time on the budget resolution should be yielded back on Monday, we could go back at that point to the education bill, and at that time if there are other amendments that could be offered--and I presume there would be two--then we would get an agreement as to when they would be voted on, realizing that Senator Byrd would not want to have a stacked sequence of multiple votes. That way, we can get more education work done Monday. I encourage those who will be handling the budget to consider doing that, if at all possible. Senator Daschle suggested perhaps that will work. I modify my earlier request to change the stacked votes of the two amendments that will be offered tomorrow, if votes are required, and the budget resolution at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Mr. LOTT. The Bolton nomination is already in the request at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. LOTT. Tuesday morning at 9:30. I believe that will cause the sacrifice of other Senators, but that is what it provides. The votes will be at 9:30 a.m. instead of 6:30 p.m. on Monday.

Mr. LOTT. I believe the UC provides for 2 minutes prior to each vote for final explanation of the vote about to occur.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I understand that. That is why I want us to make progress and try to make progress on Monday. Certainly the Senate should be prepared to go into the evening Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, to complete this important legislation. Senators need to cooperate with the managers and be prepared to offer amendments tomorrow, Monday afternoon, and Tuesday night because what will happen is, we are all busy and when we get to next Thursday, when we need to start wrapping it up, Senators will say: I didn't have a chance. They have their chance. I hope both sides will talk to the managers and be prepared to offer their amendments.

Mr. LOTT. Under this agreement, it specifies two, but I see no reason why we cannot do more if it can be worked out.

Mr. LOTT. That is a good idea, Mr. President. I support that although noting we specify the first two that will be in order and we should go beyond that if at all possible.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, first of all, I modify the request that we extend the time on the budget to 5 minutes instead of 2 for the others. The order will be: Budget, the two education amendments, with the Craig amendment first, then Senator Kennedy, or designee, and then the Bolton nomination.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, let's modify it to do the Bolton vote first, and then we will go to the budget vote after that.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, would you repeat that unanimous consent back to me? (Laughter.)

Mr. LOTT. Just kidding, Mr. President. I think we all have it. Amendment No. 361

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs has received requests from the parties in two appeals before the Merit Systems Protection Board for permission to use in those proceedings documents obtained from the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. These cases grow in part out of the FBI files matter that several congressional committees, including the Senate Investigations Subcommittee, inquired into several years ago. The appeals are from adverse personnel actions taken by the Treasury Inspector General after an investigation by the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency that followed a Subcommittee referral. The documents that are the subject of this authorizing resolution were used in the PCIE investigation that underlay these personnel actions. The resolution would authorize the Subcommittee, through the Chairman and Ranking Member, acting jointly, to permit use of Subcommittee records in these proceedings. In order to protect the privileges of the Subcommittee, and the other Senate entities that addressed these matters, the resolution would also authorize representation by the Senate Legal Counsel in connection with any discovery sought in these cases.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, today I rise before you to honor the service of recently retired Chief Robert E. Langston of the U.S. Park Police. Chief Langston has honorably served the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and U.S. Park Police for over 30 years. Chief Langston has led America's oldest Federal uniformed law enforcement agency, formed by President George Washington to serve the public squares of the District of Columbia. Congress later gave the Park Police the same powers and duties as the D.C. Metropolitan Police, and the Park Police have become a primary partner in keeping the peace. Countless numbers of the visiting public tour Washington's monuments at all hours of the day and night with a confidence that they can visit these national treasures safely. What a testament that is to the Park Police, and to the Park Police leadership. How many other places, in a major urban area, can so many have so much confidence on such a regular basis, at all hours of the night? In fact, the Park Police are so good at what they do, that it is sometimes all too easy to take their valiant services for granted. So in honoring Chief Langston, today, we also honor the entire Park Police, a full service department with over 800 officers and investigators and over 100 civilian employees. Among its jurisdiction, the Park Police are assigned to National Park Service lands, parkways, monuments, and memorials in Washington, DC, New York City, and San Francisco, CA. Members of the force are trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia, and provide a complete range of police services from foot and cruiser patrols to highly complex missions such as search and rescue, antinarcotics operations, and dignitary protection that includes protecting the President of the United States. To support its operations, the force draws on resources that include award-winning air, water, and horseback units. The Park Police are so renowned for their attention to detail that they often are called upon by other law enforcement agencies to sites often far away from their permanent headquarters. For over three decades, Chief Robert Langston has been an active and integral part of this esteemed and proud organization. Indeed, it is from a long tradition of police personnel who are of his high caliber that the Park Police have drawn their source of pride in their competence and their quality. Chief Langston began his career with a bachelor of science degree in criminology from Florida State University. He started work as a Park Police patrolman covering foot, cruiser and motorcycle assignments. Even with the challenge of full-time police duty and a young family, he continued his education at the University of Virginia with master level courses in police administration, and at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. He was promoted to sergeant in 1971 with service in the training branch and later in the operations division as a patrol sergeant. In 1973, he was promoted to lieutenant and served as shift commander before accepting command of the communications section. He was promoted again, in 1975, to the rank of captain, and assigned as watch commander in the National Park Service's Southeast Region. Upon returning to Washington, he served as commander of the operations division's central district, and was promoted to major. His upward progress only continued, and he was selected as deputy chief in charge of the field offices division. In 1988, he became the assistant chief of police, and was named Chief of Police in 1991. After nearly a decade of service as chief, Bob Langston still is the same gentleman of great enthusiasm and commitment that shows through in everything he does. His selfless dedication to duty has been thoroughly time-tested and consistently proven throughout each stage of his career. Even when resources were stretched and duty was intense, he calmly provided direction and oversight for the department. Through some of the most trying times literally in our Nation's history, Chief Langston always did much more than his duty. Through it all, he stayed active in professional and civic organizations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the D.C. and Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Commission, to name only a few. Here, too, he willingly accepted the call to leadership, and served as president of the FBI National Academy Associates, and a member of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad for over 40 years, with 15 years as rescue squad president. Chief Langston has gained much recognition for his service and exceptional efforts as part of the U.S. Park Police. He has been awarded the regional director's award for excellence as well as the Marshals Service award for outstanding service and the State Department's diplomatic service award for outstanding service. For all his professional achievements, Chief Robert Langston is most admired and respected for simply being a kind, decent human being who never let rising through the ranks cloud his eyes from seeing things from the grassroots perspective as well as from the bird's eye view. His associates know him as a seasoned professional and his subordinates know him as a mentor; but, his neighbors know him simply as a trusted friend, and his wife Beverly, son Robert and daughter Kellie know him as a caring husband and faithful father. All who know Bob Langston know him as an upstanding Christian man of sterling integrity who is a role model in all that he does. I know his colleagues, friends and family join me today when we say to Chief Robert Langston, thank you for staying the course and thank you for helping mold and maintain the Park Police into one of the truly great police forces of our Nation. In an unpredictable world, Chief Langston and the men and women of the Park Police do their duty with a diligence that is dependable, supporting us and keeping us safe to enjoy sacred symbols of freedom that the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Park Police both protect and in fact embody for the people of America and for the future of our Nation.

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I say to the Senator from New York that I do have a unanimous consent request I want to offer. I believe that we will be having some Senator from the other side of the aisle to discuss it with me briefly. It should not take too long. I thank the Senator for her courtesy in letting us do this now. Mr. President, obviously we need to go forward with the discussion, the general debate, and the amendment process on the education reform package. Earlier today, the vote on the motion to proceed was an overwhelming 96-3. I thought that was a clear indication that we were ready to go to S. 1, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. I had the impression that we would have time spent this afternoon discussing education--not actually on the bill because time is allowed postcloture to talk about the bill in general, but that we would be able to go to the bill itself and begin debate on the bill at 6:15 or 6:30 this evening and tomorrow we would actually be into the amendment process. That seemed a fair way to proceed. I am being told now that there is objection to us even proceeding to general debate on the bill itself. Also, I have the impression--and I am glad to see Senator Daschle in the Chamber; maybe he can clarify this for me--part of the reason is, Senators do not want to go to the bill and begin the amendment process until the substitute has been offered because they do not want to offer an amendment to the underlying bill and then have to offer it later to the agreed-to compromise bill. But I would be glad to ask consent or work out an agreement that any amendment that is offered before then would be applied to the compromise managers' amendment that might be offered later. My concern, I say to Senator Daschle, and to Senator Kennedy, who I see just coming into the Chamber, is that a lot of good work has been done. It has been bipartisan. The administration has been involved. It has been understandable that it took some more time. My attitude on that is, if more time is needed, let's take it. But now we are on the verge of going through a second week without actually getting on the bill. I know a lot of Senators are going to want to speak in general debate and will have amendments to offer, and it is going to take some time. The idea that we could spend, hopefully, time tomorrow on general debate and begin the amendment process, decide how we are going to deal with perhaps amendments on Friday, and begin to make progress seemed to be a very positive thing. So I hope we can go to the bill and begin debate on it this afternoon, tonight, and then be prepared to have more time tomorrow in general debate, if we need to, and then go to the amendments. Before I ask consent, I will yield to Senator Daschle to see if we can get an agreement worked out so that if there are amendments that are offered, they would apply to not only the underlying bill, S. 1, but to any compromise amendment that is agreed to. I did discuss that with Senator Kennedy, and he did not think that would be a problem. I would be glad to yield to Senator Daschle for a response.

Mr. LOTT. I understand. We both are running from meeting to meeting.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if I could respond, Senator Daschle mentioned to me last week that there was a need to see the language. I passed the word that certainly that should be made available. I am surprised. While I have not been directly involved in all the negotiations, I thought that everybody was familiar with all that was going on and that basically Senator Kennedy and others have the language, know the language, and if there is any outstanding language, they would know what that is. So for a week we have been saying, let's share the language, and let's move on. Maybe the problem is that the language is continuing to be modified. But how long does that go on? We talk about the regular order, the legislative process. The way you usually do it is you call up a bill, and a managers' amendment is offered, amendments are offered. I do not know if we can ever get every word agreed to. I assume there are going to be Senators on both sides of the aisle who are going to offer some amendments to make further changes. But my urging would be--on both sides of the aisle--let's give them the language. Somebody has some language somewhere. I am being assured Republicans are not hiding in the corner, holding back language that they won't share. If there is anything that Senator Kennedy is not aware of, I am not aware of it. I would urge that we get that language agreed to.

Mr. LOTT. Sure.

Mr. LOTT. I have always observed in a legislative body you have to have a closer. You have to have somebody who says: This is good enough; let's go for it. We have had all of last week and now half of this week. We continue to negotiate. I guess I will have to assume some responsibility because if I had known we were not going to be able to go to the education bill--the No. 1 priority in almost everybody's mind in the country--we could have been considering other legislation. I have continued to hope that with one more half day, one more day, we could get going; we could have a full debate and offer amendments. If I had known we were going to be stalled out on education, I would have gone to other issues, and maybe that is what we ought to do now. If I understand correctly, Senator Daschle indicates he doesn't think this idea that any amendment would be considered to be applicable to the bill or the substitute, that we might not get an agreement to do that, but would it help if we could do that?

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry: How much time is remaining postcloture on the motion to proceed?

Mr. LOTT. I assume there must be 24, 25 hours remaining.