Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Let me respond to that, Mr. President, in that I know we have some requests from Senators who would like to make remarks. We are still looking to see if there are additional nominations that might be cleared either by voice vote or recorded votes. We should have a fix on that within the next couple hours. We will announce that. It is not expected that we would have votes into the night or tomorrow. Whatever we are going to do, we will do within a reasonable hour today.

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

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, as most Members know, the Senate has been waiting for the Judiciary Committee to complete action on the very important bankruptcy bill for some time now. There is a long history behind it. As you recall, we passed the bankruptcy bill last year by a very wide margin, 70-28. The bill was eventually vetoed, even though, when I talked to the President personally about it, I had the impression that he had some hesitancy in vetoing it, but he did. And in view of the lateness of the hour, it was not overridden--an effort was not made to override it. So at the beginning of this session, it seemed to me this was a bill that had been worked through the meat grinder very aggressively and that we should move it very quickly. So my thought was we should file it and, under rule XIV, bring it directly to the floor of the Senate. I did not make any effort to do that in a surprising way. There seemed to be pretty broad agreement that that would be a reasonable way to approach it. However, there was some feeling by the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee that the committee should have a chance to have a look at the legislation. I discussed it with the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch. While he would have preferred that it go straight to the floor, he thought that was a reasonable request and that that would make the Members feel it was being done in a fairer way. So be it; that would be fine. All along, of course, I was talking to Senator Daschle, and we were talking about the best way to proceed, never wanting to surprise him at all. So it went to the Judiciary Committee. At that point then, there was an objection which delayed it for another week. And I thought the next week we would get it out. For a variety of reasons, without pointing fingers at anybody, it did not come out the week before the President's Day work period. Then I thought that this week we would get to it. I think the committee needs to be congratulated because the committee worked yesterday, it worked again today, and it completed its work. I do not know how many amendments actually were considered, but they dealt in some way with as many as 30 amendments and I guess voted on a whole lot of them. They reported out the bill today, so we are ready to go. I hope we can get to the substance of the bill and have a full and free debate--amendments will be offered, considered, and voted on--and then we will bring this legislation to conclusion. This is a part of my extraordinary, good-faith effort, I say to the distinguished Senator from Minnesota, to make sure we go by regular order--let the committees do their job, be considerate of other Senators' wishes, be considerate of the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, be considerate of the ranking Democrat on the committee, and confer with my colleague, Senator Daschle, the leader of the Democrats here in the Senate, to make sure he is aware of what I am thinking, and ask for his help. And he has given it. So I really bent over backward. It is part of this atmosphere we are trying to create--bipartisanship, working together. As we look toward bringing education to the floor, and campaign finance reform to the floor, and the budget resolution, I am doing everything I can to set a tone where everybody can make their case. Everybody will have that opportunity. But I must say, I am really getting frustrated. However, I am ever hopeful that my gentle nature and my plaintive plea will appeal to the Senators who might have some reservations about us moving to consider this bill. So, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate begin consideration of the bankruptcy bill, reported out of the Judiciary Committee today, at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Mr. LOTT. I am glad to yield to the distinguished assistant minority leader.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I will be glad to yield to the Senator from Minnesota.

Mr. LOTT. To help with all this, why don't I yield the floor. I will stay to participate because I have a feeling the Senator from Minnesota is going to be persuaded by the generous nature of his leader and my persuasive abilities to let us get to the substance of the bill. I know with this Senator from Minnesota, I have heard him time and time again say: I have a right as a Senator to make my case and offer my amendments. I believe he will remember on occasion I have supported his right to be able to do that. He will have his right. But to delay this bill another week, what does it accomplish? We could begin to make progress, and we could have a vote on amendments. I wish he would reconsider. This is on the motion to proceed. I think the American people look at us and say: Excuse me? You are going to have a cloture vote to cut off a filibuster on the motion to proceed to the bill; then you are on the bill and you have to do it again? I hope the Senator will relent. I yield the floor to see what the Senator has to say.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I appreciate the comments of the Senator from South Dakota. He has been working with me in good faith. We communicate regularly. We have to keep trying to do that. That is why I sense that he feels the same frustration that I do, that we both try to bend over backward to accommodate everybody, and it is still very tough. We are facing further delays. I am encouraged. The Senator from Minnesota has indicated we can talk tomorrow, and we will look for a way to move this legislation forward in a way that is acceptable hopefully to him and everybody else. I will look for him tomorrow. There are two points I want to make. The first bill we pass in the Senate this year is not going to be the bankruptcy bill. I think the first one we passed was pipeline safety. It is good legislation, broadly supported. We passed one other bill that week. I think pipeline safety was the first one. The other thing is that I understand how the Senator feels, and you have to have some emotions and compassion for people who get into difficult straits. There needs to be a way for them to come out of them and get a job or have a job and get back into business. Also, this is personal with me, too. My mother and father tried to be small business owners. My dad was a pipefitter in the shipyard. It was hot, tough work. He decided they could get into the furniture business at one point. He would go pick up the furniture in his pickup truck and bring it back to the store. It was Market Street Furniture Company. I will never forget it. He would do the selling and delivering, and they sold a lot of items on credit. My mother was the bookkeeper in the back of the store. One of the reasons why they could not make it was that many of those people to whom they sold the furniture on credit just would not pay their bills. So there is another side. There are small business men and women who wind up holding the bag, and when you are a small business man or woman, that profit margin is pretty tiny. It is 5 percent, 10 percent maybe. But I remember it was very small in that furniture store. There were other factors involved, but eventually it ran them out of business. My dad went back to the shipyard, and he got to work in the pipe department. But that is the other side of the coin. What about the small business men and women who are out there trying to create jobs to help their family and people say, ``We don't want to pay"? A lot of them hide behind bankruptcy. I have supported bankruptcy laws and reform of bankruptcy laws. I supported the bankruptcy judges system. But we have made it too easy now for people to use bankruptcy as an excuse to hide and get out of paying what they owe. There is broad, bipartisan support on this. I think we ought to get it done as soon as we can. I will work with the Senator to make sure he believes his voice was heard. I know how he feels about it personally. I do, too. There is another side of that coin. It is kind of a family thing with me. We will find a way to get it done. I thank Senator Daschle and Senator Reid for staying on the floor and working through this. I yield the floor.

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 enter into a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the nominations at the desk just reported by the Armed Services Committee. I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of the nomination of Bill Frist, and that the Senate immediately proceed to its consideration, the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. LOTT. This is so Senator Frist will be the representative of the United States to the 55th Session of the General Assembly of the U.N. The nomination was considered and confirmed, as follows: department of state Bill Frist, of Tennessee, to be a Representative of the United States of America to the Fifty-fifth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 18, and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc, with no intervening action, and any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that in accordance with the provisions of S. Res. 189 of the 106th Congress, there be authorized for the period of March 1, 2001, through March 10, 2001, funds for the expenses of each of the standing committees of the Senate, the Special Committee on Aging, the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Indian Affairs, and such sums as may be necessary for agency contributions related to the compensation of the employees of such committees for the above described period, to be paid from the appropriations account for ``Expenses of Inquiries and Investigations'' of the Senate. I further ask unanimous consent that such sums be \1/15\ of the amount provided the committees under S. Res. 189 for the period of October 1, 2000, through February 28, 2001. I further ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, for the purposes of the 107th Congress, the publication date for committee rules shall not be later than March 10, 2001.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the adjournment of the Senate, the Judiciary Committee have until 8 p.m. tonight to file the bankruptcy legislation.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Commerce Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 29, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. LOTT. This is a resolution by Senator Edwards of North Carolina.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until the hour of 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 1. I further ask unanimous consent that on Thursday, immediately following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin a period for morning business until 1 p.m., with Senators speaking for up to 10 minutes each, with the following exceptions: Senator Murkowski from 10 a.m. until 10:15 a.m.; Senator Ensign from 10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; Senator Thomas from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Senators Wellstone and Dayton from 11 a.m. to 11:25 a.m.; Senator Clinton from 11:25 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.; Senator Dorgan from 11:40 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Senator Hutchison from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and Senator Durbin, or his designee, from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the Senate will be in a period for morning business until 1 p.m. Following morning business, the Senate hopes to begin consideration of the bankruptcy bill which was reported out today by the Judiciary Committee. We will consult with Senators and see if we can find a way to proceed to that. We also may consider other nominations that will be available for floor action. We believe there will be some who will be available, so there is a strong possibility there will be a vote or votes tomorrow. We will let the Senators know, after I consult with Senator Daschle, exactly when those votes might occur and when the business for the week will be completed.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if the Senator from Alaska will yield, I came to the floor to commend and congratulate the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee for his work on this very important legislation. It is overdue. It is very broad, comprehensive legislation that is designed to address this problem. I think he should be recognized for the effort he has put into it. This is a bill that has been developed in a bipartisan way with all different views and regions of the country reflected in various components of the bill. I acknowledge that. I ask the Senator, when does he expect there will be some input from the administration, and how does he plan to proceed in terms of committee hearings and when he might actually get legislation ready for the Senate to consider?

Mr. LOTT. I thank the Senator for his response. I asked so I could have some plan as to when we might bring it to the Senate. I hope that certainly in June or July of this year we would be able to get to it. Let me ask the Senator another question. I don't want to take up all of his time. I would like to have some brief time to make some remarks of my own. I believe we are importing now 56 percent of the oil needs of this country.

Mr. LOTT. That is right. When I go around the country, I find there are a number of States with additional oil that could be used if we could get it out of the ground. It is not being used. There are a lot of areas of the country, such as my own, where we have a substantial supply of natural gas but there has not been an incentive or incentives for us to convert to natural gas, which is clean burning and has been a cheaper source of energy, even though, because of all the demand, it has been going up. I found, when I was in Kentucky last week, there is substantial progress being made in clean coal technology that we could make better use of coal. In my own State, we have a nuclear plant but no place to put the nuclear waste. When I go out west, I see other sources being used. Wind is one example. The list is endless of the potential we have in this country. Yet we are not using it. I wonder if the American people think we have a shortage of energy supply. I ask the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, do we have a shortage? If we don't, why are we importing 56 percent of our energy needs from the OPEC countries of the world? I think this is totally indefensible.