John McCain

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, this amendment has been agreed to by both sides. There is no further debate.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I send to the desk amendment No. 2251 on behalf of Senator Abraham.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, this amendment has been agreed to by both sides, and there is no further debate.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, I send amendment No. 1909 to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, the amendment is agreed to by both sides.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I send the final four amendments to the desk en bloc. They are amendment No. 1911 on behalf of Senator Feinstein, amendment No. 1897 on behalf of Senator Abraham, amendment No. 1914 on behalf of Mr. Torricelli, and amendment No. 2238 on behalf of Senator Conrad. I ask unanimous consent that these amendments be considered en bloc.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, those amendments are agreed to by both sides.

Mr. McCAIN. I appreciate the efforts of the senior Senator from Georgia on behalf of his constituents and for bringing this matter to the attention of the Senate at the beginning of this Congress. As the Senator may know, there are a number of businesses and residents located near other airports across the country in a similar situation to what is occurring at the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport. The Commerce Committee has authorized a significant increase in noise mitigation funding for the FAA to address this problem and accelerate the buy-out process.

Mr. McCAIN. I will be happy to yield to the junior Senator from Georgia.

Mr. McCAIN. The Senator is correct. As the Senator knows, in the report accompanying the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, the Commerce Committee, at the instigation of the Junior Senator from Georgia, urges the FAA to take into consideration the negative impact on communities, like DeKalb County, of such unresolved long- standing projects when allocating noise mitigation money.

Mr. McCAIN. I thank the Senator from Kentucky for his support of the legislation and we are pleased to hear his views on this provision.

Mr. McCAIN. I can appreciate the demands on the F&E account for these expenditures and can well understand how such a regrettable situation might occur.

Mr. McCAIN. As the Senator knows, the FAA routinely provides safety and navigational equipment to airports.

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, for the benefit of my colleagues, we are nearing the end as far as amendments are concerned. We will be ready within about 20 minutes to a half hour to complete an amendment by Senator Dorgan. We are in the process of working on it. We have several amendments by Senator Hatch that we are trying to get so we can work those out. We have no report yet from Senator Hutchison on whether or not she wants an amendment. So if Senator Hutchison, or her staff, is watching, we would like to get that resolved. There is a modification of an amendment by Senator Baucus. Other than that, we will be prepared to move to the previous unanimous consent agreement concerning debate on the Robb amendment and vote on that, followed by final passage. I believe we are nearing that point. So as we work out the final agreements on these amendments, I hope that within 10 or 15 minutes we will be able to complete action on that and be prepared to move to the Robb amendment debate and then final passage. Mr. President, in the meantime, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCAIN. On final passage.

Mr. McCAIN. I ask unanimous consent to vitiate the yeas and nays.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Baucus, I send a modification to the desk and ask that it be accepted.

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

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, these two amendments, along with amendment No. 1893, which was previously offered, have been accepted on both sides. There is no further debate on the amendments, and I ask for their adoption.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I send two amendments to the desk, en bloc, and ask for their immediate consideration.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be laid aside.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I also thank the Senator from Maine. I do understand there have been some very negative impacts on Bangor and other parts of the State of Maine associated with airline deregulation. It needs to be studied. We need to find out how we can do a better job, as I said in my earlier remarks, allowing smaller and medium-sized markets to receive the air service they deserve which has such a dramatic impact on their economies. I thank the Senator from Maine for her amendment. Both sides are prepared to accept the amendment.

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