Don Nickles

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to compliment my friend and colleague, Senator Byrd, for the tribute to our colleague, Senator Stennis, who served in this body so ably, so well, for so long. His service of 41 years--only the Senator from West Virginia would know who has exceeded that besides Senator Hayden, I guess--but he had a remarkable tenure in the Senate. I had the pleasure of serving with Senator Stennis. He was a person that had enormous credibility and reputation prior to my coming to the Senate going back for many years. He was even referred to in the Senate as a person known as the ethical watch guard of the Senate, and certainly a Southern gentleman in every single way. He was a real asset to this body, certainly to the State of Mississippi and to our country, as well. We shall all miss him, but not forget the contributions that he made to his State and country. I compliment my colleague from West Virginia for a beautiful tribute to a wonderful colleague and Senator.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I compliment my colleague, Senator Inhofe, for his statement and appreciate his assistance in putting this resolution together. It is with a sense of sadness that we have this resolution before the Senate today. We will be voting on it at 12 o'clock. I wish that we were not here. I wish the tragic disaster that happened last Wednesday, April 19, had not happened. The deadliest terrorist attack that ever happened on our soil happened in Oklahoma City at 9 o'clock. This resolution is cosponsored by Senators Inhofe, Dole, and Daschle, and a total of 75 of our colleagues have cosponsored. My guess is that many more will join in cosponsoring by the time we finish our vote. This resolution speaks for the Senate but really speaks for America when it says we want to condemn this type of violence. It is a cowardly act, an evil act, one that is responsible for at least 80 deaths that now have been confirmed, with 150 missing and will probably be recovered in the next couple of days. Most of those are expected to be fatalities. In excess of 400 were injured. I visited some of those injured. Some were injured very severely. Some will be significantly injured for the rest of their lives as a result of this cowardly terrorist attack. Mr. President, it becomes very personal when you see and know the individuals affected. Senator Inhofe mentioned that we have a very good friend who is having a funeral today for his daughter. I talked to another friend today whose wife almost lost her life. She is a very good friend of ours as well. I talked to another friend who actually worked for the Senate, worked for my colleague, Senator Boren, for several years. His child was almost killed and is still listed in critical condition. At the memorial service or prayer service on Sunday, I talked to a lot of the victims. I talked to one young couple that lost two children, and that experience makes it all become very personal. I talked to two children who lost their mother. I talked to an individual who lost a spouse. The stories go on and on. This is a real tragedy of immense proportions with great damage inflicted on those lives. This resolution expresses our condolences, sympathies and prayers for the families of the victims, to the injured and also for the deceased. We pray for them and we want them to know of our outrage for the crime and our compassion for those individuals as well. This resolution states our strong support for the President and for the law enforcement officials who are doing everything within their power to apprehend and try and punish those people who are responsible, and it states that we support the President and the Attorney General as they say this is certainly a case in which the death penalty is appropriate. I concur with that. This resolution also goes a little bit further and says we want to thank the volunteers and the countless people who have put so much into alleviating the pain. Senator Inhofe mentioned some of the firefighters. I remember I was also in Dallas, and I flew up in the first plane available, returning to Oklahoma City, and I was accompanied by three firefighters who donated their time and money. They wanted to be there to help rescue innocent people. We have met countless people, and not just from Oklahoma. We have had firefighters across our State, but we met firefighters from Arizona and from Maryland and from all corners of the country. They are working unbelievable hours, and it is not easy work. I might mention that the work was very difficult at that time and very dangerous. It is not any easier now, because the likelihood of finding survivors is diminishing by the day. So their task right now is very gruesome, very difficult, and it continues to be dangerous. And our heartfelt thanks--and I am speaking on behalf of all Oklahomans, but really all Americans--for their courageous efforts. When we see this type of evil deed, it makes people think, how in the world could society degenerate to such a low level, or how could evil be so prevalent to have such an act of violence destroy so many innocent lives. I might also mention, maybe the light that comes after this evil is to see so much good that has come from so many people, so many thousands of people, all across the State of Oklahoma and all across the country, who are not only condemning the violence but reaching out to help those people who have been injured, to help those families that have been torn apart, to comfort and console. It has been heartwarming to hear President Clinton's remarks, Reverend Graham's remarks, Governor Keating, Mayor Norick, all of which I will say did an outstanding job not only at the prayer service, ``the time for healing,'' as Mrs. Keating referred to it, but really to reach out to the families and to comfort and console those families and let them know that we really do care. It is very heartwarming and it made us feel good, and as Reverend Graham said, ``Good will overcome evil.'' We want to thank the volunteers, all the people that worked in the hospitals. I talked to a survivor's family, and he said had it not been for the outstanding work of so many volunteers and the rescue operation, his wife would not have survived, and she is now anticipated to be a healthy survivor. We want to thank those countless people who risked their lives and were willing to make that kind of sacrifice for other people. It makes me very proud of my State. It makes me very proud of my country. Instead of this being the low mark which devastated not only our city and our State and our Nation, I think it is giving us the chance to rally around and say, yes, good will prevail. There are a lot of good people in this country, and people are reaching out and trying to assist and trying to help. We thank them for that. Mr. President, I want to address just another item, a development that has happened in the last day or so that I find very troubling in relation to this event. The issue is pointedly noted and cautioned against by columnist George Will, who noted that an attempt to locate the cause of a lunatic's action is ``apt to become a temptation to extract partisan advantage over spilled blood.'' With respect to this tragedy, the contempt for those people who try to gain political advantage from the Oklahoma City bombing will only be exceeded by the contempt for the perpetrators of this crime. Mr. President, where should our hearts be? What should our goals be? Where should our compassion be? Surely it should be to reach out to those families that are affected, and that has to be our focus, and then to arrest and convict and punish those people who are responsible for this atrocious, cowardly, evil act. Yet, even before the missing have been recovered, I see politicians and some pundits contemptibly jockeying for position, trying to blame the other side for the evil actions of a few individual criminals. The bombing in my State was not the work of the left or the right, of conservatives or liberals, Republicans or Democrats, or even right-wing extremists, as some people would say. The Reverend Billy Graham laid the blame on the proper place, noting that the tragic event has proved again that ``Satan is very real, and he has great power.'' He noted that the Bible tells us evil is real and the human heart is capable of limitless evil when it is cut off from God and cut off from moral law. I agree 100 percent. I am ashamed, I am bothered, even appalled by hearing politicians or pundits who would stoop so low as to play politics with this tragedy. A reporter on a talk show, Juan Williams, just recently linked the attack to Republicans in Congress saying, ``It's the same kind of idea that has fueled so much of the right-wing triumph over the agenda here in Washington.'' In an attempt to blame Republican leaders in general, columnist Carl Rowan was quoted in the Washington rhetoric of the Gingriches and the Doles * * * creates a climate of violence in America.'' I do not know who the President was talking about yesterday when he said ``loud and angry voices'' spread hate and ``leave the impression that, by their very words, that violence is acceptable.'' Mr. President, this tragedy took the lives of innocent young children and adults alike. Surely in the effort to lay blame, our focus must rest with the criminals--the evil, cowardly, individuals who took the lives of so many innocent people. Surely, the focus of our hearts and our passion and our prayers must remain with the families that have been devastated. I just hope and pray that those people who may be tempted to extract partisan advantage from this unbelievable act will look inwardly and find compassion in their hearts and not resort to playing politics with the lost lives of my fellow Oklahomans. If you were there--Senator Inhofe and I were there, Governor Keating and others--and walked around in the ruins, and talked to the firemen and talked to the rescue people who were struggling to find additional survivors, the very idea that someone might be playing politics with this is almost beyond comprehension. It is offensive. I hope we do not hear it again. Let us find those people responsible and punish them and show compassion for the families. Those families have had their lives ruined. They lost loved ones. They lost a child, a daughter, a spouse. They lost a father or a mother. Their lives in many cases have been more than devastated by a tragedy from which they may not be able to recover. If it were not for the grace and comfort of God, they may not be able to recover. This Senate, by our resolution today, I think, will be expressing comfort and consolation to those families, our outrage at this unbelievable, unspeakable crime, and our sense that we in Congress want the law enforcement people to apprehend them and to punish them. We compliment the law enforcement people for the outstanding job that they have done. We compliment the rescue efforts that are going on today and will probably be going on for some days ahead. We compliment our political leaders from President Clinton, Governor Keating, and the city officials, Mayor Norick, and many others who have put in so many tireless efforts, including fire officials and others. We want them to know we support them and we appreciate their efforts. We appreciate the sacrifices they made to show that good can overcome evil. I think we have seen that in my State. I am very proud of the State of Oklahoma and our country as a result. I yield the floor. Mr. BYRD addressed the Chair.

Mr. NICKLES

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

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

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I send a resolution to the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that it be considered at this time.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, this resolution is one that I referred to earlier in my comments, cosponsored by Senator Inhofe and myself, Senator Dole, and many other Senators. We are going to hotline this and ask Senators if they wish to cosponsor it. I very much appreciate the cooperation of the majority leader in allowing us to bring up this resolution. The majority leader has already mentioned his intentions that we vote on the resolution at 12 o'clock tomorrow. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. NICKLES

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

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, first, I wish to thank the majority leader for allowing us to consider a resolution condemning the acts of violence and terrorism that occurred in Oklahoma City last Wednesday. Also, I want to thank the majority leader, Senator Dole, for his support of this resolution and for his help in putting it together, as well as his personal friendship in calling me and offering whatever support he could do to assist the families and the victims of this terrible, violent and criminal act. Senator Dole is not the only colleague who has offered his support. I have had several of my colleagues who have called to express their outrage over this violent act as well as their concern for those affected. I appreciate the fact that President Clinton called me early on and expressed his support for whatever could He stated that in his speech to Oklahoma City at the prayer service that we had yesterday. I appreciate the President doing that, as well as the Reverend Billy Graham who also participated in the service. It was a time for coming together. We had over 20,000 people in the State of Oklahoma--many people came from outside the State as well--who wished to express their sympathies and condolences to the families, to the victims, but also their outrage at such a violent and terrible tragedy. This is the deadliest terrorist attack on our Nation's soil in our history. The death toll continues to climb. The latest figures I heard were 81 that are confirmed dead, 150 still missing and now presumed dead, and over 400 injured. I visited some of those injured people. I visited Children's Hospital and saw some of the children who were very significantly maimed. Hopefully and prayerfully they will recover and recover fully. Mr. President, this becomes very, very personal when you tie it down to families. When you talk to a couple and they lost both children, it becomes very, very personal. Or when you talk to a couple and they lost their daughter, it becomes very personal. Or when you talk to an individual and they see their daughter or their son maimed almost beyond recognition, it becomes very, very personal. And it certainly almost takes adjectives to where they are not significant because you can use the word ``terrible'' and you can use the word ``outrage,'' but they really do not describe the horror that happened in Oklahoma City to some individuals. So, Mr. President, shortly we will be submitting a resolution condemning this act of violence, condemning it in the strongest manner possible, and also expressing our support and our sympathies and our prayers for the families of the victims of this terrible crime. Mr. President, maybe one of the blessings that might help us overcome this very difficult tragedy is the outpouring of love and support that we have seen from thousands and thousands of people, not only in Oklahoma but all across the country. I have had individuals call me and offer support--dollars, prayers and comfort--for those families. We have seen gifts that are very large and gifts that are very small but very, very precious. We have seen children donate their lunch money. We have seen individuals and corporations donate a million dollars. We have had people say, ``I'll do anything I can do to assist the families.'' It does make you feel good, and it is so striking to think that out of such a tragedy you can see so much generosity, so much love, so much sympathy invoked by Oklahomans and by Americans everywhere. It does make you feel good. Reverend Graham, in his comments yesterday to not only the families but really to the American people, when he called for a time of healing, was exactly right. Mr. President, I want to compliment not only Reverend Graham but also Governor Keating and Cathy Keating for their outstanding leadership at this time of crisis. I want to compliment the organizations who have done such a responsive, outstanding job in helping to assist those people who really needed help. The volunteers that have come together--I am talking about the firefighters and the policemen, the Red Cross volunteers, the people to assist people who are hungry--have just been phenomenal. I was in Dallas when I heard this fateful news and caught the first plane I could back and was sitting next to three firefighters who were flying up from Dallas on their own time on their own money to assist the victims. My guess is they are still there crawling through the rubble. And this is extremely difficult. It is estimated something like 150 people are still trapped in that building, in all likelihood deceased. There is very little hope of survival at this late point, and yet you have volunteers coming from I do not know how many different cities who are crawling over the rubble and, in some cases, doing it by hand to recover those victims. I have had the pleasure of meeting some--not all. But I just want to say thank you to them because they not only work 10 hours a day or 12 hours a day, they are working 24 hours a day. They are working all night long. They are working in the rain. They are working in the wind. They are working in the cold. We just want to say thank you. It has really been a blessing to see the outpouring of love from so many people, not only the rescue workers, but so many other people throughout this country, and for that we are very, very grateful. All Oklahomans say thank you for, indeed, the generosity and the love we have seen in the last few days. Mr. President, we condemn this act of violence, this act of terrorism in the strongest possible language, and that is what this resolution will do. That is what it states. We compliment the President for taking his swift action to lend the law enforcement personnel, and they have responded with a great deal of expertise and professionalism--to date, with some real success--although, there is still a lot of work to be done. So my compliments to the FBI, to the Drug Enforcement Agency, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the city police, because they have worked together. This has probably been one of the largest and best coordinated efforts both on the rescue side and also on the efforts to apprehend those people who were responsible for this terrorist act. I compliment all the Federal, State, and local officials for putting this effort together. Mr. President, there is still a lot of work to be done. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of bodies to be recovered. There are buildings to be repaired. There is a lot of damage, a lot of damage, not just in one building. I might mention there are several buildings that have significant damage and, unfortunately, there were people that worked in other buildings that also lost their lives or were severely injured. So, Mr. President, I pray for those victims and for the families of the victims. This resolution states that we support them, that we are going to do everything within our power to help them, that we are going to do everything within our power to apprehend those people who are responsible and that they should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. As the President, Attorney General and Senator Dole stated, they also should pay the maximum price. The death penalty is warranted in this case, and this resolution states that as well. I appreciate the majority leader's willingness to let us bring this up at the first possible moment. I appreciate the fact that he is willing to let the Senate vote tomorrow at 12 o'clock on this. I appreciate the support of our colleagues. This resolution also says that the Senate should act as expeditiously as possible in enacting antiterrorism measures, both domestic and the international. I know Senator Hatch has scheduled hearings later this week on this subject. I hope the Senate and House will concur and pass that legislation as soon as possible. I yield the floor. Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I introduce legislation to repeal section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (``PURPA''). Section 210 of PURPA is no longer in the public interest. It is costing consumers billions of dollars in higher electric bills. It is interfering with the increasingly competitive wholesale market for electricity. It has been overtaken by changes in energy policy, particularly the transmission access and PUHCA reform provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. It is no longer needed to promote a once- fledgling independent power industry. In short, it is time to repeal section 210 of PURPA. Enacted in 1978, PURPA was one of several laws created by President Carter to address the energy crisis. All involved heavy government interference in the marketplace; all but PURPA have since been repealed. PURPA was created to stimulate the construction of non-conventional electric powerplants, referred to by PURPA as a qualifying facility [QF]. A QF can be a cogeneration powerplant of unlimited size, or a small power production facility of less than 80 megawatts. A cogeneration powerplant is a facility which produces heat along is as a renewable driven electric power generator, such as a windmill, a biomass or waste-fueled powerplant, a geothermal generator, a solar power facility, or a hydroelectric dam. Section 210 of PURPA encourages QFs in two ways. First it requires electric utilities to purchase the power they produce--whether or not it is needed. Second, it requires electric utilities to pay an avoided cost price for the electricity purchased from the QF--which may or may not bear any relationship to actual market price. When PURPA was enacted, everyone thought that it would benefit primarily unconventional power generating facilities, such as solar, geothermal, wind, and waste. These were unproven technologies at the time, and even with the host of benefits provided by PURPA plus tax incentives, it was not clear that they could ever be profitable. Instead, PURPA has primarily benefitted the more traditional turbine- powered cogenerators. According to data provided by the Edison Electric Institute, more than three-fourths of installed QF generation capacity are cogenerators. Small power producers--solar, geothermal, wind and waste--account for less than one-forth of installed QF generation capacity. PURPA was also enacted on the assumption that it would not increase the price of electricity to consumers. Congress thought that it had guarded against this by limiting the price of QF electricity to the avoided cost--the price that the electric utility would have incurred had it generated the electricity itself or had it purchased it from someone else. But it did not work out that way. The Edison Electric Institute estimates that nationwide PURPA will add $38 billion to the future price of electricity, calculated in net present value. This continues to occur for several reasons. First, in many instances PURPA's avoided cost rate is being based on fuel price projections which often prove to be wildly wrong. Second, several States are setting the avoided cost rate above true avoided cost in order to encourage QFs. QFs are viewed as being socially desirable, even if not the cheapest source of power. The FERC has recently acknowledged that over the years it has given State public utility commissions wide latitude in implementing PURPA in order to maximize the development of QFs. Third, environmental adders continue to be included in the avoided cost rate to promote certain types of QF facilities. This further increases the price of QF power above true avoided cost. Fourth, because PURPA requires QF power to be purchased whether or not it is needed, utility-owned generation will continue to be idled, which someone has to pay for. Thus, unless we repeal PURPA section 210, this will continue for new QF contracts. Mr. President, some will argue that section 210 ought to be retained because it fosters competition in the wholesale power marketplace, but that is not true. The essence of competition is allowing choice, not mandating what must be purchased. Moreover, there are other key reasons why the wholesale electric power market has become competitive. They include the following: First, state public utility commissions have required their utilities to become more competitive. Second, Congress opened the wholesale market to all electric generators through transmission access and PUHCA reform. Third, and most importantly, the market itself denies everyone the luxury of avoiding competition. Thus, the repeal of PURPA section 210 will not adversely affect competition. Mr. President, while everyone agrees that renewable energy can and should play a role in the future energy mix, that should not be accomplished through PURPA's mandated purchase requirement. In this connection, I might note that there are other programs on the books to promote renewables. For example, section 1212 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 provides a renewable energy production incentive of 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour, subject to appropriations, for solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal powerplants. Section 1914 provides a tax credit of 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour for wind and closed-loop biomass. This is not subject to appropriations. Section 1916 provides a permanent extension of the energy investment credit for solar and geothermal properties. Mr. President, I am a strong believer in contract sanctity. The bill I am introducing does not abrogate existing contracts; they will continue to operate by their own terms. Section 4 of the bill specifically states that ``Nothing in this Act abrogates any existing contract.'' Mr. President, it is clear the time has come to repeal section 210 of PURPA. It is distorting competition and it is hurting consumers. It is time to substitute the discipline of the marketplace for the judgment of regulators. In short, it is time for PURPA section 210 to go. I urge may colleagues to join me in my efforts to update our energy policy to benefit consumers and our economy. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 435 to Amendment No. 420

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to compliment my colleague from Arizona for his amendment. If we were to eliminate this program for the years 1996 through 2000, we would save $10 billion in budget authority and $7 billion in outlays. If we adopted the Senator's amendment, we would save $1.3 billion. I think that would be a step in the right direction. This program was not created to be a welfare program, and I think our colleague from Arizona is exactly right, if we want to cut spending, this would be an excellent example. I compliment him for his amendment. I urge it be adopted. I yield the floor. Mr. KOHL addressed the Chair.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, will the Senator from Arizona yield me 1 minute?

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield the Senator from Texas 2 minutes.

Mr. NICKLES. The Senator is correct. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote occur at 10:50 a.m.

Mr. NICKLES. Yes.

Mr. NICKLES. Yes.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield the Senator from Texas 2 minutes.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to thank my friend and colleague from Nevada, Senator Reid, for his leadership not only on this amendment but on several other issues that we have had the pleasure of working on in the past. Also, Mr. President, I wish to thank Senator Bond and Senator Hutchison for their cooperation and leadership, as well as Senator Levin and Senator Glenn for their contributions in making this bill a reality. Hopefully, this bill will become law. Mr. President, during this process I have heard a several comments regarding this legislation. Some people are still debating the regulatory moratorium passed by the House. I have heard that it is bad and reckless and if it passed we will have E. coli in meats, and we will have cryptosporidium in our water, and people are going to die. I disagree with that assertion. The original regulatory moratorium did have problems, but frankly it was not that it was too strong but that it had numerous exceptions that could have left the bill inadequate. I want to get the attention of my friend from Texas, Senator Gramm, because I think this is a better bill than the original regulatory moratorium. One of the reasons is because the strength of original moratorium has mischaracterized by saying such things as saying E. coli regulations would be stopped. That is false, because there are broad exceptions to exempt regulations such as the E. coli regulations. The bill that passed the House and the bill that passed the Governmental Affairs Committee had lots of exceptions--enough exceptions to drive trucks through. We started out with 8 exceptions, and it ended up 10 or 12, and frankly these exceptions gave the President complete discretion to determine any exception that he would want. Also, I might mention and tell my friend from Texas that the House bill was temporary, it would only last until we passed permanent regulatory reform. That is probably going to happen in 60 days. It is a temporary moratorium. The bill the Senate is about to adopt is a permanent moratorium on new significant regulations. If this bill becomes law, it will still be in effect 3 years from now, 5 years from now. And so Congress will have a chance to review significant regulations. It is a moratorium on significant regulations of 45 days. During this 45-day moratorium, Congress would have the opportunity to repeal those regulations and reject them if we felt it was necessary. I think this is a vital improvement to regulatory process. It is not a panacea. It is not a cure-all, but this gives Congress a chance to carry out its oversight responsibility in making sure that excessive regulations can be stopped. We also have the opportunity, I might tell my colleagues, to review the regulations that are not classified as significant but yet we find are troublesome or confusing or do not make sense. We would have a chance to review those, to reject those, to repeal those. So I would just urge my colleagues to take a close look. I will urge my colleagues in the House to look at this legislation and to realize that their temporary moratorium would have no effect probably in 60 days because we will pass comprehensive regulatory reform legislation. The bill before us today has a chance to become law and have a significant impact for the for years into the future, and therefore, in my opinion, is a far superior piece of legislation than the original regulatory moratorium legislation. I urge my colleagues to adopt it. I think it is a big step in the right direction. I also want to say that we have had good support from Democrats and Republicans. This idea, I might mention, came from a State representative in the State of Oklahoma, Danny George, who contacted my staff. I think it is an excellent idea. I am hopeful it will be agreed upon by a very large margin, that the House would concur, the President would sign it, and we would take a giant step toward real regulation reform this year. I thank my colleagues. I yield the floor.

Mr. NICKLES

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

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, again I wish to thank my colleague, Senator Reid, but also I wish to thank Senator Hutchison and Senator Bond, Senator Levin, and particularly, on Senator Levin's staff, Linda Gustitus, and Senator Glenn. In addition, I wish to thank several of my staff members who have worked on this for the last couple of months--Diane Moery, Mark Whitenton, Les Brorsen, and Bret Bernhardt--for their tireless efforts. Mr. President, I think this is a good bill, one that in my opinion is a significant improvement over the House, and Senate approach.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Acquisition and Technology of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, 1995, in open session, to receive testimony on the defense technology and industrial base policy in review of the Defense authorization request for fiscal year 1996 and the future year's defense program.

Mr. NICKLES

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

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I send an amendment making technical corrections to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

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