Don Nickles

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, how much time remains?

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment. I have great respect for my colleagues from Louisiana and Ohio, and the others who have sponsored the amendment. But it would basically gut the President's growth package, cut it in half. The actual tax cut would be $323 billion. We have an economy that is over $10 trillion or $11 trillion per year. Estimated revenues over this period of time are going to be $27 billion. If you want to make some changes that really stimulate and grow the economy and create jobs, I think the President has the proposal to do so. I am afraid that the proposal that would have $323 billion just would not do it. When we reduced the capital gains tax in 1997 from 28 to 20 percent, we created a lot of growth. That was a positive thing to do. The President has a good proposal to grow the economy as well. I urge my colleagues to support the President and a real growth package that would really create jobs. Then, on the concern for deficit reduction, I heard some people say it, but I don't see the votes showing the same conviction on deficit reduction with all the add-ons that we have been looking at in the last couple of days. So I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, most individuals in this body support some size of growth package. A few were at zero, a few at $140 billion, some $350 billion, and some are with the President's package, which is $696 billion--$725 billion if you add refundables. I yield time to Senator Allard.

Mr. NICKLES. I yield the remainder of my time to the Senator from New Mexico.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 minute in opposition to the Harkin amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, for the information of our colleagues, we have had great cooperation on this bill. We have not had second-degree amendments. We have tried to avoid them and be expeditious. We have not seen this amendment. I do know the effect of this amendment would be in the outyears we would be taking a 10-percent rate and making it 15 percent. I do know in the outyears we would eliminate the marriage penalty relief. I do know the effect of it would be reduce the child tax credit from $1,000 to $500. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of a motion to table the Harkin amendment. I make that motion.

Mr. NICKLES. I make the motion to table the Harkin amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. NICKLES. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, in our list of amendments that we are working on, Senator Kennedy is next. I believe we will be able to work that amendment out so we will not have to have a Gregg amendment as well. We will pass on both of those and probably accept Senator Kennedy's amendment as modified in just a moment. The next amendment on our list will be an amendment by the Senator from West Virginia, Senator Byrd. Mr. President, can we have Senator Byrd's Amtrak amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Does the Senator from West Virginia have the amendment? If not, we will find a copy of it.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I urge our colleagues to vote no on this amendment. I have the greatest respect for Senator Byrd and his support of Amtrak. I happen to be a supporter of Amtrak. But the net essence of this amendment would be to double the amount of money we have for Amtrak. We proposed $900 million. That happens to be what the Department of Transportation has requested. I remind our colleagues, a few years ago we were going to say that Amtrak would not need subsidies by this year. If you look, this would more than double the amount of money. The largest subsidy it has ever received was last year and that was because of the supplemental, so to go from $490 million to 1.8 is more than doubling the Federal subsidies to Amtrak. Right now the cost in some cases from city to city exceeds that of air passenger service. I urge my colleagues to vote no on the amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I appreciate the modification that my friend and colleague, Senator Kennedy, made to this amendment. We have no objection to it.

Mr. NICKLES. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

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

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

Mr. NICKLES. I believe under the order that was established, Senator Biden is next up to offer an amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. If the Senator will yield, I don't know that I have seen that modification. We are trying to clear these first.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I inquire of the Senator, is it No. 278 or No. 273?

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

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

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Delaware has an amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, in function 750, which includes a lot of programs for local law enforcement, we have a 29-percent increase. The Senator's amendment would add an additional $1 billion on top of that. I urge my colleagues to vote no. I yield to the Senator from New Hampshire the remainder of our time.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, we are making progress. I inform our colleagues, Senator Conrad and I have had members inquiring how much longer are we going to stay. We are staying until we complete the bill. I urge Members not to generate amendments. We are trying to deal with them and we are trying to accommodate Members as much as we can. Sometimes we have had three or four amendments on one subject matter. I hope that does not continue. The next amendment to be considered is the amendment from the Senator from South Carolina, the Hollings amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. I thank my friends and colleagues, Senator Hollings and Senator Graham of South Carolina, for their willingness to work with us to modify the amendment. We are happy to accept the amendment. That will eliminate two rollcall votes.