Don Nickles

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I yield to the Senator from New Hampshire as much time as he desires.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am wondering, I ask my colleague and friend from California who showed those pictures of a beautiful area adjacent to the Brookes Range--I have been there--I wonder, Has the Senator from California visited the 1002 area, the ANWR area?

Mr. NICKLES. The answer to the question is you have not been there?

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President----

Mr. NICKLES. I would like to make a couple of comments. I am going to speak about ANWR momentarily. My friend and colleague from New Mexico, who happens to be chairman of the Energy Committee, wants to speak. But many of us have been to ANWR. The picture the Senator from California shows, the beautiful part, is of Alaska adjacent to the Brookes Range. It is gorgeous. That is not where we are drilling, or proposing to drill. I will say, there are a couple of people who have been there more than the Senator from Oklahoma and that would be Senator Murkowski and Senator Stevens. They have been there many times. They know what the 1002 area is. They know the area we are talking about drilling. It is not the beautiful pictures we see that some people are advertising. People are not proposing to drill in those areas. The area they are proposing to drill on is not nearly as pretty. It is very barren. It looks somewhat like a frozen moonscape area, or frozen Saharan desert, or something like that. My point is, I see the picture of the caribou. I have seen them. I have been to Prudhoe Bay as well. I have seen a lot of caribou. The caribou happen to like the Prudhoe Bay area and the Alaska oil pipeline. There are a lot of caribou in that area. I think there is a tradition in the Senate that is being violated and that is that we respect home State Senators, when we are talking about parks or refuges in their States. We usually assume they know best. I heard Senator Murkowski give an outstanding speech last night that talked about her State and talked about how important this is to her State and our country. I heard Senator Stevens, with whom I have had the pleasure of working with for the last 23 years and for whom I have great respect, and he knows this better than anybody. He used to be Solicitor at the Department of the Interior. He goes way back on this issue. He knows more about Alaska than the rest of the Senate combined. To ignore his comments, or those of the Senator, Ms. Murkowski--or Governor Murkowski--on this issue I think is a serious mistake, especially if people haven't been there. I encourage my colleagues, if they have questions about this area, to go visit it. I think it would be very educational. I think it would be very helpful, especially if we are going to try to dictate exploration in an area smaller than a couple of thousand acres, smaller than Dulles Airport. If we are going to try to mandate they cannot forever drill in those areas, I think we ought to at least go there and visit the area and know, really, what it looks like. If we have not been, I think we ought to defer to the home State Senators for their expertise and advice. I yield to the chairman of the Energy Committee, Senator Domenici, such time as he desires on the amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. If the Senator will.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am going to propound a couple unanimous consent requests. I appreciate the cooperation of my colleague. It is our intention to have a vote on the ANWR amendment at 3 o'clock today. I know there are still some Senators, including Senator Murkowski and Senator Stevens, who wish to speak on the ANWR amendment, and we will accommodate their request. Also, Senator Graham from South Carolina has an amendment. It would be my intention to send it to the desk so that discussion and debate can occur on that amendment as well. We will not lock in a time for a vote on that amendment, but we may vote on that shortly after the ANWR amendment. We are also shopping, for the information of our colleagues, for a couple other major amendments. It was my intention, and it is still my intention, to have a vote on the 350 amendment, the size of the growth package, today. I would think that is a major amendment and will require some significant debate. That possibly could happen shortly after the ANWR vote or maybe early afternoon, maybe by 4 or 5 o'clock and have some of that debate between now and that point on the 350 amendment. That amendment is not ready right now. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote in relation to the Boxer amendment No. 272 occur at 3 o'clock today, with no amendments in order to the language to be stricken prior to that vote.

Mr. NICKLES. I thank my friend and colleague from Nevada. I have been working with Senator Conrad, and it is a pleasure to work both with the Senator from Nevada and the Senator from North Dakota. It is my hope and desire to consider a lot of amendments, the serious amendments, the big amendments. I encourage people to give us copies. I have heard there is a desire to have a vote on the Hagel amendment. I have seen some language, but I am not sure which language. That is maybe changing the Budget Act. So we kind of need to see that in advance. If people will give us these amendments, on both sides, we can try to get these in queue so we can have adequate but not extended debate, so we are not just burning time. We know there is a limitation on debate. In years past, we have burnt all the time and then we have a very unpleasant vote-arama. I want to avoid that. I know the Senator from North Dakota wants to avoid that. We will cooperate with the managers to try to make that happen.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I send a sense-of-the-Senate resolution offered by the Senator from South Carolina to the desk and ask for its consideration.

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

Mr. NICKLES. I know I gave that amendment to my colleague from Nevada, but I believe the Senator from South Carolina wanted me to call up the sense-of-the-Senate amendment No. 274.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw amendment No. 279.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I send amendment No. 274 to the desk.

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

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, for the information of my colleagues, we will have a vote on the ANWR resolution at 3. We will have a vote on the Graham of South Carolina sense-of-the-Senate amendment sometime shortly thereafter. It is my hope and desire that we will get another amendment in queue. I would like to see that amendment be the $350 billion limitation on the growth package. If not, we will work with our colleagues to find another substantive amendment to consider and try to get that in as quickly as possible. I yield the floor.

Mr. NICKLES. If the Senator will yield, that has been done. It is not the best legislative procedure. I would like to follow a better legislative procedure and not stack. In order to manage the floor, Senators should be recognized at the conclusion of a speech, and if my colleague seeks recognition, I will yield to my colleague as soon as the Senator from California concludes her remarks.

Mr. NICKLES. Madam President, previously I yielded the Senator from Alaska 1 hour on the amendment. Is there any time remaining?

Mr. NICKLES. I yield to the Senator from Alaska not only those 12 minutes but also such time as he desires on this resolution. I also remind him I told the Senator from Alabama that he would be recognized for a few minutes, as well. I yield to the Senator from Alaska such time as he desires.

Mr. NICKLES. I have no objection to that. This is a very important amendment. It is one of the reasons why I encouraged our colleagues to bring it up. I knew it was going to take some time. I have no objection to that.

Mr. NICKLES. Madam President, momentarily we will be voting on the Boxer amendment. I urge my colleagues to vote no. I compliment my colleagues, Senators Stevens and Murkowski. I listened to the debate last night and today. If people are interested in the facts, they happen to know the facts. They live there. They have been there. A lot of people are pointing out pristine pictures of wildlife. That is not the 1002 area that would be drilled. I have seen that. We can do drilling in that area in a very environmentally sensitive and sound way. We can do it. Our country happens to need that million barrels per day of domestic oil that can be produced. We need it. If not, we will be buying it from Iraq. We will be buying it from the Middle East. We will be buying it from areas that are a lot more vulnerable than Alaska. This way we can keep the jobs in the United States. This way we can keep production and our dollars in the United States. We have a tradition in the Senate that we listen to home State Senators in areas that concern their State.

Mr. NICKLES. I yield myself an additional minute.

Mr. NICKLES. For people who live outside the State and have never been in this area to try to dictate that we should never drill there, without living there, and override and superimpose their will over the two home State Senators, I find to be almost incredible. It is denying Alaska a chance to grow. It is denying our country a chance to grow. I urge my colleagues to listen to Senator Stevens, to listen to Senator Murkowski, and let's allow some environmentally safe and sound production that our country desperately needs. I thank my colleagues from Alaska.

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

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

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