Richard Shelby

Mr. SHELBY

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, today the Senate is considering ratification of the International Natural Rubber Agreement. This agreement will impact large sectors of our economy, primarily those for which natural rubber is a vital interest. The first International Natural Rubber Agreement was ratified in 1979 by all major rubber producing and consuming countries. The second agreement was ratified in 1988 and expired in December 1995. The purpose of renewing this agreement is to stabilize the price of natural rubber and to guarantee adequate supplies. The agreement accomplishes this through the International Natural Rubber Organization which maintains a natural rubber buffer stock from which the organization may purchase or sell natural rubber to help control the volatile price. Agricultural growth for natural rubber is limited to a small area around the equator, and it takes 5 to 7 years to cultivate this product. Seventy-five percent of the world's natural rubber is grown in just three countries--Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. I generally do not favor Government intervention in the marketplace to stabilize prices, but failure to ratify this agreement could lead to a few small countries colluding to fix natural rubber prices. Even small fluctuations in the price of natural rubber have a significant impact on American industry; a one-cent increase in the natural rubber price costs industry $22 million. Sharp fluctuations in the natural rubber price will, in turn, impact American consumers heavily. Moreover, this program is not draining the taxpayers' money; the original U.S. contribution was $53 million and our share of the organization has grown to $78 million. When the INRA terminates, these funds will be returned to the Treasury. The Government should play a minimal role in regulating or controlling the price of any commodity. There are rare circumstances where, for the sake of American consumers, it is permissible for the Government to ensure the stability of certain commodity prices, and this is one of those circumstances. I urge my colleagues to support this agreement.

Mr. SHELBY

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Nichols Research Corp. of Huntsville, AL, which is celebrating its 20th year of technological leadership. For the past two decades, Nichols Research Corp. has made significant technological contributions to our Nation, and in so doing has shown itself to be a model example of the energy and dynamism of America's small businesses. In 1976, Roy Nichols and Chris Horgen's small company consisted of a single office in Huntsville, AL, and a handful of employees. Since that time, Nichols Research Corp. has achieved remarkable growth, now employing 1,900 hard-working men and women in 27 offices nationwide. The astonishing rise to prominence of this once tiny firm is vivid proof that in America, great ideas, professional excellence, and perseverance can lead to unlimited success. Since its humble beginnings, Nichols Research Corp.'s prosperity has been driven by its leadership in technological innovation and its ability to put its breakthrough ideas and professional know-how to work for all of us. For much of its history, Nichols Research Corp. has concentrated on developing technologies for America's defense. In recent years, Nichols Research Corp. has begun using its vast expertise to expand into the field of information technology, a rapidly progressing area which represents the vibrant future of the American economy. The skills and techniques which Nichols Research Corp. has gained are now being used to develop solutions for Government agencies as well as health care, transportation, and insurance businesses in the private sector. Not surprisingly, Nichols Research Corp.'s innovativeness and leadership have drawn well-deserved praise and recognition. In 1993, Forbes magazine selected Nichols Research Corp. as 1 of only 13 firms for its ``Best of the Best'' list of small companies in America. In 1995, Nichols Research Corp. was named by the Department of Defense to its ``Top 100'' company list for research development testing and evaluation as well as other services and supplies. Today, I would like to recognize this small business success story for 20 years of growth and innovation, and congratulate Roy Nichols, Chris Horgen, and all of Nichols Research Corp.'s employees for their outstanding accomplishments. I am certain that Nichols Research Corp. will continue to make valuable contributions to America's defense and economic prosperity for many years to come.

Mr. SHELBY

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise this morning in support of the Hutchison-Shelby amendment to S. 39, the Sustainable Fisheries Act. Over the past several years, it has become increasingly clear that our marine fisheries are in serious trouble. The Sustainable Fisheries Act will significantly improve the management and conservation of our marine resources by allowing the regional councils to adopt measures to reduce overfishing, bycatch, and waste. What is clear to all who have been involved in the reauthorization of the Magnuson Act is that decisionmaking authority over the adoption and implementation of bycatch reduction programs must lie with the councils. For the most part, the bill before us today furthers this insight. However, there is a provision which will significantly impair the authority of one of the councils, the Gulf Council, to manage the bycatch program of the red snapper. The Hutchison-Shelby amendment corrects this oversight and restores the necessary discretion to the Gulf Council. I want to be clear that we are not adding additional powers. Our amendment merely brings the Gulf Council in line with the authority of the other regional councils. Without the Hutchison-Shelby amendment, the red snapper fishery will be closed, which will shut down recreational fishermen and a thriving charter boat industry. In the city of Gulf Shores alone, red snapper fishing generates approximately $80 million annually. Salt water fishing in my State will soon become a billion dollar industry, and limiting the authority of the Gulf Council to manage these waters will devastate the economy of Alabama. I thank the Senator from Texas for her leadership on this important issue, and I urge adoption of this amendment.

Mr. SHELBY

Mr. SHELBY. Madam President, I will be brief on this. We have just been told the administration does not support the offset proposed by the Senator from Massachusetts on this. I yield the remainder of my time. I move to table the amendment. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SHELBY. Madam President, how much time is remaining?

Mr. SHELBY

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I am concerned at the moment, as one of the managers of the bill, not about the study that the Senator from Massachusetts and the Senator from California discussed, because in a lot of ways that makes a lot of sense. I am concerned about the offsets--how are we going to pay for it? I understand the Senator is proposing to pay for this study. Because of that, as I indicated, Senator Kerrey and I at the appropriate time would move to table the amendment. Mr. President, this amendment proposes to appropriate $21.3 million for this study, and it is probably going to cost a lot of money to do a proper study of this kind. The offset, Mr. President, I remind my colleagues, would come from reductions in the IRS. Now, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of the IRS are already calling and imploring us to try to put some more money in the IRS. Senator Kerrey and I believe we are properly funding the IRS, but to take an additional $21.3 million out, I think, would not be the proper time to do it, and it would not be the proper thing to do. I do not believe it is the appropriate thing to do on this bill. I was wondering if the Senator from Massachusetts and California could find some other way to fund the study?

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

Mr. SHELBY. I am not aware of that at all. I talked with the Secretary of the Treasury until 11 o'clock this morning and he certainly did not mention this to me. I do not know if he mentioned it to Senator Kerrey.

Mr. SHELBY. Correct, and no vote before 2:15 p.m., which is an hour.

Mr. SHELBY. That is right, but no second degrees.

Mr. SHELBY. If I may respond, I have talked to Senator Kerrey from Nebraska. He is not on the floor. We had agreed earlier to move to table this, along with other amendments that came up that we thought we could not fund at this point. With an hour of debate--if I can just proceed a second--if we can agree on this, there will be an hour of debate. Of course, everybody knows the rules. Once we get recognized, we can move to table and there will be no debate. Whereas, we get an hour on this equally divided.

Mr. SHELBY. We would, over here, rather have a motion to table. That is what we talked about.

Mr. SHELBY. It is going to be a motion to table.

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 1 hour of debate, equally divided in the usual form, on the Kerry amendment pending a motion to table. I further ask that no second- degree amendment be in order prior to the motion to table, and no vote occur before the hour of 2:15 p.m.

Mr. SHELBY. I thank the Senator for yielding.

Mr. SHELBY. Sure. We will come back to it.

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I send a number of amendments to the desk which have been cleared on each side. Mr. President, the amendments are as follows: Senator Gramm, a sense- of-the-Senate resolution regarding the border States in Laredo, TX; for Senators Bingaman and Jeffords regarding energy savings; for Senator Daschle regarding explosives and arson information; for Mr. D'Amato regarding the commemorative coin programs; for Senator McCain regarding the Udall Scholarship Foundation; for Senator Dorgan, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Daschle, and Mr. Pressler regarding the transfer of excess properties to Indian tribes; for Senator Byrd regarding telecommuting; and for Senator Hatfield to provide care funds for the Pioneer Courthouse in Portland, OR. I ask unanimous consent that these amendments be considered and approved, en bloc, and that accompanying statements be placed at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. SHELBY. That is right. I thank the Senator. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendments were agreed to.

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I send a number of amendments to the desk which have been cleared on each side of aisle. I ask unanimous consent that these amendments be considered and approved, en bloc, and that accompanying statements be placed at the appropriate place in the Record. Mr. President, the amendments are as follows: for Senator Grams, to improve the IRS 1-800 help line service; for Senator Faircloth, regarding color printing of tax information; for Senator Levin, a sense-of-the-Senate resolution in support of the U.S. negotiators' position on autos and auto parts with Japan; for Senator Thompson, for the GSA to create a pilot program for States to participate in the FTS 2000 program.

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the UC agreement earlier propounded by Senator Lott, the majority leader, be withdrawn.

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that the pending committee amendments be temporarily laid aside.

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I, along with my colleague, Senator Kerrey, encourage all Senators now who have amendments that we might be able to clear and agree on between us, that they come down here and discuss them with Senator Kerrey and me, because we are working off of a list. We have already worked four or five off in the last 30 minutes. Perhaps we can, if they will come on over--it is just a few minutes after 12--in the next hour or two we can perhaps work 8 or 10 off this list. I think it would be helpful and constructive, and we would be moving forward on this bill. Mr. KERREY addressed the Chair.

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