Arlen Specter

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I find it extremely difficult to speak to and vote on this amendment because I have supported this amendment on so many occasions. Senator Dodd accurately relates, when we were elected in 1980, we cochaired the Children's Caucus. Then, in 1987, after we were reelected, we were cosponsors of the first parental leave program which had just begun. We have been soldiers in the field. I have voted for this amendment again and again and again. But I am deeply concerned if we agree to this amendment at this time and add another $900 million to the current bill of $91.7 billion, we are not going to have any bill at all. We are not going to get 51 votes in this Chamber to pass this bill and to go to conference. I say that because of the deep-seated concerns which have been expressed by so many Senators about where we are. We have a bill at $91.7 billion which is within the budget caps. We have to go to conference with the House. We have to present a bill which the President will sign. I do not believe we will be able to do that if we add $900 million more. I can count the number of cosponsors which the persuasive Senator Dodd has. It may be he will have enough sponsors to defeat a tabling motion. I think next Tuesday, when Republican Senators return, on the vote on the underlying merits it may be different, although I very much would like to support him. We have been very concerned about children in this bill. We increased the child care block grant $182 million for fiscal year 2000, which brings it to $1.182 billion. Senator Dodd would like to have it added to $2 billion, and so would I, if I thought we could get that bill passed. This $1.182 billion is in addition to the child care entitlement which was increased $200 million, to $2.367 billion next year. So we have on child care more than $3.5 billion. In addition, States can transfer up to 30 percent, or $4.8 billion, of their temporary assistance to needy families, the so-called TANF block grants, to the child care block grant. At the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 1999, States had $4.220 billion in unobligated TANF balances. So there have been very substantial allocations for children. I might say, this is an especially tough vote for me because earlier today, my daughter-in-law, Tracey Specter, took the lead in establishing a child care center in Philadelphia where she and her husband, my son, Shanin Specter, have made a very generous contribution for child care. I know of the importance of child care so working mothers can provide needed assistance for their families in an era of two-wage-earner families and in an era of single mothers. I know how vital child care is. But this is going to be the log that breaks the camel's back. I think the camel now is burdened so that a straw would break the camel's back, but this is not a straw, this is a log. I do not know quite where we are going to be when final passage comes on this bill and we do not have 51 votes. So it is a longstanding partnership I have with the Senator from Connecticut, elected on the same day to this body, worked hand in glove, almost as longstanding a relationship as with Senator Jeffords. Usually Senator Jeffords says, ``Jump,'' and I say, ``How high?'' on matters which he has in mind. But it is with the greatest reluctance that I say I cannot support this amendment, much as I would like to, for the reasons I have given. Mr. President, how much time remains?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask consent that a vote occur on or in relation to the pending second-degree amendment after 15 minutes of debate to be equally divided in the usual form, and if a motion to table is made and defeated, then the Senate immediately proceed to a vote on the pending second-degree amendment. I further ask consent that following the disposition of the second- degree amendment, only if agreed to, Senator Wellstone be recognized to offer a second-degree amendment under the same terms as outlined above. Finally, I ask consent that following the disposition of the first second-degree amendment, if tabled, the first-degree amendment be withdrawn. I further ask consent that if the second second-degree amendment is offered, following its disposition, the Senate proceed to vote on the first-degree amendment, as amended, if amended, without any intervening action, motion, or debate.

Mr. SPECTER. Let me yield a minute or so to Senator Dodd.

Mr. SPECTER. I thank my colleague from Connecticut for those generous comments. He is almost pervasive enough to get me to change my mind, but passage of this bill is more important. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that after the first rollcall vote, which is 15 minutes in accordance with our practice, with a 5- minute leeway, that the subsequent votes be 10 minutes in duration.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, with great reluctance, I move to table the Dodd amendment. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SPECTER. Yes.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I am now going to propound a unanimous- consent agreement on the pending matter. I have been asked to pause for a minute so that other Senators may consider the unanimous-consent agreement. What we propose to do by way of schedule today to move ahead is to set the vote aside, then move to an amendment by Senator Graham of Florida. I hope we can work out a time agreement on that which is not yet agreed to. Then we would go to an amendment by Senator Dodd for 30 minutes, equally divided, and then come back, perhaps, to Senator Gregg, and then move to an amendment which may be contentious on ergonomics, to be offered by Senators Bond and Nickles. We would plan to have the votes before the ergonomics amendment, which may take some considerable time and move into the evening. We are still working as fast as we can through a long list of amendments to try to see when we can bring this bill to a conclusion at the earliest moment. May I inquire of the Senator from Minnesota if he is prepared for me to propound the unanimous consent request?

Mr. SPECTER. Just a few comments about the merits of the pending amendment; then I will move on to a unanimous-consent request. I believe that in the bill, as it is currently drafted, there is an appropriate balance between consultation and enforcement. I agree with the Senator from Wyoming that this consultation is very important, and there are many places where consultation will work. I think there are some areas where enforcement is necessary. I saw in my line of work as district attorney of Philadelphia, under somewhat different circumstances, what enforcement does and what deterrence does and what the prospects of penalties may do. We have crafted this bill as carefully as we can. I think it has about the right mix, although I welcome the suggestions from the Senator from Wyoming and the spirited debate which we have had. As I take a look at the figures, in the period from 1995 to 1999, the enforcement funding falls $3 million this year below the 1995 level; $145 million to $142 million. By contrast, in the same period, fiscal year 1995 to fiscal year 2000, OSHA's consultation program has grown from $31.5 million to almost $41 million; an increase of about 30 percent. Even at the level that we have here, there are 7 million workplaces in the United States but only about 2,300 OSHA inspectors. Of the 12,500 most dangerous workplaces in the Nation, OSHA is able to inspect only about 3,000 a year; so 9,500 will not be inspected. The enforcement shows that there is an average decline of some 22 percent in the 3 years following inspections. So when I take a look at the entire picture, I think we have it about right in the current bill. Therefore, I move to table the second-degree amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SPECTER. May I just suggest then that the Senator from Wyoming send his amendment to the desk and proceed since we have had an indication of the unwillingness to have a time agreement. Amendment No. 1846 (Purpose: To clarify provisions relating to expenditures by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration by authorizing 50 percent of the amount appropriated that is in excess of the amount appropriated for such purpose for fiscal year 1999 to be used for compliance assistance and 50 percent of such amount for enforcement and other purposes)

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, under our sequencing arrangement, Mr. Enzi, the Senator from Wyoming, is next on the list. We are then going to move to the Senator from Florida, Mr. Graham. We are trying to get time agreements here to move the bill along. We have a long list of proposed amendments which were filed as of 2 o'clock which we are going to try to window here.

Mr. SPECTER. With 2 minutes for Senator Hutchinson to close.

Mr. SPECTER. I agree. There is another unanimous consent agreement on top of that. I ask unanimous consent that after the Senator from Illinois speaks for up to 10 minutes, we move to a vote on the tabling motion.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, as manager of the bill, I do wish to move to a vote. I would be delighted to hear how much time the Senator from Illinois wants, to hear his closing argument, and then to proceed to a vote on the tabling motion. How much time would he like?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I had announced earlier my hope to stack the votes. But in light of the procedural context that we are in now, I am advised that there will not be an agreement to set this amendment aside. It is my hope that we can vote as promptly as possible. I move to table the Hutchinson second-degree amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I commented earlier that I would defer to the statistics. I am about to put a detailed chart into the Record. It is true that the backlog went down from about 6,200 to about 5,500 because we added $10 million to the budget. We are now proposing to add approximately $24 million to the budget, which will buy a computer, which is not inexpensive. Computers are expensive. That will enable the NLRB to move part way into the latter part of the 20th century, if not the 21st century. The projection is that the backlog would then be reduced to about 1,960 cases. If this is not done, there are many employees who are now at the NLRB who would be lost. I think it is plain that for the NLRB to keep up with the backlog and do its job, they need these additional employees. I ask unanimous consent that this chart be printed in the Record.

Mr. SPECTER. No objection to the unanimous-consent agreement which we have propounded with modifications.

Mr. SPECTER. I do.

Mr. SPECTER. Will the Senator from Minnesota be willing to stipulate now to a time agreement, if he is to offer a second-degree amendment, say, to 30 minutes equally divided?

Mr. SPECTER. If it fails, then Senator Wellstone will be recognized for offering a second degree.

Mr. SPECTER. I think we have just reached an agreement informally, which I would like to propound now as a unanimous consent request. The earlier unanimous consent request prohibiting a second-degree amendment is vitiated. We will now proceed to have the Senator from Arkansas offer a second-degree amendment to his first-degree amendment. We will have 30 minutes of debate. It has now been reduced to writing. I will begin again. I ask unanimous consent that the previous consent agreement relating to the pending Hutchinson amendment be vitiated. I ask consent that prior to a motion to table the second-degree amendment to be presented forthwith by the Senator from Arkansas, the time be limited to 30 minutes equally divided, and following the disposition of the Hutchinson second-degree amendment, Senator Wellstone will be recognized to offer a second- degree amendment.

Mr. SPECTER. I yield 3 minutes to Senator Harkin.

Mr. SPECTER. I allocate 10 minutes to the Senator from Iowa.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, when I heard there was a problem--we work together on too many matters over too long a period of time. If it was inadvertently entered into, we are prepared not to hold anybody to it. We have a lot of work to do. If we did not have a lot of work to do, we still would not hold them to it if it was inadvertently entered into. I have just discussed that with my colleague from Arkansas. I think we can work this out in the course of the next few minutes, if the Senator from Iowa will take his 5 minutes to argue on the merits.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Do you want to check?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the final order of business this evening on the pending bill is an amendment to be offered by the Senator from Kansas, Mr. Brownback, for purposes of 10 minutes of discussion, and then it will be withdrawn. So I leave the floor in the hands of Senator Brownback for that 10-minute presentation and withdrawal.