Arlen Specter

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Forests & Public Land Management of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 30, for purposes of conducting a Subcommittee on Forests & Public Lands Management hearing which is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. The purpose of this oversight hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1457, the Forest Resources for the Environment and the Economy Act.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem be permitted to meet on September 30, 1999 at 9:30 a.m. for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 30, 1999 at 2:00 p.m. to hold a closed hearing on intelligence matters.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, September 30, 1999, at 9:30 a.m. on the Motor Vehicle Rental Fairness Act of 1999.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the Committee on the Judiciary requests unanimous consent to conduct a markup on Thursday, September 30, 1999 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 30, 1999, at 10:30 to hold a hearing.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, be allowed to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 30, 1999. The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss the administration's Agriculture agenda for the upcoming World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I take that as a concession that some Republicans voted against it.

Mr. SPECTER. The essential point on the amendment of the Senator from California is to add $200 million to afterschool programs. I believe afterschool programs are very valuable, and I have supported afterschool programs in the past. In fact, in collaboration with Senator Harkin, we included $200 million in addition to the $200 million now allocated for afterschool programs. This is an enormous increase on a program that just 3 years ago was at $1 million, then increased to $40 million, then to $200 million, and we have doubled it this year to $400 million. It is an integral part of the school violence prevention initiative. In crafting this bill, which comes in at $91.7 billion, Senator Harkin and I have made an assessment of priorities among some 300 programs. And while we would like to have more money for afterschool programs--we would like to have more money for many programs--it simply is not possible to do it. In crafting this bill, which will be passed by the Senate, to get at least 51 votes, there is very considerable concern on my side of the aisle about a bill with $91.7 billion. Then we have to go to conference. Then we have to find a bill which the President will sign. The metaphor is, it is like running between the raindrops in a hurricane. So it is with reluctance I must oppose the Boxer amendment; it is not realistic to do it. Some have argued that the $200 million advocated yesterday by Senator Murray, which was defeated, or the $200 million sought to be added by Senator Boxer would dip into Social Security. I am not going to make that argument because no one really knows that. We are determined to craft a total appropriations package which is within the caps. In order to accomplish that, there has to be advance funding. Of course, the Boxer amendment provides for advance funding as well. But at some point, if there is sufficient advance funding going into the projected $38 billion in surplus for fiscal year 2000, even on the advance funding line, Social Security will not be intact, and I think there is agreement that we have to protect Social Security and Medicare, that our expenditures even on an advance line cannot go beyond. I note my distinguished colleague from California is ready to present her case, so I yield the floor.

Mr. SPECTER. We thank the Senator more for the accurate identification than the congratulations. My vote against it was based upon concern of what the surplus would be. I think it ought to be noted the President has come forward with a proposal for a tax cut of his own. It is not a tax cut of the magnitude passed by the Senate and the House, but he has come forward with a role for a tax cut. Back to the issue on more money for afterschool programs. I think it is very important to consider this issue in the perspective of what has happened with this program which was created as recently as 1994. For the fiscal year 1995, enacted in 1994, the last year when the Congress was controlled by the Democrats, the afterschool program was $750,000. The next year it was $750,000. In fiscal year 1997, it went to $1 million. In 1998, when I chaired the subcommittee and Senator Harkin was ranking, we raised it to $40 million. Last year, we raised it to $200 million. This year, we are raising it another $200 million. I believe there has been a real recognition of the value of the afterschool program. The Senator from California and I had an extended debate yesterday afternoon on the question of whether there would be a request for more money. Had we added $400 million, there would still have been many applications and many meritorious applications. Among the total number--there were some 2,000 applications--only 184 were granted. That brings me to the conclusion that regardless of what we craft in a bill and how much money we add for afterschool programs there will be an effort by someone to up the ante so that no figure is satisfactory. Someplace the line has to be drawn. The overall education budget, which the subcommittee recommended and the full committee recommended and is now before the Senate, increases educational funding over last year by $2.3 billion--$2.3 billion. It is more than $500 million more than the President's request. When we take education in the aggregate, we have done more than President Clinton has asked. When we go down to some of the specific items, we have not put quite as much as he wants into some programs. He asked for the program on preparing disadvantaged secondary high school students for college, GEAR UP; he asked for an increase from $120 million to $240 million, doubling it. We increased it to $180 million, $60 million over last year's funding level. However, the Congress has the principal responsibility in the appropriations process under the Constitution. It is true the President has to sign the bill, but we are the baseline appropriators. While we have disagreed on some of the priorities, I believe that Senator Harkin and I have crafted a bill, which the subcommittee accepted and the full committee accepted, that is a realistic and appropriate allocation of those priorities. It is for that reason, as much as I like afterschool programs, there has to be some limit before we go into Social Security, some limit considering how much we have added to education.

Mr. SPECTER. It is a vote in the Senate on the conference report.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, when we concluded yesterday afternoon, the ranking member and I talked about a unanimous-consent agreement for all amendments to be filed. We had talked about 12 noon today, and there was concern that since the announcement was made late in the day, Senators would not have an opportunity to understand that since many had gone home. But it is my expectation that when Senator Harkin arrives, we will confer and try to pick a time when we will ask unanimous consent that all amendments be filed. Amendment No. 1810, Withdrawn On behalf of Senator Gregg, I withdraw the Gregg amendment.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the agreement to vote at 10 o'clock is complicated by the withdrawal of the Gregg amendment. For the record, I ask unanimous consent the time restraints outlined in the previous consent agreement apply to the Boxer amendment, with a vote to occur at 10 o'clock. That is our plan 6 minutes from now.

Mr. SPECTER. By way of brief reply to the arguments made by the Senator from California, did I understand the Senator from California to say that no Republican voted against the $792 billion proposed tax cut?

Mr. SPECTER. It might have been more than three; it was some.

Mr. SPECTER. Will the Senator from California agree that some Republicans voted against it?

Mr. SPECTER. I move to table. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SPECTER. You have the first tax bill, the bill out of the Senate, where Voinovich and Arlen Specter voted against it. The conference report, which is the tax bill, had four Republicans voting in opposition.

Mr. SPECTER. Senators Voinovich, Collins, Snowe, and I all voted against the tax bill; it was a 50-49 vote. One Republican was absent, four Republicans voted against it. Forty-five Democrats voted against it, plus four Republicans: Voinovich, Collins, Snowe, and Specter.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, today the Senate will begin at this point 30 minutes of debate on the amendment offered by the Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer, regarding afterschool programs. We had been scheduled to debate the Gregg second-degree amendment. It is my understanding Senator Gregg is now disposed to withdraw the amendment unless there is objection to that. So we will proceed with 30 minutes of debate on the Boxer amendment, with the first vote occurring at 10 a.m. On behalf of the leader, I am announcing that we will try to complete action on the bill today. Therefore, votes will occur throughout the day and into the evening.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. I do.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, on behalf of the leader, I ask unanimous consent that at 1 p.m. Senator Murray be recognized to offer an amendment relevant to additional teachers, and following reporting by the clerk, the amendment be laid aside, and Senator Gorton be recognized to offer a first-degree amendment. I further ask unanimous consent that the time between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. today be divided equally for debate on both amendments, and the vote occur on or in relation to the Gorton amendment, to be followed by a vote on or in relation to the Murray amendment, at 4 p.m., and any rule XVI point of order be waived with respect to these two amendments only. I also ask unanimous consent that no second-degree amendments be in order to either amendment.

Mr. SPECTER. Acceptable.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, we have a time agreement now until 4 o'clock, where we have two votes. After that time, we are going to be moving on to another amendment, I think, of the Senator from Nevada. But I expect at some point we could accommodate the request by the distinguished Senator from California.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, technically I do object, not knowing where it is going to come. Let us see if we cannot work it out. Let us not have an agreement at this moment as to time, and I will consult with Senator Reid, who is managing the time for that side, and we will try to find the time.