Arlen Specter

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, may we proceed? If the Senator from Alabama could give the Senator from Illinois a copy of his amendment while we are talking about the others before we move on, if we can solidify the agreement, it would be helpful. Our experience has been that once we move on without getting the agreement, sometimes they evaporate. May I inquire of the Senator from Washington--is Senator Gorton in the Chamber--as to a time agreement on his pending amendment?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, may I inquire of the Senator from Indiana about the testing amendment. Are we in a position to move for a time agreement on that amendment?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, might I inquire if we could reach a time agreement whenever the matter is ready for debate?

Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Senator from Indiana.

Mr. SPECTER. I would.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I think that would be acceptable. I first would like to explore what we can do on the other pending amendments. If we could hear from the Senator from Oklahoma as to how much time he would need on his amendment or perhaps the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts as to whether we could reach a time agreement and vote on the issues raised on the Teamsters matter.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, might I inquire of the Senator from Massachusetts whether he thinks it would be worthwhile to explore trying to find some outer parameter of time, 4 hours equally divided-- some time limit?

Mr. SPECTER. I do.

Mr. SPECTER. I do.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Washington. I again inquire of the other Wellstone amendments--if the Senator from Minnesota is not in the Chamber, perhaps we can call him and ask him to come to the floor--if he would be willing to enter into time agreements. Mr. President, might I inquire of the distinguished Democratic leader--if I might have the attention of the Senator from South Dakota, there is an amendment pending regarding Pell grants and child literacy. I ask, if I might, the Senator from South Dakota, the distinguished Democratic leader, what his intentions are, whether he would be agreeable to a time limit?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we have the agreement, 20 minutes equally divided.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I inquire of the Senator from Illinois if he has had a chance to see the amendment by the Senator from Alabama.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Democratic leader and would ask that they make the review as promptly as they can because we are ready to really proceed with the conclusion of the amendment by Senator Ford and Senator Sessions and also Senator Durbin. Mr. DURBIN addressed the Chair.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I think we have to be prepared to vote, on this state of the record. We are in a state of considerable flux, if not confusion, as to where this bill is headed, and our experience is that unless we stay and debate and vote we are not going to get through this bill. I say that with reluctance because I know Senators have other plans. Mr. President, I would suggest that we proceed at this time to the debate on the amendment by the Senator from Kentucky on his second- degree amendment and perhaps in that intervening 10 minutes we could get Senator Wellstone to the floor to find a time limit. If we are unable to come to an agreement on the second-degree amendment by Senator Sessions, perhaps we would proceed with Senator Murray's amendment which is 1 hour equally divided.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask if the distinguished Senator from Illinois will withhold that motion for the present time. We cannot proceed to a rollcall vote tonight under a determination made earlier by the majority leader, which I announced as soon as we had heard it. There may be other Senators who wish to speak to this amendment. The Senator from Illinois would be preserving his position, in any event, since we cannot vote tonight, to carry this matter over until first thing tomorrow morning. We are beginning at 9:30, so that we can consider at that time if there are any other Senators on the floor who wish to speak.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, that is agreeable to this manager of the bill. So that all Senators will be on notice that a motion to table will be pending. Of course, if it is not tabled, then we can't proceed to the underlying amendment.

Mr. SPECTER. On behalf of Senator Landrieu, I send a modification to the desk.

Mr. SPECTER. This amendment, Mr. President, provides for an additional $5 million for the adoption opportunities program, bringing the total in the bill to $18 million. The amendment is offset by further reductions in administrative expenses. It has been cleared on both sides, and accordingly I urge its adoption.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, these amendments are offered but not to be accepted. I have set forth the purpose of the amendments in my introductory statement.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, these amendments have been cleared on both sides: First, on behalf of Senator Chafee, an amendment to add $250 million for both the Fiscal Payment Review Commission and Prospective Payment Assessment Commission offset by a reduction in the Railroad Retirement Board's dual benefit account. Second, on behalf of Senator Coverdell, regarding directives to the Secretary of Education concerning child safety and school crime. Third, on behalf of Senator Daschle, regarding the authorization of a comprehensive program for the prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome. Fourth, on behalf of Senator Faircloth, to require the Secretary of Education to certify the percentage of Federal funds appropriated to the department that are provided for students and teachers. Fifth, on behalf of Senator Feingold, to require the Secretary of Education to conduct a study on student populations. Sixth, on behalf of Senator Hollings, to increase the setaside within the funds provided in the bill for the National Occupational Information and Coordinating Committee, from $8 to $10 million. Seventh, on behalf of Senator Inhofe, regarding a supplemental security income demonstration project. Eighth, on behalf of myself, increasing funding in the bill for continuing disability reviews under the SSI program. Ninth, on behalf of Senators Warner and Kennedy, providing $1.1 million to the Department of Education to begin preparations for this Nation to celebrate the year 2000. These funds are offset by a reduction in the Perkins Loan Cancellation Account. Tenth, on behalf of Senator Harkin, to provide the Health Care Finance Administration with authority to use fees they collect from providers, physicians and suppliers for provider-requested audits to offset the cost of such audits. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Nickles, I submit an amendment for consideration relating to Social Security Administration regarding employer contributions. On behalf of myself, I send an amendment to the desk on the administrative funds for the Department of Labor, the welfare-to-work program. And another amendment, requested by Senator Roth, for $900,000 for the Commission on Medicare.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments be set aside and that it be in order to send a series of amendments to the desk, that they be considered en bloc, and that accompanying statements be printed at the appropriate point in the Record.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reporting be waived. I have stated the specific amendments and the purpose for those amendments.

Mr. SPECTER. That amendment has been cleared on both sides.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I accept the representation of my colleague.