Arlen Specter

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, yes.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the Senator from Arizona is correct. I now yield to the Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kerry.

Mr. SPECTER. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I now yield to Senator Kyl for the Kyl- Cornyn amendment. I ask unanimous consent that it be the first amendment pending tomorrow morning.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, it is 2:15. We are reconvening. We are about ready to proceed with the bill. We have quite a number of Senators who have stated an interest in filing amendments. We urge them to come to the floor so we can get a queue and proceed to consider the amendments and dispose of the bill.

Mr. SPECTER. We are ready for your amendment, Senator Dorgan, if you are prepared to offer it.

Mr. SPECTER. While you are undertaking those last-minute preparations, would you give some consideration to a time agreement, an hour equally divided?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from North Dakota. Amendment No. 4017

Mr. SPECTER. I ask the Senator, are you for or against the amendment?

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I yield 10 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Arizona.

Mr. SPECTER. Fair enough. My information was incorrect then. By way of brief rebuttal on the question of impact of guest workers on the American workers, I ask unanimous consent that the testimony of Dan Siciliano, from the Stanford Law School, be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my comments.

Mr. SPECTER. The key statement of Mr. Siciliano is: Some claim that immigration reduces employment levels and wages among native-born workers. This is generally not true. The text of his statement amplifies on that. I ask unanimous consent that the statement of Professor Harry Holzer from Georgetown University be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my comments.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, we have the amendment from Senator Kyl and Senator Cornyn next in sequence. They have a right to go next. If they are willing to wait until the morning, we will proceed with another amendment.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I inquire of the Senator from North Dakota whether he is prepared now to enter into a time agreement. There have been no Senators on this side of the aisle who have expressed an interest in debating the issue. My reply will be relatively brief. My suggestion would be that we ought to seek to close off debate--it is now 8 minutes to 3 o'clock--close off debate by 3:15 and move on to another amendment. I alert colleagues on this side: we are in a position to move forward with the Kyl-Cornyn amendment, which is next on the list. I do not know what amendments will be offered by the Democrats, but I have made an inquiry, and they are making an effort to identify the Senators who will offer amendments and bring them to the Senate. If the Kyl-Cornyn amendment can be worked out, which is a distinct prospect, we would then move to the Sessions amendment. I have alerted Senator Sessions. If he can come to the Senate in the next few minutes, that will be helpful. Then we have Senator Vitter's two amendments. Senator Vitter talked to me shortly before noontime. If he can come to the Senate and be available, we are in a position to move ahead. I inquire of the Senator from North Dakota whether he is in a position to agree to conclude debate, say, in 20 more minutes, equally divided.

Mr. SPECTER. I understand the position of the Senator from North Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that 80 minutes be divided equally between the Senator from North Dakota and myself as manager of the bill and that the debate be concluded in 80 minutes, unless time is yielded back. I now have the handiwork of the expert staff. In their form, I ask unanimous consent that there be 80 minutes for debate in relation to the Dorgan amendment, provided that no second degrees be in order prior to the vote, and after the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the Dorgan amendment.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to urge my colleagues to vote in support of the nomination of Milan D. Smith, Jr., for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Judiciary Committee has held a hearing on Mr. Smith, and we recommend him to our colleagues. He was a graduate of Brigham Young University, cum laude, in 1966, and he has a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1969. He has had a distinguished career in the practice of law. After law school, he joined the international law firm of O'Melveny & Myers. In 1972, Mr. Smith formed his own firm, Smith Crane Robinson & Parker, one of Southern California's premier law firms specializing in complex transactions. Mr. Smith has served in public services. In 1988, he served as Commissioner of the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission where he remained until 1991. The American Bar Association gave Mr. Smith a ``substantial majority well qualified'' and a ``minority qualified'' rating. Beyond these excellent credentials, he comes with a strong recommendation from somebody who knows him very well, and that is our distinguished colleague, Senator Gordon Smith from Oregon. I am pleased at this time to yield the floor either to Senator Smith or to the senior Senator from California.

Mr. SPECTER

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, may I remind my colleagues, as announced yesterday, that the majority leader has authorized strict enforcement of the 15-minute voting rule and 5-minute extra and on stacked votes 10 and 5. We have a great many amendments and a lot of work to do to finish this bill before Memorial Day. We are about to proceed to the amendment offered by the Senator from Georgia, Mr. Isakson. Senator Craig has asked specially for 5 minutes to talk about the President's speech. We are not going to be able to accommodate discussions beyond the Isakson amendment, except for Senator Craig. After the 5 minutes, Senator Isakson will be recognized to make the opening argument on his amendment. We do not have a great deal of time under the order to proceed with the two votes at noon. So let us use the time as expeditiously as we can.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, we now have 1 hour equally divided. On this side, the time is under the control of Senator Isakson, who has signified that there will be 5 minutes for Senator Cornyn, 5 minutes for Senator Alexander, 5 minutes for Senator Chambliss, and we will try to find time for Senator Thune as well. We will alternate back and forth. Time is under the control of Senator Isakson.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I am hearing this for the first time. I must object until I take a look at it and consult with some people on this matter.

Mr. SPECTER. For current purposes, I do object.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I am constrained to object again until I have had a chance to examine the specifics as to what the Senator from Michigan is offering.

Mr. SPECTER. May I add that I have joined with other Senators in seeking to have an extension of the date. So I am in agreement with what I believe to be the thrust of what the Senator from Michigan seeks to accomplish. But speaking for myself, I would have to know more and examine the documents before I could refrain from objecting. And on behalf of others on this side, as the manager of the bill, it is incumbent upon me to give them an opportunity to examine what the Senator from Michigan wants to do. So I am constrained to object.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I again object for the reasons I said. I will be glad to have the effort of the Senator from Michigan renewed later today when I have had a chance to examine it and others have had a chance to examine it. But on this state of the record, hearing it for the first time and being surprised by it, we need time to study it and time for others to consider it.

Mr. SPECTER. Objection, without restating all my reasons.