Ted Stevens

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I would be happy to accept the Senator's suggestion that we include clarifying report language in the conference agreement.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I share the views of my colleague, Senator McCain, that the Committee's report language could be misread to imply that the actions of a former staff member are a principal reason to shut down the Foundation, and I do not believe that is or should be cited as a reason for doing so.

Mr. STEVENS

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

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I urge the Senate to support the committee's position on this issue.

Mr. STEVENS. Yes, but I have to leave quickly.

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

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, is there any time left?

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the next series of votes be limited to 10 minutes each.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Garry Stacy Banks, Graehl Brooks, Andrew Compton, Sarah Doner, Ethan Falatko, Kaleb Froehlich, Griffith Hazen, Jennifer Loesch, Erika Logan, Ida Olson, Carrie Pattison, Daniel Poulson, Karl Schaefermeyer, Jennafer Tryck, and Jensen Young, Alaskan students participating in my summer intern program, be granted floor privileges in order to accompany me on my daily schedule through 30 June 2000. Only two interns will accompany me to the floor at any particular time.

Mr. STEVENS

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the only first-degree amendments in order to the pending Transportation bill and subject to relevant second-degree amendments only. They include: Three amendments by Senator McCain: One on Big Dig, one on airport revenue, and one relevant; One amendment by Senator Gorton on CAFE; One amendment by Senator Allard on debt repayment; Two amendments by Senator Cochran: One technical amendment and one relevant; One amendment by Senator Collins on SOS on high gas prices; One relevant amendment by Senator Warner; One amendment by Senator Voinovich on passenger rail flexibility; The managers' package by Senator Shelby, and two relevant amendments; One amendment by Senator Nickles on BAC; One relevant amendment by Senator Gramm; One amendment by Senator Domenici on rural air service; One amendment by Senator Baucus on the Beartooth Highway; Two relevant amendments by Senator Byrd; One amendment by Senator Boxer on proposed rule on trucking; One relevant amendment by Senator Conrad; Two relevant amendments by Senator Daschle; One relevant amendment by Senator Feingold; One amendment by Senator Feinstein on farm worker safety; One sense-of-the-Senate amendment by Senator Kohl on Coast Guard funding; Two relevant amendments by Senator Lautenberg; Two amendments by Senator Leahy: One on nonpublic personal disclosure, and one which is relevant; Three relevant amendments by Senator Levin; Two relevant amendments by Senator Reed; Two amendments by Senator Robb: One on the Bristol Rail, and one on the Coal Fields Expressway; Two relevant amendments by Senator Torricelli; One relevant amendment by Senator Wellstone; And, two relevant amendments by Senator Wyden. Mr. President, Senator Domenici wants to be added as one amendment to that list. It is described as rural air services.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I hope in the morning or early afternoon we can obtain consent on a time for these amendments to be filed so we can determine what we can work out, what we can accept, and what will have to be debated and voted on. I also am anxious to deal with the problem of adoption of the basic bill that has come to the Senate from the Appropriations Committee. I would like to also have that resolved tomorrow early in the afternoon, if possible. I am constrained to say as chairman of the committee that this year is passing very quickly. We are now well into June. We have to have all of these bills finished by July before we go to the recess and the conventions during the August recess. I urge Members to help us define the amendments that they wish to offer and enter into time agreements once we are certain they are going to offer them. I thank the managers of the bill. I thank my friend, the chairman of the committee, and the ranking member for what they are doing. I am hopeful we can move this bill along. We have other bills that will be ready to go as soon as this one is finished.

Mr. STEVENS. I hope early in the morning we can get an agreement for a specific time so we can move this bill forward. The other body is working on the Health and Human Services bill. We have already reported that bill out of committee. We were able to take that bill up. We also have the foreign assistance bill that will be ready to be taken up on the floor as soon as the House passes it. I hope we will be able to finish this bill early tomorrow afternoon. I thought we were going to get an agreement to vote on the Voinovich amendment early tomorrow morning. But I hope we will be able to meet early in the morning and get some timeframe on that amendment. I hope my friends on the other side will agree with that. We are coming in at 9:45, and the Voinovich amendment will be the first amendment. But there is no time limit to vote on it. We are hopeful we can finish this bill sometime early in the afternoon, at 1 o'clock or so, go back to the Defense bill, and be ready to take up another appropriations bill on Friday morning, the next day. I hope the parties will consider doing what we did in the Defense bill and set a time limit for when these amendments that were listed in this agreement will be filed tomorrow so we can take a look at them and, hopefully, work many of them out without a vote.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I thought there was supposed to be a time agreement for a vote on the amendment of Senator Voinovich. Was that not in the agreement?

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. The Senator yielded to me.

Mr. STEVENS. Will the Senator put that photograph back up.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, will the Senator yield right there?

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I understand the Senator from California has an amendment. Senator Harkin is joining her. I would like to see if we can get a time agreement on this amendment. I ask unanimous consent the time be limited to not more than 45 minutes on each side. Is that agreeable?

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

Mr. STEVENS. I thank the Chair.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, last evening I did offer to accept this amendment. It does have some problems, and in conference we will try to work out those problems. I do believe that the use of pesticides approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should be assured so that military children and those on military bases can have the same protections, protecting the food supplies of the commissaries and populated facilities on a military base. I think the preparation of homes, for instance, before they are occupied certainly requires the type of spraying approved by the EPA. We will make certain there is full protection for those in the military. As I understand it, this is an amendment that is designed to prevent the use of the pesticides that would not be subject to approval by the EPA. I intend to support the amendment. I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent that they be agreed to en bloc.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I am now prepared to present the first managers' package that we worked out with my good friend from Hawaii. These amendments have now been cleared in a modified form, or in the original form. But I call attention of the Chair to the numbers of the amendments that are included in our package. It is: 3175 by Senator Collins; 3284 by Senator Bingaman; 3288 and 3289 by Senator Shelby; 3291 by Senator Kyl; 3298 and 3299 by Senator Helms; 3300 and 3301 by Senator Robb; 3305 by Senator Abraham; 3312 by Senator Leahy; 3314, 3315, and 3316 by Senator Kennedy; 3321 by myself; 3323 by Senator Roberts; 3324 and 3325 by Senator Snowe; 3326 by Senator Landrieu; 3329 by Senator Gregg; 3331 and 3332 by Senator Feinstein; 3334 and 3335 by Senator Warner; 3336 and 3337 by Senator Nickles; 3338 by Senator Allard; 3339 by Senator Coverdell; 3342 by Senator Bingaman; 3343 and 3344 by Senator Inhofe; 3352 by Senator Roth; 3357 by Senator Roberts; 3293, as modified, by Senator Landrieu. I send a modification to the desk of the last item, amendment No. 3293, which I just mentioned, of Senator Landrieu. Mr. President, I believe all of those amendments are before the desk. To the extent they be modified, they have been agreed to by Senator Inouye and myself pursuant to the unanimous consent agreement last night. I ask unanimous consent that these amendments be considered en bloc.

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

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.