Ted Stevens

Mr. STEVENS

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. STEVENS. These technical amendments were passed by the Senate unanimously April 16. The bill is now pending in the House. These are amendments that are deemed to be important and should be considered on a timely basis. That is why they are being added to the bill at this time. I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider the vote and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 144 (Purpose: To make technical amendments with respect to education)

Mr. STEVENS. The amendment, as modified, would provide an additional $5 million to the Fish and Wildlife Service to pay private landowners for the voluntary use of private land to store water in restored wetlands. These funds were not provided to any specific region and should be allocated on a competitive basis. This amendment has been cleared on both sides and the version I have submitted to the desk is a modification of the original amendment No. 90. I urge its adoption.

Mr. STEVENS. I send that modification to the desk.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to consider a technical modification to amendment number 90.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider that vote on both amendments and ask that the motion be laid on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 90 (Purpose: To provide funding for the Partners in Wildlife Program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to pay private landowners for the voluntary use of private land to store water in restored wetlands)

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, the first-degree amendment by Senators Johnson and Daschle would provide $10 million of funds provided in this act for the flood control and coastal emergencies and would be used for channel restoration and improvements on the James River. My second-degree amendment inserts the requirement that the $10 million be provided only if the Secretary of the Army determines that the need for channel restoration and improvement constitutes an emergency. I urge adoption of the amendments.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. STEVENS. Will the Senator yield right there?

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I have another amendment which I shall send to the desk. It authorizes the EPA to make grants from funds previously appropriated for an EPA lab in Bay City, MI, all but 11 of which were rescinded in 1995, to the city of Bay City for environmental remediation after all claims are settled from the funds that are available. Mr. President, I send the amendment to the desk.

Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider and I move the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, those were amendments that were previously filed in the 110 that were filed for cloture. We have cleared those. We will clear amendments as they are brought to us if they are technical in nature, but those should be deleted from the amendments eligible for consideration after cloture. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I stated before that if we did not have a substantive amendment before the Senate before 5 o'clock, we would go into a period for morning business. After consultation with the leader, I announce that we will go into a period of morning business in just a few minutes. It will be the intention of the leadership to have a cloture vote at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. We will proceed to see how we can move forward with this bill at that time. It will be the policy of the leadership, and I support this policy, to not wait any longer for these amendments. There are too many side conferences going on, Mr. President, and there is no reason to wait all night for the possibility that we may have an amendment cleared for action this evening.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period for the transaction of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes each.

Mr. STEVENS

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

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, the leader will determine at a later time today the actual time of convening tomorrow. But I am reminded that Members should have their second-degree amendments, to the amendments that have already been filed, filed before the 9:30 a.m. vote tomorrow. I announce on behalf of the leadership, there will be no further votes today.