John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, in the spirit of fairness, I am going to read, once again, the Warner amendment, which says: ``The Secretary of Energy may not commence the engineering development phase''--that is the phase blocked--``or any subsequent phase, of a low-yield nuclear weapon unless specifically authorized by Congress.'' Where in the old statute is there any phrase as clear as the one in the Warner amendment which says: Mr. Secretary, you cannot do anything until you are authorized by the Congress?

Mr. WARNER. What is the balance of time remaining?

Mr. WARNER. Let me provide it to you.

Mr. WARNER. Yes.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be laid aside with due diligence and good faith to see what might be added. I will come back to the 2,000 pages.

Mr. WARNER. Fine.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I think this colloquy undoubtedly is being followed by a number of colleagues. I already now have petitions by several on my side of the aisle seeking to ask whether we can go ahead and take this up even though the Parliamentarian has indicated to those Senators in a formal and appropriate way that it is acting within the description of their job function here to say the amendment fails the test. Again, I do not intend to sit here in judgment and overrule the Parliamentarian. But the Senator is perfectly willing under the rules of the Senate to seek to do that.

Mr. WARNER. Fine. I will repeat the question.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I would not agree with that.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, the distinguished ranking member and myself at the time, with the leadership, had no specific subject or amendment in mind. We simply recognized the magnitude of this bill, some $400 billion, covering many subjects; in years past we have been on the floor, I can remember in my 25 years, 2 weeks at a time. Given the urgency of this situation, the calendar before the Senate, we thought we could best serve the institution of the Senate by proposing the Parliamentarian the decisionmaking with reference to relevancy. We had nothing in mind, I assure the Senator.

Mr. WARNER. The time the Senator is recommending would be?

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I suggest maybe a revision in your commentary. It is not in this bill. You keep referring to ``it's in this bill.'' Some years ago this bill, by the authorization committee, did contain it. I happen to have been a drafter of it. But it became law. So it is in law today. But there is no provision, to my understanding, in this bill that relates to the generic subject of the BRAC.

Mr. WARNER. Madam President, the ranking member of the committee and myself are prepared this morning to entertain any amendments that colleagues wish to bring to the floor. I will be on the floor, and I am sure my colleague will outline a timetable for the amendments he knows of thus far on his side. On my side, there are no amendments that I know of right now. I do urge our colleagues to come forward. The distinguished majority leader and the Democratic leader have made possible these 2 days for us to work on this bill. I know my colleague from Michigan, the ranking member, and I are ready to move right along on it. At this time, I yield the floor, hopefully for the purpose of my colleague speaking to the amendments he knows of.

Mr. WARNER. I will consult with the majority leader. I will note a willingness on this side to voice-vote the Graham of South Carolina amendment.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 150, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that John Gumbleton, a military fellow in my office, as well as James Kadtke, a science technology fellow in my office, be granted the privilege of the floor during debate on S. 1050.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that William Buhrow, a legislative fellow in the office of Senator George Allen, be permitted the privilege of the floor during Senate consideration of S. 1050.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 21. I further ask that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then resume consideration of S. 1050, the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I understand that S. 1079 is at the desk and is due for a second reading.

Mr. WARNER. I ask that the Senate proceed to the measure and I object to further proceedings.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, tomorrow the Senate will resume debate on the Department of Defense authorization bill. Under the previous order, there will be 20 minutes remaining for debate in relation to the first- and second-degree amendments which are pending to the Defense bill. Following that debate, the Senate will vote in relation to the Warner second-degree amendment regarding low-yield nuclear weapons. Senators should, therefore, expect the first rollcall vote to occur at approximately 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Following the disposition of these amendments, additional amendments are expected, and, therefore, rollcall votes are expected throughout the day. It is still hoped that the Senate will be able to complete action on this bill tomorrow afternoon so that the Senate may vote on final passage of this important legislation at a reasonable time during Wednesday's session. I will simply add a postscript of my own, Mr. President. I will be in consultation with the ranking member of the committee and the leadership on both sides of the aisle to achieve some type of the usual procedure whereby amendments are made known to the managers at a specified time and, hopefully, in that way we can evaluate what remains to be done on the bill and expedite its final consideration by the Senate.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Absolutely.

Mr. WARNER. I think the Senator is correct.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.