John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague. When I regain the floor later I will talk about how long 527 has been around. The Senator from Connecticut sounds as if it has just come on the horizon. It has been around. I don't know why we are taking it up today when it has been around for some time. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I yield such time as my colleague from New Hampshire may require.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we normally rotate and I was prepared so to do. Does the Senator wish to speak? If not, I will ask my colleague from Kentucky some technical questions on my time. I yield myself such time as I need. There are several technical issues relating to this amendment. I say to colleagues, 527 has been on the books since 1975 and here we are dealing with it today: Organizations presently exempt from tax on exempt function income, which includes contributions for political purposes. The McCain amendment would lift this exemption for 527 organizations which do not provide certain information to the Secretary of the Treasury. Thus, a 527 organization which elects not to disclose would be taxed. So it is a revenue measure. There is no doubt about it. It would be taxed on previously exempt income, thus raising revenue. I do not know what more clear example can be made, how this thing will be blue- slipped by the House. The Senate is invading. I yield to the Senator from Kentucky.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, let's clarify this. The Senator is talking about the McCain amendment now?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, as my colleague knows full well, it will not have the force of law, but it is an expression by this body. I have consulted with the majority leader. He will address the issue. It is within his prerogative to determine at what time matters of this import are brought up. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania.

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

Mr. WARNER. I yield to the Senator from Pennsylvania.

Mr. WARNER. I yield 2 or 3 minutes to my distinguished colleague, the chairman of the Finance Committee.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, may we have the time allocation remaining between the proponents of the amendment and the Senator from Virginia.

Mr. WARNER. I thank the Chair.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague for the courtesies he has extended me. I said clearly, given the opportunity, I would vote with him. But this time I say to my old sailor friend, man your battle station, torpedoes are on the horizon headed for the port bow of the armed services annual authorization bill. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. WARNER. That is in order. I ask that the time consumed by the quorum call not be borne by the next amendment coming up.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank our two distinguished leaders. No matter how diligent the managers are--there is this question, particularly historically, on this bill that Senator Levin and I have worked on for some 22 years--only the leadership can come down and get that list of amendments. I thank them very much for that. We will now deal with that as expeditiously and as fairly as we can. I thank the Chair.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I wish to make a constitutional point of order. I raise a point of order that the pending McCain amendment violates the U.S. Constitution in that it is clearly a revenue-raising measure that is initiating in the Senate, not the House of Representatives, as provided for in our Constitution.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. WARNER. I move to reconsider the vote.

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

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, for the information of the Senate, I would like to pose a unanimous consent request with regard to the sequencing of speakers. We have the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts who has, under a previous order, 1 hour. I suggest he be the first and lead off this morning, followed by the distinguished Senator from Maine, the chair of the Senate Seapower Subcommittee, and that would be for a period of 30 minutes thereafter. Following that, the distinguished ranking member and I have some 30 cleared amendments which we will offer to the Senate following these two sets of remarks. Then Senator Smith; as soon as I can reach him, I will sequence him in. I just inform the Senate I will be seeking recognition to offer an amendment on behalf of Senator Dodd and myself, and I will acquaint the ranking member with the text of that amendment shortly. Just for the moment, the unanimous consent request is the Senator from Massachusetts, followed by the Senator from Maine followed by a period of time, probably not to exceed 30 minutes, for the ranking member and myself to deal with some 30-odd amendments.

Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor.

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. If those Senators will counsel with the managers, we are going to do everything we can to arrange for their recognition at a time mutually convenient. I see the distinguished junior Senator from Massachusetts on the floor. It may well be that we could proceed with that, but I shall defer to my colleague momentarily.

Mr. WARNER. I think there are other designations of time we should recite.

Mr. WARNER. I inquire further about the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. Robert Smith. I believe he has 30 minutes, and again that is an undesignated time?

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, again I wish to express my cooperation to the leadership of the Senate, most specifically my distinguished ranking member, Mr. Levin. We are making progress on this bill. I inquire first of the Chair with regard to time allocations. I believe, under the previous order, 1 hour has been reserved for the distinguished junior Senator from Massachusetts, to be assigned at some point today; is that not correct?

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank the Senator. We have that Warner- Dodd amendment on the Cuban commission at the desk. Had we remained on this bill, it would be my intention to ask that it be the pending issue. That is now moot.