John Warner

Mr. WARNER

Mr. WARNER. I am not objecting to that. I recognize you Senators have commitments. There are colleagues on this side who have commitments. We are trying to balance that and recognize that the proponents of the amendment should have an opportunity to lay it down. It so happens that there are four cosponsors.

Mr. WARNER. That is a substantial departure from the manner in which we have managed this bill thus far. I really think that this is most unusual. We have no time agreement. We have an open-ended amendment. We have four sponsors. We have colleagues that have commitments tonight. I really believe at some point----

Mr. WARNER. Fine. That is quite agreeable to me, take 30 minutes to present the amendment. Then we will on this side have an equal amount of time.

Mr. WARNER. So an hour and 20 minutes on this side to initiate the amendment. I will concede that we will do that. But it seems to me somewhat a departure from the way we normally manage things. Then it comes to this side for, let's say, an hour's debate.

Mr. WARNER. Yes.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I would be happy to say, when the time comes to this side, he can initiate on our time his remarks.

Mr. WARNER. Senator Lieberman. I didn't hear Senator Byrd mentioned. Let's hear from our senior colleague as to what his desires are.

Mr. WARNER. I would be happy to do that at the conclusion of 1 hour and 20 minutes, that our side be recognized for a period of, let's say, 30 minutes, of which the first 10 will be given to Senator Lieberman.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry: To inform both the senior Senator from West Virginia, myself, and others, what is the order before the Senate at this time? My understanding is the Kerry- Feingold amendment with an unlimited amount of time on it and there is no provision for other amendments at this time; is that correct?

Mr. WARNER. I say to my good friend, the order has been in for some 24 hours by which this is the amendment. The time allocation is under the control of the two managers. We will work that out momentarily, hopefully on an equitable basis. I do not at this point in time see the opportunity for the introduction of your amendment, I say with due respect, until such time as the debate on the Kerry-Feingold amendment is concluded.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I would be more than happy to accommodate my distinguished friend and leader. I simply say that unless we amend the order at this point, I do not see that opportunity. I will be glad to put in a quorum in hopes that we can resolve not only the time allocation on this side but how we could accommodate our distinguished colleague from West Virginia.

Mr. WARNER. That is a very reasonable request. I now ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Vermont and the Senator from Illinois be----

Mr. WARNER. That the Senator from Vermont and the Senator from Illinois be recognized at this time seriatim for 10 minutes each, during which time we are going to try to negotiate the time allowance. Then at the end of that 20 minutes, we resume under the standing order of the Senate and the Kerry amendment goes back.

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

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank all for their cooperation. I think we have reached a reconciliation of the needs and requirements of all for a period of time. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Kerry be recognized now to offer his amendment and, provided further, that he then be allocated 30 minutes to speak; further, that there be debate only as follows; provided further, that that be followed by up to 30 minutes under the control of the chairman, Senator Warner, to be followed by up to 30 minutes under the control of Senator Boxer, to be followed by 20 minutes under the control of Senator Byrd; provided further, that there now be a period of 10 minutes under the control of Senator Lieberman; thereafter, provided further, that there be 30 minutes under the control of Chairman Warner, to be followed by Senator Feingold, to be followed by Senator Warner.

Mr. WARNER. I thank my colleague from Massachusetts. We all try to work within the framework of the unanimous consent. At this point in time, the Senator from Virginia, myself, has the time between 6:35 and 7:05, a period of 30 minutes. I would like to now offer the first 15 minutes to the Senator from Connecticut and retrieve a period of time he had from 7:55 to 8:05 to be added to my time which commences at 8:05.

Mr. WARNER. Then, following the Senator from Connecticut, the Senator from Pennsylvania would be recognized for the remainder of my time in this time slot, Mr. Santorum. That would be followed, I inform other Senators, by Senator Boxer, from roughly 7:05 to 7:35, and then the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia, 7:35 to 7:55.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I will say to my good friend and colleague--and my remarks are not predicated on the fact in all likelihood that he will cast a vote which will be supportive of the views that this Senator and others on this side of the aisle have stated, but I say out of the long time that we have worked together to those Senators who may not remember it that I was tasked to draw up the first resolution in the Gulf War when George Bush, Sr., was President. The Senator from Connecticut stepped up and joined me. It was known as the Warner-Lieberman amendment at that time. Subsequently, when the second resolution was to be drawn up, I again was joined by Senator Lieberman, Senator McCain, and Senator Bayh. The four of us drew that one up. He has been on the Senate Armed Services Committee these many years that he has served in the Senate, and he has shown tremendous leadership. And each day he grows in stature as a statesman and his stature as a knowledgeable person regarding the security interests of this country. As they exist today and in the future--when I say ``in the future,'' for our children and grandchildren--they acknowledge their appreciation to the Senator from Connecticut for his wisdom. The remainder of time under my control I yield to the Senator from Pennsylvania.

Mr. WARNER. I yield back the remaining 2 minutes I have under my control. The order provides for 30 minutes for the distinguished Senator from California, to be followed by 20 minutes from the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I express my appreciation to the Senator from Georgia. He is a very valued member of the Armed Services Committee, as is Senator Thune, who spoke earlier, as was Senator Sessions. I think we have had a good debate. We are prepared to continue that debate as long as it is desired. We are here to stay. We feel very strongly about these issues, you know. I do not want to invade the time of my good friend. I yield the floor at this time, and I will follow him.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, if that is with no objection, the next 30 minutes is under the Senator's control.

Mr. WARNER. That is correct.

Mr. WARNER. I hope we have a rotation.

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, before the Senator closes, I would like to say a word or two with him.

Mr. WARNER. You finish your closing and I will wait.