[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 18 (Friday, February 25, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the joint resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. REID. Parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, it is my understanding--I apologize to my 
friend from Oregon--that Senator Byrd controls 1 hour and 11 minutes; 
Senator Craig, 1 hour and 30 minutes; Senator Reid, 1 hour and 49 
minutes; Senator Simon, 1 hour and 39 minutes; is that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. REID. All four of us are on the floor, and I wonder if we could, 
because there are a number of Senators under respective times waiting 
to come sometime during the day, I am wondering if we could, among 
ourselves, work out blocks of time so we can tell those who want to 
speak when they can come rather than waiting around in quorum calls. 
Would that be convenient for everyone?
  Mr. BYRD. Let me respond to the Senator. I am not prepared just now 
to speak on the budget balancing amendment. I will tell you why. At 
least 2 nights this week I had less than 3 hours of sleep. I have been 
spending my time studying for the floor debate. I was up last night. I 
was prepared to come to the floor this morning and meet with a 
gentleman to discuss, what? To discuss the balanced budget amendment. 
This is a constitutional scholar I wanted to meet with. I have not met 
with him. I spent the entire day up until 12:30 since I came to my 
office on this tawdry matter. That is why I am not prepared.
  I would suggest the other Senators go ahead and let their colleagues 
speak and use their time, and I will catch mine toward the end of the 
day or during the afternoon at some point.
  Mr. REID. All of us, the three other managers would be, of course, 
willing to work around your schedule. So you just let us know. We will 
go ahead and work out the time among ourselves.
  Mr. BYRD. I thank the Senator.
  Mr. REID. Why does not Senator Packwood go ahead on Senator Craig's 
time, and while he is doing that, we will try to work something out.
  Mr. CRAIG. Madam President, before I yield 20 minutes to the Senator 
from Oregon, let me say in relation to the comments of the Senator from 
West Virginia a moment ago, that as we debate the Constitution, one 
thing that is profound in it that we all understand very well, these 
are unique privileges that our Founding Fathers outlined and enshrined 
for all citizens. But one thing our Founding Fathers were so clear in 
stating as they enshrined those rights is that along with those rights 
come responsibility. It appears this morning that the latter, the 
responsibility of the right, was not adhered to.
  I now yield to the Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. PACKWOOD. Madam President, in addition to the 20 minutes--and I 
have spoken to the chairman of the Appropriations Committee--I would 
like to ask unanimous consent to proceed for 10 minutes on the same 
subject he was talking about in relation to the experiences I also had 
recently.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I have no objection to the Senator from 
Oregon proceeding, but I want everyone to know, the other Senators 
listening that there will be no more unanimous consent agreements 
relating to morning business. We have to get on with the balanced 
budget amendment, and if people want to come and talk--I have no 
problem at all, as I indicated, with the chairman and the ranking 
member of the Finance Committee--but in the hours to come, we want to 
get the balanced budget amendment out of the way, and if Senators have 
other subjects to speak on, they can do it at the end of the day. From 
this Senator, there will be no more unanimous-consent agreements.

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