[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              AUTHORIZATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF RECORDS

  Mr. MITCHELL. On behalf of myself and the Republican leader, I send a 
resolution to the desk authorizing the production of a closed-session 
transcript.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration; that the resolution be deemed agreed to; that the 
preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider laid upon the table, 
and that a statement by myself explaining the resolution be placed in 
the Record at the appropriate location.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  So the resolution (S. Res. 187) was deemed agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                              S. Res. 187

       Whereas, the United States District Court for the Eastern 
     District of Pennsylvania has requested, through the United 
     States Attorney, that the Select Committee on Intelligence 
     make available to the Court for in camera inspection a 
     transcript of testimony received by the Committee in closed 
     session, to determine the relevance of the transcript to the 
     case of United States v. Robert Clyde Ivy, Cr. No. 91-602-04, 
     pending in that court;
       Whereas, by the privileges of the Senate of the United 
     States and Rule XI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, no 
     evidence under the control or in the possession of the Senate 
     can, by administrative or judicial process, be taken from 
     such control or possession but by permission of the Senate;
       Whereas, when it appears that documents, papers, and 
     records under the control or in the possession of the Senate 
     may promote the administration of justice, the Senate will 
     take such action as will promote the ends of justice 
     consistently with the privileges of the Senate: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Select 
     Committee on Intelligence, acting jointly, are authorized to 
     provide to the U.S. District Court for the eastern district 
     of Pennsylvania, in accordance with appropriate security 
     procedures, the closed session transcript which the court has 
     requested.

  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam President, the U.S. District Court for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania has requested, through the U.S. 
attorney, for in camera review by the court, a copy of a transcript of 
testimony received by the Select Committee on Intelligence in closed 
session. The court has requested this document to determine whether it 
is relevant to issues in the trial of the case of United States versus 
Robert Clyde Ivy, pending in that court, in which the Government is 
alleging that the defendant violated the Arms Export Control Act, and 
committed other related offenses.
  In accordance with the Senate's practice to make its records 
available to the courts when consistent with the interests of justice, 
this resolution would authorize the chairman and vice chairman of the 
Select Committee on Intelligence, acting jointly, to furnish a copy of 
this hearing transcript to the court, under appropriate security 
procedures.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam President, we have now been on this important 
bill for 2 days. Progress has been slow, as is so often the case in the 
Senate when we start on a major bill. The chairman has been diligent in 
pursuing this bill, and I want to state now--and I ask the staff of 
each side to communicate this to their Members so that there can be no 
misunderstanding--Senators should expect a late session tomorrow and a 
late session on Thursday and a session all day Friday if we are going 
to complete action on this bill.
  I have tried to be and have been accommodating to a very large number 
of Senators with respect to the Senate schedule. Last week, for 
example, we had no votes on Thursday or Friday, as I responded happily 
to a Republican request that there be no votes on that day. We had no 
votes on this Monday, by a prior scheduling arrangement.
  I am perfectly willing to be accommodating to Senators, but that 
accommodation cannot come at the expense of not conducting our 
important public business. So I just want to say to Senators that we 
are going to be here tomorrow. We will have votes into the evening, and 
we are going to be here Thursday, late perhaps, if necessary, and if we 
have not finished this bill by then, all day Friday and through the 
day.
  I thank my colleagues for their cooperation, and I know the chairman 
will be pursuing this matter very vigorously tomorrow.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Madam President, if the distinguished majority leader 
will yield, I want to thank him for keeping our feet to the fire.
  Actually, this bill was passed not in 2 days, but in 2 minutes just 2 
years ago, and last year reported unanimously out of the committee, 
Republicans and Democrats all agreeing to it.
  What we are seeing are many extraneous matters coming, not germane in 
anywise to the subject at hand.
  I think maybe as to the pending amendment by the distinguished 
Senator from Kansas, we may have gained some progress with respect to 
that particular amendment. I hesitate saying so affirmatively here now. 
But, in the morning as soon as we are ready to go, setting the 
discipline is just exactly what this chairman wants, because this is an 
important bill. So we are ready to go all day tomorrow, late tomorrow 
night, and late on Thursday and Friday, right on through, because that 
is the only way we are going to get something done.
  My counterpart on the other side of the aisle with his eloquence was 
just on that score: ``Get something done.''
  So the majority leader is setting the discipline, and I appreciate 
him doing that very much because it appears that is going to have to be 
done if we are going to really pass a bill that everyone agrees to. We 
have worked this out even on the House side, and everything of that 
kind. The President has been awaiting the bill.
  It is a very important initiative with respect not just to 
competitiveness, not just to technology, not just to the 
commercialization of that technology, but then launching the 
superhighway on information that the Vice President has been so vitally 
interested in.
  I thank the majority leader.

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