[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 26 (Thursday, March 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             CLOTURE MOTION

  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, and Members of the Senate, the Senate 
has now been considering this bill for 4 days. I was advised early this 
evening that it would be necessary to file a cloture motion to bring 
this bill to a conclusion. Stated in simple English: Our Republican 
colleagues have indicated that they will use their rights under the 
rules to filibuster this bill and prevent a vote from occurring on it. 
I regret that, but it is, of course, a decision which is available to 
any Senator or group of Senators.
  Having been so advised, I now have no alternative but to file a 
cloture motion in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the 
Senate.
  Accordingly, Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk and 
ask that it be stated.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the Modified 
     Committee Substitute to S. 4, the National Competitiveness 
     Act of 1993.
         Fritz Hollings, Jay Rockefeller, Tom Harkin, Wendell 
           Ford, George Mitchell, Dan Inouye, Richard H. Bryan, 
           Don Riegle, Paul Wellstone, Paul Simon, Barbara Boxer, 
           Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, J.J. Exon, Paul Sarbanes, 
           Russell D. Feingold, Pat Leahy.

  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, as I said, I regret very much the 
necessity of filing this cloture motion. I believe that this is a good 
and important bill, intended to encourage economic growth and job 
creation in our society. A similar bill, although smaller in scope, 
passed the Senate unanimously with little debate and no dissent 2 years 
ago. I regret that a filibuster is being brought against a bill of this 
type.
  I have filed the cloture motion as soon as possible after learning of 
the filibuster. Under the rules of the Senate, unless an agreement is 
reached to the contrary, this motion to end the filibuster will ripen 
for a vote on Saturday morning. It had not been my intention to have a 
Saturday session of the Senate, and I still hope that will not be 
necessary.
  Therefore, I do now request, and will request of my Republican 
colleagues, that an agreement be reached to permit a vote to occur on 
this cloture motion tomorrow; that is, instead of requiring Senators to 
return on Saturday for the purpose of voting on this motion to end the 
filibuster, that an agreement be reached which would permit that vote 
to occur tomorrow, Friday.
  That is especially appropriate since we will, by a prior agreement, 
be in session tomorrow. A vote on the so-called buyout bill is expected 
to occur at or about 10 o'clock a.m. tomorrow.
  It is my expectation and my understanding with the Republican leader 
that there will be other amendments to this bill offered and votes held 
on those amendments tomorrow. So Senators can and should expect a full 
day of debate and votes tomorrow. It would be far less inconvenient for 
Senators to be able to vote on the motion to end the filibuster 
tomorrow while in session and voting on other matters, without having 
to come back and vote on cloture on Saturday.
  Had I known that our Republican colleagues intended to filibuster 
this bill yesterday, I would then have filed a cloture motion yesterday 
and we could have, under the rules and in the normal course of events, 
had a cloture vote tomorrow. But I was not so informed until this 
evening and, therefore, of course, had no reason to file a cloture 
motion prior to this time.
  I think that it is a deeply regrettable state of events when a bill 
that is intended to promote economic growth and create jobs in America 
is the subject of a Senate filibuster. But I suppose that is the 
subject for another time and another discussion.
  I thank my colleagues, especially the distinguished manager of the 
bill, the chairman of the committee, for his persistence in pushing 
this bill. It is my intention and determination that we are going to 
continue on this bill until we get it passed.
  Mr. HOLLINGS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished majority 
leader and all Senators for their cooperation.
  There is no question, when you see an occasion of this kind, 
specifically 4 days and 4 nights with only two amendments really 
pertinent to the subject matter of the bill, and both aimed at gutting 
it, one said authorize and never appropriate, this one said just cut it 
in half.
  Other than those two amendments, dozens of other amendments, and all 
of the debate, 4 days and 4 nights, had to do with everything else 
except S. 4 and technology for a very good reason--because we reasoned 
this bill out, we worked it out on both sides.
  We unanimously report this bill out of the committee back in 1992 and 
again unanimously in 1993. We were waiting our turn, until there was a 
change of mind. However that change of mind will be described, I do not 
want to waste the time of the Senate.
  But it is a very, very disconcerting thing to work on matters of this 
kind, get unanimity, get bipartisanship, and we have dozens and dozens 
of letters from the various business, industry, technological groups, 
the universities, research consultants, and otherwise.
  No one has come in here of any group and said, ``We oppose this 
bill.'' So the real opposition is some political exercise on the other 
side of the aisle, which is very unfortunate. But when you see it that 
way, and you have to work it, and they will not even talk to the merit 
of the bill or anything else, I think that is a very good term, 
``monkeyshines.'' That is about as polite as you can get under serious 
conversation here, when you see some of the activity that has been 
going on.
  So I thank the distinguished majority leader and our staffs, who have 
been working hard on both sides of the aisle, very, very much.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

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