[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 14, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           PROGRAM FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1994, AT 2 P.M.

  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, for the information of Members of the 
Senate, the Senate will return to executive session on Monday at 3 p.m. 
to consider the Mauz nomination.
  As a result of the events of today, three separate issues have become 
entwined in a single measure before the Senate. Each is important in 
its own right. First is the issue of United States policy toward Haiti. 
That is obviously an important issue, and that issue must be debated 
and resolved by the Senate.
  The second is the issue of the procedure by which the amendments 
regarding Haiti were placed upon a nomination which was before the 
Senate. I have been advised that the procedure utilized for that 
purpose is unprecedented in the Senate's history and is not a proper 
procedure. This is also an issue of importance to the Senate, because 
acceptance of this procedure would result in a drastic change in the 
methods of operation of the Senate and have serious consequences for 
those operations in the future. That issue must be thoroughly debated 
and resolved, especially since it is not limited to the particular 
subject matter now before the Senate but rather would, if accepted, be 
applicable to any future nomination and any subject matter.
  The third issue is the nomination of Admiral Mauz which, while not as 
significant nationally as the policy toward Haiti, not as significant 
to the institution of the Senate as the question of the proper 
procedure to be used in presenting matters to the Senate, nonetheless 
is significant certainly to the Admiral himself and his family, and to 
all those concerned in the matter which has led to the controversy over 
the nomination, as well as to the Navy and all members of the military 
themselves.
  It will be important for the Senate to resolve each of those issues, 
and I hope that we will be able to do so early next week. My intention 
is to proceed with respect to them and to permit full debate in the 
Senate in a manner that will enable each Senator to make the best 
possible judgment on each of the three issues.
  We will, between now and next Monday, have the opportunity to discuss 
with our colleagues, and as is my usual practice, with the 
distinguished Republican leader, the best procedure for processing 
these matters before the Senate. But those will be the subjects that we 
will take up when we return in session on next Monday.
  As I stated earlier today, and publicly many weeks ago, the Senate 
will not be in session tomorrow or Friday in observance of religious 
holidays, a practice which the Senate has followed for many years, and 
one in which I know all of my colleagues concur.
  Mr. President, on the question of whether or not there will be 
rollcall votes on Monday, I am not able to make an announcement at this 
time.
  That will depend, in part, upon the discussions which I have with the 
distinguished Republican leader and our other colleagues.
  It has been my practice not to make scheduling decisions until I have 
given the Republican leader and all of our colleagues the fullest 
opportunity to express their preferences to me.
  It is not possible this evening, because our colleagues are not 
present, to have that kind of input. So I am not in a position to make 
any statement on that now.
  So, until such time as Senators are notified, they will have to 
assume that votes are possible. We will not be able to make a decision 
on that, as I said, until such time as others have an opportunity to 
make their recommendation to me, but we do hope to have a decision on 
that as soon as possible.

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