[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S2256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                BASEBALL

  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I will just take a second. I need to 
testify on another matter, but I want to say a word about baseball.
  Mr. BRADLEY. Baseball?
  Mr. DOLE. Not basketball, baseball. I note the distinguished Senator 
from New Jersey.
  Mr. BRADLEY. Madam President, will the majority leader yield? He said 
he wanted to make a statement about baseball?
  Mr. DOLE. Baseball.
  Mr. BRADLEY. Not basketball.
  Mr. DOLE. I would be happy to make a statement about basketball, 
football, hockey----
  Mr. BRADLEY. The national sport.
  Mr. DOLE. I thank my colleague from New Jersey, one of the great 
players of all time.
  Madam President, for nearly 6 months now, baseball fans all across 
America have patiently stood by watching the transformation of our 
Nation's pastime into a crass tug-of-war over money.
  Multimillion-dollar players and multimillion-dollar owners have 
argued, haggled, argued some more, and ultimately deprived the American 
people of one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory.
  After 179 days of confrontation, the players and the owners must now 
put aside their differences and find common ground. Not tomorrow. Not 2 
weeks from now. But today: Tuesday, February 7. There is simply no more 
sand left in the negotiating hourglass. The integrity of the 
institution of baseball is far more important than anyone's bottom 
line.
  With that said, let me be crystal clear on one important point: 
Neither party--player nor owner--should be looking to Congress for any 
magic solutions. The magic solution can only be found at the bargaining 
table.
  If, for some reason, the players and owners cannot reach an agreement 
today, then they should do the next best thing--which is to voluntarily 
accept whatever settlement special mediator Bill Usery may propose. If 
it is good enough for Bill Usery, I am confident it is good enough for 
baseball.
  Here is a man who has had long experience, he has worked tirelessly 
on this matter as he has done successfully in many other areas. He said 
this is the toughest he has ever negotiated.
  But I would just say again, today is the day. We do not have any 
magic wand up here. Congress cannot solve these things if they cannot 
be solved in negotiations. So if everything else fails, my advice would 
be, before 3 p.m. today, they accept the efforts of the negotiator, 
Bill Usery.
  I thank my colleagues and I yield the floor.
  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I appreciate the remarks of our 
distinguished majority leader. I hope his remarks are taken very 
seriously by all concerned. We need to resolve this matter very much.


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