[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 39 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S3318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
  I am a supporter of this amendment. I voted for the amendment, and I 
will vote for it again if it comes up in a similar form that it came up 
now.
  But I have a parliamentary inquiry. When the majority leader changed 
his vote from ``yes'' to ``no'' and did not make the motion to 
reconsider, is it within the province of the majority leader at any 
time at any place as long as the Senate is in session to move without 
debate to the motion to reconsider?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, it is.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, may I have another 60 seconds?
  Mr. DASCHLE. I yield the Senator an additional 60 seconds.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I am for this amendment. There has been a 
little bit of blood that has been spilled on the floor here in the last 
couple of days, especially when the unanimous consent to vote at a 
certain time was obviated by our being pushed into a recess, a 
legitimate parliamentary move, but one that sort of violated the spirit 
of what everyone thought was going to happen.
  I hope and I plead with the majority leader that when he moves to 
reconsider--and I will be with him; I will be for this under the 
following circumstance: as long as we all know it is going to be done 
and everyone is here. If the majority leader called for a motion to 
reconsider knowing that there were absences that would affect the 
outcome of this vote, I would, on a matter of procedure, change my vote 
to prevent that happening. I do not think that is the majority leader's 
intention, but I do not want to mislead anybody. I think this is so 
important that this has to be dealt with straight up, with all 100 
Senators, unless they are ill, in the hospital and cannot make it, that 
every consideration should be given to every Senator to be able to 
vote.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.

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