[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S8679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CLOTURE MOTION

  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, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on Executive 
     Calendar No. 174, the nomination of Dr. Henry Foster, to be 
     Surgeon General of the United States.
         Senators Christopher Dodd, Carl Levin, Dianne Feinstein, 
           James Exon, Harry Reid, Daniel K. Akaka, Claiborne 
           Pell, Richard Bryan, Patty Murray, Bob Graham, Max 
           Baucus, Frank R. Lautenberg, Russell D. Feingold, 
           Barbara Mikulski, Barbara Boxer, Edward Kennedy, and 
           Tom Daschle.

  (Later, the following occurred:)
  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Moseley-Braun be added to the cloture motion filed with regard to the 
nomination of Dr. Foster.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (Conclusion of earlier proceedings.)
  Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, Senator Daschle, the 
Democratic leader. Let me indicate, as I said before, I did meet with 
Dr. Foster yesterday morning in my Hart office. We had a good 
discussion. I asked him a series of questions. I indicated to him that 
there would be possibly two votes, a cloture vote, which he understood 
would be, in effect to vote on the nomination, and if cloture was 
invoked, there could be a second vote, which would be a vote on the 
nomination itself. I tried to lay it out as best I could to Dr. Foster.
  In addition, I must say, as is the case sometimes, different plans to 
proceed sometimes do not please everyone. This is not the process some 
of my colleagues would prefer. Some would prefer not to bring it up at 
all; that I, in effect, as the leader had a veto and should not bring 
this up. I thought about that and indicated at one time that might be 
the course I would follow, but I also had other options to consider, 
and this is another option.
  If cloture should be invoked, then there will be the debate. I do not 
think it will consume 30 hours and I guess the vote, if it went that 
far, would be very, very close, based on my count. Whether or not there 
will be votes for cloture, I am not certain. I do not think so, but 
there may be.
  We will put all this information in the Record tomorrow. There had 
been a number of nominations for the Bush administration which never 
got to the floor. They were in the committee and held in the committee 
and never got to the floor. We can have that debate, too.
  The important thing is the Foster nomination was reported out of the 
Labor Committee in late May, and we had a week's recess. Nobody is 
suggesting, and I think the record is fairly clear, there has been no 
undue delay. We are trying to dispose of the nomination one way or the 
other. I think that is acknowledged, though some might suggest we 
should not be proceeding in this fashion. But that is a judgment that I 
made and I hope that we can conclude--in fact, I hope cloture is not 
invoked and that this nomination then would go back on the calendar 
after a vote on Thursday.


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