[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 149 (Friday, September 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14125-S14127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. JEFFORDS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.


                           Amendment No. 2770

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I understand the desires of the Senator 
from North Dakota, and this obviously is a very important amendment. 
However, we are dealing with the appropriations bill for the District 
of Columbia. It is my intention--after a brief period of time for the 
leader to debate--to move to table the Senator's amendment.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President we have already discussed the amendment. I 
wonder if we need anymore time. It has been explained two or three 
times by the Senator from North Dakota. If we can just have 1 minute on 
this side to explain our side, that would be sufficient. He has had 15 
or 20 minutes. I do not see any reason for additional debate. A lot of 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle had hoped we might be finished 
with this bill and the other conference report by 12:30.
  If the Senator from North Dakota could accommodate that, we will be 
prepared to table the amendment immediately.
  Mr. DORGAN. I say to the majority leader that I have not had 10 or 15 
minutes to debate this, but 5 minutes under morning business.
  I have no intention of delaying. If the Senator wants to proceed and 
there will be a tabling motion, I accept that. I appreciate that. 

[[Page S 14126]]

  I will ask for a couple more minutes, and if a colleague shows up who 
wants to speak, I hope we can accommodate a colleague, but I do not 
intend to string this out.
  If your intention is to table this, we can move ahead quickly, but I 
want a couple of additional minutes to talk about the amendment.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator 
from North Dakota be allowed to debate his amendment for an additional 
4 minutes, and that the majority leader be given 1 minute, and after 
that I will move to table the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays 
on the motion.
  Mr. DORGAN. Reserving the right to object, without a second-degree?
  Mr. DOLE. No second-degree.
  Mr. DORGAN. I have no objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from North Dakota is recognized for 4 minutes.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, as I indicated to the majority leader, it 
is not my intention to delay this piece of legislation. It is my 
intention to try in whatever way I can before next week's markup begins 
in the Senate Finance Committee to have the Senate express itself on 
the issue of priorities.
  Now, we will have, I am sure, a raucous debate around here for weeks 
on the issue of Medicare. I will not revisit that entire debate today.
  The issue of Medicare is not unimportant. It is not just politics. It 
is about priorities. I imagine that those who will stand up on this 
amendment ultimately will say this is just politics, nothing but pure 
politics.
  That is not what this is. It is about priorities and what is 
important. I happen to think that the Medicare Program is critically 
important. The $270 billion proposed to be cut from the baseline of 
Medicare is the $270 billion that is anticipated to be needed for the 
increasing cost of health care and for the number of new senior 
citizens becoming eligible in the 7-year period for the Medicare 
Program.
  We have 200,000 new Americans becoming eligible for Medicare every 
month. A lot of people hear that and say that cannot be right. It is 
right. America is graying. Mr. President, 200,000 new people every 
single month become eligible for Medicare.
  It does cost a lot. We ought to make changes. We ought to make sure 
it is fiscally solvent. We ought not under any condition in my judgment 
decide that we ought to cut Medicare so that we can accommodate a tax 
cut for the most affluent in this country.
  People say, tax cut for the affluent? We are not proposing a tax cut 
for the affluent. Fifty percent of the tax cut, the one done in the 
House, goes to families making over $100,000 a year.
  The priority side of this is to say we ought not do that. I am saying 
limit the tax cut, if there is one, to those with incomes of under 
$100,000, and to the extent that that limitation saves us some money, 
then use that money to reduce the needed cut in Medicare.
  It is simple priorities. We have a series of charts, and a number of 
other people wanted to speak. I accept the notion it is not an easy job 
for the majority leader to run this place. I am not sure I would want 
that job. I guess I would want the majority title these days, as being 
in the minority is not easy.
  It is one of the reasons we have to, from time to time, find a way on 
the floor of the Senate to make a point about priorities. We feel 
obligated to do that. The failure to do that means that we are not 
doing what the loyal opposition should and must do to represent their 
interests.
  In the spirit of cooperation, I have no intention of holding up this 
bill. I appreciate the willingness of the majority leader to give us an 
opportunity to vote on this motion without a second degree.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DOLE. I thank the Senator from North Dakota. I do not have a 
quarrel with the Senator offering an amendment. That is how it works 
around here. I am certain we have done the same when we wanted to make 
a point when we were in the minority.
  We have a provision in the budget that about 90 percent of any tax 
benefit would go to people making less than $100,000--in that range. I 
cannot remember the precise wording. So it seemed to me we pretty much 
are in compliance with what the Senator may suggest.
  Having said that, we also have a real problem with Medicare. We are 
trying to address that problem. We have been working, members of the 
Finance Committee and others. Three of the President's Cabinet members 
who are trustees of the Medicare trust fund agree that it will go broke 
by the year 2002 if we do not fix it.
  We are trying to preserve, strengthen, and protect Medicare. We 
believe we can do it without any serious impact on any beneficiary or 
any of the providers in the program.
  We believe we have a good program. We have just left a press 
conference where the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Roth, 
and others outlined precisely what the Republican Senate plan did with 
Medicare. We have not yet come to the tax cut portion.
  That tax cut will go to families with children. They do not make over 
$100,000. Many in my State are making $20,000, $25,000, or $30,000. 
They will get the benefit.
  For all the reasons I can think of--it does not belong to this bill, 
it is subject to a point of order, 60 votes if the tabling motion 
fails--I am pleased that the chairman of the committee will now move to 
table the amendment.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I move to table the Dorgan amendment No. 
2770, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. I announce that the Senator from Texas [Mr. Gramm], and the 
Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr. Santorum] are necessarily absent.
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Arkansas [Mr. Pryor] is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coverdell). Are there any other Senators 
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 54, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 460 Leg.]

                                YEAS--54

     Abraham
     Ashcroft
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brown
     Burns
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cohen
     Coverdell
     Craig
     D'Amato
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Faircloth
     Frist
     Gorton
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Hatfield
     Helms
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Jeffords
     Kassebaum
     Kempthorne
     Kyl
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Nickles
     Packwood
     Pressler
     Roth
     Shelby
     Simpson
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Warner

                                NAYS--43

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Bradley
     Breaux
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Byrd
     Conrad
     Daschle
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Exon
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Glenn
     Graham
     Harkin
     Heflin
     Hollings
     Inouye
     Johnston
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Murray
     Nunn
     Pell
     Reid
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Simon
     Wellstone

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Gramm
     Pryor
     Santorum
  So the motion to lay on the table the amendment (No. 2770) was agreed 
to.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which 
the motion was agreed to.
  Mr. FORD. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2769

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the yeas 
and nays be vitiated on amendment No. 2769.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I urge adoption of amendment No. 2769.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 2769) was agreed to.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, 
immediately following the vote on the legislative branch appropriations 
conference report, there be 4 minutes of debate 

[[Page S 14127]]
equally divided in the usual form, to be followed by a vote on the Byrd 
amendment No. 2768, as amended.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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