[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S16979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CUBAN LIBERTY AND DEMOCRATIC SOLIDARITY [LIBERTAD] ACT OF 1995

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the message from the 
House.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I thank the Chair. Let me return to the 
subject matter that is the pending business of the Senate, but let me 
also state here in response to the distinguished majority leader, it 
was our intention that this process do move forward, but also it is our 
strong feeling this CR ought to be as clean as possible.
  There is a place and time to negotiate the budget proposals for 7 
years, but we do not believe it ought to be part of a continuing 
resolution and that extraneous matter included in the CR is really a 
back-door attempt to achieve through this process efforts which should 
properly be the subject of negotiations as part of the long-term budget 
commitments of this country.
  So the CR ought to be as clean as possible. As I mentioned earlier, 
we have only dealt with 4 appropriations bills in the last number of 
months out of 13 that should come before this body. I think we might 
better spend our time in dealing with those appropriations bills, get 
the job done, and then the need for a CR--of course, it becomes 
unnecessary.
  In any event, Mr. President, I am aware our colleague from 
Massachusetts will be coming to the floor shortly to talk specifically 
about some of the Medicare proposals.
  Allow me to just wrap up my own comments about the matter that is 
presently before us, and that is the message to the House on the 
appointment of conferees dealing with the so-called Cuban bill.
  I am somewhat mystified as to why this particular bill has such a 
high priority that we are willing to move almost everything else out of 
the way to consider it. There is no sense of urgency about it 
whatsoever. We are moving this bill out of the Foreign Relations 
Committee while simultaneously holding up nominees to be Ambassadors 
and critically important treaties that ought to come before this.
  Frankly, when you consider a sense of urgency, not to have United 
States representation in the People's Republic of China, Pakistan, 
Indonesia, seems to be an issue that ought to be dealt with 
immediately, rather than putting that on a back burner and dealing with 
this bill, which most people think will have absolutely no effect 
whatsoever on the Government in Cuba. It will complicate our 
relationships with Russia, with the New Independent States, and others, 
given the fact that we link our aid to those nations and our arms 
control efforts based on whether or not they provide any assistance to 
Cuba. That ought not be the way we deal with the fragile democracies in 
Russia and in the New Independent States.

  So, for those reasons, I feel it is worthwhile to focus some 
attention on this and to try to bring the attention of the U.S. Senate 
back to a discussion of what ought to be the subject matter for debate 
and discussion today, and that is the priorities of our overall budget 
for this country and why it is we cannot seem to get a clean debt 
ceiling extension in a CR that is devoid of extraneous matter, and then 
get to the business of negotiating on the budget over the next 7 years 
but not tying up those two matters with matters that have no business 
being there at all.
  With that, I ask the Chair to tell me what the pending business of 
the Senate is.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The present order of business is to recognize 
the Senator from Massachusetts for pending business. And at that point 
we are going to resume H.R. 2491.
  The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
  Mr. DODD. I gather the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy], may 
be a bit delayed. He should be here momentarily.
  With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WELLSTONE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from 
Minnesota.


                         Privilege of the Floor

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Maimon 
Cohen, who is a fellow working with me, be allowed to be on the floor 
for the duration of the debate on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

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