[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S17008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DISCUSSIONS AT THE WHITE HOUSE

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we just completed our discussions down at 
the White House. And I think it was a very frank exchange. I must say 
that I had hoped we might be able to make more progress and come to 
some resolution to allow the Government to function in order tomorrow, 
but that is not going to be possible. We agreed to meet again tomorrow 
to continue our discussions and negotiations.
  I think it was a very candid exchange. We now have a better 
understanding where both sides are on many of these issues. But we are 
a long way from any resolution. I think the President made it very 
clear that Medicare was not something that we can agree to, under any 
circumstances, with regard to the continuing resolution. And I think 
the discussions had a good deal to do with the way with which we might 
achieve a balanced budget, the timeframe within which that budget could 
be achieved, hopefully some understanding about how we might begin 
serious negotiations in achieving a balanced budget by a date certain.
  So, I look forward to the negotiations tomorrow. I look forward to 
working with the majority leader to try to resolve the schedule for the 
balance of the week as we continue our work downtown. I yield the 
floor.
  Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. DOLE. I think the Democratic leader, Senator Daschle, accurately 
reflected the meeting. It was a frank discussion. I, too, regret we 
could not come to some agreement tonight so we could rush through a 1-
day or a 2-day CR, but I think it would not have been possible.
  The first meeting tomorrow will be with the chairmen and ranking 
members of the Budget Committees in the House and the Senate, with the 
Chief of Staff, Leon Panetta, and I think also Alice Rivlin, the Budget 
Director--I am not certain--Senator Exon and Senator Domenici on this 
side. And that will be followed, hopefully, by a meeting with the 
principals who were there this evening--myself and Senator Daschle on 
this side.
  Obviously, we have had these problems before with CR's and debt 
ceilings, and we have had the Government shut down for short periods in 
the past. I hope this will be a very short period. I am not an advocate 
of shutting down the Government. I just hope that by tomorrow afternoon 
or tomorrow evening, we will be able to say that we have reached some 
agreement and that we can pass a continuing resolution and maybe a debt 
ceiling. I am not certain we can do both tomorrow.
  I think it is fair to say we talked not only about the continuing 
resolution, we talked about the debt ceiling, we talked about 
reconciliation, some discussion of how we proceed, whether you go 
through a veto process first with reconciliation, whether you start 
negotiations now on the budget package.
  I think the President's concern primarily, and our concern, is 
keeping the Government going while we are negotiating some of these 
very important issues. Balanced budget is very important--very 
important--on this side of the aisle. I am sure it is important on the 
other side of the aisle. It is particularly important to many Members 
on the House side where it is very difficult--some of us have served in 
the House--to pass a debt ceiling and pass a continuing resolution, and 
there are some things added to it. I do not care if we have a 
Republican or Democrat in the White House and Republicans control the 
Congress or Democrats, continuing resolutions and debt ceilings have 
always been vehicles for extraneous amendments. That is how the famous 
Boland amendment was adopted on a continuing resolution or debt 
extension. We have had all 13 appropriations bills put on continuing 
resolutions. So it is not unprecedented.
  But notwithstanding, I still hope we can come together very quickly 
tomorrow, if possible, and be able to tell everybody in Government this 
will be a 1-day affair. It may not happen. But at least I think we made 
some progress this evening, and I thank Senator Daschle and the others 
who attended the meeting.

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