[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 200 (Friday, December 15, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18678-S18679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, before I speak on my frustrations with the 
War Powers Act and relate some of the most recent debate on Bosnia and 
most recent deployment of American military forces, I would like to say 
there was an article in the Washington Times this morning in effect 
saying I had declared all-out war in an effort to lobby Senators to 
defeat the Defense authorization conference report.
  Mr. President, just for clarification, I will vote against the 
conference report. I worked very hard with Senator Thurmond and with 
other members of the committee to get a bill that would not only be 
something that I could support but also, more importantly, that the 
President would sign. I am afraid we do not have that kind of product 
coming in the conference report. But I have informed the Democratic 
Cloakroom and the Democratic leadership that I wish to cooperate fully 
with Senator Thurmond in getting this conference report before the 
Senate. I certainly will do everything I can to get a time agreement 
for a reasonable period for debate where people can express their views 
both ways, for and against this bill. I will do everything I can to 
persuade other Senators not to have extended debate. I have no intent 
of trying to keep this bill from going to the President for his final 
decision, whether he signs it or whether he does not sign it.
  This article also said I was busy laying some kind of strategy to 
defeat the bill and lobbying Republican Senators and that I was trying 
to get out in front of Chairman Thurmond and defeat this bill.
  Mr. President, I have not asked a single Senator to vote against this 
bill. I do not intend to lobby against the bill. I intend to state my 
views as to why I cannot support the bill. The conference report speaks 
for itself. There are some people who will be for it, some opposed to 
it. This article is right out of the whole cloth. I do not know how 
reporters are able to make these kinds of reports to the public without 
any check whatsoever with the people they are purporting to report on, 
in this case me.
  It is true that I said I would vote against the bill. It is true that 
I laid out some of the reasons in a press release. It is not true that 
I am trying to impede the bill and its progress. It is not true that I 
am launching any kind of all-out effort to defeat the bill. It is my 
view that the bill will pass.
  It will have, I think, majority support. It will have support from 
people, I am sure, from both sides of the aisle. So, I wanted to 
clarify my view on this. 

[[Page S18679]]
 I will vote against the bill. But if I wanted to defeat this 
conference report, if I felt that was the appropriate route--and I do 
not--I would certainly be engaged in extensive debate, thereby 
requiring 60 votes to pass it rather than 50. I do not intend to do 
that. If there is any kind of effort for extensive debate, it will not 
only be without my cooperation but it would be against my own advice 
and something being done by individual Senators.
  So, I hope that whoever is spreading that message or making that 
report or seeing that article also will take into account the remarks I 
have made here on the floor, which happen to be factual and true.

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