[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 21, 1996)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D505-D507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                              Tuesday, May 21, 1996

[[Page D505]]

                              Daily Digest

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S5397-S5460
Measures Introduced: Four bills and one resolution were introduced, as 
follows: S. 1785-1788, and S. Res. 255.
  Page S5443
Measures Passed:
  Honoring Admiral Jeremy M. Boorda: Senate agreed to S. Res. 255, to 
honor Admiral Jeremy M. ``Mike'' Boorda.
  Pages S5410-12
  Hate Crimes Statistics Act: Senate passed S. 1624, to reauthorize the 
Hate Crime Statistics Act.
  Pages S5458-59
  Coastal Zone Management Reauthorizations: Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation was discharged from further consideration 
of H.R. 1965, to reauthorize the Costal Zone Management Act of 1972, 
and the bill was then passed, clearing the measure for the President. 
                                                         Pages S5459-60
Congressional Budget: Senate continued consideration of S. Con. Res. 
57, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States 
Government for fiscal years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, 
taking action on amendments proposed thereto, as follows: 
                                            Pages S5398-S5410, S5412-42
Adopted:
  Levin Amendment No. 4020, to express the sense of the Congress that 
amounts appropriated for the National Institutes of Health should be 
increased above its fiscal year 1996 appropriation for additional 
research into an anti-addiction drug to block the craving of illicit 
addictive substances.
Pages S5398-S5400
  Domenici (for Helms) Amendment No. 4021, to express the sense of the 
Senate regarding the extension of the employer education assistance 
exclusion under section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
                                                         Pages S5400-01
  Domenici (for Bingaman) Amendment No. 4026, to express the sense of 
the Senate that the Economic Development Administration should place 
high priority on maintaining field-based economic development 
representatives.
Page S5439
Pending:
  Boxer Amendment No. 3982, to preserve, protect, and strengthen the 
Medicaid program by controlling costs, providing State flexibility, and 
restoring critical standards and protections, including coverage for 
all populations covered under current law, to restore $18 billion in 
excessive cuts, offset by corporate and business tax reforms, and to 
express the sense of the Senate regarding certain Medicaid reforms. 
                                                             Page S5398
  Wyden/Kerry Amendment No. 3984, to express the sense of the Senate 
regarding revenue assumptions.
Page S5398
  Wellstone Amendment No. 3985, to express the sense of the Senate on 
tax deductibility of higher education tuition and student loan interest 
costs.
Pages S5413-14
  Wellstone/Kerry Amendment No. 3986, to express the sense of the 
Senate that funds will be available to hire new police officers under 
the Community Oriented Policing Service.
Pages S5413, S5428-30
  Wellstone Amendment No. 3987, to express the sense of the Senate that 
Congress will not enact or adopt any legislation that would increase 
the number of children who are hungry or homeless.
Page S5413
  Wellstone Amendment No. 3988, to express the sense of the Senate with 
respect to maintaining current expenditure levels for the Low Income 
Home Energy Assistance Program for fiscal year 1997.
Page S5398
  Wellstone Amendment No. 3989, to express the sense of the Senate with 
respect to the interrelationship between domestic violence and welfare.
                                                             Page S5413
  Kerry Amendment No. 3990, to restore proposed cuts in the environment 
and natural resources programs, to be offset by the extension of 
expired tax provisions or corporate and business tax reforms. 
                                                             Page S5398
  Kerry Amendment No. 3991, to increase the Function 500 totals to 
maintain levels of education and training funding that will keep pace 
with rising school enrollments and the demand for a better-trained 
workforce, to be offset by the extension of expired tax provisions or 
corporate and business tax reforms.
Pages S5433-35

[[Page D506]]


  Kyl Amendment No. 3995, to express the sense of the Senate regarding 
a supermajority requirement for raising taxes.
Page S5398
  Kyl Modified Amendment No. 3996, to providing funding for the Low 
Income Home Energy Assistance Program through fiscal year 2000. 
                                                         Pages S5412-13
  Kennedy Amendment No. 3997, to express the sense of the Congress that 
the reconciliation bill should maintain the existing prohibition 
against additional charges by providers under the Medicare program. 
                                                             Page S5398
  Kennedy Amendment No. 3998, to express the sense of the Congress that 
the reconciliation bill should not include any changes in Federal 
nursing home quality standards or the Federal enforcement of such 
standards.
Page S5398
  Kennedy Amendment No. 3999, to express the sense of the Congress that 
provisions of current Medicaid law protecting families of nursing home 
residents from experiencing financial ruin as the price of needed care 
for their loved ones should be retained.
Page S5398
  Kennedy Amendment No. 4000, to express the sense of the Senate 
relating to the protection of the wages of construction workers. 
                                                             Page S5398
  Byrd Amendment No. 4001, to increase overall discretionary spending 
to the levels proposed by the President, offset by the extension of 
expired tax provisions or corporate and business tax reforms. 
                                                             Page S5398
  Lott/Smith Modified Amendment No. 4002, to express the sense of the 
Congress regarding reimbursement of the United States for the costs 
associated with Operations Southern Watch and Provide Comfort out of 
revenues generated by any sale of petroleum originating from Iraq. 
                                                         Pages S5439-40
  Simpson/Moynihan Amendment No. 4003, to express the sense of the 
Senate that all Federal spending and revenues which are indexed for 
inflation should be calibrated by the most accurate inflation indices 
which are available to the Federal government.
Page S5398
  Graham Amendment No. 4007, to create a 60 vote point of order against 
legislation diverting savings achieved through Medicare waste, fraud 
and abuse enforcement activities for purposes other than improving the 
solvency of the Medicare Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. 
                                                             Page S5428
  Ashcroft Modified Amendment No. 4008, to provide for an income tax 
deduction for the old age, survivors, and disability insurance taxes 
paid by employees and self-employed individuals.
Page S5398
  Gramm Amendment No. 4009, to express the sense of the Congress that 
the 1993 income tax increase on Social Security benefits should be 
repealed.
Page S5398
  Brown Amendment No. 4010, to express the sense of the Senate that 
there should be a cap on the application of the civilian and military 
retirement COLA.
Page S5398
  Harkin Amendment No. 4011, to provide that the first reconciliation 
bill not include Medicaid reform, focusing mainly on Welfare reform by 
shifting Medicaid changes from the first to the second reconciliation 
bill.
Page S5398
  Harkin (for Specter) Amendment No. 4012, to restore funding for 
education, training, and health programs to a Congressional Budget 
Office freeze level for fiscal year 1997 through an across the board 
reduction in federal administrative costs.
Pages S5420-21, S5440-41
  Bumpers Amendment No. 4013, to establish that no amounts realized 
from sales of assets shall be scored with respect to the level of 
budget authority, outlays, or revenues.
Page S5398
  Bumpers Amendment No. 4014, to eliminate the defense firewalls. 
                                                             Page S5398
  Thompson Amendment No. 3981, to express the sense of the Senate on 
the funding levels for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 
                                                             Page S5398
  Murkowski Amendment No. 4015, to prohibit sense of the Senate 
amendments from being offered to the budget resolution.
Page S5398
  Simpson (for Kerrey) Amendment No. 4016, to express the sense of the 
Senate on long term entitlement reforms.
Page S5398
  Snowe Amendment No. 4017, to express the sense of the Senate that the 
aggregates and functional levels included in the budget resolution 
assume that savings in student loans can be achieved without any 
program change that would increase costs to students and parents or 
decrease accessibility to student loans.
Page S5398
  Chafee/Breaux Amendment No. 4018, in the nature of a substitute. 
                                                      Pages S5399-S5410
  Domenici (for Dole/Hatch/Helms) Amendment No. 4019, to express the 
sense of the Senate that the Attorney General should investigate the 
practice regarding the prosecution of drug smugglers.
Page S5398
  Feingold Amendment No. 3969, to eliminate the tax cut.
Page S5398
  Domenici (for McCain) Amendment No. 4022, to express the sense of the 
Senate regarding Spectrum auctions and their effect on the integrity of 
the budget process.
Page S5424

[[Page D507]]


  Domenici (for Faircloth) Amendment No. 4023, to express the sense of 
the Senate that any comprehensive legislation sent to the President 
that balances the budget by a certain date and that includes welfare 
reform provisions shall also contain to the maximum extent possible a 
strategy for reducing the rate of out-of-wedlock births and encouraging 
family formation.
Pages S5424-25
  Domenici (for Faircloth) Amendment No. 4024, to express the sense of 
the Senate regarding reduction of the national debt.
Page S5425
  Exon (for Roth) Amendment No. 4025, to express the sense of the 
Senate regarding the funding of Amtrak.
Pages S5431-33
  Domenici Amendment No. 4027 (to Amendment No. 4012), to adjust the 
fiscal year 1997 non-defense discretionary allocation to the 
Appropriations Committee by $5 billion in budget authority and $4 
billion in outlays to sustain 1996 post-OCRA policy.
Pages S5440-41
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  A point of order was not sustained that the pending concurrent 
resolution, as drafted, did not constitute a ``budget resolution'' and 
was therefore not in order.
Pages S5415-28, S5430-31, S5435
  Senate will continue consideration of the resolution on Wednesday, 
May 22, 1996, with votes on the pending amendments to occur thereon.
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nominations:
  23 Army nominations in the rank of general.
Pages S5457-58, S5460
Communications:
  Page S5443
Executive Reports of Committees:
  Page S5443
Statements on Introduced Bills:
  Pages S5443-49
Additional Cosponsors:
  Page S5449
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S5449-52
Notices of Hearings:
  Page S5452
Authority for Committees:
  Page S5452
Additional Statements:
  Pages S5452-56
Adjournment: Senate convened at 9 a.m., and adjourned at 6:21 p.m., 
until 9:15 a.m., on Wednesday, May 22, 1996. (For Senate's program, see 
the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S5460.)