[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2629-S2630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT AMENDMENTS

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                           MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
turn to the consideration of Calendar No. 27, S. 104, the nuclear waste 
bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on behalf of colleagues on this side of 
the aisle, I do object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

                             CLOTURE MOTION

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I move to proceed to the nuclear waste bill 
and send a cloture motion to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having presented under rule 
XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The assistant clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to S. 104, a bill to amend the Nuclear Waste Policy 
     Act of 1982:

         Trent Lott, Larry Craig, John Ashcroft, Dan Coats, Tim 
           Hutchinson, Sam Brownback, Mitch McConnell, Conrad 
           Burns, Frank Murkowski, Jon Kyl, Connie Mack, Spencer 
           Abraham, Chuck Hagel, John McCain, Don Nickles, and 
           Gordon Smith.

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I regret the objection from our colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle. I know the Senator from Illinois was 
objecting on behalf of other Senators that could be directly affected 
by this issue. I have filed a cloture motion on the motion to proceed 
to the nuclear waste bill. So I now ask unanimous consent that the 
cloture vote be at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, and the mandatory 
quorum under rule XXII be waived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Chair hears none, and 
it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. In light of this agreement to conduct this cloture vote on 
Tuesday, April 8, I now announce that there

[[Page S2630]]

will be no votes during the session of the Senate on Monday, April 7, 
the day that we return, although there will be debate on that day. I 
expect debate to occur on the pending motion to proceed to the nuclear 
waste bill on that Monday, and the Senate may be asked to consider 
other legislative or executive items on that Monday. I will be 
discussing Monday's schedule further with the Democratic leader and 
will inform the Senate as to what other items the Senate may consider 
when it reconvenes following the Easter recess period.
  I thank all my colleagues for their attention. I now withdraw the 
motion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is withdrawn.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, just in conclusion, I want to recognize the 
Senator from Arkansas, who is in the Chamber at this time. I thank him 
again for his courtesy in allowing me to do this and recognize that he 
is a member of the Committee of Energy and Natural Resources that 
reported this legislation. I think it is very important legislation. I 
understand that the Senators from Nevada will have to make their points 
in opposition to what it would do, but I do think it is just absolutely 
essential that this country face up to the need to deal with our 
nuclear waste. There is no easy way to do it. There is no perfect 
solution for all 100 Senators. But we passed it last time through the 
Senate and it died aborning in the House. I am told this time that we 
will, when we pass it, the House will also pass it, and this time we 
hope we can get it to the President. And we hope we can get it to the 
President in a way that he feels he can sign it.
  We must do this because it is an issue that will not go away. Nuclear 
waste is sitting in cooling pools and barrels all over this country 
from South Carolina to Vermont, from the banks of the Mississippi River 
to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. We must deal with this problem, and 
so that is why I take this procedure to make sure that we get it up for 
consideration and for debate when we return from the Easter recess.
  I thank the Chair. I thank the Senator from Arkansas.
  Mr. BUMPERS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, let me say before I begin my remarks on a 
separate subject, that the majority leader is absolutely right when he 
talks about the necessity for developing a system of disposing of high-
level nuclear waste in this country from our nuclear powerplants.
  I, when I was Governor of Arkansas 22 years ago, wondered how on 
Earth we were going to deal with that. That was the reason I was always 
opposed to building more nuclear plants when we had not figured out how 
we were going to decommission the ones that we had and dispose of the 
nuclear waste that was coming out of them. So it is one of the most 
difficult, knotty problems I have ever faced.
  I am ranking on the Energy Committee and we have wrestled with this 
at length over the years. This is no time to debate it, except to say 
it is one of the most awesome, difficult problems I have ever been 
confronted with.

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