[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5475-S5476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST

  Mr. LOTT. Let me just say, in order to allow other Members to speak, 
would the minority leader be willing to allow us consent to provide for 
speeches by Senators Daschle, Grams, Hutchinson, Dorgan, Sarbanes, 
Bond, Wellstone, Nickles, or his designee, say for 10 minutes each, and 
following those statements that I be recognized?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, there are many other Senators who want to 
be recognized to speak, so I wouldn't want to exclude other Senators 
who would like very much to participate.
  Mr. LOTT. I would not want to exclude them. I think this would just 
get an agreement that these Senators that are here, waiting for an 
opportunity to speak--I would like to amend that list to include the 
Senator from North Dakota--that we get a lineup of speakers, led off by 
the distinguished Democratic leader. Senator Grams has been waiting to 
speak; Senator Hutchinson, who is an original cosponsor of the 
Government shutdown prevention language, and Senator Dorgan and Senator 
Sarbanes have been waiting. Senator Bond is here and wishes to speak on 
his birth defects bill. That has been blocked now. It is a bill we 
should be able to have some limited debate on and get agreement to move 
on.
  Senator Wellstone, I am sure, would like to be recognized, Senator 
Conrad and Senator Nickles, or his designee, for 10 minutes each with 
their statements, and then I be recognized at end of that group.
  Then, if others come in, we will get time for others to speak, too. 
There is no desire to cut Senators off. I am just trying to set up some 
regular order where I don't hog all the time and I am in a position of 
saying to you I will yield for a question only so I do not lose control 
of the floor.
  Let's set up an orderly process and we all get our chance to make our 
speeches, make our statements, without being just a question or 
response to the question. Would the Senator object to that?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I would have two concerns. One is that 
some Senators may wish to speak longer than 10 minutes.
  Mr. LOTT. Would you like to make it 15?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Second, they may wish to come back and speak again.
  Mr. LOTT. We wouldn't limit that, either.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I wouldn't want it to be precluded.
  Mr. LOTT. I hope before the afternoon is over, we will have an 
opportunity to get an agreement for an extended period of time of 
debate which would be open, with the normal recognition of the Chair 
and going back and forth on both sides of the aisle, that would go on 
for quite some time.

  Again, I want to talk to the Senator about what length of time he is 
talking about.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, so long as no Member is precluded a 
second time or speaking for a period longer than 10 minutes at a later 
time, and so long as no other Senator is precluded from speaking at all 
by this unanimous consent request --I think that is the assertion, now, 
of the majority leader?
  Mr. LOTT. If I could suggest, again, let's start with this and then I 
will talk to the Democratic leader, and we will go from there. This is 
just to get it started.
  Mr. DORGAN. I reserve the right to object, and I ask the majority 
leader a question. On two occasions, on the two most recent business 
days, we were subject to a motion to adjourn and required to vote on 
that, even though many of us did not feel we should adjourn. We wanted 
to continue to discuss this issue and attempt to see if we couldn't get 
the Senate to do its business and pass a clean bill providing disaster 
relief.
  I would just like to understand what we might face later today. I 
certainly would object to any unanimous-consent request propounded by 
anyone under any circumstances unless there is some assurance we are 
not going to face another motion for adjournment and simply be voted 
down and told the disaster bill is not a subject they want us to visit 
about on the floor of the Senate for any extended length. Some of us 
feel very strongly we would like to spend some time on the Senate floor 
talking about the disaster relief bill and ways to solve this so we can 
get disaster relief to disaster victims.
  So, I guess, before I would agree to a unanimous-consent request, I 
would like to have some understanding

[[Page S5476]]

whether we are going to face an adjournment request later.
  Mr. LOTT. Well, could I inquire if the leader would be willing to 
give us consent for our committees to meet, if we could go ahead and 
lock in a unanimous consent-agreement, or an agreement on how long you 
all would like to go tonight? Would the Senator like to respond to 
that?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we discussed this matter in the caucus. I 
think it was unanimous in the caucus that committees would not meet 
this afternoon, because we really need to have attention focused on 
this issue. I am afraid I am not able to give that agreement to the 
majority leader.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if I could say, then, I would like to--and I 
will talk to the Senators about how we do this--with their cooperation, 
and I am talking about not just committee meetings, because we will do 
what we need to do there. But when we begin the debate or comments 
other Senators are going to make, we will talk with you about how much 
time we think we need and how we will do that. It is my inclination 
today to try to get it worked out, where we could have an 
understanding, an understood period of time, and to not go with a 
motion to adjourn.
  Mr. DORGAN. I wonder if the Senator would agree to the proposition 
that we not propose a motion to adjourn the Senate without agreement 
obtained with the minority leader for such a motion.
  Mr. LOTT. You know, I am asking here for some process whereby the 
Senators from the various States would have a chance to make comments 
for a specified period of time. I asked for 10 minutes. Do you want me 
to expand that to 15?
  Mr. DASCHLE. I think there are Senators who wish to speak longer than 
10 minutes. Whether it is at the first opportunity or whether they have 
the opportunity to come back, that is a concern. But I share the 
concern expressed by the Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. LOTT. If I could--excuse me for interrupting you, but we are 
going to have an opportunity for them to speak now and speak again 
later. And we will have to work out the process to do that.
  Mr. CONRAD. Reserving the right to object, what is the assurance that 
a Senator would not be precluded from giving a second speech? Because, 
as the majority has outlined this proposal, as I understand it, a 
Senator would be able to speak 10 minutes or 15 minutes, but then would 
be precluded from speaking again, unless the majority leader would 
alter his unanimous-consent request.
  Mr. LOTT. I believe if we get another consent, that that would not 
apply. Of course, the way the Senate works, if a Senator asks for a 
specified period of time to speak, that usually is acquiesced to.
  Here is the alternative. If you like, I'll just keep talking here. We 
can go right on until some other time here in the afternoon. But I 
would like to have a free-flowing discussion, so I would like to do it 
in an orderly way.
  I asked unanimous consent, and then we will get an agreement, I 
presume later on, that we will have an extended period of time for 
debate during which Senators will be able to speak for extended periods 
of time.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Will the majority leader yield?
  Mr. LOTT. I am glad to yield.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Would he entertain a unanimous-consent request which 
would say we would not adjourn without the consent of both leaders 
tonight? Because I think, if that were the case, then there would be no 
objection on this side to working through whatever schedule may 
accommodate speakers on both sides.
  Mr. LOTT. It is my intent, Mr. President, to work with the leader and 
get an agreement on what time will be needed. I would like to do that. 
I prefer not to move for adjournment. I think we could work that out. I 
am indicating to you I would like for you to be able to have that time 
tonight. But I have been asked for three different things to agree to. 
I asked for one thing in return, and that's for committees to meet. I 
am going to have to go through a parliamentary procedure here in order 
for committees to be able to meet.
  Let us do this. Let us talk while others are talking and we could 
work this out. I think there is no question we can get that done.
  Mr. President, I renew my request that the Senators that I outlined 
be allowed to speak for 10 minutes and that I be recognized at the end 
of this list, at which time, if there are other Senators who wish to 
speak, they will be recognized or we will work out an order so the 
debate can continue.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. CONRAD. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Leader, I say to you I 
would be forced to object if there is no assurance that the rights of 
this Senator and other Senators will be protected. Because, as the 
Senator has outlined, the Senator would be able to speak perhaps 10 or 
15 minutes and that's it, under this formulation.
  Mr. LOTT. I am saying to the Senator from North Dakota, I would like 
to be able to work with him to do that. I intend to do that. We will 
talk and we will make that agreement. We will make it in a request at a 
period of time after we have had some of these speeches so we can talk.
  I don't know exactly what you all are thinking about or what you 
want, but there is no desire to cut the Senator from North Dakota off 
today. I want him to be able to make his case. I am going to work with 
you to do that, and I think the record will show I have done that sort 
of thing in the past. I am telling you here, now, we are going to find 
a way for you to be able to make the speech you want to make. What more 
can you ask of me now? And then, we will talk that through while others 
are speaking.
  Mr. CONRAD. I am constrained to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

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