[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 103 (Monday, July 21, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7763-S7765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TREASURY AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998
The Senate resumed consideration of the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will now resume consideration of S.
1023, the Treasury-Postal Service bill.
The clerk will state the bill by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1023) making appropriations for the Treasury
Department, the U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of
the President, and certain Independent Agencies, for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other
purposes.
Pending:
Campbell (for DeWine) amendment No. 936, to prohibit the
use of funds to pay for an abortion or pay for the
administrative expenses in connection with certain health
plans that provide coverage for abortions.
Kohl (for Bingaman) amendment No. 937, to strike provisions
prohibiting the use of appropriated funds for the sole source
procurement of energy conservation measures.
Campbell (for Coverdell-Feinstein) amendment No. 940, to
provide that Federal employees convicted of certain bribery
and drug-related crimes shall be separated from service.
Campbell (for Coverdell) amendment No. 941, to require a
plan for the coordination and consolidation of the
counterdrug intelligence centers and activities of the United
States.
Campbell (for Hatch) amendment No. 942, to provide for a
national media campaign focused on preventing youth drug
abuse.
Hutchison amendment No. 943, to establish parity among the
countries that are parties to the North American Free Trade
Agreement with respect to the personal allowance for duty-
free merchandise purchased abroad by returning residents.
Unanimous Consent-Agreement
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
rollcalls not take place as ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. For the information of all Senators, a number of votes
were scheduled to occur beginning at 5:15 today. Over the weekend, and
most of today, the managers of the Treasury appropriations bill have
been working to resolve those outstanding amendments, and it now
appears that the Campbell amendment offered on behalf of Senator DeWine
regarding abortion funds and passage are the only remaining votes that
need to occur with respect to the Treasury Appropriations bill. There
may also be a Bingaman amendment, but we are not clear about that yet.
As many Members are aware, the U.S.S. Constitution made its maiden
voyage as a refurbished symbol of America's proud past today on the
waters off Massachusetts. However, the ceremonies surrounding this
event were delayed. Consequently, several of our Members will not be
returning in time for the vote.
Therefore, on behalf of the majority leader, I ask unanimous consent
that the rollcall votes scheduled to occur today now be postponed to
begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 22. Obviously, needless to say, there
will be no rollcall votes that will occur in today's session, but there
will be some further matters.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
data access
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, before this body passes the Treasury and
general government appropriation bill for fiscal year 1998, I would
like to raise an important issue concerning how the Government develops
policies and regulations. The issue is the public's right to have
access to the data that is produced from Government funded studies and
used to support regulatory rulemakings. As you may know, the Federal
Government does not have a standardized process for making research
data available for independent review. Often the public is forced to
comply with costly regulations without the assurance that the data
underlying the rules has been made available for independent scientific
evaluation. If the Government is going to force the public to comply
with its rules, the public must have confidence that the rules are
based on sound science. Similarly, if the Government is going to
provide funding for research, the public should be able to access the
data that is produced from such research. Unfortunately, the Government
does not have a disclosure policy on research data. I believe this
undermines the scientific basis of our rulemaking and erodes the
public's confidence in the Government's regulatory development process.
I would like to ask my colleague from Colorado, the chairman of the
Treasury and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, if he
would be willing to work with me to correct this problem.
Mr. CAMPBELL. I thank my colleague from Oklahoma for raising this
important issue. The fact that this data is not now made available only
adds to the public's mistrust of Government. I look forward to working
with you to develop an appropriate solution.
Mr. NICKLES. I thank the Senator for his support on this issue.
Newport, IRS Hiring Waiver
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would like to seek clarification on
report language which the subcommittee was good enough to include in
the Treasury and general government appropriations bill. That report
language urges the Internal Revenue Service to approve a waiver from
internal hiring requirements for the Newport IRS office if a planned
reduction in force [RIF] does not result in those positions being
filled.
The Newport IRS office is one of two national centers that process SS
8 forms and has earned a high reputation for efficiency and excellence.
To handle its increased responsibilities, the office has been trying to
fill a number of lower level positions ranging from GS 3-5. Current IRS
regulations require that these positions be filled internally. While
Newport is a beautiful Vermont town, it is also extremely remote, and
the office has been unable to fill such low-level positions from within
the existing IRS personnel. These new personnel are needed to continue
Newport's exemplary record in processing SS 8 forms.
The committee report also includes a provision, which I strongly
support, directing the IRS to continue to delay its planned field
reduction in force until it submits another report to Congress with a
detailed plan on how the IRS will ensure adequate taxpayer service in
the future, especially in rural areas. I share the concerns outlined in
the committee report about how taxpayer service will be affected by the
planned reorganization, especially in rural areas like Vermont. As a
result of this language, the RIF which IRS had planned for July 7 will
not be going forward. My understanding is that in the absence of this
RIF, the committee intends for IRS to move forward immediately with its
approval for the Newport hiring waiver. Is that correct?
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, the Senator from Vermont is correct. The
Senate report clearly states that if the July RIF did not address the
employment shortage at the Newport IRS office, that the Service should
move forward with the waiver. Because that RIF will be delayed for some
time, IRS should move forward immediately with the Newport hiring
waiver.
Mr. LEAHY. I thank the Senator from Colorado, and I appreciate his
clarification of this language.
[[Page S7764]]
amendment no. 943
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask that Senators Kyl, McCain,
Gramm, Bingaman, and Boxer be added as cosponsors to my amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. I am pleased that I was able to work with Secretary
Rubin and Ambassador Barshefsky's staff on this amendment. I am
confident that they will use this directive from Congress to make
progress--in the spirit of NAFTA--to correct the personal duty-free
allowance inequity. I hope that it can be passed by unanimous consent
when it is brought to the floor.
Mr. President, my amendment addresses the disparities that exist in
the personal duty-free exemption's of the United States, Mexico, and
Canada. The United States provides each United States resident who is
returning from Mexico and Canada with a personal exemption from duty on
merchandise valued at up to $400 once every 30 days. This is the same
duty exemption every U.S. citizen is afforded when they return to the
United States from any country. Mexico, however, has a two-tiered duty-
free allowance structure. If you are a Mexican resident and live within
25 kilometers of the border, when you return to Mexico at a land border
crossing, you may only return with $50 in duty-free merchandise. This
has become known as the $50 rule, and it is crippling businesses on the
U.S. side of the border in Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona.
If you are a Mexican resident bringing more than $50 in merchandise,
you must pay a 22.8-percent duty rate.
This rule, Mr. President, makes it prohibitively expensive for a
Mexican resident to purchase a washing machine, refrigerator,
electronics, furniture, or any item costing more than $50 in the United
States. In U.S. border communities, countless small businesses have
closed their doors and thousands of American jobs have been lost. Our
larger retailers are also suffering, as Mexicans who used to travel
across the border for goods are now limited to purchasing them on their
side of the border.
Mr. President, my amendment is very simple. It directs the United
States Trade Representative and Secretary of the Treasury to begin
discussions with their counterparts in Mexico and Canada to achieve
parity in the duty-free allowance structure of the three NAFTA
countries. These officials will report to Congress within 90 days on
the progress they are making to correct these disparities. If the
situation remains unchanged, in 6 months these officials will propose
appropriate legislation and action to bring the United States duty-free
allowance into conformance with the allowance levels established by
Mexico and Canada.
Mr. President, this is an important issue for my constituents, and I
look forward to this amendment's adoption.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of S. 1023, the
Treasury and general Government appropriations bill for fiscal year
1998.
This bill provides new budget authority of $25.2 billion and new
outlays of $22.3 billion to finance operations of the Department of the
Treasury, including the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs Service,
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Financial Management
Service; as well as the Executive Office of the President, the Office
of Personnel Management, the General Services Administration, and other
agencies that perform central Government functions.
I congratulate the chairman and ranking member for producing a bill
that is within the subcommittee's 602(b) allocation and generally
consistent with the bipartisan balanced budget agreement. I also
commend the chairman for his strong support for law enforcement,
including the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
When outlays from prior-year BA and other adjustments are taken into
account, the bill totals $25.3 billion in BA and $25.1 billion in
outlays. The total bill is below the Senate subcommittee's 602(b)
nondefense discretionary allocation for budget authority by $4 million
and at its allocation for outlays. The subcommittee is also at its
violent crime reduction trust fund allocation for BA and under its
allocation for outlays by $15 million.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
a table displaying the Budget Committee scoring of S. 1023, as reported
by the Senate.
I urge Members to support the bill and to refrain from offering
amendments that would cause the subcommittee to exceed its 602(b)
allocation. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of S. 1023, the
Treasury, Postal Service, and general Government appropriations bill
for fiscal year 1998.
There being no objection, the table was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
S. 1023, TREASURY-POSTAL APPROPRIATIONS, 1998--SPENDING COMPARISONS, SENATE-REPORTED BILL
[Fiscal year 1998, in millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defense Nondefense Crime Mandatory Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senate-reported bill:
Budget authority............................. -- 12,464 131 12,713 25,308
Outlays...................................... -- 12,269 112 12,712 25,093
Senate 602(b) allocation:
Budget authority............................. -- 12,468 131 12,713 25,312
Outlays...................................... -- 12,269 127 12,712 25,108
President's request:
Budget authority............................. -- 12,848 118 12,713 25,679
Outlays...................................... -- 12,388 105 12,712 25,205
House-passed bill:
Budget authority............................. -- -- -- -- --
Outlays...................................... -- -- -- -- --
Senate-Reported Bill Compared To
Senate 602(b) allocation:
Budget authority............................. -- (4) -- -- (4)
Outlays...................................... -- -- (15) -- (15)
President's request:
Budget authority............................. -- (384) 13 -- (371)
Outlays...................................... -- (119) 7 -- (112)
House-passed bill:
Budget authority............................. -- 12,464 131 12,713 25,308
Outlays...................................... -- 12,269 112 12,712 25,093
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Totals adjusted for consistency with current scorekeeping
conventions.
Mr. CAMPBELL addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hutchison). The Senator from Colorado.
Modification to Amendment No. 921
Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment
No. 921, adopted previously, be modified and I send that modification
to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right.
The modification is as follows:
At the conclusion of line 1 on page 1, insert Amendment
922; and
On page 1, strike lines 2 and all that follows through line
21 on page 3 and insert the following in its place.
SEC. . SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING IMPORTS OF FISH TAKEN
OR RETAINED IN A MANNER INCONSISTENT WITH
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION
FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ATLANTIC TUNAS.
It is the Sense of the Senate that the United States, as a
signatory to the International Convention for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, should implement as fully as
possible the recommendations of the International Commission
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
[[Page S7765]]
It is the Sense of the Senate that fish taken and retained
in a manner and under circumstances that are inconsistent
with the recommendations of the ICCAT made pursuant to
article VIII of the Convention and adopted by the Secretary
of Commerce should be prohibited entry into the United
States.
Amendments Nos. 942 and 943, As Modified
Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that
amendments Nos. 942 and 943 be modified, and I send those modifications
to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right.
The amendments (Nos. 942 and 943), as modified, are as follows:
amendment no. 942, as modified
At page 47, starting at line 18, strike all to page 48,
line 1 at ``Provided''.
In lieu thereof, insert ``trol Policy, submits a strategy
to the Committees on Appropriations and Judiciary of the
House of Representatives and the Senate that includes (1) a
certification, and guidelines to ensure that funds will
supplement and not supplant current anti-drug community based
coalitions; (2) a certification, and guidelines to ensure
that none of the funds will be used for partisan political
purposes; (3) a certification, and guidelines to ensure that
no media campaigns to be funded pursuant to this campaign
shall feature any elected officials, persons seeking elected
office, cabinet-level officials, or other Federal officials
employed pursuant to Schedule C of 5 Code of Federal
Regulations, Section 213, absent notice to the Chairmen and
ranking members of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations and Judiciary; (4) a detailed implementation
plan to be submitted to the Chairmen and ranking members of
the Committees on Appropriations and Judiciary for securing
private sector contributions including but not limited to in
kind contributions; (5) a detailed implementation plan to be
submitted to the Chairmen and ranking members of the
Committees on Appropriations and Judiciary of the
qualifications necessary for any organization, entity, or
individual to receive funding for or otherwise provided
broadcast media time.
____
amendment no. 943, as modified
At the appropriate place, insert the following new section:
SEC. . PERSONAL ALLOWANCE PARITY AMONG NAFTA PARTIES.
(A) In General.--The United States Trade Representative and
the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Secretary of Commerce, shall initiate discussions with
officials of the Governments of Mexico and Canada to achieve
parity in the duty-free personal allowance structure of the
United States, Mexico, and Canada.
(b) Report.--The United States Trade Representative and the
Secretary of the Treasury shall report to Congress within 90
days after the date of enactment of this Act on the progress
that is being made to correct any disparity between the
United States, Mexico, and Canada with respect to duty-free
personal allowances.
(c) Recommendations.--If parity with respect to duty-free
personal allowances between the United States, Mexico, and
Canada is not achieved within 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the United States Trade Representative
and the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit
recommendations to Congress for appropriate legislation and
action.
Amendments Nos. 940; 941; 942, as Modified; and 943, as Modified
Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that
amendments Nos. 940, 941, 942, as modified and 943, as modified, be
adopted, en bloc, and that the motion to reconsider the vote on the
adoption of those amendments be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendments (Nos. 940 and 941) and (Nos. 942 and 943), as
modified, were agreed to, en bloc.
amendment no. 940
Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, we have accepted amendment No. 940, but I do
want to mention that we may need to fine-tune it in conference. The
reason is that, as currently drafted, the proposal is somewhat
ambiguous. And for that reason, the Justice Department has told us that
it has serious concerns about the amendment.
Now, I read the language to apply prospectively; that is, to people
who are subsequently convicted of a crime--but not to those employees
who were convicted years ago--or at any time prior to when this
proposal becomes law. And I also believe that parts (a)(1) and (a)(2)
should be read conjunctively; that is, to apply to government employees
who are convicted of drug-related bribery--but not to employees who are
convicted of either bribery or drug-related crimes alone.
We have talked to Senator Coverdell's staff and they are willing to
work on the language of the amendment to make this clear and I am
optimistic that we can write it to everybody's satisfaction in
conference.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BOND. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________