[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9359-S9360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this morning we are scheduled to have 30 
minutes of debate prior to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture on 
the substitute amendment to S. 830, the FDA reform bill. This is the 
second cloture vote we have had to have on this very important 
bipartisan legislation to reform the Food and Drug Administration so 
that medicines and medical devices can get to the American people in a 
responsible and reasonable period of time so that they don't have worse 
health conditions, or even death in many instances. We are scheduled to 
have a rollcall vote at 10 a.m. this morning on cloture, if it is 
required. And we had hoped to go ahead and do that and then go back to 
the Interior appropriations bill and complete that, and then come back 
to FDA.
  We have a Senator that has an illness this morning who would like 
very much to be able to make this vote. So we are contacting all of the 
managers of the legislation that is pending this morning, including the 
Interior appropriations committee, to see if we can maybe take some 
additional time this morning on Interior appropriations. If we can get 
that worked out, we may delay that 10 o'clock vote until either say 
11:15 or 12:15 in an effort that I know all Members would want to make 
to accommodate this Senator who is anxious not to miss the vote.
  So we will ask our colleagues on both sides to cooperate as we try to 
use this time for constructive debate and see then exactly what time we 
could expect these votes to occur.
  Under the consent agreement that we entered into last week, Members 
have until 10 a.m. today to file second-degree amendments to the FDA 
reform bill. After the disposition of that cloture vote and/or the FDA 
reform bill, depending on what we can work out, then we will resume 
consideration of H.R. 2107, the Interior appropriations bill. Senators 
can expect additional votes throughout the day either on the FDA reform 
package or on the Interior appropriations bill.
  I will ask the managers of the FDA bill to work with us on this and 
cooperate with us so that we can have some orderly consideration of 
both the FDA and the Interior appropriations bill. Hopefully we will go 
to Interior after we invoke cloture again on FDA reform, then allow 
Senators that are interested to continue to work together, and then see 
if we can get an agreement to complete action on FDA reform in a 
reasonable time this week.
  Does the Senator from Vermont want me to yield at this point?
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Yes. If the Senator will yield, my understanding was 
when we went home this weekend that we would be ready to close the bill 
and have all amendments with time agreements. Now my understanding from 
the minority is that they are not in agreement on one particular 
provision of the substitute. Thus, I would believe we should go forward 
with the cloture vote. We are ready, though, with a number of 
amendments for which I believe we have agreements. We could address 
those in the interim while we try to work out the final amendment.
  Mr. LOTT. I was under the impression last week that there was one 
remaining issue where there was disagreement, and there was a lot of 
discussion about that--the so-called cosmetics portion of the bill. I 
was not involved in the substance of that discussion. But I understand 
Senators did work out an agreement and that matter has been resolved. 
But I understand as well that there is another issue.
  I just wonder how long this is going to go on.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I do, too. I understood that all matters were taken 
care of. But now I understand from the leader of the minority that is 
not the case--that they still have this problem with respect to one 
provision. But we are ready to go ahead with all of the other 
amendments and believe we should expeditiously go to the cloture vote 
whenever the situation presents itself, as the leader outlined.

  Mr. LOTT. I thank the Senator from Vermont. I know he is committed to 
getting this legislation completed. There are very few bills that I 
have seen that have such broad bipartisan

[[Page S9360]]

support as this one does. It is costing millions of dollars to comply 
with the ridiculous delays from FDA, and the American people are being 
deprived of medicines and devices that should be approved much quicker. 
Some of them are just impossible to explain.
  I hope that we can complete action this week.
  I appreciate the efforts and the leadership of the Senator from 
Vermont.
  Mr. HARKIN. If the leader will yield, I have a question.
  So we are not having a cloture vote at 10 a.m. Was there a unanimous-
consent agreement entered into that I missed before I came onto the 
floor?
  Mr. LOTT. No. There was no unanimous-consent agreement.
  Mr. HARKIN. Are we not voting at 10 o'clock?
  Mr. LOTT. We have a Senator that is unavoidably detained that really 
is anxious to be present on that vote. We are trying to accommodate his 
schedule, as I know the Senator from Iowa would want us to do. We are 
working with the managers of both this bill and Interior appropriations 
and the interested Senators to see when we might have that vote. We 
would at some point try to enter into an agreement as to when it would 
be.
  Mr. HARKIN. Are we going on the FDA bill?
  Mr. LOTT. We will talk about it for a little while. But at 10 o'clock 
we will advise Members whether we are going to have a vote, or when we 
are deferring it to.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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