[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 130 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9960-S9963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S9960]]
             DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. GRAHAM addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk----
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry. What is the regular 
order?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Florida yield for a 
parliamentary inquiry?
  Mr. GRAHAM. I yield for a parliamentary inquiry but retaining the 
floor.
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, it was my understanding that we would 
immediately return, after these votes, under the previous unanimous-
consent request, to consideration of the pending amendment and that 
there was a little bit of time remaining. I only say that, not because 
I want to use the time--I know Members want to speak on a number of 
subjects--but because Senator Brownback had been on the list to speak. 
He was precluded by the clock when we shifted over under the order. I 
am just inquiring as to whether or not that is the case.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct. There is a pending 
amendment, and the Senator controls 29 minutes. It would take unanimous 
consent to set it aside.
  The Senator from Florida was the first Senator to seek recognition 
when we returned to the amendment.
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I want to, first of all, inform my 
colleagues that I have no intention of using the 29 minutes.

  I do, also, though, want to say that I had promised the Senator from 
Kansas he would be first up. He has commitments. I have commitments. He 
was in line, and the clock precluded him from getting his statement in. 
I would be willing to forgo all but about 1 minute of my remarks if we 
could go forward with this, and we will get to the other Senators as 
quickly as possible. A lot of people have been waiting all afternoon to 
speak, but they were not allowed to speak because of the unanimous 
consent agreement. We had promised them, if they were here right after 
the votes, they would be first up.
  Mr. BUMPERS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida has the floor, having 
been recognized. The Senator from Florida, having heard the 
explanation, is in position to control the time.
  Has unanimous consent been requested?
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry. I do not mean to 
drag this out here. I don't understand the procedure. I thought 
anything other than the pending amendment was out of order without 
unanimous consent, that recognition had nothing to do with it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida achieved recognition. 
If he wishes to set aside the pending amendment and proceed with an 
amendment of his own, it would require unanimous consent.
  Mr. COATS. On the part of the Senator from Florida.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On the part of the Senator from Florida.
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, my purpose, with my colleague, is solely 
to introduce an amendment which we will then ask to be set aside for 
consideration on Tuesday. We will be, I think, less than 90 seconds in 
completing this task. So I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment for the purpose of offering this amendment in hopes 
that we complete this task, and then we will relinquish the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered. The Senator from Florida.


                           Amendment No. 1252

 (Purpose: To provide relief to certain aliens who would otherwise be 
               subject to removal from the United States)

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask 
for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Florida [Mr. Graham], for himself, Mr. 
     Mack, and Mr. Kennedy, proposes an amendment numbered 1252.

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:
       At the appropriate place, insert the following new section:

     ``SEC.--. IMMIGRATION REFORM TRANSITION ACT OF 1997.

       (a) In General.--Section 240A, subsection (e), of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act is amended--
       (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``this section'' and 
     inserting in lieu thereof'' section 240A(b)(l)'';
       (2) by striking '', nor suspend the deportation and adjust 
     the status under section 244(a) (as in effect before the 
     enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
     Responsibility Act of 1996),''; and
       (3) by striking the last sentence in the subsection and 
     inserting in lieu thereof: ``The previous sentence shall 
     apply only to removal cases commenced on or after April 1, 
     1997, including cases where the Attorney General exercises 
     authority pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of section 309(c) 
     of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
     Responsibility Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-208, Division C, 110 
     Stat. 3009).''.
       (b) Repealers.--Section 309, subsection (c), of the Illegal 
     Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
     (P.L. 104-208, Division C, 110 Stat. 3009) is amended by 
     striking paragraphs (5) and (7).
       (c) Special Rule.--Section 240A of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act is amended--
       (1) In subsection (b), paragraph (3), by striking ``(1) or 
     (2)'' in the first and third sentences of that paragraph and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``(1), (2), or (3)'', and by 
     striking the second sentence of that paragraph;
       (2) In subsection (b), by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
     paragraph (4);
       (3) In subsection (d), paragraph (1), by striking ``this 
     section.'' and inserting in lieu thereof'' subsections (a), 
     (b)(1), and (b)(2).'';
       (4) in subsection (b), by adding after paragraph (2) the 
     following new paragraph--
       ``(3) Special rule for certain aliens covered by the 
     settlement agreement in American Baptist Churches et al. v. 
     Thornburgh (ABC), 760 F. Supp. 796 (N.D. Cal. 1991)--
       ``(A) The Attorney General may, in his or her discretion, 
     cancel removal and adjust the status from such cancellation 
     in the case of an alien who is removable from the United 
     States if the alien demonstrates that--
       (i) the alien has not been convicted at any time of an 
     aggravated felony and
       ``(I) was not apprehended after December 19, 1990, at the 
     time of entry, and is either
       ``(aa) a Salvadoran national who first entered the United 
     States on or before September 19, 1990, and who registered 
     for benefits pursuant to the ABC settlement agreement on or 
     before October 31, 1991, or applied for Temporary Protected 
     Status on or before October 31, 1991; or
       ``(bb) a Guatemalan national who first entered the United 
     States on or before October 1, 1990, and who registered for 
     benefits pursuant to the ABC settlement agreement by December 
     31, 1991; or
       ``(cc) the spouse or unmarried son or daughter of an alien 
     described in (aa) of this subclause, provided that the 
     spouse, son or daughter entered the United States on or 
     before September 19, 1990, or the spouse or unmarried son or 
     daughter of an alien described in (bb) of this subclause, 
     provided that the spouse, son or daughter entered the United 
     States on or before October 1, 1990; or
       ``(II) is an alien who
       (aa) is a Nicaraguan, Guatemalan, or Salvadoran who filed 
     an application for asylum with the Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service before April 1, 1990, and the 
     Immigration and Naturalization Service had not granted, 
     denied, or referred that application as of April 1, 1997; or
       (bb) is the spouse or unmarried son or daughter of an alien 
     described in (aa) of this subclause, provided that the 
     spouse, son or daughter entered the United States on or 
     before April 1, 1990; and
       ``(ii) the alien is not described in paragraph (4) of 
     section 237(a) or paragraph (3) of section 212(a) of the Act; 
     and
       ``(iii) the alien
       ``(I) is removable under any law of the United States 
     except the provisions specified in subclause (II) of this 
     clause, has been physically present in the United States for 
     a continuous period of not less than seven years immediately 
     preceding the date of such application, and proves that 
     during all of such period he was and is a person of good 
     moral character, and is a person whose removal would, in the 
     opinion of the Attorney General, result in extreme hardship 
     to the alien or to his spouse, parent, or child, who is a 
     citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted 
     for permanent residence; or
       ``(II) is removable under paragraph (2) (other than section 
     237(a)(2)(A)(iii)) of section 237(a), paragraph (3) of 
     section 237(a), or paragraph (2) of section 212(a), has been 
     physically present in the United States for a continuous 
     period of not less than 10 years immediately following the 
     commission of an act, or the assumption of a status, 
     constituting a ground for deportation, and proves that during 
     all of such period he has been and is a person of good moral 
     character, and is a person whose removal would, in the 
     opinion of the Attorney General, result in exceptional and 
     extremely unusual hardship to the alien or to his spouse, 
     parent or child, who is a citizen of the United States, or an 
     alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
       ``(B) Subsection (d) of this section shall not apply to 
     determinations under this paragraph, and an alien shall not 
     be considered

[[Page S9961]]

     to have failed to maintain continuous physical presence in 
     the United States under clause (A)(iii) of this paragraph if 
     the alien demonstrates that the absence from the United 
     States was brief, casual, and innocent, and did not 
     meaningfully interrupt the continuous physical presence.
       ``(C) The determination by the Attorney General whether an 
     alien meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (B) of 
     this paragraph is final and shall not be subject to review by 
     any court. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be 
     construed as limiting the application of subparagraph (B) of 
     section 242(a)(2) to other eligibility determinations 
     pertaining to discretionary relief under this Act.''
       (d) Effective Date of Subtitle (c).--The amendments made by 
     subtitle (c) shall be effective as if included in Illegal 
     Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
     (P.L. 104-208, Division C, 110 Stat. 3009).
       (e) Appeal Process.--Any alien who has become eligible for 
     suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal as a 
     result of the amendments made by subsection (b) and (c) may, 
     notwithstanding any other limitations on motions to reopen 
     imposed by the Immigration and Nationality Act or by 
     regulation file one motion to reopen to apply for suspension 
     of deportation or cancellation of removal. The Attorney 
     General shall designate a specific time period in which all 
     such motions to reopen must be filed. The period must begin 
     no later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act and shall extend for a period of 180 days.

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on this 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a 
sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. MACK addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.


                Amendment No. 1253 to Amendment No. 1252

 (Purpose: To provide relief to certain aliens who would otherwise be 
               subject to removal from the United States)

  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I send a second-degree amendment to the 
desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Florida [Mr. Mack] for himself, Mr. 
     Graham, and Mr. Kennedy proposes an amendment numbered 1253 
     to amendment No. 1252.

  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       Strike all after the word ``SEC.   . and insert the 
     following:

     IMMIGRATION REFORM TRANSITION ACT OF 1997.

       (A) In General.--Section 240A, subsection (e), of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act is amended--
       (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``this section'' and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``section 240A(b)(1)'';
       (2) by striking ``, nor suspend the deportation and adjust 
     the status under section 244(a) (as in effect before the 
     enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
     Responsibility Act of 1996),''; and
       (3) by striking the last sentence in the subsection and 
     inserting in lieu thereof: ``The previous sentence shall 
     apply only to removal cases commenced on or after April 1, 
     1997, including cases where the Attorney General exercises 
     authority pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of section 309(c) 
     of the illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
     Responsibility Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-208, Division C, 110 
     Stat. 3009).''.
       (b) Repealers.--Section 309, subsection (c), of the illegal 
     Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
     (P.L. 104-208, Division C, 110 Stat. 3009) is amended by 
     striking paragraphs (5) and (7).
       (c) Special Rule.--Section 240A of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act is amended--
       (1) In subsection (b), paragraph (3), by striking ``(1) or 
     (2)'' in the first and third sentences of that paragraph and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``(1), (2), or (3)'', and by 
     striking the second sentence of that paragraph;
       (2) In subsection (b), by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
     paragraph (4);
       (3) In subsection (d), paragraph (1), by striking ``this 
     section.'' and inserting in lieu there of ``subsections (a), 
     (b)(1), and (b)(2).'';
       (4) in subsection (b), by adding after paragraph (2) the 
     following new paragraph--
       ``(3) Special rule for certain aliens covered by the 
     settlement agreement in American Baptist Churches et al. v. 
     Thornburgh (ABC), 760 F. Supp. 796 (N.D. Cal. 1991).--
       ``(A) The Attorney General may, in his or her discretion, 
     cancel removal and adjust the status from such cancellation 
     in the case of an alien who is removable from the United 
     States if the alien demonstrates that--
       ``(i) the alien has not been convicted at any time of an 
     aggravated felony and--
       ``(I) was not apprehended after December 19, 1990, at the 
     time of entry, and is either--
       ``(aa) a Salvadoran national who first entered the United 
     States on or before September 19, 1990, and who registered 
     for benefits pursuant to the ABC settlement agreement on or 
     before October 31, 1991, or applied for Temporary Protected 
     Status on or before October 31, 1991; or
       ``(bb) a Guatemalan national who first entered the United 
     States on or before October 1, 1990, and who registered for 
     benefits pursuant to the ABC settlement agreement by December 
     31, 1991; or
       ``(cc) the spouse or unmarried son or daughter of an alien 
     described in (aa) of this subclause, provided that the 
     spouse, son or daughter entered the United States on or 
     before September 19, 1990, or the spouse or unmarried son or 
     daughter of an alien described in (bb) of this subclause, 
     provided that the spouse, son or daughter entered the United 
     States on or before October 1, 1990; or
       ``(II) is an alien who--
       (aa) is a Nicaraguan, Guatemalan, or Salvadoran who filed 
     an application for asylum with the Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service before April 1, 1990, and the 
     Immigration and Naturalization Service had not granted, 
     denied, or referred that application as of April 1, 1997; or
       (bb) is the spouse or unmarried son or daughter of an alien 
     described in (aa) of this subclause, provided that the 
     spouse, son or daughter entered the United States on or 
     before April 1, 1990; and--
       ``(ii) the alien is not described in paragraph (4) of 
     section 237(a) or paragraph (3) of section 212(a) of the Act; 
     and--
       ``(iii) the alien--
       ``(I) is removable under any law of the United States 
     except the provisions specified in subclause (II) of this 
     clause, has been physically present in the United States for 
     a continuous period of not less than seven years immediately 
     preceding the date of such application, and proves that 
     during all of such period he was and is a person of good 
     moral character, and is a person whose removal would, in the 
     opinion of the Attorney General, result in extreme hardship 
     to the alien or to his spouse, parent, or child, who is a 
     citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted 
     for permanent residence; or--
       ``(II) is removable under paragraph (2) (other than section 
     237(a)(2)(A)(iii)) of section 237(a), paragraph (3) of 
     section 237(a), or paragraph (2) of section 212(a), has been 
     physically present in the United States for a continuous 
     period of not less than 10 years immediately following the 
     commission of an act, or the assumption of a status, 
     constituting a ground for deportation, and proves that during 
     all of such period he has been and is a person of good moral 
     character, and is a person whose removal would, in the 
     opinion of the Attorney General, result in exceptional and 
     extremely unusual hardship to the alien or to his spouse, 
     parent or child, who is a citizen of the United States, or an 
     alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
       ``(B) Subsection (d) of this section shall not apply to 
     determinations under this paragraph, and an alien shall not 
     be considered to have failed to maintain continuous physical 
     presence in the United States under clause (A)(iii) of 
     this paragraph if the alien demonstrates that the absence 
     from the United States was brief, casual, and innocent, 
     and did not meaningfully interrupt the continuous physical 
     presence.
       ``(C) The determination by the Attorney General whether an 
     alien meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (B) of 
     this paragraph is final and shall not be subject to review by 
     any court. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be 
     construed as limiting the application of subparagraph (B) of 
     section 242(a)(2) to other eligibility determinations 
     pertaining to discretionary relief under this Act.''.
       (d) Effective Date of Subtitle (c).--The amendments made by 
     subtitle (c) shall be effective as if included in Illegal 
     Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
     (P.L. 104-208, Division C, 110 Stat. 3009).
       (e) Appeal Process.--Any alien who has become eligible for 
     suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal as a 
     result of the amendments made by subsection (b) and (c) may, 
     notwithstanding any other limitations on motions to reopen 
     imposed by the Immigration and Nationality Act or by 
     regulation file one motion to reopen to apply for suspension 
     of deportation or cancellation of removal. The Attorney 
     General shall designate a specific time period in which all 
     such motions to reopen must be filed. The period must begin 
     no later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act and shall extend for a period of 180 days.
       (f) Effective Date of Section.--This section shall take 
     effect one day after enactment of this Act.

  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that both the first- 
and second-degree amendments be temporarily set aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BUMPERS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The underlying business is the amendment of 
the Senator from Indiana.


                           Amendment No. 1249

  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I thank the Chair. I again inform my 
colleagues that we will be brief. I am just trying to fill some 
commitments we made earlier. I will dispense with my ringing, 
articulate, persuasive rebuttals to the opponents of this

[[Page S9962]]

amendment that I have ready to go here, to Senator Boxer and Senator 
Kennedy and others who spoke against the amendment, and save those 
until Tuesday. Even though I have the attention of my colleagues who 
are in the Chamber that I might not have on Tuesday, I will have to 
trust that yielding the time is probably more persuasive in getting 
support for my amendment than giving those arguments at this particular 
point. So, I will defer that. However, I have made a commitment to the 
Senator from Kansas. I think he is going to be relatively brief. I 
yield to him such time as he may consume. Then, if no one else wants to 
speak on this particular amendment, I will be happy to yield back.

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I have a question to the Senator from 
Indiana. Is there currently a time agreement?
  Mr. COATS. Yes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sessions). There is.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. May I ask further how much time is left?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There remain 25 minutes for the Senator from 
Indiana.
  Mr. COATS. We have no intention, I tell the Senator, of using that 
much time. I think the Senator from Kansas has less than 10 minutes and 
I will defer my time until tomorrow.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I can hardly wait, and I thank the Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas. Mr. Brownback. Mr. 
President, I thank my colleague from Indiana for yielding this time and 
bringing forward this amendment. I think it is a very important, 
excellent amendment and I rise in support of it. I chair the Senate 
subcommittee that has oversight over the District of Columbia. I, and 
Senator Lieberman who is the ranking Democrat on that committee, are 
both cosponsors of the Coats amendment.
  I would just like to inform the Members of this body and others that 
we have had extensive hearings on the D.C. Public School System. We 
have been out and looked at the schools. We have been in the public 
schools. We have been in the charter schools. We have looked at the 
D.C. Public School System. My conclusion of the D.C. School System is 
the same as the D.C. Control Board's conclusion, that is that this 
system has failed the students.

  The D.C. Control Board, in their own statements regarding the D.C. 
Public School System, said this: They said that the longer students 
stay in the District of Columbia public schools, the worse they do. 
That is the Control Board's own assessment of what has happened to the 
D.C. public schools. I think that is a crime to the students, to the 
children of the District of Columbia who are in these schools. We 
should not be putting them in a situation where the school system has 
failed them. That is wrong. That is wrong of us to allow it to take 
place.
  We have also had hearings with General Becton, who has been put in 
charge of the District of Columbia public schools. He is an admirable 
man. He is a good man who believes he is on the toughest assignment he 
has ever had. He has been a general in the military and he's a quality 
individual. The general says to us: Give me 3 years to fix this system 
up. Give me 3 years to be able to get the system back correct. I know 
it is a failed system. I know it's not working for the children in the 
District. I know we have failures in it, that the test scores are not 
what they should be, that the schools have not performed, that they are 
not as safe as they should be, that we are having repair problems to 
the point that we can't get students in for 3 weeks--but give me 3 
years to be able to fix this system up.
  I sit out, as a parent who has three children, and ask myself, does 
my child get a second shot at the first grade during those 3 years? Or 
the second? Or the third grade? Those are formative, key years for 
students, for pupils. They don't get 3 years to wait.

  I am saying, and I said this to the general, in hearings, I said: 
General, is it right for us to condemn that student to this system that 
you admit and state has failed these students? Is that fair to the 
student? You are saying give us 3 years to improve the school system, 
and I know he is going to try to do everything he can. But is it fair 
to this poor child? You have to stare in the face of that child and 
say, ``I am sorry, you are not going to be able to get the quality of 
education that you need to have because it is going to take us some 
time to fix these schools or this school system.'' I don't think that 
is fair to these students. It is not fair to these pupils.
  I think, frankly, if most of us in this body had children and we were 
living in the District of Columbia, we would not think it would be fair 
to our kids either to put them into the public school system in this 
particular situation where we have--and listen to these statistics. 
They are really frightful.
  Let me say as well, this is about improving public education. We have 
to have better education in this country. We have to have better 
education for our children. That is what we are after. What I am after, 
chairing this subcommittee, is to make the District of Columbia a 
shining example around the world for everything, and in particular, as 
well, in education. But we are not there now.
  Look at some of these statistics. We have fourth graders in the D.C. 
public school system--78 percent of fourth graders are not at basic 
reading levels, 78 percent. We have violence problems in the D.C. 
public schools. We have 26 percent of the teachers surveyed in 1995 say 
that they were threatened, injured, or attacked in the past year--26 
percent. The national average is too high, it's at 14 percent; but 26 
percent, 1 of 4 of the teachers. Of the students, 11 percent of the 
students were threatened or injured with a weapon during the past 
year--11 percent of the students. And 11 percent were avoiding school 
for safety reasons during the past 30 days.

  Then you have the horrendous incidents that happen when you had 
students having sexual activity in grade school during the school day. 
That happened in the District of Columbia. That just touched all of us, 
saying this cannot be allowed to continue to take place.
  This amendment is a simple amendment to try to provide a choice, an 
opportunity to some students who do not have it and are not able, 
financially. Their parents are not in a position to be able to do what 
most Members of Congress do. I say that on a basis of surveys that have 
been done of Members of Congress. Of those Members of Congress who have 
responded to a survey, 77 percent of Senators responded and 50 percent 
had sent or are sending their children to a private school. They had 
that option because financially we are in a position to be able to do 
it. And unfortunately, too many of our D.C. children are not in a 
financial position to be able to do this.
  We need to look in their eyes and provide them a choice and provide 
them this option. This amendment is a simple one, to try to do that. I 
think it also will help us make better public schools in the District 
of Columbia by providing some incentive and some competition into the 
school system in the District of Columbia.
  Mr. President, I have other points I may be making next week on this. 
But I simply say we cannot wait and imprison a student in a system that 
is a failed system. The people looking over it have already stated this 
is a failed system. It is not fair to the kids.
  Let's say who we are protecting here. We ought to be looking exactly 
in that child's eye when we vote on this amendment, and say let's give 
this child a choice and give this child a chance and not put him in a 
system which, according its own people, is a failed system.
  There are some good public schools in the District of Columbia but 
overall this system has failed. That is why I plead with my colleagues 
to look at this amendment and give these kids a chance. With that, I 
yield the floor.
  Mr. STEVENS addressed the Chair.
  THE PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is recognized.
  Mr. STEVENS. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Stevens and Mr. Murkowski pertaining to the 
introduction of legislation are located in today's Record under 
``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the pending 
amendment be temporarily laid aside in order for me to proceed for 1 
minute.

[[Page S9963]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________