[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12257-S12258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 UNANIMOUS-CONSENT AGREEMENT--H.R. 2607

  Mr. LOTT. After consultation with many, many Senators and especially 
the Democratic leader, I now ask that

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the Senate turn to the D.C. appropriations bill, H.R. 2607, and Senator 
Stevens be recognized to offer a substitute amendment and that there be 
2 hours of debate to be equally divided in the following fashion: 30 
minutes between Senators Stevens and Byrd, 30 minutes between Senators 
Faircloth and Boxer, 30 minutes between Senators Gregg and Hollings, 30 
minutes between Senators McConnell and Leahy.
  I further ask that no other amendments or motions be in order, and 
following the conclusion or yielding back of the time, the amendment be 
agreed to and the bill be advanced to third reading and passage, and 
all occur without further action or debate.
  I further ask that following the adoption, the Senate insist on its 
amendment, request a conference with the House, and the Chair be 
authorized to appoint conferees, all without further action or debate.
  I ask unanimous consent that in the event that H.R. 2607 is sent to 
the President without a conference, the Committee on Appropriations, 
with the concurrence of the chairman and ranking member, be permitted 
to file in the Record within 2 days of final passage and to print as an 
official document of the Senate a report on the final version of H.R. 
2607 as enacted by the Congress.
  Finally, I ask unanimous consent that following the disposition of 
H.R. 2607, the Senate proceed to S. 1502 regarding D.C. scholarships, 
the bill be read the third time and passed, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, all without further action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. I want to confirm, as most Senators certainly know, there 
will be no further rollcall votes tonight, and while the Senators have 
this 2 hours of time, we don't anticipate the full time will be used.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I want to commend the distinguished chair and ranking 
member of the Appropriations Committee. Oftentimes we work through 
these things, and credit isn't allocated as it should be. In this case, 
this would not have happened were it not for the extraordinary effort 
on both sides of the aisle, in particular by the chairman and the 
ranking member. But I thank all Senators for their cooperation and the 
extraordinary effort they have put forth to get us to this point.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I thank Senator Daschle for making those 
comments. He is certainly right. Senator Stevens is very persistent, as 
is Senator Byrd, his worthy ally in this effort.
  This has been a difficult agreement to put together, but it is the 
right thing to do at this hour. That way, we will have this package in 
the House and they will have a vehicle with these three bills on which 
they can act, and that will lead into, hopefully, final passage 
tomorrow. I do commend them for their very fine work.
  I yield the floor.

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