[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 25, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2578-S2579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   1998 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR RECOVERY FROM 
        NATURAL DISASTERS, AND FOR OVERSEAS PEACEKEEPING EFFORTS

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                  ENZI (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2133

  Mr. ENZI (for himself, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Reid, and Mr. Sessions) 
proposed an amendment to the bill (S. 1768) supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SECTION 1. PROHIBITION.

       Notwithstanding section 11(d)(7)(B)(vii) of the Indian 
     Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(7)(B)(vii)), the 
     Secretary of the Interior shall not--
       (1) promulgate as final regulations, the proposed 
     regulations published on January 22, 1998, at 63 Fed. Reg. 
     3289; or
       (2) issue a notice of proposed rulemaking for, or 
     promulgate, any similar regulations to provide for procedures 
     for gaming activities under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
     (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), in any case in which a State 
     asserts a defense of sovereign immunity to a lawsuit brought 
     by an Indian

[[Page S2579]]

     tribe in a Federal court under section 11(d)(7) of that Act 
     (25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(7)) to compel the State to participate in 
     compact negotiations for class III gaming (as that term is 
     defined in section 4(8) of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2703(8))).
                                 ______
                                 

                       BUMPERS AMENDMENT NO. 2134

  Mr. BUMPERS proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1768, supra; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place insert the following:

     ``SEC.   . SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH REGARD TO OFFSETS.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) the Budget Enforcement Act contains discretionary 
     spending caps to limit discretionary spending;
       (2) within the discretionary spending caps, Congress has 
     imposed firewalls to establish overall limits on spending for 
     non-defense discretionary programs and overall limits on 
     spending for defense discretionary programs;
       (3) any increase in non-defense discretionary spending that 
     would exceed the non-defense discretionary spending caps must 
     be offset by rescissions in non-defense discretionary 
     programs;
       (4) any increase in defense discretionary spending that 
     would exceed the defense discretionary spending caps must be 
     offset by rescissions in defense discretionary programs;
       (5) the Budget Enforcement Act exempts emergency spending 
     from the discretionary spending caps;
       (6) certain items funded in the fiscal year 1998 
     supplemental appropriations bill have been designated as 
     emergencies and thus are exempt from the budget cap 
     limitations;
       (7) the House of Representatives will be considering a 
     version of the fiscal year 1998 supplemental appropriations 
     bill that will purportedly make rescissions to offset 
     spending on items that have been deemed emergencies;
       (8) the rescissions included in the House of 
     Representatives fiscal year 1998 supplemental appropriations 
     bill will purportedly come solely from non-defense 
     discretionary programs;
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the Sense of the Senate 
     that of the rescissions, if any, which Congress makes to 
     offset appropriations made for emergency items in the fiscal 
     year 1998 supplemental appropriations bill, defense spending 
     should be rescinded to offset increases in spending for 
     defense programs.
                                 ______
                                 

                        ROBB AMENDMENT NO. 2135

  Mr. ROBB proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1768, supra; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, add the following:

     ``SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This section may be cited as the `Agricultural Credit 
     Restoration Act'.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSOLIDATED FARM AND RURAL 
                   DEVELOPMENT ACT.

       (a) Section 343(a)(12)(B) of the Consolidated Farm and 
     Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(12)(B)) is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(B) Exceptions.--The term `debt forgiveness' does not 
     include--
       ``(i) consolidation, rescheduling, reamortization, or 
     deferral of a loan;
       ``(ii) debt forgiveness in the form of a restructuring, 
     write-down, or net recovery buy-out during the lifetime of 
     the borrower that is due to a financial problem of the 
     borrower relating to a natural disaster or a medical 
     condition of the borrower or of a member of the immediate 
     family of the borrower (or, in the case of a borrower that is 
     an entity, a principal owner of the borrower or a member of 
     the immediate family of such an owner); and
       ``(iii) any restructuring, write-down, or net recovery buy-
     out provided as a part of a resolution of a discrimination 
     complaint against the Secretary.''.
       (b) Section 353(m) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2001(m)) is 
     amended by striking all that precedes paragraph (2) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(m) Limitation on Number of Write-Downs and Net Recovery 
     Buy-Outs Per Borrower.--
       ``(I) In general.--The Secretary may provide a write-down 
     or net recovery buy-out under this section on not more than 2 
     occasions per borrower with respect to loans made after 
     January 6, 1988.''.
       (c) Section 353 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2001) is amended by 
     striking subsection (o).
       (d) Section 355(c)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(c)(2)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(2) Reservation and allocation.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, to the greatest 
     extent practicable, reserve and allocate the proportion of 
     each State's loan funds made available under subtitle B that 
     is equal to that State's target participation rate for use by 
     the socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers in that State. 
     The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, distribute 
     the total so derived on a county by county basis according to 
     the number of socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers in 
     the county.
       ``(B) Reallocation of unused funds.--The Secretary may pool 
     any funds reserved and allocated under this paragraph with 
     respect to a State that are not used as described in 
     subparagraph (A) in a State in the first 10 months of a 
     fiscal year with the funds similarly not so used in other 
     States, and may reallocate such pooled funds in the 
     discretion of the Secretary for use by socially disadvantaged 
     farmers and ranchers in other States.''.
       (e) Section 373(b)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2008h(b)(1)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     Secretary may not make or guarantee a loan under subtitle A 
     or B to a borrower who on, 2 or more occasions, received debt 
     forgiveness on a loan made or guaranteed under this title.''.
       (f) Section 373(c) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2008h(c)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) No More Than 2 Debt Forgivenesses Per Borrower On 
     Direct Loans.--The Secretary may not, on 2 or more occasions, 
     provide debt forgiveness to a borrower on a direct loan made 
     under this title.''.

     SEC. 2. REGULATIONS.

       Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate 
     regulations necessary to carry out the amendments made by 
     this Act, without regard to--
       (1) the notice and comment provisions of section 553 of 
     title 5, United States Code; and
       (2) the statement of policy of the Secretary of Agriculture 
     relating to notices of proposed rule-making and public 
     participation in rulemaking that became effective on July 24, 
     1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 13804).

     

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