[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 38 (Monday, March 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2774-S2776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED

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           CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

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                SESSIONS (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2166

  Mr. SESSIONS (for himself, Mr. Lott, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Helms, Mr. Grams, 
Mr. Brownback, Mr. Craig, Mr. Frist, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Mack, Mr. Coats, 
Mr. Gregg, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Faircloth, Mr. 
Nickles, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. 
Abraham, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Allard, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Smith of 
Oregon, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Dorgan, and Mr. Roberts) proposed 
an amendment to the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 86) setting 
forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for 
fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 and revising the 
concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1998; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ____. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Congress finds that--
       (1) studies have found that quality child care, 
     particularly for infants and young children, requires a 
     sensitive, interactive, loving, and consistent caregiver;
       (2) as most parents meet and exceed the criteria described 
     in paragraph (1), circumstances allowing, parental care is 
     the best form of child care;
       (3) a recent National Institute for Child Health and 
     Development study found that the greatest factor in the 
     development of a young child is ``what is happening at home 
     and in families'';
       (4) as a child's interaction with his or her parents has 
     the most significant impact on the development of the child, 
     any Federal child care policy should enable and encourage 
     parents to spend more time with their children;
       (5) nearly \1/2\ of preschool children have at-home mothers 
     and only \1/3\ of preschool children have mothers who are 
     employed full time;
       (6) a large number of low- and middle-income families 
     sacrifice a second full-time income so that a mother may be 
     at home with her child;
       (7) the average income of 2-parent families with a single 
     income is $20,000 less than the average income of 2-parent 
     families with 2 incomes;
       (8) only 30 percent of preschool children are in families 
     with paid child care and the remaining 70 percent of 
     preschool children are in families that do not pay for child 
     care, many of which are low- to middle-income families 
     struggling to provide child care at home;
       (9) child care proposals should not provide financial 
     assistance solely to the 30 percent of families that pay for 
     child care and should not discriminate against families in 
     which children are cared for by an at-home parent; and
       (10) any congressional proposal that increases child care 
     funding should provide financial relief to families that 
     sacrifice an entire income in order that a mother or father 
     may be at home for a young child.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the functional totals in this concurrent resolution on the 
     budget assume that--
       (1) many families in the United States make enormous 
     sacrifices to forego a second income in order to have a 
     parent care for a child at home;
       (2) there should be no bias against at-home parents;
       (3) parents choose many different forms of child care to 
     meet the needs of their families, such as child care provided 
     by an at-home parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, neighbor, 
     nanny, preschool, or child care center;
       (4) any quality child care proposal should include, as a 
     key component, financial relief for those families where 
     there is an at-home parent; and
       (5) mothers and fathers who have chosen and continue to 
     choose to be at home should be applauded for their efforts.
                                 ______
                                 

                        GREGG AMENDMENT NO. 2167

  Mr. GREGG proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution, Senate 
Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3  . SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING IMMUNITY.

       It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this 
     resolution assume that no immunity will be provided to any 
     tobacco product manufacturer with respect to any health-
     related civil action commenced by a State or local 
     governmental entity or an individual prior to or after the 
     date of the adoption of this resolution.
                                 ______
                                 

                 GREGG (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2168

  Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. Conrad, and Mr. Lautenberg) proposed an 
amendment to amendment No. 2167 proposed by Mr. Gregg to the concurrent 
resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       Strike all after the first word and insert the following:

     3  . SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING IMMUNITY.

       It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this 
     resolution assume that no immunity

[[Page S2775]]

     will be provided to any tobacco product manufacturer with 
     respect to any health-related civil action commenced by a 
     State or local governmental entity or an individual or class 
     of individuals prior to or after the date of the adoption of 
     this resolution.
                                 ______
                                 

                         KYL AMENDMENT NO. 2169

  Mr. KYL proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution, Senate 
Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. ____. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FREEDOM OF HEALTH CARE 
                   CHOICE FOR MEDICARE SENIORS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Medicare beneficiaries should have the same right to 
     obtain health care from the physician or provider of their 
     choice as do Members of Congress and virtually all other 
     Americans.
       (2) Most seniors are denied this right by current 
     restrictions on their health care choices.
       (3) Affording seniors this option would create greater 
     health-care choices and result in fewer claims being paid out 
     of the near-bankrupt medicare trust funds.
       (4) Legislation to uphold this right of health care choice 
     for seniors must protect beneficiaries and medicare from 
     fraud and abuse. Such legislation must include provisions 
     that--
       (A) require that such contracts providing this right be in 
     writing, be signed by the medicare beneficiary, and provide 
     that no claim be submitted to the Health Care Financing 
     Administration;
       (B) preclude such contracts when the beneficiary is 
     experiencing a medical emergency;
       (C) allow for the medicare beneficiary to modify or 
     terminate the contract prospectively at any time and to 
     return to medicare; and
       (D) are subject to stringent fraud and abuse law, including 
     the medicare anti-fraud provisions in the Health Insurance 
     Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     seniors have the right to see the physician or health care 
     provider of their choice, and not be limited in such right by 
     the imposition of unreasonable conditions on providers who 
     are willing to treat seniors on a private basis, and that the 
     assumptions underlying the functional totals in this 
     resolution assume that legislation will be enacted to ensure 
     this right.
                                 ______
                                 

                    ALLARD AMENDMENTS NOS. 2170-2172

  (Ordered to lie on the table.)
  Mr. ALLARD submitted three amendments intended to be proposed by him 
to the concurrent resolution Senate Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as 
follows:

                           Amendment No. 2170

       At the end of title II, add the following:

     SEC. ____. REDUCTION OF NATIONAL DEBT.

       (a) In General.--In the Senate, beginning with fiscal year 
     2000 and for every fiscal year thereafter, it shall not be in 
     order to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget, or 
     amendment thereto or conference report thereon, that--
       (1) that would cause budgeted outlays for that fiscal year 
     to exceed budgeted revenues; and
       (2) does not provide that actual revenues shall exceed 
     actual outlays in order to provide for the reduction of the 
     gross Federal debt as provided in subsection (b).
       (b) Amount.--The amount of reduction required by this 
     section shall be equal to the amount required to amortize the 
     debt over the next 30 years in order to repay the entire debt 
     by the end of fiscal year 2028.
       (c) Waiver.--The Senate may only waive the provisions of 
     this section for a fiscal year in which a declaration of war 
     is in effect.
       (d) Passage of Revenue Increase.--No bill to increase 
     revenues shall be deemed to have passed the Senate unless 
     approved by a majority of the total membership of each House 
     of Congress by a rollcall vote.
                                                                    ____


                           Amendment No. 2171

       At the end of the budget resolution add the following new 
     section:

     SEC.   . SENSE OF THE SENATE ON REPAYMENT OF THE FEDERAL 
                   DEBT.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate Finds that--
       (1) Congress and the President have a basic moral and 
     ethical responsibility to future generations to repay the 
     Federal debt, including money borrowed from the Social 
     Security Trust Fund;
       (2) the Congress and the President should enact a law that 
     creates a regimen for paying off the Federal debt within 30 
     years;
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the provisions of this resolution assume that--
       (1) the Congress provide for the amortization of the 
     Federal debt over 30 years, including money borrowed from the 
     Social Security Trust Fund.
                                                                    ____


                           Amendment No. 2172

       At the end of title II, add the following:

     SEC.   . USE OF BUDGET SURPLUS FOR DEBT REDUCTION

       (a) Debt Reduction Reserve Fund.--The budget resolution 
     shall include a Debt Reduction Reserve Fund (referred to as 
     the ``reserve fund'') for the budget year if a unified budget 
     surplus will occur in the budget year.
       (b) Amount of Reserve.--The amount of the reserve fund 
     shall equal the total amount of any surplus not exceeding 
     $11,750,000,000.
       (c) Use of Reserve Fund.--Amounts set aside in the reserve 
     fund shall be used to reduce the debt and may not be expended 
     for any purpose.
                                 ______
                                 

                        DODD AMENDMENT NO. 2173

  Mr. CONRAD (for Mr. Dodd) proposed an amendment to the concurrent 
resolution, S. Con. Res. 86, supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.  . DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR CHILD CARE 
                   IMPROVEMENTS.

       (a) In General.--In the Senate, revenue and spending 
     aggregates and other appropriate budgetary levels and limits 
     may be adjusted and allocations may be revised for 
     legislation to improve the affordability, availability, and 
     quality of child care and to support families' choices in 
     caring for their children, provided that, to the extent that 
     this concurrent resolution on the budget does not include the 
     costs of that legislation, the enactment of that legislation 
     will not increase (by virtue of either contemporaneous or 
     previously-passed deficit reduction) the deficit in this 
     resolution for--
       (1) fiscal year 1999;
       (2) the period of fiscal years 1999 through 2003; or
       (3) the period of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.
       (b) Revised Allocations.--
       (1) Adjustments for legislation.--Upon the consideration of 
     legislation pursuant to subsection (a), the Chairman of the 
     Committee on the Budget of the Senate may file with the 
     Senate appropriately-revised allocations under section 302(a) 
     of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and revised 
     functional levels and aggregates to carry out this section. 
     These revised allocations, functional levels, and aggregates 
     shall be considered for the purposes of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 as allocations, functional levels, and 
     aggregates contained in this resolution.
       (2) Adjustments for amendments.--If the Chairman of the 
     Committee on the Budget of the Senate submits an adjustment 
     under this section for legislation in furtherance of the 
     purpose described in subsection (a), upon the offering of an 
     amendment to that legislation that would necessitate such 
     submission, the Chairman shall submit to the Senate 
     appropriately-revised allocations under section 302(a) of the 
     Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and revised functional 
     levels and aggregates to carry out this section. These 
     revised allocations, functional levels, and aggregates shall 
     be considered for the purposes of the Congressional Budget 
     Act of 1974 as allocations, functional levels, and aggregates 
     contained in this resolution.
       (c) Reporting Revised Allocations.--The appropriate 
     committees shall report appropriately-revised allocations 
     pursuant to section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
     1974 to carry out this section.
       (d) Application of Section 202 of H. Con. Res. 67.--Section 
     202 of H. Con. Res. 67 (104th Congress) shall not apply for 
     purposes of this section.

                                 ______
                                 

                 CONRAD (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2174

  Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Reed, and 
Mr. Kennedy) proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution, Senate 
Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       On page 28, strike line 2 through line 17 and insert the 
     following:
       (a) In General.--In the Senate, revenue and spending 
     aggregates may be adjusted and allocations may be adjusted 
     for legislation that reserves the Federal share of receipts 
     from tobacco legislation for--
       (1) (A) public health efforts to reduce the use of tobacco 
     products by children, including youth tobacco control 
     education and prevention programs, counter-advertising, 
     research, and smoking cessation;
       (B) transition assistance programs for tobacco farmers;
       (C) increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration 
     to protect children from the hazards of tobacco products; or
       (D) increased funding for health research; and
       (2) savings for the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
       (b) Revised Aggregates and Allocations.--Upon the 
     consideration of legislation pursuant to subsection (a), the 
     Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may 
     file with the Senate appropriately-revised allocations under 
     section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and 
     revised functional levels and aggregates to carry out this 
     section. These revised allocations, functional levels, and 
     aggregates shall be considered for the purposes of the 
     Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as allocations, functional 
     levels, and aggregates contained in this resolution.
       (c) Application of Section 202 of H. Con. Res. 67.--For the 
     purposes of enforcement of Section 202 of H. Con. Res. 67 
     (104th Congress) with respect to this resolution, the 
     increase in the Federal share of receipts resulting from 
     tobacco legislation and used to fund

[[Page S2776]]

     subsection (a)(2) shall not be taken into account.

                                 ______
                                 

            MOSELEY-BRAUN (AND BINGAMAN) AMENDMENT NO. 2175

  Mr. CONRAD (for Ms. Moseley-Braun for herself and Mr. Bingaman) 
proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution, Senate Concurrent 
Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       At the end of title III, insert the following:

     SEC.    . SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING SCHOOL MODERNIZATION 
                   AND CONSTRUCTION.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) the General Accounting Office has performed a 
     comprehensive survey of the Nation's public elementary and 
     secondary school facilities and has found severe levels of 
     disrepair in all areas of the United States;
       (2) the General Accounting Office has concluded that more 
     than 14,000,000 children attend schools in need of extensive 
     repair or replacement, 7,000,000 children attend schools with 
     life safety code violations, and 12,000,000 children attend 
     schools with leaky roofs;
       (3) the General Accounting Office has found the problem of 
     crumbling schools transcends demographic and geographic 
     boundaries. At 38 percent of urban schools, 30 percent of 
     rural schools, and 29 percent of suburban schools, at least 
     one building is in need of extensive repair or should be 
     completely replaced;
       (4) the condition of school facilities has a direct effect 
     on the safety of students and teachers and on the ability of 
     students to learn. Academic research has provided a direct 
     correlation between the condition of school facilities and 
     student achievement. At Georgetown University, researchers 
     have found the test scores of students assigned to schools in 
     poor condition can be expected to fall 10.9 percentage points 
     below the test scores of students in buildings in excellent 
     condition. Similar studies have demonstrated up to a 20 
     percent improvement in test scores when students were moved 
     from a poor facility to a new facility;
       (5) the General Accounting Office has found most schools 
     are not prepared to incorporate modern technology in the 
     classroom. Forty-six percent of schools lack adequate 
     electrical wiring to support the full-scale use of 
     technology. More than a third of schools lack the requisite 
     electrical power. Fifty-six percent of schools have 
     insufficient phone lines for modems;
       (6) the Department of Education has reported that 
     elementary and secondary school enrollment, already at a 
     record high level, will continue to grow over the next 10 
     years, and that in order to accommodate this growth, the 
     United States will need to build an additional 6,000 schools;
       (7) the General Accounting Office has determined the cost 
     of bringing schools up to good, overall condition to be 
     $112,000,000,000, not including the cost of modernizing 
     schools to accommodate technology, or the cost of building 
     additional facilities needed to meet record enrollent levels;
       (8) schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for 
     Native American children are also in dire need of repair and 
     renovation. The General Accounting Office has reported that 
     the cost of total inventory repairs needed for BIA facilities 
     is $754,000,000. The December 1997 report by the Comptroller 
     General of the United States states that, ``Compared with 
     other schools nationally, BIA schools are generally in poorer 
     physical condition, have more unsatisfactory environmental 
     factors, more often lack key facilities requirements for 
     education reform, and are less able to support computer and 
     communications technology;''
       (9) State and local financing mechanisms have proven 
     inadequate to meet the challenges facing today's aging school 
     facilities. Large numbers of local educational agencies have 
     difficulties securing financing for school facility 
     improvement;
       (10) the Federal Government has provided resources for 
     school construction in the past. For example, between 1933 
     and 1939, the Federal Government assisted in 70 percent of 
     all new school construction; and
       (11) the Federal Government can support elementary and 
     secondary school facilities without interfering in issues of 
     local control, and should help communities leverage 
     additional funds for the improvement of elementary and 
     secondary school facilities.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the assumptions underlying the functional totals in this 
     budget resolution assume the enactment of legislation to 
     allow States and school districts to issue $21.8 billion 
     worth of zero-interest school modernization bonds to rebuild 
     and modernize our Nation's schools, and to provide Federal 
     income tax credits to the purchasers of those bonds in lieu 
     of interest payments.
                                 ______
                                 

                        BOXER AMENDMENT NO. 2176

  Mr. CONRAD (for Mrs. Boxer) proposed an amendment to the concurrent, 
Senate Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       On page 16, line 9, increase the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 16, line 10, increase the amount by $6,000,000.
       On page 16, line 13, increase the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 16, line 14, increase the amount by $40,000,000.
       On page 16, line 17, increase the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 16, line 18, increase the amount by $49,000,000.
       On page 16, line 21, increase the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 16, line 22, increase the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 16, line 25, increase the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 17, line 1, increase the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 25, line 8, decrease the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 25, line 9, decrease the amount by $6,000,000.
       On page 25, line 12, decrease the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 25, line 13, decrease the amount by $40,000,000.
       On page 25, line 16, decrease the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 25, line 17, decrease the amount by $49,000,000.
       On page 25, line 20, decrease the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 25, line 21, decrease the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 25, line 24, decrease the amount by $50,000,000.
       On page 25, line 25, decrease the amount by $50,000,000.
                                 ______
                                 

                      BROWNBACK AMENDMENT NO. 2177

  Mr. BROWNBACK proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution, 
Senate Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC.     . SENSE OF THE SENATE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH, SOCIAL 
                   SECURITY, AND GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY.

       It is the sense of the Senate that the functional totals 
     underlying this resolution assume that--
       (1) the elimination of a discretionary spending program may 
     be used for either tax cuts or to reform the Social Security 
     system.
       (2) the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Balanced 
     Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, and other 
     appropriate budget rules and laws should be amended to 
     implement the policy states in paragraph (1).
                                 ______
                                 

                        BURNS AMENDMENT NO. 2178

  Mr. BURNS proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution, Senate 
Concurrent Resolution 86, supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.     . SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING AGRICULTURAL TRADE 
                   PROGRAMS.

       It is the sense of the Senate that the functional totals in 
     this concurrent resolution assume the Secretary of 
     Agriculture will use agricultural trade programs established 
     by law to promote, to the maximum extent practicable, the 
     export of United States agricultural commodities and 
     products.

                          ____________________