[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S5400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. LOTT. I would like to say to all Senators, with regard to the 
week we are coming back. I have been discussing this with Senator 
Daschle. When we complete this infrastructure transportation bill, 
ISTEA II, and dispose of that, that will be the last vote or action of 
this week, other than doing some Executive Calendar matters we are 
trying to clear. The next vote will not occur until Tuesday when we 
come back. That would be June 2. But when we return on Monday, June 1, 
we will continue to debate the tobacco bill, and the pending issue is 
the Durbin amendment. Of course, there are other amendments that are 
pending. We will be talking back and forth over the next week as to 
exactly how the process will go forward.
  On that Tuesday, the 2nd, the Senate will conduct a cloture vote on 
the motion to proceed to the nuclear waste bill, which I will put in 
place in the next few minutes, as well as amendment votes relative to 
the tobacco legislation.
  I do want to emphasize, the nuclear waste issue we intend to double 
track. That is one where we can take an action and then come off of 
that and go, then, to other legislation, the tobacco legislation. And 
it will take a period of days to get through the process we have to go 
on, on nuclear waste. But that is not intended to take the place of 
either the tobacco bill or the Department of Defense authorization 
bill. It will be double tracking as we go forward.
  So I expect the Senate will be considering the tobacco bill and the 
nuclear waste bill during the first week in June. If problems arise 
with regard to either one of those, the other issue that we have 
already done some work on, and we want to go back to at the first 
opportunity, would be the Department of Defense authorization bill. We 
need to get that completed so we can then go to the appropriations side 
of the defense bill. I know that first week back will be a busy one 
because we have a lot of important work to do. We will be in session on 
Monday, but we will not have recorded votes on that Monday.

  Senator Daschle, did you want to comment or ask a question on that?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I appreciate the information the majority leader has 
just shared. I think that is certainly in keeping with the 
understanding that he and I have had in our private discussions now for 
some time. My hope is that we can come back and complete our work on 
the tobacco bill. I believe that is certainly within our reach.
  I understand, because of the plethora of other bills that are on the 
calendar, we have to begin consideration of other issues. We have some 
amendments and bills that we want to raise at some point as well. But I 
think this schedule accommodates the demands that we are going to have 
on our schedule for the balance of the month of June, and I am hopeful 
that we can see the same level of cooperation on both sides of the 
aisle with that schedule that we have had over the course of the last 2 
or 3 weeks.
  I certainly have no objections to proceeding as the majority leader 
has suggested, certainly with the expectation that we will complete our 
work on the tobacco bill early when we come back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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