[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6361-S6363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, in his remarks in this body last Friday, 
our colleague from Nebraska, the distinguished Senator, Mr. Hagel, 
issued what I considered to be a most important wake-up call to this 
body.
  Senator Hagel said:

       I am very concerned that this Congress is not paying enough 
     attention to what is going on around the world. I am 
     concerned that we are not linking it, we are not 
     interconnecting the dots. I find it remarkable that on the 
     floor of the U.S. Senate, over the last few weeks, we have 
     been consumed with billions of dollars of new taxes and 
     building a larger government when essentially half of the 
     world is burning.

  And Senator Hagel went on to say:
  ``I hope that our colleagues take a serious look at what is going on 
around the world,'' and he cited the ever worsening Asian economic 
crisis--it now also threatens China; a serious recession in Japan; the 
immense and growing economic problems in regard to Russia; the 
resulting loss of investor confidence in world markets; and a very 
direct signal to all of us that ``something is wrong.'' That certainly 
has been reflected in the recent decline in the stock market.
  Mr. President, one thing that certainly is wrong is the inordinate 
amount of time that we are spending on tobacco legislation. I think the 
majority leader was certainly right when he said yesterday--and to a 
certain extent I agree with my colleagues who have just spoken before 
me on the floor--that we need to either end debate, or pass the bill, 
or actually defeat the bill, or set the bill aside.
  It is not my intent to discuss the merits of what has evolved out of 
the tobacco briar-patch debate. I want to say that I personally 
support--strongly support--the efforts to address the problem of 
teenage smoking and addiction. I do not question the intent of 
supporters of what has been produced so far. But I do believe the bill 
has serious flaws and we have gone far afield from the original goal, 
more especially in regard to the problem of teenage smoking and 
addiction. And I would say that as we each individually shine the light 
of truth into the darkness in debating the tobacco bill, let us 
remember that our flashlights are somewhat dimmed by partisan overtones 
and personal finger pointing.
  If Nero fiddled while Rome burned, the Senate has certainly huffed 
and puffed for weeks on a tobacco bill--I am not trying to perjure it--
while issues of national and economic security are not being addressed.
  As we debated yet another tobacco amendment yesterday, warplanes from 
the United States and Europe roared over the mountains of Albania and 
Macedonia, a direct threat to Serbian leaders to end the growing and 
expanding violence around Kosovo.
  Twenty-seven U.S. warplanes took part in the 6-hour exercise that was 
called Determined Falcon. I don't know how determined that Falcon is. 
Three hundred and fifty U.S. soldiers are already stationed in 
Macedonia. NATO commanders have been asked to propose additional 
contingency operations.
  The only response that I am aware of that has come from the Senate in 
regard to the growing possibility that we become directly involved in 
yet another ethnic civil war--an expansion of Bosnia--is the warning 
delivered by the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee, Senator Stevens, to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 
a recent briefing just last week.
  The chairman pointed out that our military is already stretched, it 
is stressed, it is overcommitted, and we simply do not have the men and 
women and material to do that job. We have an urgent need to increase 
our commitment to national security.
  We have an urgent need to act on the defense authorization bill so we 
can do

[[Page S6362]]

that, and so we may discuss and debate and act on our involvement in 
Bosnia, in the Gulf, and in Kosovo. Every single day that this 
stalemate on tobacco legislation continues, a pay raise is held up for 
America's fighting men and women around the world who continue to 
suffer from low morale and a lack of interest in reenlistment.
  Mr. President, I have heard there could be some 90 amendments to the 
defense authorization bill raising matters the Senate should address. 
We have the potential nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan, 
the administration's nonproliferation policy, and the impact of ill-
advised sanctions. Sanctions? Sanctions? My word, as the Senator from 
Nebraska pointed out in his remarks on Friday, we have sanctions on 
over 70 nations around the world involving two-thirds of the world's 
population. Our exports have declined. We have a growing crisis in 
agriculture, as referred to by the Senator from North Dakota, the 
``stealth crisis.'' It is no stealth. It is real. We must address that 
problem.
  As a result of sanctions, agriculture is going through a necessary 
hardship. And we have all sorts of problems in farm country--not only 
in the northern plains. We have disease, we have overproduction in 
other parts of the world, we have declining exports, we have unfair 
trading practices, and we have a trade policy that is yet to be 
determined. We have a real problem in farm country.
  We can address the sanctions bill in the agriculture appropriations 
bill, which is waiting in the tobacco wings. In that bill we have the 
sanctions reform legislation of Senator Lugar, the distinguished 
chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, more especially in 
regards to Pakistan and India, and key agricultural exports programs. 
We need to act. We need to act, Mr. President.
  From that standpoint, I would be happy to yield to the distinguished 
Senator from Nebraska for any comments he would make. I thank him for 
issuing a wake-up call to the Senate as of last Friday.
  I yield to the Senator.
  Mr. HAGEL addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. HAGEL. Thank you, Mr. President. I thank my friend and colleague 
from Kansas.
  Mr. President, Senator Roberts has touched upon some of the most 
important core issues in the debate that we have had over the last 4 
weeks on the tobacco bill.
  I would find it interesting again to recite what has really happened 
in the world since we began consideration of the tobacco bill on 
Monday, May 18th. This is our fourth week now on the debate on this 
bill.
  What has happened in the course of the last 4 weeks is we have seen 
India and Pakistan test for nuclear explosions, we have seen a new wave 
of an Asian market crisis begin, we have seen Asian stocks plummet, we 
have seen the Japanese yen drop precipitously, and leading now to 
China's warnings that it may devaluate its currency. We have also found 
Japan officially entering a severe recession, the first since the early 
1970s.
  As my distinguished colleague from Kansas referred to a few minutes 
ago, Kosovo has erupted into flames with NATO exercises now fully 
engaged on the borders of Albania and Kosovo. There is a very real 
possibility of a war spreading further south into the Balkans, engaging 
Macedonia, Greece, and other nations.
  Russia has entered a severe economic problem.
  Our U.S. agricultural foreign markets are shrinking due to economic 
problems.
  Abroad U.S. exports are down.
  And, as my friend from Kansas pointed out, we have a military that 
for the 15th year in a row finds its budget dropping, all at the same 
time that we are asking our military to do more with less--more 
deployments, longer deployments.
  Something, Mr. President, is going to have to give here.
  But what has the Senate done? The Senate continues to talk about 
higher taxes and more government and more regulation. We let all of 
these other important issues that affect every American, our future, 
and the course of the world hang suspended like it is not there. We 
ignore these issues. We ignore these issues at our peril and at the 
world's peril.
  This U.S. Senator is ready to say let's move the tobacco bill caucus 
off the track, and let's get to what is real in this country. Let's get 
to the real issues facing our Nation--not just the farmers and the 
ranchers in Nebraska, and exporters all over the world, but our 
national defense issues, our trade policy, the sanctions issues, and 
all of the other issues that we have talked about. That is what is 
real.
  That is what the greatest deliberative body in the world should be 
dealing with and talking about--not increasing taxes by hundreds of 
billions of dollars and bringing to the American people more government 
and more regulation.
  I again appreciate very much the thoughts and comments of my 
distinguished colleague from Kansas, Senator Roberts, and his remarks.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. ROBERTS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas is recognized.
  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 5 minutes 45 seconds 
remaining.
  Mr. ROBERTS. I shall not take all of the time.
  I want to thank my distinguished friend and colleague for his 
contribution. I want to pay particular credit to Senator Hagel for his 
work in enabling the Senate to move on IMF legislation. The Senator 
worked extremely hard with leadership of the Congress on both sides to 
implement serious reforms in the IMF bill, and to move ahead with the 
IMF bill. I hope the House of Representatives will simply address that 
legislation.
  The Senator mentioned the most-favored-nation status for China, which 
is simply regular trading status that is exceedingly important. I have 
already indicated my concern about sanctions reform.
  I think we ought to move on fast-track legislation. I was talking to 
the majority leader yesterday and he agrees with that. There are going 
to be 12 major farm organizations and commodity groups coming to the 
Hill to visit with us on Thursday. We would like to change the whole 
attitude and the whole situation in regard to trade.
  It seems to me if we could really recommit to that, it would be most 
helpful--especially in agriculture. Our whole economy relies on 
exports. I have never seen this Congress more insular, more 
protectionist, and more consumed with legislation that tends to be 
either ideological or attempts to legislate morality. It is just as 
important to prevent bad legislation from passing as it is to enact 
good legislation. And I am not trying to point any fingers at any 
Member who has strong feelings about tobacco legislation. I do. I have 
youngsters who are teenagers, and I am concerned about this just as 
much as every Member of the Senate, but this has gone far afield from a 
bill to really direct itself at real answers to teenage smoking and 
addiction. And, in the meantime, we have these problems that are 
extremely serious.
  And so I would simply quote again the majority leader who is not 
trying to perjure the bill. He was right when he said, ``We must end 
debate. Either pass, defeat, or set the bill aside.'' And let's move 
and get on with the business that directly affects the livelihood and 
the pocketbook of virtually every American when things such as world 
peace are hanging in the balance.
  Mr. HAGEL. If my colleague will yield for a moment.
  Mr. ROBERTS. I would be happy to yield.
  Mr. HAGEL. I would like to report on a comment made this morning by a 
senior World Bank official warning of a looming global recession. He 
says, ``We are probably at the end of the first cycle of a crisis and 
we are entering into a deep recession. And you could even use the term 
`depression'.''
  The point here is IMF funding and MFN status and fast track, all of 
these combine together to be essential components of a trade policy, of 
a foreign policy, of a national defense policy that directs this Nation 
and directs the world. We can't just pick and choose--maybe this, maybe 
not this. But it has to be debated and viewed and acted on in total. So 
I appreciate again my colleague's comments on this, and I yield.

[[Page S6363]]

  Mr. ROBERTS. In closing, I am reminded of an old Mills Brothers' 
tune--that really dates me--and it was, ``I Don't Want to Set the World 
on Fire.'' I want to make it clear, I don't want to set the tobacco 
bill on fire; I just want to light a flame in the heart of our national 
security and our economic well-being. And with that rather dubious 
reference as to what we are about, Mr. President--we need to act on 
other matters--I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, may I inquire how much time is remaining in 
morning business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are 7 minutes remaining in morning 
business.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, then I will use some of that time. I thank 
the Chair.

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