[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 129 (Thursday, September 24, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10869-S10870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 WENDELL H. FORD NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 
                                  1998

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
resume consideration of the FAA reauthorization bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2279) to amend title 49, United States Code, to 
     authorize the programs of the Federal Aviation Administration 
     for fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, and for other 
     purposes.

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that no call for the 
regular order be in order prior to the conclusion of the FAA 
reauthorization bill.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object. I ask the 
leader, does the leader intend to attempt for us to move forward with 
the Internet Tax Freedom Act as well?
  Mr. LOTT. Certainly, I do. We have tried to get that cleared a couple 
times and there have been objections. I know there is a lot of interest 
in it. I am receiving calls, and I know there is support for it on both 
sides of the aisle. So we will continue to try to work that out, and we 
will try to get an agreement to go forward on it later today.
  Mr. McCAIN. I will not object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. McCAIN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, we are back on the FAA authorization bill. 
We have a number of amendments that will require debate and votes. We 
also are working to resolve a number of them. I want to say to my 
colleagues that I don't know what the leaders on both sides intend to 
do this evening, but the Senator from Kentucky and I intend to try to 
get rid of all amendments by this evening. If we are unable to have 
Members come over here to propose amendments, then, obviously, we have 
no choice but to move forward

[[Page S10870]]

on the legislation. We have a number of amendments: A Dorgan amendment, 
a Mikulski-Sarbanes amendment, a Torricelli amendment, a Robb 
amendment, a Domenici amendment, and others that are on the unanimous-
consent agreement. I hope that those Senators will come over and offer 
the amendments and stand ready to debate them and vote on them.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. FORD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I join my colleague in asking the Senators 
to help us move this bill along. We worked late into the night last 
evening in order to try to accommodate as many Senators as we could. 
There were some changes in language to where the amendments could be 
agreeable. Those amendments will be offered because both sides have 
agreed. We are down to maybe five or six amendments that will need 
votes. I don't know of any other vote that would be necessary.
  Under the unanimous consent agreement of last evening, we said that 
these were first-degree amendments and that there might be second-
degree amendments. We hope not. I want to encourage those on my side, 
if they have amendments that they want to debate and discuss, we are 
ready to take the time to do it now.
  It gets a little frustrating here at the end of a session when 
everybody wants something done and nobody is here to help us get things 
done. It is the ``nature of the brute,'' as I have heard quite often. 
But we will be in a crunch, we will be here Saturdays and Sunday 
afternoon if we are going to get out by October 9, or we will be 
labeled as a ``do-nothing Congress.'' I don't like that label, and I 
don't like to work on Saturdays or Sundays. I don't think my colleagues 
do either.

  If they would just come and offer their amendments and give us a time 
agreement, we can stack votes. We can do a lot of things to accommodate 
our Members.
  I hope they will listen to the admonishment of my friend from Arizona 
that we want to finish this bill today, if at all possible. We intend 
to do that. If colleagues are not cooperative, then third reading is 
always possible.
  I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. FEINGOLD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as if 
in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, how long will the Senator be?
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Up to 20 minutes.
  Mr. FORD. The reason I ask--I apologize for interrupting--is for 
others who want to come to the floor, and we can give them a time at 
which they can get here. So it would be roughly 10 minutes after 11.
  I thank the Senator.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Kentucky.

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