[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           STATE OF THE UNION

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition this morning to 
comment briefly on the President's State of the Union speech and to 
introduce legislation, since this is the first day of the 106th 
Congress when legislation may be introduced.
  I applaud President Clinton for proceeding with the State of the 
Union tonight. Some say that Capitol Hill is schizophrenic with 
impeachment proceedings in the Senate Chamber, and across the Rotunda 
we will hear the President's State of the Union speech in the House 
Chamber. But I believe that it is very important that we take care of 
the Nation's business. I think that can be accomplished at the same 
time that we move forward with the Senate being constituted as a Court 
of Impeachment to decide that issue.
  I have noted the advance text of the President's statement commenting 
on education and his desire to set up incentives to be a condition for 
Federal funding. I chair the Appropriations' Subcommittee on Education 
and we will proceed very promptly with hearings on that subject to make 
a determination, legislatively, as to whether, at least in the view of 
our subcommittee, those kinds of standards and those kinds of 
conceptions are appropriate or whether they may constitute too much 
Federal interference with education which traditionally has been left 
to the State and local levels. But we are prepared to move right ahead 
with that legislation, with that consideration.
  Noted also from the President's advance text about an intention to 
deal with the issue of local preparation for responding if--God 
forbid--there should be weapons of mass destruction unleashed on the 
American people--again, that is a matter which would come within our 
Subcommittee on Health. At the same time, there is a commission working 
on weapons of mass destruction, on legislation which I authored 2 years 
ago as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. John Deutch, 
former CIA Director, chairs the commission and I serve as vice chairman 
of the committee.
  We are prepared to move ahead with what the President has offered and 
what the President has to say. I compliment him for moving ahead with 
that State of the Union speech to take care of the Nation's business. I 
believe the Congress will cooperate by moving ahead on two tracks--we 
can have the Court of Impeachment in the Senate Chamber and the State 
of the Union speech in the House Chamber, and the Rotunda will not be 
schizophrenic and we can function.

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