[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 43 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D299-D302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                           Thursday, March 18, 1999

[[Page D299]]

                              Daily Digest

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S2881-S2977
Measures Introduced: Twelve bills and three resolutions were 
introduced, as follows: S. 656-667, S.J. Res. 15, and S. Res. 69-70. 
                                                         Pages S2934-35
Measures Reported: Reports were made as follows:
  S. 334, to amend the Federal Power Act to remove the jurisdiction of 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to license projects on fresh 
waters in the State of Hawaii. (S. Rept. No. 106-26)         
Page S2934
Measures Passed:
  Legal Representation: Senate agreed to S. Res. 70, to authorize 
representation of Senate and Members of the Senate in the case of James 
E. Pietrangelo, II v. United States Senate, et al.           
  Page S2934
  Greek Independence Day: Committee on the Judiciary was discharged 
from further consideration of S. Res. 50, designating March 25, 1999, 
as ``Greek Independence Day: A Day of Celebration of Greek and American 
Democracy'', and the resolution was then agreed to.          
  Page S2976
  National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week: Committee on the 
Judiciary was discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 47, 
designating the week of March 21 through March 27, 1999, as ``National 
Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week'', and the resolution was then 
agreed to.                                               
  Pages S2976-77
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations: Senate continued consideration 
of S. 544, making emergency supplemental appropriations and rescissions 
for recovery from natural disasters, and foreign assistance, for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, taking action on the following 
amendments:                                 
  Pages S2881-S2923, S2929-32
  Adopted:
  Stevens Amendment No. 80, to defer certain funds for use in 
connection with expiring or terminating section 8 contracts until 
October 1, 1999.                                         
Pages S2898-99
  Stevens (for McCain) Amendment No. 82, to extend the aviation 
insurance program through May 31, 1999.                  
Pages S2900-01
  Stevens (for Grassley) Amendment No. 83, to expedite adjudication of 
civil monetary penalties by the Department of Health and Human Services 
Appeals Board.                                           
Pages S2900-01
  Stevens (for Shelby/Stevens) Amendment No. 84, to make a technical 
correction with regard to Title 49 Recodification.       
Pages S2900-01
  Stevens (for Byrd) Amendment No. 85, to make a technical correction 
with regard to the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program. 
                                                         Pages S2900-01
  Stevens (for Frist/Thompson) Amendment No. 86, to increase, with a 
rescission, the supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for 
military construction for the Army National Guard.       
Pages S2900-01
  Stevens Amendment No. 87, to provide that the taking of a Cook Inlet 
beluga whale under the exemption provided in section 101(b) of the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act between the date of the enactment of this 
Act and October 1, 2000 shall be considered a violation of such Act 
unless such taking occurs pursuant to a cooperative agreement between 
the National Marine Fisheries Service and Cook Inlet Marine Mammal 
Commission.                                              
Pages S2900-01
  Stevens Amendment No. 88, to provide that funds provided in the 
Department of Commerce, Justice and State, the Judiciary, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (P.L. 105-277, Division A, Section 
101(b)) for the construction of a correctional facility in Barrow, 
Alaska shall be made available to the North Slope Borough. 
                                                         Pages S2900-01
  Stevens (for Helms/McConnell) Amendment No. 93, relating to 
activities funded by the appropriations to the Central America and the 
Caribbean Emergency Disaster Recovery Fund.              
Pages S2916-17
  Stevens (for Reid) Amendment No. 94, to make available certain funds 
for technical assistance related to shoreline erosion at Lake Tahoe, 
Nevada caused by high lake levels.                       
Pages S2916-17
  Stevens (for Kyl) Amendment No. 95, to make available certain funds 
for emergency repairs to the Headgate Rock Hydroelectric Project. 
                                                         Pages S2916-17

[[Page D300]]


  Stevens (for Domenici) Amendment No. 96, to rescind certain funds 
made available for the Lackawanna River, Scranton, Pennsylvania. 
                                                         Pages S2916-17
  Stevens (for Jeffords/Bingaman) Amendment No. 97, to provide that the 
Agency for International Development should undertake efforts to 
promote reforestation, with careful attention to the choice, placement, 
and management of species of trees consistent with watershed management 
objectives designed to minimize future storm damage, and to promote 
energy conservation through the use of renewable energy and energy-
efficient services and technologies.                     
                                                         Pages S2916-17
  Stevens (for Levin) Amendment No. 98, to authorize the disposal of 
the zirconium ore in the National Defense Stockpile.     
                                                         Pages S2916-17
  Stevens (for Domenici) Amendment No. 100, to expand the jurisdiction 
of the State of New Mexico portion of the Southwest Border High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area to include Rio Arriba County, Santa Fe 
County, and San Juan County and to provide specific funding for these 
three counties.                                          
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Roberts) Amendment No. 101, to provide relief from 
unfair interest and penalties on refunds retroactively ordered by the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.                    
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens Amendment No. 102, to exempt non-Indian Health Service and 
non-Bureau of Indian Affairs funds from section 328 of the Interior 
Department and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 
1999.                                                    
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Grams) Modified Amendment No. 103, to provide funding 
for annual contributions to public housing agencies for the operation 
of low-income housing projects.                          
                                                         Pages S2919-23
  Stevens (for Lincoln) Amendment No. 104, to provide for watershed and 
flood prevention debris removal that would not be authorized under the 
Emergency Watershed Program.                             
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Gorton) Amendment No. 105, to prohibit the Secretary of 
Agriculture from assessing a premium adjustment for club wheat when 
calculating loan deficiency payments and to require the Secretary to 
compensate producers of club wheat for any previous premium adjustment.
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens Amendment No. 106, relating to commercial fishing and 
compensation eligibility in Glacier Bay.                 
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Gorton) Amendment No. 107, to expand the eligibility of 
emergency funding to replacement and repair of power generation 
equipment.                                               
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Landrieu) Amendment No. 108, to provide funds to expand 
the home building program for Central American countries affected by 
Hurricane Mitch.                                         
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Daschle) Amendment No. 109, to provide relief to the 
White River School District #47-1, White River, South Dakota. 
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Daschle) Amendment No. 110, to provide for equal pay 
treatment of certain Federal firefighters.               
                                                         Pages S2919-22
  Stevens (for Dorgan/Craig) Amendment No. 112, to express the sense of 
the Senate that a pending sale of wheat and other agricultural 
commodities to Iran be approved.                         
                                                         Pages S2922-23
  Stevens (for Gregg) Amendment No. 113, to provide for a limitation on 
certain fishing permits or authorizations.               
                                                         Pages S2922-23
  Stevens (for Crapo) Amendment No. 114, to transfer funds from the 
environmental program and management account of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to the State and tribal assistance grant account. 
                                                             Page S2929
  Stevens (for Kohl/Harkin/Durbin) Amendment No. 115, to provide 
funding for conservation technical assistance.           
                                                         Pages S2929-31
  Stevens (for Bond) Amendment No. 116, to appropriate additional funds 
to the fund maintained for funds made available under section 32 of the 
Act of August 24, 1935, and to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture 
to waive the limitation on the amount of such funds that may be devoted 
during fiscal year 1999 to 1 agricultural commodity or product thereof, 
with an offset.                                          
                                                         Pages S2929-31
  Stevens (for Byrd/Stevens) Amendment No. 117, to provide funding for 
rural water infrastructure.                              
                                                         Pages S2929-31
  Stevens Amendment No. 118, to make available certain funds to any 
State determined by the Secretary of Agriculture to have been 
materially affected by the commercial fishery failure or failures 
declared by the Secretary of Commerce in September, 1998 under section 
312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
                                                         Pages S2929-31
  Stevens (for Feinstein/Boxer) Amendment No. 119, to increase 
emergency grants to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers 
under section 2281 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990, and to provide for increase in the amount of rescissions 
and offsets for the Food Stamp Program.                  
Pages S2929-31
  Stevens (for DeWine) Amendment No. 120, to provide authority and 
appropriations for the Department of State to carry out certain 
counterdrug research and development activities.         
Pages S2931-32
Rejected:
  Specter Amendment No. 77, to permit the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to waive

[[Page D301]]

recoupment of Federal government medicaid claims to tobacco-related 
State settlements if a State uses a portion of those funds for programs 
to reduce the use of tobacco products, to improve the public health, 
and to assist in the economic diversification of tobacco farming 
communities. (By 71 yeas to 29 nays (Vote No. 53), Senate tabled the 
amendment.)                                              
Pages S2881-97
  Hutchinson Amendment No. 89, to require prior congressional approval 
before the United States supports the admission of the People's 
Republic of China into the World Trade Organization. (By 69 yeas to 30 
nays (Vote No. 54), Senate tabled the amendment.) 
                                                  Pages S2902-10, S2915
  Torricelli Amendment No. 92, to terminate the funding and 
investigation of any independent counsel in existence more than 3 
years, 6 months after the termination of the independent counsel 
statute. (By voice vote, Senate tabled the amendment.)   
Pages S2910-16
Pending:
  Hutchison Amendment No. 81, to set forth restrictions on deployment 
of United States Armed Forces in Kosovo.              
Pages S2899-S2900
  Stevens (for Enzi) Amendment No. 111, to prohibit the Secretary of 
the Interior from promulgating certain regulations relating to Indian 
gaming and to prohibit the Secretary from approving class III gaming 
without State approval.                                      
Page S2922
  Senate earlier adopted Amendment No. 111 (listed above) and by 
unanimous consent vitiated its adoption.                     
Page S2922
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for the 
consideration of certain amendments to be proposed to the bill, and 
that following disposition of these amendments, the bill be advanced to 
third reading and passed, and that when the Senate receives the House 
companion bill, the House bill be passed, after striking all after the 
enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the text of the Senate 
bill (S. 544), as amended. Further, that the Senate insist on its 
amendment, request a conference with the House, the Chair be authorized 
to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate, and the Senate bill be 
placed back on the Calendar.                             
Pages S2917-18
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the bill on Friday, March 19, 1999.         
Page S2977
Cuban Human Rights: Senate began consideration of S. Res. 57, 
expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the human rights situation 
in Cuba, after the Committee on Foreign Relations was discharged from 
further consideration.                                   
  Pages S2923-29
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for the Committee 
on Foreign Relations to be discharged from further consideration of the 
resolution, and the Senate proceed to its consideration. 
                                                         Pages S2923-24
Education Flexibility Partnership Act--Conferees: By unanimous consent, 
the Chair was authorized to appoint the following conferees to H.R. 
800, to provide for education flexibility partnerships: Senators 
Jeffords, Gregg, Frist, DeWine, Enzi, Hutchinson, Collins, Brownback, 
Hagel, Sessions, Kennedy, Dodd, Harkin, Mikulski, Bingaman, Wellstone, 
Murray, and Reed.                                            
  Page S2977
Messages From the President: Senate received the following messages 
from the President of the United States:
  Transmitting the annual report of the National Endowment for 
Democracy for fiscal year 1998; referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations. (PM-17).                                          
Page S2934
  Transmitting the report of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; 
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 
(PM-18).                                                     
Page S2934
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations:
  Brian E. Sheridan, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
Defense.
  2 Air Force nominations in the rank of general.
  1 Army nomination in the rank of general.
  Routine lists in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy. 
                                                             Page S2977
Messages From the President:                                 
  Page S2934
Messages From the House:                                     
  Page S2934
Measures Referred:                                           
  Page S2934
Measures Read First Time:                                    
  Page S2977
Statements on Introduced Bills:                          
  Pages S2934-61
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages S2961-62
Amendments Submitted:                                    
  Pages S2962-68
Notices of Hearings:                                     
  Pages S2968-69
Authority for Committees:                                    
  Page S2969
Additional Statements:                                   
  Pages S2969-76
Record Votes: Two record votes were taken today. (Total--54) 
                                                     Pages S2897, S2915
Adjournment: Senate convened at 9:30 a.m., and adjourned at 8:33 p.m., 
until 9:45 a.m., on Friday, March 19, 1999. (For Senate's program, see 
the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S2977.)

[[Page D302]]