[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 113 (Wednesday, August 4, 1999)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D924-D928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                          Wednesday, August 4, 1999

[[Page D924]]


                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate passed Agriculture Appropriations bill.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S10139-S10266
Measures Introduced: Nineteen bills and four resolutions were 
introduced, as follows: S. 1480-1498, S. Res. 172-174, and S. Con. Res. 
50.                                                         
  Page S10221
Measures Reported: Reports were made as follows:
  S. 832, to extend the commercial space launch damage indemnification 
provisions of section 70113 of title 49, United States Code. (S. Rept. 
No. 106-135)
  H.R. 1568, to provide technical, financial, and procurement 
assistance to veteran owned small businesses, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 106-136)
  S. 800, to promote and enhance public safety through the use of 9-1-1 
as the universal emergency assistance number, further deployment of 
wireless 9-1-1 service, support of States in upgrading 9-1-1 
capabilities and related functions, encouragement of construction and 
operation of seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable networks for personal 
wireless services, with amendments. (S. Rept. No. 106-138)
  S. 632, to provide assistance for poison prevention and to stabilize 
the funding of regional poison control centers, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute.                                 
Page S10220
Measures Passed:
  Foreign Operations Appropriations: Pursuant to the order of June 30, 
1999, Senate passed H.R. 2606, making appropriations for foreign 
operations, export financing, and related programs for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2000, after striking all after the enacting clause 
and inserting in lieu thereof the text of S. 1234, Senate companion 
measure, as passed the Senate on June 30, 1999. Senate insisted on its 
amendment, requested a conference with the House thereon, and the 
Chair, as authorized, appointed the following conferees on the part of 
the Senate: Senators McConnell, Specter, Gregg, Shelby, Bennett, 
Campbell, Bond, Stevens, Leahy, Inouye, Lautenberg, Harkin, Mikulski, 
Murray, and Byrd.                                           
  Page S10214
  Subsequently, passage of S. 1234 was vitiated and then indefinitely 
postponed.                                                  
Page S10214
  Agriculture Appropriations: Senate passed S. 1233, making 
appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2000, after taking action on the following 
amendments proposed thereto:                 
  Pages S10139-99, S10201-14
Adopted:
  Ashcroft Amendment No. 1507 (to Amendment No. 1499), to provide 
stability in the United States agriculture sector and to promote 
adequate availability of food and medicine for humanitarian assistance 
abroad by requiring congressional approval before the imposition of any 
unilateral agricultural or medical sanction against a foreign country 
or foreign entity.                                      
Pages S10150-51
  Cochran Modified Amendment No. 1513 (to Amendment No. 1499), of a 
perfecting nature.                                      
Pages S10168-74
  Ashcroft Modified Amendment No. 1516 (to Amendment No. 1499), to 
provide stability in the United States agriculture sector and to 
promote adequate availability of food and medicine abroad by requiring 
congressional approval before the imposition of any unilateral 
agricultural or medical sanction against a foreign country or foreign 
entity, and to provide for guidelines with respect to state sponsors of 
international terrorism.                                
Pages S10179-81
  By 89 yeas to 8 nays (Vote No. 257), Lott (for Daschle) Amendment No. 
1499, to provide emergency and income loss assistance to agricultural 
producers.                                              
Pages S10150-83
  Boxer Amendment No. 1521, to express the sense of the Senate 
regarding the continued use of the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl 
ether (MTBE) and its impact on drinking water.          
Pages S10183-95

[[Page D925]]


  Thurmond Amendment No. 1523, to prohibit the use of foreign 
assistance funds to promote the sale or export of alcoholic beverages, 
including wine.                                         
Pages S10195-96
  Cochran (for Abraham) Amendment No. 1524, to provide funding for 
bovine tuberculosis research.                               
Page S10197
  Cochran (for Abraham) Amendment No. 1525, to prevent the reduction of 
the Food and Drug Administration capabilities in Detroit, Michigan. 
                                                            Page S10197
  Kohl (for Bingaman) Amendment No. 1526, to provide that not to exceed 
$12,000,000 shall be for water and waste disposal systems to benefit 
Federally Recognized Native American Tribes, including grants pursuant 
to section 306C of such Act, provided that the Federally Recognized 
Native American Tribe is not eligible for any other rural utilities 
programs set aside under the Rural Community Advancement Program. 
                                                        Pages S10197-98
  Cochran (for Bond) Amendment No. 1527, to limit the use of 
appropriated funds for award of contracts through the HUBZone program. 
                                                        Pages S10197-99
  Cochran (for Burns) Amendment No. 1528, to express the sense of the 
Senate that the Secretary of Agriculture shall exercise reasonable 
treatment of producers in order to avoid harmful consequences regarding 
the inadvertent planting of dry beans on contract acres, up to and 
including the 1999 crop year.                      
Pages S10197, S10199
  Kohl (for Byrd) Amendment No. 1529, to designate West Virginia State 
College in Institute, West Virginia, as a land-grant college and to 
provide funding for college, with an offset.       
Pages S10197, S10199
  Kohl (for Cleland/Coverdell) Amendment No. 1530, to redesignate the 
National School Lunch Act as the ``Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act''.                                       
Pages S10197, S10201
  Cochran/Kohl Amendment No. 1531, to provide additional funding for 
the Watershed and Flood Preventions and earmark funds for financial and 
technical assistance for pilot rehabilitation projects in Mississippi. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10201
  Cochran Amendment No. 1532, to increase the fee on guaranteed 
business and industry loans thereby reducing the subsidy costs. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10201
  Cochran Amendment No.1533, to provide at least twenty five percent of 
the appropriated funds to small minority farmers for cooperatives. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10201
  Cochran (for Domenici) Amendment No. 1534, to amend the National 
Drought Policy Act of 1998, to make a technical correction. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10201
  Kohl (for Durbin/Kennedy) Amendment No. 1535, to require the 
expenditure of appropriated funds for certain enforcement activities. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10201
  Kohl (for Durbin) Amendment No. 1536, expressing the sense of the 
Senate concerning the United States Action Plan on Food Security. 
                                                Pages S10197, S10201-02
  Cochran (for Gorton) Amendment No. 1537, to require the Farm Service 
Agency to review programs that provide assistance to apple farmers and 
report to Congress.                                
Pages S10197, S10202
  Kohl (for Graham/Mack) Amendment No. 1538, to provide additional 
funding for fruit fly exclusion and detection, with an offset. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10202
  Kohl (for Kerrey) Amendment No. 1539, providing that of the total 
amount appropriated, not to exceed $1,500,00 shall be available to the 
Grassroots project.                                
Pages S10197, S10202
  Kohl (for Levin) Amendment No. 1540, to provide funding for 
sustainable agriculture research and a research program on improved 
fruit practices in the State of Michigan, with an offset. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10202
  Kohl (for Lincoln) Amendment No. 1541, to add Harry K. Dupree to 
certain provisions of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 
Act of 1996.                                       
Pages S10197, S10202
  Cochran (for Mack) Amendment No. 1542, to provide $300,000 for 
climate change research at the Florida Center for Climate Prediction at 
Florida State University, the University of Florida and the University 
of Miami with an offset.                           
Pages S10197, S10202
  Cochran (for McConnell) Amendment No. 1543, to provide that certain 
cross-country leasing provisions apply to Kentucky and to release and 
protect the release of tobacco production and marketing information. 
                                                Pages S10197, S10202-03
  Cochran (for Nickles) Amendment No. 1544, to limit the use of funds 
appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to 
declare excess or surplus all or part of the lands and facilities owned 
by the federal government and administered by the Secretary of 
Agriculture at Fort Reno, Oklahoma, or to transfer or convey such lands 
or facilities, without the specific authorization of Congress. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10203
  Kohl (for Reid) Amendment No. 1545, to appropriate $500,000 for the 
Nevada Arid Rangelands Initiative to develop research and educational 
programs to manage healthy and productive rangelands, provide abundant 
renewable natural resources, and support the economic development of 
the rangelands in a sustainable manner.            
Pages S10197, S10203

[[Page D926]]


  Cochran (for Sessions) Amendment No. 1546, to provide for an increase 
and decrease in certain provisions of the bill.    
Pages S10197, S10203
  Cochran (for Smith of New Hampshire) Amendment No. 1547, to provide 
eligibility to Berlin, New Hampshire for a rural utilities grant or 
loan under the Rural Community Advancement Program. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10203
  Cochran (for Smith of Oregon) Amendment No. 1548, to authorize the 
Cranberry Marketing Committee to conduct paid advertising for 
cranberries and cranberry products and to authorize the Secretary of 
Agriculture and the Committee to collect cranberry inventory data. 
                                                Pages S10197, S10203-04
  Cochran (for Stevens) Amendment No. 1549, to authorize Alaska Native 
tribes for payment of certain administrative costs for the Food Stamp 
Program.                                           
Pages S10197, S10204
  Cochran (for Stevens) Amendment No. 1550, to require the Secretary 
review food packages periodically and consider including other 
nutritious foods under the food package program for Women, Children and 
Infants.                                           
Pages S10197, S10204
  Cochran (for Stevens) Amendment No. 1551, to provide for education 
grants to Alaska Native serving institutions and Native Hawaiian 
serving institutions.                           
Pages S10197, S10204-05
  Cochran (for Stevens) Amendment No. 1552, to provide a minimum 
allocation of Smith Lever Act funds to States subject to a special 
statutory cost of living adjustment.               
Pages S10197, S10205
  Cochran (for Stevens) Amendment No. 1553, to provide a minimum 
allocation of Hatch Act funds to States subject to a special statutory 
cost of living adjustment.                         
Pages S10197, S10205
  Cochran (for Thomas) Amendment No. 1554, to set aside certain funds 
for program and activities of the Livestock Marketing Information 
Center in Lakewood, Colorado, with an offset.      
Pages S10197, S10205
  Cochran (for Wellstone) Amendment No. 1555, to require the use of 
certain funds transferred to the Economic Research Service to conduct a 
study of reasons for the decline in participation in the food stamp 
program and any problems that households with eligible children have 
experienced in obtaining food stamps.              
Pages S10197, S10205
  Kohl (for Edwards) Amendment No. 1556, to provide for an increase and 
a decrease in the amounts of certain appropriated funds. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10205
  Cochran (for Hutchison) Amendment No. 1557, to express the sense of 
the Senate that the Food and Drug Administration, to the maximum extent 
possible, when conducting an Import Food Survey under the President's 
Food Safety Initiative, ensure timely testing of produce imports. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10205
  Kohl (for Bryan/Reid) Amendment No. 1558, to provide that the price 
of milk received by producers in Clark County, Nevada, shall not be 
subject to any Federal milk marketing order or any other regulation by 
the Secretary of Agriculture and shall solely be regulated by the State 
of Nevada and the Nevada State Dairy Commission.   
Pages S10197, S10205
  Kohl (for Baucus) Amendment No. 1559, to express the sense of the 
Senate concerning actions by the World Trade Organization relating to 
trade in agricultural commodities.              
Pages S10197, S10205-06
  Kohl Amendment No. 1560, to provide additional funding to existing 
research programs.                                 
Pages S10197, S10206
  Kohl (for Harkin) Amendment No. 1561, to provide an additional 
$2,000,000 for the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards 
Administration, offset from the Economic Research Service. 
                                                   Pages S10197, S10206
Rejected:
  Roberts Amendment No. 1509 (to Amendment No. 1499), of a perfecting 
nature. (By 66 yeas to 33 nays (Vote No. 253), Senate tabled the 
amendment.)                                             
Pages S10151-55
  McCain/Gregg Modified Amendment No. 1510 (to Amendment No. 1499), to 
prohibit the use of appropriated funds for the sugar program, other 
than the marketing assessment. (By 66 yeas to 33 nays (Vote No. 254), 
Senate tabled the amendment.)                           
Pages S10155-63
  Dorgan Amendment No. 1514 (to Amendment No. 1499), to provide 
emergency and income loss assistance to agricultural producers. (By 55 
yeas to 44 nays (Vote No. 255), Senate tabled the amendment.) 
                                                        Pages S10174-76
  Conrad Amendment No. 1517 (to Amendment No. 1499), of a perfecting 
nature. (By 51 yeas to 48 nays (Vote No. 256), Senate tabled the 
amendment.)                                             
Pages S10176-79
  Chafee Amendment No. 1522 (to Amendment No. 1521), to express the 
sense of the Senate that the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
should review the findings of the EPA Blue Ribbon Panel on MTBE and 
other relevant scientific studies, hold comprehensive hearings, and 
report to the Senate at the earliest possible date any legislation 
necessary to address the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel. (By 
51 yeas to 44 nays (Vote No. 258), Senate tabled the amendment.) 
                                                            Page S10195
Withdrawn:
  Specter Amendment No. 1512 (to Amendment No. 1499), to reauthorize, 
and modify the conditions for, the consent of Congress to the Northeast 
Interstate Dairy Compact, to grant the consent of Congress to the 
Southern Dairy Compact, and to require the Secretary of Agriculture to 
use certain methods

[[Page D927]]

for pricing milk under consolidated Federal milk marketing orders. 
                                                        Pages S10163-68
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  By 53 yeas to 47 nays (Vote No. 252), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn, not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected a motion to close further debate on the motion to recommit the 
bill to the Committee on Appropriations, with instructions to report 
back forthwith, with a Lott Amendment No. 1501 (to the instructions of 
the motion to recommit), to restrict the use of certain funds 
appropriated to the Agricultural Marketing Service.     
Pages S10139-50
  Agriculture Appropriations: Committee on Appropriations was 
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1906, making 
appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2000, and the bill was then passed, after striking all 
after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the text of S. 
1233, Senate companion measure, as passed by the Senate today. Senate 
insisted on its amendment, requested a conference with the House 
thereon, and the Chair was authorized to appoint the following 
conferees: Senators Cochran, Specter, Bond, Gorton, McConnell, Burns, 
Stevens, Kohl, Harkin, Dorgan, Feinstein, Durbin, and Byrd. 
                                                            Page S10214
  Subsequently, passage of S. 1233 was vitiated and then indefinitely 
postponed.                                                  
Page S10214
  Senate Legal Counsel: Senate agreed to S. Res. 173, to authorize 
representation of the Senate Committee on Armed Services in the case of 
Philip Tinsley III v. Senate Committee on Armed Services.   
  Page S10263
  Senate Legal Counsel: Senate agreed to S. Res. 174, to authorize 
representation of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in the case of 
Philip Tinsley III v. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.    
  Page S10263
  Veterans National Cemetery: Senate passed S. 695, to require the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery for 
veterans in various locations in the United States, after agreeing to 
the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, and the 
following amendment proposed thereto:                   
  Pages S10265-66
  Cochran (for Specter/Rockefeller) Amendment No. 1562, to require the 
establishment of a national cemetery in the Detroit, Michigan, metro 
area and in Sacramento, California, and to authorize the use of flat 
grave markers at Santa Fe National cemetery.                
Page S10265
Nominations--Agreement: A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached 
providing for the consideration of Richard Holbrooke, of New York, to 
be a Representative of the United States to the Sessions of the General 
Assembly of the United Nations during his tenure of service as 
Representative of the United States to the United Nations, and to be 
the Representative of the United States to the United Nations with the 
rank and status of Ambassador, and the Representative of the United 
States in the Security Council of the United Nations, on Thursday, 
August 5, 1999, with a vote to occur thereon.               
  Page S10263
Interior Appropriations--Agreement: Senate will resume consideration of 
H.R. 2466, making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and 
related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, on 
Thursday, August 5, 1999.                                   
  Page S10199
Private Relief: Senate concurred in the amendment of the House to S. 
606, for the relief of Global Exploration and Development Corporation, 
Kerr-McGee Corporation, and Kerr-McGee Chemical, LLC.   
  Pages S10263-64
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations:
  Dan Herman Renberg, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Board of 
Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States for a term 
expiring January 20, 2003.
  Routine list in the Navy.                                 
Page S10266
Messages From the House:                                
  Pages S10217-18
Measures Referred:                                          
  Page S10218
Enrolled Bills Presented:                                   
  Page S10218
Communications:                                         
  Pages S10218-19
Petitions:                                              
  Pages S10219-20
Executive Reports of Committees:                        
  Pages S10220-21
Statements on Introduced Bills:                         
  Pages S10221-41
Additional Cosponsors:                                  
  Pages S10241-42
Amendments Submitted:                                   
  Pages S10244-59
Authority for Committees:                               
  Pages S10259-60
Additional Statements:                                  
  Pages S10260-63
Record Votes: Seven record votes were taken today. (Total--258) 
           Pages S10150, S10155, S10163, S10176, S10179, S10183, S10195
Adjournment: Senate convened at 9 a.m., and adjourned at 9:48 p.m., 
until 9:30 a.m., on Thursday, August 5, 1999. (For Senate's program, 
see the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S10199.)

[[Page D928]]