[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 58 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3858-S3862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2000--CONFERENCE REPORT

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate will now resume 
consideration of the conference report accompanying H.R. 434, which the 
clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Conference report to accompany H.R. 434, an act to 
     authorize a new trade and investment policy for sub-Saharan 
     Africa.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the time 
until 10 a.m. is equally divided in the usual form.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I defer to the Senator from New York.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New York.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I do thank my colleague, who will be 
speaking momentarily. I want to simply recapitulate some of the 
statements made yesterday, of which the first and the most important is 
to say this is the first trade bill to come to the floor of the Senate 
in 6 years. It is not simply that there have not been matters to attend 
to, it is rather that we have not been able to attend to them.
  Most important, we have been unable to provide the President with 
negotiating authority for future trade agreements in the manner that 
developed over the last half century, following the epochal decision 
and action in the first term of President Roosevelt under Cordell Hull 
to begin the reciprocal trade agreements program. Under that program, 
the United States negotiated with individual countries, and then after 
World War II with a group of countries gathered together under the 
umbrella of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The Reciprocal 
Trade Agreements Act of 1934 gave the President the authority to 
negotiate and proclaim tariff reductions and that procedure evolved, in 
1974, into the trade agreements negotiating authority, whereby the 
Congress gave the President the opportunity to reach a common agreement 
with other countries and then send it to the Congress to be approved up 
or down, not to be negotiated item by item as we had done in the 
disastrous Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1930. We have never had a tariff bill 
as such on the Senate floor in 70 years.
  The administration was hesitant about asking the Congress to renew 
this authority. When finally it did, we were hesitant about giving it, 
and it looked for a while as if an enormous, a momentous event in the 
world economy and the American economy and in the political stability 
of the world was being lost. The role of trade has become so important. 
Many of the principal actors in the Second World War were at war with 
each other in very much trade-related matters. It would now be thought 
inconceivable for any such conflict to take place.
  I say this because not only was this the first bill in six years, but 
yesterday we began our debate on an auspicious note with a resounding 
vote of 90-6 in support of the motion to proceed to the conference 
report, and now we will vote to invoke cloture. I trust we will do so 
with the same resounding vote.
  This is a good bill. It is not perfect, nor will it solve all the 
economic problems of sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, but it will 
help, as Senator Grassley and others said yesterday. My esteemed 
colleague, the Senator from Iowa, is here representing Senator Roth, 
the chairman of our committee, who is recovering from surgery and who 
will be back with us next week when on next Wednesday we will take up 
in the Finance Committee the proposition of permanent normal trade 
relations with China, an epic decision we will have to make and which I 
think we will be able to make in the context of this legislation having 
succeeded.
  I remind all who might be listening that 6 months ago, this 
legislation was dead. It was not going anywhere. The House had passed a 
measure limited to Africa and not very well received over here. They 
had not included anything for the Caribbean Basin and Central America, 
as we call it, a program begun under President Reagan, and the Finance 
Committee took it up. The Finance Committee worked for 6 months on this 
matter.
  I know there are persons who feel it is unacceptable because it does 
not contain provisions that provide for assistance to sub-Saharan 
Africa with respect to HIV/AIDS.
  I say to my friends, the Senate did have such a provision. We fought 
for it in conference. We were not able to succeed because on the House 
side it was thought the legislation was a trade measure and public 
health issues were not relevant.
  But also, absent economic development, there will be no controlling 
this epidemic in Africa, anymore than in the subcontinent of Asia, and 
we will not have anything in which to begin an engagement on these 
matters--nothing. Anyone who comes to this body thinking that 
legislation which is not perfect is unacceptable will often be 
disappointed. I was disappointed with the extent to which persons spoke 
yesterday about rejecting this legislation because it was not perfect.

  I note that the Foreign Relations Committee has reported out a 
measure, S. 2382, the Technical Assistance, Trade Promotion and Anti-
Corruption Act of 2000, which includes some important provisions 
addressing this public health crisis. Other suggestions are under 
review. These include proposed tax incentives to promote vaccine 
development. These tax incentives will come to the Finance Committee.
  I am sure my friend from Iowa will agree that Senators who accept 
what we have done today, even if not perfect, will find a much more 
receptive Finance Committee. We have worked very hard on this. We know 
perfectly well the facts, and we propose to address them in a context 
where we will have a tax bill. We will try to get a tax bill on the 
House side, and we will enact something of much greater consequence 
than anything now contemplated.
  I offer a further thought, which is that on May 3, the Wall Street 
Journal reported, and I was advised of this in advance, that the Pfizer 
pharmaceutical company--one of the oldest, the one which developed 
penicillin during World War II, the British having discovered it and 
not having the capacity to produce it; a great firm with great 
successes--had offered to provide one of its drug therapies for HIV 
infection, called Diflucan, at no cost to

[[Page S3859]]

South Africans. There is a press announcement from Geneva this morning 
that five pharmaceutical companies--Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Glaxo 
Wellcome, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Roche--are participating in a 
collaborative initiative with the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 
which is termed UNAIDS to ``explore ways to accelerate and improve the 
provision of HIV/AIDS-related care and treatment in developing 
countries.''

  Does the Presiding Officer wish me to cease and desist?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bunning). The time allocated to the 
minority side has expired.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Fine.
  I would simply close by saying, sir, as to the matter of worker 
rights, the amendment to the CBI legislation offered on this matter was 
offered by Senator Levin, which I cosponsored. It provided that the 
President must take into account the extent to which a prospective CBI 
beneficiary country protects internationally recognized worker rights. 
That is to say, the core labor standards established by the ILO. I 
report to the Senate that this was retained in the conference 
agreement, as were many other Senate amendments.
  I thank the Chair and I regret having imposed upon my colleague's 
time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, it is my intention to use 5 minutes and 
then give the remainder of the time to one of the opponents of the 
legislation, the Senator from Wisconsin. So I ask the Chair to please 
inform me when 5 minutes are up.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair will so note.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise in support of the cloture motion. 
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this motion. 
I spoke yesterday, at length, about why this bill is such an important 
piece of legislation.
  I guess the best proof of it is that it enjoys such bipartisan 
support, which does not happen too often on Capitol Hill. But I summed 
up, in yesterday's remarks, that this conference agreement is about 
opportunity--opportunity for 48 struggling nations of sub-Saharan 
Africa; and opportunity for the people of the Caribbean, many of whom 
are struggling to rebuild their lives following the devastation of 
their countries by natural disaster.
  Most importantly, we in the Congress must be concerned about American 
jobs--our working men and women. This bill does much for the American 
economy and for America's consumers, as well. The enhanced Caribbean 
Basin Initiative textile provisions in this conference agreement may 
create up to $8 billion in new sales and 120,000 new jobs over the next 
5 years. Those are not my estimates. Those are not Senator Moynihan's 
estimates. Those are the textile industry's own estimates.
  In addition to the textile industry, this bill enjoys the support of 
many other industries as well. This is because American exports follow 
American investment when that investment moves abroad, especially 
exports of capital equipment.
  This conference agreement enjoys broad support among distinguished 
Members of both the majority and minority, who have worked together 
long and hard to fashion this agreement.
  It also enjoys the support of a vast majority of political, civic, 
and religious leaders around the United States, and the support of each 
of the nations that would benefit from its passage.
  I urge my colleagues to take a look at an advertisement in the Hill 
newspaper that was put out yesterday. It has a long list of prominent 
business leaders and organizations. It has a long list of American 
civic leaders who support this, including even organizations such as 
Empower America, which is headed by Republican Jack Kemp, and is 
supported by conservative leaders such as Bill Bennett.
  Since it enjoys this broad, bipartisan support--both within and 
outside the political environment--I hope that it gets the support of 
our colleagues as well.
  A vote for cloture is also a reaffirmation of America's historic 
leadership role in international trade. We have much to do in the 
international trade arena in the next year or two:
  Restore confidence in American trade policy, and leadership in trade; 
rebuild confidence in the World Trade Organization; win the fight for 
permanent normal trade relations status for China; and show our trading 
partners in Geneva, where negotiations are underway right now, that we 
in the Senate are engaged with the world, and the world can look to us 
for that leadership.
  I ask my colleagues to vote in support of the opportunity to continue 
America's leadership in the effort to reduce trade barriers. I ask my 
colleagues to vote in favor of this motion.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have that advertisement I 
mentioned in the Hill newspaper printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                     [From the Hill, May 10, 2000]

                      To The United States Senate


      conference report on the african growth and opportunity act

     We Endorse Legislation That Provides Social and Economic 
         Opportunity in Africa And We, the Undersigned, are 
         Working Together to Achieve this Goal

                         All 48 African Nations

     Angola
     Benin
     Botswana
     Burkina Faso
     Burundi
     Cameroon
     Cape Verde
     Central Africa Republic
     Chad
     Comoros
     Congo (Brazzaville)
     Congo, Democratic Republic
     Cote d'Ivoire
     Djibouti
     Equitorial Guinea
     Eritrea
     Ethiopia
     Gabon
     The Gambia
     Ghana
     Guinea
     Guinea-Bissau
     Kenya
     Lesotho
     Liberia
     Madagascar
     Malawi
     Mali
     Mauritania
     Mauritius
     Mozambique
     Namibia
     Niger
     Nigeria
     Reunion
     Rwanda
     Sao Tome and Principe
     Senegal
     Seychelles
     Sierra Leone
     South Africa
     Swaziland
     Tanzania
     Togo
     Uganda
     Zambia
     Zimbabwe

                            Business Leaders

     The Limited, Inc.
     Gap Inc.
     Ford Motor Company
     Moving Water Industries
     Chevron Corporation
     Kmart Corporation
     Cargill
     BP Amoco Corporation
     Bechtel
     Exxon Corporation
     Citigroup
     Enron Corporation
     Bank of America
     Mobil Corporation
     Boeing Company
     Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
     National Retail Federation
     Caterpillar, Inc.
     Leon Tempelsman & Son
     DaimlerChrysler
     American International Group
     Archer Daniels Midland Company
     Foley, Hoag and Eliot
     Eastman Kodak
     Equator Bank HSBC
     Edlow International
     Eli Lilly and Company
     Emerson Electric Co.
     Texaco Inc.
     Equitable Capital Mgmt.
     Barden International
     BET, Inc.
     F.C. Schaffer
     Fluor Corporation
     WorldSpace, Inc.
     General Electric
     General Motors Corporation
     Halliburton/Brown & Root
     Harris Corporation
     Holland & Knight
     Iridium LLC
     Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical
     Lehman Brothers
     Corporate Council on Africa
     Louis Berger International
     Manchester Trade
     McDermott Incorporated
     McDonald's Corporation
     Modern Africa Fund Managers
     Motorola Inc.

[[Page S3860]]

     Moving Water Industries
     National Soft Drink Association
     New Africa Advisers
     Occidental International
     Ocean Energy
     Oracle
     Philip Morris
     PriceWaterhouseCoopers
     Pryor, McClendon, Counts & Co.
     Raytheon
     SBC Communications Inc.
     Seaboard
     Teledesic Corporation
     Tyco
     Westar Group Inc.
     International Mass Retail Association
     U.S. Chamber of Commerce
     Coalition for Employment Through Exports, Inc.

                         American Civic Leaders

     Bishop Donald G.K. Ming, AME Church
     Bishop Garnett C. Henning, AME Church
     Bishop Vinton Anderson, AME Church
     The Honorable Leon Sullivan
     Mel Foote, CFA
     Ambassador Andrew Young
     Former Mayor David Dinkins
     Mayor Wellington Webb
     The Honorable Kweisi Mfume
     Mrs. Coretta Scott King
     Mr. Martin Luther King III
     Mr. Robert Johnson, BET, Inc.
     Mr. C. Payne Lucas
     Constituency for Africa
     National Council of Churches
     Africare
     International Foundation for Education and Self-Help
     Education Africa
     Africa-America Institute
     African Development Foundation
     World Vision
     Service and Development Agency (SADA)
     African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church
     Corporate Council on Africa
     Organization Industrialization Council International
     NAACP
     Washington Law Society
     Foundation for Democracy in Africa
     National Association of Negro and Professional Women's Club
     National Bar Association
     United States Conference of Mayors
     National Conference of Black Mayors
     National Council of Churches
     Africa Travel Association
     Black Professionals in International Affairs
     Southern Christian Leadership Conference
     National Association of State Legislatures
     National Association of Minority Contractors
     National Black Chamber of Commerce
     National Black Media Coalition
     National Black Republican Council
     Council of 100 Black Republicans
     Nigerian American Alliance
     U.S. Business Council
     Ron Brown Foundation
     Goodworks International
     Empower America
       President Clinton: ``Our Administration strongly supports 
     the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which I said in my 
     State of the Union Address, we will work to pass in this 
     session of Congress.''
       Majority leader Trent Lott: ``I support legislation that is 
     good for Americans and Africans.''
       The African Diplomatic Corps: ``The House of 
     Representatives should seize this opportunity to open a new, 
     historic chapter in the relations between Africa and the 
     United States. It will mark a true beginning for an 
     independent Africa and this great nation.''
       Reverened Leon Sullivan, IFESH; ``The African Growth and 
     Opportunity Act will open new markets for American products 
     and will create additional jobs for Americans and Africans. 
     For every $1 billion in exports to Africa, 14,000 jobs are 
     created or sustained in the United States.''
       We Urge Senate Conferees to Report the: African Growth and 
     Opportunity Act!!--AGOA Coalition, Inc.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, let me first thank the Senator from Iowa 
for his courtesy in giving me this time to speak in opposition.
  Mr. President, I rise to take another opportunity to express my 
disappointment with the conference report on the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act. I have outlined my concerns about this bill time and 
again. I have explained how little opportunity it really offers to the 
countries of Africa. I have expressed my fears about transshipment. I 
have noted the bill's failure to address the environmental issues that 
are inextricably linked with trade and investment. And, most 
importantly, I have pointed out the rather obvious fact that unless we 
get serious about reducing Africa's debt burden and fighting the 
region's devastating HIV/AIDS crisis, any effort to stimulate trade and 
investment is simply an act of political theater.
  By refusing to address the core obstacles prohibiting so much of that 
vast continent from achieving its potential as a region of prosperity 
and a valued trading partner, this Senate is once again ignoring the 
tough issues in favor of the ultimately futile quick fix. We are 
capable of better, and the people of Africa are certainly deserving of 
more.
  I felt this way before learning the outcome of the conference--I felt 
this way last year, when I joined Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., to 
introduce alternative legislation to the African Growth and Opportunity 
Act. But my disappointment was deepened, and my sense of outrage was 
provoked, and my resolve to fight for something better was strengthened 
when the outcome of the conference became apparent.
  The fate of the Feinstein-Feingold amendment--a provision that was 
accepted into the manager's package when this bill was debated on the 
floor last fall but was stripped by the leadership in the final days of 
the conference--is appalling. Our modest amendment would have prevented 
the U.S. Government from pressuring African countries that use 
internationally legal means to make HIV/AIDS medications more 
accessible to their citizens. I stood on this floor yesterday and cited 
statistic after shocking statistic, trying to communicate the urgency 
of the situation and the scale of the crisis. The falling life 
expectancies, the overcrowded morgues, the millions of orphans, the 
declines in GDP--I have tried to convey the extent of the disease's 
reach. In light of these facts, passing legislation that prevents our 
Government from stopping legal efforts to bring help and hope to the 
millions affected by the epidemic seemed like the least that this body 
could do. And yet we could not even accomplish that modest step. We 
could not even agree to do no harm.
  And I want to remind my colleagues that this issue will not go away. 
Even those least inclined to give this issue the attention it deserves 
will not be able to ignore 5,500 deaths per day, and the social, 
economic, and political ramifications of those deaths. This issue will 
not go away as long as the HIV/AIDS crisis continues on its terrible 
course; this issue will not go away as long as the American public asks 
tough questions about why this Congress refuses to pass even modest 
measures like the Feinstein-Feingold amendment; and this issue will not 
go away as long as I am in this Senate.
  Most Members didn't have to face up, publicly, to the pressure of the 
pharmaceutical industry and the far reaching implications of their 
choice to support or not support the Feinstein-Feingold amendment. But 
eventually we will all have to face the music, we will have to answer 
to our constituents and to our consciences.
  The commitment of the major pharmaceutical companies to differential 
pricing is perhaps promising, but it raises as many questions as it 
answers. There is differential pricing today between the United States 
and Canada.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. I ask unanimous consent for 1 additional minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. I thank the Senator from Iowa.
  There is differential pricing today between Canada and the United 
States when it comes to pharmaceuticals, and that is a bad deal. 
Differential pricing does not necessarily mean the affordable pricing 
of drugs.
  But I appreciate the courtesy in being able to speak on this matter 
because I believe so strongly that the voices in opposition to this 
bill need to be heard. We did not do the job we needed to do to create 
a real Africa trade bill. I regret that and will vote in opposition to 
cloture. I ask my colleagues to vote against cloture.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Chair lays 
before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will 
state.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the Conference 
     Report to accompany H.R. 434, The African Growth and 
     Opportunity Act:
         Trent Lott, Jon Kyl, Pat Roberts, Craig Thomas, Bill 
           Frist, Paul Coverdell, James Inhofe, Orrin Hatch, Don 
           Nickles, Larry Craig, Slade Gorton, Mitch McConnell, 
           Peter Fitzgerald, Chuck Grassley, Phil Gramm, and Mike 
           Crapo.


[[Page S3861]]


  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call is waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
conference report to accompanying H.R. 434, the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act, shall be brought to a close? The yeas and nays are 
required under the rule. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. 
Domenici), and the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Roth) are necessarily 
absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Bingaman), 
the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Bryan), the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. 
Landrieu), and the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln) are necessarily 
absent.
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 76, nays 18, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 97 Leg.]

                                YEAS--76

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Allard
     Ashcroft
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Burns
     Campbell
     Chafee, L.
     Cochran
     Coverdell
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Lautenberg
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Reid
     Robb
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (OR)
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--18

     Boxer
     Bunning
     Byrd
     Cleland
     Collins
     Conrad
     Dorgan
     Edwards
     Feingold
     Helms
     Hollings
     Kennedy
     Leahy
     Reed
     Smith (NH)
     Snowe
     Thurmond
     Wellstone

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Bingaman
     Bryan
     Domenici
     Landrieu
     Lincoln
     Roth
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 76, the nays are 
18. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in 
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, now that we are considering the 
conference report on the free trade bill, which I support, I point out 
while this legislation is designed to improve economic conditions in 
sub-Saharan Africa, many of these sub-Saharan countries have struggled 
economically for years. As a result, that economic stagnation has also 
led to political unrest, civil wars, and bloody violence. Reducing 
violence should be a high priority all across the globe, not only on 
the African Continent but also a high priority in our country.
  In this country, we are going to see this weekend hundreds of 
thousands of mothers and families in Washington marching against 
violence as part of the Million Mom March.
  My resolution simply commends the participants of the Million Mom 
March this weekend for rallying their communities to ask for sensible 
gun safety legislation. It calls on the Congress to complete action on 
the juvenile justice bill, which will help promote safety and sensible 
legislation, and I hope to offer that resolution before the Memorial 
Day recess.
  I will be on The Mall for the march this Sunday with, I am sure, many 
of my colleagues on Mother's Day, May 14, 2000, with Americans from all 
walks of life. In Washington and communities across the country, people 
will join together to call for meaningful, commonsense gun safety 
policies.
  My resolution commends these families, citizens, members of religious 
congregations, schools, community-based organizations, businesses, 
political, and cultural groups for coming together as a local and 
national community to recognize the violence committed against our 
children from guns must cease.
  I am going to continue to try my best to see if we can get action on 
the stalled gun safety provision that American families want us to 
pass.
  It has now been more than a year since that terrible tragedy at 
Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Students at that high school 
were attacked in the halls of their school, in their classrooms. The 
result everyone knows: 12 students dead, a teacher shot dead, another 
23 students and teachers injured.
  I have to ask, just as they are asking--I hear it; and I know 
colleagues of mine hear it--what has Congress done since that time, 
since that awful day 1 year ago? What have we done to help reduce this 
violence? As I see it, not much--virtually nothing. I think it is 
shameful.
  It is shameful because shootings have not stopped. Columbine was the 
most deadly school shooting. But there have been many others. It is 
peculiar, you often think--at least I do; I speak for myself--that we 
have seen the ultimate outrage, one after another: Columbine; the 
children being led, hand in hand, by policemen out of the school in Los 
Angeles; young people at a prayer meeting in Texas--and still nothing 
happens.
  In February of this year, a little first grader was shot and killed 
by a classmate--a 6-year-old killing a 6-year-old. The child, Kayla 
Rolland, a beautiful little girl, is taken from her family. There was 
no explanation except that this little boy got a gun and pulled the 
trigger. In December of last year, a seventh grader in Fort Gibson, OK, 
took a handgun to school and wounded four students. These are just the 
school shootings since the terrible tragedy at Columbine.
  Since 1997, there have been school shootings in Pearl, MS, West 
Paducah, KY, Jonesboro, AR, Edinboro, PA, and Springfield, OR.
  There have been many other outrages outside our schools. Recently, a 
racist in Pittsburgh killed six people, and not too far from where we 
are standing, seven children were shot at the National Zoo.
  Some of us have tried to address this violence. During the debate on 
the juvenile justice bill, the Senate passed several gun safety 
measures, including my amendment to require criminal background checks 
at gun shows. It was a very close vote. The Vice President, in his role 
as President of the Senate, voted to break the 50-50 tie.
  I remind my colleagues that the gun show amendment had bipartisan 
support. I did not get 50 votes without getting some of our colleagues 
on the Republican side. I was pleased to have that support from 
Senators DeWine, Fitzgerald, Lugar, Voinovich, Warner, and Senator John 
Chafee, who is no longer with us. They all voted for the amendment.
  The final juvenile justice bill passed by a vote of 73-25. There was 
strong bipartisan support for moving forward on juvenile crime and for 
trying to reduce gun violence.
  But what has happened since then? The gun lobby, and its 
congressional allies, have stalled the bill. It has been held hostage 
in the conference committee for more than 9 months. We need to move 
forward on gun safety because stopping gun violence and keeping our 
kids safe is too important.
  When you talk about a million women marching, while they would like 
it, they are not marching for equal pay; they are not marching for job 
opportunity; they are not talking about ``glass ceilings;'' they are 
not talking about an invasion of the rights as we conventionally see 
them. There is one issue that is more important than any other.

  They say: Dear God, help us protect our children. When we send them 
to school in the morning, they are healthy and smiling. We want them to 
come back from school the same way at the end of the day--even though 
they now know that there are going to be metal detectors, there are 
going to be guards, and there are going to be additional measures to 
try to maintain security.
  Violence has won over much of our attention, certainly much of our 
budget. But we have to work to help families, some of whom have already 
paid a terrible price for gun violence, and others who worry about it 
each and every day. Because the wounds that were received were not 
simply the wounds that came from the gun attack, as horrible as that 
was, but everybody in the vicinity, everybody in those schools, were 
wounded by those attacks, so was our Nation. It changed the tenure of 
things. It made us all apprehensive.

[[Page S3862]]

  So the gun safety provisions in the juvenile justice bill are simply 
commonsense measures that Congress should have enacted a long time ago.
  First, we have to close the gun show loophole. There is no question 
that closing the gun show loophole will help prevent guns from getting 
into the wrong hands, including the hands of schoolchildren.
  The proof is in the testimony of Robyn Anderson before the Colorado 
Legislature. She is the young woman who went with Eric Harris and Dylan 
Klebold to the Tanner gun show in Adams County, CO. She bought two 
shotguns and a rifle for Klebold and Harris, three of the four guns 
that they later used in their massacre, their shooting rampage at 
Columbine High School.
  She testified, saying very clearly:

       Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had gone to the Tanner gun 
     show on Saturday and they took me back with them on Sunday. . 
     . . While we were walking around, Eric and Dylan kept asking 
     sellers if they were private or licensed. They wanted to buy 
     their guns from someone who was private--and not licensed--
     because there would be no paperwork or background check.

  She said:

       It was too easy. I wish it had been more difficult. I 
     wouldn't have helped them buy the guns if I had faced a 
     background check.

  More recently Patty Nielson, a teacher at Columbine High School, 
spoke about the need to close the gun show loophole. She said:

       All we know for sure is that if they [Klebold and Harris] 
     hadn't gotten these guns, they never would have killed those 
     innocent people. And the shocking thing is that they got 
     those guns so easily from the gun show.

  Mr. REID. Will the Senator from New Jersey withhold? The leader is on 
the floor to make a unanimous consent request.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I certainly would agree to that provided that I 
regain the floor.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I did not hear the request, but I understand 
that Senator Lautenberg will yield so that I can proceed to a unanimous 
consent request at this time.
  Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President. I believe that we are 
postcloture now, and the subject for debate should be the African and 
CBI trade bill; is that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, that is correct. In a postcloture 
situation, debate is supposed to be germane to the bill.

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