[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4170-S4171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
              APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I move to proceed to S. 2522, the foreign 
ops appropriations bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, under that debate time, I would say again 
that I believe Senator Gorton wishes to make a statement at this time. 
I see Senator McConnell is here, and I presume Senator Leahy, who is 
also here,

[[Page S4171]]

may want to talk about the content of this legislation and discuss how 
we are going to find a way to get it completed.
  I know we have a problem in that the House has not acted on this 
legislation. But we also need to go ahead and move forward on it. It 
has emergency funding in it for the counternarcotics program in 
Colombia. It has the Israeli peace process funds in it and debt relief 
dealing with Iraqi opposition, and a lot of other very important items.
  I think we need to discuss that and decide how we are going to be 
able to proceed in an emergency way on this legislation.
  Having said that, while that debate is taking place, we will be 
working to see if we can work out an agreement on the next bill that 
will be called up relatively shortly.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democrat leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I objected, as I noted I would do 
yesterday, to taking up a bill that has yet to be acted upon in the 
House. The regular order is the bill must be approved in the House 
prior to the time we finish our work on the legislation. I see no need 
to deal with the same bill twice, to deal with it now and to deal with 
it again later once the bill is acted upon in the House of 
Representatives.
  The distinguished majority leader had noted that there is emergency 
funding incorporated in this bill. I am sympathetic to that. I won't 
ask him at this point, but I note I could ask unanimous consent--which 
I will not do--to take up H.R. 3908, the emergency supplemental bill 
for the year 2000. The House passed it and urged the Senate to take it 
up and pass it. The Appropriations Committee had hoped they could take 
it up and pass it. It was the majority leader's determination not to 
take it up, not to pass it, but to leave it in committee. I am not as 
sympathetic as I wish I could be about his desire to deal with these 
emergency matters when we could easily and quickly and very efficiently 
deal with emergency funding by simply taking up the bill that is right 
now on the calendar. Again, that is H.R. 3908.
  That is, of course, the right of the majority and the right of the 
majority leader, especially, to make that decision. I am disappointed. 
Until that House bill comes before the Senate, it is not my intention 
to have to require the Senate to go through a debate on the same issue 
twice. That was the reason the rules were written as they were. 
Constitutionally, appropriations bills must begin in the House of 
Representatives. We are, in a sense, circumventing the rules of the 
Congress by allowing these bills to be debated and considered prior to 
the time the bill comes before the Senate.
  We will certainly object. We will look forward to the House acting, 
as we hope they will soon, and not only on this bill but on others. 
Senator Lott is absolutely right. This legislation should have been 
reported out it should have been passed in the House by now. It hasn't 
been. It is disappointing that it hasn't been. That is the only reason 
we are not taking it up this afternoon.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent I be permitted to 
speak as in morning business for not to exceed 8 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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