Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 80 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)

[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 80 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5628-S5629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES--
Continued

Motion to Commit with Amendment No. 3598

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the pending
motion.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
At the moment, there is not a sufficient second.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I again ask for the yeas and nays on the
pending motion.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.

Amendment No. 3600 to Instructions of the Motion to Commit

(Purpose: To limit the use of funds for standards relating to ergonomic
protection)

Mr. LOTT. I send an amendment to the desk to the pending motion to
commit with instructions.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Lott] proposes an
amendment numbered 3600 to the instructions of the motion to
commit.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask consent that reading be dispensed
with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:

In lieu of the amendment insert:
None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to
promulgate, issue, implement, administer any proposed,
temporary, or final standard on ergonomic protection.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.

Amendment No. 3601 to Amendment No. 3600

(Purpose: To limit the use of funds for standards relating
to ergonomic protection.)

Mr. LOTT. I send a second-degree amendment to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Lott] proposes an
amendment numbered 3601 to amendment No. 3600.
Strike all after the first word, and insert the following:

[[Page S5629]]

``Of the funds made available in this Act may be used by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to
promulgate, issue, implement, administer, or enforce any
proposed, temporary, or final standard on ergonomic
protection.
``This section shall take effect on October 4, 2000.''
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask consent there be 2 hours equally
divided in the usual form prior to a vote in relation to amendment No.
3599.
Mr. REID. I object.
Mr. LOTT. I ask there be 4 hours equally divided in the usual form
prior to a vote in relation to amendment No. 3599 and the Democrats'
motion to commit with instructions.
Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, we have just finished
several hours on other matters and we have a number of Senators with
whom I need to check before we can agree to this unanimous consent
agreement. Therefore, I object.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I certainly understand that the Senator
would want to consider the situation, where we are, and consult with a
number of Senators. In fact, we need to do the same thing on our side.
I ask my colleagues on the Democratic side to see if we can't come to
an agreement that is suitable on both sides of the aisle with regard to
the amount of time and that we get a direct vote on this very important
issue of ergonomics. It is germane to this Department of Labor, HHS,
and Education appropriations bill.
We have had a good working relationship together over the past 2
weeks. There is no question we couldn't have made the progress on the
appropriations bills if we hadn't had diligent work on the Republican
side and a lot of cooperation on the Democratic side including,
specifically, the Democratic leader, Senator Daschle, and the whip and
assistant leader, Harry Reid. All have done good work.
I worry now that we are into a situation where we have an amendment
that Members feel very strongly about, that is going to have dramatic
impact on business and industry in this country, which is germane, and
that we are being told we can't give you a time agreement, we are not
going to give you a direct vote.
We have had direct votes over the past couple of weeks on the
Patients' Bill of Rights issue, on hate crimes, on gun violence, on the
Cuba commission, on abortion issues, on education class size--even
though on some of the issues we would have preferred not to have voted
or voted not on them with regard to that particular bill. It would also
include, of course, the disclosure issue, which we think is a good
issue, which should get voted on, but it was a problem being offered on
the Defense authorization bill.
We were able to work through that. We got a reasonable agreement. We
got a direct vote, and we moved on.
I have already talked with Senator Daschle. We are looking for a
reasonable way to get this done. I hope we can find it because this is
one of the biggest and one of the most important bills the Senate will
consider this year. It is the funds for education, for the National
Institutes of Health, for the Departments of Health and Human Services
and Labor.
I would hate for it to stop at this point. We can make progress this
afternoon. We can make progress on Friday. We can make progress on
Monday. We could be having votes. With a little focus, maybe we can
even finish this bill by Tuesday night or Wednesday. That is what I
want to see happen, but we need to get it done and then go on to the
Interior appropriations bill, a bill that also is very important and a
bill, by the way, Senator Gorton has worked very hard to keep off
controversial issues. The so-called rule XVI points will be objected
to.
I urge Senator Reid and my friend, Senator Daschle, to think about
this. This is not the end of the trail, but we can have a vote on this
important germane amendment, and then we can move on to other
amendments and get our work done. I know we will be working together in
the next few hours to see what we can come up with. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
Mr. REID. We have been able to complete, under great difficulty, five
appropriations bills. They have had hundreds of amendments. We have
been able to finish those bills.
I suggest the best thing to do, as I think the leader has already
said he is going to do, is move forward with the debate on this
amendment. There are tremendous feelings on both sides of the issue.
People feel strongly about it. We should debate it for a while and see
if something can be resolved. I hope, if we cannot do that, we might be
able to move on to something else that needs to be completed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.

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