[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 87 (Monday, July 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6328-S6329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SENATE AGENDA

  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I welcome everyone back from our week 
away for the Fourth of July recess. I did not have an opportunity to 
talk this morning with the majority leader, and I understand he was 
able to come to the floor and indicate there is a lot of work to be 
done, and I share his view about the extent to which work should be 
done.
  I hope we can work as productively this coming work period as we 
worked in the last work period. We had an arrangement that I think 
worked very well following an unfortunate confrontation prior to the 
time we went away for the Memorial Day recess. The cooperation and 
partnership that was demonstrated over this last work period is one 
that I hope we can model again.
  I say that because I am concerned about the precarious way with which 
we are starting this week. Senator Lott has filed a cloture motion on 
the motion to proceed to the estate tax, and then it is my 
understanding his intention is to file a cloture motion on the bill 
itself. I remind my colleagues that is exactly what got us into the 
position we were in prior to the Memorial Day recess. I hope we can 
work through that.
  I have offered Senator Lott a limit on the number of amendments to 
the estate tax bill and a time limit on the amendment. I am very 
disappointed that we are not able to do what we have been able to do on 
so many bills, and that is reach some sort of accommodation for both 
sides. We still have some time this week, and I am hopeful that will 
happen.
  Let me also say that I am increasingly not only concerned but alarmed 
that we have yet to schedule a date certain for the consideration of 
permanent normal trade relations with China. I had a clear 
understanding we would take up the bill this month. Yet I am told now 
that at a Republican staff meeting today there was a good deal of 
discussion about the need to move it to September.
  I inform my colleagues that we will ask unanimous consent to take up 
PNTR. If that fails, at some point this week, we will actually make a 
motion to proceed to PNTR by a time certain this month. We cannot fail 
to act on that issue any longer. We must act. So we will make that 
motion to proceed to PNTR if the majority leader chooses not to make 
the motion for whatever reason.
  I will also say that, as he has indicated, there is a good deal of 
business left undone that, for whatever reason, has been blocked by 
some of our colleagues on the other side. We will want to address those 
issues as well.
  We will offer a motion to proceed to the Patients' Bill of Rights. We 
will certainly want to do that, as well as prescription drugs, minimum 
wage, and a number of issues relating to common sense gun legislation, 
such as closing the so-called gun show loophole and dealing with the 
incremental approaches to gun safety that the Senate supported as part 
of the juvenile justice bill.
  I will say, we will also want to move to proceed to the H-1B 
legislation that passed in the House overwhelmingly. We want to be able 
to offer amendments. We would like to take it up. It should happen this 
week; if not this week, next week. But we ought to take up H-1B as 
well.
  You could call this week the ``Trillion Dollar Week,'' the Trillion 
Dollar Week because our Republican colleagues are choosing to ignore 
all of the legislation I have just noted, given the limited time we 
have, and instead commit this country to $1 trillion in two tax cuts 
relating, first, to the marriage penalty, which we are told by CBO 
would cost a little over $250 billion over a 10-year period of time; 
and the estate tax repeal, which, over a fully implemented 10-year 
period, costs $750 billion.
  That is $1 trillion dealing with just two issues: the estate tax and 
the marriage penalty. It does not even go to the array of other tax-
related questions that some of our Republican colleagues have addressed 
in the past. We could be up into $3 or $4 trillion worth of tax cuts if 
all of the tax proposals made by our Republican colleagues were 
enacted. But we may want to call this the ``Trillion Dollar Week'' if 
our Republican colleagues have their way: $750 billion on the estate 
tax; $250 billion on the marriage tax penalty--and, I will say, $1 
trillion, with very limited debate, with no real opportunity to offer 
amendments, with no real suggestion about whether or not we ought to 
have at least the right to offer alternatives to spending that much 
money.
  The Democrats believe very strongly in the need to ensure that small 
businesses and farms are protected and that the ability is provided to 
transfer small businesses and farms. But we can do that for a lot less 
than $750 billion. We believe very strongly in the importance of the 
elimination of the marriage tax penalty. But we do not have to spend 
$250 billion to deal with it.

[[Page S6329]]

  In fact, the regular order right now is the marriage tax penalty. We 
have offered a limit on amendments, a limit on time on those 10 
amendments. We could take it up and deal with it this week--or could 
have last week, last month, the month before. Instead, what our 
Republicans colleagues are doing--and, I might add, all the time 
calling for our cooperation--is saying: No, we are not going to do 
that. We are not going to give you relevant amendments on the marriage 
penalty. We are going to go to the first reconciliation bill so you 
can't have amendments. We are going to take up the bill that way. But 
we still want your cooperation.
  Now we are told that we will have an opportunity to vote on cloture 
because we are given the same mandate, the same ultimatum, when it 
comes to amendments on estate taxes.
  So let me end where I started. I really do hope that we can have as 
productive a time this coming month as we had last month. I thought it 
was a good month. But I must say, this is a precarious beginning with 
this Trillion Dollar Week. It is a precarious beginning when, with all 
of the people's business the majority leader referred to, we are not 
actually going to deal with the people's business. We are going to deal 
with 2 percent of the population affected by the estate tax, and we are 
going to deal with a marriage penalty bill that goes way beyond 
repealing the marriage penalty, that actually gives a bonus to some 
taxpayers, all the time denying Democratic Senators the right to offer 
amendments on other directions that we might take.

  So I look forward to talking and working with the majority leader, 
and I look forward to a good and rigorous debate about all of the 
issues having to do with the people's business.
  Mr. REID. Would the Senator yield for a question before he yields the 
floor?
  Mr. DASCHLE. I would be happy to yield to the assistant Democratic 
leader.
  Mr. REID. I have listened to the Democratic leader outline what we 
have not been able to do. I fully support, as does the entire 
Democratic caucus, what the Senator is trying to accomplish. The one 
thing the Democratic leader did not mention, though, I say to my 
leader--there has been a tremendous furor from the Republican side 
about how they want to help the high-tech community, but the one thing 
that has not been accomplished is a simple little bill to change the 
Export Administration Act so our high-tech industry can compete with 
the rest of the world.
  As we speak, we are losing our business position in the world in 
selling computers. We lead the world in building and selling high-tech 
computers. That is being taken from us as a result of four or five 
people on the Republican side who are holding up this most important 
legislation.
  I say to my leader, I hope this is something on which we can also 
move forward. We would be willing to debate it for 30 minutes, for an 
hour. There is all this talk about helping the high-tech industry. In 
my opinion, the most important thing we could do is to get some 
attention focused on what has not been done regarding the high-tech 
industry. H-1B visas, of course, that is important.
  On the airplane ride back from Las Vegas, I had the good fortune to 
read a book the Democratic leader has already read and told me how much 
he has enjoyed called ``The New New Thing.'' That book indicates how 
important it is that we have the people to do the work of this 
scientific nature. We need to change the H-1B. We agree there. But we 
also need to change our ability to have more exports to improve our 
balance of trade.
  I close by saying, 44 Senators are willing to come in early in the 
morning, to stay late at night, to give up our weekends, to do whatever 
is necessary these next 3 weeks to move this legislation the Democratic 
leader has outlined.
  Mr. DASCHLE. The assistant Democratic leader has made a very 
important point. The list I referred to certainly is not all inclusive. 
He listed one important omission; that is the export administration 
bill. In fact, I do not know of anyone who has put more time in trying 
to get that bill scheduled than the assistant Democratic leader. I 
thank him publicly for his willingness to try to find a way with which 
to bring this legislation up.
  He is absolutely right. As we consider our huge deficit in our 
balance of payments, it is the only real black eye we have in an 
otherwise extraordinary economic record. As we consider that, I cannot 
think of anything more important than ensuring we stay competitive in 
the international marketplace today. There is no better way to do that 
than to address export enhancement legislation, as the assistant 
Democratic leader has noted.
  I also say to the assistant Democratic leader, today, again, the 
president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue, has called upon 
the Senate to act. He has called upon the Senate to act on PNTR 
immediately. I am sure he would also call upon the Senate to act on the 
export administration bill.
  But there is a growing crescendo of people out there concerned that 
this is a Senate which has done little, which has blocked the people's 
business, not enacted it. Prescription drugs, the Patients' Bill of 
Rights, the minimum wage, effective gun legislation, China PNTR, and H-
1B--all of those ought to be done. All of those ought to be done this 
month. We will have very little time left when we get back after the 
August recess. So we have to make every day count. We want to work with 
the majority to make that happen.
  With that, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KYL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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